Today I'm going to share my current hooky love affair with you, but before we launch into all that I just had to show you these beautiful tulips....gorgeous aren't they? They were tightly closed when I first put them in water on Saturday and literally within a few hours the petals had started to unfurl.
Now then, did you spot the soft focus crochet behind the button jug up there? Just lately I've found it easier to do my hooky at the table rather than on the sofa so I've had the extra pleasure of working right alongside the tulips. The two go together beautifully, it's a double pleasure. And I'm all for finding and enjoying life's little pleasures, as you well know. As a matter of fact I've been having a terrific time with my latest crochet project, I absolutely adore the beginning of a new project, especially when I find myself falling head long in love with it right from the word go. Not all my crochet projects happen this way. Quite often I remain uncertain of my feelings for a good long while and sometimes it's not till right at the end that I really get to fall in love. But not so this project. This project was kind of like CA-POW! Instantaneous L:O:V:E.
So do you want to know what exactly I'm going on about?? Let me tell you the story.........
It all started with the yarn and it really was love at first sight. This is Debbie Bliss "Andes" which is a very luxurious blend of baby alpaca and mulberry silk. I came across it last autumn in my local yarn shop, the hanks were all piled into a basket inviting you to pick them up and stroke them, and really truthfully, therein lies it's charm. It's the softest, most snugglesome yarn I've ever come across. Its unbelievably soft and it feels amazing to have it next to your skin.
And then there're the colours. They are just b-e-a-utiful. Kind of intense but soft, rich but subtle, bright but gentle at the same time. The yarn has an incredible lustre which makes the colours seem to glow in real life, the above photo maybe doesn't do it justice. I chose nine colours in total, surprising myself by including that neutral colour in the centre (I know! Neutral!! Me choosing neutral and actually loving it!!) So....this is a link to my LYS where I purchased the yarn, and these are the colours, going from left to right ::
08 ruby 15 fuschia 07 coral 06 gold 05 camel 10 apple 09 sage 12 denim 11 tea green
So I met the yarn in October last year, but could not at the time justify the expense of it and sadly had to walk away. But I could not get it out of my head. It became the Stuff of My Dreams. I really, really, reeeeeeeeeeally wanted it. Badly. A few months passed. Christmas came and went and still I dreamt of getting my hands on that gorgeous Andes.
30th December and I decided that I could stand it no longer and I was going to Go And Get It No Matter What. So off I trotted to my LYS and I had a heart skippy time scooping up those hanks and Making Them Mine.
In my mind I had already formulated a loose plan for my Andes :: I imagined it worked up into something breathtaking to drape around my neck and shoulders. A scarf perhaps? A wrap? Shawl? Stole? Something generous in proportions, something utterly scrummy to drape about my person. I searched. I searched and searched for a suitable pattern/idea/snippet of inspiration. I put the word out on my Ravelry group and we discussed various ideas and options, but nothing truly seemed worthy of my beloved Andes.
Several weeks passed by and still I was waiting and wishing for inspiration to present itself. Then two weeks ago I received a comment on my blog with a possible pattern suggestion {Bernadette, I will be forever grateful}. This is where it took me.............................
..........to France, to this beautiful blog and then onwards to a wonderful, stunning creation made by a very talented French lady.
Wow!!! Oh WOWOWOWOWWWWW!!! I was totally and utterly smitten, love at first sight (again). It seemed that it was indeed the pattern of my dreams. Now my comprehension of French is a little bit sketchy, but I did manage to fathom that the original pattern came from a Japanese crochet book, and oh boy, I know all about the temptations found in those amazing little books. I eagerly followed all the links on arbrealaine's blog, discovering a written (French) pattern, plus a copy of the original Japanese diagram-pattern. There were also lots and lots of "ici" links taking me to lots of other wonderful french Blogettes who had all given this pattern a go. Take a look at this one.....
The above picture is the same pattern, but this time made by a super-talented French lady called Marie. You can see more on her blog L'atelier de Marie. Beautiful isn't it?? If you've got a spare moment, do go take a look at Marie's other crochet projects, she's made some very inspirational granny-square garments which I love.
Well as you can imagine, I was in quite a giddy lather by this point, I was soooo excited by what I'd found and couldn't wait to start. I used the diagram pattern found here and gave it a whirl with Stylecraft yarn to try it out.
I was so so so so happy with the way it turned out! And I figured that if the flower looked this good in the Stylecraft, then it would be simply amAzing in the Andes.
Now as I said, the pattern is out there in French Blogland and I guess you and I are at liberty to use it if we wish. However, I felt that I would rather have a copy of the actual real pattern, plus I knew as soon as I saw the front cover of the book that it would be a good'n to have. I went to my favourite Etsy seller Pomadour24 and of course the book was there....it's called "Motif Book Vol 4". And truly, it's gorgeous. Scrummy. Yummy-scrummy.
There's the Flower Scarf/Stole/Wrap thingy look....
....it seems odd seeing it in neutrals! I'm not sure if I would've been so tempted by it had I not seen it transformed with the use of colour {French Crochet Ladies, I will be forever grateful for your colour inspiration}
The Debbie Bliss Andes is a DK weight yarn which would normally be worked on a 4mm hook. However, it's quite a fine yarn and after a few little experiments with it I decided to switch down to a 3mm hook for this project. The resulting flowers are still a satisfying size mind you, and they are surprisingly easy and speedy to work up. They are really great to make.
They are also joined-as-you-go (yiippppeeeeeee!!!) so no fiddlesome joining procedures to endure. This really is turning out to be the perfect project you know. Blissful yarn, stunning pattern, easy making process, and (hopefully) an amazing end product. What's not to love?!
So this is where I'm up to with it at the moment...the scarf/stole/wrap thingy is a trapezium shape (well J tells me that's the word, blame him if it's wrong), four flowers deep. I'll be working out to the sides on the above picture until I get to the length I want :: the original design doesn't seem very long so I'll just keep going until it looks right or I run out of yarn. Hopefully not the latter.
Right-o, I need to go drink tea and smoosh my scarf/stole/wrap thingy before I go to bed, so I shall love you and leave you for now.
Well done for getting to the end of such a long-winded load of blurb, gawd, I do go on a bit don't I? Hope I didn't bore you too much. Thank you. Mwah. xxxxxxxxxxx
Edited to add :: After a great deal of discussion and debate re the tricksy issues of Copyright, I'm really sorry to say that I can't share this flower pattern with you or make a turorial for it either. I have to respect the law, the book publishers and the talented Japanese designer. Catherine, who published the pattern and French translation on her blog has also arrived at the same conclusion and felt it necessary to remove her post which I linked to above. I'm sure you all understand. Of course, it is still available in the beautiful book! I'm also working on a tutorial to aid the deciphering of the Japanese style charts/diagrams with the hope of helping those that feel phased by them. More coming soon xx
oh well, you've done it... My LYS sells debbie bliss andes and I'm in love with this pattern... I'll have to make something like this now and buy expensive yarn... *sigh*
;-) seriously, thanks for such an inspirational post!
Posted by: Froukje | February 14, 2011 at 10:12 AM
Lovely as always! Very impressed and can't wait for the full scarf.
Posted by: Dreamgirl | February 14, 2011 at 09:25 AM
What a beautiful and inspiring project! I look forward to seeing the end result...you really are a genius with color!
Posted by: Cameron | February 14, 2011 at 12:42 AM
Wow - just so beautiful - wonder if you realise what you've started (for the umpteenth time)?
Posted by: Jude | February 13, 2011 at 07:57 PM
Lovely pattern. I even liked it in neutrals but the Debbie Bliss yarns are...BLISS!
Posted by: Planet Penny | February 13, 2011 at 04:58 PM
This is my new favorite blog - you inspire my crocheting! Love, love, love the scarf. :-)
Posted by: KarenL | February 13, 2011 at 03:34 PM
Do you have a tutorial for the delicate looking inner flower ring please on the beautiful Japanese flowers?
Posted by: maypole | February 13, 2011 at 11:28 AM
Thank you very much for this post!
Posted by: Maria | February 13, 2011 at 11:28 AM
wow, thanks for posting the link on Jenny's site, this is gorgeous. I am enchanted. I am a novice at Crochet, but his looks very tempting. I will visit again and check out what else you have to inspire. I look forward to it! Thanks again for sharing.
Posted by: Lois | February 12, 2011 at 11:59 PM
Lucy, love the pattern!! I am SO new to crochet, but would love to figure out the pattern to the stitches. Is it US or UK crochet?
Posted by: karmastitch | February 12, 2011 at 10:22 PM
Oh Lucy, such crochet gorgeousness. Thanks for sharing so much loveliness with us. I can't wait to see your finished scarf/wrap. It is looking beautiful so far and I absolutely adore the colour combinations you have chosen. I so so wish I could crochet. x
Posted by: Fiona | February 12, 2011 at 09:38 PM
I love everything you have done and I do buy the Japanese books that you use and I will buy the french one but how do you read the diagrams. Love from Australia
Posted by: Sandra | February 12, 2011 at 09:07 PM
Hi Lucy,
Whew, what a week regarding the flower scarf.
I am fascinated with the flower scarf! It was LOVE at first sight for me.....all those gorgeous flowers hooked together......Mmmmm Mmmmm an absolute favorite. I too am going to buy the book but I do appreciate and thank you very much for sharing all that you do. Lucy, you are a WONDERFUL and LOVELY person and blogland just wouldn't be blogland without ♥you♥!! Thank you again, and have a wonderful weekend. Liz
Posted by: Liz | February 12, 2011 at 06:42 PM
Totally Lucy and Totally Fabulous!!
Posted by: robyn whipp | February 12, 2011 at 04:52 PM
Your site is fantastic; probably the best I have seen. Your sense of color and style is outstanding. I love going on and looking at what you have done. You give me such great ideas and inspiration. Your creations are like eating chocolate candy for a chocolate lover!!!!!
Simply gorgeous! Do you have an email address to send a question or comment?
Posted by: Debbie | February 12, 2011 at 04:23 PM
It is beautiful! I love the colors you picked and can't wait to see it on you! I want one too! :)
Posted by: Anuja | February 12, 2011 at 01:57 PM
That is so beautiful, I love your use of colour, have been lurking for a few weeksand made some birds and flowers. But now you linked to my local yarn shop, dam going to have to save up for yarn to add to stash. They have a group every fornight on this wk Thurs, from 7.30, free wine and can buy pretty things
Posted by: bewitched | February 12, 2011 at 01:43 PM
Oh how I wish I could make something for myself!! I'm still working on a knitted scarf from last year. At the rate I'm going it should be finished by Winter 2015!! Your scarf looks fabulous by the way.
Vicki xx
Posted by: Victoria | February 12, 2011 at 11:15 AM
Hi, I've been following you for a couple of months and heartily agree with your love for the Japanese crochet! I've ordered a few books from pomadour24 on eBay and also am lucky enough to have a local Japanese bookstore that stocks and orders crochet books and also a friend who reads Japanese, and she also crochets so she can help with the patterns if I need it. I'm just finishing a large granny afghan for my 3 year old son, so kind of feel like we are on the same wavelength theses days :) thanks for the great ideas, beautiful pictures and fun stories.
Posted by: Kim hull | February 12, 2011 at 02:35 AM
Hahahahaha! You are joyfully starkravingbloomingmad and I know exactly where you are coming from! Yes, your scarf/stole/wrap thingy will be gorgeous, I can't wait to see the finished product. I stroked some Debbie Bliss Andes myself last week... But I'm still working on 'Kitty's blanket' in James Brett DK, so I must wait to treat myself to something more luxurious.
Posted by: Claire | February 11, 2011 at 10:19 PM
Gorgeous as usual!
Posted by: eclectic gipsyland | February 11, 2011 at 08:41 PM
Very lovely yarn for a very lovely project. Looking forward to seeing your ta-dah post!
Pen x
Posted by: Pen @ Oliver Boliver | February 11, 2011 at 08:10 PM
Lucy, a lovely post as usual. Lovely scarf, its going to be wicked!! Hope you got my email the other day. Noelle xx
Posted by: noelle | February 11, 2011 at 06:46 PM
C'est une très belle étole !
Et très agréable à réaliser !
Posted by: Nath45 | February 11, 2011 at 05:40 PM
Wow Lucy! Absolutely b-e-a-u-tiful!!! I can't wait to see your tah-dah post! As usual you just inspire me....now I'm tempted to make it too...and get the book (hee, hee...you are quite the temptress! I also bought the other Japanese books, which I just adore, after seeing them on your blog!) Thank you for such an inspirational blog!
Posted by: Lisa | February 11, 2011 at 03:57 PM