Your Personal Freeform CAL! - Week 6

Oh no! You have missed the first 5 weeks of this crochet adventure? 

No problem, here you can find the start! It's never to late to join it ;-)

Look at all these gorgeous creatures! 

This week you've overwhelmed me again with your creativity & skills!

Thanks for sharing your beloved pets with me.

Our CALs are growing to a real diary -

Such a nice imagination:

One day when I'm old I will look at this blanket

& will think about all the things in life

with real importance to me.

And even when I'm dead & gone

there will be eventually a future relative

who shows this blanket to someone & says something like that:

"One of my ancestors has made this a few hundred years ago.

She was a crazy crochet lady & was badly addicted to neon colours. 

She has had impressingly huge hands & loved rats!"

Too funny!

But before we start our new project:

I'm so thankful for the amazing ladys walking this way with me

that I thought I have to give something back.

I've crocheted this Swirly Hearts for you.

It's a design by Marina Hoffstrom,

this passionate lady who does so much for us Freeformers:

She's giving us a home in the fantastic Freeform Crochet World Group,

she is running the Freeform Crochet World page in Facebook,

she gives us informations about our favourite way to crochet

& is offering fantastic patterns & tutorials on her webpage Snovej.

And last but not least:

She's a genius crochet designer!

I swear: You will feel like a magician while crocheting this pattern!

It's available on Ravelry or in her Etsy Shop!

Roberta, Jodie, Ulrike, Gwenda & Sandy:

Just send me your adresses to receive your hearts!

Do with it whatever you want:

Puzzle it in your CAL,

use it for a scrumbling project or just keep it

as a memory.

But now let's finally start our weekly project!

This week I've prepared a crocheted puzzle piece based on TWO ideas of
our CAL Club member Roberta Lovejoy!
She just wanted to try a little bit of freeforming -
and wasn't able to stop it anymore! ;-)

I think we all need her wonderful tree in our blankets badly

& at the moment she's experimenting with the Irish Crochet Technique...
Roberta has already planted a tree - but of course she needs a project for this week, too!
I've decided to create two different projects:
One for all of us & a special project for Roberta!
I hope you like your option - but of course you can grow another tree, too!
(Or something else with a deeper meaning for you!)
Thank you so much for your creative input, Roberta!
THIS is what makes YOUR Personal Freeform CAL
OUR Personal Freeform CAL!

First I will present you the tree project.
I hope you love nature as I do.
Maybe you've already planted a tree,
maybe you have a garden & you have a special connection to a tree.
Maybe you love apples & you want to plant an apple tree in your CAL for this reason.
Some people plant a tree when a child is born.
A tree is also a symbol for life & our roots.
I hope you've already a special tree with a deeper meaning for you.
If not: Take a walk in your neighbourhood.
I'm sure you'll find a gorgeous new tree friend!

The tree in my CAL is growing in Bavaria where I've spent my childhood and youth.

This tree is so special to me! It's not easy to find & the way to it is hidden

with bushes & other trees. As you can see I'm sitting in it on this picture.

A flash of lightning must have stroked it long times ago.

Somehow I'm always coming back to this tree.

I'm feeling so sheltered while sitting in it.

Like an embryo in a placenta or something ;-)

Many years ago I've babtized this tree:

Brother Anton.

I won't try to reconstruct this tree in a natural way 

but when I look at the tree in my CAL

I'll definitely think about Brother Anton 

& my childhood memories.

Roberta really likes the Irish Crochet Technique:

A lot of Doilys are created in this way, for example.

Doesn't it look impressive?!

On this picture you can see a wonderful piece of Irish Crochet art created in the 19th century.

(It's a photo of the page www.marquise.de, 

the picture was taken by Alexa Bender 

& is to find here in the Commons Wikimedia database!)

Of course whe don't have to crochet a stunning masterpiece as this example

but we can totally do a experiment with this technique -

by crocheting a treetop!

I thought about a little dreamcatcher -

Native American cultures believe that only good dreams are allowed to filter through a dreamcatcher.

Nightmares would stay in the net & disappear with the daylight. 

They are quite easy to create.

You can just use a pattern, 

here you can find a dreamcatcher collection by Grandma Perkins Crochet!

You can also do it my way:

Have a look at a photo & try to recreate it with a small hook 

(I've used a 1,5mm hook & thin brown yarn)!

Feels funny to crochet something with such a small hook,

I'm crocheting a lot with the 12mm & 20mm hook nowadays :-)

Or do you wanna crochet your treetop in a more detailed & impressive way?

Go for it! You don't have to create a dreamcatcher!

I've improvised this dreamcatcher & have found this lovely buttons &

crocheted a neon green foundation! (...of course...)

Now I will sew the dreamcatcher & the apples

on the basis...

It got some more branches & it got wavy!

I love the Hyperbolic Coral Technique

& have made one more neon green row...

3 stitches in every single stitch around!!!

Maybe I'll add a bird to the tree -

our CAL is actually never completed,

we can always add some details ;-)

So, Roberta: This is especially for you.

I thought you might like it but be free to create something else if you want...

In churches we often see beautiful windows -

beautiful coloured glass is telling stories

or just looks awesome!

Maybe your church has such a gorgeous window as well,

maybe you just get inspired by looking at pictures...

I've prepared a puzzle piece in a abstract way just for inspiration -

I'm already sure you will crochet something

wonderful & unique as always ;-)

My design is quite simple,

I've just tried to paint a person - quite abstract -

& crocheted some spontaneous details

(...time was working against me again!)

but just express yourself by trying to freeform some Irish Crochet!

Thank you Roberta!

All of you are invited to share ideas;

a few of Gwenda's ideas will be already crocheted in the future I guess...

Just let me know...

Hey: I have to create another Swirly Heart!

Alicia of Marcalic's Creations has joined our CAL-Club ;-)

Send me photos of your new puzzle piece on Facebook or

add your project to Ravelry!

Stay awesome,

Dada Neon

;-)