Summer Time

Hello , I hope all is well in your neck of the woods . Here , in London it’s nice and warm but a bit cloudy . I’m not one for super hot days , as it means I have to adjust my crocheting. Nothing worse than making  a blanket or shawl in wool , god forbid if you use mohair . These are some of the fibers  that make me sweaty and uncomfortable whilst making it . 

So , when the weather is hot my projects of choice in the  involve fibers that have light lace weight , cottons . It also means I will have. Few projects that’s are made of motifs . The picture above is a hexagon project I’m hoping to make a top . I’m using all my odds and ends , I love a stash-busting project . . 

Cloudbusting Shawl by Helda Panagary

Find the pattern in 167 of Inside Crochet magazine.

This sea-blue shawl was inspired by childhood walks on beaches littered with baby clam shells.

MATERIALS

* Arastella Yarn 4ply, 100% Merino wool, 100g/400m/437yds

Shade: Under the Sea x 2 skeins

* 3.5mm hook

DESIGNER BIOGRAPHY

Helda is a passionate and creative crochet designer who can be found on Instagram as @heldap123.

Trying to blog

Hello all

After being hacked, yes my accounts have been hacked . I've had this  overwhelming feeling that I need to go back to where it all started for me and that was blogland . Ive realised i need to  commit to keeping records in my blog rather than using Instagram as my sole source of sharing . 

 It was a goood friend who told me that I was helping provide content  on Instagram , but what would happen if Instagram was hacked , or just became something I hate , or like a lot of places there are changes  that I can’t navigate. It gave me food for thought .

. A few friends have had their accounts hacked and it unsettled me  .when i first started using instagram @heldap123 it was simply a place to share one pic , no explaination needed . Then suddenly the pressure was on , adverts suddenly appeared for things I have zero interest in . People I followed disappeared under algorithms . 

At the same time it became a place of keyboard warriors ,who hide behind the screens and did hateful things , they said alot of hateful things not to me but it sours the taste in your mouth , when you read some comments . That’s not my style , so i continue to use the platform to simply share current makes but I’ve decided that along side Insta I’d try my hardest to post here . Not sure how that will go but I’m going to try .

, I have a love of all things floral . Spring fills me with hope . I sit with  eager anticipation of new beginning both in nature and in my life. I absolutely love blossoms , the streets of London are filled with all these wonderful cherry blossoms.

I love the blossoms so much that i decided to design my flutter shawl . I used yarn from Eden cottage Yarns . The lovely Victoria offered me yarn suppport and she put together a kit of 100g skein plus a packet of minis .The shawl is made first and then you add the flowers , branches , stems leaves on top . It has a border plus tassels . Every time when i wear this im filled with happiness . The beautiful images of spring fill my mind .pattern was originally published in Inside Crochet Magazine. if you want to see some more picture of my designs click  this  helda panagary designs its my ravelry page .

Fuchsia shawl

 

Hello 

, I hope you are safe and well. 

Goodness me I have absolutely no idea where time has flown by.  I find myself muttering these words more and more. Its quite startling to hear yourself sound more and more like your mother . Did you ever imagine that one day you'd end up wearing things the majority of the time for comfort,rather than style ???? .if this is you Its a sign you too are turning into your mum. Haha 

Im actually one of those who doesn't dread getting older its a privilege ,a fact that we have to be mindful about.  Covid has highlighted  how privileged we are at being able to work from home . I'm a very lucky lady ,my family so far are safe and symptom free . I light candles for those who have not been so lucky  .

Im sharing today my latest pattern published in this months Inside Crochet magazine.  Its called the Fuschia Shawl ,named after the beautiful pink flowers . I used yarn from The Fiber Company  canopy fingering weight in colourway Lantana . The deepest really rich pink . Such a joyful colour .

It is designed  asymmetrically and features a swarovski beaded border.  I love working with crystals,  I enjoy how the light catches it and sparkles and bring life to the design . 

I rarely wear my design as featured in this pic . I prefer to wear mine with the triangle wrapped around my neck with the pointy tip at the front the two other points are wrapped like arms giving me a hug

I also have a food column and I review a book every month.  Each month I have waived my fee and instead im paid in books that I donate to schools and libraries in a bid to help add diversity of characters in our  young people's lives .

Back to the blog

Hello My lovelies 

It has been far too long since I visited my blog its shameful really . I'd fallen out of love with  blogging.  Felt I had nothing to say plus time just didn't allow for it.  Family life got in the way.  I  decided to try my hand at Instagram.  I liked the idea that a picture paints a thousand words i still do . It was so much easy to document my makes ,my recipes etc .

But ,lately I've been feeling its time to go back to this blog.  Share a bit of my makes ,perhaps offer some advice to those of you that might fancy dipping your toes into new designing .

I going to try a blog every forthnight . This time frame feels manageable .

Sharing a few pictures of my #jardinbotanique blanket . Published in Inside Crochet magazine . Issue 134 .

Named after the gardens in the Seychelles.  The Botanical gardens have  been named one of the worlds beautiful gardens.  It has some of the worlds rarest orchids and plants. It has the largest nut in the world ,the Coco de Mer  . 

The design is an interpretation of a photo I took as a child in the gardens .  I Started with the browns to represent the ground,   through to the greens, pinks ,yellows with represent the flowers through to the  sky . 

It's  designed to use a box of scheepjes River washed colour pack plus 40g to create the border .

I really enjoyed making this . Designed during the first lockdown.  It became such a source of comfort.  It was a way of my coping with not being able to visit gardens and the wider world to get my fix of the great outdoors.  It became a form of colour therapy.  Whenever I felt low about not seeing the family, I'd make a square . It progressed really quickly and filled me with deep joy . Colour really makes me smile. 

Inside crochet issue 103, Parrallelogram shawl

My latest pattern has been published in issue 103 of Inside Crochet magazine. I do love the styling and photography .@mavricphotography. Just look at this 

 Sometimes, as a designer you buy some yarn and you have a moment when you know exactly what you will make. This is exactly what happened the moment my Scheepjes colour pack arrived. The box arrives and you do a very happy dance .

The catona packs contain 109 balls ,this pattern uses 107 . I didn't use black and dark brown. I joined as you go pattern . Finished with a border and I made my own faux fur pompoms. I recently watched the news that stated trading standards had found that even though websites  and many shops that thought they were selling faux fur , most they tested contained rabbit, I am shocked and very sad so I went to hobby craft and bought genuine faux fur by the meter and made my own.

I really enjoyed making the motifs pulling colours out randomly is so amazing . I plan my colour choices I can spent weeks making decisions on combining colours so when this colour pack arrived i threw caution to the wind and simply removed the black and dark brown and I simply made triangles . I am not going to lie I would often looking at two adjacent colours and hate them, but once all the colours are worked its amazing how the over all effect looks. I urge  all you colour perfectionist please try and do this it is very relaxing and less pressurized. check out all the photos here

hope you are all enjoying the weather?

 The one thing I struggle with now is the fact that most of what I do is months ahead .I am currently knee deep in Christmas crochet ,yeap. all I need do is pop on my Christmas songs cd start a roast dinner and I'd believe its that time of year.
Its all very strange. I am crocheting with thick winter wool in summer and in winter i,m  playing with cottons and linens. its really hot here in London, so you can imagine it is a bit of a struggle. most people are throwing off the blankets in this heat and I making them . Despite all this I wouldn't change  any of it . I'm very lucky to be able to spend my time with a crochet hook in hand.

Inside Crochet is available online and in most newsagents and supermarkets.

Skein queen purchases

 Hello Lovely people ,
Here in London we are having some glorious weather the roses are blooming

I am on a yarn ban , so when I heard that skein Queen was having a trunk show at Nest Yarn shop i knew I could not go .
 I am on a yarn ban . So I knew I couldn't go .Notice I repeated that phrase .

I spent all morning making myself busy .The Mr suggested we go for a drive to get out for a bit,not sure where we will go he said. Honestly the next bit I'm not making up,I dont mention the yarn shop  I dont live near the shop, but suddenly we drove three streets away from the shop .Of course it was fate. I had no choice I had to pop in .
 I was determined to buy just one ball , after all i'm a grown woman I can walk away from a yarn shop with only one ball . Haha i hear you cackle

 You are of course correct the mission was a complete and utter failure. I mean how on earth do you walk away from these incredible works of art. I have in fact finished two designs , sent them off yesterday . Such was my excitement  about the colours and fibers I came home and wound them into balls and I knew what they where destined for.

Gorgeous right?????

 This grey yarn is currenly on my hook but Im not sure I like it. I find the pooling of white bits jar with me a bit .I think this might become a knitting yarn. Ive blurred it in case I decide to send it off as a design

Finally , these three are just divine . I really have a thing for yellow so that simply had to come home with me . No plans for these three but i know it wont be long before they are wound into balls .
Can you believe it is june already?????

Inside Crochet issue 101

Hello lovely people,

I hope you are sitting in the garden sipping something cooling and refreshing. I have taken to drinking cucumber water, I blend cucumbers and filter it so I only get the juice, no pulp . I top up with sparkling water , loads of ice .

We had some glorious weather this  bank holiday weekend and i had a wonderful time barbecuing loads , a day trip to my favourite place, Brighton beach and spent another day at the park sitting on folding chairs ,surrounding by beautiful rose bushes that are promising some glorious colour shortly. 

For those who don't know Brighton is a pebbled beach no sand in sight but it never stops it being packed.

Regents Park

But today its back to reality and this morning Ive  cooked dinner for tonight , cleaned the bathroom thoroughly, sorted out the laundry .all manner of boring jobs done. Now, its time to sit with coffee and catch up with all the things you have been getting up too. .

I have two patterns published in this month's Inside Crochet . We are Issue 101. Goodness me I do love the styling . It just makes everything come to life. My daisy chain and flowers in your hairband , it can be worn in many different ways, twisted round an up do, like a crown or even as a necklace. why not try  it hanging as bunting .It is so easy as so versatile.

 These ballet inspired pair of slippers are perfect for all of us . I am  rather fond on laying on my bed with these on .I also wear  ones without the ribbons around the house when you don't want slippers but its its a still a bit too cold to go barefoot.  I  put a  few blobs of a product called Sock Stop .I bought mine from Wild and Wooly . As the name suggests it stops socks from slipping on all those wooden floors and slippery surfaces. Its a really good product I highly recommend. Both these patterns are available at the Inside crochet website and all major supermarkets and newsagent.

 I thoroughly enjoyed sitting down with some pastel shades of  cotton, crochet hook in hand  making all the crochet flowers for both designs  . I used Scheepjes Catona ,10g balls  . They come  in a large variety of colours. They are so affordable and the size makes it perfect for smaller projects. 

Scheepjes kindly provided me with the yarn for this project but I can thoroughly recommend a lady I found through Instagram who I buy alot of scheepjes yarn from . Her name is Lusciously loopy and she is my go to lady when I feel the need to buy myself some yarn. This usually happens in the wee hours of the night.

 Incidentally, if you have not started using Instagram as a social platform do at least search for yarn sellers  or products you are looking for . You will be really surprised. Its filled with really caring independent people who really value your custom. I have found so many people on it and I really am glad I did.


Right, must go I have to clean the fridge out, Yes, I know I lead such a blooming exciting life. speak soon