Do you enjoy decorating your home? I definitely do! This pattern has been several years in the making. Two years ago, 2 of our 3 grown sons bought their first house (and we bought our new/used house that year, as well). Then last year, our third son bought his first house, too! So there have been lots of houses purchased in our family lately! What a blessing!
What’s a mom to do when she sees a need and gets an idea? Fill that need, of course! So I set off to design and crochet a “Home Sweet Home” piece for each of my sons. Filet Crochet is one of my favorite crochet techniques, so that’s what I used. Now I’m releasing this pattern so you can crochet your own “Home Sweet Home” for you, your family or friends, too.
The first son/daughter-in-law I made this for didn’t want to frame it. She chose to mount it on canvas. She’s very creative and she painted the canvas before we mounted it (with the help of spray adhesive). Here’s their finished “Home Sweet Home”:
Isn’t that beautiful? I think so!
The second son who bought a house has a Japanese wife, so she chose washi paper and some strips of wood (with magnets) to mount her “Home Sweet Home” piece. This is where she purchased the magnetic strips to hang their piece. This is their finished “Home Sweet Home”:
I love her choice of mounting, too!
My husband and I bought a home in 2021, as well. So I set out to crochet one for our new/used home. I’m more traditional than my daughters-in-law, so I decided to frame mine. I used a 16″ x 20″ frame that I painted to match the blue matboard. Here’s our “Home Sweet Home”:
I gave a “Home Sweet Home” to my oldest son and daughter-in-law at the end of last year, after they purchased their first home. They haven’t framed theirs yet (I don’t think). I know whatever they choose will be just right for their first home!
If you love Filet Crochet as much as me (and you don’t mind using size 30 crochet thread), check out my new Filet “Home Sweet Home” pattern here. If you’re not a fan of size 30 crochet thread, you could always use a larger crochet thread to create a larger “Home Sweet Home” piece of your own! And don’t forget to block your piece for professional results!
I just love learning new things, don’t you? I’m very happy to announce that I’ll be teaching 4 online crochet classes next month for the annual CGOA Conference. I’ve taught each of these classes before in person and I’m excited to teach them online/virtually! The nice thing about online/virtual classes is there’s no travel necessary to attend the classes/conference. You can attend classes in the comfort of your own home, which saves lots of time and money! Each crochet class will be taught at Central Standard Time (US time zone) through Zoom. It will be fun to learn new things, so give it a try!
If you’ve never heard of CGOA (Crochet Guild of America), check out the benefits of membership here. I’ve been a CGOA member since 2002 and I started teaching at the CGOA Conference in 2009! It’s a wonderful organization with lots of crochet enthusiasts, including lots of crochet hobbyists, designers, editors and publishers! CGOA members enjoy discounts on classes and lots of other things.
Registration ends soon, so register today for the classes you want to take!
Below are the 4 classes I’ll be teaching at the virtual CGOA Conference next month.
Invisible Repairs: Tuesday, July 20 from 9:00AM-4:00PM CST (with 1 hour lunch break)
Click on video photo for more information
Repair torn, cut, chewed or burned projects
Replace stitches and chain spaces, locking them to bottom strands in the row or round above
Invisibly seam first and last rows in a crochet cowl
Bring damaged crochet projects back to life again
Intro to Irish Crochet: Friday, July 23 from 1:00PM-4:00PM CST
Click on video photo for more information
Introductory class
Learn to make basic Irish Crochet rose and leaf motifs
Learn to make a background for joining your finished motifs
Learn a simple Irish Crochet edging with picots
Reading & Understanding Crochet Patterns: Monday, July 26 from 1:00PM-4:00PM CST
Click on the video photo above for more information.
By learning how to read a pattern, you’ll be able to crochet exciting new projects
Learn the rules for reading a crochet pattern
Learn abbreviations, right/wrong side, right/left side, right/left front
Bring your crochet pattern questions to be answered
We will make some practice swatches in class
Fantastic Filet Crochet: Wednesday, July 28 from 9:00AM-4:00PM CST (with 1-hr lunch break)
Click on the video photo above for more information.
Learn the basics of Filet Crochet
Learn open mesh, closed mesh, lacets and square mesh
Learn increases, decreases and diagonal stitches
Learn to read a Filet Crochet chart
We will be making a beginning Filet Crochet project and intermediate swatches
I hope to see/meet many of you in my CGOA classes next month!
Here’s a link directly to the CGOA web page to read about all the classes being offered at this year’s CGOA conference and to register for classes.
Happy crocheting to all of you and keep on learning!
I LOVE to teach crochet! And I LOVE to learn new crochet techniques! Don’t you?
I’m happy to announce that I’ll be teaching 5 classes at the CGOA Conference this July in Manchester, NH. Not all of my classes are crochet, though. I’ll be teaching shuttle tatting again this year, too!
First, I’ll tell you a little about the CGOA (Crochet Guild of America) Conference. This takes place every year (sometimes twice a year) in various cities across the US. It is open to CGOA members and non-members. There are dozens of classes taught by many talented teachers, some very well-known! We have a marketplace with vendors who sell everything from luscious yarn/thread to hooks, books and supplies. We also have a banquet and fashion show, as well as some fun events in the evenings. And I can’t forget about Professional Development Day (PDD) where established crochet professionals share what they know about running a successful crochet business. PDD takes place the day before classes begin, on Wednesday, July 10 from 9 am – 4 pm.
For all the scoop about the conference, visit the CGOA conference pages. Here is a list of the events going on at this year’s conference. Read this page to find out about all the classes being offered. And one last thing, CGOA has a design competition each year for CGOA members only. There are prizes in 6 categories ranging from $100 – $300, with a grand prize of $1,000! There have been some fabulous entries each year! It’s so much fun to see the entries at the conference and find it who wins in each category!
Okay. Now to list the classes I’m teaching and when each one is offered.
Thursday, July 11 from 9 am – 5 pm (with lunch from noon – 2 pm)
Tatting the Old-Fashioned Way
Tatting the Old-Fashioned Way class
Tatting is such a fascinating and delicate craft. I taught myself to tat over 20 years ago. I’ve learned more since then and I really enjoy teaching others so they’ll be successful in their tatting projects. In this class, my students will learn the basics of tatting and start tatting this beautiful necklace with buttons, beads or charms. This is the only 6 hour class I’m teaching at the conference this year. Yes, it takes that long to learn to tat and get your head wrapped around how to do it! But I’ll be there to teach my students and answer all their questions. If you’ve always admired tatting and want to learn to tat, sign up for this class early. I’ve limited this class size to only 20 students.
Friday, July 12 from 9 am – 12 pm (noon)
Invisible Repairs
Invisible Repairs class
I’ve taught my Invisible Repairs class at the conference for the past 2 years. This has been a popular class and I’m thrilled to be teaching it again this year! In this class, I teach my students how to repair their damaged crochet projects, no matter where the damage is located. There is homework for this class so we can all do the repairs to the same swatches in class. And I’ll be demonstrating how to do the repairs in class, as well. This technique also works great to invisibly seam the last row to the first row on crochet cowls!
Last year, I filmed a crochet video class for Annie’s on this same topic called “Crochet ER: Fixing Damage and Mistakes”! If you can’t make it to the conference and would like to learn to repair your crochet projects (or someone else’s crochet projects), check out my Annie’s video class.
Friday, July 12 from 2 pm – 5 pm
Intro to Irish Crochet
Intro to Irish Crochet class
I LOVE Irish Crochet and I really enjoy teaching this class to other Irish Crochet enthusiasts (who don’t know where to begin). In this class, I’ll be teaching how to make the Irish Crochet rose and leaf motifs. I’ll also teach how to make the background and the edging that you see in this photo. This is an introduction class, so we won’t get into more advanced Irish Crochet techniques. But once you know the basics of Irish Crochet, you can always learn more on your own or with books.
Saturday, July 13 from 9 am – 12 pm (noon)
Intermediate Filet Crochet
Intermediate Filet Crochet class
This is my Filet Crochet class for those who already know the basics of Filet Crochet (open mesh, closed mesh and lacets). In this intermediate class, you’ll learn to do increases, decreases, diagonals and a whole lot more! Once you learn these intermediate Filet Crochet skills, you’ll be ready to tackle that more complex Filet Crochet pattern you’ve had your eye on for so long!
If you don’t know the basics of Filet Crochet yet, and you’ve been wanting to learn to do Filet Crochet, check out my Annie’s class called “Learn Filet Crochet Using Thread and Yarn”. Then if you want to take your Filet Crochet to the next level, why not sign up for my intermediate class at the CGOA Conference (or before for the best rates)!
Saturday, July 13 from 2 pm – 5 pm
Simplifying Symbol Crochet
Simplifying Symbol Crochet class
This class is always a lot of fun to teach! I learned to read symbol crochet charts several decades ago through Magic Crochet and Decorative Crochet magazines. I love to make doilies and the patterns in these magazines were mostly written in crochet symbol charts. As a visual learner, I find these charts so much easier to follow than a lengthy written crochet pattern! And they look so similar to the finished project, too!
If you haven’t learned to read symbol crochet charts yet, this is your chance! You’ll learn all the basic crochet symbols and lots of more complex symbols, too. You’ll learn to follow a symbol crochet chart, both in rows and in rounds. And you’ll practice what you’ve learned making 2 small projects/swatches in class. Once you learn to read and follow symbol crochet charts, a whole new world of crochet patterns will open up to you! You’ll even be able to follow symbol crochet patterns in other languages including Japanese, Chinese, Russian and Ukranian!
If you’ve taken any of my classes in the past, you know how much I like to have nice, precise class handouts. I print them in color and bind them like a book to they’re a great keepsake to refer to later on after the conference. I charge $5-$8 for these handouts (depending on the quantity of photos/pages), which is what it costs me to print them at home, with the price of toner cartridges, nice paper, card stock and binding combs (to use with my binding machine). Here’s a look at my class handouts:
My Class Handouts
If you’re going to the CGOA Conference, class registration begins next Wednesday, March 13 at 12:00 pm (noon) Central time. Once again, here’s the CGOA website to find out more about the conference and CGOA in general. And if you have any questions about the conference, I’d be happy to answer them for you.
I have another announcement for you this month! It’s my newest Annie’s crochet video class: “Learn Filet Crochet Using Thread and Yarn!”.
Filet Crochet is such a great crochet technique! I’ve been doing Filet Crochet for several decades now! I’ve designed a bunch of Filet Crochet patterns and taught this technique at the CGOA Conference many times, as well as at the 2018 Interweave Yarn Fest. I LOVE Filet Crochet! You can crochet so many different kinds of things with it! You can combine it with other crochet techniques, as well.
Here are a few of the designs I’ve done over the years, some simple and others more complex:
Filet Heart Coaster, published on TheCrochetArchitect website
Give Thanks Placemat Set, published in Oct. 2008 Crochet World magazine
Europa Scarf, published by Caron Yarns
Filet Coaster from my Annie’s class, “Learn to Crochet With Thread”
Lovely Decor in Filet Crochet book, published by Leisure Arts in 2010
If you’d like to see all of my published Filet Crochet designs in the past 20+ years, check out this Ravelry search. Most of these designs are done with crochet thread, but a few of them are done with yarn. If you’re interested in the Europa Scarf, which I designed in 2010 with Naturally Caron Spa yarn (a now discontinued yarn), you can download the free pattern here. You can also download several free Filet Crochet patterns on the Red Heart website.
No matter what you use for filet crochet, the technique is the same! It’s just the size of the yarn/thread and hook that makes the difference (and, of course, the pattern)!
This Filet Crochet video was filmed at the same time as my other new video, “Crochet ER: Fixing Damage & Mistakes”, which came out last month. You can read all about that video in my previous blog post here.
Here are a few photos from filming this new Filet Crochet video:
Filet Crochet set and swatch
Learn Filet Crochet set with projects
And here are the 2 class projects from my new Filet Crochet class that you’ll be able to make when you sign up for this class:
Filet Elephant Baby Blanket
Filet Name Banner
In this class, I teach how to work the closed mesh, open mesh and lacets that comprise Filet Crochet patterns. I also teach how to read and follow Filet Crochet charts, as well as how to calculate the number of chains in the starting chain for a Filet Crochet pattern that is only charted (not written). And I teach 2 ways to make your Filet Crochet mesh more square.
The first thing we work on in the class is a practice swatch. With this swatch, you will learn to work the open and closed Filet mesh, as well as lacets. You’ll also get practice following a Filet Crochet chart. Once you’ve mastered the swatch, you can move on to make either or both of the class projects: the Filet Elephant Baby Blanket and the Filet Name Banner.
The Filet Elephant Baby Blanket pattern includes written instructions and a Filet Crochet chart. In the video, I demonstrate how to make the elephant blocks, as well as how to join the blocks to create the blanket. There are 2 edging options, which are both demonstrated in the video, along with the special stitches used in each edging. Because this blanket is made with yarn, it’s a great way to learn to do Filet Crochet (without any intimidation that using crochet thread and small steel hooks might present!).
Seaming/joining blocks for Filet Elephant Baby Blanket
The Filet Name Banner pattern includes a chart for the whole alphabet, as well as the edging, so you can make any name or word you’d like for your Filet Banner. In the video, I demonstrate how to make your customized chart for the name or word you choose to crochet. Then I demonstrate how to crochet several of the rows, following your custom chart.
Making Filet chart for Filet Name Banner project
You can get creative with how you’ll use your Filet Name Banner. You may want to use it as is or mount it in some way. To give you an idea of how you may want to mount your banner, here’s a photo of another Filet Name Banner that I crocheted many years ago showing how I mounted the filet piece on some fabric and hung it on the wall with a painted wooden dowel:
Filet “Lowman” Banner
If you’re not comfortable using crochet thread and you’d like to learn to crochet with thread, you may want to check out my other crochet video class with Annie’s called “Learn to Crochet With Thread”. In this thread crochet class, my goal is to help you feel comfortable using crochet thread for your crochet projects. Who knows? You may come to love thread crochet as much as I do!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at my new Filet Crochet class for Annie’s! If you’d like to take a look at this video class, as well as watch the free class overview and introduction segments, check it out HERE (Note: This is an affiliate link, so if you click on this link and purchase the video through the link, I’ll receive a small commission to help compensate me for my hard work! It won’t cost you any extra to purchase the video through this link and I would appreciate your support!).
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at my new Annie’s video class!
Who loves learning new crochet techniques? I certainly do! And I love teaching new crochet techniques, too!
I’m super excited to announce that I’m teaching 6 crochet classes at the 2018 Interweave Yarn Fest in Loveland, Colorado from April 12-15! Woohoo!!! This will be my first time teaching there and I can’t wait to meet new crocheters, see crocheters who I already know, see the yarny goodness in the marketplace and have lots of fun!
Here are the 6 crochet classes that I’ll be teaching at this year’s Yarn Fest:
Intermeshing Crochet class
Intermeshing Crochet
Thur., April 12 from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
I learned this fascinating crochet technique over 10 years ago and I really enjoy it! The front and back of Intermeshing Crochet pieces usually look different because of how and where you make your stitches. It’s a really, really cool technique! It’s the same technique as in the “Interlocking Crochet” book by Tanis Galik. If you’ve tried this technique on your own and you can’t understand it, I’d be happy to help you figure it out in this class!
Beginning Bruges class
Beginning Bruges
Thur., April 12 from 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM
I’ve enjoyed the Bruges Lace crochet technique for many, many years! I LOVE anything lacy and this technique is lots of fun! It looks very much like the Bruges Bobbin Lace that’s so intricate and time-consuming. I just learned to do bobbin lace (2 weeks ago) and soon I’ll be able to do “real” Bruges Lace with bobbins instead of a crochet hook! But I still love to do Bruges Lace in crochet! This technique can be done with yarn instead of crochet thread for those who aren’t comfortable with smaller crochet hooks and crochet thread.
Irish Crochet Intro class
Irish Crochet Intro
Fri., April 13 from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
I’ve been crocheting doilies with crochet thread for decades now, some of them in Irish Crochet! While my good friend, Kathryn White, was working on her Irish Crochet book for Annie’s about 5 years ago, she taught me some more Irish Crochet (she’s an expert in Irish Crochet)! I’ll be sharing what I’ve learned with you in this class!
Magical Mosaic Crochet class
Magical Mosaic Crochet
Fri., April 13 from 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM
I can’t remember how long ago I learned mosaic crochet. There are so many variations on how to work mosaic crochet. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses (like is it reversible, how many stitches can you work in a row, are they anchored, etc). I started working on a new crochet design a few weeks ago with some mosaic crochet in it and I enjoy this technique very much. I’m sure you will, too!
Fantastic Filet class
Fantastic Filet
Sat., April 14 from 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM (6-hour class)
I’ve done Filet Crochet for almost as long as I’ve been crocheting (over 40 years now)! I absolutely LOVE this crochet technique! You don’t have to enjoy thread crochet to enjoy the Filet Crochet technique. I’ve made filet afghans, shawls and more with this technique (using yarn)! In this 6-hour class, I’ll teach you everything you need to know to be successful with basic filet crochet, as well as more advanced filet crochet (like increases, decreases, diagonals and lots more!).
Polish Star class
Polish Star
Sun., April 15 from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
This is one of the slightly newer crochet techniques to me. It’s a lot of fun and I enjoy it, too! You work basic crochet stitches according to the pattern. Then you weave the loops to create the Polish Stars! It’s so much fun to see the stars take shape right before your eyes! If you’ve ever seen this technique and wanted to give it a try, I’d love to have you in this class!
To read more about my classes and all the fabulous classes being offered this year, check out this link. To read more about the Interweave Yarn Fest, check out this link.
I hope to see many of my friends and meet new friends there! If you read this blog post and you sign up for some of my classes, please drop me a note and let me know! Or tell me in class!
I’ve been back from the CGOA Conference in Chicago for 3 weeks now and I thought I’d share some of the highlights of the conference this year for me!
I taught 6 crochet classes this year: Beginning and Intermediate Filet Crochet, Beginning and Intermediate Bruges Lace Crochet and 2 classes of Invisible Repairs. For more information about any of these classes, check out my previous blog post here. My smallest class had 11 students and my largest class was sold out at 25 students! I had the best students in each of my classes this year! I met so many nice, encouraging, friendly crocheters in every class and at every event!!! My dog had run into my left foot the Saturday before the conference, giving me a huge bruise and a very tender foot, so I was hobbling around a lot before and during the conference. My students were very understanding and let me sit down a lot, bringing their crochet pieces and questions to me most of the time! I thoroughly enjoyed meeting each student and sharing my crochet knowledge with them!!!
Here are some photos of my happy students from each class:
Left Side of Beginning Bruges Lace class on Wed night
Right Side of Beginning Bruges Lace class on Wed night
Left Side of Beginning Filet Crochet class on Thur AM
Right Side of Beginning Filet Crochet class on Thur AM
Some students in Invisible Repairs class on Fri AM
All students in Invisible Repairs class on Fri PM
Left Side of Intermediate Filet Crochet class on Sat AM
Right Side of Intermediate Filet Crochet class on Sat AM
Left Side of Intermediate Bruges Lace class on Sat PM
Right Side of Intermediate Bruges Lace class on Sat PM
You probably can’t notice from the small size of these photos that one of my students took all 5 of my classes this year! Her name is Robin and she’s a wonderful crocheter and student! Here we both are in the last class:
Robin and me
Here’s another student, Gwen, from that same class wearing her amazing crochet lace top that she made:
Gwen with her amazing lace crochet top
And here is Corina from my afternoon Invisible Repairs class:
Corina and me
Corina is from Romania. She had contacted me through Ravelry a week before the conference asking a question about one of my designs. I noticed that she lived locally to Chicago and told her about the conference. I had no idea that she would actually attend the conference, let alone take one of my classes! And it was her birthday, too! Happy belated birthday, Corina!
I hope to see all of my students at next year’s CGOA Conference to be held in Portland, Oregon from July 25-28, 2018.
Another fun event at the conference, besides classes, is the Design Competition. I entered a shawl that I designed this year and I won an Honorable Mention! Here’s the shawl, which I’ve named Blazing Embers Lace Shawl. I designed it based upon a really pretty doily that I crocheted a number of years ago. Obviously this isn’t a doily! I’m pleased with how it turned out and will self-publish the pattern one of these days/weeks/months/years, when I get the chance!!!
Blazing Embers Lace Shawl
Here’s a photo of the Design Competition display at the conference:
2017 CGOA Design Competition display
The Design Competition display was set up in the same room as the crochet lounge, which was sponsored by Red Heart Yarn. Red Heart set up an amazing display, designed and crocheted by Gina Rose Gallina called Queen Bee. Here’s that amazing display, along with Gina herself:
Queen Bee display with Gina Rose Gallina
At the end of the conference, on Saturday night, we had our banquet and fashion show, which is always so much fun! We also had the induction ceremony for this year’s CGOA Jean Leinhauser Crochet Hall of Fame award. This year, the award went to Carol Alexander, who was a crochet designer for many years before becoming the editor of Crochet! magazine (a magazine published by Annie’s). Here’s Carol giving her acceptance speech:
2017 CGOA Hall of Fame winner, Carol Alexander
And here’s the loot from the goody bag that I came home with this year! What a haul!!!
2017 CGOA Conference goody bag loot
If you’ve never been to a CGOA Conference, I hope you’ll take the plunge and attend one (or more)! You’ll learn so much, meet awesome crocheters and make life-long friends!
Are you familiar with CALs (crochet-a-longs)? CALs are organized groups of crocheters who often crochet the same project at the same time, kind of like a group of people crocheting together in person! However, many CALs are held through cyber-space instead of in person! Some CALs are held for a specified length of time and some are ongoing. But one thing that is common to all CALs is encouraging each other and helping each other with our projects. Questions are very common about what yarn/thread to use, the pattern and more. There’s lots of sharing going on in CALs, too. KALs are much like CALs, except KALs pertain to knit patterns, not crochet patterns.
If you read last week’s blog post, you’ll know that I started a Ravelry group as one of my New Year’s resolutions. In that new group, I’m holding my very first CAL (in time for Valentine’s Day!). Around 10 Ravelry group members will be crocheting my Filet Heart Coaster pattern, starting next week and running until Feb. 14. And I’ll be there to answer any questions that may arise while these participants are crocheting their coaster(s). This coaster is crocheted in the filet crochet technique and has 2 layers for added absorbency. If you would like to learn to do filet crochet, this is your chance! I’m discounting the cost of this pattern by 50% for CAL participants, too. So for less than $2, YOU can learn to do filet crochet!
Filet Heart Coaster
I’ll be crocheting along with the other group members. I decided to make my coaster larger with some Omega Sinfonia yarn instead of using size 10 crochet thread. It’ll be interesting to see what size it turns out! I think it’ll be potholder/hot pad size, which will be nice!
If you’d like to join my Ravelry group and participate in this CAL, I’d love to have you join us! You can find the group on Ravelry here. Why not take the first step and learn your first crochet technique this year?
I’ve done Filet Crochet for many years and along the way, I’ve learned some important things. If you are having trouble with your filet crochet, please take a few minutes to read these hints and tips!
1. If your dc stitches are too short and you have trouble getting the proper row gauge, try using an extended dc instead of a dc to make taller stitches. To make an extended dc (edc), YO, insert hook in specified st or sp and draw up a lp, YO and draw through 1 lp on hook, [YO and draw through 2 lps on hook] 2 times.
2. Turn work counterclockwise at end of each row for best results (the opposite direction as turning a page in a book).
3. For last stitch of each row, work into back loop and back bar of turning ch at end of row to get edges to lay flatter.
4. To help keep your place on the filet chart, use a magnetic board, ruler, pencil, etc. Make an extra copy of the chart, if desired. If using a magnetic board, put a magnetic strip above the current row so you can see the row below to help keep stitches lined up and mistakes to a minimum. If you don’t have a magnetic board, you may want to mark through the rows on the extra copy of the chart as you complete them.
5. Always wash and block filet pieces when finished for best results. I like to wash/soak my filet in the kitchen sink with a small amount of liquid laundry detergent. This removes any dirt and grease that may have accumulated while crocheting. Then I rinse the filet piece, squeeze out the excess water (DO NOT WRING) and put it on a clean kitchen towel to absorb more moisture. For more on blocking, read my “blocking” post here.
