Zeens and Roger

Hello and welcome!! You must be here because you quite like the idea of making something with corner to corner crochet…

This is the second Crochet Along that I’ve hosted, it was so much fun the first time that I’ve decided to do another one! The first CAL was back in February and it was the Granny CAL 2018. Looking back I can see that I already mentioned the possibility of a C2C CAL and here it is!! Yay!

If you’re wondering what a CAL is then you’ll be delighted to hear that I wrote a blog post all about them. It’s HERE if you’d like to read more. I wrote it in March, so there’s some outdated info about the specific CALs mentioned but if you get stuck into the online crochet community you’ll never be far from one, I guarantee it! (current or soon to be starting CALs include a general one by Jodi & Tracey of the Grocery Girls , Hannah is hosting a Nerdalong and Fay, Claudia et al have a  SockAlong).

The Details

The CAL is six weeks long. Day one is Sunday the 7th of October 2018 and the final day is Sunday 18th November. I’ll close everything on the Monday. I have already opened a chatter thread on Ravelry so if you want to get the talk started early then pop over and say hello, share ideas etc. I’ll open a finished objects thread after the start date.

To join in, all you have to do is pop pictures up of your C2C work on Instagram and/or the Ravelry threads. That’s pretty much it. How much you join in with the chat is up to you.

The aim is to have fun and maybe try something you’ve not tried before. C2C is great for stash busting, fantastic for quick gifts, and once you get going you can really pick up speed and make something in a flash, honest! You can keep it simple or get yourself in a proper tangle by working with lots of different colours at the same time. There are so many (too many?) ways you can adopt this stitch. Honestly, I don’t think we can squeeze it all in here. Join as you go? All in one (my fave)? Stitch pieces together? Ach! So. Much. Choice…

For Instagram entries don’t forget to use #c2cCAL18

The Patterns

I would suggest that your first port of call is Pinterest. I’ve set up a board especially and I’m going to keep adding pretty pictures as often as I can. There are free patterns and paid patterns to be found. I’ve also added how-to’s and top tips. Essentially it’s all things C2C in one place. Go and check it out, I think there will be patterns and ideas that surprise you!

Especially for the CAL I have a free pattern available right here on the blog, it’s called Apres-Ski and it’s HERE . There is a written pattern, chart and video tutorial. I showed the first part of the design on my latest podcast HERE.  If you want to learn the absolute basics try Bella Coco for her video tutorials. And Mandy from Crochet RedAgape has a great photo tutorial HERE

Also, rather cheekily, may I point you in the direction of my Ravelry store?! I have a few C2C patterns for sale and during the CAL they will have a 20% discount applied (keep your eyes peeled for that). Havana Nights (my absolute favourite blanket design to date) is released on the first day of the CAL. It appeared in Crochet Now magazine a few months ago and I love it! It has 14 different colours of acrylic dk (just mentioning that in case you wanted to make it and prep your colours in advance!)

Don’t forget that you can make your own design too! Get some graph paper and play around with patterns. Or use online software such as Stitch Fiddle. It’s one I use for C2C ideas. It’s free and you can make grids that are especially for C2C!

I also have a couple of designs for free HERE.

The Rules

As long as it’s corner to corner it really can be any stitch. The majority of patterns you’ll see are like the pictures I have here but I’ve seen corner to corner grannies and moss/linen stitch. Use you imagination. Likewise, you can kinda go corner to middle, then stop, if you wanted to make a shawl. I’m OK with that.

When you begin the CAL please make sure your project isn’t just three stitches from the end. If you’re joining in, you’re eligible to be entered into the prize draws. It wouldn’t be fair if someone else was making a blanket from scratch and you’d already completed 75% of your project.  Let’s say anything 50% done (or less) will be accepted.

Double dipping is allowed (I’m trying to work out if I can c2c half decent socks….hmm…)

The Prizes

Oh, this is going to be so exciting! There are lots of categories and therefore lots of chances of winning a wonderful prize. There will be digital patterns, yarn and accessories. There are lots of things lined up that I think you’ll like a lot!

Categories include random draws from the Raverly chatter thread, finished object thread and Instagram. There will also be a prize for my favourite comment from the chatter thread (I like things that make me laugh!), my favourite finished object, and from IG, my fave picture (note that I said picture, not just what it is you’ve made. Play around with the composition of your image, experiment with flatlay, stuff like that.).

At this point I need to say a huge huge huge thank you to all those who are donating prizes. This includes: Shirley Rainbow, Lottie & Albert, Jellybean Junction, Raspberry Crochet, Hobbii, Crochet Luna, The Cozy Cottage Crochet, Keep Calm and Crochet On, Dear Ewe, Yarn & Blarney, and possibly more as the CAL moves forward.

And lastly… Thank yoooo!! I cannot wait for Kick off. I hope you enjoy it as much as I know I’m going to! xxx

Oh, and if I’ve missed something or you want to ask a question, then fire away. Now is the time!

A couple of charts, that I promised on Episode 38 of my  crochet podcast…

xxx

Hello! It has been aaaages! How’s it going? I haven’t written for nearly a month! I’ve been working on crochet commissions and hanging out with the boys as the summer holidays have started. I wanted to write a garden update a week or two ago but either we weren’t here or the light wasn’t right for photo taking. I’ve given up on waiting to take more pictures so I’m sharing what I have manged to snap.

Flowers first. I’m thrilled that the white anemone has bloomed for the first time. I bought it about four years ago and planted it down at the very bottom of the garden. It had never been happy there and not once did I see a flower after its  first year. I dug it up last year and plonked it in a pot to live nearer the house. Hey presto! Flowers! I love anemones. I don’t suppose they’re anything special but I don’t care. They’re definitely a favourite.

See? I have a pink one too! These flowers have always been happy sharing a corner with ferns.

This plumbago lives next to the pink anemone and the ferns. It looks like the ferns are spreading and will swamp it. I ought to move it but don’t know where it could go. Given the opportunity, I think this could get much much bigger. Where would it be happiest? The borders are where I do a lot of guess work. I’ll do some research.

Then there are the patio plants. This is what I was waiting to capture; none of these photos really show what’s what. Maybe it’s a good thing there are no other images, it isn’t the best bunch of pots I’ve ever had. The prolonged high temps made things leggy and sparse. But the boys chose this year’s plants and they chose bright things. The flowers that have come out really do make an impact. Sort of. All the summer’s rain seems to have fallen in this single past week. I wonder if it’ll pep things up. Then I can ask the sun to come for a photo opportunity! Quick, please, before the autumn comes!

Veg patch. I’ve been much better at keeping things tidy this year. It helps to have more plants waiting in the wings. There has been no room for laziness. Once the mange tout was over, once I’d pulled up all the (sadly, maggotty) carrots and eaten all the broad beans, I pulled it all out to make room for leeks and purple sprouting.

I got the leek seedlings from my step dad and the purple sprouting from the garden centre. I have tried growing both from seed before but I no longer see the point. I didn’t like the tangle of microscopic leeks that you had to wrangle (and you get too many – even without sowing them all). And caterpillars ate all my PS babies (I can’t be bothered to keep typing purple sprouting). I don’t feel the need to cheat in the garden all that often but there are times when it works out for the best. Courgettes, for example, I buy two plants each year because you don’t need more than that. Even if you made all the chutney and cake to feed an entire town, there would still be a magic porridge pot of mini marrows.

Anyway, I made a PS net house.  Three sodding hours it took me to build! I had to sew the netting together at the joins, which took ages. But, I have noticed lots of healthy growth and no butterflies. I was told to build it high as butterflies drop their eggs like bombs! Cheeky buggers. I’ve had to make a few repairs already as the cat has seen it as a daily challenge to break and enter. Pfft. I am hoping my efforts will be rewarded with the gloriousness of the best vegetable in the whole world! (Now that I’ve written that I realise that they’re all my favourite vegetables. I’m growing all my favourites! Of course I am, I wouldn’t grow ones I didn’t like, duh).

Finally. Have you ever happened upon a mystery squash? There’s one in the herb bed. I thought it was going to be a butternut. It’s not. I grew them once so wondered if it was a rogue seed.  The other option is it’s a pumpkin. I grew mini pumpkins about five years ago. This isn’t mini. Whilst it isn’t orange, I’m guessing it’s a Halloween job. Last year I chucked the carved ones on the veg bed to rot down. There must have been seeds  left in one of them. Do they turn orange at a later date? Squash Watch is a thing now.

Oh, hang on the rain has stopped. Right, I’m off outside. Whilst I’m gone, let me know what’s going on in your patch? Cheers. x