Blackberries from hedgerow to crochet hook
Blackberries abound
It’s time for blackberries! Every afternoon, I walk my dog for about an hour. For people who don’t know the capital city, you’d probably be surprised how many green spaces there are, expecially in the leafy North London area where I live.
From the vast grassy expanses of Alexandra Palace park (which used to be a racecourse, don’t you know!), to the ancient woodland of Queens Wood and Highgate Wood, up to the acres and acres of Hampstead Heath, there is greenery everywhere.
And over the past few months, there have also been blackberries in abundance.
Harvest time for blackberries
So, one day, I took a container with me and began to pick the beautiful ripe fruit. The difficulty was knowing when to stop!
Since then I’ve collected a number of batches of blackberries and the fridge is full of frozen fruit, and portions of blackberry compote. It’s delicious with Greek yoghurt and honey for breakfast.
I’ve also made jars of yummy blackberry jam, which go down well as an afternoon treat.
Blackberries – an inspiration
It got me thinking though – I had a dark blue ball of merino DK in my yarn stash, plus a dusky green – could I conjour up some crocheted blackberries?
The answer was definitely! I made a lovely little drawstring bag to keep all my crochet essentials in (scissors, round markers, tape measure, large-eyed blunt needles, pins and hooks)…
Here it is in progress. I started by crocheting a circular base, then worked up the sides in treble stitches, with some treble clusters to make the berries. A row of double crochet in the blue had 2-chain spaces all the way around to thread the cord through. The cord itself was simply a long chain, which I worked back along with slip stitches. The cord is threaded through the holes in the double crochet before a tiny blackberry ball is attached to each end to keep the cord in place.
I just need to complete it with a cotton lining with a blackberry print when I find some, but it looks so sweet now that I just had to share it with you.
So what would you have to have in your crochet kit? I’d love to know…