At this time of year we start to think about gifts for our friends and families, and maybe they're asking what we might like too! So here’s some crochet stocking fillers at various price points that will brighten any crocheters Christmas! Just leave this blog casually open on your computer to drop your loved ones a little hint...
Some ideas for your Christmas Stocking: Clover Amour crochet hooks (from £7.20 each) , KnitPro T-pins (available in-store), ChiaoGoo Hook Case (£16.50) and Knit & Crochet Planner (£16.99)
New Year, New Hooks
Crochet really doesn’t require many tools, and it takes a lot to wear out a hook (though mine like to disappear on adventures down the back of the sofa!), so you can easily get stuck in a bit of a hook rut. I was wholly committed to my simple aluminium hooks until Dorothy did some hook research for Baa! and introduced me to Clover Amour hooks (from £7.20 each). I’m converted! They are particularly good for fiddly work including lace, crochet toys and delicate shawls. My 2.5 mm, 3 mm and 3.5 mm Clover Amours are well used and they really help reduce hand strain when working on these sort of projects.
Get Organised
I always end up with notes scrawled on the backs of envelopes and scraps of paper, and it is so easy to lose track of all your planned projects (or worse still your current projects!). Start 2021 with good intentions. This Knit & Crochet Project Planner might be just what you need to keep everything in line, from details of your swatches, your yarns, your hook size and any adjustments you make (£16.99).
Top tip: Take a stitch marker and write your project hook size on it with permanent marker, attach it to your work-in-progress, and when you come back to work on it, you'll know exactly which hook you were using!
A Yarn Treat
The ultimate treat is a skein of gorgeous hand-dyed yarn (£17 - £18 per skein). We are blessed with lots of talented local dyers and Baa stocks an enviable selection of these multi-coloured skeins online from dyers such as Cookston Crafts, Colliston Yarns, and HennyPennyMakes (plus even more in store!).
Crochet is a notorious yarn-eater so sometimes finding a project for your perfect single-skein purchase is daunting (check out Janice’s recent blog here). So why not try my new Etto scarf design, it uses 100g of 4ply, DK or Aran yarn, perfect for any lonely skeins this Christmas! It has a full photo tutorial and is suitable for improving beginners and beyond.
Another fabulous yarn gift is the Scheepjes Whirl (£21.99), with 1000m of glorious fade in each cake. Team it with a 3.5mm Clover amour hook to make this gorgeous "Frozen Rose" shawl from the latest Scheepjes Bookazine (£7.95)
The Ultimate Selection Box
These boxes mightn’t fit in your stocking (unless you’ve really missed gauge!), but the Scheepjes Catona (£64.95), Cahlista (£82.95) and Stone Washed/ River Washed (£35.95) colour packs are a wonderful gift.
Left to right: Cahlista, Catona and Stone Washed/Riverwashed colour packs by Scheepjes.
Each colour pack offers a mini ball of every shade of that particular range. Catona has 109 x10g balls, Cahlista has 109 x 15g balls and Stone Washed/ River Washed has 58 x 10g balls. Catona is a 4ply mercerised cotton, ideal for toys and decorations, Cahlista is an aran weight natural cotton, great for household items and blankets, and Stone Washed is a 4 ply/DK weight cotton/acrylic mix, perfect for toys, clothing, blankets and more!! Baa! also stocks 50g balls of Catona, Stone Washed and River Washed if you need a top up!
This year, as part of our Lockdown make-along I made the Little Larksfoot Rainbow Blanket by Kirsten Ballering (HaakMaarRaak) using the Stone Washed pack, plus 2 extra 50g balls for the border.
It is probably my favourite make of the whole year. Each mini-ball makes 1 stripe. It's so satisfying!
Scheepjes has a team of bloggers who often design specifically for these boxes - so there's plenty of scope to use the whole box in a single delicious project.
You might like to check out the Noëlle blanket, also by Kirsten Ballering for the Catona pack and the 109 blanket by Johanna Lindahl for the Cahlista pack.
And just as I prepare to press send, Scheepjes have released their latest YARN The After Party pattern: the Diamond Sofa Runner by Mark Roseboom. It uses the Catona colour pack and 14 regular balls of Catona; and it's a stunner! Now there's a project to keep you busy in 2021...
On that note, I'm off to write my Santa list!
Take care,
Fiona
xx
109 Blanket photo (c) Johanna Lindahl (Mijo Crochet)
Noëlle Blanket photo (c) Kirsten Ballering (Haak Maar Raak)
Please note Baa will be closed from the 5th to the 12th of December.
Due to the inconvenience of the shop closure we are offering free 1st Class postage on all online orders over £25 and a 1st class upgrade on all orders under £25, between 4th and 13th December, 2020. Your orders will be processed and posted on Monday 14th December.
If you choose 'Collection' at the checkout you can pick up your order anytime between the 14th and the 23rd of December.