Crochet blog

Last minute Easter pattern…

Published on April 6, 2019 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin3 Comments

I thought I’d drop by to let you know all about a really cute pattern I have found. It’s a quick make and the pattern is free (always a bonus!) and it would make a super cute Easter gift or spring gift.

It’s a very sweet little lambs hat, what could be more spring like…apart from a little fluffy yellow chick perhaps!

The pattern is available in all sizes from 0 -3 months right through to big peoples sizes and it is brilliantly written. If your thinking I’m not sure about making those bobbles there is a useful youtube link to help you with that. All in all this pattern would take you a couple of hours to make…that’s plenty of time to hook yourself a little flock.

I just adore how those lamb ears are low set and droop down.

Of course I made a pink one too…

So here are the pattern details…

Pattern by: Sarah Zimmerman

Pattern Name: Lamb’s Hat

Have you found any good patterns worth a shout out recently?

xxxxx

Heart baby blanket…

Published on April 2, 2019April 2, 2019 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin19 Comments

Here it is, my beautiful grey and white heart baby blanket…

I love this pattern, thanks to the very talented @emmacartercrochet for sharing this fabulous pattern which is called ‘The Ombre Heart C2C Blanket’ and which is also free!!! How generous to share such a brilliant pattern.

It is a corner to corner construction and therefore works up quite quickly. The version in Emma’s pattern has 5 colours which fade into each other, but I opted for a solid grey heart this time. I say this time, because this pattern is addictive and I already want to make more.

I opted to add a simple double crochet (single crochet) border in grey, and added one of my natural sustainably sourced cork labels as the finishing touch.

I just love the soft texture of this baby blanket…

I think the heart would look amazing in a swirl or gradient yarn, but I have chosen to make a rainbow blanket next, so the swirl may have to wait! After working on these calming grey and whites this is what I’m going to be using next…

My favourite colour…..Rainbow!

xxxxx

Grey and white…

Published on March 30, 2019March 26, 2019 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin6 Comments

I said I’d pop by to show you what is on my hook this week, so here I am.

But first of all, thanks for letting me know what you were making…I really enjoyed finding out what you were up to!

This week has been all about grey and white makes for me…and I can’t get enough of this calming colourway.

I have a corner to corner on the go right now

The pattern is The Ombre Heart C2C Blanket by Emma Carter Crochet.

I am really enjoying hooking this blanket. The pattern does not give a finished size and I was a bit worried it would either be too big or too small for what I wanted, but it is turning out to be just right for what I had in mind. It will make a decent sized baby blanket.

I have also made some grey and white burp cloths…well I just couldn’t resist!

Having said all that…my creative heart is now yearning for rainbow colours…so as soon as this is off my hook, I’m getting my rainbow on!

What colours are you working with right now?

All done…Vintage Vibe baby blanket.

Published on March 26, 2019March 26, 2019 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin12 Comments

Thank you so much for all the messages of support for my new Etsy Shop, whether it was over on Insta or in the comments thread here, I have been so encouraged by your wishes.

I have stopped by today though to show you a finished project…yes I know it’s been a while! Do you remember this…

The post is just here, if you want to read in more detail…but in a nut shell, I named this project my ‘Make do’ blanket, because I used the yarn from my stash and just made do with what I had. I honestly thought it would look rubbish…but, I actually really LOVE it.

The random colours coupled with the granny stitch give it a real vintage vibe.

I finished it off with this beautiful sustainably sourced cork label which I have recently had custom made. Check this shop out if you’d like labels like this (no affiliate link…I just love this shop!).

I bordered it in red, as this yarn was what I had the most of, I only just had enough to add one round of granny stitches…I really would have liked to have added several more rows to make a wider band around the blanket, but this is my ‘make do’ blanket, so one round it was.

All in all, I am thrilled with this make, it’s busted some stash, become something beautiful and was quite quick to make. I now have a corner to corner on my hook, if you follow me on insta then you may have seen some sneak peeks, but if not, I will put a post up all about that really soon…It’s an awesome pattern.

What have you got on the go at the moment? I would love to know.

Etsy shop now open…

Published on March 12, 2019March 12, 2019 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin14 Comments

For those of you who have asked…It’s now open. I have started with a little stock, but will be adding some more cute baby stuff very soon.

I would love your feedback, please pop over and tell me what you think…the link is just here or you can click the Etsy tab at the top of this site.

Off to do some more hooking now!

Have a great week.

Something new…

Published on March 11, 2019March 26, 2019 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin9 Comments

Hi lovelies…I have some really exciting news; which may explain my absence here at the nest over the last couple of months.

It is quite late here now and I have been trying to write this post since Friday, so I will keep this post short.

I have come to the point in my crochet journey, where I can no longer just crochet for crochet sake…I have more blankets than I can shake a stick at and I think my long suffering family and dear friends are done with my handmade makes!

So, after 12 months of deliberation and self doubt I have found my big girl pants and will be opening a little Etsy shop, very soon!!!

I have been busy making behind the scenes

Cute little baby hats

Baby burp cloths

and of course, baby blankets

and cakes too!

You can spot the theme…beautiful handmade baby essentials and toddler toys.

I will of course still blog…and don’t worry it won’t all be Etsy related, I promise.

You may see some housekeeping changes over the coming weeks, as I embark on freshening up the look of this site…I do hope you will bear with me and I hope you will continue to journey with me,

because I really enjoy having you along for the ride!

Valentine hearts…

Published on February 8, 2019March 12, 2019 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobinLeave a comment

Valentines Day is just around the corner, so I’m just popping in and out very quickly to share three of my favourite quick and easy ♥ patterns.

Firstly there is my free pattern for my yarny little heart

crochet heart free pattern — a yarny little heart

Secondly, there is this lovely heart stuffie…I love this pattern by MojiMoji Designs

Or do you fancy a C2C heart inspired square then look no further than this great pattern by MA Santos

So, there you have my favourite three heart patterns…what’s not to love.

♥♥♥♥♥

My Make Do Blanket…

Published on February 5, 2019March 12, 2019 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin11 Comments

I have been reviewing my yarn stash…I have lots of little balls and some big balls of mainly acrylic yarn…mostly Stylecraft special dk and some balls of ‘I just don’t know what’. They are leftovers from projects long gone by like my Happy Ripple

and my Very V Blanket

crochet v stitch blanket, rainbow blanket — Very V blanket from 2016

and the Cosy Cottage Blankets I hooked way back in 2014

Cosycattage blanket, ayarnyrobin, crochet blankets — Cosy Cottage Blanket by Attic 24

Of course, I did well last year de-stashing a lot of what I had with the lovely coastal crochet CAL

I was going to gather the rest up and take it to the charity shop…as I have felt for quite a long while that the numerous odd balls of this colour and that colour have been blocking my creative mojo. But, as I gathered what was quite a tangled mess a pang of guilt coursed through me…it seemed so wasteful.

I peered into the bag of what I had managed to detangle, not even sure if I liked the colours anymore, but I couldn’t shake that wasteful feeling. I also felt tired, but I needed to hook; and so before long a simple granny stripe (there are several versions of the pattern out there) began to fall from my hook. Even more surprisingly, the random colours were so very satisfying to my soul…as was the feeling that this odd surplus of yarn was not only becoming useful, but it was becoming something rather splendid indeed!

I am calling it my ‘Make Do’ blanket. I’m not sure what size it will be when it is finished…I’m not even sure how many chains I began with, I’m just making do!

What’s on your hook?

Cupcake Trio Crochet pattern

Published on January 31, 2019February 19, 2021 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin9 Comments

I am so ridiculously excited to tell you about my brand new crochet pattern for these deliciously scrumptious cupcakes...

I wanted to crochet some cupcakes a while ago, but I couldn’t find a pattern that was just what I was looking for, so I set about hooking my own and writing my own pattern.

I have had so much fun playing around and getting the pattern just how I wanted it.

I wanted my cupcakes to be plump and have an amazing icing swirl and I wanted them to be embellished with cute and delicious toppings.

These cupcakes would look just divine as a table display for a special occasion and would also make a very special play set for a children’s kitchen. The pattern is for all 3 cupcakes:

Mint oreo swirl