I also found out that Rowan has put out their first ever Crochet-only booklet. This is exciting! It’s frustrating to buy “knit and crochet” magazines for only one  or two crochet designs (although I would do it, if I was sure I wanted to make it) and it’s so nice that they have put out an entire collection of classic, wearable crochet. You can bet I’ll be poking my LYS owner to order this one– if you crochet, and want to see more of these kinds of things, I encourage you to “vote” with your dollars. Thanks to Rebecca at A Slice of Life for the heads up on this one!

Ooh, and, thanks to the Crochet Today blog, I noticed Secret Pocket is hosting a giveaway of her lovely magnets made from doilies and lace. Very cute- head over and enter to win a set.

And, just by chance a customer mentioned Haruni,  a beautiful (free!) knit shawl pattern that gets a little help from the crochet hook during the cast off to create the looped edge. Gorgeous! One day I will knit that well and casting off with crochet will be a breeze. But if one of you wants to knit the knitted part and then let me do the crochet part, I think that’d be a fair trade (not). I added to my favorites, hopefully to be moved to my queue one day.

In the meantime, I keep crocheting away. As promised, here is a little peek at the crochet cardigan (ravelry link) I am making myself. I am mostly done with the fronts and back, and now need to add the edging and sleeves (if I can decide what I want there), then weave in the remaining ends. It has been fun to work this one. I’m not sure how much wear I will get out of it but I love the color and I hope the end result is flattering. The big motifs are making me wonder, though.

So, what kind of crochet love have you seen around the net lately?

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By the way– thank you to everyone who has purchased my Cables and Lace Scarf Pattern. There are still a few days for you to get it at the sale price of $2! Just so you know, I love nothing more than to see completed projects from my  patterns, so if you do make it, please add your completed versions to Ravelry or email me a photo. I also wanted to remind you that 50 percent of proceeds from all of the rest of my patterns (or things in my etsy) will be donated to Doctors without Borders through February 15th.  I even (finally!) added a pattern page to my website with more descriptions of each pattern, in case you aren’t on Ravelry.

First are Chawne’s blocks from January. The task she gave us was seemingly simple- sew two checkerboard blocks from 36 squares each. I found it to be incredibly challenging to get my corners to meet, despite measuring, cutting with a fresh blade, pinning,  lining up my seams, using the seam guide and pressing. The corners…do not meet. I hope she can live with the wonkiness — I like it (prefer it even), but, I feel like I failed at these. It just isn’t in my blood to get things to match up perfectly, especially not 36 times each on 2 blocks. Sigh. I could probably use a course in “proper” quilting.  I sent these out yesterday, not too terribly past the deadline.

Next are November’s  Neighborhood blocks for Megan, which I sent out in December (late). These were fun to do and played to my improvisational quilting sensibilities. She sent us lots of different scraps to choose from, and requested teeny tiny houses (that part was the challenge– to do something interesting within a 3″ ish space). I wish I had had more time to do more blocks, but I was in the midst of a big deadline. At least I got a gnome in there!

And finally, here are October’s Sampler blocks for Melanie, who was kind enough to trade months with me. I didn’t realize October  was originally my month and we had just barely arrived in San Antonio. Actually, I kind of still feel like I’ve just arrived and it is four months later! Melanie said to do whatever we wanted, so I came up with these designs. These colors were a challenge to me, I really wanted to add a little something from my stash at first (the easy solution) but in the end I think these solutions work. I’m curious to see how this quilt comes together since everyone’s blocks are different.

Februrary is my month and shamefully, I nearly forgot again until I realized no one else was posting about it being their month. I’ve had a color scheme in mind for a while now so I gathered up everything from my stash and only went to purchase a few grey solids to fill in the blanks–yay for not going overboard with fabric buying.  I sent the fabric out yesterday along with some Bauhaust textile inspired guidelines–I’m excited to see what comes back!

It was fun to work with the blues and greens, since I don’t really have a lot of those colors in my stash (in prints, anyway). I added a few more tones of blue and green to these blocks just because I felt like they needed them– I think it worked out well. I really love making log cabin blocks and I like getting these little envelopes of fabric in the mail from my fellow quilters– it’s just fun to play with someone else’s color schemes.

I had hoped to get some more sewing done this weekend  but I just can’t seem to sit and focus long enough to really get started. Sigh. I hate to say it, but I think I like to crochet because I can flop on the couch and watch TV while I do it. And it’s not even good tv, but it keeps me occupied. Maybe one of these days I’ll get a TV in the craft room, but that could be dangerous.

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p.s. I’ll be back later today or tomorrow with the winner of the stickers!

This Friday my old purse died on the way to my door- the zipper got jammed and everything was stuck inside (luckily Paul was home, so I did not get locked out).  So of course my weekend goal became making a new, simple purse. Believe it or not,  it is actually easier for me to make a purse than to find one I like (and can afford) in stores, so there you go.

Here she is. The purse is about 10″ x 10″ since I like to travel light. Everything I used came from my stash, and Valerie, you might recognize some of your scraps mixed in here. I decided that I wanted a neutral ground with strips of bright color, and I didn’t use a zipper this time because I couldn’t really find one I liked. The “sport/jacket” zippers are too big but garment zippers have really tiny teeth that don’t do so well either (see above). Since I really don’t travel too far or carry very much (and because I was feeling lazy), I decided to close it up with a little snap at the top.

It’s funny, but sewing is definitely a different animal for me. It’s more about the outcome (ie. a dress, a purse, a shirt) than the process, where with crochet and knitting I enjoy the process a bit more. Actually, I really enjoy the process with patchwork and quilting, too, but when I’m constructing something I get hung up on silly mistakes that I don’t want to rip out. I’m not saying that it’s bad or good, just different.

And those tiny needles just killed my hands. I persisted for a while after this photo but then i tried on the sock, and it happened to be too big anyway. So I ripped it out. I really love the way knit socks look but after the great tendonitis fiasco of 2006, I know it’s just not worth it (I need my hands!!). I then tried a crocheted sock and several swatches for a crochet or knit hat, and I’m not really loving any of them. The yarn wants to be knitted, because of the way the colors are dyed (the sections are pretty short for crochet stitches), but it also wants to be not socks, because of my hands. I’ll come up with something…. but for now I’ve frogged them.

I also wanted to share a little close up of the patchwork coiled bowl I sent to Valerie at Knitting in Pink as a reminder that the deadline to mail your Patchwork Swap package is TODAY, so please mail your packages. And if you don’t have it in the mail yet, please be courteous and let your partner know that it’s going to be a little late. And please post your sent and received photos in the flickr pool so we can all see the scrappy goodness.

And most importantly, she sent chocolate. The sweetest little Lindt lambs. They were adorable. One was consumed immediately (see how she’s missing from the lower corner of the box?). So cute.  And I love the scraps that she sent. Here are my favorites:

They will definitely be nice to tone down some of the pink and orange overflow in my own stash. I kind of want to start another fun quilt, but I have a secret quilt project I’ve been working on that I am avoiding at the moment, so I feel guilty cheating on it with a selfish quilt.

Instead I’ve been working on this dress, Simplicity 2702 (using all stash materials):

And I knit a new hat for Paul. The old hat disappeared somewhere between here and San Francisco (boo!) but I whipped this one up with Elsabeth Lavold’s Silky Wool (yum!) over the weekend. It’s a tad big, but that only means that the next one will fit even better.

It’s still snowing. So I couldn’t just let him suffer for the rest of the winter (which as you may know, could last until July). Sigh.

*********Note: As of March 6, 2009– the swap is closed!*********

It’s that time again! Spring is approaching and what better way is there to rejuvenate your scrap bin than to participate in another super-fun Patchwork Swap? Here’s how it works:

What: A swap! Mail a package of  30-40 fabric scraps that are at least 3×5″ large (you’re welcome to send larger pieces, it’s up to you). You should send at least 25 different prints/styles.  These should be high quality, fun, designer prints. Please, please, send something that you would love to receive, not just the bottom-of-the-barrel scraps.  Vintage fabrics are fine as long as they are in good condition, and you’re welcome to throw in some barkcloth, canvas, silk, etc scraps, as long as the bulk of the scraps are quilting cotton. ALSO, you’ll send your partner one small patchwork item you’ve made just for them (i.e a pincushion, zip pouch, potholder,  softie, etc.). Feel free, but not obligated, to include extra goodies or notions if you like.

When: Sign up (details below) by March 6th, 2009 or before 40 people sign up. I’ll update this post to show that the swap is closed, but if you’re a loyal reader and you miss out, send me an email, I might make an exception. Within a week or so, I’ll email you your partner info, and post here that the emails have  been sent. You will need to mail your package by Monday, April 13th. If something comes up and you can’t meet this deadline, please let both me and your partner know.

How: Comment here and send me an email at patchworkswap-at-gmail-dot-com (with a “.” for “dot” and minus the dashes).  In the email, please  include the following info:

Full Name
Email address (Yes, I know it’s in the address line but it makes my life much easier if you include it in the body of the email)
Mailing Address
Whether you’re willing to ship internationally
Blog Address
Favorite colors and short bio (in case it helps your partner decide what to make you)

For the 2009 Swap, you’ll be exchanging the scraps and patchwork goodie directly with the person who sends their scraps/patchwork to you. There may be a few exceptions, especially if there’s an odd number of international swappers, but I think it will be fun this way.

Ready, set?  Sign up!

Edited to Add: Wordpress magically links to related posts, one of which is the “Patchwork Swap Closed” post from last time’s swap. This swap is still open– so email away! And please  dont’ worry if you haven’t received an email back from me yet- I’m waiting till they are all in to respond.

I’ve participated in various ornament swaps over the years, with varying results. I wanted to dig in and really take the time to make some nice ornaments this year. And well, what can I say, I wanted to make sure I got some equally thoughtful ornaments back. So instead of participating in the big random swap, I contacted a few of my favorite bloggers to play along. (I would have asked more people to play, but I only made so many mini sweaters). I think they’ve all recieved them by now, so I wanted to show them off. I made the sweaters in the middle of the summer or so, when I was completely bored and too fried to think of anything new.

Then, maybe around September, I found them again and added little edgings using embroidery floss. I sewed on felt shapes, sequins and vintage buttons. And I even found some thick floral wire to make coat hangers for each ornament (only I didn’t photograph them! whoops!).  They are so cute, if I do say so myself. Don’t worry, I kept a few for me. If you’d like to make your own, there are a lot of tutorials on the web. If you’re an intuitive crocheter (ie. don’t need it spelled out stitch by stitch), this one is the best I’ve found. If you knit, just google- there are plenty of free patterns.

Actually,  when I got out my ornament box this year was overwhelmed with all of the cheap and crappy hanging things I’ve collected. This wouldn’t be a problem if I didn’t also have some really special ones I want to show off– but I do, and I have a tiny 2 ft tree, so I need to declutter. Too busy to go through them this time, I just threw a few on the tree, closed the box, and figured the ones I recieve can fill in the gaps. I’ll go through them next year. Yes, that’s it. Next year. I don’ t know, even the super cheap dollar store ornaments I bought my first year in New York (when I only had half of a job) mean something to me. Maybe I just need a bigger box.  I’m excited to see what I get this year!

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PS: I thought you all might like to know that Jasenn got some of his first test results back from the doctor this week, and his cancer is stable. As in, not growing. YAY. This is very good news and I want to thank you all for keeping him in  your thoughts and prayers. In related good news, I’m a little more than halfway to my fundraising goal so a great big THANK YOU to everyone who has helped. I keep adding new stuff to the shop, and wouldn’t complain if I say, exceeded the goal, so remember to check back in occasionally. (Despite the good test results, he won’t be able to go back to work, so every little bit of extra $  helps).  Thank you thank you!

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PPS: There’s still time to enter to win the Sukie Iron On Pad. I love reading your ideas for what to do–especially the Geek+Nerd, who said she’d use them to make little stuffed ornaments. I love that idea!! I wish I had more than one to give away (but at $13, they’re quite reasonably priced).  The random number generator will dictate the winner.

Here are some of the goodies she sent me.

The fabric I used in the background is a hand screened piece by Lara Cameron. Gorgeous, gorgeous- just some of the other good mail I’ve received recently.

It was a fun little swap, and I’ve been wanting some of her earrings for a long time.  Sometimes I feel like making things to sell is just an elaborate form of barter, since I always end up using my paypal money to buy more handmade stuff.

Here’s the result. I really like it, but the bib collar is *big*. If I were smart, or patient, I would have made a muslin. That’s just not my way.  I don’t mind the largeness too much, though–especially for summer.  (It was -7 yesterday. I like to think about summer!) I looove supersoft flowy shirts to layer.

Things I altered in my version:
-Left out the sleeve elastic because I don’t like my arms to feel cramped (& I was out of the correct size).
- Changed the bib to a contrasting fabric.
-Made my own bias tape for the back collar instead of using packaged tape.
-Took in the sides at a slight curve (I guess you could call it a dart) to make it a bit less boxy muu-muu.

Things I’d do differently if making this shirt again:
-Take in the bib collar (I’ve already marked the pattern for next time) + possibly chop off a bit of the top of the collar too. Patterns are always too big in the shoulders for me.
-Make it at least a size smaller.
-Try a sleeveless version, because this looked pretty cute w/o sleeves, too. And since this one had generously sized puffy sleeves, I could stand to put some elastic in them next time. I generally cut sleeves a size larger from whatever size I’m making, but I really didn’t need to for this pattern.

As far as patterns go, I’d give this one a B. I’m not sure who exactly that wide bib would flatter, and I had a few WTF moments when consulting the pattern. There were little things left out that a beginner might not know (like how to gather the fabric, or what understitching is) . But overall, I’d probably use it again. I should probably actually do that one day– make something twice– to see how different the results would be.

And there you have it, the last garment constructed on my old machine.

By the way, my friend Nikki, who co-wrote the fabulous book Fashion DIY, took the other half of the grey fabric at the swap. I can’t wait to see what she makes with it.