A Pillow to Share

G'Day

I just love textured stitches in crochet and to show case some of these I make them into pillows to decorate and bring color to my home.

Here is a pillow that is one of my favorites.  Crocheted with a 5mm hook and some varied purple shades of 8ply acrylic yarn..not sure what brand, I made this beautiful pillow case a while ago.

I was you tubing and searching for different stitches and I came across this stitch called
Catherine's Wheel, presented by Mickey from The Crochet Crowd.

I liked this stitch so much that I grabbed my favorite colored yarn, purple and started making the square. Finishing of the square, I started to like how it looked so I decided to keep going and make it into a 35cmx35cm pillow case.

This is the front

This is the back, I alternated between black and purple mix with a simple single crochet stitch. I just make up whatever I feel and suits the whole design.

Cool I think...I buy the pillow inserts/form from Spotlight, this is the smallest 35x35 cm, for 5 bucks.

I have more pillows that I will share with you...so stay tuned, I just love making them.

Thats all for now...

oh and if you are on facebook I have created a page where I share my craft creations...so pop on over and LIKE and SHARE my page

Monika's Artistic Flare

ciao Bella's

Update on Spring Pillow CAL

G'day

I have made progress on the Spring Fling Pillow....the front panel is complete....reminds me of the beautiful blue skies during spring...I love the color of the yarn and the texture of the stitches is perfect, fits well with my home decor of pillows with all sorts of textures. The photos below are the true colors of the blue yarn.

I also started on the back of the pillow which reminds me of the grass, dirt and trees during spring, i think the green mix yarn depicts this quiet well....

Cool, I love it all so far....


If you would like to join this Spring Fling Pillow CAL go and visit Cathy's Hook Club for details...
Also Mickey from The Crochet Crowd has fantastic and easy to follow tutorials to guide you through this beautiful pattern..

Well that is all for now....pass on the word about my blog MonikaRose Crochet and Knits and join/follow to keep up to date.....


Have a Fantastic Day and Happy Crochet Times

Ciao Bella's

A New CAL from Mandy

G'Day

I have joined another CAL from Mandy's Craft Tales (on Facebook).  The pattern is on her Facebook page and CAL ends 12th April.

I have used a 4mm hook and 8pl acrylic yarn in colors of yellow, green, purple, blue, red, orange and a multicolored yarn called by me Firey (mix of yellow, red and orange).


Here is my finished mandala

There have been few entries so far and they are all beautiful in their unique way with many extending their mandalas to suit their home decors...so come and visit Mandy's Craft Tales and join in the CAL..The mandala is nice and easy to crochet up and will not take up too much of your time, the choice of hook and yarn is yours..you might even get a chance to do more then one...

Please Like Mandy's page as she has a great eye for color and many of her own crochet and other crafts to share and more CAL'S on the way....check out her recent crochet project of putting together all different stitch types in a square to make a beautiful end result and the colors are stunning. She shares the pattern of each square too, to give us ideas for our own crochet creations.

Here is what she has so far....

Fantastic, so head on over and enjoy and create your own mandala for your homes.



Enjoy your day Bella's

A Spring Flower Pillow CAL Giveaway

g'DAY

One of The Crochet Crowd clubs, called Cathy's Hook Club

Is hosting their first Challenge for the month of March-April


The New Challenge of the Month is

Spring Fling Pillow with Yarn Giveaway

Cathy's Pillow

I have decided to join and make a pillow, which i love making lots of pillows...which I should show you some.  I also have a youtube video showcasing a few of them.


Anyways I have made a start on the front of the pillow...I am using one of my favorite blue colors of yarn and I will make up the other colors as I go......I found very useful mickey's video tutorials on how to construct this whole cushion from start to finish giving tips along the way...

Here is mine so far......using 5mm hook..and yarn by Moda Vera Marvel 8ply 100 % acrylic (col 1045, lot 779464).  I chained up 60 to make sure I got a 12'x12' square or larger for the challenge/giveaway.

Love the look so far..I love textured crochet stitches..adds to my collection..very cool..and my favorite bright blue yarn.  Very spring color..reminds of the beautiful blue sky.


Anyways...ooh which reminds me please vote for my Overlay Mandala No4....click here @ A Creative Being

These two are from last years CAL from A Creative Being
More info and better photos in my other post..click here

Thanks for stopping by..make sure you join this blog for more great creations and updates on the CAL's

ciao bella's

Octagon and Square Afghan Completed

G'day

My Octagon and Square Afghan is finished and I immensely enjoyed crocheting this one in ten days before the deadline on 20 th March which one winner will be drawn from the Random Generator by Mickey from The Crochet Crowd.....cannot wait cross all your fingers and toes and send positive thoughts towards my afghan ...

To see the Flickr gallery from The Crochet Crowd Aghan Club click here....

There is still time if you are a fast crocheter......

Here is my afghan in the gallery...

Take a look and admire my crochet afghan as it is very different.

Thank you and go and make one for yourself and checkout the gallery with over 300 entries for the giveaway.

Enjoy your day and happy crochet

Overlay Mandala No4 Completed

G'Day

Overlay Mandala No4 is completed and in a list to be voted for to win a few prizes.

Please head over to A Creative Being to vote for my mandala,  name is Monika Rose

Thank you and much appreciated for your vote....I love the variegated yarn is different from the other mandalas....

Have a Fantastic Day and Enjoy Crochet

Progress on Octagon and Squares Afghan

G'Day

Progress on the octagon and square afghan is going great almost done..

Crocheting two at a time octagons now with 5 to go....got two on the run and three to go...

Getting excited to have it finished before the deadline of 20th March.

Sewing together should be fun I cannot wait.. Planning using a single crochet to connect and using another colour, orange or red to subdue the yellow around the octagons and squares.

You can still crochet this afghan for the giveaway, go to my other post for details..

Well there is a bummer I encounted, I ran out of one of the variegated colours, but I found the other variegated yarn which I thought I did not have....should have seen my stash room..uproar, yarn all over the place trying and wishing I would find some more.   Anyways I found very close, similar yarn to the one that I ran out of (only four octagons to do with this one).

Ran out of the variegated yarn on the left and found more of the ne next to it

This one is the closest

The one on the left is the original and the one on the right is the closest color I found

Well all the above happened yesterday and I managed to complete another four squares late last night whilst watching Last Resort.  One more juicy octagon to go today and then get stuck into joining all the octagons and squares together....cool cannot wait...and I will be able to submit the afghan to The Crochet Crowd Club for the giveaway before the deadline.

ok then...see ya soon...Bella (Bella means beautiful in Italian)