Continue reading »]]> My, how two weeks fly when you are under the gun to get something done!

A co-worker of mine is getting married in Greece in a couple of months, so quite naturally the office threw her an engagement party (last night), and quite naturally (two weeks ago) I got the brilliant idea to make something in a technique I had never used before. Quite unnaturally, I need to start rethinking some of these brilliant ideas.

The lifesaver (or potential iceberg) was Donna Kooler’s Encyclopedia of Crochet  from which the pattern came. This invaluable book has been like a hand on my shoulder in a storm. Oh sure, I’ve hit my head on a low-hanging branch from time to time, but the hand was still there guiding me back to the proper row and stitches (except for that one row that the hand had no idea what I was doing, gave up and went to the local Stitches-n-Shots bar, got totally wasted, tried to pickup someone else’s project, got slapped and finally stumbled back to mine only to find me in a fetal position crying, “Where did this extra row of a hundred stitches come from!”

But the agony quickly evaporated away once the gift was opened and there was a broad smile on the receiver’s face. With reactions like that, I swear we crafters are some of the luckiest people on earth.

Continue reading »]]> Way back in the time that is known as Let’s see how many projects I can do just before Christmas, I purchased some Stansborough Grey yarn because…well, the idea of it is freakin’ cool. The wool that was used on Lord of the Rings, how cool is THAT? The problem was now I had the yarn but I had no idea what to do with it. I knew it had to be a project that was just for me (a first), but what that was going to be, I hadn’t a clue.

I don’t know about you, but most of my best creative ideas gently caress me in bed around three o’clock in the morning and then sixty seconds later they grip my neural pathways and do a gymnastic floor routine en route to my bladder. Being confronted by both a creative idea and urinary desperation proves too much and I get up to resolve one problem while contemplating the other.

That was the scene when the Diamonds in the Rough scarf pattern came to me. A simple scarf for an understated yarn that would be enhanced by the simple textured pattern of alternating Tunisian stitches.

Click for pattern

I’m even more excited that the pattern is available for download! The $4.00 FREE pattern includes both standard written instructions as well as a symbol crochet chart. 

I hope you enjoy crocheting it as much as I did designing it.

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One of my very good friends Mark, is an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) genius. Actually, he’s an Internet expert in general. His very popular blog, ContentPig.com, on Google insights and SEO topics won him a trip to the Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas. It was for that trip that I got the idea to create a hat for him that would help advertise his site while keeping his head stylishly warm.

I was ecstatic when I was able to find the perfect Skater Beanie pattern on Ravelry. It’s made with double knit (DK) weight yarn, so it’s light weight and yet still toasty warm. What made the pattern perfect for customizing is the many rows at the bottom that are not increased, which lends itself perfectly for tapestry crochet pattern techniques.  I used a 5×5 block pattern for the letters with the exception of the “.com” which was created in three-by-three blocks.

The yarn I found was Berroco’s Ultra Alpaca Light in Peat Mix (the main color) and Winter White (the contrasting color). For a 22 ½” wide hat it took an entire 144 yard skein of the main color. I can’t say enough good things about this yarn. It was very easy to work with and feels incredible.

You can only find the pattern on Ravelry, as it is a part of their download library. Search under Patterns for “Skater Beanie” and you’ll find it immediately. It perfect for those gifts or projects that you want completed in a single day.

I’m pretty anxious to get started on the next couple of beanies. Actually, I see many beanies in my future.

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 What a GREAT pattern! That’s all I have to say.

No. Not really. I’m going to go on for a bit more.

This is one of those patterns that I got a little advanced notice on Ravelry that it was coming out in the Nov/Dec issue of Crochet Today. I fell in love with the preview pictures I saw from Drew Emborsky (the designer). I knew the issue wasn’t going to hit the shelves for a couple of weeks but I immediately asked him for the yardage needed so I could scope out yarn (you can read about the yarn scoping/buying pain here).

Once all the Christmas gifts were completed I was finally able to get started on the vest. The pattern worked up fast and easy. It’s the perfect introductory pattern for your first garment piece. Just six strips created by a nice non-coma-inducing alternating stitch (Don’t you just hate those patterns that use one stitch for a long-ass time?). Stitch the strips together, edge those suckers and bam, a vest.

I chose Lamb’s Pride worsted-weight yarn in Sable and Roasted Coffee colors. It’s a great wool and mohair blend, easy to work with no splitting.

Tips about the pattern:

1.  Armhole ribbing: In Round 4 I believe you are suppose to join yarn A rather than continuing with yarn B to achieve the same look that is pictured in the magazine (Drew, if I’m wrong, please let me know).

2.  V-neck strip: Don’t freak out if the V tips curl a little bit. It all works out when you join the strips together. I DID freak out and I did this piece twice until the beer kicked in and subdued my solitary freak fest.

3. Lower edge ribbing: Don’t be afraid to do fewer rows in this section. I opted for a shorter edge since the person I was making this for has a shorter torso. I stopped at Row 6.

4. All ribbing: Don’t go nuts when you single crochet around the edges. It’s easy to put too many single crochets in and end up with a ruffled edge (I’ll give you one guess how I figured that dandy out). Two single crochets per row worked well for me rather than the disastrous three.

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There is a human need to design, develop and build something new from available materials, and I believe one of the main reasons we do crafts, of any kind, is to help fulfill that basic need. But well beyond the satisfaction of completing a project is the happiness you feel when your creation becomes a well-received gift.

A co-worker of mine and his wife were preparing for the arrival of their first child. So to help with the preparations, the office threw a huge baby shower to make sure they were setup with the latest gadgets, gizmos and fashion trends all new parents need. Knowing that I wanted to make something rather than possibly be a part of an office pool to buy the latest release in breast pump technology, I sought out a simple quick crochet pattern.

A blanket? I didn’t have enough time. A sweater? Dress? Hat? No. Booties. That was the way to go, and I scored when I found a pattern for infant-sized Baby Janes. It was an easy afternoon project with fantastic results.

They were so easy to make I had to restrain myself from making multiple pairs in every color combination in my yarn stash. I wanted to find more babies just so I had a reason to make more of them (due to my family’s proliferation in baby production, I’m sure I won’t have to wait long).

But the best part of the whole process was the moment that my co-worker came to me with a picture of his new baby girl in her new Baby Janes. He told me that many of the clothes that she received will be donated as she outgrows them, but the Baby Janes will be part of her heirloom collection that she will have for the rest of her life. How cool is THAT?!

You can find the Baby Janes pattern to purchase and download, as well as many other fantastic baby shoe patterns, at Sylver Designs’ Etsy shop.

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No matter how much I plan to make something it inevitably turns out to be something else. The Rabbit Scarf is a great example of this Law of Crochet physics.

 I found this great purse pattern that I planned to make for a co-worker and I knew exactly what type of yarn I wanted to use…bamboo. It had to be bamboo. I had never worked with bamboo yarn before, but the fact that it was made from a sustainable resource just screamed Jenn, for whom the purse was being made.

 A few rows into the project it became very clear that this bamboo yarn was far from ideal for a purse. It lacked any stiffness and just wanted to lay down (much like me on a rainy day with a self-educed Star Wars marathon playing). The yarn cried to be a scarf. A lacy, flowy scarf.

 As I realized that Necessity is truly the mother of Invention, I started looking for filet crochet patterns of a rabbit (Jenn likes rabbits. Jenn owns two rabbits. Jenn’s a rabbit freak.) and began improvising a filet crochet scarf. This was one for the records books. Knowing my time was short, I cranked this out in just over three days.

The bamboo yarn blocked beautifully and drapes like a dream. I love it!!

Continue reading »]]> This project had a lot of “firsts” in it. It was the first time I stepped out of my Michael’s and Joann box and purchased yarn that wasn’t acrylic. It was the first time I made a garment. And it was the first time I made something for my new boss.

The yarn, Lara by Elann.com, was almost perfect for the project. It had a nice feel, good sheen and draped beautifully. The only thing I wasn’t pleased with was its tendency to split. I’ll get more into that in a future review.

The pattern was very easy to work. Granted, it became boring as hell after a while. A few hundred triple-crochets into the project and you are longing for something else to work on; ANYTHING else to work on! I guess that’s why it took me two months to finish rather than the anticipated seven days.

Would I make it again? You bet. Would I use the same yarn? Hesitantly, yes. I know the problems with the yarn; but I love the color choices.

Most important of all, the receiver of the jacket LOVED it. And that’s the best part of all.

By the way, if you were as curious as I was about the meaning of Via Condotti. Check out the Wikipedia entry here.

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This is a project I’m pretty darn pleased with. When I was thinking of a gift for Laura I knew it had to be a scarf. She is one of the greatest scarf connoisseurs that I know. I don’t know if she buys a scarf first and then matches the outfit or vice versa; but either way there is some serious Garanimal action going on.

At first I wasn’t sure if the Boteh Scarf pattern was the way to go. Even though it had potential with the “falling leaf” look, it just wasn’t striking to me; but I already had the yarn and I was running out of time. Because I had previously purchased four colors of yarn (I’ve got to stop buying yarn before I know what I’m going to make) I was forced to alternate the colors of the motifs. Completely renegade from other versions of the scarf that I had seen. I was a bit nervous.

After the first set of four I knew I had a winner. I can’t wait for Laura’s reaction when I give it to her next Tuesday.

The pattern is available for download from Interweave for $5.

The yarn used is Peruvian Baby Silk from Elann.com. A blend of 80% baby alpaca and 20% silk; this yarn is a spun orgasm!  I chose Parchment, Mocha Cream, Peridot and Moroccan Olive colors.

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I was exercising today and got this crazy idea. I know, I know, I should be working on my Christmas gifts. Give me a break. I was exercising. The part you can yell at me for is that I acted on my crazy idea and went to Michael’s and bought all the items to make my crazy idea and then worked all afternoon on my crazy idea. THAT’s something to beat me over the head with!

I digress. Ok, back to my crazy idea. I saw these cool wire crochet granny-square¹ earrings that someone posted on Ravelry. As I was sweating to an Ingrid Michaelson Christmas song I thought it would be kind of cool to dangle the earring idea from the inside of a clear glass ornament. May I just say that I’ve never tried wire crochet and my fingers would kindly appreciate it if I never did it again. But I like the results.

If you are up for trying it out just follow the instructions for the earrings. Instead of an earring finding, I used fishing line through the top jump ring to attach it through the holes of the ornament toppers. Use the large clear ornaments (easy to find at Michael’s) because they have a larger opening. I was pleasantly surprised at the bounce-back of the wire granny square squeezing it through the whole. I only had to do minor flattening once it was inside.

1. If I hear one person remind me that I have no love for granny squares I’ll start posting daily fiber reports of a different nature.

Continue reading »]]> My fiber buddy was over last night (it was our High Fiber Night) and he was thinking about attaching “product” tags on all of his Christmas gifts this year. He asked if I had any suggestions. Amazingly enough I too was thinking of the exact same thing, though much earlier in the week. We may think alike but our timing sucks. I told him I wanted to make a tag that looked professionally handmade. So I offer my idea to you.

The tag itself is simple enough. Use whatever paper you desire (preferably a card-stock paper) that will fit in your printer. Choose what size you want to print. I’m thinking of a postcard size folded in half. Office Depot has recycled postcards in natural parchment that looks like it will do the trick for me. I’ll just fold them in half. Maybe.

Make sure you choose a cool font. I love going to 1001 Free Fonts and browsing what they have. For this project I’m going straight to the Handwriting fonts. Check out AE Scrawl, Alpha Mack, Anke Hand or Year Supply of Fairy Cakes. Yes, that is a font.

Use whatever program you feel comfortable working with, Word, Photoshop, etc. But to put the professional in the handmade, add care instruction symbols. oooOOoooo! I couldn’t find any online that look handmade-ish enough so I put some together today (see bottom of post). You are more than welcome to save any of the images you need.

Punch a hole, add some string or yarn and you’ll have a gift/product tag that is informative, handmade AND semi-professional. Handfessional?