Looking for joy: crochet and pom poms.

Recently I watched a TED talk.

I like TED talks, especially Brene Brown and Susan David's talks. I'm benefiting hugely from psychotherapy focusing on self-empathy at the moment. Meditation, mindfulness and trying to allow myself to feel 'things' is all part of the work. So I was intrigued by the talk by Ingrid Fetell Lee called 'Where joy hides and how to find it'. Joy is something I've been thinking about too. Having read the ubiquitous book by Marie Condo 'The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up' * (fortunately I bought it on kindle so don't have to worry about whether or not I need to get rid of it!) I was aware of the process she uses: hold an item in your hands and it if doesn't spark joy then off it goes, out into the world to find another home. Unless of course it's essential to your life, like your washing machine for example, although I'm not entirely sure how I'd hold the washing machine in my hands while searching for an internal spark of joy, without ending up in A&E. Anyway, I digress, the knotty problem of what joy feels like is a little problematic, well if was for me.

Fetell Lee defines joy in her talk: 'When psychologists use the word joy, what they mean is an intense, momentary experience of positive emotion, one that makes us smile and laugh and feel like we want to jump up and down.' Okay, so, what's this got to do with crochet and pom poms? Well...Ingrid Fetell Lee discovered a pattern when she collected together images of things that people look at and feel that spark of joy. The same elements would pop up: bright colour, symmetrical patterns, round/spherical shapes, abundance. Of course my yarny brain kicked in. I love, love, love looking at the hashtag #rainbowcrochet on instagram. The gorgeous colour used by Lucy of Attic 24 were hugely inspirational right from the start of my love affair with yarn. And of course: pom poms! You can see where this is going right? Mandalas, of the crochet variety are very popular. We don't make them because they are useful, we make them because they are gorgeous! Do they, in fact, give us that spark of joy? Is that what makes them so enduring in our crochet landscape? Here was my first mandala, way back in Jan 2012 I was making one to cheer myself up. I kid you not. Seriously. The title of the photo was even 'Gloomy day antidote'. Here it is from my sad forgotten flickr account.



It was made using The Granny Mandala pattern by Crochet with Raymond, another blog where fabulous colour mixed with crochet made it a happy place for me. I'm still sad she stopped blogging, but I understand why she did. However the blog and patterns are still there for us.

 I can't talk about mandalas without talking about the fabulous Wink, who blogged at www.acreativebeing.com, but who is sadly no longer with us. She used mandalas to help her fight her battle against crippling mental health. The crochet community will always remember her by her gloriously colorful mandalas and we make them both in memory of her and because they are just so beautiful.

So: crochet mandalas: bright, round and symmetrical. It would appear there is good reason why we find them so compelling! They bring us joy!

Also: pom poms. All of the above but with the added benefit of abundance! Does one pom pom on it's own always look lonely? Yup! Fetell Lee uses the example of a single confetto. On it's own, meh, not so much but as she points out confetti is quite possibly the most joyous substance on earth. I like confetti. I really do. But pom poms? Oh my goodness I think they trump confetti! (Or is it unicorns that trump confetti, yes I'm being crude!) Anyway, I've blogged about my pom pom issues before here and I'm sure I'll be doing it again. Mmmmmmmm. Pom poms.

What do you reckon? I'm fairly convinced. I feel there will be some pom pomming imminently in the Planet Yarn house. You can never have too many right? Going to find myself some joy.



*I can also really recommend the similarly titled 'The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F***' by Sarah Knight who was inspired by Condo and took the analogy from possessions to her personal philosophy.

Super Simple Fingerless Mitts

Two years ago I decided to write a really easy fingerless mittens pattern...

The original mitts.

I made them to match my stripy snood.

and I made them...then promptly forgot to actually write the pattern up and share it!  So, I've worked out how I made them, made another pair and this time I've actually written the pattern up and here it is!

Photo courtesy of my twelve year old!  Otherwise you only get one hand in the photo!
 

Like this...

...and this!





It's very, very easy to make these larger (increase foundation chain and the amount of rows) or smaller (decrease foundation chain and the amount of rows). The pattern, as it is, makes mitts that are stretchy enough for my massive hands and also work for my twelve year old's hands.

The first mitts were made with Stylecraft Special dk (all 88 colours are available in the Planet Yarn online shop), using alternating rows of Teal and Emperor.  The most recent pair have been made with Purple Haze Stylecraft Caberet, a gorgeously soft, self striping yarn which also has a glittery thread running through it!  I blinking love this yarn, have a look in the Planet Yarn online shop at the other gorgeous colours available - soooooo pretty!

So here it is (finally)!  My super simple fingerless mittens pattern!

Skills needed: US double crochet (dc)/UK treble crochet (tr), crocheting in the round, chain (ch), slip stich (sl st).

Yarn and equipment needed:

 

• dk yarn (approx. 40 grams)
• 4mm crochet hook
• Yarn needle
• Stitch markers (optional but recommended)
• Scissors

Notes: crocheting in the round, especially with double crochet stitches, can be a little confusing…it’s really easy to miscount and add an extra stitch when you end a round. To make it easier put a stitch marker in that third chain (the one that counts as your first dc on each row) then you can do a quick count when you come back around to it and make sure you still have just 30 tr (30dc in US terms) per round. 

I’ve included two versions of the pattern, one in UK terms and one in US terms. 

The pattern in UK crochet terms:

ch 33

Row 1:  tr into fourth chain from hook (counts as second tr), tr along until the end of the chain (you should have 30 stitches, slip stitch into the third chain at the start (taking care not to twist the row)

Row 2: ch 3 (first tr) then tr around the circle you have just created with row1until you reach the ch 3 again.  Sl st into the third chain (30tr)

Rows 3 -9: repeat row 2

Making the thumb hole

Row 10: ch 3 (first tr) then tr into the next 14 stitches, ch5, miss the next five stitches then tr into the final 10 stitches until you meet the ch 3 again.  Sl st into the third chain (30 stitches, 25tr and 5ch)

Row 11: ch 3 (first tr) then tr into the next 30 stitches, when you get to the chains from row 10 just treble over these as you would have done in the previous rows. (30tr)

Rows 12-15: repeat row 2

Break yarn.

Carefully weave in all ends, making sure you take particular care joining the first row neatly, remember the original foundation chain wasn’t joined there is just the slip stitch at the end of the first row. 

Now make another one!

Ta dah! Proudly wear your fabulous fingerless mitts or give ‘em to someone you love!

The pattern in US crochet terms:

ch 33

Row 1:  dc into fourth chain from hook (counts as second dc), dc along until the end of the chain (you should have 30 stitches, slip stitch into the third chain at the start (taking care not to twist the row)

Row 2: ch 3 (first dc) then dc around the circle you have just created with row1until you reach the ch 3 again.  Sl st into the third chain (30dc)

Rows 3 -9: repeat row 2

Making the thumb hole

Row 10: ch 3 (first dc) then dc into the next 14 stitches, ch5, miss the next five stitches then dc into the final 10 stitches until you meet the ch 3 again.  Sl st into the third chain (30 stitches, 25dc and 5ch)

Row 11: ch 3 (first dc) then dc into the next 30 stitches, when you get to the chains from row 10 just treble over these as you would have done in the previous rows. (30dc)

Rows 12-15: repeat row 2

Break yarn.

Carefully weave in all ends, making sure you take particular care joining the first row neatly, remember the original foundation chain wasn’t joined there is just the slip stitch at the end of the first row. 

Now make another one!

Ta dah! Proudly wear your fabulous fingerless mitts or give ‘em to someone you love!

Crochet Poppy Pattern

It's Remembrance Day, or Armistice Day, here in the UK and in many countries around the world soon.  I've worn a poppy on this day, and the days leading up to it, for as long as I can remember.  I have very clear memories of the 'Poppy Tray' being brought around the classes when I was at Primary School and today exactly the same thing still happens.  I am thankful for the men and women who have and still do fight for the world to be a better place.  I wear my poppy with pride and thankfulness.

The two biggest UK charities are Poppy Scotland and The British Legion.  Here's their stories:

The British Legion's Story of the Poppy

Poppy Scotland's Poppy Story

The poem Flanders Fields by John McCrae is pretty much the accepted origin of wearing a poppy. 

I was asked to make some crochet poppies by my friends at work.  I'm just going to take them into work for whoever wants one and they can put their own donation in the charity box: there are plenty around, thanks to all the volunteers.

There are only two rounds to this pattern, making it super quick to work up.  I've gone for a three petal poppy.  It looks good just in red yarn with a black button in the centre, but I must admit I prefer it with a black middle.

Pattern:

Using dk yarn and a 4mm hook.

This pattern uses US crochet terms.

Round 1

Begin with magic circle, ch 2 (doesn't count as a dc) and 12 dc into the circle and slip stitch to the first dc. to complete the circle.  Pull gently on the yarn tail to close the magic circle (12)

If you did this round in black break yarn and slip stich your red yarn into any of the dc stitches.  If you're doing the whole poppy red, then just carry on!

Round 2

*hdc, dc and trc into first stitch, 5 trc into next stitch, then trc, dc and hdc into third stitch, sl st into fourth* repeat twice.

Done!

Sew your ends in and add button, if you like, put a safety pin at the back and you're good to go.

If you're feeling fancy you can double layer the poppy AND add a button:

 

I like 'em on their own though:

With a button for the all red version.

 

Excuse my ends not sewn in...I've not sewed the safety pins on the back yet!

 

 

More NEW Stylecraft Special dk colours now in the Planet Yarn shop!

My favourite yarn to work with just got even better!  There are now 88 shades of this fantastic value, hardworking, snuggly soft and wonderful to work with yarn!

Introducing Lapis, Blush and Lincoln:

 

Not only is Planet Yarn now fully up to date with all 88 Stylecraft Special dk colours, there's more news...

 

there's a new price! 

 

 

 

Yep, that's right every single ball of Stylecraft Special dk has the new reduced price of £1.80. 

 

The shop is updated with the new shades and new prices so go and have a mooch, what colours will you be needing for your next project?

 

 

Yarnling Pattern

Planet Yarn would be inhabited by yarnlings...right?  That's what I thought, so I started making them.  Some stick around (literally: they have magnets in their bottoms) and some like to travel our own planet.  They come in all shapes and as they're made from Stylecraft Special dk, they clearly come in many, many colours (currently 88!). 

Although I tend to make them up as I go along I thought it would be fun to send a pattern out there, into the world, so anyone could hook up their own yarnling if they fancied it.

So here is the yarnling in question!  Cute eh?  This little 'un is made with bright green Stylecraft Special dk.  (Quick note: this is not a toy and the finished item is not suitable to give to small children)

I've worked on making this pattern as easy as possible to follow and if you have any advice to make it even clearer I would be very grateful!  If you have a go and get stuck then leave me a message on this post and I'll hopefully get you unstuck!

Yarnling Pattern

by Debbie Sixsmith

Level:  easy stitches but a bit fiddly

 

Skills needed: US single crochet (sc)/UK double crochet (dc), crocheting in the round, slip stich (sl st), crochet in back stitch, magic ring.

Yarn and equipment needed:

·         Stylecraft Special dk yarn (approx. 10 grams)

·         4mm crochet hook

·         scissors

·         yarn needle

·         stitch marker

·         safety eyes (or sew beads/embroider them on)

·         magnet (if you want your alien to have a ‘sticky’ bottom

·         fork or pom pom maker

·         toy stuffing

Notes: The amigurumi technique of spiralling instead of joining each row is used.  It may help you to use a stitch marker so you know where the end of each row is.

I’ve included two versions of the pattern, one in UK terms and one in US terms. 

The pattern in UK crochet terms:

Body:

For the base:

Magic circle and dc 6 into magic circle and gently pull closed (6)

Round 2: 2 dc in each stitch (12)

Round 3: *2 dc in stitch, 1dc in stitch* repeat 5 more times(18)

Round 4: *2 dc, 1 dc, 1 dc* repeat 5 more times (24)

For the following you will be stitching into the back stitch only, this will build up the body’s sides.

Rounds 5 – 18: dc in each in the back chain of each stitch.

Leave a long yarn tail, and leave your last stitch open, when you fasten off your yarn (about 30cm) because you’re going to close the top of the head up with it.

Your little alien’s body is inside out right now…but leave it that way, if you want to sew a magnet into it’s bottom to make it a sticky alien.  If not then turn your yarnling ‘inside out’ to get it the right way!

Magnet pocket:

As for the base above, make a magic circle and dc 6 into it and pull gently to close (6)

Round 2: 2dc into each stitch (12)

Round 3: *2dc then 1dc* repeat (18)

To sew magnet into yarnling’s bottom stitch the little circle you’ve made right over the corresponding circle in the yarnling’s body, make sure you slip the magnet in before you close the stitching!  Now turn your body ‘inside out’ so the pocket is snugly inside and your alien is not right side out.  Don’t worry about any ends, they’ll all be hidden inside.

magnet placed on the base of the inside out yarnling

pocket placed over the magnet ready to sew on



 

Arms (make two):

Make a magic circle and dc 4 into it and pull gently closed (4)

Rounds 2 – 6: dc into each stitch (4)

Leave a long yarn tail (about 20cm) so you can sew the arms on with it.  Pull the last loop closed by fastening off in the normal way.

Your arms are made inside out so using your crochet hook pull the arm out the right way.  It can be a bit fiddly!

Putting your yarnling together:

All the yarnling's components, including magnet and safety eyes.

Flatten out your yarnling’s body with the long tail and open loop at the edge (as in the above picture), you are going to be joining your yarnling’s body at the top to make a flat edge, like a cushion.

Decide where you would like its eyes to be (between rows 10 and 11 looks good) then either fit your safety eyes or sew some stitches with the yarn colour you’d like for eyes. 

Now stuff your yarnling as loosely or as tightly as you’d like.  Like humans, some yarnlings are plumper than others!

Using the open loop you left at the top of its body you are going to slip stitch across the top of the yarnling’s body to finish the top of its head off.  When you finish off lose the end in its body instead of trimming it.

Decide where you your yarnling’s arms will look best, between rows 8 and 9 right on the sides looks good.  Sew your arms on securely (they’re too tiny for stuffing), fasten off and lose those ends into your stuffed body rather than trimming them off.

Now does your yarnling need pom pom ears? Most do!  Take yourself off to look at my form pom pom tutorial here on the Planet Yarn blog or get out your pom pom maker and make two for your yarnling’s bonce.  Sew ‘em on and you’re good to go!

 

The pattern in US crochet terms:

Body:

For the base:

Make a magic circle and sc 6 into it and gently pull closed (6)

Round 2: 2 sc in each stitch (12)

Round 3: *2 sc in stitch, 1sc in stitch* repeat 5 more times (18)

Round 4: *2 sc, 1sc, 1sc* repeat 5 more times (24)

For the following you will be stitching into the back stitch only, this will build up the body’s sides.

Rounds 5 – 18: sc in each in the back chain of each stitch.

Leave a long yarn tail, and leave your last stitch open, when you fasten off your yarn (about 30cm) because you’re going to close the top of the head up with it.

Your little alien’s body is inside out right now…but leave it that way, if you want to sew a magnet into its bottom to make it a sticky alien.  If not then turn your yarnling ‘inside out’ to get it the right way!

Magnet pocket:

As for the base above, make a magic circle and sc 6 into it and pull gently to close (6)

Round 2: 2 sc into each stitch (12)

Round 3: *2 sc then 1sc* repeat five times (18)

To sew magnet into yarnling’s bottom stitch the little circle you’ve made right over the corresponding circle in the yarnling’s body, make sure you slip the magnet in before you close the stitching!  Now turn your body ‘inside out’ so the pocket is snugly inside and your alien is not right side out.  Don’t worry about any ends, they’ll all be hidden inside.

magnet placed on the base of the inside out yarnling

pocket placed over the magnet ready to sew on

 

Arms (make two):

Make a magic circle and sc 4 into it and pull gently closed (4)

Rounds 2 – 6: sc into each stitch (4)

Leave a long yarn tail (about 20cm) so you can sew the arms on with it.  Pull the last loop closed by fastening off in the normal way.

Your arms are made inside out so using your crochet hook pull the arm out the right way.  It can be a bit fiddly!

Putting your yarnling together:

All the yarnling's components, including magnet and safety eyes.

Flatten out your yarnling’s body with the long tail and open loop at the edge (as in the photo above), you are going to be joining your yarnling’s body at the top to make a flat edge, like a cushion.

Decide where you would like its eyes to be (between rows 10 and 11 looks good) then either fit your safety eyes or sew some stitches/beads for eyes.

Now stuff your yarnling as loosely or as tightly as you’d like.  Like earthlings, some yarnlings are plumper than others!

Using the open loop you left at the top of its body you are going to slip stitch across the top of the yarnling’s body to finish the top of its head off.  When you finish off lose the end in its body instead of trimming it.

Decide where you your yarnling’s arms will look best, between rows 8 and 9 right on the sides looks good.  Sew your arms on securely (they’re too tiny for stuffing), fasten off and lose those ends into your stuffed body rather than trimming them off.

Now does your yarnling need pom pom ears? Most do!  Take yourself off to look at my fork pom pom tutorial on the Planet Yarn blog here or get out your pom pom maker and make two for your yarnling’s bonce.  Sew ‘em on and you’re good to go!

Copyright of this pattern belongs to Debbie Sixsmith and may not be copied or shared without crediting the owner and website first published on www.planetyarn.co.uk

You are free to make as many yarnlings as you like for personal use and for sale but please credit the pattern to Debbie Sixsmith at www.planetyarn.co.uk

Easter Eggstravaganza Saturday's Special Offer

Treat yourself to some lovely, snuggly 50% cotton, 50% acrylic beautifully variegated pastel yarn.  Truly scrumptious!  With a whopping 25% off Planet Yarn's usual price it's a bit of a bargain too! 

Same as yesterday, the price has already been reduced in the shop so no codes to remember.  Just fill your basket with yarny goodness.

Delivery Day!

It's always exciting at Planet Yarn when we get a delivery!  Even if it's just a restock of our usual favourites.  Today, however, there was a special delivery which included the brand new Stylecraft Special dk shades!  So, that's a whopping 85 shades in the Special dk range now!  The new Buttermilk shade is a lovely warm yellow and definitely the Planet Yarn favourite.  The other two, Mushroom and Vintage Peach, fit in beautifully with their siblings.  There's a very good reason for knowing this too, because finally, after almost a year of the Special dk shade card being out of stock, it's arrived!  Yay!  So now we can all peruse the lovely, scrumptious shades offered to us in the comfort of our own snuggly, crafty spots.  Happy days!  Here's a quick peek of one that arrived today:

I think they must have had a tricky time placing Mushroom on the card, it could have quite happily fitted between the peachy tones, or the pinky tones.  It's definitely going to be a very versatile neutral colour.  I'm not the world's biggest fan of mushrooms, so it was a pleasant surprise to enjoy this colour.  Still not a chance I'll be eating any mind!  It wasn't until I saw Vintage Peach next to apricot that I realised how much this shade added to the peachy/orangey toned yarns.  I'll have to get it and Vintage Rose together sometime soon to see how they 'talk' to each other.

I'm off to update the shop now, got to make sure my listings have the correct amount of balls available! 

Oh...and I'm very much looking forward to the Easter break and all the extra hooking time that comes with it!  What projects are you going to be working on?

Spring Giveaway and New Stylecraft Special DK Shades

Over on the Planet Yarn Facebook page and Instagram account there is a giveaway going on.  The winner will get their choice of Yarn Pack from the Planet Yarn shop.  Not bad eh?

To enter the giveaway you'll need a Facebook and/or Instagram account.  Have a look at the information about it on the site and see if you fancy entering. 

Looking forward to spreading the love of yarny goodness when the winner is picked on 20th March.

Hurray for Spring and lovely colours of yarn!

Stylecraft have been busy choosing three new colours of yarn to add to the 82 their Special dk family already boasts.

Here's their big reveal photo:

They will be available in Planet Yarn as soon as they arrive, which will hopefully be 3rd April or soon after.

I'm intrigued by the mushroom colour, apparently it's neither beige nor lavender...hmm.  We shall see!

Baby hat with ears? Sorted!

It's been a while but I really did intend on posting this ears pattern quite soon after the original pattern was written up.  However, seven months later here it is!

Start with the baby basics newborn hat pattern and make two of the following:

US terms
dk yarn, 4mm hook
you are crocheting in the round, just like the method for making the hat.

Row 1: make a magic circle, ch 2 then dc 12 into the magic circle loop and sl st into first dc (not the ch2) (()
Row 2: ch 2 then 2dc into each dc in row  and sl st into the first dc (18)
Rows 3 & 4: dc around and sl st to join (18) and fasten off.

To place your ears on your hat squish the hat so it's lying flat (as in the photo above) and stitch your ears in place.  Make sure you catch the stitches on both sides of your ear and sew firmly to the hat stitches. 

Ta dah! 

As my mum would say, when I put hats with ears on my boys, your baby now has two sets of ears!  All the better to hear you with!

One day I will make one to fit my own head, why should babies have all the ear hat fun!

Pointy Petal Flowers

Here's a jolly little pattern for hooking up some bright pointy flowers to cheer up a gloomy day.

Spring is my second favourite season, with Summer being my absolute favourite.  Ah yes!  Sun...well sometimes anyway...but colour, so much vibrant colour!  In celebration of Winter finally ebbing away and Spring peeking around the corner: flowers!  Hurray!

I've used Stylecraft Special DK and a 4mm hook for these particular blooms.

Stitches used (using US terms): single crochet (sc), double crochet (dc) picot and chain (ch)

Round One:
Make a magic loop then ch2 (not counted as a dc) then dc 12 stitches into your loop, gently tighten and slip stitch together for your flower's centre.

Round Two:
Next *ch6, miss a dc then sl st into the next dc* repeat until you've got six loops of chain stitches.

Round Three: into each chain loop: 4sc, picot (ch2 then slip stitch into first ch), 4sc then slip stitch into the same dc from round one that you slip stitched into when you were making the ch6 loops, I've tried to show the particular stitch I mean in the photo below, the needle is sticking out of the stitch your hook needs to slip stitch in.

Repeat for each petal then after your final slip stitch your flower is complete!  Sew in the ends and put it where you like! 

Ta-dah!

I particularly like the way they look when stacked on top of another one, pretty.

This has been written up super quickly on a gloomy Monday evening, if you spot any mistakes, give me a nudge and I'll sort it out.

4 ply Stylecraft Special Sale

Storm Doris has left us rather shaken, not stirred.  And the grey skies remain.  Cheer yourself up with a bit of stash building, Stylecraft Special 4 ply (just as remarkable as it's sister yarn dk, but sadly in less colours) had been slashed from £2.95 to just £2.00 a ball.  But only for this weekend.  So get in quickly if you fancy a bargain.  Hoping our weather is much less grim and wishing you a great weekend!

Choosing Colours and Yarn Packs

 

It's always tricky...you finally settle on the stitch you want for your project, whether it's a blanket, cushion or something else, but you want your colours to look fabulous together, what choices to make?  With 82 shades to choose from, when it comes to Stylecraft Special DK, you really are spoilt for choice!  But...sometimes in life...you just want to take the easy route...and let someone else sort it out for you. 

 

So...these are the seven yarn packs I'm currently offering at Planet Yarn.  I've faffed and messed about with lots of colour combinations until I was utterly satisfied with the way these combinations talked to each other. I'd like to tell you it was a terrible ordeal that lasted hours and there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth, but that would be a great big fat lie!  I really enjoyed it!  So here's each colour combination in glorious technicolour for you to feast your eyes on: 

 

 The Vintage Pack came from a discovery, with a lovely friend and client, that duck egg goes deliciously with vintage rose, they just look gorgeous together!  So I played about until I found another four colours that could go with them to create a vintage feel.

 

The Rainbow Yarn Pack was my first pack.  I adore rainbow colours...it was very easy to put these gorgeous bright colours together straight away!  I may have gazed adoringly at them after putting them all together...what's that?  I should get out more...probably...heh!

 

 
This pack just put itself together really!  These are only eight of these variegated shades of Stylecraft Special DK so I just took away brown and grey and this is what transpired and became the Variegated Yarn Pack.  They look lovely together!  I like the more rustic nature that these yarns give when knitted or crocheted up.


The Bright Yarn Pack demanded it's existence because the super bright colours fiesta and jaffa pretty much catch my attention every time I have a rifle through my own personal stash.  I found them some bright friends and this rather manic and quite dazzling combination burst into life.  These bright colours cannot fail to cheer you up even on the greyest, grumpiest day!

This is very much the more subdued and sweeter version of the Rainbow Yarn Pack.  I was rather out of my comfort zone admittedly for this pack, bright jewel colours are my usual choices.  However the Pastel Yarn Pack does make me think of cute little baby clothes and blankets, which gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling. Awww!

This is a colour combination that snuck up on me.  I was playing around with the more muted tones of Special dk and rather liked the way the saffron and storm blue looked together.  It took me a while to find the rest of the colours to complement the snuggly warm and relaxed feeling I was looking for, but I think I cracked it with this Cosy Yarn combination.

This yarn pack is pure indulgence on my part.  Emperor is, possibly, my favourite shade from the whole 82 colours of Special dk.  Teal was always going to go with it but the lobelia and boysenberry shades were a bit of a surprise!  Empire is so very similar to teal but I just love the colours and they work so well with the other four shades...and petrol snuck in...so this is my personal choice yarn pack.  I was a bit stuck for a name but with emperor and empire in there,  Empress just seemed a good choice really!  The Empress Yarn Pack is currently being used in my current WIP, a great big 12 x 12 granny square blanket.  It's looking rather lovely so far...

So, do any of my colour packs tickle your fancy? 

Maybe you've got your own yarn pack idea, let me know, I'll put it together for you.