The Crochet Architect

December 21, 2017December 21, 2017

Christmas Gift

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! I hope you’re all enjoying some wonderful time with your families and friends. I’ve been taking part in the Indie Design Gift-a-long on Ravelry and having a great time! I’ve finished 7 projects and I have one remaining project to finish by the end of the year to complete an Opadoo (I should be able to make it in time)! To learn more about the Gift-a-long, check out the Ravelry group here. To find out more about my finished projects (like the yarns I used and links to the designer’s pattern pages), check out my projects page on Ravelry here.

I thought I’d share photos of my 7 finished projects with you now. I also have a few gifts/discounts for you at the end of this blog post.

These are my 7 finished projects:

1. Week Before Christmas hat by Mary Renji

2. Pretty Spiffy Tuxedo Baby Bib by Darleen Hopkins

3. Coffee Cup Cozy by Heddi Craft (knit)

4. Grace and Lace Fingerless Mitts by Lilia Vanini (knit)

5. Lace Labyrinth shawl by 10 Hours or Less

6. Entrechat by Lisa Chemery (knit)

7. Mosaic Slippers by Arella Seaton (knit)

This is the project (#8) that I’m currently working on to finish up by the end of the month. It’s the Seeds to Flowers Cowl by Kristina Vilimaite. Isn’t it a gorgeous design? I have a good start on it and if nothing slows me down, I think I’ll get it done in plenty of time to “Tame the Opadoo”!

So that’s what I’ve been doing for the past month! What about you? Are you crocheting and/or knitting gifts for Christmas this year? I enjoy crocheting and knitting for others, especially when they appreciate the time and effort that went into the gift!

Here is my holiday gift to you! Use the code “gift2017” (from today through the end of the year) on this website to receive 25% off all crochet patterns that I have available here on The Crochet Architect.

As an added bonus, the designer of the “Lace Labyrinth” shawl/scarf above (10 Hours or Less) has given me a special code to pass along to my followers to receive a 20% discount on all of their regular-priced crochet and knitting patterns. The code is “CrochetArchitect” and can be used in their Ravelry store. I LOVED crocheting my Lace Labyrinth and I LOVE so many of the “10 Hours or Less” patterns!

I’ve learned a lot from knitting and crocheting these 7 projects and I’m learning a few more things by knitting the last project. They’re all fabulous designs and I’m so glad that I’ve participated in the annual GAL!

I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

November 21, 2017November 21, 2017

GAL, CAL and KAL Info

Do you know what the terms GAL, CAL and KAL mean? They’re gift-a-long, crochet-a-long and knit-a-long, respectively. So what does that mean? It means that many crocheters and knitters get together either in person or online to crochet or knit the same pattern (or sometimes different patterns). What is so special about these CAL’s, KAL’s and GAL’s? Well, they create a sense of community, encouragement and helping each other out. If someone has a question about the pattern that many people are crocheting or knitting (or a particular yarn they’re using or thinking about using), it’s the perfect place to ask questions!

Starting tonight at 8:00 pm US EST, I’m participating in the 5th Annual Indie Design Gift-A-Long on Ravelry. You may be asking yourself, “What’s so special about this Ravelry group?”. It’s a wonderful place to meet other croheters and knitters, to encourage each other and to ooh and aah at other people’s completed projects! Last year, I participated in the GAL for the first time and I had a blast! I was both a participating designer and knitter. During the GAL, I knit 2 projects from 2 wonderful patterns by 2 different Ravelry knitting designers whose patterns I’d never used before! These were the 2 projects I knit last year:

The top project is a Schaumkronen, designed by SimoneKereit. The bottom project is a No-Brainer One-Skeiner, designed by Susan Ashcroft. Both of these patterns were absolutely fabulous! I thoroughly enjoyed knitting them and learned a few things at the same time.

I have 20 crochet and knit patterns that I’m including this year in the GAL (that’s twice as many as last year). Here is a collage with all 20 patterns in it:

Each of these 20 crochet or knitting patterns will be discounted 25% during the sale period (from 8:00 pm US EST tonight, Nov. 21, to 11:59 pm US EST on Nov. 28). To see my sale patterns closer and to take part in the sale, check out my Ravelry GAL bundle here.

There are over 300 participating knit and crochet designers taking part in the GAL this year. Each designer has between 10 and 20 of their patterns discounted during the one week sale period, so that’s a lot of SALE patterns!!!

To find out more about the GAL and everything that’s going on in it, check out the official Ravelry GAL group here.

I hope you enjoy taking part in the GAL as much as I enjoyed it last year (and I’ll be enjoying it again this year)!

Happy crocheting (and knitting),

Susan Lowman

October 26, 2017

Scarves, scarves and more scarves!!!

Just in time for the cooler weather, here is another crochet scarf pattern for your stitching pleasure! Announcing my “Hitch a Ride Scarf”.

This scarf is so much fun to crochet! And it uses just one skein of sport weight or worsted weight yarn (250-300 yards). The finished scarf measures 60″ long x 14″ wide with the one skein. If you desire a longer and/or wider scarf, simply use 2 skeins of yarn instead. The scarf starts out at the narrow end and gets wider as you add more rows. With the construction of this scarf, you can make your scarf as long and wide as you desire (and have enough yarn to make). Simply stop crocheting when you reach the desired size of your scarf.

The stitch pattern is a 2-row repeat, so it’s easy to memorize. The pattern includes written instructions, as well a symbol crochet charts for the scarf and 2 options for the last row, in case you’re running out of yarn!

I love color-changing yarns and this pattern looks fabulous in many types of color-changing yarn! Here are a few more of these scarves that I whipped up in a matter of 1-2 days each:

I just LOVE this scarf and the colors of these yarns (and I think you will, too)!!!

You can find this new crochet scarf pattern for $4.95 on the pattern page here.

Happy crocheting (and I hope you stay warm this winter)!

Susan

October 13, 2017

Is it a Cowl or a Shawl?

I’ve been having a really fun time lately designing more accessories for you! I hope you’ve all been well and are having a good time crocheting some fabulous projects!

At the end of last year, I took part in the Ravelry Indie Design Gift-A-Long (GAL) as both a designer and a crocheting/knitting participant! It was so much fun and I learned a lot!!! One of the things I noticed in the knit/crochet patterns that were part of the GAL, was some designs that are a hybrid between a cowl and a shawl. I LOVE this concept and I knit a beautiful shawlette/cowlette during the GAL last year.

This year, I set out to design a crochet hybrid, which I’m calling a cowlette. I’ve made 3 of them so far and they work up quite quickly! I designed my cowlette pattern with super fine (sock) weight yarn for lots of drape! The fabulous part about these hybrid cowls/shawls is that they don’t fall off when worn, like shawls can sometimes! So without further ado, here is my newest crochet design, the Cozy Cowlette:

As you can see, this cowlette is made in the traditional triangle shape. It’s worked from the front, center neck edge down to the bottom. It starts in rows, but changes into joined rounds about 2/3 of the way down. There are 2 versions of this pattern: the one-color version and the two-color version. I love them both! Here is a photo of the back of one of them:

For the two-color version, I used a portion of 2 skeins of Loops & Threads Woolike yarn from my local Michaels store. This yarn is 85% acrylic and 15% nylon, has 678 yards and costs just $3 (unless you use a discount coupon and get it for even less)! With this many yards, you can make 2 cowlettes with just 2 skeins total! This yarn has lots of bounce, too! Of course, you can use any yarn of the same weight that you desire for your cowlette!

For the one-color version, I used some generic acrylic yarn that I purchased at the Knit & Crochet Show several years ago. I added some tiny beads that I had in my stash to the bottom edge, which you can see here:

One-color Cozy Cowlette edging with beads

You can purchase the Cozy Cowlette pattern for just $4.95 here.

I hope you’re enjoying the change in weather and are looking forward to crocheting some new accessories for Fall and Winter this year! I love the fun crochet accessories that can be made and worn during the cooler times of the year!!!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

October 2, 2017October 2, 2017

Delicious Yarns!

Have you seen some of the new color-changing yarns that are available in the US now? They’re gorgeous! I’ve been enjoying color-changing yarns for quite some time now. It’s hard to resist buying the newer yarns because the colors are so pretty! A week ago, I gave in to the urge to buy more yarn (again)! Here are some of the yarns I’ve been buying lately:

Have you seen the new Caron Cakes yarns? I think they’re only available at Michaels Craft stores. They came out last year (or the year before) with the basic Caron Cakes yarn, which is worsted weight and has 383 yds. Now they have Caron Cupcakes (the ones on the far left and right with the pompoms on top in the photo above). These cakes are light weight (#3) yarn with 244 yds per cake. There is a knit or crochet hat pattern on the inside of the yarn label. The pompom will look great on the top, if I make these into baby hats!

Then they have the Caron Big Cakes (the blue one in the photo), which is worsted weight, just like the basic Caron Cakes yarn (the Big Cakes looks and feels slightly thinner than the basic Caron Cakes yarn, though). The Big Cakes has 603 yds. The basic Caron Cakes yarn (the tan one in the photo) is 80% acrylic and 20% wool. The new Big Cakes and the Cupcakes are 100% acrylic. There is also a Tea Cakes and a Sprinkle Cakes, which I held off on buying this time around (what self-control I have!!!)!

Here are some of the Red Heart yarns that I’ve bought. I’ve been crocheting (and designing) with the Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable for several years now (the left and right skeins in the photo above). I love the colors they have and they work perfectly for my One-Skein Cowl patterns!

The center skein of yarn is the new Red Heart Super Saver Stripes. It is a worsted weight yarn with 236 yds (100% acrylic). I saw this yarn at my local Walmart last month and this color spoke to me! So I listened and added it to my collection of color-changing yarn! I LOVE the colors in this skein! I don’t know yet what I’ll design with it, but I will definitely enjoy the colors while I’m working with it (I love just looking at the colors in the skein, too)!

Lion Brand Mandala yarn

This cake is the new Lion Brand Mandala yarn. I saw this yarn on the same day last month at my local Walmart. It spoke to me, too! This yarn is another light weight yarn (#3). It is also 100% acrylic and has 590 yds in it. That’s enough for a nice, drapey crochet project (probably an accessory)!

Here’s a new design that I saw in the recent issue of Crochet! magazine (Winter 2017) that uses the Lion Brand Mandala yarn. It’s designed by Karen McKenna and is made with one skein of the #216 Sphinx colorway. Isn’t it gorgeous?

It’s a good thing that I like to crochet because I’ve found that acrylic yarn isn’t as good for knitting as it is for crochet! And I LOVE getting lots of yardage for my money, too!

I’m looking forward to designing some delicious crochet patterns with these yarns!

What draws you to a particular yarn? Is it the colors, like me? Is it the fiber content? Is it the yardage? Is it the price? Or is it something else?

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing these new yarns. And I hope I haven’t enabled you too much to buy more yarn than you’ll ever use in your lifetime!!!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

August 21, 2017

2017 CGOA Conference Afterglow!

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:

Here’s another student, Gwen, from that same class wearing her amazing crochet lace top that she made:

And here is Corina from my afternoon Invisible Repairs class:

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!!!

Here’s a photo of the Design Competition display at the conference:

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!!!

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!

Until next time!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

July 18, 2017

Crochet Toys for Babies and Toddlers

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and enjoying lots of sun, relaxation and a vacation or two! A few weeks ago, my husband, middle son, daughter-in-law, granddaughter and I went up to Idaho to visit my dad and step-mom. We stayed at Zion National Park on the way up and at Yellowstone National Park on the way back. It was lots of fun, we saw some beautiful animals and we made some great memories! One of the memories was more scary than fun, though! The 2 propane tanks came off our travel trailer while driving to Yellowstone! One of the tanks disappeared completely and the other was hanging on, scraping on the road and sparking! We feel very blessed that God had His angels keeping us safe. This could have had disastrous results, since propane can explode!

Now that I’m back from vacation, I’m busy getting ready for the CGOA Conference, where I’ll be teaching 5 (or 6) crochet classes next week! Since one of the teachers can’t make it to the conference, several of the teachers with sold out classes were asked if they could teach another class to fill in for her classes, which were cancelled. I said I’d be happy to teach my sold out Invisible Repairs class a 2nd time, so I’m scheduled to teach it both Friday morning and Friday afternoon at the conference! If you weren’t able to get into the Friday morning class, you are in luck! Now you can sign up at the conference for the Friday afternoon class (a repeat of the morning class) and pay the pre-registration price there! If you’re planning to take my new Friday afternoon class, please check out the homework for the class and get it done before the afternoon class. You can find the homework here. I hope to see you at the conference!!!

I thought I’d take a little break from printing class handouts today and share some fun baby toys to crochet with you! I crocheted 3 baby toys in the past few months for my granddaughter, Rubekah (Ruru for short)! They were all lots of fun to make.

First is the “Into the Jungle” stacking animal rings designed by Cindy Cseh. The pattern was available in the April, June and August 2013 issues of Crochet World magazine. I knew when I saw the pattern that I wanted to make it for a grandchild some day! So earlier this year, I set out to make it. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s a lot of fun to see my granddaughter play with it! You can see more photos of this fun project on my Ravelry project page here.

The 2nd is the Amish Puzzle Ball by Dedri Uys. This pattern is so much fun to make and put together! This is a FREE pattern that you can find here. I LOVE this pattern and I’ll probably make several more, just for fun!

The 3rd project that I crocheted for my granddaughter is also by Dedri Uys. It is the Crochet Dinosaur Puzzle that is in Dedri’s book, Amamani Puzzle Balls, by Annie’s. This project was somewhere between the complexity of the Amish Puzzle Ball and the Into the Jungle stacking animals! The pattern was great and easy to follow! You can see all of the patterns in this book here.

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing these 3 crochet baby toy projects and are inspired to crochet some toys for your favorite baby very soon!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

June 16, 2017

Announcing a New Crochet Stitch!

Are you a crocheter who likes to try new and different things to challenge yourself? Do you ever wonder if there are any new crochet stitches or techniques out there? Well, I’m here to tell you that there definitely ARE!!! I’d like to tell you about a new crochet stitch that I think you’re going to LOVE!

A few months ago, a new designer on Ravelry named Jen Dettelbach, contacted me and asked about a crochet stitch that she’s been using. She wasn’t quite sure if it was a new stitch or something that has already been used. She contacted CGOA (the Crochet Guild of America) and CYC (Craft Yarn Council) about her stitch and one of them suggested that she contact me. After looking at Jen’s stitch and understanding what she had done, I realized that I had never seen a stitch like Jen’s! I decided to ask Edie Eckman about it, just to make sure. She hadn’t seen it either and suggested that we ask Dora Ohrenstein about it. So I contacted Dora about the stitch and she hadn’t seen it either!

Without further ado, let me introduce you to Jen’s “Bolster Stitch”!

These are some cute crochet baskets that Jen Dettelbach has designed. She sells the finished baskets and patterns, in her Etsy shop here. Jen uses her Bolster Stitch in these baskets, which gives the baskets more stability so they don’t fall over and lose their contents. Jen’s stitch is NOT a post stitch or bullion stitch, although it looks similar to these stitches.

To find out more about Jen’s Bolster Stitch, check out her blog/website here.

It’s so exciting to see a new crochet stitch and enjoy the creativity of other crochet designers!

Over 10 years ago, I invented a new crochet stitch that I call an “Anchored Dc”. I invented it for use in Mosaic Crochet so the stitches wouldn’t flop around if more than 1 vertical stitch was crocheted in a row. I’ve used it in several designs over the years. One of these was my ABCs Rug, which was published in the August 2007 issue of Annie’s Hooked on Crochet magazine.

Another was my Mosaic Basketweave Placemat. It has been published in 2 places. The first is in the Leisure Arts book #6321, “Crochet Beyond the Basics”. You can see most of the projects in this book here. The other is on the Red Heart website here.

I also used my Anchored Dc in a crochet pattern that I self-published in 2015: my “Crochet Mosaic Scarf”. You can see more about this pattern here.

I really enjoy playing around with crochet and seeing what I can come up with! And I enjoy sharing my designs with other crochet enthusiasts like YOU!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at 2 new crochet stitches!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

June 1, 2017June 1, 2017

Teaching or Taking Crochet Classes?

Are you a life-long learner, like me? I absolutely LOVE to learn new things!!! I’ve taken so many classes over the years, mostly in crochet. It’s so much fun to learn something new, especially new crochet (or knitting) techniques!

I also LOVE to teach others new things such as crochet, knitting, tatting, paper quilling, etc! Next month, I’ll be teaching 5 crochet classes at the CGOA (Crochet Guild of America) Conference in Itasca, IL, just outside of Chicago. There will be over 50 classes available to take and so many crochet techniques to learn! If you’re a crochet enthusiast, like me, this is THE PLACE to learn more about crochet! Here are the classes I’ll be teaching at the conference:

Beginning Bruges Lace Crochet – Wednesday, July 26th from 6 – 9 pm

Beginning Filet Crochet – Thursday, July 27th from 2 – 5 pm

Invisible Repairs – Friday, July 28th from 9 am – 12 pm (Note: This class is sold out!)

Intermediate Filet Crochet – Saturday, July 29th from 9 am – 12 pm

Intermediate Bruges Lace Crochet – Saturday, July 29th from 2 – 5 pm

I’m really looking forward to teaching these 5 classes! I always enjoy meeting new people at the conference and spending time with old friends! Everyone is so friendly there and willing to help each other out with any questions they have, whether it’s crochet-related, hotel-related or anything else. I love to inspire others to learn new things and stretch their crochet knowledge and skills!

To learn more about my crochet classes, or any of the other classes being taught (and to register for classes and events at the conference), just go to the CGOA website here.

There are many things going on at the conference besides crochet classes, too. There is a show floor with vendors selling crochet-related items, a design competition (for CGOA members), the CGOA Masters pinning ceremony, the induction of the newest CGOA Jean Leinhauser Crochet Hall of Fame winner (this year it’s Carol Alexander), the CGOA Masters Day, a professional workshop, a designer meet & greet (where designers can meet with editors and sell their designs) and a fashion show. To read all about the conference, check out this page.

If you’ve been to the CGOA Conference before, what is your favorite part of the conference (if you can name only one thing)? If you’d love to go, what would be some of the classes/techniques you’d love to learn?

Happy crocheting,

Susan

May 18, 2017May 18, 2017

New Necklace Pattern Available

If you’re like me and enjoy crocheting necklaces to wear or give as gifts, you’re going to love my new crochet necklace pattern, Vine Necklace. This necklace works up in no time with size 3 crochet thread. You can use any colors you’d like, or make a bunch of them with different colors to go with lots of outfits!

The necklace pattern is versatile, in that you can make all 3 strands of vines or only the flower strand for a simpler, even faster necklace!

This pattern was originally published in 2013 as part of the CGOA Across the Board ebook. However, the copyright on this pattern has reverted back to me, so it’s now available for purchase by anyone!

The sample necklace was made with size 3 Aunt Lydia’s Fashion crochet thread in #32 Candy Pink, #606 Goldenrod and #625 Sage. Either a size D/3 3.25 mm aluminum crochet hook or a size 0/3.25 mm steel crochet hook can be used.

The pattern includes written instructions and photos of each section of the necklace.

I hope you enjoy crocheting and wearing this necklace as much as I enjoyed designing it!

The pattern is available for $4.95 on the patterns page here.

Happy crocheting!

Susan