31 Jan 2010 No Comments

Light up your stitches – 3168th Edition

Check out Resurrection Fern for instructions to crochet an orb that makes a beautiful cover for a light.

crochet-light.jpgI was readingdesign*spongethis morning and they have a link to a fabulous crochet project. And if you’re not much of a crocheter, fear not, because you only need to know the chain stitch and single crochet to make this.

Margie ofResurrection Ferncrocheted a sphere over a balloon, covered it in watered-down craft glue so it would hold it’s shape and used it as a light cover. She gives step-by-step instructionshere.

Imagine the great shadows that the halo of little mohair spheres placed over Christmas lights would create…

–Mims Copeland

31 Jan 2010 No Comments

Crocheting in the Round also Syrmatia Dorilas Butterfly Graph – 3167th Edition

Another in the series of free butterfly charts, along with a look at crocheting in the round.
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31 Jan 2010 No Comments

DellaQ Que-I Double Interchangeables Case – now here! – 3166th Edition

DellaQ’s new Que-I Double (../index.php?page=shop.kit_flypage&option=com_phpshop&product_id=3930&category_id=66aadf81cce83b069e7d9aea9370c159) has arrived! This a plush case that holds TWO sets of interchaneable needles, or you can have all your extra tips, cables and other add-ons together with you in this handy case. Store your addi Click (../index.php?page=shop.needle_flypage&option=com_phpshop&product_id=3309&category_id=47f707c84c8e4201c63f150a6f4b2d2b),
Denise, KA Switch or any of the other interchangeable needles in
style. There are 24 size-numbered pockets for your needle tips, six
pockets for cords and a zip pocket for connectors and other accessories.
By yarn@knitty-noddy.com

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31 Jan 2010 No Comments

Former West Michigan man gains fame as ‘Crochet Dude’ – 3165th Edition

As a shy teen walking the halls of Saugatuck High School in the early 1980s, Drew Emborsky never imagined he would be receiving fan mail two decades later about his passion for crocheting. “When I was in high school, I didn't go around saying, 'I crochet,'” he said. Now he's the Crochet Dude, and can't stop talking about it.

As a shy teen walking the halls of Saugatuck High School in the early 1980s, Drew Emborsky never imagined he would be receiving fan mail two decades later about his passion for crocheting.

“When I was in high school, I didn’t go around saying, ‘I crochet,’” he said.

Now he’s the Crochet Dude, and can’t stop talking about it.


Courtesy photosThe Crochet Dude:Drew Emborsky, top, receives about 300 e-mails a day from fans of his work. Below is his book, “The Crochet Dude’s Designs for Guys.”

After roughly two decades of career changes, Emborsky found his niche in the world of fiber arts, and fans have found him — the 41-year-old Houston-based crochet pattern designer receives about 300 e-mails a day from followers.

When he enrolled at Kendall College of Art and Design (now part of Ferris State University), he stayed long enough to realize he didn’t want to live the life of a fine artist. So he left to start a surface design company with college friends. They painted interiors around Holland and Saugatuck before do-it-yourself rag- and sponge-painting became all the rage.

After a stint working as a waiter in Nevada, Emborsky took a vacation to Mexico and ended up staying for five years. There, he worked as a school administrator and textbook author.

Shortly after he moved back to the United States, his mother died.

“I was kind of stalled emotionally,” he said.

An early start

He had been crocheting since age 5, when his mother taught him the craft, and he crocheted even more after her death. He started stitching granny squares for a charity organization that made them into blankets.

“I started having all these memories of my mo

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The Grand Rapids Press

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31 Jan 2010 No Comments

In need of a sense of direction(s) – 3164th Edition

When badly written patterns happen to good people.

compass2.jpgView full sizeImage courtesy of Wikimedia CommonsI have zero sense of direction. I get lost going around the block. Moving to a new town — and I’ve lived in four states on two coasts in the last 15 years — means I spend years getting lost, unable to leave the house without a map and doomed to disaster any time I encounter a detour.

So it really shouldn’t surprise me that I have trouble with knitting patterns. I’ve always wanted to be one of those people who instinctively knows she’s headed in the wrong direction — literally or figuratively — but alas, I am not. Instead, I’m one of those people who blindly ignores the warning signs — 16 rows for one sleeve and 32 for the other? Sure! — and puts blind faith in the authority of the pattern writers. And boy, have I been burned by that.

If I could somehow do aVulcan mind-meldwith the pattern writers, I’d be OK. Probably. At the very least, I’d be less prone to weeping, ripping and cursing. But since that hasn’t worked out, I’ve learned to rationalize, telling myself that what I’m really doing is modifying existing patterns to better suit my needs. (My need for them to make sense and to produce something vaguely like the pattern picture, that is.)

I’d feel bad about this, but I know I’m not the only one who struggles like this. My friend Jonathan is a crocheter, and I’ve spent more time than I care to think about trying to puzzle out patterns with him and having anguished discussions over where the hook is supposed to go and what the pattern writer really meant. (Jonathan, I should point out, is one of the smartest people I’ve ever known, has the degrees to prove it, and is an expert crocheter who once made a child’s Aran sweater. He’s a rabbi. What does it tell you when a man who can interpret Talmud can’t interpret a crochet pattern? It tells you lots of things, none of them good. And all you pattern writers need to take a moment and meditate on the karmic implication

By

Mary Mooney, The Oregonian

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31 Jan 2010 No Comments

Butterfly Charts Main List and Assembly Hints When Making as an Afghan – 3163th Edition

Main list of all the butterfly charts in this series, suitable for cross stitch, needlepoint, knitting, crochet and quilt blocks. Also, if making charts into crocheted afghan squares: diagrams for suggested placement for two sizes of afghans and assembly instructions.
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31 Jan 2010 No Comments

Filati / Lana Grossa Winter 2009 patterns – 3162th Edition

Fabulous Fall / Winter 2009 fashions are featured in the latest pattern magazines from Lana Grossa!
With tunics, cardigans, pullovers, from sheer to chunky, Lana Grossa Filati HandKnitting 38 (/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.flypage&product_id=3926) is full of a wide variety of stylish garments to keep you warm in winter!

Filati Accessories issue #7 (/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.flypage&product_id=3929) is here! There are over 40 patterns in this year’s annual accessories booklet – take a look at these quick-knit projects!

Also here is Linea Rossa 5 (/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.flypage&product_id=3928) offering the more formal stylish patterns, and Linea Pura 2 (/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.flypage&product_id=3927), patterns for Lana Grossa’s organic yarn line!
By yarn@knitty-noddy.com

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31 Jan 2010 No Comments

Books guide readers beyond ‘the box’ – 3161th Edition

It's a great time to be a crafty book lover. Publishers are marketing great books to those of us with the DIY mind-set, so this week I'm highlighting new releases that have caught my eye. “Printing By Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils, and Silk Screens,” by Lena Corwin (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 144 pages,…


It’s a great time to be a crafty book lover.

Publishers are marketing great books to those of us with the DIY mind-set, so this week I’m highlighting new releases that have caught my eye.

“Printing By Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils, and Silk Screens,”by Lena Corwin (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 144 pages, $27.50)

Loaded with color photos and clear explanations, “Printing by Hand” makes the concept of printing on fabric, paper and other surfaces with handmade stamps and stencils completely intoxicating. Seriously, this book is the equivalent of gasoline on the creative fire of the budding printer.

A great book for beginners, it covers everything from selecting a surface and creating a design to stamping, stenciling and screen-printing mechanics. This book gets extra points for great photography and its concealed wire binding, which is a very handy feature when your hands are covered in ink, and you want the book to stay open.

If you’re interested in printing, I highly recommend this book.

“Fashioning Technology: A DIY Intro to Smart Crafting,”by Syuzi Pakhchyan (O’Reilly Media Inc., 219 pages, $29.99)

Home Economics meets Science Olympiad on the pages of Syuzi Pakhchyan’s book, which encourages readers to electrify their crafts — literally.

If you’ve ever wondered how to sew circuits and LEDs (light-emitting diodes) into handbags, you’re in luck. Pakhchyan breaks it down for those of us who never have selected an energy source for a “Space Invaders” LED purse or embellished a solar-powered tea table with phosphorescent ink.

Sure, the book’s supply list can be a bit intimidating for the aver

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The Grand Rapids Press

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31 Jan 2010 No Comments

Linda Permann comes to Portland to talk about ‘Crochet Adorned’ – 3160th Edition

Crafty designer Linda Permann will be in Portland this week to talk about her new book Crochet Adorned. In preparation for her visit, we asked her for an interview about her book, her connection to Portland crafters and how she got into crochet design. Here's some info on her book, where she'll be and what she told us:

Linda Permann

Crafty designer Linda Permannwill be in Portland this week to talk about her new bookCrochet Adorned.

In preparation for her visit, we asked her for an interview about her book, her connection to Portland crafters and how she got into crochet design. Here’s some info on her book, where she’ll be and what she told us:

“Crochet Adorned” is useful as well as pretty. Linda uses a variety of crochet designs to transform tops, dresses, shoes, bags, skirts, pillows, earrings … well just lots of stuff. The subtitle — “Reinvent your Wardrobe with Crocheted Accents, Embellishments and Trims” — should also include “your home” because she has stylish embellishments for items in your living spaces as well as on your person.

Don’t crochet? No problem. She shows you how, with basics on what you need, choosing tools and yarn and extensive info on techniques and tips.

Here’s where you’ll find her in Portland this week:
Thursday, Aug. 13, between 9 and 10 a.m. she’ll be on “AM Northwest“;
Also Thursday, Aug. 13, at 7:30 p.m., she’ll have a talk and book signing atPowell’s Books, 1005 W. Burnside. “I’ll have many of the projects from the book on view and will tell you some stories about how I came up with them,” Linda says on her blog.
Saturday, Aug. 15, 1-3 p.m. Talk and signing atYarn Garden, 1413 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. “I’ll be demonstrating how to make a quick crocheted flower, so bring some yarn and a hook! Again, I’ll have projects from the book on display and if you have any quick crochet questions, I’d be happy to answer them.” Yarn Garden’s Web site says Linda will have samples and “will talk about projects in the book and how to come up with i













By

Peggy McMullen, The Oregonian

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31 Jan 2010 No Comments

Easy Crochet Edging Patterns – 3159th Edition

Enjoy this free crochet pattern for a scalloped vertical edging trimmed with ribbon. The edging is pretty, and it is very easy to crochet. You can work this pattern in either crochet thread or yarn, and it looks great either way.
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