Tag Archives: tulip

Spring Motif – Show and Tell

Spring is in full swing!  The tulips are done, and so is my peony (it was short but sweet), but thankfully my irises are still going mental.  The next one is the roses and the poppies and lillies.  I do have one lone tulip still holding on, it survived the garden being replaced and is growing up through the new lawn that’s slowly growing in.

But onto what we’re here to see, the motif!

Spring crochet motif by @missneriss using Scheepjes Catona, available from Wool Warehouse http://bit.ly/wwcatona

It’s a super simple tulip motif using Scheepjes Catona.  It can be used on its own with a slipstitch edging like above, or it can grow into a doily like below:

Spring crochet motif by @missneriss using Scheepjes Catona, available from Wool Warehouse http://bit.ly/wwcatona

The motifs can even be used to make a larger project like a shawl or a blanket, but I haven’t had time to do that yet!  Instead I made a set of coasters to add some glorious colour to my outdoor table:

Spring crochet motif by @missneriss using Scheepjes Catona, available from Wool Warehouse http://bit.ly/wwcatona

Here I was, having a cheeky glass of wine last night:

Spring crochet motif by @missneriss using Scheepjes Catona, available from Wool Warehouse http://bit.ly/wwcatona

And then my morning coffee:

I used 4 mini skeins of Catona, and at just over a euro for each 25g ball, if you make a doily and 6 coasters, you can be done for under 6 euros.  When was the last time you made a project that cost so little?!  With my yarn problem, I can’t even remember!

Next week I’ll have directions to make the motif, and also instructions on how to grow it to a doily, and also come up with a join as you go method to make a blanket or shawl.

The colours I used are:

  • 226 Light Orchid
  • 114 Shocking Pink
  • 385 Chrystalline
  • 280 Lemon

Scheepjes has a huge list of suppliers throughout the Benelux, otherwise worldwide you can order from Wool Warehouse* and for North Americans, Knotty House* in Canada is also now stocking Catona!

*Just a note: this post contains a couple of affiliate links which if you choose to use when feeding your yarn habit will earn me a small commission.  This helps me keep up the freebies and doesn’t cost you a thing. Thank you!

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Spring has Sprung – and is Quilting a New Craft Obsession?

Spring has Sprung in my garden.

Spring has sprung!  My first tulip is out and flowering.  And about time, too.  Seriously, I’m still sending my daughter off to school in a winter coat and scarf and it’s April!  This is not acceptable.  Thank God I was able to spend a month in Australia because if I hadn’t, this extended cold would be the end of me.

Spring has Sprung in my garden.

I love the little bulbs that appear in my garden every year.  I have the standard tulips and daffodils, plus a bunch of hyacinths forest bulbs and something new seems to appear every year.  My peonies are coming and I hope I get more than one bloom this year.  I made the mistake of splitting the plant and transplanting half of it, not knowing that it takes two years for a peonie to bloom again!

Spring has Sprung in my garden.

I made this table centrepiece at a workshop at my local flower boutique.  I say boutique because this place is a-mazing.  The flowers are just starting to pop out, and I’m enjoying watching it change each day.

My first ever Jelly Roll Race Quilt

Spring has also seen me start a LOT of new craft projects.  I have another knitting project in the pipeline, plus the WIP that I showed you last week is just about ready to reveal (along with a pattern), and then there’s this!  In between it all, I made a quilt!

My first ever Jelly Roll Race Quilt

It’s a Jelly Roll Race Quilt, one of the easiest and fastest quilts out there, but I wanted something simple to sink my teeth into in case I had bitten off way more than I could chew.

My first ever Jelly Roll Race Quilt

I made the top myself at home on my machine following this tutorial and then had a session with the Quilt Guru in my local craft group where she showed me how to sandwich it and then assemble it, all in a single evening!

I’m so impressed with the end result!  The last bit of quilting I did for myself was when I was still at school – I designed and pieced together my own cushion top.  Plus I’ve been an assistant to my Gran while she’s been making her own fabulous quilts all of my life, but that has all been by hand.  I’ve never done any quilting on a sewing machine!

There are a few little imperfections here and there – we won’t examine my straight stitching skills too closely – but overall it’s beautiful.  My daughter loves it, and I’m planning on putting it on her bed as a throw.  It’s not quite large enough for a bedspread for her, but perhaps my next one will be.

But, wow.  It’s an expensive hobby!  I bought the 40 strip Jelly Roll while in Australia for about $55 AUD, then I had to buy the edging fabric and the backing fabric.  Not to mention the wadding and thread.  And then there are the tools you need  – cutters, rulers, cutting board and the sewing machine itself.  So, I’m not in a rush to become a quilter, that’s for sure!

The Jelly Roll I used is called Printemps 3 Sisters, and it’s by Moda Fabrics.  You can find Jelly Rolls at fabric stores everywhere, or online.  Or of course you could make your own (I won’t be)!  Aren’t the colours divine?

The beautiful stripes of my Jelly Roll Race Quilt

Can you quilt?  What are your favourite styles and where do you get your fabrics?