Crochet Extra - August 2023 - Crochet Australia

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A group of us went out to visit the Warwick Jumpers & Jazz Festival to experience the marvellous yarn bombing around town as well as the crochet/knit art installation – this years’ theme was ‘Curioser & Curioser’ from Alice in Wonderland. There were some fabulous yarn creations and more on display and we had a marvellous time.

This month we have Granny Square Day happening on the 15^th of august. So, we are celebrating all things Motifs. This includes the ever-evolving granny square and mandalas – hence our theme this month Motifs. You can read more about this later – but to celebrate we have a special granny square kit designed by Live Love Crochet Shaz available to purchase.

Later in the month we will also be having the Sunshine Coast 2023 Crochet Retreat. So all hands are on deck these coming weeks to finish getting the kits and bags ready. For 2024 we will be holding two retreats – one here on the Sunshine Coast and the other in the Hunter Valley NSW. This will be the first time holding one in NSW – don’t miss out this time and book your spot now.

We have continued to see an increase in the transport costs from some of our suppliers. Accordingly we have been reviewing our own prices, and there will be a price increase on the Scheepjes yarn from September.

We are also expecting the new Yarn Bookazine for Scheepjes to be released in September – Issue 16. Have you got all the past issues? We still have most of these in stock, but won’t be restocking the back issues.

In our classes this month we are making the Kosmos Poncho by Outstanding Crochet – a beautifully challenging project where you will learn the skills of making continuous flower motifs. The poncho has added beauty with the whirl/whirlette combinations, but could be made in any 4 ply yarn that has a soft drape. Join us Monday nights online, or Tuesdays or Wednesdays in store, where I will lead you through creating the poncho.

Until next time

Lynda

Theme— Motifs

Motifs are any small shapes that are joined together to make something larger. The granny square is the most well-known motif, but the term can encompass many shapes – hexagons, rectangles, triangles, circles or flowers or other irregular shapes such as those used in freeform crochet.

While the shapes you can make are endless, so too are the projects you can make with them! These include blankets, wraps, shawls, scarves, jumpers, cardigans, bags, table runners, doilies, hats, artwork and much, much more…. the list is endless.

They can be full of colour or all one colour. You can create a colourful masterpiece, simply with the way you put the motifs together – ombre, rainbow, 3D, and more.

I believe motifs are one of the most versatile things to create whether crocheted, knitted, or tatted. They are a great way to use up yarn stash and yarn ends including threads. They are great for beginners to master their skills, and great for more advanced crocheters to practice new techniques or experiment with colour. With larger projects where the motifs are repeated it is a great way to relax with the repetitive pattern. And more importantly they make great projects when you are on the move.

If you are looking for inspiration, we have a huge range of books full of patterns for any of these. Our book of the month is Granny Square Academy 2 by the lovely Shelley Husband of Spincushions. We also have her first one Granny Square Academy that make the perfect pigeon pair. There is also the newly released Making Mandalas by the very talented Emily Penn of The Loopy Stitch. I love the books that are just a collection of motifs as it allows you to be creative with the end result and gives you the flexibility of using different yarns.

There are many techniques for joining motifs. You can join as you go, crochet them together or sew them together. Blocking is a good way to give each motif a clean and uniform shape before you join. However, if you join them as you go you will only block your piece once it is complete. So with all this in mind it is important to have some blocking pins or wire, tape measure, a good set of wool needles and crochet hooks along with some wonder clips to hold them together while joining.

Other handy tools include colour wheels, stitch markers, needles to sew in the ends and a range of different size hooks to work with different designs and yarns. See them all in our section – look what we found! We also feature a few kits for creating items with motifs.

Or try this free pattern for a Granny Square Hat we found by Gaye Brown—to see out the last of the cold winter months.

Tip of the Month – Granny Square (Motif) Success

Read how to improve the look of your next granny square without having to alter the pattern – just the way you approach the steps.

Book of the Month

Granny Square Academy 2

By Shelley Husband

Granny Square Academy 2 is a companion book to Granny Square Academy, so it’s highly recommended that you have both-and, yes, beginning as a confident crocheter makes it easier to dive into this book. Over 12 lessons, you’ll know what you need to do, why it’s important, and how you can apply it to other parts of your crocheting