crochet book – The Crochet Architect

July 6, 2022July 6, 2022

Crocheted Bridal Hair Comb

My oldest son is getting married next month (woohoo!) and I wanted to help out with the wedding somehow. My soon-to-be daughter-in-law said she wants to wear a hair comb for the wedding and she texted me a photo of an expensive one to see. I asked if she’d like to have me crochet one for her and she said “yes”! So I did some online research and found more photos of hair combs that are really pretty for inspiration. She didn’t want one that was too big; just something pretty and functional. So I started looking for good flower patterns to use (instead of taking extra time to design my own flowers).

My future DIL picked out the crochet thread colors she’d like me to use from my stash of crochet threads. Since I didn’t have a lot of the iridescent white thread for the flowers, I tried out some of the flower patterns with the pink thread first to see how I liked them. Once she and I picked out which ones we liked best, I crocheted the top 4 flowers in white with size 10 crochet thread and a 1.5mm hook. Then I crocheted some pink leaves to go around the edges.

These are the flower patterns I used:

Large flower in center: 6-petal frilled rose with 3 layers from page 14 in the book, “The Go-To Book for Irish Crochet Motifs” by Kathryn White (book #871388), published by Annie’s. A digital edition of this book is available (as of this blog post) here.

Medium flower on left:

free pattern for Fluffy Carnation Crochet Flower from https://daisycottagedesigns.net/freeflowercrochetpattern/

Medium flower on right:

free pattern for Carnation from Yarnspirations https://www.yarnspirations.com/aunt-lydias-bridal-nosegay/ALC0101-025078M.html

Tiny flower on right:

free pattern from https://persialou.com/make-crochet-flower-hair-combs/ This is a great blog post about how she made a hair comb. She used hot glue to attach her flowers and leaves to the hair comb, but I sewed mine in place. Either way works!

I decided the iridescent flowers could use a little more bling, so I sewed a small iridescent white pearl bead to the center of each one (I don’t know what size I used because I just found some in my stash of beads!). Since the large flower in the center had a somewhat large hole in the middle, I used a little larger bead and added an iridescent sequin behind the bead to keep it in place. I used a package of iridescent sequins from my local Hobby Lobby. They worked out great!

Here is a quick, free pattern for the leaves that I made up off the top of my head:

Ch 8, sc in 2^nd ch from hook, *hdc in next ch, 2 dc in next ch, dc in next ch, 2 dc in next ch, hdc in next ch, sc in last ch**, ch 2, sl st in top of last sc made to form a picot; working in free lps on other side of ch, sc in first ch (in same ch as last sc); rep from * to **; join with sl st in first sc. Finish off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

For the hair comb, I bought a package of 5 silver hair combs from Amazon. Here’s a link to the hair combs I purchased. Some of the teeth were a little bent when I got them in the mail, but they straightened out nicely with very little effort! And the metal is a really nice quality! They also come in black or gold, if you’d prefer another color/finish. These hair combs have 20 teeth. They also come in other sizes, with more or less teeth, which would make them narrower or wider. The one I used with 20 teeth is about 3” wide.

After I crocheted all the flowers and leaves, I arranged them a few times until my future DIL and I liked the arrangement. I also tried an arrangement with a tatted piece that I had made quite a while ago. It’s too frilly for my future DIL, but you might consider something like this for your hair comb.

Trial flower arrangement with tatted lace

Then I had to decide how I wanted to attach the flowers and leaves to the hair comb. I decided to buy an ebook of Irish Crochet patterns by Kathryn White from Annie’s (on sale), since there was a hair comb in that ebook (book #871106E). Here’s a link for that ebook.

While the hair comb in this book is lovely, it wasn’t what the bride wanted (I LOVE the doily in this book, so I’ll be crocheting that in the near future). However, I liked the way Kathryn attached the flowers and leaf sprays to her hair comb in the book, so that’s what I did. Basically, you wrap some extra crochet thread around the top of the hair comb between the teeth of the hair comb and secure the ends of the thread. That gives you a nice base of thread to attach the flowers and leaves to the hair comb. I actually sewed the leaves to the back of the flowers (not to the hair comb) after I sewed the flowers in place on the hair comb.

What do you think? Do you like this hair comb? What would you do differently?

I can’t wait to see my future DIL wearing this hair comb in her upcoming wedding to my son!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

January 21, 2022January 21, 2022

Crochet and Knitting Activity Books: Book Review

Are you the kind of crocheter or knitter who also enjoys puzzles of all kinds? Do you like brain teasers, word finds, crosswords and more, all with the theme of crochet or knitting? Well, I’ve got 2 wonderful books to tell you about, both by Debbie Deitke! These books provide hours and hours of fun for anyone, especially those who enjoy crocheting and/or knitting!

The first book is the Crochet Activity Book. This book has more than 100 crochet theme word, picture and number puzzles. The book is in large print, so you won’t strain your eyes working on these puzzles. The word puzzles are comprised of word searches, word scrambles, word ladders, word finds, logic puzzles, so many words, trivia, crossword puzzles and cryptograms. The picture puzzles are comprised of mazes, picture this, odd one out, two of a kind, reflection, shadow match, last one standing and picture slices. The number puzzles are comprised of find the numbers and sudoku.

The second book is the Knitting Activity Book. This book also has over 100 puzzles, but these puzzles are knitting theme instead of crochet. This book is also in large print and contains the same categories of puzzles as the crochet book.

There is a solution section at the back of each book to check your answers or to fill in answers you struggled getting (to learn more, of course, not to cheat!).

I’ve enjoyed solving a lot of these puzzles in both books. I have to admit that I definitely don’t know as much about knitting as I do about crochet! But that’s because I’ve been crocheting for over 45 years and knitting for less than 10 years. However, with each of these books, I’m learning new things about both crafts! And that’s a good thing! I love learning new things and solving puzzles, so these books are great for both of these! I can look up the crochet or knitting techniques that I didn’t know about, learn more about them and decide if I want to give them a try.

If you’d like to check out and/or purchase either or both of these books, here’s a link to the Crochet book on Amazon. And here’s a link to the Knitting book on Amazon.

I hope you enjoyed this book review and will challenge yourself to learn more about crochet and/or knitting, either by solving the puzzles in this book, taking a class or watching some YouTube videos!

Happy crocheting and/or knitting,

Susan

April 8, 2019

Crochet Highlights of Japan Trip

I’ve always wanted to travel to Japan and last month, that dream came true! I LOVE Japanese crochet patterns and I wanted to visit the country where all this crochet loveliness originated! Since our youngest son was working in Japan for the first 3 months of this year, my husband and I seized the opportunity to travel there while he was still in the country. He’s back now (and we’re back, too), so it’s time I shared about the great crochet fun I had there (I’ll write another blog post about the other fun we had there being tourists and seeing some of their beautiful country)!

The highlight of the trip for me was visiting the Nihon Vogue Publishing Corporation main office, their Vogue Academy and their Keito Yarn Shop, all in Tokyo! I arranged for this tour several months ago through email with Mr. Toshiharu Tsuda, who works for them. He set up a fabulous tour of their 3 facilities! I had an absolutely wonderful time, especially at their corporate office and their Vogue Academy.

At the corporate office, which has 4 floors, I met several people: Mr. Toshiharu Tsuda, who I had been emailing for several months, Mr. Kenichi Funyu, who is an Adobe Illustrator extraordinaire and an editor at Nihon Vogue, Ms. Akiko Taniyama, who is the chief editor of Keitodama and Mr. Nobuaki Seto, the president of Nihon Vogue Corp! I felt like royalty there! They showed me all around their corporate office, including their Keitodama editing area. They brought out samples from the newest issue of Keitodama magazine (Vol. 181), too! They treated my husband and I to lunch in their cafeteria. Mr. Seto, the president, even showed us his office, along with several keepsakes he has; one made from his father’s ties! And he showed us their conference room with a bookshelf that runs from corner to corner along one long wall, filled with every issue of books and magazines that Nihon Vogue has published since the beginning of the company over 60 years ago (in 1954)! Wow! I was in crochet (and knit) heaven!

My husband and I with the Nihon Vogue staff

Books and magazines in Nihon Vogue editing department

Nihon Vogue bookshelf wall with every issue they’ve published!

After touring the corporate office and having lunch there, Mr. Toshiharu Tsuda took my husband and I to their Vogue Academy. This is where their certified instructors teach all kinds of crafts, such as crochet, knitting, porcelain painting, embroidery, quilting, sewing and lots more (even cooking classes)! They have 8 locations in Japan with 1,350 courses and 18,000 students! Wow! Now that’s serious teaching! The Tokyo location, which we visited, has 13 classrooms. Mr. Hiroki Hashimoto gave us the tour at Vogue Academy. He showed us every class that was in session and we could see what the students were making in each classroom. It was so much fun, especially in the 2 crochet/knitting classes! The students had finished or were working on garments in both classes. I was amazed at their skills and their projects!

The Tokyo Vogue Academy even has a store there with yarns, books, and lots of tools/supplies that students can purchase. I showed Mr. Hashimoto my 2 favorite Nihon Vogue books from their store and he was so nice to give me those 2 books!

After the Vogue Academy tour, Mr. Toshiharu Tsuda took us to the Keito Yarn shop. It was a somewhat small shop, but it was laid out very nicely. They had yarns from all over the world, making it hard to decide what I wanted to buy there! I bought 2 balls of Lana Gatto Nuovo Jaipur, a 100% combed cotton yarn, which is made in Croatia and 1 skein of Hasegawa, a silk/mohair blend, which is made in Japan! I look forward to knitting and/or crocheting with both of these yarns!

All in all, that day was magical for me! I LOVED meeting the Nihon Vogue employees, who were all very friendly and kind. I LOVED seeing their office, academy and yarn shop! I was surrounded with yummy goodness everywhere I turned! Their corporate office has a main lobby with tables covered in crocheted doilies and centerpieces! The entrance to their corporate office has a spinning wheel, which is part of their logo! And everywhere I turned, there were beautiful, inspirational things to see, from quilts on the walls to published books and magazines! That is a day I will never forget for the rest of my life!!!

Crochet centerpiece in Nihon Vogue lobby

In addition to the Nihon Vogue tour, I also visited 2 craft stores and a 100 Yen store while we were in Tokyo, where I purchased yarns and crochet books! At the Yuzawaya store in Kamata (3 floors high), I bought a Disney crochet book for 1,111 yen and 3 skeins/hanks of cotton and cotton/acrylic yarn, both made in China. At the Okadaya store in Sinjuku (6 floors high), I bought 2 Nihon Vogue crochet books for 1,200 yen and 1,100 yen. At the 100 Yen store (called “Can Do”), I bought 4 skeins of cotton yarn made in China for 100 yen each! The exchange rate is currently around .009 yen to 1 dollar, so 1,000 yen is about $9.00. So as you can see, the yarn and books were quite reasonably priced!

Japan crochet books and yarn I got/bought

If you love to knit and/or crochet, Japan can be a wonderful place to purchase yarn/thread/supplies and books/magazines!

If you’d like to read about the rest of our trip to Japan, subscribe to my blog to get an email when a new blog post comes out.

Until next time! Happy crocheting!

Susan

January 25, 2017

Celtic Cable Crochet Book Review

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.

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:

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:

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!

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!

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!!!

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!

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.

Happy crocheting,

Susan

December 19, 2016December 19, 2016

Top-Down Crochet Sweaters book review

Who doesn’t like a new crochet book? Certainly not me, since I’m a pattern junkie (aka: lover)!!!

I’d like to tell you about a fabulous crochet book that I got at the end of September, just before taking a trip to China to visit my middle son, DIL and granddaughter. Since I got the book before the trip, it gave me some wonderful reading material for my trip!

The book is called “Top-Down Crochet Sweaters” by Dora Ohrenstein, published by Storey Publishing. This book is a “gem” for any crocheter who would like to crochet top-down garments that will fit the intended wearer! Let’s face it, many of us can do a fabulous job of crocheting, but when it comes to making something that fits, that’s another story!

I first met Dora at a CGOA conference (I can’t remember which year, but it was probably close to 10 years ago). For over 10 years, Dora has been one of the leading forces in the crochet world with lots of cutting-edge garments and designs! In the past, I tech edited some of her patterns for Rita Weiss and Jean Leinhauser, as well as for Crochet Today magazine. Dora is very ingenious with her designs!

In 2011, I took 2 online classes with Dora on sizing garments. Then in 2013, I took Dora’s class (in person) at the CGOA Conference in Charlotte, NC on the same subject (for more practice and information). Dora is a wonderful teacher and a wealth of information! She is a lifelong New Yorker with a former life as a performing artist (soprano).

In Dora’s new book, she has compiled all of her knowledge about crocheting top-down sweaters. This book includes 14 original designs using the top-down technique, which allows crocheters to try the sweater on as they work, adjusting the fit along the way. The top-down sweater technique has been a favorite among knitters for a long time. Now crocheters can enjoy this fabulous technique, as well! I definitely prefer to crochet top-down sweaters, which end up fitting me so much better than bottom-up sweaters!

This book includes lots of information about choosing yarns and stitches to guarantee a great drape. It also includes instructions on why and how to adjust the patterns to ensure an exquisite customized fit.

In this book, there are patterns for pullovers, cardigans, jackets, tunics and vests. Many of the patterns use only basic stitches. If you know me at all, I like the more advanced crochet stitches and a good challenge! There are patterns for me (and anyone like me) in this book, also! My personal favorites in Dora’s book are Luna and Nanette.

Luna uses linked double treble stitches. If you’ve never done linked stitches, you should check them out soon! They’re amazing!!! The yarn that Dora used for this sweater is Knitpicks Stroll Tonal Sock yarn. I’ve been wanting to try this yarn for a while and I think this sweater would be a great project to make with it (plus I love the color)! Dora used a size I crochet hook, so the sweater has lots of drape! This looks like a very comfortable sweater!

Nanette uses crossed treble stitches. I love the yarn that Dora used in this sweater (Queensland Collection Uluru), as well! I’m not sure I’d wear it with the buttons in the back, but I think it would be just fine to wear it with the buttons in the front, since the front and back have the same neckline.

If I’ve whet your appetite to look closer at this book, you can check it out on Amazon here. The book has 176 pages and retails for $18.95 (in the US). If you’d like to see all 14 garment patterns in this book, check out the Raverly page for this book here.

I hope you’ll take a look at this book and consider adding it to your crochet library (or purchasing it as a gift for a crochet-lover that you know)!

What are your favorite projects in this book? Do you enjoy crocheting top-down sweaters, too?

Happy crocheting,

Susan

September 20, 2016

Book Review: Nature’s Gifts for Baby

I just love to crochet for babies, don’t you? I’m currently still crocheting (and knitting) for my granddaughter, who is already 3 months old! How can she already be 3 months old? How does that happen? It seems like yesterday that she was born!!! I’m almost done with a lacy dress for Rubekah that I’ll be taking with me on my next trip to China. And I finished a knit dress for her on Sunday by sewing on the buttons to finish it off. I’ll share photos of Ruru (that’s one of her nicknames) wearing these dresses as I get them from my son and daughter-in-law. Being a grandma is the best!

Babies are so much fun to crochet for, especially since many of the projects for them are quick projects with almost instant gratification! But even crocheting baby blankets is gratifying and lots of fun, even if they take longer! I haven’t found a crochet baby project that I don’t enjoy!

I’d like to share about a new book by Leisure Arts called “Nature’s Gifts for Baby”. This book has 7 sets of designs for babies, designed by Sara Leighton. Each set includes a baby blanket and a hat. So if you’re in the mood for a quick project, why not crochet the hat? If you have more time and would like to crochet for longer, the blanket is perfect! And if you like coordinating sets, make both the blanket and the hat! Each design reflects “gifts of Nature, such as a starry sky or lush flowers and trees”.

Here are photos of the front cover, and Sara Leighton, the designer:

Nature's Gifts for Baby front cover — Nature’s Gifts for Baby front cover

I haven’t met Sara in person, yet, but she’s as sweet as can be online! I absolutely LOVE the hat she’s wearing in this photo, too (here’s a link to her pattern for the hat on Ravelry)! I think Sara is going to have a long, successful crochet career ahead of her!

Here are photos of all the projects in this adorable book:

As you can see, each set is unique! Each blanket is made with different stitches, mostly in “quick to crochet” rows. Each of the hat patterns come in 2 sizes: 0-6 months and 6-12 months. The exact yarns (and colors) used in each set are listed at the back of the book. One of the newer features of Leisure Arts books is additional videos for stitches and techniques, like how to work a treble crochet, how to change colors, and lots more. Their books also include many diagrams for different stitches and/or techniques. All of this extra information helps crocheters of all skill levels to be successful in their crochet projects!

Each of the sets in this book, except the Fox Set, is made with medium, worsted weight yarn. The Fox Set is made with super bulky weight yarn. If you’re not familiar with yarn weights, check out this page on the Craft Yarn Council’s website here. The Craft Yarn Council has many pages of helpful information about crocheting, knitting, yarn, crochet hook sizes, knitting needle sizes, and more on their website. So if you’ve never gone to their website, you don’t know what you’re missing!

You can see and purchase “Nature’s Gifts for Baby” on the Leisure Arts website here or on Amazon here. This 32-page book retails for $9.99.

If you’re looking for some new crochet patterns to make for a favorite baby in your life, I hope you’ll consider this book with lots of creative designs!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

March 1, 2016

Giveaway Winner Announced!

Thank you to those of you who entered to win a free copy of Brenda Bourg’s new crochet book, Fair Isle Tunisian Crochet. The winner was chosen this morning. Congratulations to Ruth Ticknor! You’re the lucky winner of Brenda’s wonderful new book! I’ll e-mail you shortly and get your contact information for sending your new book.

Happy National Crochet Month everyone! Don’t forget to follow the Crochetville National Crochet Month Blog Tour with daily giveaways!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

February 27, 2016February 27, 2016

Book Review & Giveaway: Fair Isle Tunisian Crochet

Do you love Tunisian Crochet? Have you ever tried it? It’s a really fun crochet technique! I’ve been doing Tunisian Crochet for many years now and I always enjoy the rhythm of working the stitches on and off the hook! I also enjoy finding new Tunisian Crochet patterns. One of my designer friends, Brenda Bourg, has a new crochet book out called “Fair Isle Tunisian Crochet”. It’s a fabulous book! If you’re not sure what “Fair Isle” is, it’s a technique where you change yarn colors across the rows to make a certain design, like a snowflake. There are some other techniques for changing colors across the rows, such as Tapestry crochet. But unlike Tapestry Crochet, Fair Isle doesn’t involve working over the unused color. The unused color is just carried across the wrong side of the work until it’s needed again. Anyway, here’s a photo of the cover of Brenda’s new book:

Brenda is a fabulous designer, as well as a really sweet person! She even mentioned me, along with many other crochet designers, on the acknowledgements page of her book! Now that’s really nice!

There are 16 projects in Brenda’s book: 2 boot cuffs, 1 jar cozy, 1 bag, 3 headbands, 3 cowls, 2 mitts, 2 sweaters and 2 afghans. Each project includes written instructions, as well as a color chart. The projects look like they’re knitted because Brenda has worked them in the Tunisian Knit Stitch and the Tunisian Purl Stitch. If you’ve never done these stitches before, don’t despair! Brenda has included complete instructions in the front of the book along with color step-by-step photos explaining how to work the Tunisian Knit Stitch, the Tunisian Purl Stitch, the Tunisian Seed Stitch, increasing, ribbing, the foundation row and binding off. Almost all of the projects in the book have no shaping, except for a little on the 2 sweaters.

Here are my favorite projects in Brenda’s book:

The Ivana Mitts look really nice and don’t look too hard to make. They’re made in flat rows, then the right and left edges are seamed, leaving a hole for the thumb.

I absolutely LOVE the Annabel Bag! I love the striking contrast between the black and the multi-colored yarn (it’s Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable, which is one of my favorite yarns!). At 16″ wide x 14 1/2″ long, the bag is a nice size to use for crochet/knit projects!

The Cora Sweater has a really nice all over snowflake-like pattern to it. It looks super comfy and I can imagine wearing it with lots of outfits!

I LOVE the Elisha Afghan! It looks like it could be made in joined squares, but it’s worked in 1 piece, eliminating the need for seaming. I love the colors in this afghan and the snowflake design, too!

This is just a sampling of the projects in Brenda’s book. To see all the projects in this book, check it out on Ravelry here.

If you’d like to order this book, check it out on Amazon here.

The book retails for $21.95. It has 16 projects on 112 pages with lots of color throughout.

Now for the fun part! The publisher has graciously agreed to let me give a copy of the book away on my blog! If you live in the US and would like to win a FREE copy of Brenda’s new “Fair Isle Tunisian Crochet” book, just leave a comment below and you’ll be in the running! And if you’re subscribed to my blog, you’ll get 2 entries in the book giveaway! I’ll pick and announce the lucky winner at random on Tuesday, March 1^st. So stay tuned to hear who wins!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this book review. Good luck everyone!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

August 21, 2015August 20, 2015

Book Review & Giveaway: Colorful Crochet Lace by Mary Jane Hall

I had the pleasure of meeting Mary Jane Hall many years ago at a CGOA (Crochet Guild of America) conference. She’s a very talented crochet designer and I love many of her designs! I’ve also had the pleasure of tech editing one of Mary Jane’s previous crochet books, “Crochet That Fits”. In that book, Mary Jane designed many crochet projects using her “graduated stitch method” for shaping garments. She uses this fabulous method to shape many of the projects in her new book, “Colorful Crochet Lace: 22 Chic Garments & Accessories”, too.

There are 22 garment and accessory projects in Mary Jane’s new book. Each one is made with lace: from a little lace all the way up to lace in the whole project. The projects range from small projects like belts, scarves, bags and capelets to larger projects like shawls, wraps, shrugs, skirts and garments. Each project is made with a pretty color of yarn (lace doesn’t always have to be made with white or off-white!). The yarns used range from lace weight to worsted weight, with the majority of them being fingering, sport and DK weight. The hooks used range from E (3.5 mm) to L (8 mm). Many of the garment projects include sizes XS to 3X. Each project includes crochet symbol chart(s) for parts of the projects (or the whole project for the small projects in the book). Those of us who LOVE visual instructions always appreciate crochet symbol charts in patterns!

Some of my favorite projects in this book are:

I love the shape of this pullover!

I love the stitch pattern and the collar in this bolero!

I love the comfortable look of this tunic!

I love the pineapples along the bottom of this peplum top!

I had hopes of crocheting one of the projects in Mary Jane’s book before my scheduled blog tour date, but life got in the way (in several very good ways). Here’s what’s been going on at my home in the past few months:

First, my son and daughter-in-law were here from China for a visit. It was wonderful to spend time with them again. When we went to China in April/May of this year, we spent the whole 2 ½ weeks with them, along with our youngest son, who was living there at the time. If you’d like to read about that trip, check out this blog post. It’s so nice to be able to spend time with our grown children, especially since our “nest” is empty! We even went to a Diamondbacks baseball game with all 3 of our sons and our DIL! It was great to spend some time with all 4 of them, which happens even less these days!

Second, we got a new puppy! Her name is Maggie and she’s adorable, fun, exhausting, funny and more! This is Maggie:

We rescued her after she was left behind when a family moved away across the street from my mother-in-law in CA (we were in CA for my niece’s wedding almost 3 weeks ago). I don’t know how anyone can leave a puppy behind when they move, especially a cute puppy like Maggie! We’re guessing that she’s a cross between a Jack Russell Terrier and a Beagle (that was the vet’s guess and we think it’s pretty accurate). Apparently, there’s a name for that cross in breeds: it’s called a Jack-A-Bee! We’re working on lots of “appropriate” behaviors, like “no biting”, “no chewing”, “no digging”, etc! She has so much energy when she’s awake, but drops after a few hours of play and takes many naps during the day. I’m finding that taking a nap is more appealing to me these days, too!!!

Third, I was the co-chair of the 2015 CGOA Design Competition, which meant that I received almost all of the design entries, cataloged them, photographed them, drove them to the conference last month (which was held in San Diego, CA), drove them back home and shipped them back to the designers. I finally finished shipping them all back last week, so now I have a little time to get back to crocheting! I just need to decide what project I should start on first!

Mary Jane Hall’s new book, “Colorful Crochet Lace”, retails for $24.99 and can be seen/purchased directly from Interweave/F&W here. You can also take a look at the inside of this book and purchase it on Amazon here. If you’d like to see all 22 of the designs in this book, check out this page on Ravelry.

Now for the giveaway part of this blog post. If you’d like to win a FREE copy of “Colorful Crochet Lace”, just leave a comment about the book in this blog post to be entered to win. If you live in the USA, you’ll have your choice of a hard copy or a digital copy of the book. If you live outside the USA, you’ll receive a digital copy. This giveaway will end on August 31, so don’t delay in entering! I’ll pick the lucky winner on Sept. 1 and will announce the winner right here on my blog. Good luck everyone!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at Mary Jane Hall’s newest book, “Colorful Crochet Lace”, and that you’ll check out this fabulous book soon.

Happy crocheting,

Susan

October 1, 2014September 30, 2014

“Tunisian Crochet for Baby” Book Review and Giveaway

Are you a big fan of Tunisian crochet? I really enjoy the rhythm of this wonderful crochet technique. I enjoy putting the stitches on the hook and taking them off. In my mind, Tunisian crochet is like marrying the best of crochet and knitting! In fact, many of the stitches in Tunisian crochet look just like knit stitches (at least on the right side of the work). If you’ve never tried Tunisian crochet, what are you waiting for? Why not give it a try today?

I recently came across a new Tunisian crochet book with baby patterns in it. It’s called “Tunisian Crochet for Baby” by Sharon Hernes Silverman. The book is published by Stackpole Books and retails for $21.95. It has 140 pages with 23 patterns, along with instructions and step-by-step photos for working basic crochet stitches, as well as Tunisian crochet stitches. There are projects for every skill level, too. I recommend this book if you’ve done Tunisian crochet before and are looking for some really cute Tunisian crochet baby projects to make. There are blankets, hats, a pullover, pants, a headband, mittens, a hoodie, a skirt, a poncho, a turban, a nursery box, washcloths, a cocoon, as well as a christening gown, bonnet and booties. Here are some of my favorite projects from this book:

This is the Harlequin Blanket. It is worked in the entrelac method of making squares and attaching the new square to the previous square as you go, so there are no seams involved. I’ve seen this technique before, but I’ve never tried it. I intend to do that one of these days because it looks like it would be relaxing to make, but have enough interest to hold my attention!

This is the Sherbet Stripes Blanket and Hat. I LOVE the colors in this set! And I also love how the hat is made with Tunisian knit and purl stitches, which look just like a knitted hat! The blanket is made with Tunisian simple stitch and edged with crocheted shells. I’m looking forward to learning to decrease stitches in Tunisian crochet by making this baby hat someday soon!

This is the Nursery Box filled with the Washcloth Quartet (4 different washcloths). I LOVE quick projects, and these washcloths are just that. They’d make great baby shower gifts for any mother-to-be!

Besides the wonderful projects, another thing I really like about this book is the charts showing which stitches are worked in each row or round. I’ve never seen Tunisian crochet charts before (or never really noticed them). I really like being able to see visually what the written instructions are saying to do!

So if you’re looking for a really nice book with Tunisian crochet projects to make for babies, I hope you’ll consider adding this book to your crochet library! You can check out all the projects in the Look Book that Stackpole Books has on their website here. The book is available in paperback or as an ebook in pdf format through Stackpole Books here or as a printed book through Amazon here.

As a bonus for this blog tour, I’m having a giveaway for a pdf download of this book. The giveaway runs through October 8^th. To enter the giveaway and receive a complimentary, instant pdf download of this fabulous book, simply leave a comment on this blog post to be entered. The lucky winner will be randomly drawn and announced on October 9^th. Good luck and happy crocheting!

Susan