A Day Away

Hello Lovelies,
I  went on a rather lovely day away yesterday, to a bloggers meet up at a National Trust property, no less.

At 11am I left home with a very hastily constructed yarny  floral posy attached to my boring but oh-so-practical ruck sack.........

 THIS wonderful Pattern was a speedy joy to work up ....thank you HEATHER.

I was feeling a little nervous about a get together with peeps I din't know, but I really didn't need to worry.
Within minutes we were chatting like old friends thanks largely to Jane's wonderfully friendly welcome and excellent suggestion that we brought a picnic and wore something  floral to make it easy for us to recognise each other.

In the end a few lovely people who had hoped to attend couldn't make it, which was a shame, but our small group fitted nicely around a picnic table in the walled garden........

 There was JANE, GILLY, MEL, me and ROSIE.

The walled gardens were looking rather lovely and I couldn't resist a wander before we moved on to explore further. You can see the south facing wall in this photo was once covered in a huge green house......what a shame it didn't survive...........

As well as vegetable and flowers this spot was also growing pigs ....they looked very happy.........

These scarecrows for children to dress up made us smile............

We wandered out of the gardens and past some small shops ....this one, selling Lavender and hand sewn goodies, smelt wonderful.......

Soon we passed the farm , with it's unusual Long horn cattle ( and a cute sleeping calf).........

and very smart farmhouse............

Then it was a pleasant stroll to SHUGBOROUGH HOUSE..... here you can just see it in the distance ..........

The Rhododendrons were stunning...........

and the stable block looked pretty...........

Here's the house it's self.........very imposing, if a little grey on a grey day...........

Then it was time for another group photo...........

Inside the hall we marvelled at the grand interiors........

Especially this huge Drawing room..........

on the first floor were more grand rooms.............but then it was onto an interesting part that I didn't know we were going to find.

Shugborough  Hall was home to the late Lord Lichfield ...........

There was an exhibition of his work and it was interesting to see his Photographic equipment.......

Along with some stunning examples of his Photographs.

I loved this one of the Walton sextuplets taken when they were toddlers.....the trickiest of subjects I expect!...........

Patrick Lichfield was most famous for photographing his royal relatives and beautiful women, these are just a couple of examples.....Jane Seymour in  1973...........

And Brit Ekland in the grounds of Shugborough Hall.............

 Sorry about the horrible reflections on these photos.....I thought they were still worth sharing.

As a teenager of the  Eighties it was his role as the official photographer at this royal wedding that I most remember him for..........

source

There are some more examples of his Royal photographs HERE

Then it was onto his living quarters. This area amused us.....a sort of Bar alcove..........

Love the  gramophone with it's old "78" Record.............

This is a guest bathroom.....isn't it lovely............

And this is the Earls kitchen..........very ordinary but still fascinating...........

and there were some parts that made it stand out from your average kitchen ........like the Dumbwaiter and the servants bells over the door...........

These formerly private rooms were fascinating to me and such a contrast to the public rooms downstairs.........

Outside again we wandered around the gardens, chatting all the time.............

It's a shame the sun didn't show it's lovely face to cheer up these photos, but at least there was no rain.

I loved this bridge and summer house in the Japanese garden.............

And Rosie led us to this gorgeous old pack horse bridge. The Essex Bridge which is the widest remaining bridge of it's type in the country.............

We were never short of things to talk about and the grounds were a wonderful place to chat happily as we wandered along.

Thank you to JANE for organising this wonderful meet up.

And thank you too to Hubby, who took five boys to the Cinema and a suitable eatery ( The latest X-Men movie, followed by  Frankie and Benny's)  as a birthday treat for our eldest two while I disappeared ( it wasn't their actual birthday yesterday ).
Finally, thank you also to Mum , who was happy to provide the transport, then explore at her own pace while I made some lovely new friends.
My day away was much appreciated.
Jacquie x

Petals and Puffs Mandala Tutorial

Hello Lovelies,
I'm so happy to be sharing this latest pattern with you all.

Thank you for all your kind comments on the inspiration for this project HERE.

So, without further waffle.....here is my " Petals and Puffs Mandala".

Ta-Dah...........

I'm really thrilled with how this pattern has worked out and I love the texture that the puff stitches add to the design

If the idea of attempting this crochet stitch is a bit daunting please don't be put off. I've taken loads of photos of the stages to help you lovelies.....well I've taken loads of photos of all the stitches......so hopefully it will be easy for you to create your own "Petals and Puffs Mandala" 

It's taken me a while to write, test and  publish this tutorial as there's lots to think about explaining clearly, I've also written out the pattern in both U.S. and U.K. terms at the end of this post for you lovelies.

But first the Tutorial.......

........written in my usual format.....U.S. terms.

 Here is a list of the abbreviations used and a handy  conversion guide for U.K. terms..........

sc= single crochet................................U.K. double crochet

hdc = half double crochet..................U.K. half treble crochet

dc = double crochet................................U.K. treble crochet

tc= treble crochet...................................U.K. double treble

I've used a mixture of brands of Double Knitting (Worsted) weight yarn  and a 4.00 mm hook. You can choose any weight of yarn along with it's   appropriately sized hook. Gauge is not important for this project.

So shall we begin........

ROUND 1

Chain 4........

and slip stitch into initial chain to form a ring..........

chain 4...counts as 1 double crochet and 1 chain...........

make 1 d.c. chain 1 into the ring 11 times..............

slip stitch into the 3rd chain of your initial chain 4 and fasten off..........

ROUND 2 

attach a new colour by slip stitching around the chain stitch of  any chain in 

round 1

This is the first round of Puff stitches.....so this is how you make one........

Pull up the  loop on your hook to about the same height as a half double crochet stitch. If you make you loops too big the stitch will end up all messy and floppy rather than neat and puffy...........

Yarn over then insert hook into same space , yarn over and pull through.......3 loops on hook.........

yarn over,insert hook a second time, yarn over and pull through.......5 loops on hook...........

Yarn over, insert hook a third and final time, yarn over and pull through .....7 loops on hook..........

yarn over hook and pull through all 7 loops...........

chain 1 to complete the stitch.............

chain 1 and make 11 more puff stitches, one in each space around with a chain between each.

  NOTE for your second and following puff stitches you don't need to loosen the first loop on your hook, just make all the rest of the loops about the height of a hdc stitch.

N.B. because the puff stitch is completed with it's own chain you are making 2 chains between the loopy part ( one to close the puff and one to space them out)............

to finish this round insert your hook into the top of the first puff, pull up a loop and fasten off.......

ROUND 3 

this is the second round of puff stitches it's made in the same way as round 2 but with an extra chain between each puff.  

So once you have made the first puff in a chain space of round 2 you need to chain 2 before making the next puff in the following space..........

N.B. this will mean making three chains between the loopy parts ( one to close the puff stitch and two to space them out).........

make 1 puff in each space around .......12 puffs in total. Fasten off in the same way as round 2..........

sorry about the high colour in these photos....my camera does not like red :0(

ROUND 4

This is a round of double crochet stitches, made in clusters of 4 between the puff stitches of round 3.

Attach a new colour in any chain space of round 3 and chain 3 ( counts as 1 d.c.)..........

make 3 more d.c. stitches in the same space..........

Make 4 d.c. in each space around. Slip stitch into third chain of initial chain 3 and fasten off........

ROUND 5
This round is made of half double crochet stitches with some increases to allow the design to remain flat.

In this round we are working into ( not between) the stitches of round 4 . My needle show where to place your hook...........

Attach a a new colour and chain 2 counts as 1 hdc..........

make 1 hdc in each of the next two stitches of round 4...............

in the next stitch make 2 hdc.............

repeat this pattern around i.e. 1 hdc, 1 hdc , 1hdc, 2 hdc.
once you get back to the initial chain 2 fasten off into second chain..........

ROUND 6
This is a round of single crochet stitches worked into every other stitch of round 5. There is a chain between each one.

Attach a new colour into any hdc stitch of round 5. Chain 2 ( counts as 1 s.c and 1 chain ) .........

skip over 1 hdc of round 5 and make 1 s.c. into the next stitch............

then chain one. My chains are worked quite loosely  in this round . Repeat around i.e. 1 sc chain 1 and skip a stitch of round 5, 1 sc in following stitch.

My round finished up with two sc stitches next to each other. I still included the chain between them and it didn't affect the finished result...............

Finnish off by slip stitching into the initial 2 ch.

ROUND 7
This is a final round of those lovely puff stitches.....hopefully you are finding them easy to do by now. It's worked into the chain spaces of round 6.
Attach a new colour of yarn and make a puff stitch as explained in round two........

Chain 1 and make 1 puff stitch in every "one chain space" of round six..........

Remember , as each puff stitch has a closing chain you will be chaining two after making each loopy part......

finish this round as you did in previous puff stitch rounds.

ROUND 8
This is a round of double crochet stitches worked into the spaces between the puff stitches of round 7.
Chain 3 ( counts as 1dc) and make two further dc in same space. In the next space ( and every subsequent space around ) make 3 dc........

Fasten off by slip stitching into the third chain of the initial chain 3...........

ROUND 9
This is a round of single crochets between the dc clusters. Chain stitches are used to create loops for the petals of the final round.

Attach a new colour between the dc stitches of round 8, to correspond with the spaces between the clusters.
chain 4 ( counts as 1sc, chain 3) in the next space make 1 sc and chain 3....

repeat around and slip stitch into initial chain 4 to finish off..............

ROUND 10
In this final round we are making the  "petals" in the chain loops of round 9

Attach a new colour and chain 1 ( counts as 1 sc) make 1 dc, 1 treble crochet, 1 dc, 1 sc all in same space.

Here I'll show you  what it should look like in stages.

In next chain loop make 1 single crochet..........

1 double crochet.........

1 treble crochet............

1 double crochet.........

and finally 1 single crochet....petal made ♥...........

Continue in this way making one petal in each chain loop till you reach the start..........

Slip stitch into initial ch1 and fasten off..........

Weave in all ends and your Mandala is complete..........

I'm so happy with how this pretty and decorative piece of crochet has turned out. There it is with the stool cover that inspired it...........

The scale is a bit deceiving in this photo as the stool cover is closer to the camera.
My stool cover measures 10 inches and the Mandala measures 7 and a half inches......the perfect size to send to Lucy.........yay.
I'm hoping I may be able to spot my contribution to THIS wonderful creative project when I visit. It makes me happy that the colours and design  have a touch of nostalgia for me.

I used two of the original Cygnet yarns I used on my stool cover to create this project . The other colours are Stylecraft  Special. 

The Cygnet colours are Aqua ( the greeny blue ) and Butter-cream ( the pale yellow). The Stylecraft colours are Saffron, Lipstick and Cloud blue.

Aspen and Lemon from the Stylecraft range are pretty close to the Cygnet colours.

And finally here's the written version of my pattern in both U.S. and U.K. terms. Ideal to copy and print.........

♥ Petals and Puffs  Mandala♥ by Bunny Mummy
Pattern written in U.S. crochet terms.

Chain 4, slip st to form a ring
Round 1 Stitches are worked into ring
Chain 4 ( counts as 1 dc, chain 1)
dc, chain 1, 11 times.
slip stitch into initial chain 3 and fasten off
Round 2
Attach new colour in any 1 ch space.
Make a Puff stitch as follows....
pull up loop on hook to approx the height of a hdc stitch,
 yarn over (yo),insert hook and pull through (3 loops on hook )
yo, insert hook,  yo and pull through ( 5 loops on hook)
yo, insert hook for a third time, yarn over and pull through ( 7 loops on hook )
yarn over and pull through all 7 loops.
make ch 1 to close puff stitch.
ch 1 and make a second puff stitch in the next ch space of round 1
repeat around till you have 12 puff stitches.
N.B. because the puff stitch is completed with it's own chain you are making 2 chains between the loopy part ( one to close the puff and one to space them out)
slip stitch into initial closing ch and fasten off
Round 3
is made in the same way as round 2 but with 1 extra chain between puffs.
Round 4
attach new colour in any ch space. ch3 ( counts as 1 dc) 3 dc in same space.
make 4 dc in next space and every space around.
slip stitch into initial ch3 of starting ch. Fasten off.
Round 5
Working into stitches of round 4
attach a new colour in any stitch, ch 2 ( counts as 1 hdc )
in following and consecutive stitches of round 4 make 1 hdc,1 hdc, 2 hdc.
then *1 hdc, 1 hdc, 1 hdc, 2 hdc . Repeat from * around.
 i.e. 2 hdc in every 4th stitch.
Round 6
Attach new colour into any stitch of round 5,ch 2 ( counts as 1sc ch 1)
*miss next stitch and sc in following stitch, ch1. repeat from * around.
If you finish the round on 2 consecutive stitches just add 1 ch between them.
 slip stitch into initial ch2 and fasten off.
Round 7
Attach new colour in any 1 ch space and make a puff stitch . ch1 and make 1 puff stitch,  in every 1 ch space of round 6  around.
slip stitch into closing ch of first puff and fasten off
i.e this round is made in the same way as round 2.
Round 8
Attach a new colour in any ch space between puff stitches of round 7
ch 3 ( counts as 1 dc) make 2 dc in same space.
make 3 dc in next space and repeat around.
Slip stitch into ch 3 of initial 3 ch and fasten off.
Round 9
Attach a new colour between any 3 dc cluster, ch 4 ( counts as 1 sc ch3)
*1 sc in next space ch 3. Repeat from * around.
slip st into initial 4 ch and fasten off.
Round 10
Attach new colour in any 3 ch of round 9.
Ch 1 ( counts as 1 sc) 1 dc, 1 tc , 1 dc , 1 sc all in same space.
*in following space make 1 sc, 1 dc, 1 tc, 1 dc, 1 sc. Repeat from * around.
slip st into initial ch 1 and fasten off.
Weave in all ends.
Your mandala is now complete ♥♥♥

Phew.... and here's the U.K. version.........

♥  Petals and Puffs Mandala♥ by Bunny Mummy
Pattern written in U.K. crochet terms.

Chain 4, slip st to form a ring
Round 1 Stitches are worked into ring
Chain 4 ( counts as 1 tc, chain 1)
tc, chain 1, 11 times
slip stitch into initial chain 3 and fasten off
Round 2
Attach new colour in any 1 ch space.
Make a Puff stitch as follows....
pull up loop on hook to approx the height of a htc stitch,
yarn over (yo) insert hook and pull through (3 loops on hook )
yo, insert hook, yo and pull through ( 5 loops on hook)
yo, insert hook for a third time, yarn over and pull through ( 7 loops on hook )
yarn over and pull through all 7 loops.
make ch 1 close puff stitch.
ch 1 and make a second puff stitch in the next ch space of round 1
repeat around till you have 12 puff stitches.
N.B. because the puff stitch is completed with it's own chain you are making 2 chains between the loopy part ( one to close the puff and one to space them out)
slip stitch into initial closing ch and fasten off
Round 3
is made in the same way as round 2 but with 1 extra chain between puffs.
Round 4
attach new colour in any ch space. ch3 ( counts as 1 tc) 3 tc in same space.
make 4 tc in next space and every space around.
slip stitch into initial ch3 of starting ch. Fasten off.
Round 5
Working into stitches of round 4
attach a new colour in any stitch, ch 2 ( counts as 1 htc )
in following and consecutive stitches of round 4 make 1 htc,1 htc, 2 htc.
then *1 htc, 1 htc, 1 htc, 2 htc . Repeat from * around.
 i.e. 2 htc in every 4th stitch.
Round 6
Attach new colour into any stitch of round 5,ch 2 ( counts as 1dc ch 1)
*miss next stitch and dc in following stitch, ch1. repeat from * around.
If you finish the round on 2 consecutive stitches just add 1 ch between them.
 slip stitch into initial ch2 and fasten off.
Round 7
Attach new colour in any 1 ch space and make a puff stitch . ch1 and make 1 puff stitch, in every 1 ch space of round 6  around.
slip stitch into closing ch of first puff and fasten off
i.e this round is made in the same way as round 2.
Round 8
Attach a new colour in any ch space between puff stitches of round 7
ch 3 ( counts as 1 tc) make 2 tc in same space.
make 3 tc in next space and repeat around.
Slip stitch into ch 3 of initial 3 ch and fasten off.
Round 9
Attach a new colour between any 3 tc cluster, ch 4 ( counts as 1 dc ch3)
*1 dc in next space ch 3. Repeat from * around.
slip st into initial 4 ch and fasten off.
Round 10
Attach new colour in any 3 ch of round 9.
Ch 1 ( counts as 1 dc) 1 tc, 1 double treble stitch (dtc) , 1 tc , 1 dc all in same space.
*in following space make 1 dc, 1 tc, 1 dtc, 1 tc, 1 dc. Repeat from * around.
slip st into initial ch 1 and fasten off.
Weave in all ends.
Your mandala is now complete ♥♥♥

As usual....Please let me know if you encounter any problems with this pattern and I'll try to help.
Happy Mandala making.
Jacquie x