The last guest blogger I have for you this month is Ellen Gormley. She’s one very talented designer, as are all of my guest bloggers this month! I had the pleasure of teaching Ellen how to do Bruges Lace at a past CGOA Conference and she’s really taken off with it! Go Ellen!!! I’ll let Ellen tell you all about her new Annie’s class! And don’t forget to read all the way to the bottom of this post for another chance to win the Annie’s class of your choice!
Hi, I’m Ellen Gormley, Editor of Crochet! magazine, and I was WRONG. I admit it. I can admit I was wrong, here among friends, right? I was wrong about the difficulty of crochet lace.
Back in my first days of crochet, way before I made it my career, I would not have ventured into Broomstick Lace or Hairpin Lace. Why expand into more lace and tools when there is so much to be done without?
The truth is, I think as a new crocheter, I was intimidated by Crochet lace. All that loose yarn, and the big loops that could so easily become jumbled and unruly. Simply keeping count of traditional stitches and learning shaping seemed like a big enough task. I was wrong, it’s not that hard. The learning curve is SHORT. I’m talking like 20 minutes. In 20 minutes of practice with each skill, Hairpin, Broomstick, and Bruges Lace, you can gain tremendous comfort with the techniques.
Why should the knitters have all the fun getting to use more than one tool at a time? And Bruges Lace, you don’t even need anything special, just ONE crochet hook. So if you aren’t ready add more tools to your tool bag, start with the satisfaction of Bruges Lace first.
Once a crocheter has learned the basics of crochet (Check out my Learn to Crochet online class!) and maybe learned how to crochet with beads, (Check out my Crocheting with Beads online class!) it might be fun to branch out into Crochet Lace!
In my BRAND NEW Annie’s online class I demystify the tricky juggling of a hairpin loom and the broomstick along with the winding path of Bruges lace all in one class! There are 2 projects for each technique and many lessons for you to see exactly how to get a handle on the tools and methods.
As a designer, I learned these techniques because there weren’t many patterns for them, so I figured I could be more marketable with Bruges, Hairpin and Broomstick patterns. As a crocheter, the three techniques are just so much fun and rhythmic that I see a whole new world of possibilities.
Ellen Gormley
I’m thrilled that Ellen has done a class on Bruges Lace, Broomstick Lace and Hairpin Lace. These are all fabulous crochet techniques and I hope you’ll enjoy learning them.
Here is your last chance to enter to win the Annie’s online class of your choice. Just leave a comment on this blog post to enter to win. I’ll pick one lucky winner at the end of the month. Good luck everyone and happy crocheting!
Susan
Thanks for inviting Ellen to be a guest on your blog, Susan. I enjoyed her post. I’ve only dabbled in broomstick and hairpin lace, and haven’t done bruges at all. But I’m interested in getting to know all 3 techniques. I’d love to win an Annie’s class.
Amy,
All 3 techniques are lots of fun, but my personal favorite is Bruges Lace! Good luck in the giveaway and stay tuned for the announcement of the winner next Monday!
Susan
I love how the designers help each other and teach each other! Way to go Susan!! Hope you are enjoying your summer – we are traveling a lot – and have been able to crochet for hours on the drives. Always looking for new techniques and patterns. Kara
Kara,
It’s great to hear from you. How nice that you’re able to travel a lot this summer and get plenty of crochet time on the drives, too! Good luck in the giveaway!
Susan
I love Ellen’s work! I’ve done a little crochet lace but would love to learn more.
Carmen,
I love Ellen’s work, too! Good luck in the giveaway!
Susan
I would love to win a free class! I particularly need a refresher on how to do hairpin lace… left handed.
Edith,
Hairpin lace is very pretty. Good luck in the giveaway!
Susan
I would love to learn to make crochet lace. I have been crocheting for a little over a year self taught and have wanted to do this but thought it would be way to difficult. Thank you for the opportunity to win this class.
Pamela,
I LOVE crocheting lace! I’m sure you’ll love it, too! Good luck in the giveaway.
Susan