Have you seen the new Annie’s book called “Amamani Puzzle Balls” by Dedri Uys? I couldn’t resist adding this book to my collection! Here’s a photo of the front cover:
Amamani Puzzle Balls book front cover
I LOVE this book! It has the cutest crochet animals I’ve seen in a long time! There are 6 designs to make from this book and they’re all absolutely adorable! Each one is made up of 3 pieces that fit together like a puzzle. I can’t wait to finish up some designs for publication so I can make one of these adorable animals for a future grandchild, since my kids are all grown up and out of the house! I’m a puzzle lover and a crochet lover, so marrying these two loves is right up my alley! Let me show you the 6 animals in this book.
Dexter the Dinosaur
This is Dexter the Dinosaur. Isn’t he cute? This is what he looks like taken apart into the 3 pieces I was telling you about:
Dexter the Dinosaur pieces
It’s hard to tell exactly how to put him back together, isn’t it? To see how that happens, you can watch the video on the Annie’s website showing the puzzle ball coming apart and going back together again here.
This is the description of the book, directly from the Annie’s website:
“Amamani is short for Amigurumi Amish Puzzle Animals. They are based on the traditional Amish puzzle ball and, as such, come apart into three segments or rings, which have to be assembled to form the animal. Gauge isn’t important in these projects. However, it is important that you work as tightly as you comfortably can. Helpful tips and step-by-step photos are included. Each of the six projects are made using Deborah Norville Everyday worsted-weight yarns. Projects include a dinosaur, elephant, giraffe, turtle and two versions of the lion.”
Here are photos of the other 5 animals in this book:
Eleanor the ElephantGemina the GiraffeSkillie the TurtleBrill the LionWhite Lion
There are 62 pages in this book. The first 15 pages are instructions and photos for making the basic pieces of the animals. This book has written instructions and lots of step-by-step photos to show you how each of these animals is crocheted and put together, which is very helpful, since they’re somewhat complex to make! I’m looking forward to making one of these very much (as soon as I get some free time)! The book retails for $10.99 and can be purchased on the Annie’s website here.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at “Amamani Puzzle Balls” as much as I’ve enjoyed looking at the book. I’m itching to make one of these toys, aren’t you?
Who doesn’t LOVE babies? And if you’re a crocheter, I’m sure you love crocheting for babies as much as I do (or maybe even more)! My 3 sons are all grown up and I’m looking forward to having some grandchildren in the near future (hint, hint!). When my grandchildren start to arrive, you can bet that I’ll be crocheting baby hats, blankets, booties and outfits for them! But for now, I continue to crochet other things and once in a while I sneak in a baby project for a relative’s or friend’s new baby!
I’m pleased to review Tammy Hildebrand’s brand new book, “Crochet for Baby All Year” by Stackpole Books. It’s 120 pages long and retails for $21.95 in the US ($25.95 in Canada). You can see all the projects in the book here.
Crochet for Baby All Year front cover
This book is fabulous!!! It’s full of outfits for babies from birth up to 18 months. There are 20 designs in the book with 1-2 different outfits for boys and girls during every month of the year. The photos are adorable, as are the outfits and the babies in them! Tammy even used her granddaughter, Willow, as one of the models! How cool is that?
Here are a few of my favorite outfits and photos in the book:
This is the “Varsity Cheerleader Dress & Headband” that is pictured on the front cover of the book. This is a different photo of that dress and I think it’s just “priceless”!!!
This is the “Scarlet Beetle Tank Top & Hat”. You can see that Tammy designed this set to be worn by a boy or girl. I think it’s adorable!!!
This is the “Stanley the Stegosaurus Costume”. What little baby boy wouldn’t love to wear this for Halloween or any time of the year? There’s a pink dinosaur costume named “Stella” for a baby girl, too.
As you can see, there are some absolutely adorable baby outfits in this book! I hope you’ll take a look at this book at your local craft store or online and consider adding it to your crochet library soon. We can never have too many crochet books, just like yarn, right?
To celebrate Tammy’s new baby book, I’m giving away a free copy to one lucky winner (in the US only, please). Just leave a comment on this blog post to enter the contest. You’ll need to be a registered user on this site in order to leave a comment. To do that, just go to the “Login” tab at the top of the page, then to “Register” in the drop down menu. Fill out the form and submit it. I don’t do anything with your registration. It’s just a layer of protection to help cut down on “spam” comments on my blog. If you’d like to follow my blog and receive an e-mail when a new blog post is published, then please subscribe to my blog.
I’ll pick the winner of Tammy’s baby book on July 17th and will post the winner’s name here.
A few months ago, I got 2 new crochet leaflets: “Quick & Easy Crochet Cowls” by Stitches ‘n Stuff (Sue Childress & Frances Hughes) and “Cute Crochet Rugs for Kids” by Tara Cousins, both by Annie’s. I’ve made some crocheted rugs before, but I’d never made a crocheted cowl before, until recently (I know, I’m a little behind the times!).
What is it about cowls that appeals to so many fiber lovers these days? And why are there so many different sizes that can be made? There are short, narrow cowls that just drape around your neck like a wide necklace all the way up to long, wide cowls that can go around your neck several times and also fit over your head. They can even be made much like triangular scarves, but worn backwards with the wide edge at the front and tied or buttoned in the back! Cowls can be made from many different fibers and weights of yarn, from super fine to chunky, too!
There are 6 projects in this Annie’s cowl book (4 easy and 2 intermediate skill levels). The cowls range from being made in many narrow rows, to less rows with more width in the rows, to a triangular shape. Some are made in solid yarns and others are made in multi-colored yarns. Some have popcorns, shells, V-stitches or clusters for lots of choices. And there are lots of different sizes to choose from, as well. Here are photos of the front cover and a few of my favorite cowls in the book:
Quick & Easy Crochet Cowls front coverBohemian CowlSummer Sorbet Cowl
This is a really nice leaflet and I look forward to making some of the cowls in it. In fact, I’ve already taken the plunge and designed a hooded cowl for a major crochet magazine (I’m sorry, but I have to keep the name of the magazine and month of the issue a secret for now). It was really fun to design and I love the colors in the yarn! It’s very soft and fluffy, which I think will be great for the winter! You can find this cowl book for sale at Annie’s here.
The rug book for kids that I got has 7 different rugs: a dinosaur, elephant, turtle, monkey, ladybug, butterfly and an owl. All of the rugs in the book were made with Deborah Norville Everyday Soft Worsted Solids, which is a medium weight acrylic yarn. I’m sure you could substitute any worsted weight acrylic yarn if you have lots of another brand in your stash! Here are photos of the front cover and some of my favorite rugs in the book:
Cute Crochet Rugs for Kids front coverGranny Shell Turtle RugSpots the Ladybug RugMischievous Monkey Rug
These are really cute and I bet kids will just love them! Of course, my kids are too old for rugs like these (my 3 sons are all in their 20’s). But perhaps when I have grandkids (hint, hint!), I can crochet them some fun rugs like these! You can see all of the rugs in the book on the Annie’s website here.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at 2 new crochet leaflets with lots of new crochet patterns in them.
I recently met a crochet designer through the internet. Her name is Kristi Simpson and she’s a very talented crochet designer. She has a website and an Etsy shop. To celebrate the release of her new book, “Mommy & Me Crocheted Hats”, published by Stackpole Books, I’d like to do my first “blog interview” with Kristi today. You can see and order this book on Amazon here. I’ll share a few photos of my favorite hats in her book toward the bottom of this blog post, too.
Kristi Simpson
S: How long have you been crocheting?
K: I have been crocheting for 6-7 years! Wow! Time flies!
S: How long have you been designing?
K: I have been designing for 5 years…but I have only been selling designs since 2010. I knew shortly after I learned to crochet that I wasn’t happy with a lot of just plain designs. I wanted to make functional things cute and so I was determined to design things that were fun and cute to crochet. I now have over 350 designs.
S: What are your favorite things to crochet or design?
K: Obviously I have a soft spot for babies and small children. My husband and I have 5 inspirational children: Jacob, Kimberly, Allison, James and Ryan that keep us on our toes! They inspire me to keep my designs fresh, and kid friendly. I understand what it means to be on a budget, but still want all of the ‘cute’ designs for my little ones….and now I make them!…but when it comes down to patterns, I know there’s a demand for all ages. My new book is about giving everyone a chance to jump in on the fun and having cute hats to wear!!
S: Where/when/how do you get your design inspiration?
K: I honestly LOVE to go yarn shopping. I might walk out with 1 skein…and on the fun days my husband is with me, I might walk out with 10 (I love it when he goes!). He is my biggest support and encourages me to try new designs and yarns! The colors, textures and different weights of yarn will jump out at me and even though I might have an idea in my head, it becomes more real when I can see the yarns. Now, I will never ever say I have enough yarn– and my husband knows that. Ha!
Also, my family inspires me. They know my passion for crocheting and even when we shop in the mall, they’ll bring a jacket or a fabric headband and say– look at this! I am a huge fan of magazine clipping! I have a 3 ring binder with taped down ideas from sales papers, store ads and what others would call ‘junk mail’. I love to see what’s in season and what’s in store for the next! I also have a separate notebook that I jot down my ideas and sketch them out so that I can return to them when specific inspiration hits!
S: Do you use your children as models for your crochet patterns?
K: Yes, all the time! My kids’ ages range from 5 year old twins to 14 and 16 year old daughters…. I never miss that opportunity to use them. Plus, they love seeing their photo online!
S: Do you have a favorite color, yarn brand or yarn weight to use in your designs?
K: One? I have to pick JUST one? Right now I would say it is Yarn Bee, “Hint of Silk” in Oriental Teal. It’s so luxurious! It is 85% Bamboo and 15% silk. It is classified as a weight 4 yarn, but to me it is on the thinner side of the scale. However, it’s perfect for clothing, hats and the new baby–it’s SO SOFT! If you were to ask me last week, I would have said Red Heart Soft in purple…. I can never pick JUST ONE!
S: What does RAKJ stand for?
K: Have you ever tried to pronounce RAKJ? Well, I’m sure you had a tongue twisting try and made some sneeze-like sounds….but it’s actually pretty simple: R-A-K-J. It is our family initials! Ryan, Allison, Kristi, Kim, Jason, James and Jacob!
S: What else can you tell us about your Mommy & Me Crocheted Hats book?
K: The book was a blast to design. I not only managed the patterns in this book but also the photography. It was amazing to have every day people model the hats. I mean, not only models wear them! I enjoyed the ‘almost candid’ theme, and it was so much fun! Not only photographing the hats, but seeing the mom and child (or sometimes grandma or dad!) playing together and being sweet! It is something that I will always remember. I hope the photos make you smile and giggle… and inspire you to make a few sets for you AND your friends and family!
Well, that’s it for the interview with Kristi. I hope you enjoyed getting to know Kristi a little bit. I definitely enjoyed interviewing her! I look forward to many more wonderful designs from Kristi in the future.
I can’t imagine having a career AND raising 5 kids! My 3 sons are grown and out on their own now. My life was very busy while my husband and I were raising them, with all of the things they did in school, sports, Boy/Cub Scouts, church and more! It makes me dizzy just to think about my crazy, busy schedule back then!
As promised, here are photos of some of my favorite hats in Kristi’s new book (and a photo of the cover of the book, too):
Wouldn’t the pirate hat be great to wear on National “Talk Like a Pirate Day”? And what little boy doesn’t want to have a beard? I think the Elf hat is really cute. It could be made with red and white for a Santa hat without the added chain spaces in the last round of the hat. If your little girl (or a little girl you know) likes to wear her hair in pigtails, then the pigtail hat is perfect (with holes to poke the pigtails through)! Since I LOVE snowmen, the snowman hat is great, especially with the ear muffs! And if I had a baby girl, I’d definitely want matching heart beanies for us!
These hat patterns come in multiple sizes and different skill levels, so there’s something for everyone. And with 30 hats to choose from, you’re sure to find some hats that you’d like to make. The book retails for $19.95 in the US and $22.95 in Canada.
You can see all of the hats/projects in this book on the Stackpole website here.
You may ask: What is a doily? And how do you pronounce it? Well, it’s pronounced “doy lee” or “doi´lē” (definitely NOT dolly!). Think of it this way: “doy” rhymes with “toy” and “Lee” is a man’s name. According to Webster’s dictionary, a doily is “any small, ornamental mat, especially one of embroidery or lace”. Of course, many forms of crochet are lacy, so it stands to reason that many doilies are made in crochet! Doilies are used most often to protect wooden surfaces from scratches and moisture.
I LOVE doilies! I have hundreds, if not thousands, of doily patterns and I still enjoy purchasing new doily patterns to add to my collection. I love to crochet doilies and they make wonderful gifts, too! I have a box of finished, blocked doilies that I can turn to when I need a gift for someone, especially if they love doilies, too. I’ve learned a lot about crocheting and designing through making crochet doilies. I’m a “threadie” at heart, so I love crocheting almost anything with crochet thread (especially cotton crochet thread because it blocks so nicely).
I love the different shapes and stitches that are in doilies. Each one is unique, almost like snowflakes. Doilies come in circles, squares, rectangles, ovals, hexagons, triangles, octagons, or just about any shape. Some doilies are done in Filet crochet, while others are done in Bruges Lace, Irish crochet or regular crochet. Some doilies have lots of textural stitches or aremade in multiple layers. Some are one solid color, while others are made with many colors (and I definitely LOVE colors!). I love anything crocheted that has pineapples in it, too! Two of my favorite doily designers are Patricia Kristoffersen, who designs doilies with textural stitches, and Kathryn White, who designs doilies in Irish crochet. You can see a lot of Patricia’s work on her Ravelry page. Kathryn White has a Raverly page and a website where you can see her designs. I won several books from each of these talented designers!
A few weeks ago, I got a new doily book. It’s called “A Baker’s Dozen Easy Crochet Doilies”. As everyone knows, a Baker’s Dozen is 13. This book has 13 different doilies in it (and one of them is mine; from the October 2013 issue of Crochet World magazine). There are round, octagonal and rectangular doilies in this book. Four of them are filet doilies, one is Irish crochet, one has an added layer in the center, 6 are regular crochet (3 with pineapples) and mine is worked over bone rings (it’s actually a table mat, but it’s in the shape of a doily!). All of these designs are beginner or easy skill levels, so there’s nothing too difficult to make in this book. Here’s the front cover and a few of my favorite doilies in the book:
A Baker’s Dozen Easy Crochet Doilies book cover
Blue Skies DoilyDuck Pond DoilyPineapple Fan DoilyAutumn Blaze Table Mat (my design)
Aren’t these doilies pretty? To see all the doilies in this book, visit Annie’s website. This book retails for $9.95 in both print and digital formats. With 13 doilies in the book, that makes each doily pattern less than a dollar!
There are so many wonderful crochet techniques that I enjoy and Tunisian Crochet is one of them. It’s a technique that yields a wonderful fabric that is similar to knitting. With Tunisian Crochet, you add loops to the hook and then work them off. It’s fun and relaxing to do!
I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Sharon Silverman, yet, but I’ve enjoyed her Tunisian crochet designs and books for many years. You can read all about her and see her designs on her website here and on her Ravelry page here. Sharon has a new Tunisian book called “Tunisian Crochet Baby Blankets”, published by Leisure Arts, that I’d like to review for you. Here’s the front cover of Sharon’s book:
Tunisian Crochet Baby Blankets front cover
This fabulous book has 8 baby blanket designs, each worked in various Tunisian Crochet stitches. There are 4 “easy” blankets, 3 “intermediate” blankets and 1 “intermediate plus” blanket. You’ll find lots of instructions and diagrams teaching you how to do these Tunisian stitches in the book, if you’re unfamiliar with some of them. Also, Leisure Arts has videos on their website showing how to work the stitches within each pattern of this book. You can find the videos for this book here. The book has a little video camera symbol printed next to each section of the pattern that includes an online video, so if you’re uncertain about that stitch, just watch the online video. It’s almost like having your own personal crochet teacher right there with you! Online videos are fabulous and I’m so glad that Leisure Arts has starting including them in their new books.
Here are photos of some of my favorite Tunisian blankets in this book:
Bright Strands
This is “Bright Stands” and is done with color changes, which I think look fabulous in Tunisian crochet because the stitches are nice and square, not distorted as they are in some other methods of crochet color changes. The instructions in the book show you how to do the color changes for this afghan. I absolutely LOVE the geometric design that Sharon has used in this afghan!
Basket Weave Blocks
This is “Basket Weave Blocks” and is done with 2 types of Tunisian stitches, which gives it that wonderful basket weave texture!
Bubbling Bobbles
This is “Bubbling Bobbles”. I’ve never done bobbles in Tunisian crochet, so I’m going to have to give this one a try!
Color Waves
This is “Color Waves”. As you can tell, it’s done in ripples. I’ve never done ripples in Tunisian crochet, either, so this is another one I’m going to try out in my “spare” time!
These are just 4 of the Tunisian baby afghans in this book. To see all of the afghans in the book, check out this page on Ravelry. Here’s the link for this book on the Leisure Arts website. It’s available in both printed book (for $9.99) and in e-book (for $7.99) formats. And it’s also available on Amazon.com in print, as well as for Kindle.
If you’ve never done Tunisian Crochet before, I hope you’ll give it a try with this wonderful book. And if you’re looking to learn more Tunisian Crochet stitches, you’ll find plenty of them to learn in this fabulous book!
I’m honored to review the first crochet book done by my good friend, Tammy Hildebrand today. Tammy’s name and crochet designs have been gracing the pages of crochet magazines and books for many years, but this is Tammy’s first book with ALL of the projects designed by Tammy herself. You’ve probably seen some of Tammy’s designs in Crochet!, Interweave Crochet, Crochet 1-2-3 and Crochet World magazines. Many times, Tammy’s designs have graced the cover of these magazines, too! To see Tammy’s published designs, visit her Ravelry page. Tammy is a wonderful crochet garment designer who I’ve admired for years! She is also the Vice President on the CGOA Board of Directors and has served on the Professional Development Committee of CGOA for many years.
Crochet Wraps Every Which Way front cover
Anyway, back to Tammy’s new book, “Crochet Wraps Every Which Way”. This is a great book with 18 patterns for wraps, ponchos, shawls and stoles in 6 techniques: hairpin lace, broomstick lace, Tunisian crochet, double-ended crochet, motifs and traditional crochet. There are 3 designs/projects for each of these 6 techniques: 1 design for each of these skill levels: easy, intermediate and experienced. So you can pick a project based on your skill level, making the book relevant to almost all crocheters! And there is even a “how-to” section in the back of the book with step-by-step instructions and photos to help you learn the new techniques that appeal to you!
Tammy has pushed the envelope with many of these cutting-edge designs. She even works some of these techniques in the round that are traditionally worked in rows! How cool is that? I’m in awe of Tammy’s creativeness! Here are some of my favorite projects in the book:
Perfect Pineapples
The “Perfect Pineapples” shawl is essentially a big, round doily with the pineapple pattern throughout, made with yarn. I love the way you can fold it over wherever you want to make it the length you like (and the folded portion forms a collar!).
Purple Passion
The “Purple Passion” wrap is also made with pineapples. This wrap is made with Lion Brand Silk Mohair yarn, which is one of my new favorite yarns! It’s a dream to work with and it’s light-as-a-feather!
Chica Mala
The “Chica Mala” shawl looks like it’s made with regular motifs, but it’s made with broomstick lace motifs, worked in the round! I had to do a double-take on this shawl! I have to give this a try soon when I have some spare time.
I love the colors that Tammy has chosen for these wraps. Of course, you can choose different colors for the wraps you make from these patterns to coordinate with your wardrobe or the recipient’s wardrobe, if the project will be a gift for someone else!
I know how to do all of these crochet techniques, but I’m not very proficient with some of them! I’d like to learn more about them and practice my skills with them (like hairpin lace and broomstick lace). I took a hairpin lace class at last year’s CGOA Conference in Charlotte, NC from Jennifer Hansen, who is a genius with hairpin lace, broomstick lace and Tunisian! That was a lot of fun! I’ve enjoyed Tunisian crochet for many years and I love crocheted motifs! What are your favorite techniques out of the 6 techniques in this book? Which ones would you like to learn?
If you’d like to purchase this fabulous book and learn some new crochet techniques or expand on the ones you already know, the book is available at Amazon.com here. It is also available at many local craft stores and book stores nationwide. Tammy’s book has 104 pages and retails for $19.95 in the US ($22.95 in Canada). That’s just over $1 per pattern!
I hope you’ll take a look at Tammy’s new book and learn a new crochet technique in 2014!
I am thrilled to be taking part in Kathryn White’s blog tour for her new book, “The Go-To Book for Irish Crochet Motifs”! Kathryn (Kathy) is a good friend of mine and an extremely talented designer. She is an expert with a steel crochet hook and cotton crochet thread! I’ve loved her designs for years and met her at the CGOA Conference in Sept. 2011 in Greensboro, NC. I think it was Kathy’s first CGOA conference, but I’d been to many CGOA Conferences before that one. I didn’t get a good photo of Kathy at that conference, but I did get a photo of the Irish crochet motifs that she made and appliqued to the sweater she was wearing when we met. Here it is for you to see:
Kathy’s Irish motif appliques
These are beautiful Irish crochet pieces and they show up so nicely on that sweater (or perhaps it was a sweatshirt).
Here is a photo of Kathy and me from another CGOA Conference last year:
Susan & Kathy at CGOA Conference in 2013
You can find Kathy on Facebook, as well as on her website here. And you can follow the rest of the stops on her Irish Crochet blog tour on her blog here.
Now on to her fabulous Irish Crochet book! Here’s the front and back covers of the book:
front cover of Irish Crochet bookback cover of Irish Crochet book
As the front cover says, there are over 100 motifs, edgings and insertions in this book, along with fill-in lace and tips on putting it all together. The motifs include various types of flowers, leaves and fill-in motifs. There are also dangles and overlays in this book. There are many motifs to choose from and combine into your very own Irish crochet masterpiece!!!
If you’re not familiar with Irish crochet, it’s a fabulous technique of making motifs (typically with crochet thread), many with something called a “padding cord” or a “padded ring” to give more dimension to the pieces (Kathy explains the padding cord and padded rings in this book, along with giving hints to make them easier). The motifs are then joined together with “fill-in lace” to make a large piece or project. Many of the old Irish crochet patterns are difficult to understand, but Kathy has made them easy to understand with modern crochet terms and updated Irish crochet patterns in her new book. There are motifs for every skill level in this book, as well. And if you don’t want to use a padding cord or padded ring, Kathy gives updated patterns for making the same motifs without them.
Here are photos of some of the pieces in the book:
As a thread crochet lover, I absolutely LOVE this book! As one of Kathy’s friends, I actually saw part of the book before it was published. And I got to try out a part of the book last year, too. Here’s my fill-in lace sampler from last year:
My Irish crochet sampler
I learned a lot while making this sampler piece, which is in Kathy’s book. I learned how to use padding cord (successfully) and how to work the fill-in lace between the motifs (successfully, too!). Kathy is a patient teacher and she’s very thorough, too! I love that in a crochet designer/teacher.
You can see more of Kathy’s Irish Crochet book and purchase it as a printed book or in digital format on the Annie’s website here. The book has 96 pages and retails for $14.95 in the US ($17.95 in Canada). It’s a fabulous book and I can’t wait to make more of the motifs in it. I also want to try joining more motifs with more of the fill-in lace methods in this book. Now if I just had more time or some clones to do my work so I could sit and crochet more, which is what many of us would love to do!!!
To celebrate Kathy’s new Irish Crochet book, I’m giving away an autographed copy to one very lucky winner. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this blog post about Irish crochet or crochet in general (or tell me what crochet technique is your favorite). You must live in the US to qualify, since shipping the book to another country is very expensive. I’ll pick the lucky winner on Jan. 21, so you’ll have plenty of time to enter! Good luck everyone!
I recently got 2 new crochet/knitting books from Annie’s. I love getting new patterns for crochet and knitting projects! There’s nothing like a new project! If you called me a “pattern junkie”, I think you’d hit the nail right on the head!!!
Colorful Tunisian Afghans to Crochet book
The first book is “Colorful Tunisian Afghans to Crochet” by Glenda Winkleman. This book includes 6 patterns for Tunisian crochet afghans with cross-stitches worked on the surface to create the designs. These are really nice afghans! I love the construction of them. Five out of the six afghans are done in either strips or squares of Tunisian crochet. Each strip or square is edged before joining them together. The sixth afghan is done in a large center section that appears to be 2 separate sections, but it’s one big piece with bobbles separating the solid center from the edges where the cross-stitches are worked. Here’s that afghan:
Hope Rose Afghan
Isn’t it pretty? And here are a few of the other afghans in this book:
Summer Blues AfghanPennsylvania Dutch Afghan
The patterns in this book are rated as an “easy” skill level, but they may be closer to “intermediate”, in my opinion! Some of the special stitches used in various afghans in the book are: bobbles, popcorns, crossed sc and picots). Each pattern comes with written instructions and charts for the cross-stitch placement. If you’ve never done cross-stitch on Tunisan crochet before, it’s really easy! The Tunisian crochet makes a “grid” of squares that serve as the background for the cross-stitches. The book even includes a diagram in each pattern showing how to work cross-stitches.
Each of the afghan squares or panels is crocheted with one color of yarn, making the pieces work up quickly. Then you cross-stitch the design onto the squares or panels per the charts. If you’ve ever done stamped or counted cross-stitch on fabric, you already know how to do the cross-stitch portion of these afghans. And if you’ve done Tunisian crochet before, you already know how to do the background of the afghans! If you don’t know how to do Tunisian crochet and you want to learn, Annie’s has a lot of books, videos and materials for doing Tunisian crochet. You can see their assortment of Tunisian items here. Kim Guzman has designed a lot of projects in Tunisian crochet. She has several online classes with Annie’s, too. To read about her class called “Learn to Tunisian Crochet”, click here.
You can see all of the afghans in this book at the Annie’s website here. The book retails for $9.95 in the US and $11.95 in Canada. So with 6 patterns in this book, that comes out to be $1.67 for each pattern in the US ($2.00 each in Canada)!
If you enjoy doing Tunisian crochet (or want to learn), why not add this book to your crochet library?
A Playful Palette of 10 Knitted Accessories book
The second book I got is “A Playful Palette of 10 Knitted Accessories” by Tabetha Hedrick. As the name implies, this is a knitting book. For those of you who are bi-stitchual (you can crochet AND knit), this is a great book. There are 10 projects, ranging from small, quick projects to larger, longer projects. There’s a headband, bracelet, scarf, cowl, hat (in 2 versions), fingerless mitts, scarflette, cape and socks in 2 lengths in this book. All of the projects are made with 1-4 skeins of Koigu Yarn: either Koigu Premium Merino (KPM) or Koigu Painter’s Palette Premium Merino (KPPPM). These are both fingering/sock-weight yarns in 100% merino wool. I’ve never tried this yarn, but it looks really pretty in the book, so I’ll have to give it a try sometime very soon!
Here are a few photos from this book:
Kodiak CowlGarden City Hat & Mitts
Nantucket Socks
You can see all of the projects in this knitting book here.
The skill levels for the projects in this book range from beginner to intermediate. I like having this range of skill levels, since I’m a fairly new knitter with lots to learn! I really like the looks of the lacy socks in this book. I never thought I’d knit or crochet socks before, but I might have to take the plunge sometime soon!!!
This knitting book has 48 pages and retails for $14.95 in the US ($17.95 in Canada). With 10 patterns in the book, each pattern costs just $1.50 in the US ($1.80 each in Canada)!
If you enjoy knitting accessories, you may want to add this book to your knitting library!
Last month, I got the book, “Baby Washcloths & Afghan Squares” by Lisa Carnahan, published by Annie’s. This is a knitting book, not a crochet book. But since I now know how to knit, as well as crochet, I wanted to give some knit washcloths a try. Here is a photo of the front cover of this book:
Baby Washcloths & Afghan Squares book (front cover)
This is a very nice book with some nice washcloth patterns. I especially like it because I’m a relatively new knitter and my knitting skills are still a work-in-progress (I’m not ready for the TKGA Masters program by any means, yet!).
It was hard to pick which washcloth designs I wanted to make from this book because I like them all! But I finally chose the Zigzags and the Triangles washcloths to make. Here are photos of these 2 washcloths in the book:
Zigzags Washcloth from bookTriangles Washcloth from book
The washcloths in this book were made with Tahki Yarns Cotton Classic, which is a DK weight yarn. Since I didn’t have any of that yarn, I used some Omega Sinfonia that I had left over from the “Wiggly Crochet Dishcloths” book I did for Annie’s. I LOVE this yarn! It’s a sport weight 100% cotton yarn that comes in many gorgeous colors. It is 3.52oz (100g) and has 218 yards (200m) for $4-5, so the value is good (and you can buy it for even less than this with a coupon!). I started knitting a pretty pink sweater this month from 5 balls of Sinfonia that I bought on sale for $3 each to learn more about knitting and shaping sweaters! It should be really nice!
But back to the baby washcloths! These washcloths don’t use that much yarn, so using left overs is perfect for these projects. In my opinion, these washcloth patterns aren’t just for babies. Since pretty much all of them are geometric designs, they can be used for much more than babies. At 8” (20cm) square, I think they’re a great size for facial washcloths and smaller dishcloths, too. I LOVE the drape of them and the stitch pattern keeps my interest instead of knitting rows of all knit or all purl! I also LOVE how quick they are to make. I can make a washcloth in just 1 or 2 evenings while watching TV (I’m not that fast of a knitter, yet, either!). Okay, here are photos of my washcloths for you to see:
My Zigzags WashclothMy Triangles Washcloth
What do you think? I think I did pretty well for being a new knitter (since July of this year).
There are 10 solid washcloths and 1 striped washcloth (done with slipped stitches) in this book. There’s even an afghan made with all 10 of the solid squares and 10 of the striped squares in the book (the afghan can be seen on the cover of the book and there is a full-size photo of the afghan inside the book). Here’s the striped washcloth for you to see:
Slip-Stitch Washcloth from book
You can see larger photos of all the washcloth blocks in this book and purchase it online on the Annie’s website here. If you love to knit washcloths and dishcloths, you’ll really enjoy this book!
