Bullion Stitch Tutorial - My new favourite crochet stitch!

I'm actually freeforming since I'm a real crocheter 

(the few rows of a potholder in primary school don't count!).

I always adored the bullion stitch when I saw it 

on pictures of Prudence Mapstone works for example.

I gave it a try again & again

& I found methods that were helpful.

But even I loved looking at this stitch I never liked crocheting it.

I came to an idea while I was testing

the wonderful pattern Faux Freeform Hood pattern

by Shawn of Dragonbird Creations...

Lots of bullion stitches, beautiful but exhausting!

I thought actually I only need something

surrounding the hook -

so the loops would be around this thing

& I could just pull the yarn through it...

I went to town & got me several sizes of drinking straws...

And it has worked perfectly!

I did a research - are there other people using my technique?

I found crocheters who cut a straw on the side

& people who put a straw next to the hook.

I haven't found someone doing it the way I do

but if you have PUBLISHED this technique before me

let me know & I will refer to your page or book!

I actually don't wanna crochet other stitches at the moment,

bullion stitches are so flexible & ideal for yarnpainting!

Much better than all other stitches.

And faster with my new technique...

If you do more than 30-loop-stitches

they become quite funny but it's still possible! 

So here we go:

We need a hook without a holder, 

a piece of a suitable straw - a little bit bigger than your hook size

(just cut off a little bit - make loops around to see how much you need!

Cut it shorter than mine, I actually also wanted to show you some funny

giant bullion stitches so the straw is longer...)

& yarn, of course!!!

In the beginning I have crocheted a foundation for my bullion-work...

(I've made it this way:

3 ch, 12 dc in first ch - slip stitch in 3rd ch from the start)

To start the bullion adventure crochet 3 ch with another yarn colour...

(Of course you don't HAVE to change the colour

but it just looks better!)

Now the straw has to take place in this game:

Piece of straw around hook

AND bring the yarn around the straw as shown in this picture...

Now wrap the yarn around the straw -

I have 12 loops around my straw...

Then I take the hook into the next stitch...

(The shorter the straw the easier it is!)

***I've had a confusing picture too much here on this place

- thank you to Jenny Lawson of Craft Cove for letting me know!***

                                    

...and pull it through the straw

WHILE slowly starting to pull the straw, too...

I'm always fixing the loops with 2 fingers

while pulling the straw...

The straw stays on the hook all the time,

we have the hook on top of our bullion stitch now...

Now we are bringing the hook in this position....

...and we are crocheting a slip stitch

AND a ch before we

bring the yarn around the straw again

& do the next bullion stitch in the next dc...

...we go on...

...and on...

Until we come to our 2 ch of the beginning.

We just crochet a last bullion in the SAME stitch as our 2 ch...

...and are creating a slip stitch in the top of the following bullion stitch.

It needs some bullions until you can create them really fast

but after a little training it's so much fun!

Play around a little bit,

it's great fun to experiment with this stitch!

I'm in love with the bullion stitch!

As soon I can find someone with a better camera

I'll create a video, too! ;-)

My English isn't perfect

& if you have problems to understand something:

Ask me, just use the post to page option on Dada Neon Crochet!!!

YOUR Personal Freeform CAL! - Week 17

You wanna create your own personal freeform blanket?
Whenever you start it,
I will always post your pictures
on my page Dada Neon Crochet & add it to our CAL photo album!
If you wanna join this freeform adventure you can find the first project here!

♥♥♥

The post is REALLY late this week.

But it was a hard week full of sorrows

& appointments & I need concentration to do it.

It's finally weekend & even I get the decision

if I have the opportunity to take a break from my studies

on Monday I'm quite relaxed since yesterday...

It looks good! ;-)

And it's wonderful to have my lovely friend Sarah here from Scotland/Aberdeen!

 Less pain than last week by the way, yay!

 This week I have to talk about a disorder.

I have an explanation now

for a lot of things that caused me problems during my whole life.

I have to write about it

because most of us NEVER receive this diagnose

& are suffering every day because of it.

It's a typical disorder creative persons & artists have

& I'm already sure I'm not the only one in this CAL Club.

It was first indirectly mentioned in this book for children,

the "Struwwelpeter" by Heinrich Hoffmann.

It's a cruel book but Heinrich Hoffmann was a psychologist

& has actually written down some important contents of modern psychology...

You might have read this book -

it's translated in many different languages since 1845.

My disorder is described in

"The Story of Johnny Look-in-the-Air".

We have to start in the childhood.

I've always been a damn talented daydreamer.

And was quite obsessed by creative things like painting & crafts.

The same with books.

Other children are getting bored quite fast -

I could just totally lose myself in it.

My mother called my name because of dinner -

again & again.

I've always been chaotic.

And blocked. I was asked to tidy up my room -

I didn't do it - you could find me reading instead, dreaming

or creating something.

Homework? I've claimed I've done it. ;-)

I was actually a quiet child but I could explode spontaneously...

A reason for getting kicked out of schools...

Maybe you think now:

Hey, sounds familiar!

Then you are maybe one of the many persons

who never got the diagnose: ADD.

Attention deficit disorder.

WITHOUT the "H" in it.

We aren't hyperactive, we are the opposite.

We don't disturb as much as our hyperactive "brothers"

(more girls suffer from the dreamer-ADD

while ADHD is more a boys-problem).

That's a huge problem because we often don't get help.

And if we don't get help we will have huge problems as grown-ups.

There are also positive things about this attention disorder...

We are often quite bright -

we are good in finding new solutions.

Inventions & art are often caused by

an ADD/ADHD brain -

a psychologist friend told me

we have left our trees & coves

because of persons like us.

We are bringing the world forward

but we often struggle in life.

"Procraftination", a talent to avoid other important things

like household, paperwork or exams for example.

We aren't good in completing projects -

many unfinished WIPs...

We are living more in the present than other persons.

Also because our memory is pretty bad. :-(

If we don't write down things we just forget about them!

We have problems with money 

because we aren't good in planning for a month.

And we usually work in lower jobs than we should -

because we can only learn for exams & so on

with pressure. Extraordinary effective! But the problem is:

Too much stress can lead to depression

& then we are blocked & unable to do anything anymore. 

We are buying more yarn than we actually need.

We have problems in partnerships -

we hyperfocus on crocheting for example

& the partner feels ignored.

We don't listen to important things

or simply forget about them.

Because we can't give the full attention

when we are living our biggest talent - hyperfocus.

Our partners have to do more in the household

& often carry responsibilities we should take.

We often tend to have drug problems.

Because we instinctively try to self-medicate us.

Coffee is damn important, too.

We are actually natural born princesses & princes:

We should sit in a castle while crocheting & dreaming all day.

Our servants & secretaries should solve the rest.

But life is no fairytale & there are ways to bring our life in structure.

Don't be sad if you seem to be a princess-look-in-the-air, too.

I'm pretty happy after this diagnose!

Because I have possibilities now to improve my life!

And because I'm not lazy or crazy!

(A damn good article by Shari Schreiber is to find here...)

It's never to late & we can achieve a lot

with more structure & diet & sports.

With writing down EVERYTHING.

♥♥♥

So, time to say "Thank you!"
to all my lovely official 31 CAL friends

& of course to our secret members as well!

Lovely greeting straight from the heart to
my friend Roberta,
it's so beautiful to see your beautiful creations growing -
there are so many extraordinary creative works growing
on your private profile!

Jodie who is also a huge fan of Zooty Owl patterns,
show me your Cosmos Fields Shawl when it's done,
I so need one, too!
Greetings to Ulrike in Austria &
my friend Gwenda in Australia -
thank you so much for your support
from the other side of this planet!
Sandy of Sandy's Sundries (lots of wonderful creations in her Etsy-Shop!) -
this weeks project is based on her idea
& I already know what to expect,
can't wait to see your puzzle piece!
Alicia of Marcalic's Creations -
I so loved your onesie pic you have posted last week!
I'm still searching for my perfect one -
maybe I should just crochet me one! ;-)

Marina & with our beloved Freeform Crochet World Group!
Such an important home for us freeformers.
It amazes me every day to see
the unique freeformed works in your group!
So good to have you as our host in this wonderful place!
And your Freeform Crochet World!
 If you are searching for free Freeform Crochet Tutorials
follow this link... It will lead you to her
first article about her freeform passion
& in the end you will find the linklist to
all her fantastic & free photo tutorials...
(Snovej Crafts on facebook if you don't wanna miss her posts...)
Anouk of Een steekje verder -
at the moment she has a give-away on her page... ;-)
 MariaElena - she has celebrated her birthday this week
& has received a wonderful present from her chosen prince:
A yarn-cupboard with lots of space, wonderful! :-)
Thank you for your lovely greetings, MariaElena!
You make me smile every day!

Lin with Crochet in Colour & her Etsy-Shop -
 It's wonderful to see how you Ladies support each other -
Lin has tested Jenny's amazing new mandala pattern,
what a beautiful creation!

Shawn of Dragonbird Creations,
 such a wonderful pattern designer & CAL friend!
I hope many people will have such a cool
Faux Freeform Hood in the future!
Don't wanna be without mine anymore!
Lisbeth... You are awesome!
If you haven't joined your local art club yet
PLEASE do it!
Creations like your expressionistic Madonna
should be shown in art galleries, I love it!

Lovely greetings to Jane in Scotland
& to your beautiful country!
I'm living with two wonderful persons from Scotland & we can't wait
 for the referendum results of the scottish independence...
Tracy of Eden Reborn - I can't get enough of your patterns!
I'm so busy at the moment but I just had to crochet your cowl!
I love this stitch & it was so fast to create!
The free pattern is to find here... ;-)

Jenny with her beautiful page Craft Cove & her blog -
her Tree Mandala Pattern is still 50 % off for her CAL friends...
Use the code on "Dada CAL" on Ravelry
if you wanna have this pattern, too!

Donna with her fab page Walker's Whimsies,
I love your freeform style with your tiny details!
(I'm far to unpatient for such artistic expressions!)
Anne, please create your own page!
Your works are so special,
more people should see it!
Zelna of Zooty Owl - thank you for being a friend!
My Happy Days CAL has grown again,
I will send you my next project pics as soon
I've completed my popcorn flower squares!
Already in progress, can't wait to go on.
I can't count the blankets I've crocheted in my life
but today I've realized that the Happy-Days-Blanket
is my first one created with a pattern, haha! :-)
I love it & I can't wait to see it completed!

Monique of Yemanja - You have created such a beautiful
purse with 2 puzzle pieces! Here we can see a picture,
what a beautiful eye (The heart is part of the collage!)!

Saskia our "MalleSas", thank you for supporting me
with kind words, means so much to me!
I love your family project,
have to create some of these leaves, too!
Cilly with her beautiful colour choices,
can't wait to see your blanket grow!
Michi with her wow-page "Knittenfee" -
 so much passion for yarn on this page!
 Brenda - I hope you will go on with your freeform adventure!
Enna (Mishook aka Strikkeliese & her blog Mishook) -
I'm in Leipzig quite soon,
would be wonderful to meet you in real life!
(I will message you!)
 Nancy - it's great fun to see all your creations grow
in the freeform crochet world group!
Such a good idea to add wings to your Swirly Heart creation!
Judy - I hope you will go on with your freeform project,
just take your time! ;-)
Nora - your favourite movie project is awesome!
I was so amazed when I have discovered your wonderful Avatar-puzzle-piece!
Jacqui of Hooky Delights. - I've seen you also fell in love
with the bullion stitch! So damn easy & fun with the right methods!
Denise with her beautiful pages!
I didn't know that she has a beautiful Etsy-Shop & also a Facebook page!
She has just published her Facebook page,
would be lovely if you would give it a visit!
Alex is really already a true crocheter -
instead of completing his zodiac-project
he is growing flowers for another puzzle piece!
I hope I can show you his next projects soon!
You can never have enough WIPs! ;-)

So, here we can have a look at new progress pictures!

 And the first family-projects...

So, you have already seen the picture for this week's project

but what is it about?

Sandy & Alex told me about an idea:

To yarnpaint a place you love most.

Your favourite environment.

Maybe it's a special place where you have been in your life,

maybe there's nothing better for you to have long walks in a forest,

maybe you just love to spend time in the mountains,

maybe the place you love most is the ocean.

Maybe it's your garden!

It's New York? Why not? Some people prefer huge cities!

For me the most beautiful places are castles next to the sea.

In Scotland you find a lot of this places for example

& I so love to spend time on a place

with exactly this combination.

I've yarnpainted a castle - in neon of course!

And the ocean next to it.

It's actually a bullion stitch puzzle piece,

I don't wanna start counting them

but they are quite dominant in this picture...

I wanted to publish the bullion tutorial this week

but it has to wait until tomorrow...

REALLY, I promise! ;-)

It was just an idea I got into my head.

I've tried it & it works perfectly for me...

Actually you come forward faster than with other stitches

& for yarnpainting it's ideal.

My favourite stitch now,

I NEVER expected to write this one day! ;-)

 I can't wait to see your most beloved environments & places!

♥♥♥

I love to prepare YOUR ideas so let me know 

what else you want to have in your CALs!

Stay awesome you wonderful princesses & princes,

your friend Dada or Julia!

Let me see your art in Marina's Freeform Crochet World Group, on Dada Neon Crochet or Ravelry

YOUR Personal Freeform CAL! - Week 16

You wanna create your own visual diary blanket?
It doesn't matter when you start it,
I will always post your pictures
on my page Dada Neon Crochet & add it to our CAL photo album!
If you wanna join this freeform adventure you can find the first project here!

♥♥♥

Quite a sad post for me,

so I will at least start this it with something

that has made me pretty happy this week!

I don't have a laptop anymore

but my first smartphone (a iPhone actually...)!

And there are so many funny free apps!

I have hundreds of birthmarks but it's quite unfair

that our CAL friend Alex has freckles

& me not! Now I can just add some! :-)

And I can have a look in the future!

I can see how I will look like with 72!

That's a reason to celebrate!

If it really works I will be such a pretty Lady in 2054!

And I can still wear my neon Roxi Slouchy Beanie

& my nose piercing proudly!

I really hope I will have such beautiful laughter wrinkles 

around the eyes one day!!!

I'm quite sad that my flatmate Lela is away now!

She is in munich for two month now

& I miss her badly!

She is yarnbombing our flat with pom-poms, so cool!

In a few days my friend Sarah is arriving from Scotland,

she will stay in Lela's room while she is away!

That's fantastic but I would love to have both of them here!

I have health problems at the moment

& much pain these weeks.

I'm quite angry about the health system in Germany -

a two-class-system.

I'm a member of the "second class"

some doctors just don't want to waste time with you.

They can't earn much money with you

& that's how you are treated sometimes.

I've been to the doctor twice last week

because I was really desperate

& pain killers don't work anymore.

I told that it hurts like hell constantly

but instead of a real check you receive

just some stupid advices within a few minutes.

I will try to find a better doctor tomorrow, wish me luck!

I really hope your system works better,

it should be forbidden to have a two-class-system!

It's not on that you have to be rich to get a good cure.

Grrr.

♥♥♥

So, time to say "Thank you!"
to all my lovely official 31 CAL friends

& of course to our secret members as well!

There is Roberta who has the same favourite book as Jodie -

the bible. I was really sad that I just discovered it
even she has posted it a week ago.
I just don't have enough Facebook time,
I hope I haven't missed more of your creations! :-(

Jodie who has yarnpainted her second favourite movie this week: Ever After.
Jodie, we have watched it on the projector this a few days ago
& it was such a great indirect film tipp!
Totally a movie for princesses like us, I love it!
Ulrike, our CAL friend from Austria,
Gwenda - I so love your cute owls-zodiac-project!
It's all about our own interpretation of a project,
glad you found a way to integrate owls!
Sandy of Sandy's Sundries (here you can find her cute Etsy-Shop!) -
she fell in love with european art
& I hope we can visit the Nana statues
by Niki de Saint Phalle together one day!
(Most of them are in Germany...)
Alicia of Marcalic's Creations -
have a look at her page in the next time,
I guess there will be a give-away soon...

Marina with her Freeform Crochet World Group
& the wonderful Freeform Crochet World!
She has completed her pillow project -
it will look gorgeous as a pillow
but I think even better with a frame!
Think about it, Marina! ;-)

(Her Snovej with the Facebook representation Snovej Crafts is perfect
for us freeformers... ;-) Free tutorials, yippieh!)
Anouk with her cute page Een steekje verder -
she doesn't have much time for crocheting at the moment,
I feel with you!
 MariaElena - I never thought about visiting Alaska
but she is sharing such beautiful pictures with me
from her holiday destination
that I would love to go there one day as well!
Thank you for your lovely greetings every day!

Lin with Crochet in Colour & her Etsy-Shop -
 I love this page & I'm taking my seat more often again
in the future when I have more time, promise! ;-)
Shawn with her awesome page Dragonbird Creations,
 here is my version of her "Faux Freeform Hood" pattern -
such a wonderful thing to have!

Lisbeth - your scorpion with the mermaid of Copenhagen is brilliant!
It blew me away - such a great work again!
Jane - I've seen your crocheted ninja turtle hats:
Sooo cool! ;-)
My friend Tracy of Eden Reborn who has published
her awesome Free Crochet Cactus Pattern!
Here is my version:

Tracy: This pattern is perfect! 

I LOVE the way you are writing down your patterns:

Clear, simple & without spending many words!

So easy to create & it has a place in our livingroom now!

Our guests love it, so I have to create more, haha!!! ;-)

Jenny with her beautiful page Craft Cove & her blog -
it's sooo great that a wonderful pattern
has grown because of this CAL!
The Tree Mandala is available here on Ravelry!
Donna with her fantastic page Walker's Whimsies,
it's so inspiring to visit this page!
Anne it's so wow to see the photos
with your crochet art!
Zelna of Zooty Owl is part of the team as well!
I so love her Happy Days CAL!
Here is my progress so far: Cool, isn't it? ;-)

I'm using more colours & you don't know how it grows,

so I've miscalculated one square.

I need to crochet another yellow flower square.

And the neon pink flower surrounded with neon green

needs to go into another project.

If someone of you thinks now:

"Ohhh, I also want such a neon Happy-Days-Blanket!

Dada has such a good taste in neon colours!"

let me know, I'll send it to you & you already have your first square!

I'm using Schachenmayr Bravo & Schachenmayr Bravo Color ("neon print").

I'm the best private customer of these yarns I guess.

It's cheap acrylic yarn - damn good quality

& the brand of my life.

I would say the first comment on this post can have the square!

Monique of Yemanja - I love your
favourite music project! And your taste in music, too! ;-)
Saskia our "MalleSas", you have
yarnpainted such a funny & beautiful aries version!
Cilly I hope you will continue your CAL project,
it's so beautiful to see it grow!
Michi with her page "Knittenfee" -
I guess she is having a lot of traffic at the moment -
she has published her freeform sneakers tutorial...
You have missed it? Here you go! ;-)
 Brenda with her passion for glitter yarn,
Enna & her wow-page Mishook aka Strikkeliese & her blog Mishook -
I hope you'll soon have your crochet equipment again!
 Nancy with her beautiful colour choices
& her pittypat-cat project, so lovely!
Judy - I really hope you will go on, your first projects are gorgeous!
Nora with her beautiful style
& her wonderful book advice this week.
(She has yarnpainted
"Mutant message down under" by Marlo Morgan...)
I wish I would have more time to read!
Jacqui of Hooky Delights. - I have just discovered
your beautiful "Starry Night" & I already know
what will shine down on my timeline
for my "Nighty Nighty" post! ;-)
Denise - Your animal projects are sooo cute!
And they look awesome attached with
the "Starry Night" & your first projects!
And there's Alex...
Actually he has almost completed his zodiac project
but he has to sew something on a background -
as a real crocheter I totally understand, sewing is awful!
At the moment his WIP is sitting in front of me
on our living room table. :-) Neon!

So, here we can see some new progress pictures!

Progress collage number 1:

...and collage number 2...

...and 3! Such beautiful creations!!!

And of course some pictures of last week's project:

The zodiac sign week based on Lisbeth's idea!

But what will we yarnpaint this week?

Hmmm... It has caused me many tears again.

I hope all of you have a wonderful family.

Maybe you didn't have a good childhood,

then I hope you have found a perfect chosen family.

Family is such an important thing in life

& I'm missing my family much.

I should contact my family

but somehow it's impossible for me to give them a call.

That's depression,

you are losing contact to the world

& you start avoiding talking to persons

who know you too well.

Everyone wants parents to be proud of you.

I always thought:

I'm giving them a call when I have something positive to tell.

And then the time goes by & you can't tell them:

Hey, I finally completed my studies or whatever.

I have a wonderful family & I love them a lot.

Here is a picture I've painted as a christmas present

a few years ago.

That's me with my parents & my brother.

I've been a difficult child.

I mean REALLY difficult.

I'm a natural born rebel somehow.

I'm sure every single teacher will still remember my name until the end.

And I had many because I was kicked out of schools regularly.

I've always had very good marks but my behaviour...

I would have lots of exciting stories to tell,

nothing to be proud about.

I ran away when I was only 13

& I was living in occupied buildings

all over Germany for quite a long time.

It must have been horrible for my family!

Most of the young runaways were homeless

because of violence or abuse.

I ran away because I couldn't take school anymore.

(And some boys who had lots of fun torturing & beating a misfit like me.)

I wanted to be free!

Far away from this town.

I just couldn't breathe anymore in this environment!

Sometimes the police caught me

but I was quite talented in escaping of children's homes.

I didn't want back to my hometown I hated so much.

I was quite sheltered in this punk scene.

I've always had protectors because I was so young.

They kept me away from hard drugs or other danger.

Most of them are dead because they cared less for themselves.

Two of them died within 3 days

because of heroine & suicide.

Then I called my parents.

They were just so happy to have me back!

Because they are wonderful persons.

My Mom, my Dad, my brother.

And somehow I feel like during my homeless time now.

I want to give them a call but I can't.

I've written my brother a mail a few days ago.

And I've invited him to visit me.

He didn't know that I'm back in Germany.

I'll check my inbox tomorrow.

Would be so great to see him again!

Isn't it strange? All of you know more about my life than my own family.

I've decided to crochet our family crest.

My aries of last week was looking quite grumpy.

This week I achieved to create the guy in our crest

much friendlier than he actually looks like. 

I hope I can show it to my parents & my brother one day.

I'm quite sure they would celebrate it.

Be free to create YOUR family project 

in every possible way!

(Tracy actually already did it with her family-hand-project!)

Yarnpaint persons

or maybe symbols like the favourite basecap of your son!

The tattoo of your husband,

the glasses of your father,

whatever.

Your chosen family is your boa constrictor?

Why not!?

Be creative (I know you will!)!

Can't wait to see your projects!

I'm sorry for the belated blogpost.

I've received lovely advices.

Thank you so much Saskia & MariaElena!

The thing is:

I need to do this.

I love to write these posts every week.

It's so important for me & my self-confidence.

I can't master my other life quite well at the moment.

I'm not able to complete my studies.

In a few month I would possibly be strong enough

to do a full-time traineeship for 8 weeks.

That's all I would need to complete my studies.

Not much but too much for me at the moment.

I can't take a break or something,

the study credit is running out next month.

That's it. I have to accept it.

This CAL is my baby.

I love it badly.

I know there would be lovely babysitters

who would love to prepare posts for me.

But I'm one of these moms who would never

give away her baby to a babysitter.

I prefer to stay at home a the weekend

instead of having a party. ;-)

But I can't go on with a fixed Monday post.

I don't have painless hours at the moment

but I have days with more or less pain.

And it's a torture to work on the laptop

while my head is killing me.

I wanna have a good time while doing my CAL posts.

So let's just do it this way:

The post comes when it comes.

Maybe on Monday, maybe on Wednesday.

Less pressure for me & my baby.

I've already a topic for next week so I can start quite early -

less emotional for me

& based on the idea of Sandy!

I told our CAL friend Alex about it

& he said: "Hey, I've also suggested this project

when we were talking about CAL topics last week!"

So: A Sandy & Alex project next week!!!

But in the next days I will also publish

a photo tutorial how to create 

the 25-loop-bullion-stitch in a few seconds

with the easiest technique ever! ;-)

Not as many words as in this post, promise!

♥♥♥

I love to prepare YOUR ideas so let me know 

what else you want to have in your CALs!

Stay awesome you wonderful princesses & princes,

your friend Dada or Julia!

Let me see your art in Marina's Freeform Crochet World Group, on Dada Neon Crochet or Ravelry