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Friday, August 31, 2012

Smoothie of the Day!

Hello friends!
Lately I have been making myself a fruity smoothie every morning for my breakfast. The ingredients vary, depending on what's available :-)
This mornings smoothies was made from: raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, red currants, strawberries, banana, mandarins (freshly picked from our tree!), ginger and mint!! YUM!
I just pop all the ingredients into a jug, added a little bit of water (if I'm not using any citrus fruits sometimes I add a bit of soy milk instead of water), then I whizz it all up using a stick blender :-) You should try it!! :-)

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Dentelle Cup Cosy



Hello friends! Yes, it's time for my August "Pattern of the Month"! 
This month I have written a pattern for a sweet little cup cosy. It's very easy and fast to make, & only uses a very small amount of yarn. It's perfect for using up all those little bits of left over yarn and it makes a lovely last minute gift.
A great gift for a tea or coffee loving friend is a special cup/mug, a handmade cup cosy and some of their favourite tea or coffee :-) Perfect!

Dentelle Cup Cosy

Materials:
25-30m 8ply/DK/Light Worsted Weight yarn
4.5mm crochet hook
Button (optional)
Tapestry needle for weaving in ends

Gauge/Tension:
Base Circle should measure 8cm (3 1/4") across.

Abbreviations (Please Note: British/Australian Crochet Terms are used in this pattern, with U.S. crochet terms in parenthesis):

ch: chain
st or sts: stitch or stitches
sl st: slip stitch
tr: treble (U.S. dc: double crochet)
bpdc: back post double crochet (U.S. bpsc: back post single crochet) 
Shell: Shell

Special Stitches:
Bpdc (Bpsc) is worked around the shaft of the treble stitch from the row below as follows:
with front of work facing you, insert the hook from the back to the front on the right hand side of the stitch you are working around, then insert hook to the back of the work, on the left hand side of the stitch you are working around, yarn over, draw up loop, yarn over, draw through both loops on hook, bpdc (bpsc) is complete.
Shell: 3tr (dc) 2ch, 3tr (dc) all in same stitch.

Pattern:
Ch 4, join with sl st to form a circle.
Round 1: 3ch, 11tr (dc) into circle, join with sl st in 3rd ch at beginning of round. (12sts)
Round 2: 3ch, 1tr (dc) into st at base of 3ch, 2tr (dc) in each stitch to end, join with sl st in 3rd ch at beginning of round. (24sts)
Round 3: 3ch, 1tr (dc) into st at base of 3ch, 1tr (dc) in next st, * 2tr (dc) in next st, 1tr (dc) in next stitch, repeat from * to end, join with sl st in 3rd ch at beginning of round. (36sts)
Round 4: 1ch (does not count as st), * bpdc (bpsc) around next tr (dc) from previous round, repeat from * to end, join with sl st in 1ch at beginning of round (36sts)
Round 5: 3ch, skip 2 sts, Shell into next st, *skip 2 sts,  1tr (dc) in each of next 2 sts, skip 2 sts, Shell into next stitch, repeat from * until 4 sts remain, skip 3 sts, 1tr (dc) in last st, join with sl st in 3rd ch at beginning of round.
Next Row: 3ch, Shell in 2ch space of Shell from previous round, * 1tr (dc) in each of next 2tr from previous round, Shell in 2ch space of Shell from previous round, repeat 3 more times, 1tr (dc) in last st (the last stitch of this row is the 3rd ch from beginning of previous round). DO NOT JOIN. TURN. (You do not join these Rows, as you need to leave a space for the handle of your cup/mug)

Repeat last Row until your Cup Cosy is the right height for your favourite cup/mug (approx. 2cm or 3/4" from top of cup/mug). Take care not to make it too tall, as you need to leave room for your lips to sip from your cup :-)

When your Cup Cosy is at the right height, do not cut yarn, create a button loop, as follows: ch12, sl st in 1st of these 12 ch, dc (sc) around the opening left for your handle. Cut yarn & fasten off, leaving a length of yarn long enough to attach a button on this side of the cosy to correspond with the button loop on the other side :-) 
If you want to make your cup cosy more versatile and able to fit various size cups and mugs you may like to omit the button and button loop and simply make some ties using ch st, that you can tie around the handle of your cup or mug, making it easier to accommodate various sizes :-)
Weave in ends. Relax and enjoy a cup of your favourite tea or coffee and admire your handy work! :-)

PLEASE NOTE: Always take care when handling cups or mugs of hot liquids and take care not to spill hot liquid by always holding your cup by the handle. Having a woolly cup cosy on your cup/mug can make it slippery to handle or hold if you're not holding the handle of your cup :-)

© Copyright Shara Lambeth Designs. Copyright remains that of the author at all times. The pattern is for personal use only. Reproduction of this pattern in anyway (electronic, email, photocopying, transcribing etc) is strictly prohibited, except with the explicit permission of the author. Please do not sell the pattern or the finished product that is made using this pattern without permission of the author, as this is a direct infringement of the copyright laws protecting this pattern. Also please be aware that copyright laws vary from country to country (sometimes even from state to state), I am Australian, in Australia, therefore my patterns are protected by Australian copyright laws. This copyright protection still stands no matter what country the item is made in or who makes it. Thank you :-)
If you do want to sell the cup cosies you make using this pattern at a market, craft fair or in your online store please do ask, as in most cases I will give permission :-)
And please feel free to make as many cosies as you like for yourself, your friends and your family.

Monday, August 27, 2012

A New Hat


Just a quick post to show you a sweet hat I knitted for my niece for her 7th Birthday :-) I used some red "String Me Along" from SWTC to add a bit of sparkle. She thinks it's pretty fabulous :-)
I'm a little bit in love with "String Me Along"... I have purchased several spools of it from Stranded In Oz :-)