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:
Caron Cakes yarn
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!!!)!
Red Heart yarns
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?
Crossover Shawl by Karen McKenna
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!!!
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!
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.
Into the Jungle
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.
Amish Puzzle Ball and my granddaughter
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!
Crochet Dinosaur Puzzle Ball
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!
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.
ABCs Rug
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.
Mosaic Basketweave Placemat
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!
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 Bruges Lace Crochet class
Beginning Filet Crochet – Thursday, July 27th from 2 – 5 pm
Beginning Filet Crochet class
Invisible Repairs – Friday, July 28th from 9 am – 12 pm (Note: This class is sold out!)
Invisible Repairs class
Intermediate Filet Crochet – Saturday, July 29th from 9 am – 12 pm
Intermediate Filet Crochet class
Intermediate Bruges Lace Crochet – Saturday, July 29th from 2 – 5 pm
Intermediate Bruges Lace Crochet class
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?
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!
Vine Necklace
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!
Vine Necklace with 1 strand
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.
For the past 2-3 months, I’ve been working very hard to fine-tune the pattern for my newest crochet pattern, “Mom’s Favorite Baby Blanket”! I enlisted the help of 4 pattern testers on Ravelry and their input was “invaluable”!!! They made great suggestions for improving the pattern and making it easier to understand, since the construction for this blanket is not your “typical” crochet construction!
If you’ve read anything about this pattern, you’ll know that I designed this pattern last year after my mom passed away. She had a favorite baby blanket pattern that she liked to make for new babies in the family. It was from a kit and was worked in 7 strips with 19 motifs in each strip. That made for a lot of seaming and tons of ends to weave in (7 x 19 x 2 = 266 + 2 ends for the edging = 268 ends)! Who wants to weave in that many ends, let alone sew strips together with 19 separate ends (so the colors would match)? Not me!
Last year, the month before my mom passed away, she started one of her favorite baby blankets for my granddaughter. The month after my mom passed away, I finished it for my mom and gave it to my son and daughter-in-law in May, right before my granddaughter was born in June! They know how special this baby blanket is to me and they cherish it (at least I hope they do!). I certainly didn’t enjoy all the time spent sewing the strips together and weaving in the ends! And I know a lot of other crocheters don’t like either of these things, either! So I set out to design a baby blanket that looked like my mom’s favorite baby blanket, but without all the seaming and weaving in ends. And I think I hit the nail on the head! Here are close up photos of my mom’s baby blanket and mine:
Mom’s Original Baby Blanket
My Redesigned Baby Blanket
My redesigned baby blanket still contains 7 motifs in each section and 19 sections of motifs. However, there are NO strips to crochet and NO seaming to be done in this new baby blanket design! There are only 38 ends + 2 ends for the edging (= 40 ends total) to weave in on the whole baby blanket! This is a HUGE improvement from 268 ends, don’t you think? That’s an 85% savings on ends, which translates to lots of time saved and leaves more time for crocheting! Yea!!!
I used DK/light worsted weight yarn for my baby blanket, which came out to be 34” wide x 48” high. Yours can be made wider and/or higher, if desired, by following the instructions for resizing the blanket. The blanket is made with basic crochet stitches: chains, double crochets, single crochets and slip stitches.
The pattern includes 2 symbol crochet charts: one for right-handed and one for left-handed crocheters. The instructions include the appropriate differences for right-handed and left-handed crocheters, as well.
With the help and suggestions from my pattern testers, I decided to take lots of step-by-step photos for this pattern, to help YOU be successful! I think we all know how time-consuming photos can be, but I really think they were needed in this pattern, since the construction is different than most other crochet patterns!
In the pattern, there are 43 step-by-step photos for the main part of the blanket, 46 step-by-step photos for the edging and 10 more photos showing how many chain spaces you should have in various places in the pattern (so you’ll know if you’ve made a mistake and you can fix it before it gets worse)! That’s a total of 99 photos to help teach various aspects of the pattern in a visual manner and to be able to know if you’re working it correctly or not! Here’s a sample of one of the photos in the pattern:
Sample of a Step-by-Step photo in the pattern
With all of the additional photos, the pattern is now 30 pages long! I know what you’re thinking! That’s too many pages to print out without using a ton of ink/toner! But have no fear! Included in every purchase is a shorter 14-page pattern with a few photos, the full written pattern and the symbol crochet charts, but without the additional step-by-step photos for printing. Both pdfs (the 30-page version and the 14-page version) are available for download with purchase of the pattern.
I’m releasing this pattern on a special day to me. Today, April 20, would have been the 29th birthday of my daughter in heaven. Her name was Rebecca. She was born with a closed pulmonary valve in her heart and lived a little less than 6 months. My granddaughter, who my mom starting crocheting her favorite baby blanket for last year before she joined my daughter in heaven, is named Rubekah, in honor of my daughter in heaven. Here’s a photo of my granddaughter and the blanket my mom started, in case you haven’t seen the dozens of photos of her that I’ve shared on social media already:
Rubekah on the Baby Blanket that my Mom started and I finished
Because of the extensive step-by-step tutorial photos in this pattern, I’m charging a little bit more than my usual patterns. I think you’ll find this small increase is well worth it in terms of you being successful in crocheting this baby blanket for your favorite little one! This pattern would also work equally as well for a full-size afghan! Just follow the instructions for changing the size of the blanket and use whatever weight yarn and an appropriate size crochet hook you desire!
The pattern with the 2 pdfs, including 2 symbol crochet charts, complete written instructions and over 90 step-by-step photos, is available for purchase for just $6.95 here.
If you’re ever stuck on something in the pattern for any reason, please send me a message on my website, on Ravelry (I’m “crochetarchitect” on Ravelry) or through Facebook and ask for help. I’m happy to help anyone with questions about my patterns!
If you purchase this pattern and make the baby blanket, I’d love to know what you think about the additional photos! And I’d love to see photos of your finished baby blankets from this pattern, as well!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at my “Mom’s Favorite Baby Blanket” pattern.
Disclaimer: This blog post is longer than usual (but there are NO affiliate links in it)!!!
I can’t believe a month has gone by since my last blog post! Where does the time go? I thought I was supposed to have more time now that my kids are grown and out of the house!!!
It’s been a very busy 12 months since National Crochet Month last year. I went to China to visit my son, daughter-in-law and new granddaughter twice last year! Now I don’t have to go to China to see them. Yeah! They moved back to Arizona in January and I’m thrilled to have them back!!! Here’s a recent photo of Ruru (Rubekah) for you to see:
I’m in LOVE with her!!! And the crochet dress that I made her actually fit!!! This pattern was from a booklet called “Frilly Frocks” by Lucille LaFlamme. All of the dresses in that booklet are really cute! It was too cold the day we tried the dress on Ruru, so she’s got warmer clothes on underneath!
I also did something I’ve never done before in the past 12 months. I was the executor and trustee for my mom’s estate. My mom passed away in Feb. 2016 and left me to take care of her estate. I didn’t have a clue about what to do, but I learned a lot along the way. I think I’m all done with her estate because I got her trust tax return done and the K-1’s are in the mail to all of her beneficiaries. Whew! That’s a huge relief to have that behind me! I miss my mom very often, but I’m so glad to have the faith that she’s in heaven with my brother and daughter. I love you, mom! Thank you for all of your love and encouragement throughout my lifetime!
Okay, now on to National Crochet Month. In the past, I’ve taken part in the Crochetville National Crochet Month blog tour. But I decided to take a break from that this year for various reasons. You can follow the Crochetville National Crochet Month blog tour, read about the participating designers, receive some free crochet patterns and maybe win a prize by checking it out here.
Since I’m not taking part in the NatCroMo blog tour this year, I thought I’d talk about crochet and my designing career instead. I first learned to crochet as a teenager. My best friend taught me to crochet (thank you SOOOO much, Cheryl!). That was over 40 years ago and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed learning new crochet techniques and sharing what I’ve learned with others. In fact, I’ll be teaching 5 crochet classes at the CGOA Conference this July in Chicago (well, it’s actually in Itasca, just outside of Chicago)! Yeah! I LOVE teaching crochet classes at the conference!!! I meet so many fun, friendly crocheters there! You can read about all the classes that are being taught at the conference this year here. Registration will go live in 2 days (on March 8th), so you still have a little time to pick out your favorite classes and get your registration done right away so your favorite classes don’t sell out! The 5 classes that I’m teaching this year are Beginning Bruges Lace, Intermediate Bruges Lace, Beginning Filet Crochet, Intermediate Filet Crochet and Invisible Repairs (this is a brand new class on how to invisibly repair crochet projects and how to crochet an invisible seam in a crochet project).
Anyway, back to my story about crochet. I can’t remember the first thing I crocheted, but I know that soon after learning to crochet, I started crocheting doilies and anything with crochet thread. As I remember it, I think there were several reasons for this. One reason was that doilies usually change instructions in each round or two, which helps to keep my interest in the pattern (plus I think doilies are beautiful!). Another reason is that I’m somewhat of a “frugal” person and crochet thread isn’t that expensive! I could crochet several doilies for just a few dollars and that beat the price of many skeins of yarn to crochet an afghan! Don’t get me wrong, though. I also love to crochet afghans because they’re so useful and make excellent gifts! Speaking of gifts, I just finished crocheting 3 pairs of baby booties to be given as gifts for 2 people’s babies this month. Here they are:
As you can tell by the colors, these booties are for baby boys! I really enjoy crocheting baby booties because they don’t take long to make and not everyone can crochet them, so they’re more unique gifts at a baby shower (instead of the baby receiving dozens of baby blankets)!
I’ve spent hundreds of hours practicing my crochet skills and improving over the past 40 years. When my children were born, I wasn’t able to crochet as much. But after they got a little older and could do more for themselves, I soon got back into crocheting almost every day. When I was in my 30’s, I started designing a little, but never seriously. Then when we moved from Southern California to Arizona in 1995, I met 2 crochet designers in our small town who shared their designing knowledge with me and helped me get my designing career going! I am so thankful to Nanette Seale and Lucille LaFlamme for encouraging me and being so supportive! Thank you so much! You ladies rock!!!
My designing career officially got off the ground when I sold my first crochet pattern to Annie’s in 1999. It was my Snowflake Doily and Coasters Set. I’ve designed several hundred crochet patterns since then and I enjoy designing each and every one of them (some a little more than others, though). You can see all of my published crochet (and now knitting) designs on my Ravelry designer page here.
The first conference I ever attended was for the Society of Craft Designers (no longer in existence) in Sept., 2001 in Phoenix, AZ. It was close enough for me to attend without too much cost and I met a lot of crocheters there (I remember Carolyn Christmas and Darla Fanton from that conference). Darla Fanton told me about CGOA (the Crochet Guild of America) and invited me to join. I joined the next year (in 2002) and I haven’t looked back since! Through CGOA I have met so many other crochet professionals, including designers, magazine editors, publishers, etc. It’s a fantastic group of crocheters who are in love with crochet! We support each other, encourage each other, teach each other and have lots of fun at the annual crochet conference! There are local CGOA chapters throughout the US, too. Unfortunately, there is no CGOA chapter near me, but I attend 2 other groups of crochet enthusiasts during the year (monthly and/or weekly) to stay in touch with other crocheters and encourage each other regularly.
In Jan., 2002, I attended the HIA (Hobby Industry of America) trade show in Anaheim, CA. It was there that I met Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss, who owned American School of Needlework at that time. If you haven’t heard of Jean and Rita, just do a Google search and you’ll be in awe of the number of books that they’ve published/produced in their lifetimes! In fact, Jean Leinhauser started Leisure Arts way back when! Two years after meeting Rita and Jean, they were looking for technical editors for their new company, Creative Partners, LLC. I applied for the position and passed their editing test (much to their surprise)! So I was on my way to being a technical crochet editor! Less than 2 years later, I started technical editing for Crochet Today magazine, too. I was kept quite busy editing for both companies and I learned so much about writing a good crochet pattern when I was tech editing a lot. Looking back on those times, I’m not sure how I kept my sanity with so much work to do (I must be getting older)!
Anyway, the next addition to my crochet career came when some of my class proposals were accepted for me to teach at the CGOA Conference in 2009. I remember that like it was yesterday! My middle son got married in June, 2009 and the conference was at the end of July. A few weeks before the conference, my husband and I were taking a nature walk nearby and he was taking photos. I had my camera in my hand and before I knew it, I slipped on loose gravel, fell down and broke my left wrist! I couldn’t believe it! How could this happen before I was scheduled to teach at the conference? Would I still be able to teach my classes? Well, the following week, I had surgery to repair my broken wrist. My husband printed and bound the rest of my class handouts and was a HUGE help! So my classes didn’t have to be cancelled after all! With my left arm in a sling, my bags were all packed and I headed to the airport, where I got lots of help with my luggage! Once inside the terminal, I took one look at the escalator (with my arm in the sling) and turned around to find the elevator instead (I couldn’t hold onto the handrail and my carry-on bag with the same hand!). I taught 4 classes at the 2009 conference in Buffalo, NY with lots of help from some wonderful crocheters in my classes (and from Jean Leinhauser, too)! I even did my best to teach my shuttle tatting class to my students “one-handed”!!! I have many fond memories from that conference. My roommate even helped me with some of the “logistics” of getting dressed with one good hand, including how to put on jewelry one-handed! I even modeled the top and skirt that I crocheted to wear at my son’s wedding in the fashion show at the conference that year! I have a few photos that I’d like to share from that conference.
Jean and Rita
This is Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss. Sadly, Jean passed away in 2010, but Rita is still producing knit and crochet books.
Waiting for editors
This is my roommate, Shari White, me, Andee Graves and Joyce Bragg waiting to show our crochet designs to the magazine and book editors who were there to talk with the crochet designers.
Modeling at CGOA Conference in 2009
This was me modeling the outfit that I crocheted for my son’s wedding at the CGOA Conference. If you look closely, you’ll see the wrist brace on my left wrist! I didn’t care! It was tons of fun to model the outfit, even if it didn’t come out exactly how I wanted it! Oh, I was modeling the shawl that my roommate, Shari, crocheted from my pattern in Crochet Today magazine, too!
Well, that’s the story behind my crochet career. It’s probably more than you wanted to know, but I think it’s fun to find out how some people got their start as professionals in the crochet industry. I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about my beginnings in the crochet industry.
What are you planning to do for National Crochet Month? Have you already gotten a start on learning a new crochet technique, starting a project that you’ve always wanted to crochet or buying some new yarn? Please share how you celebrate National Crochet Month in the comments below.
Do you love to decorate for Valentine’s Day? Then I have some crochet patterns for you! One of them is free and the other 2 are reasonably priced. They all contain the “heart” theme, which is what I think of most in decorating for Valentine’s Day!
Heart Coaster
This is my Heart Coaster design. This pattern is FREE and can be found here. This coaster is made with worsted weight cotton yarn for a quick project.
Filet Heart Coaster
This is my Filet Heart Coaster pattern. This pattern is made with size 10 cotton crochet thread and a size 7 (1.65 mm) steel crochet hook. There are 2 layers of crochet to absorb more moisture. This pattern is available for $4.95 and can be found here.
Wiggly Valentine Hot Pad & Coaster Set
This is my Wiggly Valentine Hot Pad and Coaster Set. It’s made with size 10 cotton crochet thread and a size 7 (1.65 mm) steel crochet hook. The pattern is available for $4.95 and can be found here. It’s also available as part of a set of Wiggly Hot Pads and Coasters to decorate for 6 holidays throughout the year! You can find the pattern for the set of 6 hot pads and coasters here for $11.95.
I hope you’re getting ready for Valentine’s Day and planning to do something fun with your honey!
Have you tried any textured crochet stitches before? You know, like a front post double crochet (FPdc), back post double crochet (BPdc) and similar stitches? I love the texture that can be created using these textural stitches! I’ve been using them for years. I used FPdc and BPdc in my Pediwick Scarf and Swanky Cowl designs.
Pediwick Scarf
Swanky Cowl
Just a few months ago, I came across a new book that uses a lot of textural stitches in it. It’s called “Celtic Cable Crochet” by Bonnie Barker, published by Interweave. I met Bonnie at a CGOA Conference many years ago. She’s a very talented designer and a super sweet person, too! Bonnie came out with her first book using textured stitches called “Contemporary Celtic Crochet” that was published in 2014 by Fons & Porter Books. To read my book review of that book, check out this blog post. Both of these books are fabulous for crocheters who love texture in their crochet projects!
Anyway, here is Bonnie’s newest book, published in October, 2016:
Celtic Cable Crochet book front cover
As you can see by the cover, there are 18 projects in this book for garments and accessories. There are cardigans, sweaters, ponchos, cowls, wraps, scarves, wristers, boot cuffs, hats, bags and more in this book. Here are my favorites:
Cabled Boot Cuffs
These are the Cabled Boot Cuffs. They are made with DK weight yarn and come in 2 sizes: x-small/small and medium/large. They look like a lot of fun to make and wear! I haven’t crocheted or knit any boot cuffs, so I think this one may be put on my list of projects for 2017!
Emerald Celtic Weave Infinity Scarf
This is the Emerald Celtic Weave Infinity Scarf. This infinity scarf can be worn over your shoulders with a brooch or shawl pin. Or it can be doubled and worn as a cowl. I love cowls, don’t you? They’re so easy to wear and they never fall off like scarves!
Lavena Poncho
This is the Lavena Poncho that is shown on the front cover of the book. It is made with worsted weight yarn. It looks so stylish to me! If you’re a poncho person, this one looks scrumptious!!!
Satinees Wine Wristers
This is the Satinées Wine Wristers. They are made with superfine weight yarn. I love the color of this yarn and the texture of these mitts/wristers! They’d be a great addition to any outfit to keep your wrists warm in the winter! And mitts/wristers are quick projects to make!
Tic-Tac-Toe Messenger Bag
This is the Tic-Tac-Toe Messenger Bag. It is made with worsted weight yarn. The bag and strap are lined with fabric, which helps them keep their shape. If you’re not afraid of sewing machines, this bag would be quite stylish to wear!
This fabulous book has step-by-step instructions & photos for the textural stitches at the back of the book. Also, Bonnie has a Youtube channel with lots of videos for her designs and many of her textural stitches here. So, if you’ve never crocheted any textural stitches before, you’ll be quickly learning how to work them and will soon come to love textural stitches, as I and many crocheters already have!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at Celtic Cable Crochet. You can purchase this book on Amazon here or on the Interweave website here. To read about Bonnie and follow her designing career, check out her website here.
