Crocheted rainbow bunting

Crocheted rainbow bunting made in June 2019 to celebrate Pride month. 

I started making it when Ravelry made it's announcement that it was banning conversation about Donald Trump on its website as follows:

"We are banning support of Donald Trump and his administration on Ravelry. We cannot provide a space that is inclusive of all and also allow support for open white supremacy. Support of the Trump administration is unambiguously support for white supremacy. For more details, read this document: https://ravelry.com/content/no-trump"

This is a position I wish to support.

Long tall sally crocheted scarf pattern

ABBREVIATIONS (using UK terms)

st - stitch

ch - chain

tr - treble

htr - half treble

PSM - place stitch marker in previous ch (or st) just worked

dc - double crochet

sts - stitches

MATERIALS

2.5mm and 3.00mm crochet hook
I used Rico's Creative Melange one 50g ball was enough for my scarf (65 inches long by two and a half inches wide), if you make yours longer or shorter, you may need to adjust yarn quantities.
Darning needle
Two stitch markers

GAUGE

32 st x 20 rows worked in pattern equates to 4 inches though please note, the width of the finished scarf is only two and a half inches. It's a tall and skinny scarf (hence the name!)

HOW TO WORK THE SPECIAL STITCHES IN THIS PATTERN

dangle ending:

3 tr in 4th chain from hook, 4 tr in next ch, 4 htr in next ch, 1 htr in next ch

dtr3tog:

yo twice, insert hook in previously worked st, yo, pull through st (4 loops on hook), (yo, pull through 2 loops) twice (2 loops on hook), yo twice, skip 1 st, insert hook in next st, yo, pull through st (5 sts on hook), (yo, pull through 2 loops) twice (3 loops on hook), yo twice, skip 1 st, insert hook in next st, yo, pull through st (6 loops on hook), (yo, pull through 2 loops) twice, yo, pull through 4 loops on hook, ch 3

dtrxst:

yo twice, skip 1 st, insert hook in next st, yo, pull through st (4 loops on hook), yo, pull through two loops, yo, skip 1 st, insert hook in next st, yo pull through st (5 loops on hook), (yo, pull through 2 loops) 4 times (1 loop on hook), the stitch looks like an upside down lowercase “y”, ch 1, tr in intersection of the “y” to complete an “X” shape

FOUNDATION ROW

If, like me, your chains tend to be on the tight side, use a 2.5mm hook to ch multiples of 4 (I did 464), change to 2mm hook, ch a further 22, make a dangle ending (see above special stitches), dc in each of next 15ch, PSM, dc in every ch to end, 15 ch, turn

Row 1:

make a dangle ending, dc in each of next 8ch, htr in next st, tr in next st, dtr in next st, ch 1, dtr3tog, *ch 3, dtr3tog, repeat from * until 2 sts before you reach the stitch marker

ch 1, dtr in previous st (indicated above), tr in next st, htr in next st, ch 18, turn

Row 2:

make a dangle ending, dc in each of next 11ch, dc in each of next 3 sts, dc in 1ch sp,

dc in centre of dtr3tog, PSM, * 3 dc in 3ch sp, dc in centre of dtr3tog, repeat from all along length, ending with dc into the centre of the final dtr3tog, ch 20, turn

NB do not worry if your work curls a bit like this like mine, it will even out later

Row 3:

make a dangle ending, dc in each of next 13 ch, dc in every st up to and including stitch marker, remove stitch marker, ch 29, turn

Row 4:

make a dangle ending, dc in each of next 19 ch, htr in next ch, tr in next ch, dtr in next ch, ch 1, PSM, *dtrxst, ch 1, repeat from * all along length, ending with ch 1

NB Each dtrxst should span a 3ch space inbetween the dtr3togs worked on row 1

The final repeat should span the final 3ch space of row 1 (as above), skip 1 st, dtr in next st, tr in next st, htr in next st, ch 26, turn

Row 5:

make a dangle ending, dc in each of next 19 ch, dc in each of next 3sts, dc in 1ch space, PSM, * dc in next st, dc in 1 ch sp, repeat from * all along length up to and including marker, remove marker, ch 23

Row 6:

make a dangle ending, dc in each of next 16 ch, dc in every stitch all along length until stitch just before marker, remove marker, ss into next stitch, fasten off. First half of Long Tall Sally scarf complete.

FOUNDATION FOR SECOND HALF

Turn scarf upside-down. With the end with three dangles to your right, identify the third ch from the foundation row (see below). Reattach yarn there and then ch 22, turn

Row 7:

make a dangle ending, dc in each of next 15 ch, dc in same ch as yarn reattached, dc in each of next 4 st, PSM, dc in every ch all along length until stitch indicated below

ch 18, turn

Row 8:

make a dangle ending,  dc in each of next 8 ch, htr in next ch, tr in next ch, dtr in next ch, dtr3tog, *3 ch, dtr3tog, repeat from * working the final leg of the dtr3tog where stitch marker is, remove stitch marker, ch 1, dtr in same st, tr in next st, htr in next st, ch 13, turn

Row 9:

make a dangle ending, dc in each of next 6 ch, dc in each of next 3 sts, PSM, dc in 1 ch sp, dc in centre of dtr3tog, *3 dc in 3 ch sp, dc in centre of dtr3tog, repeat from * ending with final dtr3tog, dc in each of next 2 sts, ch 20, turn

Row 10:

make a dangle ending, dc in each of next 13 ch, dc in next 3 sts, PSM, dc in every st all along the length up to and including stitch where stitch marker is, remove stitch marker, ch 21, turn

Row 11:

make a dangle ending, dc in each of next 11ch, PSM, dc in each of next 2 ch, 1 htr in next ch, 1 tr in next ch, 1 dtr in next st, *ch 1, dtr in next st, repeat from * all along length, ending in dtr in st where stitch marker is, remove stitch marker, tr in next st, htr in next st, ch 24, turn

Row 12:

make a dangle ending, dc in each of next 17ch, dc in next st, PSM, dc in each of next 3 st, *dc in 1 ch sp, dc in next st, repeat from * all along until you have no more ch sps, dc in each remaining st up to and including where stitch marker is, remove stitch marker, ch 17, turn

Row 13:

make a dangle ending, dc in each of next 10ch, dc in every stitch all along length up to and including stitch marker, remove stitch marker, ss in next st, fasten off.

FINISHING

Blocking does not make much difference to this scarf's finished appearance but do feel free to block if you have any curling issues as it will straighten this out.

Close up of the dangle endings.

My dishwasher is having a laugh

Your dishwasher packed in ages ago, you've been handwashing the dishes for months. You finally get round to calling the repair shop and they ask "what's the problem?" It's been so long, you've forgotten. You run the machine ... and it works .... perfectly. 

Gah, pass the Nivea!

Not quite Doctor Who crocheted scarf

There are coincidences and then there is serendipity. This story falls under the latter descriptive noun because it's not just a random fluke, the universe has been purposefully whispering to me and the conjunction of two things has produced this scarf.

Firstly, over three or four visits to the Wool Zone in Oakham, I have been collecting one ball of each colour in Stylecraft Yarn's new Bellissima range. It's wonderfully soft; definitely wearable next to the skin,  I wanted to make something with it but I wasn't sure what.

Secondly, I have seen publicity online for the Special episode of Dr Who to be broadcast on New Year's Day.  Jodie Whittaker is wearing the most gorgeous scarf, it looks like it's made with some kind of fleece fabric, of course I prefer winter scarfs to be knitted or crocheted. The original was designed by Mark Smith in Nottingham, unsurprisingly, his on-line shop has sold out already!

You can see where I'm going with this ... 

In a perfect universe, there would be a teal in the Stylecraft Bellissima range but when I put my colour cards together, that's when I realised I was meant to crochet this scarf. Sugar Snap stands in magnificently and looks just great. All the same, if Cosmic Santa is reading, he could drop a hint to Stylecraft that the next colour in the Bellissima range should be teal. (And if  I'm not being too greedy, orange as well ...)

If Doctor Who discovers a ball of Bellissima Teal in the future, I hope she will use the Tardis to drop it off at my house about 5 nights ago, that would be much appreciated.

If I'm not back before, I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. 

xxx

Moving into the new craft room

My new craft room in the loft is nearly ready to move into. It’s been a busy few weeks trying to fit the decorating in amongst having a week’s holiday and keeping my bead shop stocked.

I hadn’t done any wallpapering for about twenty years but fortunately, I hadn’t forgotten.

There is a lot of work in the ceiling. It looked a bit like a sauna when the matchboarding was first fitted. I wanted a distressed look ... which takes more doing than you might realise. All the nail holes had to be filled and sanded (I had a power tool for that bit so it went quite quick).a A coat of antique pine wood dye got rid of the new timber colour, then a single coat of watered down emulsion. To make it look like it had naturally weathered off, those layers were then h.a.n.d. sanded.  I couldn't use the power tool for that bit as I had to go slow and steady and stop when it looked right. At this point, I was beginning to wish we'd just plastered the lot as it would've been much quicker to just put two coats of emulsion on it but finally it was sealed with two coats of clear satin varnish and I'm delighted with it. All the work removed my fingerprints, for a fortnight my iPad refused to recognise me unless I put my passcode in!

The bannister is being fitted today by the joiner as I type. We’re having floor to ceiling spindles rather than a short one with a handrail on top, as you can see, the staircase has an integral handrail so doesn’t need another. The tall spindles will be a bit of a design feature as well as stopping anyone falling down the side of the stairwell.

The electrician is coming on Monday to fit light fittings, socket and a small heater.

,,u

The contents of the craft room have been collected from storage and are in boxes in the spare bedroom.

Some self-assembly storage shelving thingees are also arriving next week but there seems to be far more boxes than I remember ... I’m hoping it will all fit!