Now back to the beautiful crochet. Thanks everyone for your comments and e-mails. It’s nice to know that there are a lot of crochet-friendly shops out there counteracting the rest–and shocking to hear some of the things said to crocheters, read through the comments for a laugh.

I spent last week editing and tweaking my Wood Blocks Cardigan pattern, named because I thought the silhouetted design looked a bit like a block carving. This was originally published in Inside Crochet last may and has been rewritten in US Terms.  I’ve touched up the pattern in a few ways. I changed the sleeves so that they won’t be quite as loose as shown on the model, and added a new construction diagram.  Since the Wood Blocks Cardigan is a motif-based pattern, there are only certain sizes where it works well, but you can tweak it by experimenting with your gauge (gauge changes slightly for each size). As is, it’s sized to fit Chest size: 34, 38, 42, 47 and 52 but I give information on what gauge you’ll need to get a 36″, 40″ and so on fit. This is worked in super lovely Lousia Harding Mulberry (silk) but any sport/dk weight yarn will do, even thicker if you make a larger size.

$6.50

I wanted to design a motif that was pretty alone but came together to form a bigger flower, and I just love the way it turned out–you can hardly tell that each of the big flowers is actually 4 motifs placed together. And lucky you, they are joined “as-you-go” so that you don’t need to sew them all up at the end. Detailed instructions are given for 1-sided, 2-sided, 2 (opposite) sided, and 3-sided joins, so nothing is left to the imagination–although if you are an experienced crocheter, the joining is pretty straightforward once you make a few. The construction diagram even tells you the best order in which to work and join the motifs so you don’t have to wait till the end to construct it (which would require quite a bit of unravelling).

This one has been calling to me ever since I finished it, because I want to make it in my size, but I simply haven’t had the chance yet. If you make it, I’d love to see a picture! The pattern is available on Ravelry or Craftsy for $6.50.

Alright y’all. I’m probably preaching to the choir here, but this weekend when I was working at Yarnivore I met a customer whose story just infuriated me. She told me she had some things to return but wanted to exchange them for classes, and wanted to know if we would “actually” teach her to crochet at our store. She had been to another yarn shop that was closer to her school, and they told her she could learn either knitting or crochet in the beginner class. But, when she got there? They forced her to learn to knit by telling her that she didn’t want to crochet–and when she insisted she did–they told her she should learn knitting first in order to get the foundations. (Not true!) She took her four classes and then continued to show them the things she would like to crochet, because she likes the crochet look (as you and I know the two crafts are equally beautiful, neither better than the other). They continued, “Oh you’re right, that is crocheted but you don’t want to crochet.” They went so far as to tell her that crocheted baby blankets were dangerous because they had too many holes. That’s when I just got angry. I explained that Hell Yes I would teach her, I had written two books on crochet and if she still wanted to learn to knit too, I would teach her that as well.

What, I ask you, THE F? Seriously. I understand that there are yarn shops who do not have a crocheter on staff. That is to say, I know this to be true. As a business practice? Seems stupid, if you ask me, because you can double your client base if you have both knitters and crocheters coming through your doors. And I understand that LYSs are their own special little thing, many started by knitters and therefore focused on knitting, but again, if you are a serious business, and want to keep your doors open, serve your customers! And honestly? If you can’t serve your customers, you are going to lose them anyway, so why not send them on over to a store who you know can help? At least that way they may return to buy yarn from you, even if they go to another shop for help (many of my crocheters do this).

Here are a few things that have been said to me over the years by yarn companies and yarn store owners:

“I don’t crochet because I’m not a hippie.” Do I look like a hippie?
“When people ask me whether to learn to knit or crochet, I say, that depends, do you want to make clothes or stripper clothes?” !!! I happily changed her mind and she has been crocheting several projects from my book.
“We don’t do that here.” (NYC yarn shop, c. 2005 when I was first learned what an LYS was. I did not shop at NYC yarn shops more than a handful of times in the seven years I lived there because I was afraid they would all be this way.
“Oh crochet? We have a sample in the back.” ! Surprise, another granny square. Nothing wrong with granny squares, but there’s more to crochet than that.

I tweeted about this situation and here are some of the responses I heard from crocheters around the world:

@Anne0731 My pet peeve is hiding I am a crocheter at the yarn shop!

@StitchStory I literally had a salesperson walk away from me in a yarn shop, when I told her I was looking for yarn for a #crochet project! [AND] I wonder if this craft bias is a western phenomenon?In Kuwait,Crochet is more popular than knitting!

@CraftandBurn I have been turned away a few times when asking for help with a pattern. Thanks, YouTube

But in better news…

@Sheryluvsyarn Other Houston area stores are sending crocheters to @yarntopia because we have a pro crochet rep. Their loss!

@TheLemonadeShop this is so weird because the shop I work at is split 50/50 between both! I have never run into that!  How rude. :/

@ACuriousGirl I think it’s crazy yarn shops are anti-crochet when all my knitting friends are pro #solidarity

I am very hopeful that this is changing. I liked to think that people were just expecting that kind of attitude walking into yarn shops and maybe taking things a little too personally, but I’ve heard too many stories from real live customers who walk in our doors and are SO EXCITED to see that we have just as many crochet samples as we do knit, many cubbies in the book shelf dedicated to crochet, 5 different brands of hooks!!! (Bates, Boye, Clover, Chiaogoo, and now Addi Clicks) and most importantly, REAL LIVE PATTERN SUPPORT.

Don’t get me wrong–I love knitting. I knit too. I help knitters with their questions as often as I help crocheters. I just don’t understand why crocheters should get the short end of the stick when they are spending just as much money at LYS. Don’t tell me they don’t spend money at your LYS- I’ve had crocheters come in and drop $400 on nice yarn–didn’t even bother to ask if we had classes or books, because they just assumed we didn’t. Whether you know it or not, crocheters already ARE shopping at your yarn shop. Imagine how much more you could sell if you actually reached out to them? At Yarnivore, if someone comes in asking for shiny material to tie flies for fishing (this has happened), we help them. We don’t say, “Oh no, you cannot use that glittery roving for fishing!” I don’t care what you are doing with your yarn, I am here to sell it to you!

I dream of a world where crocheters have a community in their LYS just the same way that knitters do. I don’t think it’s 100 percent up to the yarn shop, but I know it has to start somewhere. If you’re a crocheter who has been hiding your hooks, fess up. If your yarn shop treats you like dirt, shop online. To go so far as to lie about the safety of a crocheted item to trick your customer into knitting? It’s just ridiculous.

If you’re a yarn store owner with questions about how to appeal to crocheters? Start by hiring one. Even one day a week will make a difference in the shop–and it may be a slow build. I started off only teaching at the Bozeman Yarn shop and no one signed up for my classes. Then I graduated to working there a couple days a week, and once people knew who I was, they started signing up. Since I’ve  left? They continue to have crochet classes–even more than when I was there, taught by a number of local crocheters. If you can’t afford to hire someone, at least arrange an exchange wherein they will give private lessons in your store (therefore you pay nothing, but still get the sales of yarn and tools needed for the lesson). Ask a crocheter to work up several–not just one–samples for you. You can find a number of gorgeous patterns on Ravelry, and use their in-store sales program so that you don’t even have to invest in having “in stock” patterns. Choose a 1 or 2 skein pattern and a nice quality yarn, not the cheapest stuff in the store. And if you do nothing else? Don’t spread lies about crochet. Keep your mouth shut. There’s no reason to make someone who loves their hobby feel inferior to you. None.

Happy Friday to all! I don’t know where this week went, and that seems to be the case more and more around here! In fact, just yesterday I was thinking about how I forgot to share my holiday gift projects with you–but I’ll save that for another post (fingers crossed). Today I wanted to show off my Thundersnow Bag, which is available through interweave as part of an E-book, A Snowflake Story.

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!

Last weekend I flew to Phoenix, AZ for The National Needle Arts trade show. TNNA, as we call it, is a time for yarn shops to come see what’s new and stock their shops for the next season, and it’s also a chance for designers to chat with yarn companies and each other. I go to check out all the new pretties, but I love that I also get to help pick out stuff for Yarnivore. Between doing both I don’t know where my time went, but I do have a handful of pictures to show.

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.

A few weeks ago, a crocheter sent me a note on Ravelry with a nice story about the Soft Owl Pillow that she made from my book, Little Crochet. It’s the sweetest little story, and so I thought I would share it with you here.

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’ve just added a new skirt pattern to my Ravelry PDF shop, the Lace Skirt. This skirt is crocheted with a simple side-to-side construction that makes it easy to customize to any waist measurement. The pattern includes two options for the waist–a zipper or an elastic, both of which are much less scary than they sound. Sewing a zipper into a crocheted garment= WAY easier than sewing it into fabric, in my opinion, especially if you take your time and hand sew it (bonus: you do not need to clear off the sewing table if you do it this way).

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!

To ring in the new year, I thought I’d take a look back at some of the things I made/published in 2011. A choice few of these weren’t actually stitched in 2011, but, I’m still including them because that’s when they made their debut. You can click on the links below the collage if you’d like to see larger photos/more info.

1. pill(ow) popper, 2. crochet wrapped wreath w/flowers, 3. crochet bird ornaments, 4. freddie,crochet 013, 5. starry night cardigan, 6. Soft Owl Pillows, 7. beforeafter3, 8. lace slouch hat, 9. my Zipline Shell, 10. my crochet green bean cardigan, 11. Beyond Rectangles, 12. Little Sister Hats, 13. Peanut Butter Cardigan (Crochet), 14. blazing cowl, 15. finished sweater, 16. artichoke hat, 17. fred and knitting, 18. fiesta shawl 2, 19. Ribbed Cardigan from my book, Little Crochet, 20. Mix and Match Motif Blanket from Little Crochet, 21. Hooded Capelet from Little Crochet, 22. freddie, 23. crochet covered measuring tapes, 24. annie dress, 25. Twist Cowl/ Wrap

Notable Yarny Things I did in 2011:

*Worked with the lovely team at Craftsy to produce two online crochet classes, Beyond Rectangles and Crafty Crochet Embellishments
*Published my second book, Little Crochet
*Had designs and articles  published in Crochet Today, Interweave Crochet, Tangled, KnitCircus, Petite Purls and other magazines/web zines
*Had designs published in the following books: Simply Crochet, Knit Local, World of Geekcraft, and Knit Simple Knitting Workshops
* Taught a whole bunch of people to crochet (and a few to knit!)
* Got a rather cute but somewhat distracting dog, who I can shamelessly dress in crochet. Ahem.

My goal for 2012 is to keep on trucking, further explore self publishing, and most importantly, keep  having fun doing what I do, rather than getting stressed out about trying to become a crochet pattern producing factory. Here’s to 2012!

Here lies my last post of 2011. This week I’m hunkering down to get some deadline projects in order so that I can enjoy next week with my family. We here at Casa Permann wish you a wonderful holiday season. May you have plenty of time for friends, crafting, and cookies. See you in 2012!

<3 Linda, Paul and Freddie

Every year I exchange small gifts with my co-workers at Yarnivore, and this year was no different. But early on I got to thinking about making something *myself* for my coworkers. There’s just so much stuff in the world–I wanted to make something useful but fun, something they’d enjoy.

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!

It’s finally starting to feel wintery here (truthfully, it feels like Fall to me, but that’s our Texan version of winter). It’s been rainy and windy and all of the yellow leaves are coming off of the trees. This has put me in the mood to start crafting for the holidays. Nothing like waiting till the last mintute!  Surprisingly, I rarely have the time to make gifts but this year I was bitten by a little crochet bug so I’ve been trying to balance my deadline crocheting with some quick, smallish projects for fun. Of course, I’ll wait to share most of the things I’m making until they are received.

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.

******
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!