So I decided to make curtains. I wanted this fabric anyway, and now I had a use for it—even better. Would you believe that I haven’t sewn in so long that I actually had to watch some youtube videos to remind myself how to properly wind a bobbin and oil my machine?

I bought four yards of 60″ (ish) wide fabric and followed the fabulous Brett Bara’s tutorial on DesignSponge to make two 64″ long panels. I let her post do the math for me–thanks Brett! Each panel only takes 4 seams and a whole lot of ironing. Even with a cramped space and only my most basic sewing tools unpacked, it was doable.

About four hours later, voila! Curtains! Once we get all of our boxes and detrius cleaned up perhaps I will post a nicer finished photo of the kitchen. I also want to crochet some bright orange floral curtain tie backs for these if/when I get a chance.

It felt good to sew again. Here’s hoping that I’ll have more leisure crafting time now that I have a “regular” job.

We had expert movers pack the truck to the hilt. This is it after we’d emptied the first load–they even put the bed near the back for us so we could unload it first in order to sleep on it! It was amazing how much of our crap they packed in there, and of course afterwards we were disgusted with ourselves and wanted to throw it all away. That feeling lasted about 3 days.

Freddles rode in the front seat. He was anxious, so I didn’t get much crocheting done. In fact, I’ve barely crocheted at all in the last week as I am exhausted and every time I get a row done on my shawl, I find a mistake and need to rip back.

These are the plains outside our hotel in Dumas, TX. Beautiful in their understated way.

Me and Mary in beautiful Boulder CO. Paul and I have been here twice since moving and can see the appeal.

We have roses in our new front yard so I made a little bouquet to enjoy.

And I introduced Paul to the wonderful world of Ikea. Here’s me standing at the scissor bin. No, I didn’t buy any.

Today we checked out Red Rocks and the Morrison Museum of Natural History, then went back to Boulder to retrieve a camera we left on Sunday. Thank goodness for honest and friendly folks.

You can see more photos by following me on Twitter or Instagram (I’m Lindamade both places). Thanks to everyone who has wished us well, we feel very lucky and excited on this adventure.

I wanted to share this picture of my fingernails with you. It’s very important, see, because one of my crochet students gave me the polish and decals as a going away present. Hi April, thank you! Painting my nails (ahem, two weeks ago) was a needed diversion and I enjoyed it. I also just sent off the project made from the yarn you see in this picture today- it’s Madelinetosh Pashmina. More on that when it’s published. Let me state for the record: I love Madelinetosh yarn. Haven’t met a color or baseI didn’t like yet. Yum.

I doubt I’ll be blogging much in the next few weeks but I’ve recently been having lots of fun with Instagram, so you can keep up with me there–I’m lindamade.  If you don’t want to sign up for something new, you’re just going to have to follow me on Twitter! (which for many of you, I guess, might be signing up for something new). I share most of my photos there.  I’m really enjoying it, and think it’s a fun, perfect time for me to be looking at my surroundings again. I really love taking photos and I have gotten away from it in the past few years. This is a quick (free!)  way to pay attention and take notice.

I got one last ball of yarn from Yarnivore (as if I don’t have enough) with hopes of at least starting this Spring Showers Shawl on the drive. I “packed” it in the glove compartment so I don’t get tempted to start sooner than when we leave.

Now back to the grind. Hope all is well in your world, crocheters! Freddie, Paul and I can’t wait to get back to our new normal.

The first design made the cover (yay)–the Champs Elysees Beret. Named after a famous street in Paris, this lightweight beret features a floral design that radiates from the top down, and also has a cute little (optional) bow on the contrasting band. It’s made with sock yarn, and if you chose a yarn with less sheen the lacework would really pop. I’m tempted to make another, it was just fun to do. I absolutely love working with sock yarn and the SMC On Your Toes Bamboo was no exception.

My second contribution was the Rocket Pillow, an oversized stuffie for kids. There’s something I love about big, huggable pillows for kids (see also: Soft Owl Pillow) and if I had more hours in the day, I’d do a whole collection of pillows. They’re a fun way to play with colors and I just think they add a lot of impact to a kids’ room. This one is worked in Red  Heart Super Saver which is the perfect durable yarn for kids. Pair it with a rocket shaped Tiny Tee Applique and you’ll have a great gift for a special little boy.

In other exciting news, we visited our soon-to-be new home last week in a whirlwind trip, and we did indeed find a place to live. I’m excited about the new digs and now we just have to get there. The photo above is a view of city park from the atrium in the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, of which we are now members.

As a reminder, I’ll be teaching at the Yellow Rose Fiber Fiesta in Seguin this Friday and there is still room in my classes (you can even sign up in person on the day of class), it will be a sort of last hurrah as I don’t know when I’ll have time to teach again. In the morning I’m teaching Broomstick Lace, which is suprisingly easy to learn. The afternoon  Crochet Tips and Tricks Class should be especially fun, and I’m always adding things to my handouts so if there is something that’s always tripped you up in the past, feel free to post about it in the comments (even if you can’t come to the class).  I’ll also be selling and signing books from 5:30-6:30 PM with my friends in the Knitting Lagniappe booth. Come say hi!

I love this pattern and it is one that just never took off, so I decided to have it tested by people with kids (models!).  I found five willing and super helpful testers through my Ravelry group, and boy did they do a fantastic job helping me seek and destroy the errors. I also added two larger sizes from the original print version, making the  available sizes: 6 months, 18 months, 2, 3 and 5 years–of course you will want to measure your kid to be sure, the finished chest measures (20, 22, 24, 25 and 27)” around, respectively.

Aimee came by the shop last Friday and brought her adorable little daughter, too. How sweet of them to come say hello!  Shannon is a  petite 10- month-old modeling the size  labeled 6 months.

Here’s Jen’s 2-year-old daughter Lilly wearing her size 2 cardi. So cute!

And here’s 4-year-old Emery wearing the size 5 cardigan, crocheted for her by Shirl. Love it! A big *hearty* thank you to all of my test crocheters, they really did a wonderful job, don’t you think?

The cardigan is crocheted from the bottom up in one piece to the armholes, then divided for fronts and back. Sleeves are crocheted separately and sewn in. The awesome thing about the heart  design is you only have to work one color at a time (no switching back and forth between colors in the same row) but you’ll have to snag the pattern to learn how. DK weight yarn keeps it light, and you can dig through your scraps for the heart rows if you like–they don’t take much yarn at all. Samples shown in this post use Rowan’s Amy Butler Belle Organic DK, Louisa Harding Aimee and Knit Picks Swish DK.

The pattern is now available in my Craftsy and Ravelry shops. I’m putting it on sale for this week only (through Monday, April 9th at midnight CST) for $5, after which it will return to it’s regular price of $6.50.

For the past few weeks I’ve been talking to the fine folks at Craftsy (you might remember that I teach crochet classes with them) about possible job opportunities. I was excited, nervous, scared. When I went to film last year, I had the distinct thought that I could go back to working in an office, IF it was an office like theirs. There was something about the genuine friendliness and enthusiasm that really excited me.  Here we are one year later– and I’m hired! Which means that we’re moving to Denver! I’m going to help them develop the content for their awesome online classes. They now have almost 50 different offerings in addition to a wondrous amount of projects and patterns for sale, so go check it out if you haven’t visited in a while. I really think they are doing a great job– I get lots of emails from happy students and it is truly gratifying.

Sadly, that means that I won’t be teaching at Yarnivore anymore, but you still have a couple of weekends to come by and say hi. Also bittersweet– I won’t have as much time (at least at first) to devote to designing, but I know myself and doubt I will stop! Plus, I have so many designs in the pipeline already that you probably won’t even notice if I do have to take a break. And, I may have an overinflated idea of just how eagerly you look forward to my new designs. My only coworker right now is a dog, okay?–and he humors me.

Shown in the pictures are my completed Bunny Rabbit from my amigurimi lessons with my now 12-year-old student. Hers is the purple one, and it came out great too, don’t you think? I am so proud of her. My bunny (which I think is a he, for whatever reason) is sitting in a new project bag I picked up at Hill Country Weavers last weekend. The yo-yos sealed the deal, and I couldn’t help myself. I also love the outside pocket (perfect for stowing my new favorite custom Polka Dot Creations hook) and that the straps are long enough to go around my shoulder.  Also, it will take up less space than yarn when we move. I’m already in downsize mode, although Suzanne didn’t let me leave her store without doing a bit of business, which will remain a secret for  now. Let’s just say I have something to crochet between now and the big move.  That’s a good thing, cause I can’t lie, the stress of changing everything is making me a little nutty. But, it’s a necessary nuttiness. XO.

A couple of weeks ago we got some new bulky yarn in the shop called Yearling. It’s a wonderful sturdy blend of wool and cotton and was accompanied by the most adorable booklet of designs by Pamela Wynne. Tammy quickly knit up the Lamb Shoes and I eyed the remainder of the ball and asked if I could crochet a sample with it (we try to always feature both). I was all over the same slipper idea because darn, they are cute!! I whipped up one slipper with 24 grams of the ball, using the basic idea from my Family Of Slippers pattern from Interweave Crochet Accessories 2011. The only change you’ll need to make is to use your own number of stitches per inch as a multiple rather than the one I got with the worsted yarn the pattern uses (the pattern is written formula-style, this will be clear to you if you have the issue). Then I crocheted some simple ears (Chain 6. Row 1: Dc in 3rd dc from hook and each chain across–4 dc. Row 2: Ch 2, sk first st, dc3tog. Fasten off), stitched them on and embroidered the face. Voila. Now we have three happy lambs lounging in a row. I love ‘em. Almost enough to get some more yarn and make an adult sized pair for myself!

I’m also teaching an awesome 11-year-old how to crochet amigurimi and we are using this cute bunny pattern from Lion Brand. I usually don’t crochet during lessons (I want to pay attention to the student) but she asked me what color my bunny was going to be and….yeah, I had to make a bunny too. Next week, we sew it all together and embroider the nose. I must say, amigurimi are amazingly quick and fun to work! This won’t be my last. Here’s my Ravelry page for the project, and in case you were wondering, the eyes are from 6060 on Etsy. We also have a ton of new eyes in store at Yarnivore.

I also cranked out another Circles Scarf, this time in a new color of Knit Picks Chroma called Azalea. Love it, and I can wear it with all of my Tangerine Tango colored tops. They say it’s the color of the year, you know! The pattern is available on Craftsy and Ravelry.

And while I’ve got you here, don’t miss this great giveaway of 26 books on Ravelry. Twenty-five Ravelers will win all 26 books (each!) and among them is my book, Little Crochet. All you have to do to enter is take their free, 5 minute guided tour of the new library functions. It’s pretty cool, if you set up your library by adding books and mags that you have, you can do pattern searches just within the patterns you already own. And, broken record time–if you’re not on Ravelry yet? WHY NOT?

That’s all that’s new around these parts. What are you working on? Let me know in the comments.

Shown (L to R): Wood Blocks Cardigan, Peanut Butter (Cardigan),
Artichoke Hat, Circles Scarf and Mix and Match Motif Blanket

Look at the pretty display she made! Browsing on Ravelry is fun but being able to touch samples is even better, so head on down there this month if you want to pet, try on, etc. Sheryl’s also teaching my Zipline Shell as a class this month, which is sure to be lots of fun. This is a great first garment pattern, and Sheryl is the perfect person to help you through it if you need a boost. Below is my me-sized sample in blue.

Shown (L to R): Zipline Shell, Swing Set Cardigan,
Beyond Rectangles Cardigan and Ribbed Cardigan

Be sure to stop by and check out the crochet friendliness. And if you’re a yarn shop with a noticeable lack of crochet samples, hey, maybe you want to have a Linda Permann trunk show? Ravelry in-store pattern sales make it easy to sell patterns and yarn (and you can easily order my books for your customers!), plus my samples feel productive when they’re out in the wild. It’s food for thought.

Oh yeah, and just because I’ve totally neglected mentioning it sooner, I’ll be teaching at the Yellow Rose Fiber Producers Fiesta on April 20th (a Friday). Go on and sign up for classes if you’re local-ish. Just tell your boss you came down with a case of crochet fever.

The yarn they chose for this one, Kollage Riveting,  is really interesting and fun to work with. It’s made from recycled denim and, like a good pair of jeans, shrinks upon washing. This means you’re going to need to pay careful attention to post-washed gauge, whether or not you are substituting yarns. To be clear: Your washed and dried (or blocked) swatch needs have a gauge that matches the post-washing gauge listed in the pattern. Wash and dry (or block) your swatch regardless of whether you are using the suggested yarn. Since the yarn shrinks (and it seems to shrink mostly row-wise), it might be near impossible to get a similar row gauge, but it’s pretty easy to modify the length of the pattern, so focus on matching the stitch gauge (washing/drying only made  1 extra stitch squeeze into the 4″ worth of stitches).

Left: After, Right: Before

Just to give you an idea of the pre- and post-washing looks of this garment, here is my lovely sister modeling it, before and after. Note the length, that’s the main change, but everything does snug up in an almost felting-like way. It’s nice and stretchy, which is why I intended it to be worn with 1″ of negative ease (ie. make the size that’s 1″ smaller than your chest size).  You could also skip the ease and add some waist shaping instead–you’ll need to work about 3 dc2togs per edge, on both front and back,  for every 2″ you want to take off of the waist circumference. I usually space them out with 1 decrease per side per row for a number of rows, to get a gradual change, and I always suggest working the decreases a few stitches in from the edge (vs on the first and second stitch), and of course you’ll need to add the stitches back as you near the hips. I feel like waist shaping is so personal depending on your shape, and this yarn really has enough stretch that I felt good skipping it. Full disclosure: I was also a wee bit afraid that it would shrink differently and the waist shaping would fall in some odd place, so, yeah.

Which reminds me, don’t wash and dry your garment in a different washer/dryer than you used for your gauge swatch. Ask me how I know? Here’s a detail of the lace, although the denimy-ness of the yarn hides it a little. I do like the shrunken effect and want to experiment with it again sometime.

Mizzle Shell is in the Spring 2012 Issue of Interweave Crochet, which should be on newsstands soon.

The first thing I gave, which is kind of a cheat, was this Striped Yoke Cardigan (pattern from my book, Little Crochet). Now, I actually finished Tegue’s Cardigan last April, but it was much too big and I wanted to do some more finishing to bring the neck in a bit. As is, the neck is a little more low-cut than I had envisioned, so I added another couple rows of sc around the neck, putting decreases around the “corners” in the collar to round it off a bit. Why that took me 8 months, I’m not sure, but I bet you guys can relate, right? In the meantime he grew into it a bit more, so that was good. I was worried because I used every last scrap of the discontinued dark blue and all I had left was the light blue, but it turned out great anyways. And it looks so cute with his blue glasses, which he didn’t have when I bought the yarn. He’s growing so BIG! For the record, he’s 4, I made the 3-4 yr size, and there’s a bit of room to grow.  I love how it came out and apparently his teachers at school do too. I really need to make him some more stuff while he’s still small enough to wear it and think it’s magical that Aunt LaLa can make things.

The other things I made were for Paul’s brother and his boyfriend, who happen to be big Dr. Who fans. Disclaimer: I do not watch the show and can’t get all fan-like on you, but here’s how it happened. I worked at Yarnivore one Wednesday (when I usually do not work) and Laurel brought in the Adipose Baby she was working on. Seeing a cute, huggable shape, I asked her what it was. Paul happened to be at the store because he brought me lunch, and I immediately thought aloud that it looked like something his brother would like. Laurel asked if he was a Dr. Who fan–yes– and that sealed it. I went home that night and hooked up the Fat Baby Thingy in a couple of evenings. It was a lot of fun. The pattern is free and leaves a bit to be desired but it was not hard to figure out what to do to make it look the way I wanted.

I figured it needed a friend so I sought out a Tardis pattern, that being the most-seen fan-craft in my blog feed. I really wasn’t happy with any of the patterns (of which there aren’t many, because of copyright issues, I presume) so I decided to do my own. After I was a good ways into it, I realized I should have worked it in joined rounds to prevent the spiraling, but I embraced it (in classic “That’s not a mistake, it’s a design element!” form) cause I though it looked time travel-y. Yeah. I had to re-do the embroidery a few times to get it right, but I like how it came out. I weighed down the bottom with a beanbag full of glass marbles so it can stand upright. Bill and Chris were very pleased to recieve it, and I was happy to actually be able to give a hand made gift. We all really have all of the stuff that we need, so this was just a fun little thing to do.

Both are made in Red Heart Super Saver, which is the perfect yarn for Amigurimi, if you ask me. Like most crafts, I could really see myself getting into amigurimi, if only there were more hours in the day!

Did you crochet anything for the holidays? Or are you already making plans for next year?