I’ve known Diane Gilleland, aka Sister Diane of CraftyPod, for so long that I can’t quite remember how we ever found each other in this vast world of the internets. I have the suspicion it had something to do with her producing a podcast and me being the Craft Editor for Adorn. The link to the audio for that podcast is broken, and part of me is okay with it. It seems like such a long time ago! I remember how giddy and excited I was to talk to Diane, who was and is as enthusiastic about crafts as I am.

Here are Susan, Diane, Lee and me in Portland–I went there in ‘09 to sign copies of Crochet Adorned.

Since that podcast, both of us have worked together in different ways over the years, on blogs, e-books, etc. She also contributed some lovely Vintage Kitchen Trivets to my first book.  Diane is the author her own photo tutorial intensive book, Kanzashi in Bloom, which is a really accessible craft for anyone, even if you are not a master sewer. She also writes a lot of great posts about the online craft community, social media, trying to make it in the crafty biz world, and, well, plastic canvas. She has a bit of a thing for vintage crafts.

I always love to read what Diane has to say as her posts are always well thought out and meaningfull. Head on over to see what she has in store for you today.

Carrie made these bottle covers using her brilliant mind + some stitch patterns from Crochet Adorned.

In addition to being a crafter, mama, and maker of a creative first journal for kids, Carrie’s also an inspiring athlete who runs and bikes, sometimes while pregnant! I knew I wanted to include Carrie on my blog tour because she recently had a baby boy, so I thought some of the projects in Little Crochet might be perfect for her.  I made a special effort to include a lot of boy and unisex patterns in my book, after trying (+ failing!) to find cool patterns to make for my nephew. Carrie was happy to give one of the patterns a test run, and is sharing the results with you on her blog today. Head on over to see what she made!

I’m not sure how it was that I first came across her blog, but I think I found it after stumbling on her cute knitting/baby books. Susan has written three of them–Itty-Bitty Hats, Itty-Bitty Nursery, and Itty-Bitty Toys. She recently added a knit and read book to the collection, Spud and Chloe at the Farm. As I started reading her blog, my interest was piqued because she’d add touches of crochet here and there, to her knit projects. That might not seem like a big deal, but I help people with their knitting and crochet projects at the shop all of the time, and for reasons beyond my understanding,  many are wary of mixing the two.

Susan’s blog is one of my favorite daily reads, she has a playful sense of color and keeps her projects on the  relaxing and fun side.  Plus,  the amount of personal knitting she cranks out is inspiring! I’m honored to have her as the first stop on the Little Crochet Blog Book Tour. Head on over to  her  blog for a thoughtful review, plus Susan’s favorites from the book,–oh, and a giveaway!

To celebrate, I’ve arranged a Blog Book Tour! Several crafty ladies will be posting interviews, reviews, projects and, giveaways! Here’s the lineup so far. I’ll also update the blog with links to each post as they go up so that you’ll have lots of chances to see more of the book and maybe even win a copy.

The Schedule:

August 11: Bits and Bobbins: Tricia Royal (who contributed a project to the book!) will kick things off with a review & giveaway

August 12: CraftyPod: Diane Gilleland (my other great contributor) will review the book and host a giveaway

August 13:  Craft: Natalie Zee Drieu will post an interview with yours truly, along with a review and giveaway

August 14:  West Coast Crafty: Susan Beal (who is so nicely hosting me in Portland for two signings!) will post about my book events and more

August 17: Futuregirl: Alice Merlino will give us a sneak peek inside the book and host a giveaway

August 18: Craftstylish: Nicole Smith (of Sew Stylish magazine) will post a review and giveaway

August 19: Naughty Secretary Club:  I’ll do a guest post on Jennifer Perkins’ blog discussing how to fix/revamp your garments with crochet (and I’ll show you some of the things I made for myself that inspired the book), plus a giveaway

August 20: Love Forever: Kayte Terry and I will show off some our favorite crocheted fashion inspiration

August 21 -House on Hill Road: Erin Harris will show off a project from the book along with a Q&A and giveaway

August 24 Crochet Today: I’m guest posting a tutorial detailing how to sew crocheted flowers to your clothing

August 25 WhipUp: Kathreen Ricketson posts her review and a giveaway

August 26- Craft Sanity: Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood posts a review and giveaway

August 27- Vickie Howell: will post an interview with me and a giveaway

I’ll be back tomorrow to announce my “Real Life” Blog Book tour, with events in Portland, OR and Bozeman, MT. Stay tuned!

Anyway, in the midst of all of this planning and scheming and another big work project, I keep thinking about this unfinished project:

At this point the ends are woven in. The squares are blocked. And it’s my “I’ll play with you when I have time again” project. The colors are a little bit wacky, but nice, I think, when it comes to working with what you’ve got. And actually, a lot of these colors are leftovers from the book. See, I’m a scrap worker at heart. I like to use lots of colors. So this time I almost worked in reverse, ordering 9 balls of yarn for one trim and then making a blanket with the “leftovers.” The prototype for the project these “scraps” came from was originally worked in scraps, but you can’t really do that when you’re writing a book. I’m hoping all of you already have lots of leftovers with which to work, but if not, you can always use another baby blanket, right? Right.

Just to let you know what’s on the schedule, tomorrow I’ll post details of my Blog Book Tour. And then Thursday, details of my book signings (I’ll be in Portland next week!).  And then eventually, I might even post about other crafts again, wait and see.

My two favorite projects have to be the crocheted crafts. First there was a simple striped tawashi:

I see more of these in my future. They’re quick, fun, and a great way to use up scraps.  I’m going to add a hanging loop to any further renditions  (just chain 10 at the end and sew the loop in place) so that I’ll have an easier time making sure they dry. I like the idea of filling my drawers with these– I use them in conjunctions with rags to almost eliminate paper towels. I admit, I still use paper towels for occasional things (mainly blotting bacon grease and pizza) but remember: any step you take, no matter how small, helps.

I also whipped up this swiffer sock, which was born out of my need to not pay for swiffer covers. And my need to actual sweep the house once in a while. It works remarkably well and holds up to the washer and dryer. This is the project for your stash acrylics, friends! I happen to think both this and the tawashi would make great little gifts.

In addition, I sewed some simple produce bags,  a recycled baby bib (from jeans and corduroy pants) and a clothespin bag made from old jeans (this would also work well to store the plastic grocery bags that do make their way into your home). Check them out, and remember, do whatever you can to celebrate Earth Month all year! There are tons of awesome projects by everyone on the site.

Check out these cute flip flops I designed with a complete tutorial over at Craft Stylish. They are really easy to make-you only have to know how to single crochet (and even if you don’t, I’m sure you can figure it out). I get a simple joy out of wearing them around, and the silk yarn is so much nicer on my feet than the yucky plastic. My only suggestion is to steer clear of super cheap flip flops– I got these at Michael’s and if I wear them outside I feel like I’m walking on sponge. Splurge and spend $2.50 at Old Navy.

Also, thank you to everyone who wandered over from Sew Mama Sew and commented on my shirt. I’m actually working on the 2nd version of the shirt now (with much cheaper fabric!). And for those of you who inquired about  *that* fabric, I found it still available in a pink colorway at Superbuzzy, but I haven’t seen the particular one I used in my usual online shops. No worries,  there are plenty of pretty Nani Iro prints around.

Other than that I don’t have much to say this week– honestly, I think I’m suffering from summer doldrums. Sigh. If I don’t pop up again before the weekend, have a great holiday weekend.

As a present to you, dear readers, I’m giving away one Crocheted Hat gift certificate and one Button Necklace gift certificate to my etsy shop. The winner can pick anything  they like  from the current stock–there’s still a bunch of cute stuff in there. Just leave a comment on this post by Friday at Midnight mountain time (that’s 2 am NY time) and I’ll randomly generate the winners! Yay! If you like, you can say which thing you’d prefer, in case it randomly works out that you can have your cake (hat) and eat it too.

Also- I finally joined Ravelry. I’m still finding my way around and haven’t uploaded many projects, but I’m over there as Lindamade, so feel free to add me.

And, for photo goodness, here’s my finished wonky recycled bathmat. I love it! (Full photo here for scale.)

I lied, I’m back already, to give you some exciting news that’s been in the works for weeks. I’m now also posting on the ReproDepot blog to give you lots of fun fabric-related inspiration. I first met Djerba, the store’s owner, at Renegade Craft Fair a few summers ago, but I’ve loved her store for years. Can you believe it’s been open 8 years already?! It’s full of fun fabrics and lots, lots more- I hadn’t full realized till I did a lengthy browse, but she’s now stocking all sorts of patterns, kits, books and notions, too!

I put my first post up today– go check it out!

lindamade.etsy.com

I added several hats to my etsy shop today- some older ones are on sale, and then there are a whole bunch of new ones that I’ve been spending my time on. I’m especially fond of the birthday cake hats (above right)–they’re so fun to make because of all the bobbles and colors.

In other news, check out Diane Gilleand’s latest podcast on the topic of Craft Overload. She interviews several busy crafters (including myself) with some suggestions as to how to prevent craft overload in the first place. Personally, thinking about all of the projects I want to do plus the projects I want to pursue is making me a little dizzy right now. Head over and listen- Diane does a great job editing the shows and I am waiting for the day she’s on NPR.