Skipton Hat ::

Those of you who follow me over on Instagram may have seen back in September, the hat I crocheted myself on the train on the way to Yarndale.  I grabbed a skein of yarn and a hook as I was running out the door in the morning and by the time I arrived in Skipton I had a fresh new hat upon my head! 

I loved that hat a lot and wore it all weekend,  plus I purchased myself a turquoise fluffy pom pom to go on the top of it from CoopKnits whilst at the festival. I promised lots of you at the time that I would get the pattern written up so you too could make your own. It's taken me ages to finally get round to it, but last week, when the original hat's whereabouts became a mystery to me, I decided it was about time I wrote up the pattern and made myself a new hat (I'm still hopeful the original hat might turn up as my Sirkku Mittens are also missing, so I'm guessing they are just both hiding in a mystery location somewhere together).

I love this hat for many reasons, firstly it's a perfect way to show off a 100g skein of DK yarn, it's a super quick, easy and satisfying make, I don't expect everyone to get their's done over a train journey, but it's certainly a weekend project. Plus it's really lovely to wear, it just has a really nice comfy fit, with lots of slouch in the back, which for me is just how I like my hats.

You can download the PDF here. I'd love to see your makes so if you're posting on social media, use #SkiptonHat and #VickiBrownDesigns. 

Shop for DK yarns here :)

Happy Hooking x

The Crochet Sock Club ::

Over the past few months I've been working on a new crochet collection, starting from February I'll be launching one crochet sock pattern every 2 months as part of a club. Every other month (February, April, June, August, October and December) I will be producing a box which will include a printed pattern and hand dyed yarn to work up a pair of socks (dyed by me, exclusively for this club).

Each box will be available to purchase singly and will go on sale a month prior to shipping or you can sign up to all 6 for a fabulous saving.

Each sock pattern will be new and exclusive to box subscribers for 2 months, after which time the pattern will become available to purchase individually.

All yarn will be sock/4ply weight and will be on a range of bases and fibres varying from month to month. Unfortunately I can only use wool based yarns for this subscription box as I've found other fibres just don't work well with sock patterns, if you have any particular allergies please contact me prior to ordering, so we can confirm if I can accommodate these.

The socks will vary in difficulty but I promise it's nothing too scary and I will be on hand for assistance where required.

The first box and the full subscription are available to purchase now over on etsy.

Single boxes are priced at £20 and include UK postage, postage within Europe is an additional £1.50 and postage for the rest of the world is an additional £3

For the full 6 month collection the cost is £100 and includes UK postage, postage within Europe is an additional £9 and £18 for the rest of the world.

The contents will remain a mystery until they have been delivered to your door, but you can find some sneak peeks over on my instagram page.

I'm so excited about this project and absolutely cannot wait to start putting the boxes together for you.
If you have any questions please feel free to drop me a line at vicki@vickibrowndesigns.com

The Crochet Shawl Club ::

Introducing The Crochet Shawl Club ::
Announcing a different kind of release for The Crochet Shawl Collection :: The Crochet Shawl Club! 

Starting from January I'll be launching one crochet shawl pattern every 2 months as part of a club. Every other month (January, March, May, July, September and November) I will be producing a box which will include a printed pattern and hand dyed yarn to work up that shawl (dyed by me, exclusively for this club). 

Each box will be available to purchase singly and will go on sale a month prior to shipping or you can sign up to all 6 for a fabulous saving.

Each shawl pattern will be new and exclusive to box subscribers for 2 months, after which time the pattern will become available to purchase individually.

All yarn will be sock/4ply weight and will be on a range of bases and fibres varying from month to month. However, I can happily accommodate any allergies or personal dislikes. 

The shawls will vary in difficulty but I promise none of them will be above an intermediate level. There will be half circles, triangles, half hexagons and asymmetric shapes, so a little bit of everything!

The first box and the full subscription are available to purchase now over on etsy. 

Single boxes are priced at £20 and include UK postage, postage within Europe is an additional £1.50 and postage for the rest of the world is an additional £3

For the full 6 month collection the cost is £100 and includes UK postage, postage with Europe is an additional £9 and £18 for the rest of the world.

The contents will remain a mystery until they have been delivered to your door, but you can find some sneak peeks over on my instagram page.

I'm so excited about this project and absolutely cannot wait to start putting the boxes together for you.

😊

The Magic of Blocking ::

A few weeks ago I found myself magically transported to a log cabin in the countryside surrounded by super lovely crafty ladies. Whilst on said trip I finished one pair of socks and got halfway through another, before declaring I was bored of socks (for now). Luckily with all the aforementioned lovely ladies on hand, before I knew it a skien of yarn was thrown at me (courtesy of Kate) a crochet shawl book appeared beside me (thanks to Joanne and Kat) and the required crochet hook was provided (on loan from Gilly). By Sunday evening I had myself a gorgeous new shawl which will forever remind me of a really really wonderful weekend.

The shawl is Transposition from The Shawl Project: Book One, yarn is Sock by Sundara Yarns. I followed the pattern to the letter, apart from adding some beads to the edging. What I really wanted to show you was the magic of a good block!

Here is the shawl as soon it was finished, looking very scrunched and a bit blurgh to be honest.

After a good soak in some warm water and a little eculan (wrapture is my favourite), I pinned it out on a towel on my lawn (I have yet to unpack my blocking boards). It was such a beautifully sunny day it dried in no time at all.

And here it is in all it's glory. I'm always so amazed by the magical powers of blocking.

Also do you see my beautiful floor there?! I finally go round to waxing the hallway floor and I love it oh so very much.

Weekending :: a trip to Bruton ::

We just got back from the most fabulous weekend away celebrating lots of birthdays. On Friday lunchtime (which in it self was Johnny's birthday) we boarded the train at Cheltenham and headed down to Somerset to celebrate Johnny's Grandmother's 90th birthday.

It was the most fantastical weekend, with lots of beautiful sunshine, delicious cakes, music and loads and loads of family! I feel so lucky to have found myself joined to this wonderful collection of people and so pleased that my children get to belong here. I can't imagine any better way to spend your ninetieth birthday, than surrounded by your descendants, a family band to serenade you and plenty of delicious cake!

There were lots of late nights for the children who got to spend hours playing croquet, practicing (Harry Potteresque) duelling and doing handstands with their cousins, but coped incredibly well. Effie downright refused to nap on both the train journeys (there and back) until 5 minutes before we reached our destination. On our return home yesterday she barely stirred after that, all through getting off the train, getting in our cab, back to the house, a change of nappy and pyjama application and was therefore fast asleep in her bed come 6pm and had to be woken up for nursery this morning!

Bruton, where we spent the weekend, is one of my very favourite places. We stayed in a really really great bed and breakfast (Oak House), which was just off the High Street.

We had a family suite which included a kitchen and living room and two bedrooms. Which meant decorating the cake Milo and I made for Johnny on Friday morning, was much easier than we had anticipated it being.

Breakfast was exceptional too, there was a buffet which included just about anything you could imagine wanting (no full english, but to be honest it certainly wasn't missed with everything else that was on offer!).

We really had the best weekend, it was the perfect start to the summer holidays. We're so looking forward to the rest of our summer adventures, after a couple of days of rest first!

Pom Pom Shawl ::

I have put the pattern for the Pom Pom Shawl (originally published in Inside Crochet) up for sale over on Ravelry.

 I love this pattern so so much, it's so snuggly and cosy, quick and easy to make, but the pom pom edge creates a fabulous splash of detail. It's also super handy as you can slip the end of the shawl through one of the little triangles to hold it in place around your neck.

The sample was crocheted in the ridiculously delicious Acadia by The Fibre Company. But any double knit yarn would work well.

There's an automatic 50% discount on the pattern until Monday, just add it to your cart and the discount will be automatically added, in case you need a project for the weekend.

The Crochet Sock Collection :: CAL Prizes ::

I'm so very much loving watching everyone's socks grow as the Crochet-A-Long progresses. It's so inspiring seeing everyone's different yarn choices.

I finished my first pair this weekend and immediately started another!

These are the Winter Wonder Socks in Aesthete from Burrow and Soar. I love them so so very much.

The second pair are the Fallen Leaves Socks in a yarn I dyed myself, it's a self striping in Gryffindor inspired colourway (though I didn't really have the right colours to get in right). I'm really enjoying the way the stripes are looking with this stitch.

As I've recently been dyeing much more yarn than I can use I thought I'd offer up a couple of skiens as prizes for the CAL. They are both sock yarns on the same base (100% superwash merino, 100g/400m).

Anyone who posts a photo of the progress on any of the socks from The Crochet Sock Collection, on Instagram (#thecrochetsockcal) or over in the facebook group before 31st July will have their name put in the hat to win a skien, it's a simple as that.

The Crochet Sock Collection is available to purchase as a PDF download here and as a print copy here.