Crochet Me: The Blog

When You Care Enough to Give Silvered Lace

Kim Werker — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:04:26 +0000

Check this out. Etsy seller WhiteFly casts actual vintage lace in sterling silver, then molds it into a bracelet cuff.

Start saving your pennies now.

Quick Crocheted Gifts: Orchard Mitts

Toni Rexroat — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:42:45 +0000

I have begun my countdown—so many gifts to make and so little time until they need to be mailed or delivered. I want gifts that can be completed quickly but that don’t look like quick projects but like a gift of my time. With the cold winters around here I think the Orchard Mitts from the Fall 2009 issue are going to be a hit. I can finish a pair in about 3 hours which fits my schedule perfectly, and the canvas of the perfect spike stitch sparks my creativity. I have started a third pair, each pair is slightly different. I chose a single color for the mitts but added a border of a variegated yarn.

You can achieve a beautiful finished piece by embroidering on the top of a finished crochet fabric. I haven't done a great deal of embroidery, but a simple flower seemed like a fabulous idea. You can either freehand a design or find one to copy on the internet or from a book. I found a picture and attempted to use it to inspire my freehand version.

I will finish up the embroidery this week and share finished pictures next week. I would love to hear your ideas on how to modify or embellish the Orchard Mitts pattern or see pictures of your own pieces.
Best wishes,
Toni

The Motif Wallpaper

Marcy Smith — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:55:48 +0000

Last week, Kim Werker wrote about some cool wall art: Framed doilies.

So, I thought I'd introduce you to my dining room walls.

It started with a ball of sangria-colored thread, a copy of the Harmony Guides Crochet Stitch Motifs and a bit of stress that needed relieving. Next thing I knew, I had a pile of motifs.

So I fetched out the tape and this happened:

then this:

Soon, the children were scanning the walls at breakfast every morning to see what new motif went up in the night.

I've settled back on making the motifs, but they remain, cheery souls that they are, like impossible Mexican snowflakes or something.

Here's a closer look at some of the ones that make me happiest:

Happy crocheting,

Marcy

Choosing a Variegated Yarn

Toni Rexroat — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:43:44 +0000

Choosing a Variegated Yarn

They create color variation and patterns spontaneously without the need to physically change skeins of yarn. As I began playing with different variegated yarns for this week’s newsletter, I began exploring a few of the different ways these variegations are created within a skein of yarn. These different methods can create a different look in your overall project.

Some yarns ply, or twist, together strands of different colors. They may use one yellow strand, one light blue strand, and one dark blue strand as in this example. This creates a variegated yarn that will have a consistent variegation throughout the entire project. A yarn like this will not create sections of color, but instead will have a regular “variegation.

The most common type of variegated yarn is one in which the entire strand of yarn morphs from one color to the next. You can really see the transformation from one color to the next in this pink, white, and brown yarn. When finding a yarn of this type for crochet, you want to make certain that there is a long stretch of each color. This will make the colors pool and create unique patterning. If the color stretches are too short the stitches will just look mottled with color changes occurring too frequently.

A yarn such as this yellow one uses more subtle colors, working with colors from a pale yellow to a deep yellow. A yarn such as this can create great depth in a project without noticeable pooling of colors. For this reason the length of each color is not as important, though good size stretches of each color might still be beneficiary.

This yarn changes colors too quickly as you can see. Some of the colors, such as the dark blue, are no more than 2 inches long. If you are working a tall stitch, a single stitch may use more than one color. While that is fine occasionally, if this consistently happens the colors become confusing to the eye.

A few yarns use both the first and second methods mentioned here. This yarn plies two variegated strand of yarn with a single strand of white. The single consistently colored strand will tie all of the different colored sections together. However, it is still important to find a yarn with adequate sections of each color. This particular yarn was a sample I chose specifically to show that the color sections need to be long. They are too short in this sample.

The best way to learn which variegated yarns create the affect you are looking for is to play. What are some yarns that you have found work well?

Best wishes,
Toni

I've Never Seen a Doily Look So Good

Kim Werker — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:03:25 +0000

maya*made's doily display is about the coolest wall art, ever.

[via Modish]

Making the Moorish Mosaic Afghan

Marcy Smith — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:45:42 +0000

In this week's enewsletter, we talk with Lisa Naskrent about her design inspiration for the Moorish Mosaic Afghan, featured in the fall issue of Interweave Crochet.

The brilliance of this crocheted blanket is that every motif is worked in a different colorway. If you are re-creating the exact colors and placement in Lisa's blanket, as I am, it can be a challenge keeping track of all 30 large motifs.

Here's how Lisa tracked them: "I used safety pins and scrap pieces of paper! I had a piece of graph paper, the X axis being the motif number (each motif had a number), and the Y axis being the round number. I wrote down the color of each round for each octagon as I made it."

Tracking the motifs does call for some organization. Here's what I did: I made a copy of the color chart on page 58. Then I sliced the chart into strips for each individual motif. I taped them onto the back of old business cards and numbered each card.

I strung each card onto a bit of thread to tie to the motif when I'm done. I also marked each ball band with its appropriate letter, so I don't have to think too hard about which color is A, B. etc.

I keep the card for the motif I'm working on, and check off each row as I do it:

When I'm done, I string the card through the motif, so I'll know where to place the motif when they're all done.

btw, I've found that the little square motifs make excellent travel crochet. Just two balls of yarn--the center color and the main color--are good for a shortish road trip, as you make four square motifs for each color.

What's your method for keeping track of the motifs? Let us know in the forums.

And share pictures of your finished Moorish Mosaic Afghans when you're done!

Happy crocheting!

Marcy

Creating Awesomeness Even in the Simplest Projects

Kim Werker — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:36:20 +0000

Sister Diane just linked to these potholders by Flickr user amorabrancasilvestre.

See? Even potholders can be outstanding. It's been a long time since I've felt so inspired!

UPDATE: The pattern for these is free. It's called the Starburst Hotpad, by Loretta Schepp. Thanks to yarnity for digging it up!

The Look of Tunisian

Toni Rexroat — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:58:13 +0000

Tunisian crochet. When I saw this fantastic fabric for the first time I was, well I guess I’d say I was hooked. There is something about the uniqueness of the fabric that fascinates me.

That first garment was the Bam Boo Cardigan from Fall 2007. When I first saw the finished garment I thought it was a knit garment with a crocheted edging. I picked the sweater up, and I felt the weight, the solidness of the fabric. It was thicker than any fabric I had seen. The stitch was the Tunisian knit stitch. The thickness of the fabric works great for cold weather. I tried to take a picture to show the thickness, but it's really something that's easier felt than seen.

Yet as seen in the Bam Boo Cardigan, it can be elegantly shaped without looking bulky. But beware, this stitch can use an incredible amount of yarn. When inserting the hook in the next stitch, you push the hook from the front of the fabric to the back between the vertical bars of the stitch in the previous row instead of from right to left behind the vertical bar of the previous row. Like all Tunisian stitches you leave the loop on the hook. This fabric also has a lot of stretch.

The Spice Market Tunic from Fall 2009 uses both the Tunisian simple stitch and the Tunisian purl stitch. I took a close-up picture of the Spice Market Tunic front to better show the difference between the stitches.

The lower left stitch is Tunisian simple stitch. To work the Tunisian Purl stitch you hold the yarn in front of the work when pulling up loops, as you would if purling in knitting, and work as for the Tunisian simple stitch. I think the Spice Market Tunic may have to move up the queue to the next garment on my projects to make list. The fabric has fabulous stretch and is solid without being dense.

The La Mer scarf is an inspiring example of lacework in Tunisian crochet. This was actually my first project in Tunisian. The scarf is now hidden somewhere in my new, unorganized craft room (more on that in a future blog). This lacy design is accomplished with decreases and increases that alternate rows. The inherent drape of Tunisian crochet continues to draw me even as I continue to explore crochet and find new stitches.
What new stitches would you like to explore further?
Best wishes,
Toni

Yarn Spotlight Extra

Marcy Smith — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:45:35 +0000

In the Fall issue of Interweave Crochet, Yarn Spotlight focuses on cottons and what each kind is best suited for making. The swatches are worked in the delightful wattle stitch.

Here's a bonus review:

Hope worsted weight
Kollage Yarns, 100% organic cotton, 160 yards, 90 grams, color natural
Note: no longer available in colors

Hook: H

Kollage is committed to keeping this yarn fully produced in the United States. So when their U.S. dyer closed down, they discontinued the colored yarn and kept the undyed. This tightly plied yarn moves smoothly through the stitches, creating terrific stitch definition while remaining very pliable. The undyed organic yarn has a very, well, organic look and feel. It's perfect for a facecloth. Wrap it up in a strand of itself with some handmade soap.

See five other cottons reviewed in the current issue of Interweave Crochet.

Marcy

Open Studio Online Tour

Marcy Smith — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 05:19:50 +0000

So, here's a cool thing to do today: Bloggers and Interweave authors are opening their studios for the first-ever Open Studio Virtual Online Tour! You'll find details and a full list of participants here. Be sure to check out the studio of crochet designer Kristin Omdahl.

Stop in and be inspired!

Marcy