Tag Archives: craft

Showcasing my biggest project to date

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Hi all! I’m really pleased to share with you photos of my biggest project to date – a large blanket which I adapted from the Fruit Garden design by Jane Crowfoot.

I made this as a special gift, so, of course, I couldn’t post any photos before it went to its new home.

It is much more spaced out than the original pattern, and I think that the plain squares actually (dare I say) “improve” the overall effect by giving each different flower room to shine.

I hope this inspires you to put your own twist on patterns! N.B. If anyone needs the pattern for the plain square, please drop me a line or comment below and I will write it up for you. Happy crafting!

Label and Identity

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Hey everyone! For some time now, I’ve been thinking about what type of sew-on labels I want to use for my creations. It’s easy to get something ready-printed and then just attach it, but I wanted something a bit more authentic and decided on handcrafting these myself. While this takes time to do, I can boast that 100% of the creation is handmade by me. 

First decision was theme: I knew it had to include flowers because the name Manjri (which is my name) means “a bunch or cluster of flowers” in Hindi. My first prototypes were not very successful. It was my husband who came up with a brilliant idea to use as my inspiration: 

Poirot’s Lapel Pin

I am a great fan of Agatha Christie’s stories. I enjoy reading her books, and also enjoy watching TV/film adaptations of the stories. I also run a Facebook group dedicated to Agatha Christie (Agatha Christie Club Malta and Gozo) – so if you are interested, please do join! My favourite adaptation to date has to be the ITV series “Agatha Christie’s Poirot” starring Sir David Suchet as Hercule Poirot. For me, he is the definitive Poirot! But anyway, in this adaptation, Poirot often wears the above lapel pin/brooch, changing the flowers each time.

The below design is a nod to Poirot and also includes reference to my name (the flowers) . Below is a photo of my label – would love to hear your feedback!

A little update – September 2026

It’s lovely looking back at this early attempt at creating an identity for my handmade work. A few years later, that creative journey eventually grew into Studio Manjri, my little creative studio in Malta.

The branding may have evolved, but the idea behind it hasn’t changed very much — creating things by hand, with plenty of personality in every piece. 🌸

Fruit Garden CAL – Complete

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Hi all! I’m really pleased to share with you photos of the completed lap blankets. It was great fun and to be honest, I’ve been feeling a bit at a loose end now that these are over.

I will definitely use some parts of this pattern by Jane Crowfoot for other projects, such as cushion covers, but more on that when I actually do make them!

While I do have some smaller projects on the go, however, I am now on the lookout for the next big one….if anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to message me!

If you’d like to see where this project started, including details of the pattern and my progress along the way, have a look at my original Fruit Garden CAL post →

Fruit Garden CAL – progress

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It’s been a while since I last posted – and it’s not because I have no projects completed or on the go, but sheer laziness on my part in taking photos of my work! I am much happier with a hook, or needle in hand than setting the scene and taking the pics! So today, I decided that, come what may, I needed to pick up my handy mobile phone and snap a few shots.

Anyway, back to the Janie Crow CAL which I started a while back – I had ordered the yarn pack for the light colour scheme as the other one was out of stock, but my heart was set on the dark scheme too.

If you’d like to see the pattern details and where I started, have a look at my original Fruit Garden CAL post →

Here is where I got to so far using the original colour scheme (n.b. the CAL is not yet over – we’re still around halfway)

As I could not find the yarn packs in stock for the dark scheme, I opted to find similar shades locally in a different brand of wool (Schachenmayr). Due to the impact of COVID-19 on shipping, not all colours were available, and not wanting to wait for more shipments to arrive, I went with a few alternatives. You can see the outcome below.

I have to say that I much prefer the quality and feel of the Schachenmayr acrylic yarn to the Stylecraft one. It feels a lot softer. The other difference I noted is the Schachenmayr yarn is a little thicker – so the end result is a bit larger – but I don’t mind that and I’m quite happy with the outcome.

I still have quite a stash of yarn, so maybe I will make yet another blanket in a totally different colour scheme of my own design 🙂

If you are following the same CAL, I would love to see your work! Please feel free to share.

Update: Want to see how it all turned out? You can see my finished Fruit Garden blankets here: Fruit Garden CAL – Complete →

Stylecraft Fruit Garden Crochet Along (CAL) by Jane Crowfoot

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A little note: I originally wrote this post in May 2020, when the Fruit Garden CAL was just getting underway. I’ve kept the original post below as part of my crochet journal, so references to pattern releases and dates reflect what was happening at the time.

I recently came across a post in one of the Facebook crochet groups for a most beautiful Crochet-Along (CAL) project inspired by embroidery works by May Morris, daughter of William Morris. I could not resist – so I signed up, bought the yarn pack and have just started.

As we have just started, only the first part of the pattern has been released, and I can say that it is written very clearly. The designer has also provided a Youtube video, in which she has shared some really good tips. I will surely be applying some of the tips to all my projects henceforth – so very worth taking a look.

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Here is my first set of tiles. (Note that these are not blocked yet as we will be blocking them at the end of the project. Also, the threads you see in the corners are actually being used as stitch markers.)

I find the most efficient approach to making multiple tiles in the same pattern is to first do one completely, so you familiarise yourself with the pattern, and then work on the remaining colour by colour. So, in this set, I did one tile completely, and for the remaining 7 tiles, I first crocheted 7 flowers, then did the green background for all 7, then proceeded to do the parchment part. There is no rule about how you should do this, it’s just a matter of preference.

At the time I started the CAL, the pattern was available in two colour recipes, with another version planned for the second run later in 2020. Of course, you could also come up with your own colour combination. I even saw a monochrome version of the tile which someone tried — and it was quite pretty — but I love colours, so it wasn’t for me. 🙂

If you want to give it a try, the pattern remains available to download, free of charge, from the Stylecraft Yarns website here.

Photo credit: Janie Crow website (janiecrow.com)

See the finished Fruit Garden blankets →

Lockdown crafting – Cross-stitch Sampler

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Hey everyone! Hope you are all staying safe in these difficult times. I’ve been busy working on several projects – well, actually, I’m tackling a whole bunch of projects which I started a while back and never completed. Today, I will feature a cross-stitch sampler, which I started last year (and this isn’t the oldest incomplete project I have!!).

Historically, samplers were created by young girls learning how to stitch and years later one could look back and see the advancement in skill. I’ve seen quite a few antique ones available for sale, and not only are they very beautiful, but can be quite valuable. They are wonderful pieces to decorate any room in your home – and hey – why not make one and hand it down as an heirloom?!

If you have not done cross-stitch, I think the easiest way to prepare is to buy a counted cross-stitch kit. This normally includes everything you need – the aida cloth (this is an even weave cotton fabric and usually quite stiff), thread, needle and of course the pattern. Some people also like to use an embroidery ring / hoop – this keeps the fabric taut. I don’t use a hoop, as I think the stiffness of the fabric allows for neat work, but some people say that their work is neater when using it – so I suggest you try both and see what works for you.

The sampler below is from a part-work collection called “The Art of Cross-stitch” – which also covers embroidery and it includes tips, numerous patterns and project ideas.  I think the biggest revelation to me (and I really don’t know why I never thought of this myself before), is that you can create a really clean definition of objects and make them pop in your work by outlining the object with backstitch using a single strand! So simple, right?

Anyway, I hope you find this simple tip useful and I would love to hear from you and see your projects!

On that note, I wish you happy crafting!