Back in February attended the Afro Stitch Conference here in Atlanta. I was invited by the Awesome Gina-Renay. I’m glad I attended. I met crocheters and wannabee crocheters of all ages. There was even one family that had three generations.

The panelist were Afya Ibomu, Tara Baker, Wendy Jones, and Todd Pasquale. They freely and graciously shared the hows and whys of starting their crochet businesses, and answered questions. Lot’s of good info.

Gina-Renay also spoke on her experiences as a crochet fashion designer, and she presented a mini-fashion show featuring a few of her designs.

I was able to help three little girls (sisters) learn how to begin crocheting. By the end of the day, they all had long chains.

I hope there will be another conference.

The Looking Glass Curtains from the Spring 2010 issue of Interweave Crochet are made up of motifs that are joined to each other to form the curtain panels. After the panels are completed and the ends are woven in, they need to be blocked in order to give the curtains a crisp, finished look. In order to do this, wet blocking is recommend as follows:

• Submerge curtains in cool water until completely wet (you may wash and rinse if you desire). If you desire a stiffer fabric, you can add liquid starch to your final rinse according to manufacturer’s instructions.
• Drain water and roll wet curtains in a towel to absorb excess water.
• Weave blocking wires around outside edges on all sides.
• Stretch the curtain panels until taut and be sure to check the gauges of the two motifs to be certain you’ve obtained the correct size.
• Use pins to hold blocking wires securely to your blocking board.
• Use pins sporadically to hold any sections of the curtains that might want to pull out of place.
• Allow to dry, remove pins and remove wires.

The motifs I designed for the Looking Glass Curtains are pretty simple to execute, but it can sometimes be difficult to get the quintuple treble (aka sextuple) stitch nice and tight. The stitch can be too loose if the wraps aren’t compressed before pulling through the loops.

The quintuple treble stitch is done as follows:

Wrap yarn around hook six times, insert hook into stitch, yo, pull up lp, *yo, draw through 2 lps; rep from * x 5.

The key to keeping this stitch from growing is to wrap the yarn around the hook six times, push the wraps together tightly, and then push all the wraps forward on the hook toward the head. Hold the wraps snugly as you do the “yarn over, draw through 2 loops.” Don’t let the wraps spread apart. This should keep all the stitches uniform in size.

I received my copy of the Interweave Crochet Spring 2010 issue. This is a very nice issue. Lots of wearable garments for Spring.

A few items I would love to make if I can find time. One of them is the Devon Cardigan by Margaret Hubert. I think this would be cute with a little skirt. I’d like it to have some navy blue in it.

(c) Interweave Press

The other two items are the Kiki Dress by Annette Petavy and Bella Dress by April Garwood. I want to make both of these for my granddaughter.

(c) Interweave Press

(c) Interweave Press

Also in this issue are my Looking Glass Curtains. The curtains are made of one large motif and one small motif that contains two small mirrors enclosed in crochet cotton. To me, the curtains I made for Interweave Crochet look more antique, but these curtains are actually very adaptable to lots of different types of styles.

(c) Interweave Press

I think they would be beautiful done in a neutral, sandy color. Great for a beachy/cottage look. Also, dark red, burgundy, eggplant or even black for something more dramatic. Pastels would be pretty for a girls room, too.

I want to make a pair for myself, but I have to decide where I’m going to use them. It will be for curtains in my bedroom or either curtains for the windows or for french doors for my office/studio.

First for Women Magazine asked me what were my five favorite sites for free crochet patterns for their December 7, 2009 issue.

Here are my favs:

My Top Five (Ten) Free Crochet Pattern Websites

1.       Crochet Pattern Central
www.crochetpatterncentral.com
Crochet Pattern Central is an online directory of thousands of links to free crochet patterns of all levels.  In addition to the patterns, CPC has links to tutorials and stitch instructions.

2.       Berroco
www.berroco.com
Berroco is a yarn company that also offers free patterns featuring their yarns.  The patterns are stylish and contemporary, and they range in level from this cute Stanley doll, http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/stanley/stanley.html to this jazzy Aruna sweater, http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/aruna/aruna.html.

3.       Ravelry
www.ravelry.com
Ravelry is an online community for fiber lovers to keep track of patterns, yarn, tools, etc.  There are also messageboard forums, a newsletter, and groups.  Users can list their own designs to share or to sell.  There are several thousands of free patterns on Ravelry.  New ones are added everyday.  Visitors have to join to participate.  There is a small waiting period to join, but it is more than worth it.

4.       Lion Brand Yarn
www.lionbrand.com
Lion Brand Yarn has thousands of free crochet patterns for adults, babies, children, teens, pets and the home.  Visitors must register in order to view patterns.

5.       Crochetville
www.crochetville.com

The Crochetville messageboard community features a Free Original Patterns forum.  Members of the community share their original designs.  This is a great place to try new patterns, and there is the added benefit of being able to ask the actual designers your questions.

Honorable mentions:

Naturally Caron, http://www.naturallycaron.com
Interweave Crochet, http://www.interweavecrochet.com/projects.asp
Stargazer’s Crochet, http://home.inreach.com/marthac/links.html
Yarn Lover’s Room, http://www.knitting-crochet.com/crochet/antiquecrochet.html
Free Vintage Crochet, http://www.freevintagecrochet.com

Guess what? I won 3rd place in the Home Décor category. Here is the list of winners:
http://www.crochet.org/pdfs/2009CGOADesignContestWinners.pdf

My entry was called “VictoriAfricana Footstool.” I chose this name because the footstool combines a traditionally-styled stool and fringe with an African-inspired motif and color scheme. I also chose to name it VictoriAfricana because it made me think of Queen Victoria, the style of the Victorian period, and the stories about her alleged African ancestry through her grandmother Queen Charlotte. I think the two different types of elements cause a pleasant friction.

I was so happy when I heard I had won. Thank you to all the judges.

Don’t miss out. I bought some great books during this sale last year. I honestly couldn’t tell where they were damaged. They were in great condition.

Interweave’s Hurt Book Sale

Marcy Smith presents a behind-the-scenes look at the photo shoot for the Summer 2009 issue of Interweave Crochet magazine.

Hair, makeup, accessories and clothes! See how Marcy sets the mood and chooses the locations for each design.

Did you see my Mimosa Dress in next to last photo!