There are lots of new ideas and projects but some of them I can’t show, soz! I can talk enthusiastically about them though! Please click on the above image to go to the latest episode or go to my YouTube channel for all my crochet podcasts / vlogcasts and crochet tutorials. Ta vey much.
As usual I chat about the crafty things I’ve been up to and show off a few bits. Don’t forget that this is an episode where I reveal winners of a GIVEWAY.
For what I think is the first time ever I don’t have any links to share… Have I missed something? Feel in the dark? Feel free to get in touch and you can ask me anything you like ;p
Hey! Thanks for being here. This one is a shorty. I’ve been busy behind the scenes so there’s only a small flash of the stitches today. But don’t let that put you off or you’ll miss a lovely little GIVEAWAY!! Watch the episode to find out more. Click on the pic above or go to my YouTube channel HERE. Cheers.
Go HERE to Ravelryto get a copy of Emergence of Spring. Until the 4th of July there is a 20% off discount. No codes needed, it automatically gets taken off at the checkout.
Knitcrate. If you’re interested in finding out more, please go HERE. Don’t forget to take the code ZEENSANDROGER20 with you so that you can get 20% off the first box when you subscribe.
A few months ago this pretty wrap was in Inside Crochet magazine (issue 99). In the same issue I got the back page interview!! I was ridiculously excited about both the pattern and the interview (see below). And I still am. Anyway, enough time has passed that I can release Emergence of Spring as an independent pattern.
Fancy 20% off the pattern price? Click on the following text:
Photo taken by Lucy Williams for Inside Crochet. Issue 99.
I loved making this shawl. It was actually my Christmas Day 2017 make (and Boxing Day, and a couple of the following days!). The design was inspired by last summer’s holiday to Lancashire and Yorkshire, which you can read about HERE and HERE. I wonder if you see the same inspirations as me. There are lots of moments as a crocheter that push themselves to the front and this shawl (and all the stuff behind it) is one of them. I can’t explain why exactly because it’s a combination of things. But essentially what you need to know is this, I’m very proud of it and myself!
Cheers. X
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I’m learning to hate this headshot!My dogeared copy of Issue 99 of Inside Crochet magazine.
For the longest time I have really, really wanted to go to Menorca. I don’t know why, I’ve just had it in my head that that was where I wanted the next family holiday to be. I probably saw it on the telly and thought it looked like a paradise that was easy to get to. Also, I was vaguely aware that there was good food to be found!
Mitjana. Probably better when it’s not raining and you don’t have to hang out with nudists.
Getting There
We got there the usual way, EasyJet from Bristol. It worked out to be about £400 cheaper than flying via Flybe from Exeter, which annoys me because I could easily walk to Exeter airport from home.
Where to Stay
I spoke to a friend who went a year or two ago. She told me where she’d stayed and where she wish she’d stayed instead. The wish place was Ciutadella. It’s just under an hour by car from the airport, which is pretty much the entire length of the island.
We Airbnb’d it. I won’t tell you which villa we stayed at cos we didn’t like it. It looked the part but not only was it on a busy road, it also reeked of must and damp. It’s such a shame because it was a beautiful space, the gardens were big and the pool was lovely. If they’d looked after the inside like they did the outside, it would have been perfect. It was only a ten minute stroll to the nearest beach (Sa Caleta) and a supermarket wasn’t that far either. We booked in February, if we’d done so a few months earlier there probably would have had a better crop to pick from (I fell in love with a farmhouse surrounded by beautiful fields but nope, someone else had got their mitts on it first).
Sa Caleta.Sa Caleta.An avarcas wearing, beer drinking, lie down near the pool.
What we ate
Menorca has a reputation for its very good food. Therefore I assumed it would be dead easy to find a cheap little cafe or restaurant that local people loved. We didn’t eat out at any of those wherever they were. One place (a cafe in the main square of the capital city, Mahon) barely served real food at all, it was nasty. I also disliked the food at the restaurant we went to in Fornells. We chose a busy one (that’s what I thought you were supposed to do) but it was half arsed. I had stuffed aubergine as it’s a Menorcan classic but it was some disappointing brown slops on a plate. The other place we tried was in Ciutadella and it was the nicest. We ate grilled cuttlefish and patatas bravas and we enjoyed that, even with the party of ants that had joined us at our table.
It boiled down to this: we couldn’t afford to eat in the restaurants that give Menorca its good food rep. I didn’t get to eat the caldereta de langosta that I had my heart set on because it was too expensive. It’s sad day when you can’t even afford “peasant” food.
The markets? Sooo good and loads of fun!! I really enjoyed using some dodgy Spanish to ask for what I wanted (a huge change from my chickening out on last year’s trip to Spain). We went to the fish market in Ciutadella twice. We came back with loads to put on the bbq and it was delicious. Then there was a food market on the Saturday morning too where we bought locally made bread with sobrassada, eggs and some fruit n veg. We took it all back to the villa and had a lovely lunch with yummy stinky cheese that’s made on the island as well.
I almost forgot the fish market/deli in Mahon. That was fab but I was too full of crappy omelette from a crappy cafe to enjoy all the pretty tapas. We got a couple of things but dammit, I wanted it all! Gutted.
Meh, I didn’t research and paid the price. I’m forever cursed with being a lazy food snob.
Oh, I liked the gin a lot even though it’s “not real” gin (it’s distilled from wine not grain). It was interesting, refreshing and tasty. I liked it with schweppes, not lemonade as is traditional in a pomada. Came home with a bottle of that, some vac packed cheese and sobrassada. Yum.
When you tell the kids that conejo is chicken…Yuuuummmm!!!Fella selling pineapple from his wheelbarow. He was lethal with his blade
Stuff to do
You go to Menorca to go to the beach. You just do. It has loads of them. Beach too full? Walk to the next one. That one full? Pop across to the next etc… This is another reason why it’s a good idea to come in the half term hols. I gather that in July and August Menorca is heaving with people. Like sandy sardines in a tin. We avoided all the ones near resorts assuming they’d be busiest. We parked at Son Saura twice. The first time we went to Bellavista, which was very nice but the next time we parked here, we walked a bit further to Es Talaier. It was stunning. A beautiful, beautiful beach. There were a few jelly fish but we swam in the warm water anyway. The boys had never swam in the sea before and were beyond excited! I, however, didn’t swim too vigorously because a boob would bounce out the bikini if I got too enthusiastic.
Es Talaier
Oh, and Mitjana is gorgeous too. Sort of. There was a big group of loud teenage school kids on a trip plus a load of crusty seaweed spread across the shoreline. We walked further on and found a teeny cove to climb down to but I bust a flip-flop, which put me in a mood and there was nowhere to sit apart from a small spot next to Ugly Naked Guy.
Es Talaier
Caves! There were cool caves. Man-made by real cave men! We all really liked it here. The youngest boy absolutely loved clambering all over these. And you do have to climb a little bit to get to them. Good views when you’re at the top. I don’t think I’d want to live in a cave but they were fun to stop by.
The caves at Cala Morell
What else? I dunno. We went to Fornells but thought it soulless. Very grey. The littlest boy said it was like being on the moon. It wasn’t bad but it didn’t do it for us.
I’d like to have tried a couple more towns such as Es Mercadal and Ferreries. We ended up running out of time and felt like it wouldn’t be much of a holiday if we were rushing round trying to squeeze in as much as possible. The aim was to take it easy so we missed out on a few things.
I did go shopping though! Got some new shoes! Oh my, they are so comfortable and I’ve worn them everyday since I got them. If you find avarcas, get yourself a pair. I’d like all the colours of the rainbow, please!
In Ciutadella I found three (or even four) fabric shops and two places that sold yarn. Can you believe I didn’t buy any?! It’s not a woolly sort of place. The yarn wasn’t Spanish, so I wasn’t interested. OK, there was some Katia in an indoor market in Mahon but that’s not what I wanted.
Fornell. Like the moon but wetter.Avarcas
Conclusion
It’s more expensive than Venice! I feel naive for not knowing. But I’ve been and I’m glad of that. Box ticked. We’ve got some saving to do now. No more holidays abroad for quite some time. It’s been an indulgent couple of years. The children are old enough to buy us some freedom so we’ve been taking advantage of that. I also received a little bit of money when Nanna and Grandad died; I think they would have wanted me to enjoy it. I certainly did! Thanks N&G for Amsterdam, Spain, Venice & Menorca! It’s back to camping in Dorset!
A few more pics below.
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Nice bit of gardencrochet spottingFornellsCan you imagine what this terraced garden would look like in top notch condition?CiutadellaA tower thingy at Sa CaletaSa Caleta. Lots of pretty rock bits for clambering over. “Don’t go near the edge!”Mahon. Not as nice as CiutadellaMahonMitjana
Hola! It feels like it’s been ages but really it has been the usual amount of time, it’s just that I’ve been on holiday! For someone with a lack of crochet on the go I seem to have an awful lot to talk about. It’s all relative so don’t worry about any nonsense. See below for links to all things discussed in this episode, plus a few pics too. As ever, please click on the pic above to go to the episode or HERE to my YouTube channel. Thank you very much.
Howdy! Are you after some crochet talk? Look no further, Episode 31 of the Zeens and Roger crochet podcast is here! Click on the pic above to miraculously travel to the crochet podcast episode, or pop over and take a look at the whole YouTube channel HERE. Ta very much.
Don’t forget to take a quick look at some photos below, they pretty much show what crafty things I’ve been up to over the last couple of weeks. Cheers. X
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Links To Crochet Good Stuff
I got my star scissors from Stitchsperation. Charlie is a cross-stitch pattern designer; her designs are modern and super hot!
Dodgy Bag MAL Run by Cluadia of Crochet Luna and Ali of Little Drops of Wonderful.
On Monday, I began recording a video tutorial on my older method for making an easy crochet market bag. Crochet market bags are massive at the minute and, jumping on the bandwagon, I hit record and started crocheting.
I completed a few rounds of my old crochet market bag pattern before I started to question its construction. It became quite clear that I was trying to be way too fancy with the crochet pattern. Quite simply, there are some unnecessary increases included, and two years ago, I didn’t ask myself if there was an easier way. I’ve updated the pattern.
What we have here is a much simpler version of that old crochet market bag. However, it pretty much looks the same.
Here is the video tutorial for how to crochet an easy market bag using only one skein of cotton yarn. The written crochet pattern is below.
How To Crochet An Easy Mesh Market Bag
Notes & Things You Need To Make A Crochet Market Bag
3mm crochet hook
1x50g ball of DK cotton. Try DMC Natura Just Cotton (155m/170yds). Or, Rico Essentials DK works well, but it’s slightly less meterage, so you might want to remove a round of the main body, just in case).
The 3ch at the beginning of the first 4 rounds counts as a UK tr/ US dc
If you have very loose tension, it would be better to go down to a 2.5mm hook
The pattern is written in UK terms. Where it says “dc”, that’s a US sc and a “tr” is a US dc. So htr is hdc! Easy peasy.
No turns are made when making the main body of the bag.
Crochet Market Bag Pattern
Start with a magic ring (or ch4 and join with a slip stitch). Round 1: 3ch, 11tr into ring, join to top of 3ch with a sl st, pull the magic ring to close. [12 sts] Round 2: 3ch, 1tr into same stitch, 2tr into each stitch, join to top of 3ch with a sl st. [24 sts] Round 3: 3ch, 1tr in same st, 1tr in next st, *2tr in next stitch, 1tr in next; rep from * around, join to top of 3ch with sl st. [36 sts] Round 4: 3ch, 1tr in same st, 1tr in next 2 sts, *2tr in next st, 1tr in next 2 sts; rep from * around, join to top of 3ch with sl st. [48 sts]
The Mesh Section Begins
Round 5: 1ch, 1dc in same st, *ch3, miss 1 stitch, 1dc in next; rep from * around until the second to last stitch. At this point, ch1 and work 1 htr into the beginning dc. Refer to the chart above to learn how the rounds are joined. Placing a stitch marker on the last stitch of each row from here will help enormously. [24 chain spaces]. Round 6: *4ch, 1dc in next ch sp; rep from * around until second to last ch sp, 2ch, 1htr into the top of the last st of the previous round (ie, into the top of the htr of the previous round). Round 7: *5ch, 1dc in next ch sp; rep from * around until second to last ch sp, 2ch, 1tr into the top of the last st of the previous round. Round 8: *6ch, 1dc in next ch sp; rep from * around until second to last ch sp, 3ch, tr into the top of the last st of the previous round. Round 9: *7ch, 1dc in next ch sp; rep from * around until second to last ch sp, 3ch, 1dtr into the top of the last st of the previous round. Rounds 10 – 25: Repeat Round 9. Round 26: Repeat Round 8. Round 27: Repeat Round 7.
Add Stitches Around The Top of the Market Bag
Round 28: 1ch, 1dc in same stitch, 2dc in space, 1dc in dc, *4dc in each ch-sp, 1dc in top of each dc of previous round; rep from *, 2dc in last sp, sl st to join to 1st dc. [120 sts] Rounds 29 – 30: 1ch, 1dc in same space, dc around, sl st to join.
Adding a Crochet Handle
Row 1: 1ch, 1dc in same space, 1dc in next 6 sts, turn [7 sts] Row 2: 1ch, 1dc along the next 7 sts, turn [7 sts] Repeat Row 2 until the desired handle length is reached, or until only half a metre of yarn remains. (I made my handle approximately 18″).
Turn your bag inside out. To attach the handle to the opposite side of your market bag, count the stitches around the top of the bag. I had 120 stitches. You want your handles evenly spaced, so I counted 53 stitches along from the right side of my handle, and the next stitch (see pic below) was where I started to attach the other end of the handle. Make sure there are no twists!
The hook should be on the right-hand side. If it isn’t, add another row or remove one. Insert the hook through the first stitch on the handle and the chosen stitch on the other side of the bag. Yarn over and pull through all loops/stitches. Repeat for the last 6 stitches. Fasten off and securely sew the ends.
This crochet market bag pattern has been designed by me, and I really hope that you like it! I think it is such a useful bag, I have made loads; they are just perfect for shoving in the bottom of your bag for quick visits to the supermarket!
And if you enjoyed making your crochet market bag, why not take a look at my other free crochet patterns.
Hello. I’m a woman of few words today. Not in the video, though, that would be a quiet episode. Clicking on the picture above will take you directly to Episode 30 for your fortnightly dose of crochet chat. Going HERE to YouTube takes you to the whole channel where all the episodes and tutorials live.
It’s about time I got another crochet chat out, so here is Episode 29 of the Zeens and Roger Crochet podcast.
Immerse yourself in some crochet chat this week!
In this week’s crochet podcast, I share a few delightful things. Check out the photos of yarn and new crochet projects below, too.
Links To Crochet, Yarn & Everything Else!
The Venice blog post. I went to Venice! It was wonderful. We were drooling over the food. And I found yarn shops!
Hotchpotch Granny purse tutorial – I put together a video tutorial showing you how to make a magic knot, how to crochet this purse from the bottom up and how to add lining to your crochet purse.
I’ve decided that this cute design will be called a Hotchpotch Granny Purse, it fits the bill quite nicely don’t you think? It’s a crochet purse that uses a hotchpotch of leftover yarn scraps and is the perfect colourful crochet stashbuster.
You can also use all kinds of yarn and I use a magic knot technique to join yarn ends, which I think works very well with acrylic yarn. It would probably work well with wool too. I’m not keen on the magic knot for cotton, though. In my experience, the knot has slipped undone, especially with mercerised (shiny-coated) cotton. So, you might want to experiment with yarn scraps to see what works for you.
You can use any yarn to make a purse, along with your favourite corresponding hook size; there are pretty much no rules to this. If you’re unsure about hook sizes, check the yarn’s ball band to see what the recommended hook size is. As long as you have plenty of lovely woolly bits, you may find yourself addicted to making multiple crochet purses of all different sizes! Why not go heavy on the stashbusting here!?
Starting Chain For Granny Stripes
And sorry, I know I just said there are no rules but there is actually one rule: when you create the starting chain for your granny stripe purse, you need multiples of 3 plus 1.
However, if you’re a stitch or two out then I’m sure you can fudge it. Crochet is very forgiving, but aim for 3 plus 1, and you’ll be fine. This multiple is to evenly space the granny clusters.
Crochet Granny Purse Video Tutorial
I’ve filmed a video tutorial over on YouTube for this crochet Hotchpotch purse. Pop over to watch how to make a granny Hotchpotch purse. It’s a crochet pattern that’s easier to show you how it’s done rather than follow as a written pattern. However, if you would prefer a written pattern, I have an ever so slightly different version for a granny stripe cotton tote here.
Covered in the Hotchpotch granny stripe purse tutorial are:
How to make the magic knot (such an interesting technique!)
Working granny stripes into a purse from the bottom up
If you have never added a zipper in your crochet before it might well prove a useful tutorial. As you can see below it doesn’t have to be perfect, it gets covered by lining afterwards.
That’s just some dodgy hand stitching, which is perfectly acceptable for this hotchpotch crochet project. There’s another photo below that demonstrates how the embarassment is easily hidden by a matching green purse lining.
What Is A Magic Knot?
I don’t always use the magic knot but when I do, it’s like witchcraft! I demonstrate the magic knot in the hotchpotch granny purse video tutorial. It’s a seemingly scary technique that actually works very well indeed. I did a lot of research and discovered a lot of converted sceptics! Many many yarny folk rely on the magic knot and it never lets them down.
In a nutshell, you tie the end of Yarn A around the end of Yarn B and tie the end of Yarn B around the end of Yarn A. With a slidy motion the two knots are gently pulled together. Then, once nice and tight, you snip the ends leaving behind a neat knot. As I said, it might be easier to watch me demonstrate in the tutorial but the yarn was a bit squeaky that day, so it doesn’t look as gentle as perhaps it should!
I have only used the magic knot in my hotchpotch bags as it’s when I use lots of joins in the middle of the fabric I’m making. Most other times, I diligently sew in my ends because, in my opinion, knot tying is almost as boring as sewing in loads of ends.
I don’t want to go over this in great detail here as, you know, I have shown you how this simple crochet stitch is made in the video tutorial. But, granny is granny, which is to say, we are working with clusters of three UK trebles / US double crochet stitches.
If you know my catalogue of crochet designs you will know that the granny stitch is one of my absolute favourites, I use it allllll the time! Check out my free crochet patterns page, tis littered with granny goodness. And there are more examples on my Zeens and Roger Ravelry page HERE.
Although I won’t break it down in detail here, a brief overview of the plan for this hotchpotch project is to begin with a starting chain (multiples of 3 +1) and create a foundation round of UK dc / US sc stitches down and up the chain. Once you have completed the first round and joined it together, you build upon that foundation with loads of glorious granny clusters. The thing practically makes itself!
Different Sized Granny Purses
I use my little Hotchpotch purse granny stripe purse as my make up bag. But I have one as a notions pouch too. I then made a bigger granny purse for my sister, like a handbag, which I added leather handles to (see below). I added a few rounds of UK htr / US hdc stitches as a finishing touch to that one. These latter rounds also helped as an anchor for attaching the straps.
Using the stitch multiple rule, you can make a small coin purse, colourful handbag, or a tote-like shopper. There are lots of possibilities and not much stopping you!
The teeny tiny granny purse was 16 stitches. The small, 22 stitches. The make-up bag size was 34 stitches, and the handbag was maybe 49 stitches, but I can’t remember now and have eyeballed it from the photos!
The sizes will also vary depending on the yarn you use. So a 16-stitch purse made in Double Knit yarn is going to be a bit smaller than a 16 stitch purse made in aran weight yarn.
How To Make a Handbag-Size Granny Tote?
If you are making the bigger size with the straps, I recommend the following:
At the lining stage, use iron-on interfacing on the outside lining. Then place it inside the granny purse. Pin in place and decide on where you want the handles to be. Attach those to the outside of the bag, ensuring that as you sew, you also stitch through the interfaced lining. You then add the inner lining and neatly hand stitch or machine sew in place (mind those handles!).
There are lots of new ideas and projects but some of them I can’t show, soz! I can talk enthusiastically about them though! Please click on the above image to go to the latest episode or go to my YouTube channel for all my crochet podcasts / vlogcasts and crochet tutorials. Ta vey much.
xxx
