January 6th, 2012 § § permalink
New scarf designs and a skirt are coming soon. The skirt probably won’t be available until around Spring, though. This is a sneak preview of one of the scarves.
I haven’t submitted anything for publication in a while, but I’m going to start again. I miss doing that.
I am teaching crochet at Yarning for Ewe in Atlanta, GA, If anyone in the area has questions about the classes or the store, send me an email.
The Crimson Cape is now available for purchase in the Interweave Store. I’ve seen some awesome versions of the cape on Ravelry.
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January 1st, 2012 § § permalink
Happy New Year!
Did you complete all your crochet holiday gifts? I did, but I have to confess that my gift was a blanket which I didn’t finish last year. It was huge, but it’s done and delivered.
Now that the holidays are over, I hope you have time to make some things for yourselves. For me, 2011 was a year of sacrifice. My time and energy was devoted to helping my family. With work and school, there was very little time for crochet. This summer I became a stay-at-home grandmother, and all I can say is I tip my hat to all SAHMs! This is a full-time job.
It’s been a while since I blogged or emailed, and I am happy to be able to get back to designing crochet. I’m sure you all know how frustrating it is to have all sorts of creative ideas and not be able to get them out. I’ve had lots of time to rethink this crochet thing, and I’m excited to see what 2012 brings.
January is National Hot Tea Month. There are lots of fun tea-related projects on Ravelry like cozies, doilies and coasters. I think I will start with a mug cozy.
July 18th, 2011 § § permalink
My last post was about Rethinking this Crochet Design Thing, and I’ve been doing lots of thinking. I’ve found, for me, that designing the pattern before I pick up a hook is taking much longer, but is proving to be more accurate. There are still moments when even though something works mathematically, it just doesn’t look nice visually. That perfectly-calculated increase just doesn’t look as smooth, or the neckline actually fits better with less stitches. Either way, the pattern will have to be continually modified along the way during the design process. Sort of like when using pattern design software.
This is something I will continue to explore, and I will share as I work my way through this.
May 3rd, 2011 § § permalink
Since the beginning of this year, I have been thinking long and hard about what direction I want to take with my crochet business, and I decided to pump the breaks on everything until I figure this out.
I haven’t submitted any designs to publications in a long time (sorry you won’t see anything from me in Interweave Crochet or any other magazine for a while). One of the reasons for this is that I am revamping how I create my patterns. Organic crochet design only truly works when I am designing one-of-a-kind items. Yes, I can document the entire creation process and turn my notes into a working pattern, but I think it leaves more room for errors and actually requires more work. It’s true that the initial creation process is faster for me because I have a creative flow happening. I can visualize what I want to make, pick up my hook and yarn, and usually create exactly what I envisioned, but when it time to explain technically how I achieved the design, some things are just difficult to explain in writing for me. Also, when drafting multiple sizes, some things just don’t work for all sizes, and there may be no work around solution.
This is just one of the thoughts I’m working through right now. I’ll come back later to add more on this.
Don’t worry, I am not giving up on crochet design. In fact, I am working on a design for an upcoming project, and as soon as I am free to discuss it, I will share the news.
Also, the AfroStitch Crochet Conference that was held in February was wonderful. I haven’t been back to blog about it so I owe a post or two about that one.
February 24th, 2011 § § permalink
If you are in the Atlanta area or can make it to Atlanta, come to the AfroStitch Crochet Conference. All stitchers are welcome!
CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH
AFROSTITCH CROCHET CONFERENCE
Feb. 26, 2011
Georgia Hill Neighborhood Center
250 Georgia Avenue, Atlanta, Ga.
11am – 5pm
Come meet African-American crochet designers, teachers and enthusiasts who will inspire you to take your crochet to new levels and build community with a hook and yarn.
Rhonda Davis
Crochet Designer
Interweave Crochet Magazine
Cover Design Winter 2010/2011
www.thisiscrochet.com/
Afya Ibomu
Crochet Designer & Author
“Get Your Crochet On” and “Fly Tops & Funky Flavas”
www.nattral.com
Todd Paschall
Crochet portrait artist
www.crochetbynumbers.com
Wendi Jones
Crochet Fashion Designer
www.wenwear.com
Eboni Chappel
Crochet Fashion Designer
www.iamcrochet.com
Cynthia Kindle
Crochet Teacher
AND YOU!
Grab your hooks and yarn and come join in day filled with crochet. Wear or bring your best crochet creations for show and tell. Don’t know how to crochet? No worries, let us help you get started.
All ages and skill levels welcomed. AfroStitch is free and open to public, but registration is required. To register, email afrostitch2010@yahoo.com and be sure to include REGISTRATION in subject line, or call 404.610.8267.
Children less than 16 years, must be accompanied by adult.
December 10th, 2010 § § permalink
Interweave Crochet Winter 2010 is available for preordering, and I just found out that my design is on the cover. Thank you, April.
It is the Crimson Cape shown on the cover shot below. I am so excited!
© Interweave Press
November 21st, 2010 § § permalink
The winner of Jill Hanratty’s new crochet book, Plus Size Fashions, is Valerie. Congrats to you, Valerie. Please send me your name and address.
For everyone who would like to purchase a copy of Plus Size Fashions, it is available at Annie’s Attic.
November 15th, 2010 § § permalink
This is the second stop of Jill Hanratty’s blog tour to introduce her new book, Plus Size Fashions. This is a collection of fashion garments that Jill has designed for the plus-sized woman. Yesterday, Jill began her tour by visiting with Ellen Gormley of Go Crochet, and in addition to asking great questions, Ellen was kind enough to give us Jill’s background and also to share a photo of Jill. Be sure to visit Go Crochet if you missed the first day of the tour.
Plus Size Fashions is a collection of five fashion garments. The collection contains two jackets, one short-sleeved tee, one long-sleeved pullover and one sleeveless shell top. I am giving away a copy of Plus Size Fashions. If you would like to be included in the drawing, please read the interview and share a comment about Jill’s book before 6pm EST on Friday, November 19. I will randomly select the winner. Good Luck!
Swinging Pearl Jacket
The green, classy jacket featured on the book cover is the Swinging Pearl Jacket, and I have a set of questions for Jill about the jacket.
TB: This is an elegant jacket that can be worn to work or to dinner, but it is still relaxed enough to be worn casually with jeans. It can really be dressed up or down depending on the accessories chosen to complete the look. How did you see this jacket being worn, and who did you see wearing it?
JH: My taste generally runs to classic designs. If you put the effort into making a garment, it is nice to be able to wear it in 10-15-20 years and still look great! In fact, this jacket is one that I can envision wearing over and over and over, because it is so basic! The style is not limited to any one age bracket, either, so that adds to the design’s timelessness.
TB: I really love the fit of the Swinging Pearl Jacket, especially the set in sleeves. One of the biggest complaints I hear from plus-sized women about crochet patterns is that a lot of designs for plus-sized women have drop shoulders, but they want the option of set-in sleeves. When they do find a pattern with set-in sleeves, they sometimes have issues with the placement and depth of the armholes. How do you determine your armhole placement so that your garments fall from the shoulders and have proper drape?
JH: It drives me crazy to see ill-fitting armholes in plus size garments! Of course, not every woman is built the same, but I do try to shape armholes so they will lay properly on the body. Keeping the shoulder width of the design within the range of normal shoulders makes a difference. I then try to use increases to add width at the sides rather than adding too much depth (length) to the armhole. I also like to use a shorter, wider sleeve cap, and add length to the sleeve underarm. This helps to free the sleeve to move without pulling the garment away from the body.
As a back-up to my theory, I prevailed upon two plus-sized friends who were kind enough to let me measure some of their clothes to compare with my calculations. They even let me take my tape measure to the clothes they were wearing on a few occasions!
TB: What makes this a pattern for a crocheter with an intermediate skill level? Are there any advanced techniques that are needed to complete this design?
JH: This is an intermediate pattern because of the shaping throughout the jacket. There is nothing very advanced at all in the pattern. In fact, it might be a good pattern for someone who is looking to move up from an easy pattern for the first time. The stitch is simple and even the scalloped edges along the jacket fronts are part of the jacket, rather than a trim stitched on at finishing!
TB: What type of technique do you recommend to sew the seams to assemble the jacket?
JH: The mattress stitch is my favorite way of seaming: keeping the pieces to be joined adjacent to each other, working on the right side of the garment, and stitching back and forth between pieces with rows or stitches aligned. The benefit of working with the right side facing is seeing that the seam is turning out well. I LOVE Knit Klips as an alternative to pins to hold the pieces together while I work!
TB: I am really intrigued about the bamboo/wool yarn that you used for this jacket. The stitch pattern you used produced a solid fabric, but the fabric still contains a nice drape and appears to be lightweight. Can you describe how the yarn cooperated with this design?
JH: This jacket needed great stitch definition because it is such a solid fabric. The Red Heart Bamboo Wool was perfect for that—the stitches pop and the fabric has nice body and drape at the same time! (—and this yarn comes in such amazing, rich colors!)
TB: I have to say that I believe this will be one time where the smaller ladies will be jealous of the plus-sized designs. Do you have any plans to create these same designs in smaller sizes?
JH: Thanks, and I have to agree! I certainly would do so if the demand arises!
Thank you for answering my questions and allowing me to share your new book, Jill.
Please follow Jill through the remainder of her blog book tour to read more about
Plus Size Fashions. The schedule for the remainder of her tour is below.
Day 3 (Nov 17): Shannon Mullett-Bowlsby — http://www.shibaguyz.com
Day 4 (Nov 18): Jennifer Cirka — http://www.jaybirddesigns.com
Day 5 (Nov 19): Lisa Gentry — http://hookandneedle-designs.blogspot.com
If you missed the first day, here is the link to the first stop of Jill’s tour.
Day 1 (Nov 15): Ellen Gormley — http://gocrochet.blogspot.com
November 15th, 2010 § § permalink
Six-pointed star blanket uses the Tunisian crochet Slant Stitch and color changes to create wide stripes which meet to form a burst of color that radiates from the center. The stripes are continued in the surrounding border.
A few years ago, I was exploring how to create different star and pinwheel shapes using Tunisian Crochet. One of the first motifs I came up with was a five-pointed star shape, which I went on to use in my
Seaside Throw Afghan which was published in the Interweave Crochet Summer 2009 issue. The six-pointed star was one of the next incarnations of the Tunisian crochet star motif. I enlarged the small motif into a large star, and sketching and playing with color options brought about the stripes and burst of color from the center of the star.
This afghan is shown on a king-sized bed, but the pattern can easily be adapted to any size just be decreasing the stitch and row count.
November 5th, 2010 § § permalink
Eliza’s Felted Bag is a Tunisian crochet bag that is crocheted in one flat piece, including the body of the bag, the handle and the closure. The sides of the bag are created by using an entrelac-type technique. There is no cutting and rejoining yarn to change colors. Just carry the unworked color along the side of your work and switch when instructed.
When felting this crochet bag, I recommend using a hot water wash cycle. I put my work inside a pillowcase and tie the end of the pillowcase closed. This keeps little felt balls from clogging your washing machine. The felting should produce a THICK and HARD fabric. If your bag is still soft, do another wash cycle.
After the crochet bag is felted, the bag is pin blocked to the correct dimensions while it is still wet and the side panels are folded inward to create permanent creases while blocking. When the bag is still slightly damp, fold it in thirds to create permanent creases that will become the edges of the bottom of the bag. I like to put a heavy book on top and weights on top of the book. Let your crochet bag dry completely.
Once the crochet bag has dried, I dampen the folded creases. Then I cover with a pressing cloth (or towel) and use an iron on wool with steam setting to press along the creases. This gives the creases nice crisp edges. This completes the blocking.
Now, it is time to sew the side triangles together to make the sides of the bag. With wrong side facing, use a tapestry needle to seam each triangle to the next triangle along both sides. Be sure that your stitches do not show through to the right side of your bag. Fasten off and weave the ends into the fabric of your bag. Turn your crocheted felted bag right side out and enjoy your new crochet purse.
New scarf designs and a skirt are coming soon. The skirt probably won’t be available until around Spring, though. This is a sneak preview of one of the scarves.
