Fabric and Crochet Heart Tutorial: Part 1

Hi everyone!

Hope you all had a great weekend :)

Mr P. came back from Belgium, to lots of love and fanfare: we had a spur-of-the-moment best friends invited dinner party (which was wonderful!) to celebrate, and on Saturday afternoon, Mr P. took the girls to see the new Alice in Wonderland movie. I stayed home to work on this tutorial (am I loyal?...or what...call me Rover ;) ), but didn't get very far, as my dear friends Heinrich and Mandy called to ask if they could come early (of course!!!!), and we poured some excellent red wine, and chatted....

Soooo.... dear blog friends, my deepest apologies for the delayed posting....

Well, I haven't forgotten or abandonned the Mystery Blocks...hope you are all knitting and slaving away at making them, but I will post the follow-up next week, and wanted to do something a little different in between!

A lot of people left comments indicating they wanted tutorials on quick, easy to make items, that can be useful, gifted, etc. I am compiling a list (watch and see...), but while this process was being brainstormed, the idea for this tutorial below, leapt up, hand in the air, yelling..."Pick me!, Me! Me! Meeeeee...!". So here it is! I will leave some ideas for completely different uses, tomorrow at the end of the second part of the Tutorial. :)

Fabric and Crochet Heart Tutorial: Part 1

Requirements:

Smallish bits of fabric
Merino Fleece stuffing (or stuffing of your choice, eg polyester etc)
A sewing machine that can do plain 'ol straight stitch
or a hand that can do plain 'ol straight stitch ;)
Sewing cotton in a colour to match your fabric
Scissors
General use sewing needle
Tapestry needle
DK (double knit thickness/weight) yarn (I have used Rowan's Handknit cotton)
Crochet Hook 3.75mm
An iron




Step 1. I have the pattern available as a PDF file, which I will send to anyone that email's me requesting it... Although this is my original pattern, and is copyright protected, I give permission for you to make up this item for personal use, charity use, selling etc....AS LONG AS YOU
DON'' T MASS PRODUCE IT!!!! I really do not want to see some business churning them out like nobody's business. I feel that people should be able to make something to sell and earn a bit of income, but still respecting the original creator's vision for the item...so enjoy to your heart's content friends!!! :)

Step 2. Choose a fabric. I have made this heart from a thrift store pillow case, something you can usually find if you search a bit. Really, 'tho, any pretty fabric is fine... You can play with scale and proportion of pattern...just rememeber that the pattern fits on an A4 paper size, so if the scale of the pattern of the fabric is huge, you might lose the overall effect...

Step 3. Cut the pattern out. You will see that there is a turquoise dot at the point of the heart pieces...this is just to show you how to overlay the smaller piece onto the bigger piece later, ie the points must match up! Where I have indicated "Cut Two, one reverse", you cut the piece out from a single layer of fabric, turn the paper pattern piece over (NOT the fabric), and cut out the second fabric piece . You always place the pattern pieces onto the right side of the fabric. It doesn't always show clearly on this green and pink fabric I have used, because it is quite thin, but that's how you do it :)

Step 4. Right! The pattern pieces have been cut out and all laid out, right side up.

Step 5. We'll work on the pointy small bit first. Take the piece on the left side (Step 4. pic), and flip it over onto the other piece, essentially placing the right sides of the bits facing.

Step 6. Sew together as indicated, using straight stitch.

Step 7. Open up, and press the seam flat.

Step 8. Fold so the two wrong sides of the fabric are facing, ie the seam is enclosed and hidden.
Press again.

Step 9. Place the newly made bit onto the big heart piece. Make sure that the right side of the big heart is facing you.

Step 10. Make sure the heart points match up.

Step 11. Pin carefully.

Step 12. Sew pieces together as indicated. Press flat.

Step 13. Take the other big heart piece, and place it onto your sewn heart, making sure that both right sides are facing each other.

Step 14. Note: Leave the small indicated area unsewn. You will use this opening to turn your heart inside out.

Step 15. Pin carefully all around, sandwiching all the layers together.

Step 16. Sew along the outside edge, leaving the small area from before, unsewn.

Step 17. Using sharp-nosed scissors, snip/clip the seam edge, as shown...do not cut the actual seam...This makes things easier when turning work inside out and pressing.

Step 18. Turn your heart inside out, and making sure all the seams are nicely pushed out, press flat.

Step 19. Remember the small open area? It hasn't been sewn up, it just looks like from the pic above because I folded the seam allowances inwards, as shown.

Step 20. Stuff the heart using whatever stuffing you prefer. I have used a gorgeous soft 100% merino fleece, which is so soft and gorgeous and natural... it also stuffs evenly and doesn't leave lumpy bits.... You can get contact my friend Linda, if you would like to purchase some...

Step 21. You'll now close the opening, using a matress stitch... I apologise for the lack of sharpness of the pics, didn't look properly while taking them (really bad me!!). I hope you can follow along ok....Thread a general sewing needle with cotton thread. Make a knot in the end, and starting at one edge of the opening, insert the needle as shown, pull thread through, go to next step.

Step 22. Insert a little way along the open edge, as seen above, and pull thread through...

Step 23. Do the other side of the open edge...

Step 24. I have included this pic, just to summarize the procedure. I hope it makes sense...
Continue until you have reached the other end of the opening.

Step 25. Gently pull your thread through...and hey Presto! the seam closes up!!! Finish off with a double back stitch to anchor your stitching...

Step 26. You have finished the first part of this project...cool! :)

Tomorrow we embellish....

If you would like the pattern emailed to you, please send a request to heidibearscreativeblog@gmail.com


In celebration of all things heart, this was a joy to see... don't you just love a heart?

Other interesting links: Liked this, really??? ...no... not really (for me at least!)

Word of the day

Cardiomania

a condition describing a mania for hearts

Have a lovely evening,

Lots of Love,

Heidi :)

Thank you!

Well....I can officially say that I have had the best day yesterday! I was so blessed and spoiled by my dearest friends, thank you Pete and Lans, Heinrich and Mandy, Linda and her family, Carla, my family and all the others... and most of all to my precious husband and girls .... :) Love you all...



I hope the blocks are coming along allright, I will give a day or two before doing the next step...gives you all time to be ready with all the blocks...



On another note... I am sooooo excited...can't wait for it this weekend...check it out my friends! I am taking the girls :)



Have a good day :)



Lots of Love,

Heidi :)

(Semi-) Officially Half Way!

Well Folks, I can officially say (as close as I can imagine anyhow...), I am middle aged today! Yes, indeed, today I turn 40!!! Kind of momentous, yet strangely it doesn't feel much different to 39?

Above is a pic of the Maluti Mountains, in the Free State in South Africa. The teeny, tiny little housey thing somewhere in the middle is the Golden Gate Hotel, which is in....yes! you clever people, The Golden Gate National Park! A whole bunch of us went for a 6 hour hike up to where I took this pic. It was in the middle of winter, so everything is a bit dull and brown, but in summer after the rains, everything turns green....it's awesome!

Ok, back to the mystery toy!

Mystery Toy

Requirements:

6 balls of yarn, in different colours (preferably colours that sort of go together)
I have used a lovely 100% merino hand-dyed yarn, in DK

One 3mm pair of knitting needles
(I have used circular needles, but straights are fine too. The knitting needs to be a bit dense, so I used a smaller needle than one would normally use on a DK weight yarn).

A pair of scissors

8 (5x5x5cm) firm foam blocks (I went to the local upholsterer, who cut them quickly)

A tapestry needle for sewing up seams

Row counter

I suggest that you label (in your mind, that is...or on paper), each colour yarn, A, B, C etc as shown. Things can be a little confusing if you don't keep track...

It is customary to give a gauge (to new knitters: this refers to the "tightness" of the stitches, ie some people knit very loosely, others very tight....so you can imagine what will happen if the knitted item is a jersey... totally the wrong size if the pattern-follower and the pattern-creator have different knitting tightness! So... you will usually see something on your pattern that says "gauge", or "tension", followed by "___ stitches per inch, ___ rows per inch. Some pattern makers use "____ stitches over 10cm, ____rows over 10cm", and what you then have to do, is knit a "gauge/tension swatch", and see how your knitting tightness compares. If you have less stitches per inch, you will need to either knit looser, or increase your needle size, so that you achieve the right number of stitches per inc etc. If you have more stitches per inch, you will have to knit tighter, or decrease your needle size. It may initially seem complicated, but will all make sense as you keep knitting.)

For this project: I have knitted at 7 and a half stitches per inch (don't be distracetd by the half, it simply means that I have half a stitch or "v" at the point where the inch ends), BUT in reality, gauge for this project is not critical, as the foam block we will be covering are compressible, so different tensions won't make enough of a difference to be a problem.

However, try to keep the tension the same in all the squares and rectangles, so you don't end up with a lop-sided item... ;)

Step 1. You will be knitting two basic shapes: squares and rectangles.

Square:

Using the thumb cast-on as in the previous tutorials, cast-on 13 stitches. Knit one row, turn around, Purl the row etc until you have completed 18 rows in total (9 Knit, 9 Purl).

Cast off.
Your square should be about 5cm x5cm

Rectangle:

Using the thumb cast-on method, cast on 27 stitches. Complete 18 rows as above.

Cast off.

Your rectangle should be about 5cm x 10cm

Colour A: Make 4 squares, and 2 rectangles (In my case, Royal Blue)

Colour B: Make 4 squares, and 2 rectangles (...Red)

Colour C: Make 4 rectangles only (...Yellow)

Colour D: Make 4 squares, and 2 rectangles (...Orange)

Colour E: Make 4 squares, and 2 rectangles (...Light Green)

Colour F: Make 4 rectangles only (...Dark Green)

If your blocks are not exactly the size indicated, please don't worry, I will post a short How-to about blocking and all should be well... :)

And just look at what arrived...birthday flowers! From my dearest husband... Thank you :')

One interesting link...

Right O! I am off for a sushi lunch with my best friends... I hope you all have a wonderful day...filled with peace and contentment :)

Lots of Love,

Heidi :)

Tutorial: Knitted blocks toy

Hi all my friends :)

I had a lovely day today... In the morning I did some knitting at home, preparing for the Blocks Toy that will happen over the next couple of days, then I went to our knitting group, where my dear friend Linda, another lovely lady, and myself sat and knitted and chatted. We were short a few people, but they should all be back again next week... These Wednesday mornings are a real treat for us, and I look forward to the companionship, and the pleasure of shared interests...
We laugh, joke, encourage and generally enjoy the fact that young and old can "sing along", so to speak...

Friends are precious, and I am so grateful for mine... so grateful...

We have two very large iron lights on our porch, and over the months a series of Red-headed finches have been nested and raised there. It's a wonderful thing to hear the sqwauking, shrilling and general complaining coming from the nest, especially early in the morning. Makes me realise that babies are birds of a feather (ha, ha!), human or bird, they are all demanding (I guess I should be more grateful that I have two arms as well as two legs, the notion of nappy changing using a beak just makes me....wellllll....I actually don't have the words!)

Today is my precious husband's birthday. Although he is not here, I want to wish him a love- filled and remembered birthday!!! We love you, and appreciate you and can't wait to see you, Mr P!

These lovely roses are from the Flower Market, I couldn't resist this colour combination! Love it....really love it...love it, love, love it!!! Ok, I hear you, you get the point.....

Makes me want to paint again...

The pic at the top of the post was taken in a stunningly beautiful area in South Africa called Mabalingwe, which is a game reserve. Mr P and I did a mountain bike race through the reserve, and I took this pic after the race day. Very nice place...

The Blocks Toy project is one that I really want to share with you, because it is really easy to make, and simply addictive to play with. Kids will love it, and adults will try resist (after all...you know...mmm...we're like....adults! )
However, I have had a bit if a dilemma.

The original toy (which I have used to draft a pattern) was given to me by a lady who ran a small quilt shop. This was about 12 years ago, and of course I have long since forgotten the name, etc of the giver... I do not know who designed it, nor do I know where it came from before, nor what the pattern's name is. I have tried to google every conceivable combination of words, phrases, ideas etc, in the hope that I find the original creator.... but haven't even come close to finding a picture that looks like this... Sooooooo, I am making an appeal: if anyone has come across info re this project, please let me know! I am very sensitive to respecting people's intellectual property, and do not want to infringe on someone's rights and inadvertently hurt their feelings. If I do receive info re the originator , I will give full credit and respect to her/him on my blog!

Now that that is out there in Blogland, I will get on with the process!

Mystery Blocks Toy

Requirements:

6 balls of yarn, in different colours (preferably colours that sort of go together)

I have used a lovely 100% merino hand-dyed yarn, in DK

One 3mm pair of knitting needles

(I have used circular needles, but straights are fine too. The knitting needs to be a bit dense, so I used a smaller needle than one would normally use on a DK weight yarn).

A pair of scissors

8 (5x5x5cm) firm foam blocks (I went to the local upholsterer, who cut them quickly)

A tapestry needle for sewing up seams

Row counter

Ta Da! That 's it :)

First set of instructions follow tomorrow!

Word of the Day

steenth:

an adjective meaning:

one sixteenth

Some interesting links: this is something I always suspected ;)

and this just plain freaked me out!

Have a lovely evening!

Lots of Love,

Heidi :)

How to Knit: Tutorial 3, Casting-off

Happy Tuesday all!

Today was a wonderful summer's day here in SA. Hot, vivid blue skies, and signs of growth all around... ooooh I LOVE summer. Winter and me don't really play nice together, so I am enjoying every moment. I had to collect some photographs for a client today, and it just so happens that the binders' office is at the flower market. I walked around the most glorious flowers, roses, orchids, lisianthus, carnations, and so on and on ...... stunningly beautiful! I really felt a tremendous thankfulness for the beauty I could experience :) I bought some bright pink gerberas, and some purple roses for Linda, some red roses for my mom, and some lovely apricot coloured roses.... and all this was on impulse, I should actually have collected the pics and left, but was so taken by the loveliness...

And just when you thought it was safe to go into the water...um, sorrrry....kitchen, Marmalade once again makes his appearance. He was seen sculking into the kitchen, and when I shoooo'd him, he ran to the corner where the milk is kept, and as brazen as "if you please", he sticks his snout into the corner, and sits!!!!! No fear.... the little miscreant!
Obviously, he thought, that if he can't see us, we can't see him...So now I have a major dilemma.... my girls have vowed permanent rioting should any harm come to Marmalade...does anyone have a suggestion as to how I can deter Marmalade from establishing permanent residence in our pantry?

Now, thankfully, back to knitting!

Ok, so you have learned to do the two foundation stitches in knitting. That's cool, because you have a whole world of items available to you to knit now! All you have to learn, is the cast-off and you can start to make the mystery toy I have been planning... :)

Step 1. Ok, you have completed 18 rows (9 knit rows, and 9 purl rows), and you are back on the "knit"side. Knit two stitches.

Step 2. Using your left hand needle, you will push the point into the loop of the first stitch that you knitted in Step 1. Take a look above.

Step 3. Taking care not to let the second stitch (from Step 1), slip off of the right hand needle, pull the first stitch over the second and allow it to come off the right hand needle.

Step 3. I haven't yet let the lifted over stitch drop, so that you can see exactly what it looks like.

Step 4. And this is what your work should look like now...

Step 5. Knit another stitch, so you again have two stitches on the right hand needle.

Step 6. Repeat exactly as before...lift the first stitch over the second, and let it off the right hand needle.

Step 7. Repeat this procedure until the end of the row, where you are left with two stitches on your right hand needle, and nothing on the left.

Step 8. Repeat again, don't worry that there are no stitches on the left needle, use it to loop the cast off stitch.

Step 9. Leaving a generous tail, cut the working yarn.

Step 10. Being careful not to twist the last stitch, thread the tail end through the last stitch, and gently pull tight.

Step 11. Voila! You are feeneeshed mademoiselle.... :)

And so your square is complete. Fear not that it doesn't yet look like a square, but like a rectangle....you will learn how to block your squares tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will hopefully have a bit of time to post some interesting links, and perhaps do a new

word of the day!

Have a lovely evening,

Lots of Love,

Heidi :)