Many textured infinity scarf

How was your weekend?  Good? If you are a Mum I hope you were well spoiled ♥

I thought I’d start the week with a project I recently finished, and have been enjoying now that autumn is starting to chill into winter.

I wanted to make an infinity scarf with a bit of a twist… Lots of textures; fuzzy yarn mixed with metallics, and soft chunky rows to add interest to plain ol’ double crochet.And it has to be nice and long.  So it can be wrapped 2, 3 or 4 times around depending on how snuggled you want to be. As you can see it’s really a very simple make, all double crochet using a 7mm hook and a variety of double knit/worsted weight yarns for 7 rounds (8 including the starting chain- which was 200).

Just what’s needed for these cool autumn mornings. And here I am trying to get a photo of my scarf and the tree (at the top) in the background this morning in the fog… I barely succeed on both counts!The yarns are all man made acrylic/nylon mixes, but oh, it is so soft. And purple, don’t you just love purple? I do! Have a great week!

Spreading the love

Do you remember the lovely bookmark I received from Jane?  Well I wanted to send her something small in return for her kind gesture (and because I love sending mail almost as much as receiving it).So one evening I crocheted up a very simple cotton washcloth wash with her in mind. Because I wanted to wrap it up around a soap, I added a button and loop, and it became a simple, thoughtful, package all on its own.

I used this free pattern to make the washcloth, using two strands of 3ply cotton held together and a 4mm hook.

And because it was so easy, when it was done I made another one which I paired with another variety of my favourite eco soap.But this time I’m not sure who it’s going to…. maybe it’s you?

It’s only a small gesture, but it is in giving that we receive, so if you would like to win this crochet washcloth and soap set please leave a comment below. Ill draw the winner next Friday (May 10). Love ♥ Janette xx

A special package

I packed off a little green dragonfly love a few days ago, and once it’s arrived Ill show you exactly what it is. There may even be another one to give away 😉

Easy crochet cowl…

Here’s a super easy light weight crochet cowl, great for either autumn or spring: You can find the free crochet pattern over at Maybe Matilda. I made mine with an 8mm hook and a yarn (if you can call it that… its like a long strip of t-shirt) called Gypsy by Moda Vera, then embellished with three vintage buttons… it took all of 20 minutes from start to finish. This would be a perfect beginner crochet project.Simple yet stylish… I love how it turned out! Have a happy Monday xx

Owl mittens

It is starting to get cooler here, so I whipped up both the kids some fingerless mittens this week. Really there is not much simpler than a basic fingerless mitten. I confess, I don’t even bother to shape them… just crochet a rectangle and sew up the side leaving a thumb hole.

Here’s a quick tutorial so you can make some for a little person you know… or maybe even yourself! The owl – once again inspired by Jacqui – is a tiny version made mostly with half double crochets. For anyone bored of owls, I promise these will be the last ones – for a little while at least 🙂 If you fancy a pair of even easier rainbow mittens check out my other tutorial here.

Ingredients:

• Yarn in desired weight, with appropriate sized hook for the mittens… I used a light worsted merino and a 4mm hook. Any yarn and hook combination will work fine, just make sure the ‘fabric’ is soft and has a bit of give (not stiff and unwieldy).
• Small amount of 4 colors of yarn for the owls.
• Even smaller amount of white yarn for the eyes.
• 4 small buttons for eye centers.

First up, crochet a chain that will fit snugly around the largest part of the hand (ie. just under the thumb).

Using this as your guide for width, crochet back and forth (I use singe crochet) to create a rectangle that is the length you want to reach from just below the second knuckle to wrist. Remeber to add a chain 1 at the end of each row to keep everything square.

For Maia’s gloves (just as a guide) my foundation chain was 22, and they are 24 rows wide.

Sew up the short edge, leaving a small gap (about 1 inch) for the thumb hole:

Repeat for the other glove 🙂

Owl motif. This is a pretty cute but rather small owl (measuring 7cm (2 3/4inches) wide and 8cm (3 1/4 inches) tall).

1. Make a magic circle and chain 2, half double crochet (hdc) into the circle 11 times (12 hdc). Pull tight and join with a ss to complete ring: Fasten off.

2. Join new color and chain 2, hdc in same space. Crochet 2hdc in each space between around (12, 2hdc pairs): Fasten off.

3. Join new color; Crochet 3 hdc in each space between pairs around (12, 3hdc clusters): Fasten off.

You are now going to be crocheting the body of the owl; I apologize for not getting a picture of this; here’s the final product:

Body- in contrasting (brown) yarn:

4. In this round we will shape the owls head, the stitches of this round are worked into each of the stitches of the previous round (not between the clusters).  Attach new color using a slip stitch and chain 2. In the next stitch make 2 hdc, then make 1 hdc in each of the next 2 stitches, then 2 hdc in the next stitch. 1 hdc in each of next two stitches, then 2 hdc in next stitch. 1 sc in next stitch and every stitch around… Slip stitch into initial 2 chain to complete the round.

5. Next round (same color do not fasten off) Chain 1 and work 2 hdc in next stitch. 1 hdc in next stitch, 1 sc in next stitch, 1 ss in each of next 3 stitches. Then 1 sc in next stitch, 1 hdc in next, 2 hdc in next and 1 sc. Chain 1, then slip stitch into next stitch and fasten off. Leave a long end to sew your owl to the gloves.

Eyes:

Make a magic circle and chain 2, hdc into the circle 7 times, pull tight and join with a slip stitch to finish. Fasten off leaving a long end to sew eye in place. Repeat three more times for other eyes.

Put it all together:

Position eyes on owl and sew in place using long ends, then sew buttons (using black yarn). Sew beak carefully in between eyes using orange yarn (I find doubled thread works best). Once owl is assembled, sew onto outside of mitten, taking care because if one front has the thumb hole on the right, then the other one must have the thumb hole on the left 🙂 I chose to do this after the mittens were sewn up because it meant I could pin the owl in place when Maia had the gloves on to position them so it looked best.

Twit twoooo… you’re finished!  Enjoy your owl mitts!

My thinking and making space

I’m sorry it’s been a bit quiet here at the Green Dragonfly, its not because there’s a lack of crafting going on. The weather has started the shift towards winter, its been raining a lot and with daylight savings now finished the days are getting shorter. This means that the lovely extended summer light Ive enjoyed for these past few months has finished and I’m struggling to get good photos to share some pretty things I’ve been making with you.

The move indoors has made me reassess the state of our house, and some much needed cleaning and organising has been in order. Ive tackled the pantry, main cupboard and our bedroom, next on the list was my office. Now that it’s tidy, the space is making me very happy… so I thought Id share it with you.When I’m writing, this is where I’m sitting and this is what is inspiring me. As you might have guessed, I LOVE dragonflies,so there are plenty around. I just picked up that teeny blue book at a trade aid store over the weekend and I’m still deciding exactly what I will put in it, maybe a story with some tiny illustrations?

Here’s the whole space. Yes I assure you, this is the ‘after’ shot… just think of it as organised chaos!Most of the time there is no clear space on the desk at all…And here are a couple of small projects that have recently come off my hook… Ill be sharing these with you very soon! To me it’s perfect!Do you have a crafting space? How big (or small is it)? How do you make it inspirational for you? Ill be back very soon!! Janette xx