Bright 3D crochet flowers lariat

Got new variegated crochet cotton in pretty yellow-pink-green colours and decided to make a bluebell lariat for the spring season. Added some bright green balls embellishments and sparkly green leaves and here is my new addition to the collection.

Crochet cotton lariat with pretty bluebells

Have recently finished a lariat in one of my favourite designs. It features bluebells in salmon pink with pretty green leaves and other embellishments. A colourful piece of neck jewellery for spring and summer.

Crochet snowflakes

Christmas is just round the corner and it's time to get tree decorations ready for the festive season. I have finished my crochet snowflakes to decorate my own Christmas tree. Also they are available for purchase on etsy.

Snowflakes are stiffened with a fabric stiffener and will stay nice and firm even till the next Christmas.

The Remebrance/Veterans Day Red Poppy

The red remembrance/veterans poppy is an emblem of Remembrance/Veterans Day due to the red colour as a symbol for the blood spilled in the war. We wear it to remember the members of the Armed Forces who have died in the line of duty.

Crochet poppies

Poppies are quite popular perennial flowers in England. My garden is full of them and I really like variety of their shapes and colours. So they actually inspired me to making more crochet poppies in white and peach.

Butterfly Dangle Earrings

Thought you might be interested in making, wearing or just having as an idea for your next craft project this pair of pretty dangle earrings in butterfly shape. Gorgeous pretty things for a summer outfit available in my etsy shop

Graduate owl crocheted toy amigurumi

Let's celebrate the graduation!




This graduate owl will make a great gift to yourself or a friend. It is hand crocheted and filled with non toxic and non allergenic polyester filling suitable for children. Size: approx. 5 1/4 inches tall and 3 1/4 inches wide. Pattern by Tamara Nowack (Nowacrochet). All rights reserved.

Crochet flower lariat

Crochet and knitting are everywhere in fashion, especially in jewellery and accessories. 
Flower/floral lariats are fun to wear. With the mixture of colourful 3d flowers, leaves and other tiny embellishments they will brighten your day and add personality to your wardrobe.


I had great fun making them, choosing different colour combinations. And I love what I've managed to get at the end.

I like combination of dusky/hot pink with purple and mint in this one.




This lariat is really bright with lilac/purple and fuchsia colours.



Reminds me bright autumn day in the park.




Early and tender spring is coming with these pastel colours.

Handmade Amazon Kindle covers

Recently I bought my first Amazon kindle e-reader and found myself really obsessed with reading. Some people prefer paper books as nothing can substitute the feeling when you are reading a real book with its special smell of paper. With the kindle I like the idea of being able to download books and keep them in one place without cluttering my bedroom.  Besides it is small, fits into a handbag and I can take it everywhere. I think it's a great gadget especially when you have to travel a lot.

My second purchase had to be a nice cover or a sleeve for my kindle. I did a search online and got some covers that looked quite nice but I wanted my cover to be different those on the market.

And I made it myself. Really like knitted bold cable patterns so my first cover was made in one of those patterns - so called bold French braid. This cover snugly fits the Amazon Kindle 3/3G and Amazon Kindle Fire e-readers.








For your project you need wool, hardcover and felt or fabric for lining, button and elastic to make a closure. Alternatively you can knit or crochet a closure. I have used the same pattern for different type of wool with lurex which adds some sparkle to the cover








My favourite cover though is in a mixture of autumn shades with a coconut button.




Floral design is always a hit!













There's also something for cat lovers.

Crafting on holidays

Hi, Just returned from long holidays. I caught myself thinking that I could not pass by the wool shops. I have my favourite places that I always try to check while on holidays. As the result, new thread - and new necklaces. Gold and silver are always in fashion, especially for special occasions.











I like the coral one. This shade is created by combining the two strands, so looks bright and at the same time gentle. I presume my sister enjoyed modelling it.

Have you tried Etsy new useful tools yet?

Just found new Etsy useful tools. Well, they might be not new as I'm not really the first one to get new widgets person. I think they are quite cute. I'll try one of them on my blog. It allows you to see 10 treasuries you've created or you are featured as a slide show, all treasuries are clickable so you can view them in details.



Widget was created by EtsyTreasuries.com Treasury Shop which let you browse hundreds of curated Treasuries at a glance through a 3D wall gallery. You can view it in 3 different ways - Top 300 Most Popular, Top 300 With Most Comments, Top 300 Newly Listed. You can quickly view treasuries with color scheme and find your style from hundreds being curated everyday.This will help buyers who especially looking for wedding items (Wedding category) where everything should match and fall under a specific color scheme and find everything they need in the treasury.

Treasury Shop also enables Search Tool where you can search by tags, title or curator and get relevant results.

Try your widget!

How to make a necklace cord

Recently I was asked to show how I make a cord for my crochet necklaces/chokers. Sorry for delay, my computer has been down for a while but now I'm ready to share with you some of my secrets :-)

I’m more used to American crochet terms, so the pattern is given in American terms.

Here is a crochet terms conversion chart to UK crochetters.
US                                     UK

chain(ch)                           chain(ch)

single crochet (sc)             double crochet (dc)

double crochet (dc)           treble (tr)

half double crochet (hdc)   half treble (htr)

triple crochet (trc)             double treble (dtr)

slip stitch (sl st)                slip stitch (sl st)


First of all you need to make a slip ring or a magic ring or magic circle, the same thing just having different names. I found this picture which was very helpful for myself.






But if you need more help here is a video from youtube uploaded by tjw1963

Round 1. For slip ring leaving 4” end of thread, make a loop, insert hook through loop from front to back, yarn over (see picture 1) pull through loop to form ring, yarn over, pull through loop on hook (picture 2), make chain 3 and 7 dc in a ring, pull end of the thread tightly to close ring having 8 dc including chain of 3 stitches at the beginning. Do not join rounds, continue in spiral.

Round 2. Working this round in back loops, sc in top of chain 3, sc in each dc around (8 sc). Turn stitches of rounds 1 and 2 wrong side out, bring 4” end through center of ring, Backside of stitches will be on outside of work. Stuff 4” end inside the cord.

Continue working round 2 in back loops, making sc in each stitch around, do not join rounds! Finish when you get desired length. I normally make a 20 - 21" long cord.

Last round. (Sc in next stitch and skip the next one) repeat 4 times (4 stitches left).

For the clasp make a chain of 13 stitches and slip stitch to the 3-rd stitch in previous round.  For clasp bead cut 4" long tread and wrap it tightly around the beginning of the cord (1/2" from the end). Secure all ends (I use some fabric glue to keep ends safe).

For my necklaces I use 100% mercerized crochet cotton size 20 and a hook size 1 - 1.25 mm. I do my stitches quite tight, if you are used to make it a bit loose, use size 1.25 mm. I would say try and make a test piece to check you tension, if the tension is too tight use larger hook, if the tension is too loose, get a smaller hook. Do experiment! Some charts that I’ve found in the internet refer metric size 1.25 mm to size 4 (UK) and 10 (US).

Any maker of thread will do – DMC Chebelia, Aunt Lydia, Whoosh, Lesur Empress, Crochetta, Twilleys Southern Comfort, Coats. If cotton is slightly thicker (size 10) it is still fine for a necklace. I prefer mercerized cotton as the cord comes stiff enough to keep its shape.

Then just add some motiffs - flowers and leaves, make them in solid colours or variegated ones,





and your necklace is done! You’ve made one of a kind piece of handmade jewellery! It’s a perfect gift for a girlfriend, a friend or maybe a treat for yourself.













You'll find more ideas for necklace designs here or watch my video on youtube

The same cord can be used as a bag handle, depending on the size of a bag, you can make a thicker cord. I suggest using thicker thread (DK cotton) for handles, it’ll make them stiffer. If you want really thick handles, follow the above instructions but make more dc in a slip ring in round 1 and use larger hook. And then just stuff handles with toy stuffing.

Ideas for using crochet flowers in projects

Hi everyone. It's a long time since my last post. I've been working outside my hobby but managed to fulfil some of my new ideas. I'll show you them later.

Still I'm making my little flowers. Pansies are still my favourites and lately they were very popular on etsy and I got a lot of orders from the UK and USA. Actually I counted the quantity of them that I've sold and was quite surprised to find out that it was more than 1200. A couple of years ago when I got back to my hobby and picked up my hook and fine thread I was just enjoing experimenting with them, trying different combinations of colours and shades and textures and was delighted to find out that people actually liked what I made. But I never knew how they were using my flowers. But due to their feedbacks and orders I found out how creative people were.

So here are some ideas for the projects where you can use crochet flowers.

First of all crochet flowers are embellishments and are widely used to brighten your clothes especially for little ones.

This field of crochet flowers was made to order to embellish a poncho for a toddler girl.

They look stunning on your scarf and gloves

They can be widely used at home decor - to embellish lamp shades and duvet covers.

If you wear hair accessories these pretty handmade slides will make you look different.

They are also very popular among scrapbookers as the flowers are of the size which is suitable for small projects and will add special touch to your cards.

I hope my ideas inspire you in your own projects, if you crochet flowers but not sure how to use them.

If you are interested in purchasing my tiny pansies they are available in my shop on etsy. Or you can buy them here.

A set of 25 hand crochet from cotton mercerised thread pansies in bright colours.

Size: 0.8" long and 0.8" across.

These pansies will look great as clothes accessories, especially jeans, or bag/cushions embellishments. They are ready to fulfil any of your creative ideas. You can use them as a single item or group them together.

All prices include postage fees, just choose the quantity you are interested in

crochet pansies

15 flowers $12.50 25 flowers $18.50 50 flowers $32.50

Crochet Floral Necklaces

Recently I've started a new line in my crochet jewelry based on usage of Irish crochet elements - flowers and leaves.

Irish crochet technique originated in Ireland in the middle of 19th century during the great potato famine when women had to find additional ways to support their families. With distinctive needlework traditions they created real masterpieces with complicated motifs and patterns. Quite often one piece was created by more than one person.

My crochet necklaces and chokers are crocheted from mercerized cotton thread in a variety of colors and shades. Each necklace is one of a kind and is made either in one predominant color/shade or a combination of colors for adding more brightness and life.

They seem to be quite popular in my etsy shop. Just pop in to have a look.

Meaning of Green

According to Wikipedia the word green

is closely related to the Old English verb growan, “to grow”. It is used to describe plants or the ocean. Sometimes it can also describe someone who is inexperienced, jealous, or sick.

Culturally, green has broad and sometimes contradictory meanings. In some cultures, green symbolizes hope and growth, while in others, it is associated with death, sickness, envy, or the devil. The most common associations, however, are found in its ties to nature. Green is also associated with regeneration, fertility and rebirth for its connections to nature.

My Green treasury is definitely inspired by the Nature and appeared due to amazing craftsmanship of etsy artists.

 

First row (from the top):

1. Green Forest Necklace by Daimblond

2. Two Little Birds by Enchantedpond

3. Scented Mini Tree by Kaleda

4. Deep Blue Sea - Peyote Stitched Beaded Cuff Bracelet by Mysticfibers

Second row:

1. 12 Crocheted Green Cotton Leaves by Flowersbyirene

2. Sky Cubes Earrings by TonyaUtkina

3. Knit Victorian Cape Cowl Scarf Shawl Wrap Stole apple lime green with yellow flowers by Allmadewithlove

4. Fully Reversible Modern Everyday Canvas Tote Handbag by Thebagshop

Third row:

1. Photo Print - FRIENDLY NEIGHBOURHOOD by Yuliyaart

2. Lampwork Beads Set by Britanika

3. Sweater Dress in Bio Linen by Mirthquakeclothing

3. Bella brass verdigris earrings in brass by Fleurfatale

Fourth row:

1. Purity by VaidaP

2. Felted Necklace by Galafilc

3. Pomme de pin by Anasousa

4. Pillow Case Starling by Mirthquake 

Nature Inspired Crochet Flowers

Recently I've uploaded a video on youtube with my crochet creations and want to share them with you. You might like them!

My Crochet Flowers Featured in Treasury List on Etsy!

If you happen to sell on Etsy you know the excitement while you are waiting fo the treasury to open. Once you get a chance to make your own list of fellow etsians' creations it's getting exposed to everyone who is interested in art and crafts. And it's a pleasure to find your own things in treasures of handcrafted items.
Today my crochet cotton flowers in burgundy are featured in this lovely selection of goodies in purple made by Daimblond. Aren't they beautiful?