Y’all, I absolutely love this design. It’s worked from the center out in two identical pieces, and you are always (or almost always) looking at the right side of the bag, so you can let the raised design lead you through all of the post stitch madness. I finished it with the most perfect bird fabric lining (which hopefully you’ll be able to see if you purchase the e-book) and leather handles. I was really kind of sad when it got cut from the winter magazine due to space constrictions, but it will be interesting to see how this e-book does. I haven’t seen it myself, yet, but I’m told it has full diagrams which will make this a breeze to work! Crochet cables are so much fun to me, and I especially love working them in the round, so I was glad to have the opportunity to use the technique on something other than a hat. (I love my Petal Beret, but I think the lace weight yarn has kept more people from making it).

In addition to my Thundersnow Bag, the E-book contains three other projects: Wintergreen Cowl (made in Bruges Lace) by Ellen Gormley, Snowflake Beret by Doris Chan, and Crystalline Earrings by Natasha Robarge. You can read more about it here (hint: click the Table of Contents tab), be sure to check it out!

Photo by Tracy Harris for KnitCircus.

And while I have you here, I’ve also just released a PDF of my Cherry Cordial Scarf, originally published in KnitCircus Gifts. You can read more about it in my first blog post–it’s just a fun, fast, squishy scarf that adds a lot of texture to your look. It’s lovely worked in the Akpana yarn, which is quite lofty, but any worsted weight yarn will do (check out these projects on Ravelry). The pattern is $5 on Ravelry, and also on Craftsy, where I am now selling crochet patterns as well! More to be added soon. And for those of you who have emailed me about PDFs of designs I had published in Inside Crochet, don’t worry, they’re coming as fast as I can re-edit and re-format them.

Hope you have a nice weekend full of stitching, and that maybe it actually feels wintery where you are!

I stopped by the Knit Picks booth to say hi to my friend Stacey, and my new friends Alisha and Jenny (above). I gave them an impromptu lesson on joining crochet in the round, which as you can see was very interesting. Punny aside: When I saw Jenny’s circle, after praising it, I said “I hate to be a knitpicker, but you could change the way you join these rounds.” She said, “Well, you are in the Knit Picks booth!” so it went over okay. I’m excited to see these ladies crocheting!

I spent a good deal of the weekend hanging with some of my favorite people, Simona Merchant-Dest, Marly Bird, Faina Goberstein and Robyn Chachula. I swear, I’m not sure that I really even saw all of the yarn because I was too busy running my mouth. I basically feel like I am on fire (in a good way) at trade shows because it’s only once every six months that I get to talk to people who do what I do.  I also finally got to meet my tech editor (KJ Hay) in person this show–finally, after working on two books together!

See, most of the time was spent laughing (with Marly and Robyn).

Now I just need to process and figure out what to do with all of the new ideas/opportunities the show brought. I have lots of ideas for the coming year and can’t wait to sort them all out.

Just wanted to thank you for such a wonderful treasure in the book, Little Crochet. I finished the owl pillow this summer and he lives in my grade three classroom….Mr. Owl. He sits on the stool at the front of the room until a student happens to have a deskmate absent…in third grade we call deskmates elbow partners . If you don’t have an elbow partner, you may borrow Mr. Owl. He sits nicely in the absent deskmate’s seat, comes to the carpet at opening exercises, becomes your reading partner…he even made a trip to the library! Needless to say the kids love it. Thanks for helping me make some special memories with my class:-)– Mrs. R.

It’s these kinds of emails and stories that make me love what I do–it makes me smile to know that I play that small part in helping people create wonderful things. Thanks to Mrs. R for sharing her story with me– her third graders are lucky to have her as their teacher, don’t you think?

If you’d like to make your own Mr. Owl, you can find the pattern for the Soft Owl Pillow in Little Crochet or individually here: Soft Owl Pillow E-Pattern.  Let me know if you make one, I love to see my designs “in the wild!”

Speaking of wild, I’m off to the National NeedleArts Association trade show in Phoenix this weekend, so all will be quiet on the blog front. Sorry for the lack of regular posting, but I’ve been busy cooking up new patterns for you!

I took some new pictures of my sister Mary modeling it this weekend. She’s wearing it with bike shorts but of course it would be really lovely with a colorful slip underneath. There’s a bit of lace detailing at the hem and an almost hidden contrast color edging. By changing stitch heights, you’ll create a gentle flared shape as you go, without really having to think too  much about the stitching. Tammy generously made most of this sample for me, I just did the finishing. After that we joked about hey, she’s my boss (at the yarn shop) and what the heck happened? She is a great crocheter even though knitting is her true love.

$3.50 thru Jan 31, 2012

The Lace Skirt takes about 860-1100 yards of DK weight yarn, depending on your size, and is written from XS (26″ waist) to XXL (39″) waist. If you don’t actually want to measure your waist, just keep crocheting till it fits comfortably around you. I won’t judge! I used Rowan’s wool/cotton- the blend is nice because wool is a bit lighter and has more m memory than cotton, so it won’t overstretch, but the cotton makes it nice for Spring. Through January, the pattern PDF is on sale for only $3.50, after which it will be $5, so get it while it’s hot!

I spent a long Sunday (off!) making these crochet-covered tape measures, and I absolutely love them. I may write up a pattern for these later, but the basic idea is to crochet 2 circles that are roughly the size of your measuring tape and whip stitch them together over the tape, leaving about 3 stitches un-sewn where the tape spits out. Then, crochet a flower and sew it to the cover along with a button. Actually, if you’re smart, you’ll embellish the cover BEFORE you sew it to the tape, ask me how I know! No matter, it’s just a  bit more fussy but totally doable. I also made tiny leaves to sew to the end of the measuring tape for extra  cutenes, and to prevent the end from ever sliding under the cover. I was totally inspired by the adorable measuring tapes from Lantern Moon, but by making them myself using yarn and buttons I already had kept the costs very low. I used Amy Butler’s Belle Organic DK for the yarn, in case you’re wondering. It’s a great wool cotton blend, and of course I like the colors.

I also flexed my beading muscle (long languishing, that one!) by making stitch markers using flexible stringing wire from Beadalon. Fold the strand in half over a knitting needle (I used size 10.5) to size the loop and slide on a crimp bead. Crimp the bead to secure the loop, then add some light weight beads and another crimp bead. Trim the tails and voila! Simple, but time consuming. A perfect project for sitting in front of the TV, I think.  I love these markers for knitting (and had the foresight to make some for moi!) because they won’t snag. As lovely as many stitch markers are, I worry about them snagging my work, and I don’t think these will. It was much fun to put colors together that I might even whip up a few sets for the store…right after I write the tape measure pattern, finish the deadlines swirling around in my head, relax for the holidays and take the dog for a walk.

I think the coolest thing about our swap is that without saying anything to each other about it, many of us decided to make our gifts this year. I got a beautiful tatted bracelet from Wendy and a hand woven spa cloth and handmade soap from Debbi. I love that we all used our special skills–it is SO rare that I get a handmade gift, and I neither tat nor weave (though I hope to one day!), so it was extra cool to get gifts made using those techniques. Thanks ladies!

One thing I can show you is another wreath. This one is a small 10-incher. Me and Tammy (my LYS owner) went hurriedly from store to store to try to find enough wreath forms for my class but I guess there was a run on them! So I ended up with a 10″ wreath, and my students got their pick of 10, 12, and 14″.  I used some blues and purples for this one, along with some pretty ribbon that I’ve been hoarding for a while.  I am  not as in love with this wreath, mainly because I brought a different yarn than I’d planned on using to cover the wreath. Whoops! Still cute, though, and I think it’s out of my system for now.

I’m also making some small little gifties for a special group of ladies, and I’m quite pleased with how they came out. Freddie helped by keeping the yarn warm. I kind of wish I’d made a fifth thing-which-shall-not-be-named for myself, but oh well. I know I can make one any time but chances are slim that I’ll do it now that I’ve mass produced the set for gifts.

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In other news, I wanted to mention that a select few of the twenty-four patterns in Little Crochet are now available as individual e-patterns! Perfect for those of you who only wanted to make one pattern in the book, you can now purchase a select few patterns on Amazon,  Barnes and Noble, or wherever E-books are sold. The following patterns are available*: Soft Owl Pillow, , Hooded Capelet, Sunshine Blanket, Sweet Daisy Sundress, and Stripe the Giraffe. Enjoy!

*These are affiliate Amazon.com links. There’s no easy way to see the whole group, so I thought I’d list them.

And, I’ve chosen the winner of the Softies book. Go to that post to see! There were a LOT of great tips in the comments, so if you like to make amigurimi, be sure to read through them. Thanks to everyone who commented!

Today I’m reviewing a new book from Stacey Trock called Crocheted Softies. The book is full of 18 different amigurimi animals from around the world, everything from snails and reindeer to pandas and alligators–perfect for the kids in your life.

One thing I really like about the book is the way Stacey breaks out with a basic pattern that applies to many of the softies in the book. After all, heads, arms and legs are similar from one animal to the next, and she doesn’t waste space telling you the same instructions over and over again. This means there’s lots of room for generously sized photos and gives you a leg up in case you ever want to design your own softie. I also found the how to information super helpful in this book, Stacey takes the time to explain some of the finer details of working in the round, which you might find helpful, no matter what your skill level.

Another cool feature is that most of the animals take about a ball of the main color and then bits and pieces for things like eyes, ears, stripes, etc. She uses eco-friendly yarns throughout, and small projects are an inexpensive way to try out these blends. I’ll admit I never thought of using my Blue Sky Alpacas worsted cotton stash to make an animal, but now that I see that cute giraffe, I could easily be swayed. Check out all of the cute designs in Crocheted Softies right here on Ravelry.

Stacey sent me a copy of the book to give away to a Lindamade reader. Just answer the question below by Thursday, Dec 15th at midnight CST. I’ll come back and update this post with the winning info (and email the winner, too, who will have 3 days to claim their prize).

Have you ever crocheted an amigurimi or stuffed animal before? Got any tips for ami-makers?

First, I wanted to share this FREE pattern of mine: the Pill(ow) Popper, courtesy of Caron. The pillow is made with a few skeins of Vickie Howell’s Sheep(ish) and it was pure fun to design it. Vickie requested wanted a retro modern pillow and the yarn is so smooth and has such strong stitch definition that I knew I wanted to do bobbles. I also knew I wanted to start in the middle, for two reasons. One, I like to avoid foundation chains as much as the next hooker. Two, I know *a lot* of crocheters don’t swatch (tsk tsk!!) and this way it’s easier to stop when you achieve the desired size for your pillow–this one is sized for a 16 incher. I started with the whole thing being bobbled but quickly realized I would run out of yarn, so I futzed with it and came up with this rendition, which I absolutely love. I like that the bobbles create these diagonal lines that are punctuated by the tuft of the grey crocheted button. Make this one, it’s fun and inexpensive and fun and fun. And if you like bobbles as much as I do, be sure to check out my Artichoke Hat and Cherry Cordial Scarf pattern PDFs.

In other orange news, I may have started something over at Yarnivore. I think my coworker (and knitter extraordinaire) Wendy has gone over the crochet edge making birdies using my Bird Mobile pattern from Little Crochet (see more info on how in this post). She showed me all of her birdies at work today, there are at least 20 of them and they look GREAT! She said she got about 11 of them from one skein of Noro Silk Garden sock, including tassels and winding off bits of less desirable colors. I would stage an intervention soon except that I’m thrilled that my evil plan is working and have no problem with her hooking away. Plus, she still does plenty of the knitting. Be sure to check out a few of her sock patterns on Ravelry (I’m told there are more to come!).

And for my last update on the orange theme, I’ve been trying to gain speed on this can’t-tell-you-about-it-just-yet tang orange project (made with the wonderful Cascade Pure Pima, delish!) but every time I get going this happens.

In case you’re wondering, this is closer to the true color of the yarn.

Side snorgler view. It’s a good thing he’s cute, but dang, I feel like my productivity is definitely suffering. Oh well. It’s hard to say no to him.

What color is on your radar right now?

Here comes Santa Paws.  I basically crocheted a doggie-size cowl with a cape that buttons around his belly. So, there’s virtually no sweater on the bottom (less dirt, and more belly-rub access) and he can keep his arms warm by placing them against his body.

He just ran outside in it, totally proud and unaware that all of the other dogs are probably making fun of him (and me)!

The first project I have to tell you about is in a book by Tanis Gray,  called Knit Local: Celebrating America’s Homegrown Yarns. It’s a charming book, full of mostly knitting (and 2 crochet!) patterns, all inspired by American-made yarns. The best part about this book, if you ask me, is reading all of the stories about the history of over thirty yarn companies. In my opinion, many of the people working in the yarn industry, myself included,  do it  for love–and I love to read about the whys and hows, plus see pretty pictures of cute sheep, alpaca, goats and more.  The patterns are wonderful too, ranging from pillows and shrugs to cowls, vests and gloves. Many of them only take a few skeins of yarn, which is great because it makes supporting local yarn companies doable, even if you are on a budget.

My project is the Wildflowers scarf, a very simple lace pattern that utilizes increases and decreases to make the pointy petal shapes. At the time, I was interested in experimenting with them, because most crochet patterns tend to use chains and skipped stitches–for instance, filet crochet. I also wanted to do something in jut one skein of the luxurious–and boy howdy is it luxurious–yarn, Buffalo Gold Lux. The finished scarf measures about 5″ wide by 74″ long, but if I had it to do again I’d probably start with a shorter foundation chain and make a shorter, wider ascot-style scarf. It was really a treat to work with such a high quality fiber (a blend of bison, cashmere, silk, and tencel) and I’m honored that Tanis asked me to contribute to the book. Even if you don’t knit, Knit Local is worth checking out just for the sheer volume of information about American yarn companies. That is, assuming you are a dork like me.

Full Disclosure: Book links are Amazon affiliate links, and I have a project in this book, so they sent me a free copy of it. Also, I used to eat lunch with Tanis at least a few days a week for a couple of years, so, I might be biased.