Crochet Herb Pot :: Ta-dah!

I had a bowl of hot soup for lunch on Wednesday. It was "Moreish Mexican Chilli Bean" soup and was delicious, mmmmm. I would like to tell you that it's a terrific homemade recipe that I knocked up, but I would be fibbing. I don't really do homemade soups, I just cannot face all that chopping and prepping. So I go with the Opening The Carton approach.

There. Hot soup that taste's (almost) like homemade in a couple of minutes flat. After lunch whilst I was in the kitchen tidying away, I was hit with an idea. It came visually flying into my mind, whoooosh (which is happening a lot these days, love love loving all the Creative Vibes I'm getting!)

So instead of flattening the carton and slinging it in the bin, I rinsed it out, measured it, double checked the measurements, then set to work hooking up a jacket to wrap around it. I used exactly the same method as I did for the tuna tins, only of course I made many more stripes. I had a huge amount of fun playing with the colours, working the stripes through a sort of earth~grass~sky~clouds type of idea.

But as lovely and delicious as the stripes were, I had something else to add.

A flower. A simple circle, with a stem and two leaves. A few buttons for extra detail.

I stitched the shapes to the stripes using ordinary sewing cotton and tiny stitches so that they were invisible. I stitched the stem first, then the leaves, then the flower on top. Afterwards, when everything was attached in place, I used the Rowan cotton yarn and a darning needle to add a bit of chunky decorative stitching on top. Little straight stitches radiating out from the flower, and a line of backstitch running up the centre of each leaf.

I love decorative stitching. Whenever I do it, I always tell myself I should do more of it (I thought this when I stitched my Jolly Festive bunting letters)

There you go, there it is with all the stitching finished.

So. Can you see where this is going?

You know this is a wrap for my empty soup carton. And you know if you took note of the post title that this is going to have something to do with herbs, right?

Fresh Parsley to be precise. I'd love to hear how you buy fresh herbs in other parts of the world? Here in the UK, we have a choice. We can either buy a pre-packed cut bunch of them, or we can buy fresh living herbs growing in a pot, like the parsley in the picture above.

I like the idea of living herbs, but truthfully they are very flopsy, leggy little plantlets in an insubstantial plastic square pot. They flop and droop and look all sad if you take the plastic wrapper off. So my idea was to make a pretty container for them to stand in. Something tall enough to hide and support the thin leggy stems.

And the soup carton happened to be the perfect size and shape. Absolutely perrrrrfect.

Before I could slip the parsely pot inside it's new home, I took some scissors and trimmed the rim of the pot off. It was just a smidge too big to fit with the rim left on. It was easy to cut as the plastic is very thin indeed. I was all prepared to do battle with the scissors, but no need.

So shall we have a little ta-dah moment now?

Ok.

Here it comes...............

Ta-DAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One crochet herb pot. Complete with insect life. Aww I couldn't resist adding the little bee button, I've had him sat in my button box for such a long time with no real hope for his future. The bee came as part of a mixed pack of small insect buttons which I bought (along with quite a few others) many years ago. They're called "Dress It Up" buttons and there are hundreds of designs to choose from. Easy to find them online if you like this sort of thing (which I really do)....see here for bees and other critters.

I'm really, really happy with my herb pot. Like ridiculously happy with it. 

I love it cos it turned out just the way I had in mind, and it does the job so beautifully. And I love it cos it's sparked off yet another idea............

........I'm thinking about a long, rectangular stripy cushion with a whole row of appliqué crochet flowers. Kind of like Caroline's paper flowers but in crochet form. A flower garden cushion. Oooooooooo how exciting!!!

Buzz buzz buzz. So many ideas buzzing in! Where on earth are they coming from? I could really do with a bit of a let up now so that I can settle back down with my ripple.

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ps :: about the soup carton. You don't have to use a soup carton. It could be any sort of carton with the right dimensions. In the UK, we have almost identical sized cartons for many of our liquid products  including fresh fruit juice and long life milk. I know this cos I went round the supermarket with Little Man's animal ruler to measure all the cartons I could find. Yeah I know.

x

Edit to add :: the yarn I used here is Rowan Handknit Cotton dk. It's a lovely, soft cotton yarn in beautiful colours, and I love it for decorative projects because it holds it's shape so well. It produces a soft but slightly stiff material, unlike the Rico Creative cotton which produces a soft but floppy material, if that makes sense. I've also gone down to a 3.5mm hook instead of the usual 4mm to make the stitches nice and tight.  Rowan yarn is quite expensive at around £3.60 for a 50g ball. But I adore working with it and will always have a basket of it in my cupboard. I sometimes look on ebay to buy up odd balls of discontinued colours which are often much cheaper. I would be interested to know what cotton yarns are available in the US which might compare? x

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Bari Jo]

Pure genius you are!!! I just LOVE this too... I haven't even gotten to the tuna cans and now I will be looking at milk cartons a whole new way! ;o) I am not sure about the cottons here in the US - I am just learning crochet but we have a store called Hobby Lobby and the cotton I have tried is their brand, called, I LOVE THIS COTTON and it seems to work up nice - splits a wee bit, but still seems to work nicely for baby cloches and I have also made a few dishcloths of it and also Sugar and Cream cotton yarn... sure would like to find some of the Rowan that you use!

[Jille]

Although I have never left a message before, I often drop by. I love your makes and your choice of colours is always so amazing. Keep up the good work!
Jille x

[susan]

What is it like to have such a marvelous brain?! You should really be able to get rich off of your ideas, they are that great.

[Lululoves]

What a gorgeous idea - we buy fresh herbs and they always end up looking sad on the windowsill! :)

[Krista Escobar]

Hi Lucy-

How funny that you're wondering about cotton yarns that compare... I'm wondering how to get Rico Creative Cotton here in the States. :-)

I'm still new to crocheting...well, I've known the very basics for years, but only about 6 months ago decided to Get On With It and further my crochet education, and so I don't have as much yarn info as some. I've been looking at KnitPicks which seems lovely and does have some yarn that are 100% cotton. I think I may use their Swish Superwash Merino for a ripple that I'm contemplating as a wedding gift for my brother.

I hope you feel better soon!

[Alessandra]

so so so CUTE !!!!
You are really great; love xxx Alessandra

[Val]

Lovely! What a great idea! Here in the US, we have Lily's Sugar and Cream cotton yarn. Sounds like the same sort of thing. And our herbs come in both pots and bunches too!

[melissa]

Easiest veggie beef soup ever and requires no chopping.

brown 1 pound of ground beef, drain it if you need to. add in a thawd package of frozen mixed soup veggies, add in a can of crushed tomoatoes, 1 small can of tomato sauce, 4 cups (1 box) of beef stock or broth, plenty of spices like salt and pepper, a tad of garlic, maybe a bit of rosemary. Let it simmer for about 45 minutes. then throw in about a cup of un-cooked pasta (i use small elbow for this, but the bow ties are cute too) and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the pasts is soft.

its fast, its easy, its delicious, and it freezes well.

[Shannon]

So pretty! I am in awe over how quickly you seem to just whip these projects out. That would take me about two weeks! Happy stripes and something growing are just what's needed on these grey days.

[Allison]

Lucy, you are a very clever girl. As far as purchasing herbs, our local grocery stores only offer prepackaged fresh herbs, which are okay if you are desperate. In the city (Houston), where grocery stores are more expansive in their offerings than here (East Texas), you can buy freshly cut herbs in water, which you can also do at farmer's markets. We grew for a market in Houston for a time and offered fresh herbs this way. Around planting season (spring & early summer) you can find fresh herb plants to transfer to pots or into the garden. We plant lots and lots of basil (from seed) in our garden. We also have fennel, oregano, rosemary and a very large bay tree. For spring and summer we'll set out a few other herb plants like thyme, sage, parsley, those sorts of things. Hope you get to feeling better soon.

[Launi Anderson]

I usually use Peaches and Cream yarn because it comes in lovely cones and a million colors. Sadly, it has really gone up in price in the last few months--nearly double. So I may have to take drastic measures and look around for something else. I've made baby hats and headbands and slipper and buntings out of the stuff though and I'm quite hooked. :}
Love your herb pot. Love it.

[Sher]

Hi Lucy - there are several cotton yarns that aren't too expensive here in the USA. One such yarn that may be the stiffy kind is Lily Sugar and Cream. I find this year in stores in the USA very cheaply - its sold at Michaels Craft store, AC Moore, JoAnns Fabrics and at many online stores. I think its made by Bernat. The downside is that the color selection in the stores is often limited but the yarn comes in 70g balls with 120 yds or so. I get it on sale for under $2-US by using coupons at the stores named above. Another stiffy cotton yarn is Lion Brand Cotton. Very similar to all I listed above. Martha Stewart now has a cotton yarn but it's softer and more pricey. Hobby Lobby stores sell their own yarn brands called "I love this.." such as I love this yarn, I love this cotton, I love this wool, etc... it comes in tons of colors and is only available at Hobby Lobby. It's also a bit softer than the lion and lily. Amazon US sells some of the lion and lily brands. Most places I looked up did offer international shipping but it does add a bit to the overall cost. Best of luck with the cotton yarn shopping!

[Susan E]

Gorgeous

[Zuleika]

Very cute! If I could keep my parsley alive long enough I'd make one too. hehe

[Zuleika]

Very cute! If I could keep my parsley alive long enough I'd make one too. hehe

[Esther]

Dear Lucy, you do not stop to amaze me. It's beautiful. Artist!!. xxx from southern Spain.

[ScoobyDoo]

Just love it! Lovely colours again, Lucy - what a clever girl. I might just copy Annie and think about tackling a 'prezzy' version for my herby friend. She's a bee-keeper too, so I must hunt down some of those lovely little bees. Thanks for another clever idea.

[Willow]

what a clever lady you are!!! I love your creations. simply MUST try this one too :-)

[busylittlechicken]

That's lovely!!! Do you fancy doing a swap? I've tried to attempt crochet, and it looks nothing like yours!! I'll make you an A6 padded fabric note book, with any label you wish on the front, in return for a crochet 'soup' cover?? If you feel like giving it a go, let me know....(busylittlechicken) :) Lovely work by the way..:)!!

[Vicki@easyhomecraft]

Ingenious...Love the colour combo and the bee just makes it!

[Anja]

Just toooo cute! What a lovely idea *savedinmyhead*!!!!

[Tammi D]

I have a recipe for an easy can opener type where you can control what goes in:
Three Bean chili Chowder

1 gr pepper
1 onion
chop and sautee in 1 TBSP vegetable oil
Add remaining:
3 cans beans (you pick type, rinsed and drained)
2 (I think it's 2 and not 1 or 3) cans (14 - 15 oz) whole tomatoes (cut up chunky) w/ juice
1 cup picante
1 cup chicken broth (I normally add the whole can and adjust seasoning to taste)
1 tsp cumin
salt & pepper to taste

garnish w/ chopped gr. onion, shredded cheese, and sour cream

I love to serve w/ corn bread.

[Cathy]

Wow! That is one gorgeous herb container. I love the little bee button too. Looking forward to seeing the flower garden cushion now too!! XX

[Emily]

Lucy you are so adorable! It is a very festive addition!

[Beth]

Wow - very cute and ingenious idea, Lucy! Absolutely LOVE your blog - there's just so much inspiration! I'm with everyone else on encouraging you to write a book! A lovely, soft cotton yarn available here in the U.S. that I love working with is Cascade Ultra Pima DK yarn (http://www.cascadeyarns.com/cascade-UltraPima.asp). Comes in tons of beautiful colors! It's a little pricey, but a dream to work with. Probably not stiff enough for this little project, definitely not as stiff as Peaches and Cream or Sugar and Cream, but very wonderful stuff! Hope your creative brain streak continues on for some time, Lucy! We love these great ideas!