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Free Pattern – Sunshine Square
Soak in the sunshine while you can with this fun, sunny square! The sun in the middle really pops out thanks to front post stitches. This pattern was designed for the 2015 Mystery Lapghan CAL (#MysteryLapghanCAL2015). If this is the first you’ve heard about it, don’t worry – we’ve only just started, so there’s plenty of time to catch up! You can read…
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Tutorial – How to make a pom pom without a pom pom maker
You’ve probably seen those round pom pom makers that come in sets of various sizes. You may even have seen tutorials for making your own pom pom makers out of cardboard. These are all perfectly great ways to make pom poms, but the truth is, in a pinch, you don’t really need them. Just about anything that you can wrap yarn…
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Free Pattern – Striped booties
I made these fun, striped booties to match my Dreaming of Pinwheels blanket. They’re made with the same Anne Geddes Baby yarn by Red Heart. I love the colors, and the acrylic / nylon blend means it’s strong and machine washable too. This pattern has instructions for sizes 0-6 months and 6-12 months This pattern is protected by copyright. Please do not distribute or…
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Coming Soon – Holiday Stashdown CAL
I’m excited to be participating in two great CALs that are starting soon! Earlier, I told you about the Mystery Lapghan CAL which started on Monday. Now here’s another one – the Holiday Stashdown CAL. 15 crochet designers (including me) will be sharing 15 free crochet patterns for holiday gifts and decorations. The CAL starts on September 14th and is designed…
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It IS the size that matters
As those of us here in the US already know, US hook sizes are identified by a lettering system. We have our favorites for different yarns, for me H’s, I’s and J’s are great for worsted yarns, G’s and H’s work well for DK, and D’s , E’s and F’s are good for fingering. Whatever our choices, the lettering and sizes…
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Coming Soon – Mystery Lapghan CAL
It’s just about time for a fun, new CAL, and I couldn’t be more excited! I’m actually going to be doing 2 CALs this fall, but the first one I want to tell you about is this Mystery Lapghan CAL, which starts in just 2 days. This post contains affiliate links (click here for more info) – if you click on…
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Stashing on Ravelry
Today, I am sorting through and organizing all the new yarn I got on my trip to the Knit and Crochet show. There’s a lot of it, and like many of you, I already had a lot at home! Without some way to manage it, I would never remember what I have. Luckily, once again, it’s Ravelry to the rescue. I use the…
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Alternative Half Double Crochet Decrease
The traditional half double crochet 2 together (hdc2tog) decrease can be bulky, particularly at the edges of the fabric. This cleaner, sleeker, alternative half double crochet decrease reduces the bulk with just a slight modification.
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Free Pattern – Simple crochet balls
I ran out of dryer sheets the other day, so I decided to try making felted dryer balls instead. I only made it through one ball before other projects (and life in general) got in the way. One day I’ll make more, and then I’ll let you know how they work! Meanwhile, I thought I would share with you a general recipe for making crocheted…
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15 Newbie tips for the Knit & Crochet Show
I just got back from the CGOA / TKGA Knit & Crochet Show in San Diego. This was my first show, and it was truly amazing. It was almost surreal to spend 4 whole days surrounded by such talent. Thanks to some good advice from some good friends, I was really able to make the most of it. I want to share that…