Flower Cushion

Hello friends...my daughter has a friend at school who recently broke her leg skiing and so, the sweet thing that my little girl is, she wanted to make something for her friend.   Totally her idea to make a pillow...I just helped out with the details and sewing on some cute little crochet floral appliques that I had made awhile back.  She did all the stitching herself.  We used a cut off from some drapes that we had at the old house and some craft stuffing.  It was my first attempt at sewing on appliques....they didn't turn out exactly as I wanted, but seeing as this project was "urgent", I did the best I could...

The choice of flowers to use were my daughter's entirely as was the positioning.

Circle in Square Pillow

Hello Friends...

Some of you may remember awhile back I had started this pretty little pillow project: http://moderngracedesign.blogspot.com/2011/05/new-life-to-old-project.html.  Well, I finally finished it the other week, and was waiting for sunny weather to take some pictures.  The weather never seems to cooperate when I need to do a 'photo shoot'!

I made an envelope cushion cover out of some old drapes and hand stitched the crochet front to the front of the cushion.  This was my first time sewing a cushion cover from scratch...I must say, it was super easy, and I was quite pleased with the results.

To finish off, I did a simple little shell stitch along the edging.  On the back, I added a cute slip and chain stitch to create a frilly little delicate edging. What do you think?

 

Practice Motifs

Hello Friends...

As I've been cleaning out my house in preparation to move, I came across a load of squares and motifs that I have done up over the past few years.  Looking back, I should have labelled them so I would know where the pattern came from.  They are mostly from the various crochet books I've purchased over the years and some are patterns that I've found online.  I'd mostly used inexpensive yarn that I had purchased for practice and testing out patterns and of course, some leftover yarn from finished projects.  Seeing as I've pretty much put all my projects and ideas on hold until we are settled in the new house, I thought I'd share some of these past efforts:

Little flowers.

More flowers.

I love this flower, I think I used it on one of my pillows.

Motifs.

More squares and motifs.

There you have it...just a selection of samples.  Do you keep all yours, do you label and categorize them?

New Life to an Old Project

Hello Friends...

Do ever get really excited about a new idea or project and then once you get into it, you find it's not turning out how you'd imagined it in your mind? 

Well, a couple of months back, I'd started a simple project, what was to be a table runner, with some yarn that I had kicking around.  The pattern, a simple circle in a square design.  All along the way, I was not happy with the way things were going...I love the design, but the colours were just not working well together as a table runner.  BUT, as a pillow cover, yes!!  Although not finished yet, I've managed to breathe new life into an old idea.   Have a look so far...I'm kinda liking the retro feel of it:

Have you ever changed course with a projcet idea?  I'd love to hear about it.  Hope you have a wonderful weekend!





Crochet Inspiration

Where do you find inspiration for your crochet projects?  There are so many wonderful online resources out there, especially with all the great blogs, Flickr photos, pattern sites, etc.  I'm always looking for inspiration in books, magazines, nature, flowers, art, fashion, home decor, even my children.

I was recently flipping through some issues of my Canadian House and Home magazine and they are filled with great photos and ideas for home decor and crochet inspiration:

I love these cable sytle baskets:

The circular motifs on these pillows can easily be translated to a cute crochet pillow:

 I've always been a big fan of framing fabric or paper...I love this framed doily:



Who can't reisit the romantic feel of this garden:

Welcome...What's In A Name?

Hello out there...this being my first ever post, not sure if there is anyone here yet. I am writing with the intention that someone will read this one day...So, welcome to my little slice of the blog world. Here is where I share all that inspires me, my passions, what I hope to accomplish and any useful tidbits that I have gathered along the way, that I deem useful and fun to share.

Speaking of passions, you will find posts about crochet, yoga, home life, family, books, eating, caring for the environment, design, my favourite things, lifestyle, and everything in between.

Modern Grace...the name I've chosen for my blog and my crochet shop, was inspired by my Grandmother, Grace (which is also my middle name), who was a very talented knitter and crocheter. I have some experience knitting, as a girl, but I always wanted to learn to crochet. I just thought it was so cool the way they put those holes in the piece...how did they do that? Long story short, about 6 years ago, I decided I would teach myself, with Debbie Stoller's amazing book, The Happy Hooker...could crochet really be this easy? I've never looked back, I've learned so much since and just keep learning. Crochet is so simple, with really just a few basic stitches and variations on those. Simple is so beautiful...just as my Grandmother was. Take a look at some of my creations over the past few years..