Picking Up Stitches — Knitting, crochet, cross stitch and more - the wonderful world of working with wool

Crocheted daffodils for Easter

March 25, 2024 by Annie Leave a Comment

Crocheted daffodils are just what you need to adorn an Easter bonnet! I realised that despite having lots of daffs in the garden every spring, I’d never designed any crocheted daffodils. So a few weeks ago, I put that right!

But first, here’s the inspiration for these crocheted daffs.

Autumn planting, spring colour

Every autumn I plant lots of bulbs in planters. I’m lucky to have so much choice at Youngs Nurseries, which is just a short walk away from my home along a footpath through the fields. The walk is a joy in itself.

To be honest, I’m never sure which variety is planted in which container, so it’s a lovely surprise when they eventually pop up in all their glory. They provide such a cheerful sight once February and March come around. It makes all the waiting worthwhile.

Here are just a few of the lovely blooms in my garden.

There are so many colours to choose from!

From classic long-trumpeted daffs…

to tiny, delicate blooms…

From yellows and oranges…

to whites and lemons…

Of course, daffodils (or narcissi to give them their proper name) come in all shades of yellow, white and orange. So the crocheted daffodils I designed can be made in any shade you wish too! The trumpet can be short or long. Why not create a variety, for a lovely multi-shade bunch. You can add pipe-cleaner stems too… A bunch of those in a little vase will definitely brighten up an Easter table.

Crocheted daffodils and Easter bunnies

Crocheted daffodils and easter bunny garland

I’ve even combined a few of these crocheted daffodils with the pretty little Easter bunny garland I designed last Easter. In fact I taught students how to crochet both at a day course for Kent Adult Education just last weekend. If you’d like to learn, too, don’t forget I teach 1-2-1 sessions or small group sessions in Thanet privately – just get in touch with me or see the Lessons in Thanet or North London page for more details.

I’ll be sharing the pattern on here very soon, so keep an eye out. Happy Easter!

Spring crochet in pastel shades

February 20, 2024 by Annie Leave a Comment

I can’t believe that spring is nearly here again! The spring flowers are beginning to bloom. Hellebores, daffs, and crocuses, snowdrops and primroses all bring a welcome dash of colour to the garden.

Welcome spring sunshine is gradually replacing the cold, grey mornings! So what better than a few projects in pastel shades to brighten up the wardrobe too!

Diving into the yarn stash

Luckily I found a few balls of Stylecraft Special Baby DK in my craft room. They were just waiting to be turned into something springlike! I decided to design a special square block to take advantage of all the shades. The block starts with a circle in the middle, followed by ‘petals’, and then builds up outwards until it almost turns into a granny square at the edge!

close up of centre of spring pastel block

Spring accessories

Once I’d made a few of these, I had to decide what to turn them into. I added a pretty picot edging, and turned five of the squares into a Spring neckwarmer. (Well, the chilly temperatures haven’t disappeared completely yet, have they?) And doesn’t it look perfect on this pinky-purple heather?

It’s even more beautiful worn around the neck, as this stylish model demonstrates!

I still had lots of yarn left though, so I decided to crochet a series of circles, simply using the centre of my pattern. I turned them into this spring belt – very 70s style! (It reminded me of my dog Lily’s collar, which is just like the one on this lovely wooden model of her from Studio Todd in Margate!)

70s style spring belt with a model of our dog Lily

And here it is on the heather in the garden!

Of course, to finish off the look, I had to make a matching circular bag! The strap has picot edging, just like the neckwarmer…

Hope you like my spring look!

Want to learn how to crochet them?

And, don’t forget, if you’d like to learn how to make any of these items and you live in Thanet, why not arrange a lesson and I can teach you. See here for details. Or see the Kent Adult Education website for details of a half-day Easter crochet class I’m teaching – perfect for a spring treat!

Easter Bunnies

February 3, 2023 by Annie 2 Comments

Easter Bunnies – what’s not to love! This year I decided that they definitely deserved an Easter garland all of their own. After all, Easter is only a hop and skip away!

I discovered that I had lots of pastel colours in my yarn stash. So I soon hooked a series of pretty little Easter bunnies with cute white bobtails. (Also, I’ve just taken delivery of a lovely colour pack of Stylecraft DK yarn in beautiful spring colours from Lincoln Wool Pack, so I feel a few more of these Easter Bunnies will be appearing around my house soon!)

The rabbits are each worked in one piece, apart from the tail, starting with the body, followed by the head and finishing with the ears. The little tails are sewn on at the end.

Although the little rabbits would look perfectly fine and dandy on their own, I thought little flowers would make the garland perfect.

I had so many flowers to choose from – remember my Springtime wreath (this is one of the crochet projects I teach, by the way)? Would any of these fit the bill?

Or maybe one of these, that I made years ago to grace the picture at the top of my website?

In the end, I came up with new one! Each flower is worked in two colours – so quick to make.

I chose to have a rabbit each end and a flower in between each pair.

Eastern bunnies and flowers laid out in order

Then they were all crocheted together with a little loop at each end of the string – a perfect garland of Easter Bunnies ready to hang up.

And once I’d finished the Easter bunnies, I realised that they’d go perfectly with a string of bunting I made before. My carrots and peas bunting! Do you remember that?

The pattern for that one is here.

Or you can read about the background to this bunting here

Don’t forget that if you live in Thanet, I teach classes for beginners, and the Easter Bunnies will be added to my list of crochet projects to choose from (I also teach at Broadstairs Adult Education College – see Kent Adult Education site for details about current classes). The pattern will be available on Ravelry soon, so keep an eye out there! I’ll hop along now!!!