Early on I met with Ellen Gormley, aka GoCrochet. Ellen’s crochet designs are in all of the crochet magazines and she even has a top-secret book project coming up. Unfortunately she’d have to kill me if she told me what it was, so I have no further information for you. She writes a great blog about the day-to-day life of a crochet designer, which I like to read just to make sure I’m doing things in a halfway-normal fashion.  Ellen sent me this and the next photo because I took a grand total of about 10 pictures during the four days I was there.

In the Bijou Basin Ranch booth, we bumped into Kristin Omdahl, Marly Bird and Simona Merchant-Dest. You might know Kristin as the crochet expert on Knitting Daily TV, or maybe you’ve seen her books: Wrapped in Crochet
and the upcoming Crochet So Fine: Exquisite Designs with Fine Yarns (I’m very excited about this one!). Earlier I had introduced myself to her on the escalator and nearly caused her to slip (too much coffee/excitement for me) but then by the time we got around to the designer dinner we were laughing so hard that our cheeks hurt (thanks in part to the antics of Shannon Mullet-Bowlsby– ahem, Shannon, those pics got eaten by my camera which is probably best for us all!). I really enjoyed getting to meet Kristin.  Marly is the reason I finally went to TNNA- she hosts her own Podcast (called Yarn Thing) and she had me on the show recently and then encouraged me to go. She’s also the design director for Bijou Basin Ranch and the much-loved coordinator of a dinner for all of the knit and crochet designers (thank you Marly!). Last but not least, Simona creates both knit and crochet designs for several publications. I have admired her designs for their wearability for a long time–I felt a kismet with her right off the bat and later we got a chance to chat about the business & viability of being a designer. Writing this paragraph makes me miss these ladies already!

Here’s another fun photo of  Doris Chan teaching Ellen to crochet broomstick lac. If you look closely you’ll see she’s using a makeup tube instead of a broomstick–clever!  Wasn’t Ellen lucky to get a lesson from the master herself?  If you’re interested in unique lace-making techniques, you should definitely check out Doris’ new book, Crochet Lace Innovations.  These ladies were at the Stitch Coop Party along with lots of  other designers. There I had the chance  to talk to Teva Durham about our shared experience of “working backwards” –ie writing the book, then working at the yarn shop (instead of the other way around), I think she is pretty awesome. Not to go crazy with book suggestions, but have  you seen Teva’s crochet book, Loop-d-Loop Crochet? It was a breath of fresh air for me when it came out in 2007, and frankly, it still is!

Oh, and how could I forget Robyn Chachula? By far one of my favorite designers–she was signing advance copies of her new  book, Baby Blueprint Crochet, so I had to run over to see the samples and show her my Paige Cardigan (from her first book, Blueprint Crochet).  She told me that she had all of the back issues of Adorn magazine…awww, that makes me happy.

And just for the heck of it, here’s Bob-solda. Also known as Ysolda Teague wearing a Bob (ravelry’s doggie mascot) mask. Her colorful, whimsical designs are all the rage in knitting right now. She momentarily donned the mask for the Ravelry Ice Cream Social, and was very sweet in person. I wasn’t shy about introducing myself to anyone…and even though I’m sure many of them had  no idea who I was, they all feigned interest. Heh. Good thing I didn’t think too much, because looking back I think it’s pretty amazing that I got to meet so many people and blatantly promote my book–this post doesn’t even begin to cover the name-dropping that could occur! It really only covers the photos, so be thankful there’s such a small number of them.

Now for the last thing I was introduced to. No, it was not a designer. not even a person, but important nonetheless: Jeni’s Ice Cream. All that I’d read was true, she makes some super delicious unique ice creams. I think it’s safe to say that it was the the best ice cream I’ve ever eaten. Ever. Including Gelato. In Italy. Yum. I waited in line for about 2 hours to get my scoop at the Ice Cream Social and I would even call that worth it! I was talking to passionate yarnies the whole time, so really, how could I complain?

I’ll try to pop in again with some yarn and tool roundups soon. But first to catch up on sleeping and eating.

What is a yarn bowl,  you ask? It’s a bowl made especially for holding yarn. Most of them have a hole that you can thread the yarn through, so that if your yarn ball gets to rolling around, it can do so like a graceful ballerina in the bowl, instead of like a tasmanian yarn dust devil on your floor. Good bowls also have a hook shaped groove that you can thread the yarn through, so that should you want to leave the house with your project (but not the bowl)–or should you want to switch projects–you can easily remove the yarn. I have been wanting to own a yarn bowl for a while, but what can I say, I’m particular. Because I’ve made pottery and because I know so  many potters, I want what I want how I want it, and I’m willing to wait. But when I stumbled upon this yarn bowl, I knew that resistance was futile.


Look at the lovely wavy edge! And the gorgeous icy mint/turquoise glaze! And the cute white birdies at the top! I watched it for a week or so, trying to be good, but I couldn’t help myself. In person, it’s even better than I imagined. I’ve thrown some pots in my day, so I know what goes into a finely crafted specimen (personally, I’m not there yet!). The sides are thin and smooth (not clunky) and the smoothness of the cut yarn groove and hole are equal to anything mass-produced.  I also love the contrast of the hand-formed porcelain birds, which are not as polished as the rest of the bowl–they remind me that someone made this with their two hands. As a person who tries to make my living creatively, I feel it’s important to support other creative businesses, so there was no guilt with this purchase!

Once I received the bowl,  my Garden Path Shawl jumped right into it. The yarn that I am using,  Mountain Colors Winter Lace –made just a few hours away from where I once lived– got a little crazy while I was winding it, so I couldn’t pull it from the center. (One day I will write a book entitled “Zen and the Art of Yarn Winding”.) I know this bowl will be just the thing to tame it.

If you’re in the market for a yarn bowl, or even just some pretty pottery, I highly recommend Darielle’s Clay Art. I am not receiving any compensation to say so, just trying to help another creative person.  And now, I guess I have to get back to my writing!

She sent us strips of solids and asked for quarter log cabin blocks. I took the liberty (no pun intended) of adding a sliver of my liberty print to one of the blocks because it just looked so good in there. Hopefully she won’t mind. I forgot how peaceful sewing could be, if only I could get past the initial getting everything cleaned up and ready stage. That’s one thing I like about yarn– all I have to do to prepare is sit down. I can knit or crochet with a veritable rats nest of string and pillows and discarded laundry, mail and shopping bags around me. (I’ve tried this with sewing with some success…but I don’t recommend it).

Before I started the blocks I had to allow myself some more squishy fun time with the Blue Sky Alpacas cotton that was leftover from my blanket (yes, I finished. No, I haven’t washed it or blocked it). There are teensy amounts, so I figured I would knit a little baby hat. Right now I’m thinking it’ll be a long, striped stocking cap, but we’ll see how far the yarn gets me. There’s something about this yarn that makes me love to *knit* it– does that ever happen to you? Certain yarns lending themselves to certain crafts? I feel like that’s as good a reason as any to learn to do both crocheting and knitting.

I also started another sock yesterday. The same sock pattern from Crocheted Socks: 16 Fun-To-Stitch Patterns, this will be pair #4. We just got some yummy Malabrigo in at Yarnivore and I was asked to show off the crocheted sock (you wouldn’t believe how many people have said that they didn’t know you even COULD crochet socks!). I started this yesterday and I’m almost ready to start closing up the toe- how’s that for speed? Needless to say, the Malabrigo is super dreamy to work with and definitely one of my favorite sock yarns. It’s incredibly soft, and comes in such pretty colors. And you know, it’s kind of nice to work the same pattern several times. I hardly have to pay attention anymore, and I know where the tricky parts are and how to modify certain parts so that it fits me better. I probably don’t even need to make a second one since it’s a store sample, but I’m hoping that they will follow me home eventually.

I’m now one large stripe and a few rows of garter (plus millions of ends to weave) away from finishing this baby blanket. It kind of reminds me of a popsicle (hence the name) and I really, really enjoy knitting  this! The pattern has just the right balance  of thought required and zoning out time, which is exactly what I look for (and aim for when I design). I only made one silly mistake along the way–and it was because I was working on it at the shop. I should never ever do that! We’re busy enough that I’ll usually need to get up in the middle of the row, and that can lead to disaster when it comes to me and my knitting. Anyway, I got turned around and then got to chatting with a customer’s husband, who was well trained enough to recognize the look in my eyes and said, “Oh no, did I make you lose count?” Heh. Anyway, it’s all fixed up and no more knitting in the shop for me, yet. Crochet, I can handle putting down. Knitting– I need to be “in the zone.”

I have to say, I always felt like knitting was just so slow– but like anything, it takes practice. With this project I realized, hey, I could knit a sweater! I mean, the blanket is as big as a sweater, so, I might have to try that out sometime soon. Of course, working with worsted weight made this go much faster than I thought it would. I think I actually prefer patterns with a touch of complexity (just a touch!) to keep the knitting interesting– but I was grateful for the garter stitch rows in between– they served as a nice breather. That and the color changes made it fun to keep working, and I don’t even mind weaving in the extra ends. I predict that I’ll raid my stash for more worsted weight yarn to make another one of these at some point in the future.

I also seamed up the toes and wove the ends in on my socks. Why that took me a week to get to, I have no clue. But, here they are, ready to go. They double as dust-bunny corralling agents, which I think means that it’s time to clean the house. Sigh. Maybe after I finish that last wide stripe on the blanket…

The first thing I picked up to keep my hands busy was my own Blooming Sun Hat (my design,  in Crochet Today May/June 2010) worked in Knit One Crochet Too’s Ty Dy Cotton. I have been reading about the yarn on Ravelry,  and crocheters like it because it has long color repeats (important for the tall and yarn-eating crochet stitch). I finally found some of it close-to-locally when Paul took me on a Hill Country Yarn Crawl of my very own for my birthday last month, so I bought a ball to swatch with. The yardage is generous –another plus for crocheters!– so I figured I would be able to make the hat with enough to spare for swatching. Overall, I like how the coloring worked out, but I actually think that a stiffer cotton (such as the Red Heart Eco-Cotton I used for the magazine) was well suited for this hat, as it made the whole thing a bit more stiff. A cotton linen blend would be nice as well–it all depends what you are going for. I do love that the lighter weight of this yarn and I already wore the hat outside  to do some gardening this morning.

I’m also thisclose to finishing another pair of Easy Does It Crocheted Socks from the aptly named book, Crocheted Socks: 16 Fun-To-Stitch Patterns. I started these with my sock class that I taught at  Yarnivore using Stroll sock yarn from Knit Picks (leftover from a forthcoming design). Since I needed a sock to demonstrate on I figured I would go ahead and make the pair, I just made them short anklets since I had used part of the skein for the other project and knew I wouldn’t have enough to make a full cuff. I am proud to say that I guessed just right and ended up with just a few yards left of yarn– it feels so good to USE it UP sometimes, doesn’t it? I have so much stash leftover from book and mag projects and I really hate to let it languish, but I do start to get sick of a yarn if I already made the intended project, the scrap project, and still have more left! Heh! Anyway, the socks fit perfectly, I just need to sew up the toe. Unfortunately, in my opinion these socks are an example of what short color repeats look like in crochet—ugly. While I love the colors of this yarn, I don’t really like the way it pooled here, which happened because the repeats are too short (for this stitch pattern, in crochet). If you end up with a yarn like this, try alternating it with a solid to space out the pools–that’s what I did for the forthcoming project and I like it much better. But, hey, free socks to wear around the house!

The last thing in the works right now is actually on my knitting needles– I got them out last night and cast on for my Rippley Sweet BonBon Baby Blanket, a free pattern on Ravelry,  from Austin’s great yarn shop, Hill Country Weavers. One of my favorite students came in with the yarn and pattern for a couple of these and I helped her with them, and then when I was in their store this weekend I could no longer resist starting my own.  I had about 3 skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton left over from Tricia Royal’s Mod Cross Pillow in Crochet Adorned and they all matched well with one of multicolored Filatura Di Crosa Bon Bon skeins (the pom-pom yarn) in the store, so I went ahead and got it, along with the red cotton. I’m going to make my blanket stripey so I can work with what I have. This is another favorite way for me to use stash/leftover yarns–buy just a little of something new to make them fun again. And- knit with them instead of crocheting with them (or vice versa). The stitch pattern on this project  is relatively simple but I find that it helps to place a marker between each repeat so that if you get hung up somewhere it’s easy to follow the repeat and figure out which section is the problem. It’s very addictive to work this, too- in fact I’m trying to avoid it right now so I can actually get some things done today.

That’s what’s new over here– what’s on your hooks and needles?

I finally finished it this weekend. I wouldn’t call it hard, I wouldn’t call it easy. It’s simple stockinette, but between the  mohair and the ribbon and my extra wide version…. let’s just say there were a few dropped stitches here and there. (I fixed ‘em!).  I wrote up a freebie pattern with the specs for the shop, but you can try your hand at this one or this one if you’d like something similar.  There’s also some great info on the scribble lace technique in the amazing Mason-Dixon Knitting, a lovely book all around. What I love about this is it can easily be a scarf or a shawl, depending on how scrunched up it is.

I made mine 64″ long by 24″ wide. I’ve been wanting to make a version of this since I worked at the Bozeman Yarn Shop- it’s so satisfying to check it off my list. And I liked the mohair so much that I bought some more and worked up a crochet design. It’ll probably be months before you see it, but, I love it!

I finally settled on the Maine Morning Mitts (my ravelry project page) pattern in Clara Parkes’  The Knitter’s Book of Wool. The pattern is actually available as a freebie right here and there are almost 2000 mitts (well, 4000 if you count 2 mitts per project) made with it on Ravelry as it’s an excellent way to show off one skein of pretty yarn. Side note: I don’t (yet) own the book, but I’ve been flipping through it a lot at work, and not only is it full of wonderful tidbits on wool (useful to knitters and crocheters alike), but there are so many classic, wearable patterns inside. It’s definitely work checking out.

Anyway, I decided to use this pattern to show off some of the Mountain Colors‘  Twizzle mill ends I collected when I was working at the Bozeman Yarn Shop. [Note: the pattern calls for a worsted yarn and this one is a DK, but hey, it worked for me and I love the snug fit!]. If you haven’t seen Mountain Colors yarn….well. Their hand-dyed colorways are simply gorgeous. And since we lived only a couple of hours from their headquarters in Montana, Barb (the LYS owner) stopped by occasionally and picked up mill ends for the store. I was there when she had a fresh batch –I’m talking bags full of mill ends–and so I had fun combing through all of the baskets trying to buy enough yardage for an undetermined project. Mill ends are perfect for me, since I often find it way too hard to decide on one color, and also, have a hard time justifying yarn purchases when I don’t know what they are for. Essentially, mill ends are to yarn as fat quarters are to sewing (only it’s harder to find mill ends! Especially ones you can dig through shamelessly).  To make these mitts,  I think I used 4 mini-skeins of Twizzle, max. The mitts are “fraternal twins” because I used two different–but very similar–colorways in one of the mitts.

I took this picture of Mitt 1 on Wednesday. They’re both done now, save for a few scraggly ends to weave in. I love these quick little knit projects, they take just the right amount of time, I learn a little something with each one, and they’re small enough that I can actually complete them between other projects (and big enough that I can use them as an excuse to avoid all of the housework that needs to be done…). And just in case you think I have forgotten about crochet– I’m working on a cardigan made from motifs right now (from this Portugese pattern). Hopefully I’ll share some progress pics with you next week!

*****
And a  little reminder in case any San Antonians are reading… My Intermediate Crochet: Creating Texture class begins this Sunday, and there are still spaces available. I have lots of fun swatches and examples from my book to show you along with the techniques. Call Yarnivore to sign up.

Here are the three yarns they sent me:

Full O’ Sheep: 100% wool. This (and all of the yarns) comes in great colorways and is perfect for felting. To see some felted results, check out this post on Ellen Gormley’s blog. I like that it’s a single ply yarn that’s kind of lofty (it makes me think of  Brown Sheep Wool)–this is rare for most craft yarns. Single plys give great stitch definition.

Alpaca Love: 20% Alpaca, 80% Wool. Naturally, what you feel the most of in this yarn is the wool, but it’s great that C&C blended in that 20 percent of luxury, and you can see some of the longer alpaca fibers floating about.  Alpaca is three times warmer than wool, so this is a good yarn for those of you in colder parts of the country.

Bamboo Ewe: 55% bamboo, 45% wool. This one is noticeably softer than wool/alpaca blend, but still has a lot of wool in it, which is great for warmth and strength.

I decided to give the Bamboo Ewe a spin since I liked the color and the softness of it, and because San Antonio was at its coldest temps in 20 years and my studio has 4 big windows in it (brrrr).  I whipped up these fingerless mitts in an evening. The pattern is Hooked on Owls (here’s my project page), a 99 cent pattern on Ravelry–I ended up only using the owl cable part of the pattern, and recommend that you have some crochet experience if you want to tackle the rest of it as there a few glitchy areas. The yarn was soft and smooth, and fun to work with, but these will probably go into my gift pile because of my sensitivity to wool.

I love the button eyes. I searched through my stash to get that radiating effect.

I’m excited about (hopefully) being able to design with these yarns for future issues of Crochet Today. The yarn line also looks to have excellent pattern support for both knitters and crocheters- they sent me the cutest free pattern for a knit Cabled Chapeu, and a crocheted Taffy Pull Scarf. That’s the other thing I love about Coats, they have been such big supporters of crochet. I love that they are passionately commited to crochet!

If you’re interested in checking out the yarn, head over to Stitch Nation (and check out this cute video, too!). It should be available  in Joann’s stores in the near future.

The first thing I made was this red waffle-weave scarf for my dad. He requested a warm, red wool scarf–he lives in North Dakota, so you know he needs it. I’ve had the wool (Lana Grossa Bingo, if you’re interested) in my stash since my Adorn days. I actually made it into a baby blanket made up of circles for not-yet-born Tegue, but I didn’t like how it was coming together. So I went an unwound all. of. the. circles. This pattern eats yarn, and each circle’s worth of yarn only got me through a few rows of crocheting. So there was a lot of joining new strands and of weaving in to do– but I’m okay with that. I’m actually quite at peace with weaving in ends, it doesn’t frustrate me at all.  I just see it as another night, or car trip, of entertainment. And I’m not saying that to be smug either, I’m just saying, if you like colorwork projects….accept it. It’s part of the process. And it’s worth it. Plus, if you make a scarf like this, you’ll probably only have about 6 ends to weave in, not seventeen million. The pattern is just a basic stitch repeat, a free pattern from Lion Brand called the Thermal Scarf . I like it, it uses a lot of post stitches and it’s one of those projects you can do by feel when sitting in front of the TV. I’ve become increasingly fond of post stitches lately.

The other thing I recently made from my stash yarns is this beret-ish Foliage hat (it’s a free pattern on Knitty). I attempted this hat last year but got quite confused, and in looking at it again this year I realized that I was only confused because the written directions for the leaf lace were in front of the top of the hat instructions, and I didn’t see how they corresponded to the chart and… geez. I’m not sure how I left that stop me. If you can knit in the round, knit stitches together, pass stitches over knit stitches, and make yarn overs- you can make this hat! It takes some concentration (and there might have been some cussing and tears involved) but it is doable. This is the first draft, which I made for myself in Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton (left over from Tricia’s Mod Cross Pillow in Crochet Adorned).

Did I mention that I’m totally allergic (as in can’t breathe when I wear it?) to wool these days? I think it has to do with all of the other allergens in the Texas air clogging me up– in Montana Icould just b-r-e-a-t-h-e, so a tiny bother type allergy was not even noticeable. It’s quite sad and has made me really reconsider my yarn purchasing habits. I’ll miss you, wool!  But this cotton, and Misti Cotton, are about the only two cottons I’ve found that any where near as lofty and squishy as wool. I loved this color, and I followed the pattern for bulky yarn to make the hat. It came out too big (I switched to size 1 needles–ONES!–to knit the ribbing, as a fix), but I like it. I hate when hats pull on the bows of my glasses (this one doesn’t), and plus, “they” say berets are in fashion. I made a second draft of this hat in worsted weight, but it’s a gift so I’ll tell you about it later. If you’re new to lace knitting and want to give this a shot, I suggest you make the bulky version first. I really loved making it, and can totally see a 3rd version in my future.

But enought about me, what’s on your hooks and needles?

What I love about Kristin’s work  is that she’s not afraid to use color- and lots of it. Whereas other designers might shy away from the amount of yarn needed, or all the tails to weave in, Kristin goes for it. Of course, it probably helps that she was able to create her own yarn line with all sorts of great colors to mix and match. (Finding several colors that go together within one line of yarn is much harder than it sounds!)

She’s also not afraid to combine crafty techniques (swoon- a woman after my own heart)– and throughout the book, illustrates ways to combine surface embroidery with fairisle knitting to create stunning effects that even advanced beginners can achieve! Plus,  Kristin gives you information on how to be your own designer. The book comes with a glossary of colorwork stitch patterns, and each project gives you instructions on which designs you can pick and substitute easily in the project. She even goes so far as to do the math for you–ie, if you have 60 stitches in which to work, she’ll lay out the multiples you can use (2, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 20, etc), to correspond with the glossary of color charts that is  also set up by number of stitch repeats. Grand!!

I decided that I wanted to make a project from the book for my review, because as you may know, I’m not a terrific knitter. I like to knit, but I hardly have the time for it (and if I get too good at it, I might start to mix it in to crochet designs!). There were many doable projects in the book that didn’t seem like a huge time investment- such as mittens, hats, socks, and pillows. A lot of the items are for cold-weather wear (naturally), so I settled on something small and cute for instant gratification.

I picked a set of slippers from the Family Slippers, and I started with the infant size, figuring it would be good practice in case I decide to make the larger sizes. They booties are adorable, and all told, took me about 5 hours to knit (I made some silly mistakes- I’m still learning!). Since I happened to have some of her lovely Julia yarn on hand, I went ahead  and used it. As I’ve said, the colors and tones are just amazing, and the bit of  alpaca makes the yarn luxurious to work with . All of the designs in the book are made with Julia yarn, and when you think about it, that’s kind of great because once you get gauge, you can jump into all of the projects. Of course, any worsted weight yarn will do–and that combined with the colorwork aspect makes this an excellent book for stash-busting.

If you’d like to be entered to win a free copy of Color by Kristin, leave a comment here by Tuesday at 12 noon central time. Please throw out some ideas of cute beginner/advanced beginner knitting projects for me (as in, specific patterns you’ve worked and enjoyed) in your comments, or tell me how long you’ve been knitting and what got you started. Good luck!