my September blur....

With four children starting school (yes, my littlest one is in full-time kindergarten and I miss her so -- that'll be for another post altogether...), two Farmers Market dates one week apart selling my wares (what was I thinking?!...), four children starting soccer season on four different teams (that's a first for us!...), dealing with our usual house renovation/decoration issues (oh yeah, did I mention we've been in renovation mode for the last 5 years), let's just say, September's been, well....a blur.   

However, I did promise a few of you to post the pattern I used to crochet these flowers, and a promise is a promise, as my kids keep telling me! I know that you would have probably been able to crochet an entire afghan in the time that has elapsed since asking me for the pattern, but, oh well, here goes:

Crochet Flower Pattern as Adapted from the Many Vintage  Crochet Books I Can't Help Myself from Buying Every Time I Go into a Thrift Shop...

The flowers are done "in rounds", which means that they are worked around in circular rows, beginning with a center ring; basically, making the center ring is the first thing you will do (any basic crochet book or a "crochet round" Google search will explain this much better than me -- most probably with pretty photos...) As far as which yarn and hooks to use: pick a yarn and make sure you use an appropriate hook for the gauge of the yarn you chose; I often look at what's written on the paper sleeve, or I simply experiment with different hooks (I think it's a great idea to buy a series of multi-size crochet hooks so that you always have a lot of different sizes of hooks on hand). Of course, the bigger the hook and thicker the yarn you use, the bigger the flower will be, and vice versa.  With the color you wish to use for the center of the flower, ch4 and join with a ss into the first ch to form a circle. Continue as follows:

1st round Ch1, work 15sc into circle. Ss into first ch.

2nd round Ch4, * skip 1sc, 1dc into next sc, ch1, rep from * 6 times more. Join with a ss into the 3rd of the first 4ch. Break off the first color.

3rd round Join the color you wish to use for the petals to first ch loop with a ss, ch1. Into same ch loop, work 1dc, 1tr, 1dc, 1sc, * into next ch loop, work 1sc, 1dc, 1tr, 1dc, 1sc, rep from * into each ch loop, making 8 petals. Join with a ss into first ch.

4th round Working behind the petals made in the 3rd round, make ss between 2 petals, ch 4, * 1sc between next 2 petals, ch3, rep from * to end. The ch loops made lie behind the petals of the previous row. Join with a ss into first ch.

5th round Make the next row of petals by working 1sc, 1dc, 2tr, 1dc, 1sc into each ch loop. Join with a ss into first sc.

6th round Working again behind the petals made in the previous round, make ss between 2 petals, ch 5, * 1sc between the next 2 petals, ch 4, rep from * to end. Join with a ss into first ch.

7th round Into each ch loop, work 1sc, 1dc, 3tr, 1dc, 1sc. Join with a ss into first sc. Fasten off, darn in ends, and voilà ...a pretty flower, all done! But beware, making them can be addictive...

ch = chain; dc = double crochet; lp = loop; rep = repeat; sc = single crochet; ss = slip stitch;tr = treble crochet.

I was hoping to post about a few things in the last two weeks (I finished my woolly house pillows, Yippee!) but,alas... However, Tanya who has a beautiful blog called Grand Revival wrote a lovely post about my ruffle skirts and blog; I used one of Tanya's floral prints from her Barefoot Roses collection in my last skirt. I have to say that the moment I saw samples of her stunning collection, I was absolutely smitten... So often, I find that when designers attempt a vintage romantic collection, they opt for what I call an "aged look", and it just ends up all very muddy in coloring. Not Tanya: Barefoot Roses is so fresh and crisp, done in a gorgeous color combo -- I am absolutely in love with her pinks, greens and that beautiful green/gray/blue color she uses!  You must check out her inspiring blog and see her fabric "in person" at the shops...

Before parting ways for today, I have to thank all of you who have visited my blog in the last little while, and all of you who have commented on my last post: so many wonderful notes and so many new blogging friends! ( I hope to send you all a note and answer some of your inquiries very soon.) I can't believe September is already coming to an end -- hopefully, October will be a bit mellower for me and I'll have more time to blog about all the goodies I want to show you...

(Yippee! I managed to squeeze out this post in September!)

Comments

[katie]

oh, so happy to hear from you again. I look so forward to your blog. So beautiful, you inspire me, as I am sure I already told you!

[Suzy]

What pretty flowers and what pretty pictures!! xo, suzy

[Cathy]

Thank you for the tutorial - I will be having a go at these. I really struggle to get the right hook with the right wool so I will try to get organised. I am off to check out the fabric - it is so bright and cheerful. I know what you mean about designers not getting it quite right, but this really hits the mark.
Cathy X

[amandajean]

that skirt is absolutely adorable! I love the mix of fabrics.

[Junie Moon]

September has indeed flown by and here comes October already! So many things to do and so little time. I love your ruffled skirts.

[Melly]

my goodness your blog is always such eye candy - I LOVE IT!! Have just added you to our faves as I keep forgetting everyone's blogs and we have to be back here so much more. Thanks for the flower tutorial!! I cannot crochet but I am going to see if Rosie can give some a go!!! =)

[Chelle]

Perfectly lovely, and inspiring. As always. But are you keeping your head above water? You sound insanely busy.

[sheree (sheree's alchemy)]

I saw your skirt on Tanya's blog--it is lovely--great fabric combination!! I have not gotten my hands on any of her fabric yet, but I want some badly!!

[ellen kelley]

Thanks so much for the tutorial and for taking time out of all you have to do to post it. I appreciate it!

[Doe]

Thank you so much for the tutorial. As always your photos are absolutely stunning. I love Barefoot Roses fabric collection. I'm in process of making a quilt using "jolly packs" (5 inch squares) I bought from FatQuarterShop.com. Thanks again for sharing!

[Kathy]

I loved your crochet flowers so much I ended up picking up a copy of Sasha Kagan's Crochet Inspiration hoping to make some pretty crochet flowers. I can hardly wait to follow your crochet-a-long and see what comes out of my stash. Just out of curiosity, what will you make with all those flowers? I love the Barefoot Roses fabric too, the colors are really nice. I just picked up a copy of a quilt book with the theme of roses and started a wish list to start collecting rose prints! Its called "A Dozen Roses" in case you come across it in a fabric store. I hope things are better, less busy now that October is here!

[Gabriela Delworth]

Hello from Toronto,

I love your work! Lovely!

Gabriela

[Laurie]

Ohhh, I sooo want to learn to make these! Thank you for sharing your tutorial. I have to tell you that I heart/adore all your creative things on this blog! I wish we lived in Vancouver still, and I would pop by and see your booth at the Farmer's Market! Maybe i'll send my girlfriend over to check it out! Happy Thanksgiving~

[Emily]

Hey another Irish Rose fan! I love making these flowers! In thread and yarn! But yours are really colorful!

[Claudia]

Thank you for the tutorial. God...another project! You are a great source of inspiration.

[Samantha]

Oh my! You crochet too? We are going to be good friends! LOL!

[Hen]

I've only just found your flower tutorial and have only been learning crochet a few months but I can't wait to give these a go!
Thanks a lot.
Hen x

[kimberly sherrod]

I am so excited to try these flowers! I am just learning to crochet and these look like fun! Thank you for posting it!
xo,
calamity kim

[penkhae]

I like it very much! Very very beautiful. If I have a time, I will try.

Penkhae

From Bangkok, Thailand.

[raajia]

Very very beautiful! Thank you for the tutorial.

[skhan]

Thank you so much for this pattern I cannot tell you how much I love these flowers.
You know My grandma had a small placemat (I still have it) and it has some similar flowers & I was used to wonder how can I figure out the pattern. I tried making a flower but its not turning out like yours and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. You can see my flower here- http://twitpic.com/ov8ox

P.S. It has only 5 rounds

[Heike Amende]

Hi, I saw your lovely skirt with the awesome fabrics. It`s really fantastic! :-)
I think this would be a nice "to have" in the grey winter and wonder myself, if it would be possible to get the pattern of the skirt also?
This would be really fantastic.
Hope to hear from you again and best Wishes from Germany.
Regards, Heike