Vintage Crochet Pattern Treasure from Vicki

I've mentioned my wonderful friend Vicki, an avid knitter, before. Kind friend that she is, she recently brought me this incredible stack of vintage crochet (plus some knitting and embroidery) patterns that her grandmother had saved up through the years.

I am just now starting to organize them and man they are SO COOL. I will be sharing them with you as I go along and put together a binder. Many of them date back to the 1910's and one is from 1908! I cannot wait to actually work up some of these projects. They are so beautifully classic. It's important to me that crochet history is preserved and celebrated. Thank you so very much, Vicki! The patterns will be well loved and taken care of.

A Deliciously Colorful Package

I got an Amazon gift card a while back and then promptly forgot about it. Then, when I was cleaning the living room, I came across it and got excited! You'll never guess what I bought with it... yarn! I mean, who could have seen that coming? ;)

Here's my recent acquisition. I've been eyeing it for a while and a gift card was the perfect excuse to buy it. It's Crystal Palace Mochi Plus in Babyface.

So pretty! *Cue heavenly choirs singing* Okay, now that I've got it, what shall I make with it?

Hyperbolic Baby Toy Set

You may have seen some hyperbolic crochet here before. I thought it was about time that I jumped right into the action myself! Here is my new pattern, a Hyperbolic Baby Toy Set. Each toy is great for digging your fingers into. In fact, I gave the samples plus some other hyperbolic toys to my friend Brenda so that her fidgety high school students could play with them. She has reported back that they love them :) So maybe they aren't just for babies? You can find the pattern on both Ravelry and Craftsy.

Reach Out Friday: Youth Villages

The third Friday of every month is Reach Out Friday! Learn about ways that you can use crochet to help others through special charities and groups. Today's featured charity is Youth Villages.

Overview
Youth Villages has an extensive list of services for children and families, providing adoption services, foster care, mentoring, crisis services and more. They are invested in reaching disadvantaged children, specifically those with emotional and behavioral issues, and families and helping them through their most challenging moments.

Mission Statement
"Youth Villages is a private nonprofit organization dedicated to helping emotionally and behaviorally troubled children and their families live successfully. We help more than 23,000 children and families each year from more than 20 states and Washington, D.C. Our Evidentiary Family Restoration™ approach involves intensive work with the child and family, a focus on measuring outcomes, keeping children in the community whenever safely possible, and providing accountability to families and funders. The EFR approach produces lasting success for children with success rates twice that of traditional services at one-third the cost of traditional care.

Our Mission: Youth Villages helps children and families live successfully."
Reach Out!
Are you reading to make a difference in the lives of children and families? Many Youth Village locations accept donations of clothing and household items, so your crochet items may be appreciated. Also, teaching a troubled young person to crochet would provide them with a creative outlet for difficult emotions. You could donated your time by teaching kids to crochet. Finally, for those centers with crafts programs already in place, a donation of yarn, hooks, and needles would allow them to continue to provide crochet activities to young people. So many ways to get involved! Why not reach out today?

Mary's Crochet Adventure

Do you remember when you were just starting out in crochet? Sometimes it was difficult. It was hard to make your stitches even. You forgot when you were supposed to yarn over and when you weren't. However, it was also magical. For the first time you were able to take a strand of yarn and turn it into something. You could feel the potential at you fingertips and you started to dream about the awesome things you'd be able to make in the future...

That's where my friend Mary is right now. She's been coming to my weekly fiber group and I've been teaching her to crochet. Here she is during her very first lesson, holding her very first piece of crochet fabric!

She's already come a long way since these photos were taken. She can now make a chain stitch, a single crochet stitch, and a half double crochet stitch. Yay! Whether you're a beginning crocheter or just learning a new crochet skill, I'd like to take today to celebrate new beginnings. We've all got so much to look forward to!

Indie Dye Friday: Hauteknit Yarn

The second Friday of every month is Indie-Dye Friday! Feast your eyes on lovely yarn in gorgeous colorways developed by talented independent yarn dyers. Today we are visited by Mishellee of Hauteknit Yarn. Her colorways are bright, varied, and unique. Let's have a look!

A bit about Mishellee
"I am from Maine but moved to Wilson, NC a year ago to escape the snow. I have an 18 month old daughter, we call her Elle, she LOVES yarn and her hand knit accessories. I couldn't ask for a better husband. He thinks what I do is "cool" and is always willing to help me decide if a colorway needs something or when I need something moved or built. To say I'm a girly girl would probably be an understatement. I love shoes, pretty dresses, pink, purple."

How long have you been dyeing fiber? How did you get started?
"I've been dying for about 3 1/2 years. After working with Madelinetosh and Malabrigo a few times I knew I wanted to dye yarn. I read a few books, blogs, watched some videos, ordered yarn and dyes and jumped in! That is pretty much how I do everything in life.  I figured if nothing else I would end up with a ridiculous stash of yarn."

Where do you get the inspiration for your colorways?
"It can really be from anything. Sometimes it's the colors in the kiddo's outfits, other times it's cars  (my husband is a car guy so there are endless car videos playing in this house). Most of my colorways are completely unplanned and just kind of happen."


What fibers and dyes do you love to work with?
"My favorite fiber to dye is superwash merino. My simple sock base is one of my favorites because it takes dyes great and the end result is really crisp. Another favorite would be a bamboo or silk blend because the sheen is just amazing."






Behind the scenes...

A few colorways... 

Such interesting color combinations! Do you want to see more? Visit Hauteknit Yarn on Etsy, Instagram, and Ravelry. Thanks for joining us today, Mishellee!

Crochet iPhone 6 Case

A while back I made this crochet case for an iPhone 4s. Using the same method, I recently made a case for an iPhone 6. The only thing I changed was that I did turn after every round, making the fabric slightly thicker. Making this case was an excellent way to use up some scrap yarn.

Fiber Arts Friday: Quilting with Phyllis Prom

The first Friday of every month is Fiber Arts Friday! Join me as we expand our horizons beyond crochet to focus on other interesting fiber and needle arts. Enjoy the beautiful projects and learn something new along the way. Today we will be taking a look at the gorgeous art quits made by Phyllis Prom. What is quilting? "Quilting is the process of sewing of two or more layers of material together to make a thicker padded material, usually to create a quilt or quilted garments. The whole process of creating a quilt or quilted garment also involves other steps such as designing, piecing, appliqué, and binding." Prepare yourself to see some truly inspirational quilts. Take it away, Phyllis!

About Phyllis
"I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest where my husband and I raised two beautiful children, a girl and a boy. We have 6 wonderful grandchildren. I am retired. I love to go on long drives and take a lot of photographs to use in my art work."

How long have you been quilting? How did you get started?
"I have been quilting for 52 years and making art quilts for 11 years. I had never made an art quilt before and with no art history I started making the landscape art quilts after my husband passed away from cancer. He was an outdoorsman, rode horses, and we would go on long drives on the weekends."

What advice do you have for folks who are interested in quilting?
"Find something you love to do, read about it, take classes and do the best you can do at it and it will be very rewarding. I don't just mean financially, it will feed your soul and make you very happy."

Here is some of her work...

Wow. Just wow. If you'd like to see more of these lovely quilts, check out her Etsy shop. Thank you so much for sharing with us today, Phyllis! If you'd like more information about quilting, check out about.com's info.

May Freebie Friday Winner

Ready to find out who won the two hanks of alpaca yarn? It was...

Congrats, Anne! I'll be contacting you shortly to get details from you. The next Freebie Friday is in July, so be on the lookout everyone!