Start with the Super Simple Pillow, which is worked all in single crochet–and fast! Chunky yarn makes it really quick, so quick that I was tempted to work up a few for my own sofa. I think it would look great with some surface embroidery or applique, or you could make each side a different color (or one side striped, one plain) to give yourself options. This is a good way to practice counting  your stitches and maintaining an even count from row to row.

Next, work the Perfect Granny Scarf . Many people learn on a granny, because working into chain-spaces is easier than working into stitches–but I do think that knowing basic stitches first is helpful. Here I made the scarf all in one color for a modern look, but of course you can work with scraps, too. It’s a great way to start working in the round,  practice double crochet stitches, and learn to join and edge squares.

And lastly, my favorite– the Beginner’s Beret. This one will teach you to work in the round, increase, and practice your half double crochet stitches. In the interest of keeping it simple, there are no decreases in this pattern!  I really liked the style of this hat (which can also be worn more as a slouchy hat instead of a beret) and I may need to make one for myself. Of course, I can’t even think about needing a hat in the heat of a Texas summer, but thinking of Fall will get me through it. Again, you can check out all of these projects plus a load of cute 9 to 5 office wear and Halloween costumes in the Sept/Oct 2010 Crochet Today.

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Locals, I also wanted to mention that I added my August Classes to the Yarnivore Calendar. I’m most excited about the Baby Sweater (or Blanket) class on Monday nights. We’ll be working from my Layette pattern in Knit Simple, and I’ve even arranged to borrow the sample so y’all can see it up close. If you take on the sweater, you’ll learn how to wrangle yarn during colorwork, simple shaping, increases and ribbing, and how to seam garments. All of which can be applied to adult garments, of course. Call ahead to reserve a spot!  Also in August: Learn to Crochet, Crocheted Sun Hat, Broomstick Lace and Crochet Fix (the fix it and share group). And there’s still room in Intermediate Crochet in July (Saturdays, the 24th and 31st).

I’m off to a few relaxing days with my family this week, but I’ll be back soon with a giveaway!

The first mag was Inside Crochet, a UK crochet magazine that has a good mix of garments, home decor and other stuff to crochet (I like a good mix!). My design is the Summer Picnic Wrap, an airy wrap worked with join-as-you-go motifs. My inspiration for this motif started with a granny square, but I wanted to make it lacy and modern, so what I came up with is the very-simple-to-work  hybrid of geometry and lace. The sample is worked in a DK weight organic cotton yarn (a light one at that) but I also think this would be gorgeous in a worsted weight yarn with nice drape and tonal color variations, so I can’t wait to see if people make it. This is my first contribution to the mag and there are more on the way!

The second envelope I opened contained Knit Simple’s Fall 2010 issue. Y’all –I can say that, now that I’m back in Texas– this is a really great magazine. Although I admit they don’t have a ton of crochet designs–mine is the only one in this issue–the designs on these pages have a truly classic and simple style. I think I may even knit one of them! And I know their editor does try to include crochet designs, so the more we speak up the more we might see them.  My contribution was this layette set–pullover, hat, booties and blanket. I worked each piece with slightly different stripe widths, because I wanted them to go together without being overwhelmingly matchy. Handy tutorials on working bobbles, decreases, and changing colors seamlessly are included. I think any little boy–or girl–would look cute in this, and of course you can change the colors to your liking. I worked the sample  in Paton’s Grace (DK weight), so you can even size it up for older kids by using a worsted weight yarn and a larger hook, if you like. There’s a great article on the Lion Brand  Notebook about just how to do that, if you’re interested.

In other crochet news, I was on Mary Beth Temple’s Getting Loopy podcast last night. We talked about Crochet Adorned, how hot it is in New Jersey, and other fun stuff. Go have a listen, and during the podcast we’ll reavel the top secret information you need to know to enter to win a copy of the book  for yourself.

Also, I can’t remember if I mentioned it here, but I started a group on Ravelry for my designs called Happy Crocheting with Linda Permann,  so please join and introduce yourself. And for the last time, join Ravelry already!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend. I know my feet were happy to rest, but it’s back to the Yarnivore trenches tomorrow. First, to tackle the box of yarn the UPS man just brought me. Happy crocheting!

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?

You can’t tell from the photo (or maybe you can!) but I have a terrible head cold and drove through some damn scary torrential rains this morning to get to work. I need a nap! But look! Cardi! Pretty! Fun! And I was so excited to set up my first student today with the yarn for hers. She’s a librarian who hosts a monthly crochet group at her branch– shout out to Theresa!

I also crocheted my own Blooming Sun Hat (pattern in Crochet Today) in Knit One, Crochet Too’s TyDy cotton last night (being sick is the perfect time to follow something already plotted out for me) because I wanted to try the yarn out. It has long color repeats which are great for crochet (hint hint to yarn manufactureres!). It came out cute… will post a pic soon. I do love that hat.

Have a lovely weekend y’all. I’m totally back to saying y’all, 8 months into re-Texanizing myself.

Anyway, I have two contributions to this issue, which I think I crocheted at lightning speed. First is this adorable (if I do say so myself) Sunshine Baby Dress (ravelry link). Paul and I were calling it the “Yellow Rose of Texas” baby dress, because we had recently moved back to TX when I designed the dress, but I guess Texas pride might not translate nationally? Anyway, I was really happy with the way this worked up and I think it would be really lovely in  cotton yarn, too.

My second design is the Blooming Sun Hat (ravelry link). I love the surprise lace flower at the crown–can you tell that lace+ hat= Linda made? I love making hats! It’s also quite cute from the front, and blocks the sun while still allowing the  light to shine through, perfect for those romantic picnic-in-the-field dates we all go on in real life. Right?

I love to design hats because I’ve made so many of them, which means I have no fear about playing around with different elements to create new ones. In fact, I have about twenty hat designs in my head just waiting to get out, if only I can finish the already slated projects first. Anyway, this one is a fun and quick project to crochet, and one that I hope to  make again at some point.

The issue is chock full of goodness (I mean  holy cow, check out this Wedding Rings Blanket, Bridal Headband, Stripey Spring Cardi and Happy Day Mobile!!). I swear, some issues are so good that I want to buy two copies! Crochet Today May/June 2010 will be on newsstands April 6th.

Photo Credit: Rose Callahan

Long story short: This month’s seem is recycling/upcycling. I have a couple of sweaters that are just a little too tight for comfort anymore, and so I pitched the idea of turning one of them into a cardigan. When I got the go ahead to make the project, this well-loved sweater surfaced, and then I realized that all of the awesome buttons I’ve been hoarding went perfectly with it. Click over to Craft to see the tutorial, which will enlighten you on adding the crocheted button and button-hole bands to suitable readymade sweaters (FYI: Knowledge of basic crochet stitches is needed). Of course, you could totally use this technique to edge pillowcases or any other thing that needs a dash of crochet, and it’s also a great way to make hand me downs last longer since you can add the pretty edge anywhere- to lengthen shirts and pants, etc. You could even hold the yarn double when doing the set-up embroidery, if you were so inclined.

If you end up making something from this tutorial, I’d love to see it! Of course the minute after I made it the weather turned gorgeously springy (borderline summer, if you ask a Monatanan), but I’m sure I can still wear it in the air conditioning!

Here’s what I came up with– my first draft is the orange and turquoise version on the right (a combination I still love), the finished version is on the left, made with Valley Yarns Southwick from Webs. I really loved the yarn they sent– it was lovely to work with, affordable, and comes in many colors. I think there are a number of great worsted weight yarns you can try out for this pillow that will substitute quite well.

Here are the back sides of the pillow, which differ only slightly. My first pillow (left) has a striped back because I was working with scraps. While I toyed with striping the back of the pattern, I felt like the best “design” decision was to go with a solid color (my original decision was based on yarn amounts). But, since the pattern only uses a tiny bit of the colors which make up the center of the flower, you can definitely stripe the back of your pillow if you’d like to buy less yarn. Both times, I made the case removable by adding buttons on the back side–this way you can wash it if necessary–provided you choose a washable yarn, of course.

One thing I did to add some polish to the final pillow was cover the pillow form. The color of the pillow will show through, so I recommend that you either buy a solid colored throw pillow or sew up a simple cover for your form. To make one, just cut two 16.75″ squares from quilting cotton. Stack them with their wrong sides facing each other and pin them together. You will want to leave about 10″ open in the center of one side.  Sew around the square (leaving the opening as mentioned), turn it inside out, and press the square. Be sure to turn out the corners really well before you insert the pillow form. One thing I like to do is stuff my corners with a  little extra polyester fiberfill before inserting the form, to keep it really stuffed and structured. Insert the 16″ pillow form, then hand stitch the opening shut.

If you make this, I encourage you to take your completed front with you to the fabric store when you pick out the color you’d like to use for your pillow case. I used a bright green to make the colors pop, but I would have picked something totally different had I not taken my crocheted pillow with me.

I hope to see lots of these pillows made up–it really is a pretty easy project, an adds such fun color to any couch or chair.  Be sure to let me know if you make one!

Here is a photo of the original mat I made (ravelry link).  We used to live in a basement in Bozeman and the floors were COLD, so put this together in order to keep my feet warm in the bathroom. Keep in mind that I’ve washed it a few times and we’ve been stepping on it for over a year. It’s really held up quite well. The yarn (Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece) does have a small amount of wool mixed in, which makes the rug shrink up a little when  you wash it. I actually think that’s a good thing, it makes the rug nice and tight.

Here’s a photo I took of the finished mat before sending it off to Interweave. It’s larger than the original, and the colors are more subdued, but I actually got to use the same yarn I pitched. I love how it turned out.

The cool thing about both of the projects in this issue is that I designed them well before submitting them, so I had the opportunity to make each one twice. That means that I could incorporate all of the ideas I had while I was crocheting the prototypes into a better, second version of the pattern. The cold hard truth is, depending on the scale of the project, there often isn’t as much time for that kind of thing when you are designing something with a 2 or 3 week turnaround.

For the first version of the mat , I  joined all of the hexagons at the end with a slip stitch seam. It made a slightly raised seam, which I liked, but it was a little tricky to work around all of the corners. When I started crocheting the second version I realized that re-designing the motifs so that they could be joined as-you-go would make the pattern  much easier to complete, eliminate the corner weirdness, and leave fewer ends to weave in, so I changed the design. An  important part of designing for publication is being able to make things in an explainable way, so I also paid more attention to the color layout. The final version has nearly twice as m any motifs as the original, and 2 more colors in play, so I stuck to 14 color variations to make it all work together. I think using either the black or the white yarn in each motif helped the whole thing come together.

If you like to play with color or have a lot of scraps to incorporate– this is the project for you! As long as you repeat all of the colors throughout the mat, most color combinations will produce  beautiful results. Looking at this again makes me itch to make another one! I do have quite a stash of Brown Sheep yarns in my house!

I’ve been a bit behind in mentioning some of my published projects, and here are two I’d like to share with you. First up is the Candy Cloche (Ravelry Link)  in Interweave Crochet’s Winter 2009 Issue. This hat makes  use of a star stitch (or marguerite stitch) on the brim, and a few readers have emailed me who are a bit confused on how to make the stitch. Since there are several variations online, I’d like to point you to this free  Star Stitch Tutorial on about.com, which makes the stitch in the same way that I did for this pattern. And fear not,  in order to keep you (and me) from going nuts, there are only a few rows of star stitches at the brim of the hat and from there you can just spirals on up to the top. This design works really well in one-ply wool (that is, yarn that’s really smooth) as it will show off your handiwork Personally, I’d stay away from variegated yarns (at least for the brim) because they will likely hide your stitches, whereas lighter solid colors will really hilight the star stich. I actually really liked the yarn they sent for this one: Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky (and, it’s very affordable!). I wish I had a reason to wear a hat like this, but I don’t as it’s 66 degrees outside today (and I’m not complaining!!). The rest of the issue is full of some great, gorgeous projects including a special emphasis on Tunisian Crochet. Can you believe I’ve actually never tried Tunisian? It’s something I’ll definitely have to try one day–the garments in this issue are so pretty.

Next is a quick and easy Giant Granny Square Afghan (ravelry link)  in Knit Simple (which hits newsstands tomorrow). If you are someone who dabbles in both knitting and crochet, Knit Simple is a great magazine that provides a little bit of each. Yes, it’s more heavy on knitted patterns, but, the designs in both crafts are truly simple, meaning that you can make them without too many tears. This issue has a few different patterns made using granny squares, just to show the different looks you can get with them, so if you’re interested in a quick blanket, check it out. I crocheted this blanket with 17 skeins of Manos del Uraguay Wool in 5 shades of blue. I worked on this during the heat of the summer, which meant I got some quizzical looks, but I love the results. I also enjoyed dropping off the humongous box at Fedex, because it really didn’t weigh much for its size. What I did not enjoy was sending back the extra yarrn,  Manos dyes their yarn beautifully and I wanted to make my own blankie too (but, that was when we still lived in Montana. See above note re: 66 degrees in January!).

Now, I’ve had my work in many magazines but I don’t believe I’ve ever had my name on the cover– and this gave me quite a thrill. The editor of Living Crafts asked me to contribute a project a few months ago and I am so glad I made the time to squeeze it in, the entire process was so enjoyable–every magazine does things a little differently, but this was a true collaboration of ideas, which was fun. I designed another set of crocheted earrings (2 pair), and I have to admit that these are my favorites. I used Habu Textiles Stainless Steel yarn for these, which was awesome because it not only comes in lovely jeweled colors, but it has stainless steel mixed into the blend, which helps these earrings to keep their shape on their own. It’s also great because the yarn is teeeeeeny tiny! but if your hook happens to slip out as you are working, it holds the shape so you don’t lose your stitches as easily. (I’m knitting something with the leftover amounts, and it’s helpful for that, too!)

I also added some crystals to one of the pairs for extra sparkle and weight. I’m thrilled with how they came out and was actually pretty sad to send them away. I’m used to not keeping my projects, but I might make these again. They’re easy in terms of pattern, but they do require a bit of focus because, did I mention that the yarn is teeny tiny? Once you get the hang of them, though, you could easily make a dozen pairs to hand out as gifts.

The rest of the issue is packed with great projects for the holiday season, especially if you have young children in your family. There’s a great feature on ornament exchanges with several ornaments to make and give, and I love the sentiment behind the story–which shares the tradition of giving a set of ornaments to a new couple or baby. There are gorgeous holiday crowns, an extra special needle-felted advent calendar, a knitted child’s sweater and more.  What I love about this magazine is they don’t dumb it down– each craft is given space to breathe and they allow plenty of room  to explain each step. And– all kinds of fiber crafts are included- knitting, crochet, felting, sewing, embroidery and more.  I just get a warm feeling looking through the pages, the projects are truly heartfelt.

I’m giving away TWO copies of the mag to a couple of lucky blog readers. Leave me a comment with a few sentences about your favorite holiday traditions by Thursday, November 27th, 2009,  and I’ll draw names . If I don’t blog again before then, I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!