Crochet Collection

Crochet Collection Goes to Uganda

2009-11-09T13:27:00.002-06:00

Today is my Birthday! And to celebrate I am taking time off from my studies and I am .........
you guessed it......CROCHETING!!!!!

My parents are going on a mission trip to Uganda very soon. My mom plans to help the economic conditions of women by teaching them to crochet wash cloths to sell on her website

How to Make Soap

These washcloths are going to be designed by me to fit round and rectangular hand-crafted spa soaps. I am very excited to be a part of this project and wonder where this will lead me in my crochet career. Below is a donate button if you wish to make a contribution to this effort. All donations will be used strictly for purchasing yarn for this project. Also further below is a cool clip from Krochet Kids International who are also working with 10 women in Uganda. Isn't it cool to know crocheting CAN make a difference in the life of a woman!

I will post pictures of my designs as soon as I get them finished!

Make it With Wool Contest - Outfit 2

2009-11-09T11:29:00.001-06:00

2009 Make it With Wool 003, originally uploaded by Crochet Collection.

Hey Everyone!

While I was looking through my ravelry profile today, I noticed I never shared a picture of my Lilac Lace Dress all finished. The picture was taken at the Make it With Wool contest in September. I loved making this dress, from the very beginning stages of dying the wool from white to lilac, to the last details of weaving in ends. I accented the dress with an amazingly beautiful hand knitted shawl that belonged to my Great-Grandmother. I'm dying to wear this dress, I know that it will be much loved next summer!

Happy Crocheting!
Chelsea
P.S. Today is my birthday! I'm 17 now, it feels like I'm getting so old!

Free Crochet Patterns for Round Tablecloths

2009-10-27T19:00:00.003-05:00

I've been searching for free crochet patterns for Round Tablecloths. I have only found a few, but they are really pretty!

Beautiful Round Tablecloth Pattern

Valentine's Round Tablecloth

Over-the-edge Tablecloth

I hope you enjoy these!

Free Crochet Patterns for Round Tablecloths

2009-10-27T18:25:00.002-05:00

Hello Everyone!

Today I enjoyed some time looking through my favorite online pattern databases for free crochet patterns for round tablecloths. I found some gorgeous patterns that are made out of cotton thread that would make beautiful round afghans if made from a bigger hook and worsted weight yarn.

Pineapple Tablecloth

Round Pineapple Tablecloth

Round Centerpiece

Round and Round Tablecloth

Round Pineapple Tablecloth

I hope you enjoy these free crochet patterns for round tablecloths! I had a blast looking through the numerous patterns and bringing you my favorites!

Happy Crocheting!
Chelsea

Orchard Mitts Revealed!

2009-09-26T14:35:00.001-05:00

Norquay-02, originally uploaded by Crochet Collection.

Hey Everyone!

The Fall 2009 issue of Interweave Crochet is out at long last, along with the third published pattern I am proud to call my own. The Orchard Mitt's were crocheted out of the gorgeous Manos del Uruguay's Silk Blend yarn in the woodland colorway. I designed these gloves last winter for my mom's Christmas gift, and they are very simple to make. The interesting stitch pattern makes the pattern appear much harder than it actually is. I hope everyone likes the pattern, and be sure to add it as a favorite on Ravelry!!

Happy Crocheting!
Chelsea

Mood Fabrics!

2009-09-14T09:58:00.002-05:00

IMG_1409, originally uploaded by whimsicalwoolies.

Hi Everyone!!

I have some amazing pictures from my trip to Pennsylvania now...thanks Gabrielle!

While I was visiting my friend, we took a trip to NYC and had the opportunity to visit Mood Fabrics! Yes, the very Mood fabrics that the amazing designers of project runway visited for 5 years in a row. The fabric selection was amazing, as you see in the clip of picture above. There was floor to ceiling shelves absolutely jam packed full of rolls of fabric. When you get in there, you're so overwhelmed by the selection, you wonder how you can ever choose just one fabric. I can only imagine having 15 minutes to try and pick fabric for a look....it would simply be overwhelming!

On a more crocheting note, I am starting to design a fall line of girls wear...stay tuned for more details!

Happy Crocheting...and keep an eye out for Make it With Wool look number 2!
Chelsea

Make it With Wool Contest - Outift 1

2009-09-14T00:00:00.002-05:00

2009 Make it With Wool 017, originally uploaded by Crochet Collection.

Hey Everyone!

As you probably know, the Wisconsin Make it With Wool contest was this weekend. Being the ambitious teenage girl with a mission, I created two outfits for the contest this year, finishing both outfits only 3 hours before it was time to leave for the contest (the 2 hours were spent sleeping and the 3rd getting ready to leave). This outfit displayed here is the duster I made with Cherry Tree Hill's Oceania yarn. It is a boucle yarn with a strand of nylon and a metalic running through it. The duster is amazingly gorgeous and sparkly, It will be fabulous to wear all the time! The suit is made from a fabric bought off the $5 fabric table at Paron fabrics in New York City. The suit pattern is a vintage simplicty pattern from the 1970's, bought for a dime at a local thrift shop. I heavily modified and fitted the pattern with my friend, her mom, and grandmother as well, while visiting her in Pennsylvania. I had a great time talking to the judges about this outfit, and while it didn't win, the sewing skills I put into this outfit were 100 million times better than any other sewing I've done in my life. I'm very proud of my work, and I plan to keep up sewing and have them near perfect by the next make it with wool contest.

Happy Crocheting...stay tuned for pictures of outfit number 2!
Chelsea

Another update!

2009-09-06T10:04:00.002-05:00

Make it Wtih Wool duster, fron view, originally uploaded by Crochet Collection.

Hello Everyone!!

Hot off the hook, my duster is finished! I got it done in 4 weeks, and I just have to block it, and sew a few more ends in. There are only 6 days left until the contest, and every spare minute has been spent preparing! I am about 3/4 of the way done with the sewing for this outfit, and I'm almost done with the sewing for the purple dress! Everything is falling into place perfectly...I'm "Making it Work" as Tim Gunn would say on Project Runway :)

Happy Crocheting...I'll update again this week with more pictures!
Chelsea

P.S. Isn't the yarn lushious?! It's Cherry Tree Hill Oceania in the Cabin Feaver color way. I bought it while I was in Buffalo New York for the Knit and Crochet Show! That is a whole new blog post to write, but now I've got you curious! Check back soon for a show report!

A quick Update

2009-09-02T18:03:00.001-05:00

Lilac Lace Dress , originally uploaded by Crochet Collection.

Hello Everyone!!

I've been pretty quiet for a while. I got the opportunity to go to Pennsylvania and visit one of my best friends for 2 weeks, and I got a lot of work done on my Make it With Wool outfits! Here is a picture of outfit number one, which is about 80% of the way finished. Not cool, considering the contest is only 10 days away!

Enjoy the picture!
Chelsea
(p.s. my arm isn't broken, it's an opera length gauntlet! The other one is just in very beginning stages!)

Make it With Wool - Outfit Number 2

2009-07-14T22:42:00.009-05:00

Hi Everyone!

So, after yesterday's post about Make it With Wool, I'm going to continue on and show off the plans for this years outfits. Just for the fun of making you wait, I'm sharing with you the outfit that is still in the planning stages. I picked up this vintage Simplicity pattern at St. Vinnies (remember Marianne? That's where we got her too!), one of our local thrift shops, for a dime. I can't believe I found it in this condition, every piece is there...and it's just the perfect size for me! The view I plan on making is the one in all red, but I'd like to add a belt like the red shirt/plaid pant ensemble. Since I am taking a trip next month to visit my friend Gabrielle (who actually won the Junior division at the Nat'l MIWW contest the year I went!), I'm planning on constructing the entire garment while I'm vising her, getting the sage advice from her, as well as her mom-who got 5th in the nat'l adult contest last year-on my sewing!
Now, for the good stuff! In Doris Chan's book Everyday Crochet: Wearable Designs Just for You, I saw this amazing duster. I knew the very first time I saw it that it was MIWW contest material. I'm planning on making it out of the recommended Berroco Ultra Alpaca yarn, which is 50% Wool and 50% Alpaca. I'm very excited to see how it turns out! I'm still deliberating on a color combo, but I like the Autumn shades they chose for the model. I may go along with the 70's look provided by the sewing pattern, but I still haven't made my mind up...
Be sure to check back tomorrow for the first half-way finished outfit!

Happy Crocheting!
Chelsea

Make It With Wool!

2009-07-13T22:22:00.005-05:00

Hey Everyone!

By now I'm sure all my faithful readers are familiar with the Make It With Wool Contest. For those of you who have not heard of Make it With Wool (MIWW here and throughout!), this contest encourages people of all ages to promote the beauty and versatility of wool fabrics and yarns, and also encourage creativity in sewing, knitting, crocheting, spinning, and weaving wool fabrics and yarns. For the past 2 years I have participated in this contest. The first year, 2007, I crocheted a purple trench coat that won my state contest, qualifying me to attend the National MIWW contest. While I didn't place at the national contest, I had an amazing experiance and gained a friend that will last a lifetime.

This past year I had another great MIWW experiance, although I learned a dissapointing pitfall to our state contest. While the contest is open for every kind of use of wool, as stated above, there seems to be an emphasis placed on the importance of sewing used in the contest. In my 2008 outfit, I spent well over 50 hours creating a beautiful, unique, one of a kind coat that I took from icky, greasy fleece to dying, to spinning, and crocheting. Then I decided that since I really wanted to go on and win the National contest, I'd sew a pair of pants to complete my ensamble. As you may have surmised, sewing my pants ended up being a major disaster that compromised the coat that could have won very well on it's own. Not winning our state contest last year made me more determind than ever to learn to sew WELL and be able to pull of a victory at the 2009 contest.

This year, I've taken on 2 new challenges in the contest -
1. I am no longer in the Junior Category. Now that I'm a "Senior" I have to battle it out against the other 17-24 year olds, most of whom have much more sewing experiance than me.
2. Rather than entering the typical 1 outfit like everyone else, I'm making 2 outfits! I'm very excited at this new challenge, and am putting every ounce of perfection I can into every piece that goes into each outfit.

Now, are you excited or what? Why don't you find out if you have a Make it With Wool contest in your state...Yes, they have an adult category! Check back here over the next few days to see what I've made so far for the contest!

Happy Crocheting!
Chelsea

Red Heart Yarn -- Not so bad after all?

2009-07-13T10:39:00.011-05:00

Hi Everyone!

Today our lovely friend Jodi came to our house for a visit! While we were talking and enjoying ourselves, she whipped out her current knitting project - a pair of baby socks. The yarn that she was using was so pretty. Naturally, I asked what kind it was. Mom and I were amazed when she told us it was Red Heart's "Heart & Sole", a super fine sock yarn with aloe in it. The yarn's self striping looks great, and it knits up to be the cutest socks (as you can see over on the left). So what happened to Red Heart being the super clunky, obsolete yarn on the market? As much as I don't enjoy working with Acrylic yarns, Red Heart stands up to the test of time by washing and wearing better than most yarns. While I agree that other more luxurious yarns are much more fun to work with, if you're going to make something that will be used a lot, Red Heart is the way to go. And hey, if Red Heart is going to start making more green, eco friendly, fun yarns that colors don't suck, isn't that an added bonus?!
What do YOU think? Comment away!

Happy Crocheting!
Chelsea

Sneak Peak!

2009-07-08T13:21:00.003-05:00

So, at last, the promised sneak peak for all of my faithful followers!
I'm very excited about this pattern...
It will be coming soon!
Happy Crocheting!
Chelsea
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How to Crochet

2009-07-08T12:27:00.004-05:00

Hey Everyone!

I found this neat crochet website that offers a great, FREE 5 day crochet tip course! What is even cooler: They are also offering "the official guide to crochet" workshop for sale, and as an added bonus are including over $400 of extra vintage patterns that are hard to find! You can find them at Official Guide to Crochet. I hope you enjoy the site!

Happy Crocheting!
Chelsea

P.S. Keep your eyes on the blog this week! I have lots of updates for you!
P.P.S. Did you know the ad links all over my blog make me extra yarn money? Click them to your hearts content!

I'm still alive!

2009-05-27T11:25:00.004-05:00

Yes everyone, after that terribly long blogging break, I am still kicking! Lambing season just took so much out of everyone around here, we've finally recovered and are looking to start blogging more regularly once more! There has been lots going around on the homestead...including a little something being mailed out to a magazine a few weeks ago! I took pictures on my older camera, who's cord is of course missing. But I have a special sneak peak that will be appearing as soon as that cord is found!

Happy Crocheting, and expect pictures of cute lambs soon!
Chelsea

Crochet Revolution!

2009-03-19T17:14:00.005-05:00

Hey Everyone!!!

You may be wondering about this posts title. Long story short, this is the title of my very first crochet book! My good friend Camille (Madamecamcam on ravelry) and I are pulling our forces together to bring you one of the most innovative crochet books that will be on the market! We've decided that since we want the book to look a certian way, self publishing is the best way for us to go. I've also discovered that self publishing is going to cost us $$$, so I've decided to design and sell a "spa set" here on my blog, so all my fellow supporters can have a way to help me out while getting something from me in return! Be on the lookout for this set (and possibly a few more patterns!) in the next few weeks! And be on the lookout for "Crochet Revolution" around Thanksgiving, God willing!

Happy Crocheting!

Chelsea

Pretender Reveal!

2009-03-17T16:47:00.001-05:00

Pretender-InsideCrochet, originally uploaded by Crochet Collection.

Hi Everyone!

Remember the totally no fair sneak peak I gave you back in January? Here is the end result, found today on www.insidecrochet.co.uk!

The yarn, as you may remember, I spun and dyed myself from wool grown in my own back yard!

Enjoy looking, and happy crocheting!

Chelsea

Crochet Flower Hot Pad Pattern

2009-03-04T12:58:00.004-06:00

Here is a very nice Crochet Flower Hot Pad Pattern that is great for spring. It would look great in scraps of left over yarns or just one single color. I recently repainted Chelsea's bedroom a turquoise color and have been looking for very cool, teen-looking, retro items to decorate her room with. A couple of these hot pads would look stunning on her wall! Who would have thought!!! Thinking outside the box is a necessary commodity when it comes to affordable decorating....for sure. So whether you are looking for a hot pad pattern or wall decoration, this pattern is sure to please!!!

The New Heisman Trophy!

2009-02-11T17:29:00.003-06:00

Look at our cute new little lamb, Heisman. Chelsea will definitely be spinning his wool next year. He is a bummer lamb from a farmer who didn't have time to raise him. Seeing how our flock of ewes will be lambing soon, we jumped at the opportunity to gain some experience before we have 30+ lambs in our barn.

Right now he's living in our kitchen and Chelsea is the new mama. Heisman has been a good little lamb and Chelsea hasn't lost any sleep due to feedings. He goes 7 - 8 hours between his night time feedings and usually wants to eat every 4 - 5 hours during the day. By next week he'll be

down to 4 feedings/day and will graduate to living in the barn.

Any guesses as to what breed he is?

hint: this breed is small/medium and quite often raised for meat although they have soft short staple wool.

Dahlia and Marianne

2009-02-07T20:37:00.006-06:00

Hello Everyone!

This is the lovely Marianne modeling the striking "Dahlia" Top I found at St. Vinnies on Thursday. It's beautiful, and it still has the original tags on it! I couldn't believe my eyes when I found this top in the "retro" section, it's ALL crocheted (can you believe that?! Someone crocheted it, since crocheting cannot be reproduced by machine). The little lines that you see running verticly down the top are little shell stitches, and the horizontal lines are all chains, each boasting a very small, but extremely sparkly, bead.

Dahlia was made out of a fine weight, linen yarn, and is two toned, which reminds me of a corset!

I hope you enjoy looking at this absolutely stunning creation! I'm so thankful that she came into my hands to be highly appreciated and only worn on special occasions, rather than someone who was just looking for something cool.

Until Tomorrow, when I have SUPER exciting news!

~Chelsea

Marianne's Debut

2009-02-05T13:41:00.003-06:00

When we left home this morning we had no idea we would return with a new member of the family but that is what happened. We would like to introduce the newest member of our family......

Marianne

I needed to run to the Willy Street Co-op (one of the natural food co-ops our family belongs to) so I suggested we make the morning of it and also run to the St. Vinny's Store one block away. St. Vinny's is a charitable thrift store, and this particular store specializes in retro clothing, so Chelsea is always thrilled to take a peak at what is in the store. I walked into the area where the home furnishing stuff was and standing right before me was Marianne. It was like God placed her there right for our family. Let me tell you why.

Chelsea has been begging for an adjustable dress form for years. Our first dress form was a homemade creation made with duct tape. We duct taped Chelsea in a turtle neck. Chelsea looked like an astronaut by the time we were ready to cut off all the duct tape. That first dress form was a pretty sorry substitution for the real thing.

Then Chelsea found a great deal through Jo Ann Fabrics, but all the reviews of the product were so disappointing that we decided a good deal would be wasted money if the reviews were any indication on the quality of the product.

Chelsea has been scouting eBay for a long time, but the cost of shipping really made the purchase prices on the forms she found prohibitive. How incredible is it that an adjustable dress form would be waiting for us this morning! And the price was right! Thank you Jesus!

Marianne is modeling a vintage satin wedding dress that Chelsea gleaned at a garage sale for about a quarter (could be a dime....it was put as much into a bag as you could squeeze in for a dollar). The 100% natural felted wool wrap was hand made by a close family friend from Finland. The pin was a vintage looking Walmart find and the pearls are old costume jewelry from my box.

We look forward to allowing Marianne model our crochet creations. It's a happy day at our house.

Mom

(PS We found a very cool crocheted shirt at St Vinny's too. Marianne will be modeling that tomorrow!)

Beginners Crochet Projects

2009-02-03T09:39:00.003-06:00

Hello Everyone!

Today, I'm bringing you Beginners Crochet Projects! I did some research looking for attractive, yet easy projects that beginners could easily handle. There are many, many projects out there, but many can be so boring. I'm sharing some of my very favorites with you!

Marni Bag

1960's Inspired Belt

Elegant Capelet

Be My Valentine Scarf

Be A Friend Shawl

Cheerio Lacy Shrug

Lativan Wrist Warmers

Enjoy crocheting your new beginner crochet projects!

Chelsea

Deadlines Deadlines Deadlines.....ramblings from mom

2009-02-01T10:25:00.004-06:00

Chelsea made her magazine deadline. This is very big news. If you have followed Chelsea long enough you can see that this busy young woman has a lot of irons in the fire. It guess it is in her genes because her wonderful mother is exactly the same! However, teenagers do not always have the most developed sense of exactly how long projects will take to be completed. Thus there are times that making a deadline is veeerrryy stressful!

As a homeschooler, Chelsea has a lot of flexibility in her schedule. But as a teenager, knowing how to prioritize to get the job done doesn't always come naturally. Heck....this can be difficult for adults! So we utilized this opportunity to learn how to take a deadline and work backwards -- making sure there was sufficient time to complete each part of the project. I have to say she was pretty successful with this. I had imagined an entire week of all-nighters working on finishing and she really only had a couple of late nights at the very end.

She had to have her hat crocheted in her own sheep's wool that she carded, dyed and handspun herself to England by Friday, January 30th. That meant it had to be finished the week ahead to get mailed soon enough....it still had to go Global Express but it arrived on time. She also had to have her pattern completed before the 30th so she could have testers make the pattern to make sure the instructions were clear. The article that was written had to be sent on the 30th and it was! The first revision is already completed and it looks as though the project is about finished.

Whew! This was a pretty big deal for a 16 year old. I think it is a pretty big deal for an adult. But for a teen with high aspirations when it comes to wool, yarn, and crochet.......it's a dream come true.

So I couldn't be prouder of you Chelsea....you did a great job! I know you have more publishing goals for the year and I'm sure you will meet every one successfully. I just hope I don't get more gray hairs over worrying about your deadlines. But I guess you've proven that I don't need to worry. You are learning to prioritize and manage your time without the "micro-manager" (yes....I did get accused of micro-managing her time....ouch!)

Can't wait to see your article, pattern and pictures in print!

Love,
Mom

My Very First Sneak Peak!

2009-01-30T13:49:00.001-06:00

Details, originally uploaded by Crochet Collection.

Hello Everyone!!

At last, here is my very first sneak peak for everyone!! I hope you enjoy it!!

Happy Crocheting,

Chelsea

Awesome Contest!

2009-01-22T15:29:00.002-06:00

Hey Everyone!

I found this awesome contest today, and I thought I would share it with you! The winner gets a GORGEOUS felted poncho, it's soooo cute!

So Take a peak!

Happy Crocheting,

Chelsea