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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 advice, from one newbie to another, along with a few tips of my own. If you’re going to the show next year for the first time: 1. Arrive Early. The fun starts bright and early on the first day! I arrived near lunchtime and ended up missing some of it.…
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Hanks, balls, and skeins – oh my!
Yarn comes in many formats, with different names. Sometimes it’s wound by a machine, sometimes it’s wound by hand, and sometimes it’s just twisted together. There are cakes, skeins, hanks, balls, cones, and even spools – do you know the difference? Here are some examples:
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Filet Crochet Butterfly Square
A pretty butterfly dances on a field of mesh in this filet crochet butterfly square. Learn filet crochet with this fun and easy pattern! Make it with any yarn or thread, with solid wings or lacy wings, and as a stand-alone square or as part of a larger project. So many possibilities!
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My Mandala for Marinke
If you’re not familiar with the #MandalasforMarinke and #MandalasforWink projects, you can read more about them here. For my mandala, I chose her Crochet Mandala For Your Home pattern. Her main pattern picture, which is done in grey, yellow, and white, looks so sunny and bright that I had to pick that one. Here’s my version. I used some yarns from my stash, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. The pattern has a lot of little details and was fun to make…even if it was a little sad at the same time. I will be sending it off soon for the #MandalasforMarinke project, and I hope it ends up…
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Last-Minute 4th of July Headband
Do you need a last-minute accessory for 4th of July festivities? There's still time! I waited until the last minute too, and this headband is what I came up with.
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Tutorial – Basic Filet Crochet
Filet crochet can look intimidating, but it’s really an easy technique and can be used to make just about any design! You can make something simple, like this Heart Filet Block by I’m Hooked, or something more complex, like this Four Rose Doily by Elizabeth Ann White. There are even filet versions of the Last Supper and the signing of the Declaration of Independence! Below is a filet crochet chart for a small motif. I’ve also included a traditional crochet chart version of the exact same design. See how clear and easy the filet chart looks in comparison? For this tutorial, we’re going to ignore the traditional chart and focus on how to read the filet chart. Each…
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Remembering Wink
As you probably already know, the crochet world lost one of its rising stars this past weekend when Marinke (Wink) of A Creative Being lost her battle with depression. The overwhelming response is shock and sadness, but also love and support for her family and a need to DO something…to somehow make some small positive come out of all of this. I didn’t get the chance to know her personally. She was one of several people who shared their stories in a book called “Crochet Saved My Life.” Though not quite the same, I’ve had my own struggles with depression, and went through many (too many) dark, hopeless years before I found the help I needed.…
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Loving lover’s knots!
Have you heard of lover’s knots or Solomon’s knots in crochet? I’ve been coming across them a lot recently, and decided to try them out. I’m officially in love. Basically, this stitch is made with very long chains and single crochets. You can adjust the size of the chains to get the look you want, though the key is consistency within a project. This great video tutorial got me started, and then I picked up some stash yarn and started playing. Here’s how far I got last night: I love how quickly it works up – the stitches are so big and open. Once you get the hang of it, you…
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Product Review – Susan Bates Digital Row Counter
As you may remember, I recently received a package of free items to review, from Red Heart. Included in the package was a Susan Bates digital row counter. This is a brand new product for 2015 (UPDATE: it’s now available on Red Heart’s site and I have updated the links in this post!). I’m not typically a big fan of row counters, but this one looked intriguing and I wanted to give it a try. I was at my LYS yesterday evening, knitting on my current pair of socks, and it seemed like a good opportunity. In the past, I’ve used the type of manual row counters where you turn the dials on…
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Free Pattern – Criss cross apple sauce
The back and forth, crossed post stitches (cables) at the center of this square form a lattice like texture. There is a Jacob’s ladder / braid stitch in each corner, tucked under smaller chain spaces for a more criss-crossed look. The back of the square has a completely different, but also interesting texture, which looks a bit like layered shell stitches. The pattern is written with color changes, but works equally well in one color. This is a more advanced pattern that uses a lot of different stitch techniques, but with the recommended tutorials by Moogly, they shouldn’t be too hard to learn. It could be a great learning tool for a more adventurous beginner or intermediate crocheter.…
