The main hexagonal motif used in this project was originally designed to be part of my Frida's Flowers blanket crochet along project in 2016, however I felt it wasn't totally right for the design, so I made an alternative piece instead. Despite its omission from the project, I love the motif and so I named it 'Diego's Flowers' after Frida Kahlo's husband Diego Rivera. The colours for this project were inspired by the décor of Frida & Diego's fabulous kitchen within their home in Mexico City 'The Blue House', which is now a museum. The kitchen surfaces feature bright yellow and blue ceramic tiles and the painted table and chairs that sit at the centre of the room have green and red hand painted details. The large terracotta bowls and cooking pots that are placed around the room are decorated with flashes of orange and pink - all colours that feature in the palette I have chosen for this project. I adore the fun 'fiesta' feeling of this blanket and am really pleased with the outcome of it, but I also love seeing how motifs can be used to make alternative projects, so I asked ace crocheters Marina Kelly, Gemma Biggs and Sue Macdonald if they would like to come up with a couple of ideas for how to use the motifs in another project. Within this pattern we have included some images of the fabulous cushion project made by Marina and the vibrant handy bag project made by Gemma as well as the fun, stash busting mandala that Sue created. I love seeing my designs 'out in the wild' and I think the way Marina, Gemma and Sue have interpreted the pattern is fantastic. Hopefully you will be inspired too! The pattern is written in UK & US terms and it includes written instructions and crochet charts. Please note that this is a pattern for the blanket project. Instructions are included for how to make a hexagon and half hexagon motif. The images of the bag, cushion and mandala are shown here to give you ideas of how you could interpret the crochet motif to make alternative projects.

When I am on a night out, I find large bags cumbersome, and I always worry about putting it down and forgetting about it. I tend to travel light and often just pop my bank cards, a couple of keys, my phone and maybe a lipstick into a bag before heading out. A small pouch is the perfect size for me, and I especially like cross body bags with long straps which mean I don’t have to worry about taking it out and losing it! I have a few bags that meet my needs, but I wanted to create a special little pouch that would be just the thing for a sparkly evening out or party – the perfect little accompaniment to that extra special outfit and I am so happy with how this project turned out. I chose three yarn shades for my bag and two bead colours, but you could simplify things by using one yarn and fewer bead colours, or you could really glitz things up by making each beaded hexagon a combination of yarn and bead colours. I am excited to see what you come up with.

Scarf knit in Fine Donegal.