Crochet Pattern PDFs



Peanut Butter Pattern, $6.50


Circles Scarf Pattern, $5.00



Stellar Beret Pattern, $5.00



Raindrops Scarf Pattern, $5.00


Artichoke Hat Pattern, $5.00



Lace Slouch Hat Pattern, $5.00


Starry Night Cardi Pattern, $6.50


Pebble Hat Pattern, $5.00


Petal Beret Pattern, $5.00


Covered Hangers Pattern, $5.00


Diamond Lace Scarf Pattern, $5.00


Blackberry Beret Pattern, $5.00


Cotton Candy Cowl Pattern, $5.00


Simple Hat Pattern, 4 Sizes, $5.00


Cables + Lace Scarf Pattern, $5.00
To see more of my crochet patterns, click here!.

Categories

New Pattern: Covered Tape Measures

Remember last year when I made measuring tapes for my coworkers? I kept getting requests to publish the pattern, so I finally got around to making some new ones, and this weekend I had time to photograph and finalize the pattern.

covered tape measures

In addition to the flower, I wanted to add some other cute covers, just to make the pattern feel “worth it” so I came up with a simple owl and a pig. With a few color and embroidery changes, though, they could easily turn into cats and dogs. Even with all the scrap yarn I have, I didn’t have any black or brown (actually, that doesn’t really surprise me!) so you’ll have to use your imagination. You can also go to town with the basic cover used for the flower and make a happy face, spiral, rainbow, or whatever you like. I used DK weight yarn scraps for mine, and the free 2″ round measuring tapes I always end up with after trade shows, making this a free stashbuster!

covered tape measures

I had so much fun making them that there will probably be more in the future. I can always use another measuring tape. The pattern is available for $5 on Ravelry and Craftsy. Enjoy!

More Sweaters for Freddie

As the weather gets crisper here in Colorado, I can see our little dog shivering more and more. Even though he has one (or two) handmade sweaters I figured it would be a good idea to get some more for him, since there are many cold days ahead. I actually purchased a fleece one but it didn’t seem to fit well, and then we found a thrift store with a big sale and I found 2 men’s sweaters for under $5. I actually bought them for work, but didn’t end up needing them–so I thought I could turn them into sweaters for Freddie instead.

My original plan was to make some simple pattern pieces, cut them from the sweater, and sew them together. But as I was trying to figure out the best way to cut them, I realized that the sleeves were perfect. They already had decreases, and were already tube-shaped, so it was just a matter of cutting holes.

fred in his new sweater

The first one was a white acrylic sweater with long cuffs, so I decided to make a turtleneck (the one problem with my crocheted sweater is I really didn’t leave enough room for the neck). I cut the sleeve to about the right length, then cut a divot in the underside and curved the back. I also cut two holes where I thought the arms would go (trying it on a lot, of course. The dog loved that part, not). Then I just used store-bought bias tape to encase the edges. The secret is just to pin the heck out if it and take your time sewing–first attaching the thinner edge of the bias tape with a zigzag stitch (make sure the bias tape is on the bottom layer so your machine doesn’t go nuts), then trimming, then folding the wider layer of tape over and edge stitching it to encase all of the frayed ends.

fred in his new sweater

The second sweater was a much finer, thinner cotton blend, cable knit, that didn’ t seem like it would fray so easily. For this one I wanted to give it a hint of neon. My hope was a yellow (like Edison Bulb from Madeline Tosh), but I didn’t have any of that so I went with a nice pink sock yarn form Alisha Goes Around. The cuff was too tight for a neck so I cut that off. Next, for the collar and rear openings, I folded the edges in by about 1/2 inch, then stabbed my hook through both layers of the fold, creating a single crochet edge.

fred in his new sweater

Then, I worked a round of dc in the back loop only, followed by another round of dc. Just space the stitches so that you aren’t stretching the sweater, nor pulling it in excessively. Once I had the two rounds of dc built up, I folded them inward to encase the cut edges. I took the yarn to the outside of the sweater and slip stitched around the row to secure it, which is what created the dashed line effect of the trim. I didn’t fold the armholes in (they looked less likely to fray)–instead, I just did two rows of single crochet around each. I think they will hold up pretty well, and I have second sleeves (and whole sweaters!) so am not that worried about it. They are for the dog, after all!

fred in his new sweater

I enjoyed making them and not spending upwards of $30 on crappy dog sweaters at the pet store. I still want to make him another crocheted sweater so I can write the pattern, but realistically that’s a long time coming. I did, however, spend some time last night working on a quick and fun pattern for the holidays that I hope to get released in a soonish manner. I just need to make a few more of them first.

Happy Crocheting!

Cat Lady Sweater Complete

Just before our trip to the Grand Canyon, I got started on a me-sized version of a cardigan design I designed last year. The pattern has not yet been published but I am told it will be, soon. I used the same yarn as for the original design, Berroco Flicker, which now has a  lot of fun colors (originally, it was mostly neutral and pastel). I actually started the cardigan at Stitches Midwest, when I found the yarn at the Webs booth.

sweater1

Someone has been supervising this sweater’s stitching all the way through.

kitbuttons

When I neared completion I had a look through my  button stash and found these 4 cat face buttons. I must have bought them during a sale and of course I didn’t have enough of them. The silver goes well with the glittery-ness of the yarn so I decided to just go for it. The buttons are by JHB but I couldn’t find them online (or on their site) anywhere–thankfully someone was selling a set of 6 on Ebay for a reasonable price.

buttonsew

I sewed them on this weekend while Freddie watched. I’m most definitely a dog person but the kitty faces add a little fun to this sweater. Oh yeah, and the glitter. I figure it will remind me of that time when I spayed and neutered the colony of cats my neighbor was feeding. I’m glad those days are gone!

I’ll share a finished pic of the garment being worn once the pattern goes live, of course.

Book Signing at Stash

Last weekend we headed down to Castle Rock so I could sign some books at Stash, a gem of a yarn shop just to the south of Denver. Look at the cute setup they had for me!

book signing at Stash Yarns

Crystal (the owner) and Heather (crocheter and hook designer extraordinaire) were so warm and welcoming, it was really lovely. It felt like a hug just to walk into the place, which was so cutely decorated and so very tempting! It was the second wekend of the Yarn Along the Rockies Crawl so pretty busy throughout, and I met a lot of people who were interested in crochet.

Book Signing at Stash

I left a bunch of samples at the shop with Crystal, so if you didn’t have a chance to go last weekend, head on over in the next few weeks and you can still get your crochet fix. There’s a good mix of kids stuff, adult garments, and accessories. Bring your current WIP, they have a lovely porch you can sit and knit/crochet on.

book signing at Stash Yarns

Saturn Sweater + Booksigning Next Saturday!

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a couple weeks to tell you: My sweater is on the cover of Interweave Crochet, Fall 2012! Yeah!
Interweave fall 2012
For the record, this is the first time I’ve had anything on the cover of Interweave Crochet, and I am quite proud! They dubbed it Saturn Sweater, because of the rings of colorful stitching around the collar and cuffs. Perfect!
Interweave fall 2012

This easily could have been a very. boring. sweater. It’s easy to make (1 stitch, for the majority of it!) but the fun part comes in when you add the colorful stitching, buttons and button band. I think the little orange on the button band makes it. I also like to think that if you get bored easily, you can change out the surface embellishment around the yoke quite simply–next week or three years from now, whenever.

This sweater is worked from the top down, in the round, so not much as far as finishing goes. You will, however, have to weave in all the ends from the surface design–although you could just hook them to the inside if no one’s going to be looking. The sweater comes in six sizes from 32 to 52 and it’s easy enough to play with gauge to hit the sizes in between. Here’s the ravelry page with more information.

Little Crochet book signing

In other exciting news, I’ll be doing a book signing as part of the Yarn Along the Rockies Crawl this weekend, Saturday,  Sept 15th at Stash Yarns in Castle Rock. The signing is from 2-4 PM on Saturday, and I’ll bring a bunch of crocheted samples with me, so you can ogle. Some from the books, some from my pattern line! If you have any requests let me know. Hope to see you there!

What We Did On Our Summer Vacation

Last Saturday, Paul and I got in the car and headed out west.

wayoutwest

I brought a crochet project with me. The yarn is Berroco Flicker, which I couldn’t resist at Stitches. The pattern is one of my own that will hopefully be published very soon because I wrote it almost a year ago!  On the first day we stopped in Grand Junction for lunch and then went on to the Colorado National Monument, a beautiful little (by comparison) canyon, which I’ll post photos of to flickr one of these days.

moab

Next, we drove through some pretty amazing scenery on our way to Utah.

delicatearch

We stopped in Moab for two nights and headed to Arches National Park, which has the largest concentration of natural stone arches. The most famous one is Delicate Arch, above, and we decided to hike it before sunset. Which was BRUTAL. Possibly because we’d already hiked two miles that day (and we usually are couch potatoes) and also because it was Hot. Really Hot. Deserts are good at that, but it was totally worth it and I felt proud of myself. I tumbled down some steps on the way back down, as I was declaring what I do and don’t consider a “real” hike, which was pretty funny.

grandcanyon

Then we were on to the Grand Canyon for a couple nights. The first night had an awesome sunset and we also went to a lot of ranger programs– on caves, condors, fossils and geology. I love ranger programs and they were extra necessary in order for me to relate to the huge canyon before me. Did you know that the amount of land moved by water to form the Grand Canyon, if made into bricks of the same size used to build the Great Wall of China, would build a great wall all the way to Venus? Wow! Also, California Condors pee on their feet because they can’t sweat to regulate heat. I know you wanted to know, and that is why you should attend ranger programs when visiting a National Park.

frybread

The drive back was more of a chore so we got some fry bread at Four Corners. The monument itself is a bit bleak, and it was blazingly hot, but we couldn’t drive by without stopping in. Fry bread is like a funnel cake, sorta, and worth eating when you have the chance. Think of the four corners in the center of the fry bread as the replacement for the photo of us with our feet in a corner  of Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico.

mesaverde

On a whim we stayed overnight at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado for our last night. This park is home to several ancient cliff dwellings from about 700-900 years ago, as well as earlier pit homes. We got up early to tour Cliff Palace and it was really awesome.

All in all, it was an exhausting blast, and a much-needed break. Plus, I’m 2/3 done with my sweater! How is summer (or, the end of it) treating you?

Sweet Azalea Blanket

I used to joke to myself that if I ever went back to work full-time, I’d still have designs published for many months after the fact because of the nature of the time it takes for different things to be published. Sweet Azalea was actually one of the last I crocheted (although I’m grasping at other designs when at all possible) before starting my new job, and happened entirely by circumstance because I couldn’t resist one last trip to Hill Country Weavers when I was visiting my sister in Austin.

sweet-azalea1

I was ogling the Madelinetosh when Suzanne, the owner came by, and I got roped into another project that I just couldn’t say no to! Praire Bliss is a collection of designs with Austin flavor, with very cute styling and a great selection of local designers. Part of my heart will always be in Texas, so that counts! I picked three skeins of delicious tosh vintage for the main body of the blanket, and a scrumptions skein of light for the border. I absolutely loved working with both as Madelinetosh yarn has a z-twist that makes it lovely to crochet (there is a. lot. of this yarn in my personal stash). The blanket is light, super airy and perfect for Texas weather, and I think it doubles as a wonderful nursing shawl.

sweet-azalea2

The central pattern is made up of a diamond lace stitch I came up with that uses a lot of (simple) increases and decreases. I had been waiting to use it on something for over a year. The edging is relatively repeatable and simple but the color combination and the lightness of the yarn really sets off the blanket. It could easily translate for boys, too. The pattern is available individually for $6 or as part of the e-book for $18.50 through Ravelry.

sweet-azalea3

There are lots of other wonderful designs, mostly knit, and a lovely crochet skirt included in the Prairie Bliss Collection. Check it out when you have a chance!

Flora Mitts

What’s this? A blog post from me? I have been working my bunsies off, y’all, so sorry for slacking on the blogging. I’m sitting in my hotel room in Schaumburg, IL right  now, tomorrow is set-up day for Stitches Midwest, which is the only reason I actually have spare time for a thought! By the way, I’ll be in the Craftsy booth throughout the weekend so please come say hi if you are here!

floraMitts2

This week, Tangled published their Nearly Fall issue and it in are my Flora Mitts. I designed these mitts quite a while ago using the lovely Tittering of Magpies sock yarn from Alisha Goes Around, a dyer in New Braunfels, TX (just a hop skip away from where I used to live). I’m currently writing a pattern for a shrug with the same yarn, because I can’t help myself.

floraMitts1

The mitts are worked modularly–join as-you-go motifs form the central panel, and from there you work an allover texture stitch pattern, post stitch ribbing and  a decorative top edge. They’re feminine and lacy but still very practical.

floraMitts4

The pattern is available through the lovely ladies at Tangled for $5. You can fave it on Ravelry by clicking here. I know it seems early, but personally I am dreaming of fall. Whoever told me that a swamp cooler was almost as good as an air conditioner was full of lies!

Hope all is well in your world. Thanks to all of you who have emailed and commented to ask how we’re settling in, it makes us feel loved.

Happy Crocheting,
Linda

Unexpected Afghans Winner

The random number generator picked a winner for the Unexpected Afghans E-book;  #4, Helene, who said:

Crocheted afghan’s are like a hug from their creator to the person wrapped up in the blanket.  We have afghan’s that were made by my husband’s grandmother that we tell the kids are hugs from her to them.  There is usually a story with the afghans too. It’s a great way to pass down our family history.

Congratulations Helene! I’ll send your email on to the fine folks at Interweave! Enjoy your e-book!

Unexpected Afghans Celebration Weekend

If you love to crochet blankets and are seeking new inspiration, you’re in for a treat. Designer and author extraordinaire, plus personal friend Robyn Chachula compiled a wonderful collection of nearly 30 designs from all of your hooky favorites. Unexpected Afghans: Innovative Crochet Designs with Traditional Techniques is divided into chapters by technique, and each one opens with a pillow–the perfect way to practice a swatch of a new-to-you skill without committing to an entire spread. Robyn designed all of the pillows and then whispered inspiration into the ears of other designers for the rest.

dots and poppies_captioned_LindaPermann

My contribution is the Dots and Poppies Baby Blanket, worked in wonderfully soft organic cotton from Blue Sky Alpacas. I’d actually probably work this one in a bulky if I wasn’t using the original yarn, because it is so fluffy and soft, and most worsteds wouldn’t behave the same way….so keep that in mind if you make it! There are a lot. of. ends. to weave in on this afghan, so just accept that before you begin. The cool thing, though, is you basically make all of the different motifs exactly the same way, it’s just the color changes that make them into flowers or dots. And, they are join as you go!  This is a great car project and I actually did most of it while riding back from TNNA in Long Beach a couple of Januaries ago.

robyn c + me at the book signing

Here are Robyn and I at her book signing in the Interweave Booth at TNNA last weekend. We always have a lot of fun and laughs at the shows. I got to see a lot of the afghans in the book and I must say I am especially impressed with the Tunisian and Lace designs.

Interweave is giving away one E-book copy of Unexpected Afghans! To enter to win it, answer the following question by Friday, July  6th at noon MST.

What do you love most about crocheting blankets?