Japanese Flower Scarf-

During my recent  craft room renovation, I came across a long forgotten project! A beautiful Japanese Flower scarfy thing I started about 2 years ago!

A Pile Of Japanese Flowers

Pink, Purple And Cream Softness

 I first saw this gorgeous piece of hooky on Attic24- Lovely Lucy had made herself a beautiful shawl. It was gorgeous and I just had to have one but as I was just starting to crochet and it all looked VERY complicated to me. It kept playing on my mind, these beautiful elegant flowers! Lucy had no pattern for it but had bought a Japanese book, and worked it all out for herself!(She is SO clever) I needed it, I wanted it, I had to have it! So what does a modern hooky girl to do, I googled it! Now as you know , there are just millions, if not gazillions of things to sift through on the web. but I eventually found a lovely blog(Elizabeth Cat) and she had a pattern for them!

They were fairly easy and I think after 1 or 2 attempts I got it right! So off I went! Now I must tell you about a little downfall of mine, I always  have about 5 or 6 things on the go at once, its not because I  get bored, its because I get so  terribly excited by a new and beautiful thing, that I have to drop everything, and start on the new and beautiful item, be it knitting, sewing, or crochet. So why am I rambling on so much.... I got really far with my beautiful Japanese flower shawl and BAM! Something else caught my attention! I can't even tell you what it was, but I forgot all about my flowers....... until a few days ago during the craft  room clean out, I felt awful when I opened a sad looking packet and saw them, half finished,just begging to become something wonderful.......

So Pretty!

Pinned Together and Patiently Waiting

For those of you who would like to try these gorgeous flowers here is the pattern(Need to just say that it is the above mentioned blogs pattern, I am not sure if it her own pattern or if she got it elsewhere.) I have tweaked it  a bit here and there. I am going to try to show you how to do them, I have never tried to write "crochet" before so forgive me if it is complicated......

Treble crochet is as follows- (tr) yarn over, Insert your hook, yarn over, pull yarn through(3 loops on your hook) yarn over, pull through 2 loops, yarn over pull through 2 loops - done!
Slip stitch is as follows-(sl st) insert your hook, yarn over,pull yarn back through the stitch then through the loop on your hook

Japanese Flowers Ashley's Way

::So to begin, chain 6 and join with a slip stitch

Round 1:: Chain 4(counts as 1 tr and 1 chain) then 1 tr and 1 chain into the chain circle. continue until you have 11tr, 12 little stitches all in all, as in the above picture

Round 2:: Chain  5 (counts as 1 tr and 2 chain) then work 1 tr into 1 chain opening, then 2 chains, (1 tr 2 ch) continue all the way around and fasten off.(looks like a little wheel)

Round 3:: Join the new colour and chain 4 then work 3 tr into that same space, then work 4 tr into the next 2 chain spaces, continue all the way around the little wheel! Sl st and fasten off

Round 4::Join next colour, and chain 5, sl st into the next space after 4 tr(you are making a base on which to work the petals) continue all the way around and sl st into the same space that you started in

Round 5:: Petals- make 8 tr onto the first base you have just done, then sl st into the same space as the next base sl st(make sense?) the sl sts will make the shape of the petals! Continue all the way around, sl st into the space of the very first petal and fasten off. VOILA!

Whew! A lot of brain power used there.  I really hope that makes sense to you and that you get them right!
So even though I have seen some beautiful little mice that I am dying to knit, I am totally, 100%, absolutely going to finish those flowers before I start anything else...... I have however changed my mine about the shawl, I am now going to make it into a snood! A continual scarf warm and soft and comfortable! Watch this space......

I could not resist putting these pictures of my friend Kate's little puppy( a Boston Terrier), we were all sitting on a blanket waiting for the girls to finish ballet, when sweet little Miss Perdy, made off with a ball of my wool! It was so funny and when we caught her, I immediately rolled it up and gave it back to her, I mean she knows a good bit of soft yarn when she see it! Clever Girl! xxx