crochet patterns – Page 4 – The Crochet Architect

March 21, 2016

A Labor of Love

Have you ever worked on a crochet project that you considered a “labor of love”?

I’ve been working on one ever since the day after my mom’s memorial service on Feb. 20^th, 2016. My mom passed away at 82 years young on Feb. 11 unexpectedly (not from a long illness). Just 23 days before she passed away, she bought some baby yarn at her local Michaels craft store to crochet a baby blanket for my first grandchild that we’re expecting at the beginning of June (in China). My mom had a favorite baby blanket pattern that she enjoyed crocheting and she wanted to make it for her great grandchild, even though her fingers weren’t working as well as they used to due to having arthritis for many years and the crippling effect it can have on a person’s hands/fingers. Here’s a photo of the baby afghan that my mom enjoyed making:

Mom's Favorite Baby Afghan pattern — Mom’s Favorite Baby Afghan pattern

This afghan pattern came in a kit with the yarn and pattern way back when (probably in the 70’s or 80’s). My mom kept the pattern and purchased new yarn whenever she wanted to crochet another baby blanket. I think the colors are fabulous, especially since I love pastels!

Well, she told me that she was crocheting this blanket for my coming grandchild shortly after she started it. I was surprised and delighted that she was crocheting again! A few days after she died, I remembered the baby blanket. So when I was at her house after her memorial service, I asked my step-dad about the blanket. He helped me locate it and I brought it home with me to finish for my mom. She had finished a full strip of 19 curved sections and a partial strip with the first 7 curves done. This blanket has 7 strips with 19 curved sections in each strip.

My mom tried to teach me to knit when I was a child, but I wasn’t very good at it. So I stuck with embroidery and counted cross stitch instead until my best friend taught me to crochet in high school. My mom said she did a lot of knitting for our family when we were little. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of her knitting. I suppose it got lost over the years, especially after my parents divorced back in the early 70’s. I do have a green afghan that my mom crocheted for me about 10 years ago, though. I don’t know when my mom learned to crochet. Maybe she learned before me or maybe after me. It’s a mystery to me. But I think I got my creativeness from her. Here’s a picture of my mom from my middle son’s wedding in 2009 (the same son who’s having his first child in June):

For 3 weeks, I worked on this baby blanket for my son, my daughter-in-law and their baby-to-be. I finished it about a week ago. It has been a true “labor of love” to be able to finish this blanket that my mom started before she died. I felt close to her whenever I worked on it and I know my mom would be pleased that I picked up where she left off. I’m so glad that I know how to crochet so I could finish it! Here’s the finished afghan for you to see:

Have you ever worked on a “labor of love” similar to this? Did you feel closer to the person who started the project while you were crocheting it?

I can’t wait to see my grandchild wrapped in this beautiful afghan! It will bring tears (of joy and sadness) to my eyes, I’m sure!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

March 2, 2016March 1, 2016

Crocheting on a Budget

Do you love to crochet, but don’t have an unlimited supply of money to buy yarn? If so, you’re going to LOVE these new crochet cowl patterns!

For the past few years, I’ve been drooling over the colors in Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable yarn. In Nov, 2014, I published a new cowl pattern called Unforgettable Ripple Cowl. Well, I’ve had so much fun with this yarn since then that I’ve designed 3 more crochet cowls with this fabulous yarn!

Since each cowl takes just one skein of yarn and the yarn costs around $5 per skein, these cowls are economical projects to crochet, which is what I LOVE! I don’t like to spend lots of money on yarn, so I love it when I find a yarn that gives me lots of “bang for my buck”!!! Now YOU can crochet gorgeous cowls for less than $10 each! These cowls make fabulous gifts for family and friends, too.

So without further ado, here are my One-Skein Cowls:

I am absolutely in LOVE with these cowls! Sometimes I wear them long and sometimes I wear them doubled around my neck for extra warmth (or I go back and forth on the cowl length throughout the day, depending on if I’m having a hot flash or not!). These cowl colors coordinate with so many of my clothes and they really help finish off the look of my outfits! The drape that I get from this yarn is fabulous, too!

I had so much fun with the Unforgettable Trefoil Cowl that I made another one a few weeks ago in a different colorway of the yarn! I LOVE this colorway, too!

Unforgettable Trefoil Cowl alternate colors

Each pattern is available separately for $4.95 or you can get all 4 cowl patterns as an economical set for $11.95 (that’s just under $3 each!). You can find them on our Patterns Page.

Note: If you’ve already purchased the Unforgettable Ripple Cowl pattern and you’d like to purchase the other 3 cowl patterns (the full set of 4 cowl patterns), please send me a message and I’ll e-mail a special discount code to you (upon verification of your previous purchase) to get $4.95 off the set of 4 cowl patterns.

Each pattern comes with 2 photos of the cowl (worn long, or doubled around the neck, as these photos show), plus a close up of the stitch pattern. Each pattern is fully written and includes a symbol crochet chart, too (there are 4 charts in the set of 4 cowls: one for each cowl). Each cowl is worked in rows, then seamed together to form the long loop. Each stitch pattern has a 1, 2 or 4 row repeat, making the patterns easy to memorize. Because this yarn is 100% acrylic and washable, you don’t have to worry about your cowls getting dirty or shrinking! Just gently wash them in a sink of warm water, rinse them and lay them flat to dry.

I realize that winter is almost over, but who says you have to crochet cowls in the wintertime! They’re also fun to make in the summertime (to wear in the wintertime) because they are NOT huge, heavy and hot projects!

I hope you’ll give these crochet cowls a try. I think they’ll become some of your favorite accessories to crochet and wear, just as they are mine!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

February 5, 2016

Landscapes Cowl – 1 Skein Project

Last year at the CGOA Conference, I received 1 skein of Lion Brand Landscapes yarn in my goodie bag. When I saw the yarn, I instantly fell in love with the beautiful colors! I knew I wanted to design something with it, but what can a crocheter make with only 1 skein of yarn? It’s not enough for a garment or an afghan, so I decided to design an accessory to show off the gorgeous colors in this yarn.

One of my favorite accessories to design, crochet and wear is cowls. Adding a cowl to an outfit can really dress it up with very little effort! And if the cowl is long enough, you can decide if you want to wear the cowl long or doubled up.

So without further ado, here is my newest pattern, the Landscapes Cowl:

Aren’t the colors in this yarn gorgeous? I think so!

For this cowl design, I used an easy stitch pattern (so the colors of the yarn would grab a person’s attention, not fight with a complex stitch pattern)! This cowl pattern has a 2 row repeat, making it easy to memorize and quick to stitch. I used 1 skein for my small cowl in these photos (5 1/2″ wide x 48″ circumference), but you could use 2 skeins for a wider and longer cowl (the pattern includes instructions for a large size of 8″ wide x 60″ circumference). Either way, it’s an economical project to crochet with only 1 or 2 skeins of yarn! And since I love symbol crochet charts, I made a chart for each size of the cowl (the charts are included in the pattern).

I’m curious! Have you had the pleasure of crocheting with Lion Brand Landscapes yarn? If so, how do you like it? Are you in love with the colors, like me? The color I used was #204 Desert Spring. But there are lots of other really pretty colors in this yarn. You can see all of the colors available in Landscapes yarn on the Lion Brand website here. There are solid colors, as well as self-striping colors, like the one I used in my cowl. This yarn is worsted weight, 100% acrylic and has 147 yards in each skein.

I seem to really be drawn to self-striping yarns these days! They’re so pretty! And the changes in colors help to keep my interest in the project, especially when the stitch pattern is easy! Since the projects made from self-striping yarns have lots of different colors in them, you can wear the items you crochet from them with lots of different outfits!

I hope you’ll give self-striping yarn, like Lion Brand Landscapes, a try soon. You won’t regret it! And if you enjoy easy-to-stitch projects where the yarn does all the work (well, most of the work), check out my Landscapes Cowl pattern here. It’s only $4.95 for the full pattern, including symbol crochet charts. You can crochet as many of these cowls with the pattern as you’d like!

As always, if you have a question about one of my patterns, I’m just an e-mail away! I’m more than happy to help YOU be successful with your crochet projects made from my crochet patterns! And if you’d like to join my group on Ravelry to discuss my crochet patterns, to ask a question about one of them or to join in a CAL (crochet-along), I’d love to have you join us! You can find my Ravelry group here.

Happy crocheting,

Susan

P.S. If you’d like to follow my blog, simply enter your e-mail address in the “subscribe to blog via email” spot near the top, right-hand corner of this page. I plan to bring you more interesting crochet content/patterns this year and for many years to come!

January 15, 2016

Book Review & Designer Interview: Cold Weather Crochet by Marly Bird

If you’re like me, crocheting accessories to keep me warm (and to give as gifts) is really enjoyable (and the projects are very useful, too!). I love crocheting scarves, shawls, cowls and lots more! Scarves and cowls are great, quick projects to make and to give as gifts to almost anyone on your gift giving list!

There’s a new crochet book by Marly Bird called “Cold Weather Crochet: 21 Cozy Garments, Accessories, and Afghans to Keep You Warm”. This book has a great assortment of patterns: 6 hats/caps, 3 cowls, 4 scarves, 2 shawls/wraps, 3 afghans/blankets, 1 mitt, 1 slipper and 1 sock pattern. The projects range from beginner to intermediate, so there’s something for everyone’s skill level. Most of the projects are for women, but there are a few hats for men in the book, as well!

Here’s an excerpt from Marly’s new book:

“Whether you live somewhere cold or with someone who just loves to crank the air-conditioning, my goal is to give you patterns and pieces that you know that you can crochet and enjoy,” muses Marly. “Many of the pieces seem to defy the seasons. Once you finish your piece, you can revel in the fact that YOU made the item that’s keeping you warm.”

Some of my favorite projects in Marly’s new book are:

This is the Lace Motif Wrap. I LOVE the laciness of this wrap! It has a ruffled edging that gives it a little more weight and helps to open up the lace motifs while wearing it.

These are the Thrummed Slippers. The slipper on the front, right is shown inside out so you can see how much added warmth and cushioning the thrumming gives the slippers. The slipper in the back, left shows how the slippers look when worn. Here’s another photo of these slippers:

Aren’t they cute? Knitters have done thrumming for a long time and I think it’s genius that Marly has designed a pair of thrummed crochet slippers! I HAVE to give these a try!

This is the Cross Creek Hat. Obviously, it’s made for a man (at least that’s how it’s shown in the book), but I bet it would look equally as good on a woman! I LOVE the design that’s made at the top of the hat and the texture around the sides of the hat! This one looks like a lot of fun to make and wear!

This is the African Flower Afghan. I LOVE the colors that Marly used in this afghan! And the African Flower motif is a really pretty motif!

This is the Slouchy Hat. I LOVE the laciness of this hat! And the color is gorgeous, too!

I met Marly at a CGOA Conference. She’s a dynamic lady with lots of talent and energy! I’d like for you to get to know her, too. Here’s a little interview I did with Marly:

Susan: How long have you been crocheting? How did you learn to crochet or who taught you to crochet?

Marly: I’ve been crocheting since 1999. I learned from my grandmother.

Susan: What is your favorite type of item to crochet?

Marly: My favorite things to design are sweaters but I enjoy crocheting accessories because they are fast and I get to play around with stitches and color without a lot of commitment.

Susan: Do you have any favorite crochet techniques that you enjoy?

Marly: I love learning new techniques. I just taught myself how to do Interlocking Crochet (I am calling it interwoven as Interlocking is a trademarked term). I love the look of it and it is entirely new to me.

Susan: How do you manage to juggle all of your job titles and family life?

Marly: Ha! First, God Bless you for thinking I am juggling well 🙂 I always feel like that circus performer who is spinning plates on a stick and when one is about to fall I haul butt over to it so it keeps spinning! LOL. Honestly, managing my time is the hardest thing I do but I have a great deal of help from my social media medusa, Tammy Burke; my contract knitters/crocheters, Marly’s Minions; and my family…who pick up the slack when mommy is on a deadline or traveling for work 🙂

I hope you’ve enjoyed this book review of “Cold Weather Crochet” and interview of the book’s author, Marly Bird. This 128 page book is published by Interweave/F&W and retails for $22.99.

For more information and to purchase this book, check it out on the Interweave website here.

The book is also available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle edition here.

Happy crocheting,

Susan Lowman

November 13, 2015November 13, 2015

Too Many Cowls?

Who says it’s possible to have too many cowls? Certainly NOT me! Cowls (or infinity scarves, as they’re also known) are wonderful accessories for any woman or girl (or possibly for men and boys, as well). They look great and help keep your neck warm when the weather gets cold! Since they’re basically a big tube that goes around your neck, they won’t fall off like scarves have a tendency to do. Cowls come in many widths and lengths. You can wear longer cowls as a long tube or double them up for a shorter, more dense cowl to hug your neck.

I love cowls and I’ve got a new crochet cowl pattern for you, just in time for Christmas! It’s my Swanky Cowl, named for the special yarn that I used. If you haven’t seen Red Heart Boutique Swanky yarn yet, it’s made with acrylic and polyester fibers for washability (hand wash only). It has little oval-shaped sequins in it that are dyed the same color as the yarn. The sequins give projects a nice “glitz” that is so pretty! You can read more about this yarn and see all the pretty colors on the Red Heart website here. I love the color I used (Berry Glamorous) because it coordinates with many of the outfits in my wardrobe!

I used only 1 skein/ball of this yarn to crochet my Swanky Cowl. The resulting cowl is 3 1/2″ wide x 40″ circumference. If you’d like a longer and/or wider cowl, simply use a 2nd skein of the yarn.

Of course, you could use any worsted weight or DK weight yarn you’d like to make your Swanky Cowl! I think it would be beautiful in a color-changing yarn, too!

I love the texture of Front Post and Back Post double crochet stitches, so that’s what I used in this cowl. Because these 2 stitches are mirror images of each other, the cowl is reversible!

If you’re a confident beginner all the way up to a seasoned crocheter, this pattern is perfect for you! It includes photo tutorials for working in the back bump of the foundation chain, as well as working the Front Post and Back Post double crochet stitches. I’ve included right-handed and left-handed photos in the tutorials section of the pattern, too. So if you’re a leftie and you’d like to learn to work FPdc and BPdc, give this pattern a try!

To read more about my new Swanky Cowl pattern and to purchase this pattern for only $3.95, check out the pattern page here.

Happy crocheting,

Susan

September 18, 2015September 18, 2015

How Many Scarves Are Enough?

If you’re anything like me, you can never have too many scarves! I LOVE to crochet scarves for many reasons. I can try out different crochet techniques (and not be committed to make an afghan or some project that takes up a lot of time and energy). Obviously, I can crochet a scarf in a short amount of time (like 2-6 hours for most scarves). Scarves make wonderful gifts for the Holidays! A crocheted scarf doesn’t break the bank, either! And some scarf patterns are a great way to use up scraps of yarn, too.

Well, I’ve gone and done it again! I have a new crochet scarf pattern for you. It’s my Crochet Mosaic Scarf and I really love this one! The pattern includes 2 versions of the scarf, so you can choose which one you’d prefer to make. Here’s the scarf, in the 2 versions that I designed:

The turquoise scarf is 4 rows wider than the black/pink/orange/yellow scarf. It’s made with light weight yarn, whereas the black/pink/orange/yellow scarf is made with worsted weight yarn. Both scarves are 4″ wide x 55-56″ long, plus the fringe.

And do you want to know the best thing about this scarf? THERE ARE NO ENDS TO WEAVE IN!!! I LOVE that! The ends are incorporated into the added fringe instead of weaving them in! Can I get an AMEN to that?

If you’ve never tried the mosaic crochet technique, it’s really quite easy and satisfying. The pattern takes shape as you crochet each row. I love this technique! The rows are crocheted in alternating colors (dark, light, dark, light), which creates the horizontal lines of the pattern. Each row is worked on the right side of the piece and a special stitch is used to make the vertical lines of the pattern.

I hope you’ll give this scarf (or any beautiful, fun, interesting, exciting scarf) a try. And put some on your holiday crochet gift list, too. You’ll have them whipped up in no time!

You can read more about this scarf and purchase the pattern for $4.95 on our Pattern Page here.

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

June 23, 2015December 20, 2020

Adorable Baby Sun Hat

Do you have an adorable baby in your life who gets the sun in her/his eyes outside? Then I have the perfect solution for you! Our Baby Sun Hat crochet pattern is perfect for keeping the sun off baby’s face and head, while looking great at the same time!

This pattern comes in 3 sizes for newborns, babies and toddlers. The circumference of the hat (made with the same gauge as the pattern) is 12” for newborns, 14” for babies and 16” for toddlers. Our hats were made with Red Heart Baby Sheen, which is a fine/sport weight acrylic yarn, but you can make your sun hats with any comparable yarn you choose.

Small Size of Baby Sun Hat — Newborn size

Medium Size of Baby Sun Hat — Baby sizeToddler size

Large Size of Baby Sun Hat — Baby sizeToddler size

The instructions for each size of this sun hat are written separately, making it easier to follow the instructions for the size you’re going to make. The hat includes an optional crocheted flower and a contrasting bottom edging (worked in reverse single crochet).

The woven strands of yarn at the top of the brim make the hat slightly adjustable. Just untie the bow. Loosen or tighten the strands a little and tie the bow again to give your baby a custom hat fit! So as your baby grows so will the hat.

Here’s a photo of the sun hat on Ivy, my sister-in-law’s granddaughter last year:

Doesn’t Ivy look adorable in this sun hat? I think so!

The pattern is available for purchase on our “Patterns” page for just $4.95.

I hope you thoroughly enjoy this new crochet pattern. If you have any questions about it, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’m happy to help!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

May 22, 2015

Jetlag is No Fun!

Have you ever taken a trip to somewhere very far away (like on the other side of the world) and had major jetlag? Well, I think I’m finally over the jetlag and things are looking up (at least I can think mostly clear again!). Let me tell you about my trip and the fun that I enjoyed there!

My husband and I just returned last week from a 2 ½ week trip to China. That’s right, we were on the other side of the world! It’s so amazing to me that you can get in a plane on one side of the world and arrive 10-12 hours later on the other side of the world! That just blows my mind!!! We stayed with our 2 sons and daughter-in-law who are currently living in Beijing. We had so much fun there with all 3 kids (they’re actually young adults in their 20’s)! The food was amazing and the people were very friendly (at least all of our kids’ friends were). We went to the great wall (at the Badaling location) just outside Beijing and saw the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi’an. Both of these were amazing!!! Here are a few photos of those two places:

These 2 places were some of the highlights of our trip. But we went to see so many more places than just these two. We saw the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City, both in Beijing. We also went to the National Museum of China in Beijing, just across the street from Tiananmen Square. And we rode bicycles on top of the city wall in Xi’an, too! There were so many interesting things to see and do. We rode the subway in Beijing most days (sometimes like sardines at rush hour!). We took buses and trains, too (including a sleeper train from Beijing to Xi’an and back). We walked and walked and walked! My husband had an app on his smart phone that counted our steps. We walked between 10,000 and 17,000 steps most days!!! We really got our exercise! And speaking of exercise, our kids live on the 6^th floor of a building in Beijing (with no elevator), so we walked up and down the 84 steps to get to their apartment every day (and sometimes twice a day!). The soles on my new shoes got a year’s worth of wear in just 16 days!!! But I’m not complaining. The trip was fabulous and we enjoyed the time we spent with our kids tremendously!!! We wouldn’t trade it for the world! We even learned to use a “squatty potty”! If you don’t know what that is, here’s a photo of a clean one at the Great Wall:

Believe me, they weren’t clean everywhere we went, especially at the train stations! If you’ve never used one before, it’s very interesting! They aren’t terribly comfortable and easy to use like our “western” toilets, but you get the job done and get out right away! And hopefully you don’t lose your balance while squatting (ask me how I know)!

Here are some of the “delicacies” that we saw in Beijing and Xi’an:

These are scorpions, starfish and squid on sticks! Some people actually eat these in China! Yuck!!!

Anyway, I did a few “fibery” fun things while there, too. First, I taught about a dozen Chinese women to crochet. My daughter-in-law helped set up the dates for me to teach the women while I was there. These women have been exploited in the past and are finding new ways to earn a living, like making jewelry to sell. It was a huge blessing to be able to teach them to crochet. They all loved it and 2 men there learned to crochet, as well (one of the men was very excited to crochet a necklace). I can’t show you photos of the women (for their own safety), but I can show you some of the projects they made during the 2 classes.

Chinese Women's Coasters — Chinese Women’s Coasters

Chinese woman with her necklace and coaster

I taught them to make some beginner projects. We made chain necklaces and single crochet spiral coasters. Some of them had crocheted before and some spoke English, so they could help each other and translate for those who didn’t speak English (I only know a small amount of Mandarin; just enough to be “dangerous”!). They all enjoyed learning to crochet and I thoroughly enjoyed teaching them. I’m so glad that I could play at least a little part in these young women’s lives.

I took a suitcase full of yarn and crochet hooks for them. Before I went, I asked my local knit & crochet group if anyone had some extra H, I or J crochet hooks for these women. The ladies in my group donated over 80 spare crochet hooks! Wow! I was blown away by their generosity! So I took all of the hooks, along with a few extras of my own, and left all of the hooks and yarn with the women in China! I pray that God will bless these women through this small act. Here’s a photo of the donated crochet hooks for China:

The other fun “fibery” thing I did was buy some Chinese knit and crochet books (I can’t decide which one I love more: yarn or patterns!). One day while we were in Beijing, my husband, youngest son and I went to a Chinese book store that was many floors tall. After looking around for a long time, we found the knit and crochet section of the store! I felt like a kid in a candy shop!!! I bought 6 knit and crochet books that are fabulous (and cheap!). All 6 books cost only $39.50 total! They would have been more than double that price here in the US! Here’s a photo of the books I bought:

No, they’re not written in English! But they have knit and crochet charts that I can read just fine (well, I’m still learning to read knitting charts, but I’ll learn more about those very soon). The projects inside these books are very nice. Here are just a few of my favorites:

There are so many beautiful garments and stitch patterns in these books. I know I’m going to get lots of designing inspiration from them!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this peek into my trip to China! Until next time…, zàijiàn!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

May 5, 2015April 23, 2015

Crochet Swag Patterns

Do you enjoy decorating your house with crochet projects? Do you have any part of your house decorated in a seashell or beach theme? Here’s my newest published design in the June 2015 issue of Crochet World magazine:

This shell swag is quick to make and I think it’s a great decoration for any shell/beach-themed room! You can make just one motif and sew it onto a napkin or towel for a nice decoration, too.

You can see all the projects in the June 2015 issue of Crochet World magazine here.

I really enjoy designing and crocheting small projects that are quick to finish and make nice decorations. Here are some other crochet swags that I’ve designed over the years:

Christmas Swag from Dec 2009 issue of Crochet World magazine

Egg Swag from April 2010 issue of Crochet World magazine

Halloween Swag from Oct 2009 issue of Crochet World magazine

Heart Swag from Feb 2010 issue of Crochet World magazine

Rattle Swag from April 2009 issue of Crochet World magazine

Star Swag from June 2008 issue of Crochet World magazine

Snowflake Garland from Nov/Dec 2011 issue of Crochet Today magazine

As you can tell, each of these projects is from a past issue of Crochet World magazine or Crochet Today magazine. I don’t own the copyright to any of these, so if you’d like to make one of them, you’ll have to check your personal crochet magazine library, search for a past issue of the magazine for sale online or ask a friend if they have that issue that you could borrow.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at some quick and fun crochet projects.

Happy crocheting,

Susan