31 Mar 2010 No Comments
DIY Afghans Book by Mary Beth Temple – Photo ©Leisure ArtsPictured at right isDIY Afghansby Mary Beth Temple. Using the book plus the enclosed CD-Rom, readers will learn how to crochet their own quilt-inspired afghans.
Read more…A Book of Quilt-Inspired Crochet Patterns and Design Inspirationoriginally appeared onAbout.com Crocheton Monday, March 29th, 2010 at 12:59:28.
31 Mar 2010 No Comments
HOT NEWS!!
addi Lace Click Interchangeable circular needles (/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.needle_flypage&product_id=3980&category_id=47f707c84c8e4201c63f150a6f4b2d2b) are on their way!!
The popular addi Lace needles will be available soon (late March / early May) in a new Click interchangeable needle set!
No tools necessary, simply insert the cord deep into the tip, twist and release! The tips will remain secure until you
change them, thanks to the Click’s revolutionary locking mechanism!As they say: the better the needle, the more the knitting fun. Obsession guaranteed!-)
You can Pre-Order (/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.needle_flypage&product_id=3980&category_id=47f707c84c8e4201c63f150a6f4b2d2b)your set now!
By yarn@knitty-noddy.com
31 Mar 2010 No Comments
Check out Resurrection Fern for instructions to crochet an orb that makes a beautiful cover for a light.
I 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…
31 Mar 2010 No Comments
Free needlecraft chart of a baby chick
shown from the front view, looking like he’s thinking about trying to take flight. This is the same finished size as the
baby chick side view chart. Combine the charts within a project. Links to
clip art and photos of baby chickens and wild bird chicks.
By crochet.about.com
31 Mar 2010 No Comments
Jennifer McCoy opened her front door dressed to the nines and waved me into her Grand Rapids condo, where she had a lovely display of handmade goods arranged beautifully on the kitchen table. It was clear McCoy is all about stylish presentation. And this 21-year-old newlywed knows a thing or two about mixing something old with something new.
Jennifer McCoy opened her front door dressed to the nines and waved me into her Grand Rapids condo, where she had a lovely display of handmade goods arranged beautifully on the kitchen table.
It was clear McCoy is all about stylish presentation.
And this 21-year-old newlywed knows a thing or two about mixing something old with something new.
When she gets home from her job as an office manager for Edward Jones Investments, McCoy spends the winter evenings stitching scarves, broaches, capelets/shrugs and wristlets to embellish with vintage buttons and pretty ribbons and sell online.
Jennifer McCoy, 21, of Grand Rapids, models a handknit neckwarmer/cowl ($49) she made for her online shoppinsandneedlesbasket.etsy.com.In the warmer months, she shifts her attention to sewing vintage-inspired aprons, using antique hankies for the pockets.
Starting young
McCoy says she was born to sell. She grew up in Derry, N.H., where, as a child, she sold candy and baked goods. Now she knits and crochets her original designs and ships them around the country. “When I was 5 years old, my grandma (Barbara Croley) taught me the basics of crochet,” she said. “She showed me how to make scarves for my dolls.”
By fourth or fifth grade, McCoy had taught herself to knit.
She continued making things on the side and was inspired to launch her business while battling the flu last spring. She stayed home sick from work and was watching “The Martha Stewart Show” on TV. The show featured an interview with Esty.com founder, Rob Kalin. Once McCoy heard about the Web site that serves as a global marketplace for handmade goods, she couldn’t wait to get started.
“I would be sick
31 Mar 2010 No Comments
Enjoy this roundup of free spring-themed charts and patterns. Some of these are Easter designs and some of them will be useful for other types of springtime projects.
Free Spring and Easter-Themed Crochet Chartsoriginally appeared onAbout.com Crocheton Monday, March 29th, 2010 at 04:01:28.
31 Mar 2010 No Comments
New shipments have arrived from Fleece Artist and Hand Maiden, bringing yummy yarns in lovely colorways!
There are restocks of favorite colorways, and new colors of favorite yarns:
Fleece Artist Merino Socks (/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.yarn_flypage&product_id=1619&category_id=8ce994f047220b8984516f5938126429), a lovely tight-spun 100% merino superwash 2/6 for socks, shawls, mitts …
Also Restocked: Sea Silk (/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.yarn_flypage&product_id=1616&category_id=8ce994f047220b8984516f5938126429) and Casbah (/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.yarn_flypage&product_id=2714&category_id=8ce994f047220b8984516f5938126429), more Swiss Mountain Cashmere Silk (/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.yarn_flypage&product_id=2841&category_id=8ce994f047220b8984516f5938126429), a sinfully soft Cashmere and Silk,
Lady Godiva (/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.yarn_flypage&product_id=1617&category_id=9cf2a5d25d78c13a335c8b3e90bfce69), and Mini Maiden (/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.yarn_flypage&product_id=2137&category_id=8ce994f047220b8984516f5938126429)!
Mini Maiden (/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.yarn_flypage&product_id=2137&category_id=8ce994f047220b8984516f5938126429) is another fingering yarn from Hand Maiden. A silk and wool single – it is fabulous for scarves, shawls, and cowls.
Lady Godiva (/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.yarn_flypage&product_id=1617&category_id=9cf2a5d25d78c13a335c8b3e90bfce69), a 2-ply, and Silk Maiden (/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.yarn_flypage&product_id=1761&category_id=9cf2a5d25d78c13a335c8b3e90bfce69), a soft single, are two silk and wool worsted weight yarns from Hand Maiden.All these lovely yarns provide so much joyful knitting and so many possibilities!
By yarn@knitty-noddy.com
31 Mar 2010 No Comments
When badly written patterns happen to good people.
View full sizeI 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
31 Mar 2010 No Comments
Crochet flowers can be used to beautify a wide variety of craft projects. These free crochet flower patterns will come in handy; you’ll find designs for embellishing hats, bags, clothing, accessories, home décor projects, scrapbooks and more. The list also includes projects that incorporate these crochet flowers, so you will have plenty of ideas for using the flowers you learn how to crochet.
By crochet.about.com
31 Mar 2010 No Comments
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.
The 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
