Day 52 + UK Crochet

 I came across this beautifully written Guest Blog  on Miss Beartrix Blog by @claireabellemakes on twitter, who very kindly mentions my You Tube videos.

http://miss-beatrix.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/guest-post-by-claireabellemakes-getting.html

As you are probably aware by now, I am trying as hard as I can to promote UK Crochet and UK Crochet patterns written by UK pattern writers & designers in UK Crochet terms.

I keep on stumbling across UK crocheters who crochet in US terms and whilst there is nothing wrong with that I have to ask WHY?

WHY?  Because we have a perfectly good and easy to understand UK Crochet system to embrace and share with one another.

My You Tube videos are all in UK Crochet Terms and I have been told that it's "refreshing" and "a nice change" to hear a "British Voice" explaining the stitches in UK Crochet, rather than having to sit, watch, try out the stitches AND translate from US to UK & my eLearning Crochet Course in UK terminology https://www.coursecraft.net/courses/z9NcS, are all in UK Crochet terms, so you don't have to translate & it's one less job for you to do.

For example - there are loads of "crafting" magazines out there - you pick them up because they look pretty and appealing on the newsagents shelf, and  you see CROCHET PATTERN emblazoned on the front, so you simply must have it, go to the till, fork out £5 & take it home.  Once home, you sit there smuggly after making a nice hot drink, go to open mag, find the page the crochet pattern is on and it's like this great big cloud has just hovered over your head and is about to burst lots of rain onto your newly washed & styled hair - yes, you've guessed it - the pattern is written in US crochet terms.  This has happened to me - has it happened to you?  Well actually it USED to happen to me because I stopped buying magazines that I didn't know & started to buy (a few years ago now) Inside Crochet magazine which is not only packed with fantastic inspiration and tantalizingly colourful crochet works of art for you to either drool over or make, but it's written totally in UK Crochet Terms! YARNTASTIC.

All I am trying to say here is that we have UK Crochet so USE it!!

That's another reason for my eLearning course.  With all this confusion being shared with me, I had to try to do something about it, hence the eLearning course, which is getting more and more popular, day by day.

And in other news.....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21441298.

Thanks to Michael who chats with me on Twitter & Google+ I have this to share with you....

Did you know there is a crochet connection to narrow boats? Traditionally they had crocheted doilies to act as curtains on the circular portholes

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43498458@N02/sets/72157623571526582/ 

I have a new Crochet Pupil today - she told me that she was taught to crochet over 30 years ago & it was a pleasure to teach her - it's like riding a bike you see, once you learn you NEVER forget.  She just needed reminding of a few things!! We covered the basics, foundation chain, dc, htr, tr's and then went on to making Granny Squares (following a pattern) and colour changes & even join as you go! She did fantastically well and it was great for me to teach someone so keen!

 ASAD 52

 Need I say more?

Day 51 Oh how I love Crochet.....

I realised today that my wool stash is diminishing very quickly!

My pupils have been buying up some DK & Chunky wools / yarns that I stock & all of a sudden it's looking rather bear and very lacking in colour & attraction, so I must head off to the wool shop (oh dear what I job to have to do) to replenish before my next lot of 4 week workshops start next week!!

I did manage to make my square for Day 51 today, although I have been very busy!

Yes, due to the popularity of my Crochet eLearning Course 1 (The Basics) I have spent most of today drafting Course 2!!

And here's a little taster....

Not much is being given away from this picture, so I suppose if you want to know more you'll just have to enroll to find out more.

Here's the link to course 1

https://www.coursecraft.net/courses/z9NcS

It's perfect if you want to learn to crochet but you don't have time to attend a class.

For only £15 you can take as long as you like to go through the 3 lessons in course 1, learning the basics of Crochet - the essentials to cracking the backbone of this lovely craft.

Even if you don't sign up to another course, this first one will give you the basics - enough to get you on your way, including a start on reading patterns & symbols charts, as well as learning how to make a foundation chain, double crochet & treble crochet too!

Go on, you know you it makes sense.

Day 50 - Crochet Class News

 I can't tell you how PROUD I am of my Crochet Pupils from my 1st Beginners course

They loved their 2 hours a week for 4 weeks so much that I had to extend their classes for another 2 weeks and this is what they have been up too......

Here is "R" who has been making Granny Squares to join together with double crochet - she's making a project bag!  I can't wait to see it finished

 And this is the cushion she made from Flat Rounds

joined together with double crochet in a contrasting colour

 

Here is "P" who is now very comfortable making Granny Squares & joining as you go

And here is her "knitting needles" bag that she made since her last lesson last week!

 

Now this is "A" who has really picked up Crochet very quickly, despite missing a week to fly off to Italy for a "weekend of culture"

She's now making a Granny Square Bag - I've seen the pattern and it's gong to look FAB

 

And this is the Cowl that she made since last week

And to finish off this wonder of crochet for today, here is my effort which seems paltry in comparison

Day 50

The good news is that I have 8 new pupils and 3 returning pupils for Beginners & Intermediate workshops next week - if you live in Dorset and would like to join in then do get in touch.

If you can't make it here, then why not try my eLearning Course

https://www.coursecraft.net/courses/z9NcS

Day 49 - eLearning news & more!

Along the way......

Thank you Shirley for mentioning me and my e-Learning courses in one of your recent posts.

Here's the link http://www.sdcrafts.co.uk/2013/02/late-five-on-friday-you-didnt-know.html

I can't believe how quickly my e-Learning course - Learn to Crochet UK Terminology - is being snapped up! https://www.coursecraft.net/courses/z9NcS

My Dream - to teach the UK to crochet - men included!! 

Day 49 is this lovely Pink Cotton flower

 And here is the Tweet Blanket so far

No TWO colours are the same

(so far)

I have also been busy "mocking up" a crochet project that I am designing for a UK Crochet Magazine.

I am not quite finished yet, but I am getting there.

Day 47 & 48 PLUS E-Learning Crochet Course

 When I woke up on Saturday morning, turned my computer on & started to filter through my emails, my face lit up when I came across this one......

Hello,

I want to tell you how happy I am that I found your blog. I spent $15 on a Craftsy class to learn to crochet. No matter how many times I replayed the video I didn't "get it". I went searching on you tube. No luck. Mind you, I couldn't even do the chain stitch because I couldn't figure out how to hold the wool in my hand and grip the little chain I was supposed to make. I am a self taught sewer and taking a college physics class and I'm being undone by a crochet hook. Thanks to you, I got it! I did my first little chain. Alright, a big long chain and I'm hooked. No pun intended. Thank you again for your excellent pics on how to hold the wool in your hand. It made all the difference between frustration and enjoyment. Your work is beautiful and something to aspire to.

Regards,

Pat

 How  nice is that?

Since replying to her email, Pat has told me that she's going to practice some more & keep me posted - I can't wait to hear from her again soon.

Fun Crochet links that I have come across this weekend:

http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/amazeballs-crochet-yoga-balls

Day 47 is this shiny blue Square 

& Day 48 is 

 BREAKING NEWS:

I have also been busy producing an E-Learning course, which combines my recent Video Tutorials with lots of useful written instructions, so you are getting the best of both worlds - Reading the Written Word & Watching a Video Tutorial at the same time.

Interested?

Then Click HERE

The first 10 Students to sign up using Promo Code 

BLOG10

will get a 10% discount

The great thing about this E-Learning course is that you can post photo's of your work and ask me questions via the comments section, so you get a teacher at the other end!!

It's not time bound, so you can work at YOUR pace an revisit as often as you need to.

You will get 3 lessons in this Basics Course with more Courses currently in production, I will have you hooked in no time!

Day 46, Traffic & Crochet Class & so much more to share.....

 I started looking at my blog today & I though to myself - where do all my crochet friends come from?  So I clicked on a few relevant buttons & found that one of the sources was from this page...

http://blog.libertysyarn.com/top-10-crochet-blogs-2013-edition/

Liberty's Yarn

I was found under Google's Top 10 Crochet Blogs along with names like Attic 24 & Crocheting the Day Away, so I feel pretty honoured.

Thank You Liberty for not only doing this research but for also sending people to my blog too!

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Another interesting page that I found on FB via Sara Duggan's Crochet Business Facebook Page was this:

http://yarnobsession.com/yes-you-can-sell-crochet-pieces-made-from-someones-pattern

So I thought I'd share it with you all.

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Another thing I want to share is this great ONLINE Wool / Yarn shop

www.yarnandcraftshop.co.uk

They have great selection of wools, yarns & accessories + 50% off Selected items!

& finally

One more thing to share with you before I get on to Day 46 & what happened in Crochet Class today is 

Yes, it's How to crochet in Trebles (UK Terminology) and get straight edges

Here's what happened in Crochet Class today

Yes this was made by my pupil K, who has only just learnt colour changes & join as you go!

Isn't it amazing?

She's going to line it and make it into a hook case & she has lots of lovely homework to complete for next time & I can't wait to see it!!

And finally

and I mean finally
as I do realise that there is a lot on this blog post today

Here is Day 46

 Another new colour, or in this case colours! 

Day 45 - well blow me down with a feather

"Blow me down" is an English idiom that is often used when someone is surprised or stunned by a particular occurrence. The meaning of the idiom derives from the fact that the astonishment of the event is so great that the person has figuratively been knocked to the ground by it. This particular phrase gets its origins from old sailing jargon and other similar expressions that emanate from the word "blow." It is closely related to the phrase, "knock me down with a feather," which suggests that a person is so surprised that he or she can be knocked over by the lightest object imaginable. (taken from www wisegeek.org)

Yes, I was stunned, yesterday, so much so that this quaint English phrase came to mind immediately. 

I was both perplexed and also shocked at how many UK based crocheter's contacted me either via email, text or twitter to tell me that my latest video tutorial 

was wrongly titled!

http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?show_mt=1&ns=1&video_id=rxCLHuFmroU

It's title is:

Double Crochet Tutorial in UK Terminology - How to Double Crochet & How to work in STRAIGHT edges 

 

but they were telling me that I should have called it Single Crochet !?!

Some even told me that they wondered "why the patterns they were following were not coming out right."  Actually the numbers did shock me.

So here's a reminder that if you are following a US Crochet Pattern, you  have to TRANSLATE it to UK Crochet terminology.

So here's a US to UK conversion chart that you can copy if you need to 

I found it onwww.yarnfwd.com

US	UK
chain(ch)	chain(ch)
single crochet (sc)	double crochet (dc)
double crochet (dc)	treble (tr)
half double crochet (hdc)	half treble (htr)
triple crochet (trc)	double treble (dtr)
slip stitch (sl st)	slip stitch (sl st)

SO if your US pattern says"make a dc" then you will have to make a TREBLE

if your US pattern says"single crochet" then you DOUBLE CROCHET

There's nothing wrong with following US Crochet Patterns - I love them as there are so many to choose from, but you have to be prepared to translate them as you go and remember to keep on translating them as you go!!

I have also been told that due to the lack of UK Crochet Video Tutorials, beginners in crochet have learnt via the US video's and just stick to US patterns which is a shame as we have lots of FAB UK designers here and 2 great magazines with UK patterns coming to us monthly, one of those being Inside Crochet Magazine.

I was also getting asked for a lot of help on Twitter with basics like "how do I get a straight edge" being one of the most popular asks.  If you know me, I am only too happy to help with Crochet, especially if you can't learn from a book or have someone near  you to teach you, so I was referring people & twitters alike to my Free Tutorial Tab on this blog which features detailed step by step photo's of various stitches & techniques.  I am very pleased to say that many of you kindly tweeted me or emailed me to say  how much these photo tutorials had helped them.

From getting such good feedback and "hearing" the need for Crochet help, I have started to produce You Tube video tutorials, which are "selling like hot cakes" (another British Expression) 

So far there is:

Video 1 - How to hold your wool correctly & make a foundation chain

Video 2 - How to Double Crochet & work in rows with straight edges

I am going to make Video 3 next which will be "Working in Trebles & working in neat rows"

and there are so many more that I would like to make that I will have to start writing a list.

If you want to watch these tutorials, then click on the VIDEO tab at the top of this page

Wool - now that's another thing we do differently to the US - we say "Wool" whether it's actually 100% wool or not, whereas in the US it's called "yarn".  When I said on twitter the other day that I was going to the "wool shop" an American follower told me that she loved that expression as it sounded so "English & Quaint"

I do try to call yarn yarn, when it is, but I'm afraid that it's an old fashioned habit of mine to call it wool as that's what I've always called it, so sorry Yarn if you are a Yarn, in my Crochet World, you've been upgraded to "Wool"

And here is Day 45

It's Valentines Day!!

This is the card that my puppy Scrumpy made for his girlfriend Megan who is a Collie 

 Inside it said "Valentine" and was signed with a paw mark!!

Day 45 is this very Regal Purple

 It should have been RED I suppose, due to the day but it's not!

And this arrived in the post today so all my scissors can be sharpened on demand - no more blunt blades in MY classroom!!!

And finally - the card I made for My Valentine 

My Husband, whose favourite colour is blue!