The Sunroom

Happy Valentines Crocheting & Knitting

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:05:00 +0000

As we approach Valentines day I thought I would post some links to interesting patterns for both knitting & crochet alike. I hope they will inspire you to pick up your hooks or needles.

My Heart rag rug pattern.

Red Heart Upcycled Rag Rug on Etsy.

How to Knit a Heart

Knit a Heart in 15 Mins for Valentines Day

Knit a Heart – Craftpassion

Free Knitting Hearts Pattern

Hearts on Knitting Pattern Central

Felted Hearts

Filet Crochet Heart

Three Inch Crocheted Heart

Bella Dia Sweet Heart Crochet Pattern

Crochet Heart Fridgie

Teal-tastic Granny Blanket.

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:42:00 +0000

The making of a new blanket in pictures. I’m trying to think of a nice name for the pattern – so all suggestions welcome. I will be writing up the pattern next week along with two other crochet patterns.

Whatever you are doing over the weekend, enjoy it and happy crocheting.

I’m in the mood for weaving

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:18:00 +0000

Busy, Busy, Busy working on a new granny blanket but am in the mood to do some weaving.

Cascade Colourful Stripes Crochet Blanket

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Vintage Granny Square & Hexagon Crochet Dress.

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:03:00 +0000

What an absolutely stunning dress, with ultra intricate detail. 100% cotton will look stunning with a scarlet red slip underneath or teamed with colourful camisole and jeans. I’m sure you’ll love it too.

The RSPB: Big Garden Birdwatch

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 22:53:00 +0000

How to take part

Photo by Nigel Blake

So, you want to take part in Big Garden Birdwatch? That's really great news as it couldn't be easier to take part in, and your results will really help us.

If you're one of our regulars – welcome back, and thanks for what you're doing. If you're new, keep reading to find out just how easy doing Big Garden Birdwatch is.

When, what, where

All you need is a pen, some scrap paper (or, a printout of our handy bird ID sheet), and an hour to spend watching the birds in your garden, or local park, on either Saturday 28, or Sunday 29 January 2012.

Simply make a note of the highest number of each bird species seen in your garden or park (not flying over it) at any one time, and come back to these pages to tell us what you saw.

You can also ask questions, and share your tips for a brilliant birdwatch on our friendly Big Garden Birdwatch community group.

You can do your birdwatch on your own with a cuppa, your favourite biscuit and your feet up, or try and beat the largest group that took part in 2011: 84 adults and 2 children.

The RSPB: Big Garden Birdwatch

The top 10

Like so many people who enjoy the birds in their garden, sometimes a bird pops in for a visit who you just can't name.

But don't worry.

Below are the top 10 birds as seen during Big Garden Birdwatch 2011.

This list is a great place to start to familiarise yourself with the birds you might see during your birdwatch.

And if you've an iPhone, download our new app - loveBirds - an easy to use bird guide which you can take with you wherever you are.

Photo by The RSPB

Blackbird

The males live up to their name but, confusingly, females are brown often with spots and streaks on their breasts. The bright orange-yellow beak and eye-ring make adult male blackbirds one of the mos... More... Blue tit

A colourful mix of blue, yellow, white and green makes the blue tit one of our most attractive and most recognisable garden visitors. In winter, family flocks join up with other tits as they search fo... More... Chaffinch

The chaffinch is the UK's second commonest breeding bird, and is arguably the most colourful of the UK's finches. Its patterned plumage helps it to blend in when feeding on the ground and it becomes ... More... Collared dove

Collared doves are a pale, pinky-brown grey colour, with a distinctive black neck collar (as the name suggests). They have deep red eyes and reddish feet. Their monotonous cooing will be a familiar so... More... Goldfinch

A highly coloured finch with a bright red face and yellow wing patch. Sociable, often breeding in loose colonies, they have a delightful liquid twittering song and call. Their long fine beaks allow ... More...

Great tit

The largest UK tit - green and yellow with a striking glossy black head with white cheeks and a distinctive two-syllable song. It is a woodland bird which has readily adapted to man-made habitats to ... More...

House sparrow

Noisy and gregarious, these cheerful exploiters of man's rubbish and wastefulness, have managed to colonise most of the world. The ultimate avian opportunist perhaps. Monitoring suggests a severe decl... More... Robin

The UK's favourite bird - with its bright red breast it is familar throughout the year and especially at Christmas! Males and females look identical, and young birds have no red breast and are spotted... More... Starling

Smaller than blackbirds, with a short tail, pointed head, triangular wings, starlings look black at a distance but when seen closer they are very glossy with a sheen of purples and greens. Their fligh... More...

Woodpigeon

The UK's largest and commonest pigeon, it is largely grey with a white neck patch and white wing patches, clearly visible in flight. Although shy in the countryside it can be tame and approachable in ... More...

Back to basics

What's that bird doing?

Related websites

loveBirds on the App Store

Unisex Mirage Ribbed Knitted Scarf Pattern

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:56:00 +0000

Here is a pattern for a very simple and easy ribbed scarf. The project is suitable for beginners and the overall effect is charming depending on the yarn used.

Materials:

100g – King Cole Mirage DK Yarn, 1 pair 6mm knitting needles, tapestry needle.

Measurements:

50” x 8“

This scarf is knitted using basic farrow stitch.

Pattern:

Cast on 45 sitches.

Row 1: Knit 2, Purl 1.

Repeat this row until desired length is reached. Cast off and darn ends in.

If you wish to reproduce this in any way please contact me or make sure that reference is made to the original blog post.

http://www.goodtimesithinkso.blogspot.com/ Thank you

Lady of Quality–Georgette Heyer

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 12:09:00 +0000

Not the type of book I would normally read but having just romped through it in one sitting, I can recommend it. I had listened to a interview on BBC Radio 4 titled ‘The Enduring Appeal of Georgette Heyer’ and felt I must read at least one of her books.

You can listen to the program here.

Georgette Heyer was born on 16th August 1902 at Wimbledon, London. She was the eldest of three children and the only girl, her brothers being Boris and Frank.

It was as a story for her brother Boris that she first wrote The Black Moth. Her father, George Heyer, impressed with his daughter's imagination, suggested that she prepare it to be published, which it was by Constable in 1921 when she was only nineteen.

She continued writing and in 1925 she married Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer. After reasonable but not spectacular sales from her first few books the instant success of These Old Shades in 1926 brought her a solid source of income which was very necessary at the time, her father having died shortly before her wedding and her youngest brother needing financial support for his education.

In 1927 she joined her husband in Tanganyika where he was working and later went with him to Macedonia 'where she nearly died of an erratically administered anaesthetic in a dentist's chair' (PWGH).

By 1929 they were back in London. The success of These Old Shades had permitted Ronald Rougier to give up his mining work which he had never enjoyed. This success also prompted Heinemann to buy up and republish Georgette Heyer's earlier novels.

After Ronald had an unsuccessful venture in London, he and Georgette moved to Horsham in Sussex where in 1932 her son, Richard was born. Georgette Heyer was continuing to write and had started on a new genre, detective novels, in addition to her historical output. Her husband, eventually disatisfied with his new venture in Horsham and with the encouragement of his wife, started studying to be a barrister.

In 1939, after several more novels, Ronald had qualified for the bar with the need to be within easy reach of London the family moved to a service flat in Hove. Richard's education at private school was not cheap and as a junior barrister does not earn the fees of a more senior one, the family continued to rely to a large extent on the income from Georgette Heyer's writing.

In 1942 they moved back to London, to chambers in the Albany which was to become their home for 24 years. Efforts to satisfy the tax authorities were to plague her for many years as the harsh rules then applying in a war-torn Britain, and even long after the war, took their toll but when her husband became a QC in 1959 and it must have taken some of the pressure off her.

Georgette Heyer's relationship with her publisher, Heinemann, had always been personal and soon after the Managing Director A. S. Frere left she moved to The Bodley Head. Her output of historical novels continued but she was now 60 and her own health was starting to be a little erratic. More tax problems loomed and the income from her new American publishers, Duttons, must have been welcome.

In 1966, when the lease expired on their rooms at The Albany they moved to a flat in Jermyn Street, London. Books continued to be written but the flow was stemmed by deteriorating health and she died on 4th July, 1974.

The above brief chronology is almost entirely derived from Jane Aiken Hodge's 'The Private World of Georgette Heyer', a biography and detailed account of the background to her novels.

Source: http://www.abfar.co.uk/bibliogs/gh_bib.htm

She certainly wrote a lot of books.

A Civil Contract
An Infamous Army
April Lady
Arabella
Bath Tangle
Beauvallet
Black Sheep
Charity Girl
Cotillion
Cousin Kate
Devil's Cub (2)
False Colours
Faro's Daughter
Frederica
Friday's Child
Lady of Quality
My Lord John
Pistols for Two
Powder and Patch
Regency Buck
Royal Escape
Simon the Coldheart
Sprig Muslin
Sylvester
The Black Moth (full text)
The Conqueror
The Convenient Marriage
The Corinthian
The Foundling
The Grand Sophy
The Great Roxhythe
The Masqueraders
The Nonesuch
The Quiet Gentleman
The Reluctant Widow
The Spanish Bride
The Talisman Ring
The Toll-Gate
The Unknown Ajax
These Old Shades
Venetia

Scarves Inspiration Free Patterns

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 07:17:00 +0000

Colorama - Scarf To Knit Click Here

Colorama Scarf To Crochet Click Here

ReallyBig - Ringside Capelet (Knit) Click Here

Really Big Crochet Cowl Click Here

All patterns courtesy of Bernat click here to visit.

Ruby Red Valentines Cosy Cowl

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:22:00 +0000

The Sunroom: Pandora’s Cushion Tutorial Pattern.

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:10:00 +0000

The tutorial pattern is now available on ravelry click here. Not a ravelry member then don’t worry I will be listing the pattern on Etsy this week.

1940’s Fair Isle Cap & Gloves Knitting Pattern

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 09:19:00 +0000

Pick up the free pattern at the V&A website.

Hello

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:25:00 +0000

Hello again everyone I have been not blogging for what seems like a ridiculous amount of time. A very belated Happy New Year to you all and I hope you had a very crochety festive season.

I have been busy working on various projects which I will be blogging about in the coming days. I have reopened my etsy store so all patterns and products are available again.

Cosy Capelets

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:53:00 +0000

Christmas Amaryllis Crochet Flower Motif Pattern

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:59:00 +0000

Skill Level: Easy

Materials: 5.5 mm hook, Green, Red & Ivory DK yarn small amounts.

Notes: The Amaryllis motif can be used as a decorative Christmas addition in a variety of ways from table decoration, candle holder mat or added to cushions or scarves or made into a gorgeous bunting by making man of the motifs.

Measurements: 6.25”

Pattern:

Using green yarn ch 5, join with a sl st.

Rnd 1: ch 3, work 11 dc into ring join with sl st, fasten off yarn.

Rnd 2: using ivory yarn, ch 1 (to count as first sc), *(sc, ch 7, sc in same st), ch 1, sc in next st*, ** rep to end, join with sl st.

Rnd 3: ch 1, *( work 2 hdc, 2 dc, 1 tr into the 7 ch sp, ch 2, 1 tr, 2dc, 2hdc into the 7 ch sp), work sc in next 2 sts*, **rep all around to end and join with sl st, fasten off yarn.

Rnd 4: using red yarn ch 1 in space between petals (to count as first sc), * hdc in next 2 sts, dc in next 2 sts, [work 2 tr, 2 ch, 2 tr in the ch sp] dc in next 2 sts, hdc in next 2 sts, sc in next 2 sts*, ** rep around all petals join with sl st and fasten off.

Darn all ends in.

This pattern is written using US terminology. Please refer to the conversion chart below to make changes for UK crochet.

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)

Warning: Reproduction of this publication is protected by copyright.

Fine Granny Stripe Blanket

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:12:00 +0000

Finally finished – measures approximately 50” x 40”. I say fine granny stripe – as it’s made up of double trebles rather than the usual triple trebles.

Gran-Tastic Blankets on Etsy

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 10:49:00 +0000

A new treasury for Friday.

Click here to view all gorgeous blankets in the treasury.

The Festive Granny Square Blanket

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:26:00 +0000

Granny Square Scarf

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 10:34:00 +0000

I’m busy working on a new type of granny stripe blanket hopefully finished this week. In the interim here are some pictures of granny square scarf #1.

Cosy Cowls

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:43:00 +0000

Colorama Crochet Cowl Bernat Pattern here.

Really Big Jumbo Cable Cowl Bernat Pattern here.

Mosaic Cowl Bernat Pattern here.

Alpaca hooded Cowl Bernat Pattern here.

Pink Posy Granny Square Blanket

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:56:00 +0000

It looks like the last day of sunshine for the next few days so I was determined to make best use of the light before yet more dull days. I was up way earlier than I would have liked and decided to crack on with my new pink posy blanket and it’s finally finished. Voila here it is.

Berroco Knitted Cowls

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 09:14:00 +0000

Eglet free pattern here.

Prokop free pattern here.

Nonary free pattern here.

Granny Stripes Chunky Cowl

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:28:00 +0000

Here’s an almost granny stripes cowl, if you look closely you’ll see that it’s constructed using double dc’s rather than the normal triple dc’s associated with granny squares. I thought I would have a break from blankets and complete something quick.

I love the colours of this cowl and the yarn is a wool and acrylic blend so it’s soft, cosy and warm.

Craftseller Magazine Issue 4 November 2011

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:34:00 +0000

I was asked a while ago to contribute towards an article for Craftseller magazine. The article is called ‘Etsy, Folksy and Not On The High Street – which is the best for you?’

Here I am pictured with my Dolly granny square blanket.

“Fife-based crochet artist Aileen Lochhead runs The Sunroom, a folksy shop which showcases her creations. Again, like other sellers, she has an Etsy shop as well as a religiously updated blog. She opted for Folksy to connect with like-minded UK crafts people.

“The notion of ‘made not manufactured’ is not understood by larger sites like eBay. It seems to have taken a while for this concept to come of age,”

To read the rest of the article you will need to grab your copy of the magazine. I have written quite a lot about selling crafts on these sites and will blog more about my experience and opinions soon.

Craftseller is for everyone who wants to make and sell. Make money from your crafting today with this brand new magazine featuring quick projects and how to sell them. Now's your chance to: try new crafts - knitting, cross stitch, papercraft, sewing and more, learn how to turn your hobby into a business, discover how to sell online and find out how to donate your makes to a good cause. Discover the latest best buys, useful apps and top websites with ask the experts features and reader stories. PLUS £1000 competitions and giveaways and a fab FREE gift with every issue!

Publication Frequency: 13 issues per year

You can subscribe to Craftseller here.

Granny Square Scarf

noreply@blogger.com (The Sunroom) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 11:01:00 +0000