New Crochet Pattern: Weightless Cowl

It's the first day of 2018. I can hardly believe it. The last couple of years have been very busy and very challenging in a number of ways. I hope that life calms down a bit for me and that I can be much more active in the fiber community this year. I want to kick off 2018 by releasing a new pattern right away. The Weightless Cowl is available on Ravelry and Craftsy.

Float away to crochet bliss while you create this lovely cowl. The gradual widening from top to bottom makes it easy to style. This simple, elegant cowl is worked in the round with the right side facing. It isn’t difficult to create, using different sizes of hooks to decrease instead of decreasing the number of stitches.

This pattern is a part of my new Cerebral Crochet Series. I've been looking for a way to unite my three passions: fiber arts, teaching/learning, and psychology. I think I may have found it!

So, what is the Cerebral Crochet Series? Well, the cerebrum is the part of our brains responsible for complex functioning, including what we would colloquially refer to as "thinking." Every pattern in the Cerebral Crochet Series will include some researched facts that relate to the name of the pattern.

For your entertainment, a few fun facts about weightlessness are included at the end of the Weightless Cowl pattern. I'm really excited about this series! Let me know what you think in the comments.

New Crochet Pattern: Buttercream Cowl

It's been a while since I've posted, hasn't it? My life has gotten fairly busy... a good kind of busy, I promise! However, don't think I've abandoned my crochet pursuits. In fact, I have a brand new pattern to share with you right this minute! It's the Buttercream Cowl. It's available on Ravelry and Craftsy.

The Buttercream Cowl is a squishy delight that will warm you up in the fall and winter. It’s such fun to whip up a project so quickly with big, soft yarn and a large crochet hook. Pick out a cute button to showcase on this chunky, fun accessory.

Upcoming Cowl Pattern

I've talked to you before about how I don't usually show my patterns as they are in progress. For some reason it seems very exposing to me not to have the complete control of presenting a completely polished product. Today, I am changing things up a bit and taking a risk :)

I am currently working on a cowl pattern. It is delightfully squishy and soft. Yesterday was a rather long day for me, and today I have the luxury of staying a little closer to home, so I hope to finish it soon and get it to my testers. Here is a sneak peak.

Knit and Crochet Keyhole Scarf

I just can't seem to keep myself from crocheting, even when I'm knitting! After my major deadline was met (Yay!), I spent some time relaxing with projects that I hadn't worked on in a while. This keyhole scarf is knitted with one humble skein of Knit Picks Reverie and loosely based on this pattern, though I deviated from it. I didn't include the selvage, or garter stitch that surrounds stockinette to keep it from curling, and instead worked two rounds of single crochet around the outside. Included in the second round was a shell stitch border on each end. Finally, I reinforced the keyhole with some crochet as well. See what I mean? It seems I just have to crochet everything, even my knitting!

I am happy to be learning new things. This time I learned to cast off and on in the middle of a row. What have you learned lately?

Nautical Baby Blanket

When I was in college I was in a sorority, Delta Gamma to be specific. Delta Gamma's symbol is the anchor, so many of my sisters got into anchors and other nautically-themed items. One of my lovely testers, Burgundy, asked me for some ideas regarding a nautical blanket pattern. As you can imagine I was totally ready to jump on board (ba dum ch). I present to you the Nautical Baby Blanket, complete with anchor!

I am really proud of this pattern for several reasons. I love the way the color waves and the texture waves interact with each other. I love that the anchor applique is a bit larger than what's currently available and is worked in one piece. Finally, I love the special technique that's used to give the border a corded look.

The Nautical Baby Blanket pattern is available on Ravelry and Craftsy. Work one up for your little sailor!

"One Skein" Throw

A college friend of ours just got married on Saturday. We got the save-the-date months ago, but I have been so delightedly distracted by pattern designing that I didn't think about crocheting something for the couple until two weeks before the wedding. It has become a recent personal goal of mine to crochet a blanket to accompany every wedding gift I give and a baby blanket to accompany every baby shower gift. I needed to act quickly and ended up trying out the free One Skein Throw pattern from Coats and Clark. I highly recommend it, though it certainly took more than one skein! I cheated a bit and used an 8mm hook and 8mm yarn for a very plush throw rather than the 6.5mm that the pattern calls for. The pattern is based on a relaxed two row repeat that works up quickly and I'm quite pleased with how the throw came out. I worked mine up a little differently from the pattern example. I hope that the newlyweds enjoy it!

I thought it would be nice for them to snuggle under it on the couch and watch movies. Making this blanket was enjoyable enough that I will most likely make it again in the future.

Lullaby Baby Set

Hello there, yarnies. I'm sorry to report that there won't be a Friday Focus today. I took a little too long to get the ball rolling on a couple of designers I was interested in, so there wasn't adequate time given to expect a response from them by Thursday night. Not to worry! Friday Focus will be back next week and I've got several amazing designers lined up.

The day is not a total loss. In fact, a little greedy part of me is actually a bit happy that I get to post my own work today...perhaps I subconsciously neglected the Friday Focus? In any case, what I have to share with you today is a brand new pattern! I'm really proud and excited to share it with you. May I present the Lullaby Baby Set.

Although the pattern uses basic stitches and could be accomplished by a beginner, the appliques were an intense amount of work to both design and attach. When I was finished I truly felt triumphant. Those who make this set are sure to take pride in their work.

The blanket shows a musically accurate version of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in the key of G. When I first began designing crochet patterns I knew I wanted to make a baby blanket based on sheet music. It took me a little while to decide which song to go with. Another strong contender was Ode to Joy (for your little bundle of joy!), but I ultimately went with Mozart over Beethoven and selected this children's classic. Did you know that Mozart formally arranged Twinkle, Twinkle at one point? I didn't before I wrote this set! I stumbled across that little tidbit while I was deciding which key and meter to put it in.

 

A few of my appliques ended up a little tipsy, but I think it gives my blanket character. The pattern is available on Ravelry. Special thanks go out to my incredible pattern tester who whipped up her sample in less than a week! She is super duper speedy, I really don't know how she does it. Keep a look out for her upcoming project page on Ravelry. She said that the colors she chose reminded her of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Cute!

Stayed tuned to Illuminate Crochet, folks. Next week we will resume our usual broadcast schedule!

Sweet As Honey Baby Set

As you've probably noticed by now, I really enjoy writing baby set patterns. This may or may not have something to do with my baby fever (don't get excited, no babies for a few more years!). In all seriousness, even though desiring a baby is certainly a factor, there are several things about baby blankets and baby sets that inspire me. The first is that babies are only small for a short period of time. It seems fitting that they should have bright, beautiful items that honor this special time in their lives and in the lives of those who love them. I delight in imagining families lovingly creating items from my patterns that can be passed down to the babies of successive generations.

Another thing I love about baby sets is that you can use bold colors and stitches that you might not be able to use with adults. Babies don't mind standing out in a crowd. Baby blankets are like blank canvases that I can fill with fun images and texture.

The third reason I enjoy making baby sets is that they challenge my crochet skills. Sometimes I'm brave enough to try stitches that look difficult because they will give my item the desired effect. I need to engage my math skills when selecting stitch combinations and borders for my projects. It's fun to find the balance between shape and stitch count.

I used my passion and ever evolving skills to make my most fun pattern yet, the Sweet As Honey Baby Set.

 

One of the most engaging parts of pattern development in this case was the creation of the hexagon. When you crochet in the round your stitches need to increase at regular intervals or your circle will ripple instead of lay flat. Through some experimentation I was able to balance regular increases with a stitch pattern that would form the six distinct sides necessary for a pleasing hexagon and honeycomb pattern.

This pattern has enjoyed the most sales success and positive feedback of all of the patterns I have released so far. How exciting! As a side note, I'm glad that people are thinking about bees since recent research on bees and bee populations has been so alarming.

If you are interested in my new pattern, it is available here in my Ravelry store. Now to get to work on the next one!

A Little Blanket for My Little Kitty

Spending the time to make this blanket was a real gamble. After all, everyone knows that cats rarely use items as intended. Sink? That's a bed. Fruit bowl? That's a bed. Your chest? That's a bed. Basket bought specifically for use as a cat bed? That's a waste of money. She was seriously trying to curl up in her toy box rather than use the nice basket that we got for her, bless her heart. I thought she might give it a second chance if I put something soft inside of it and...it actually worked! Call the media! Our cat actually sleeps in her basket now.

Aww, isn't she cute when she's not trying to steal your earbuds or play with a toy mouse on your bed at 2am? All that aside, I love her so very much. I was so happy that she decided to use the blanket and it melts my heart every time she sleeps in her basket.

The pattern of the blanket is a modified bobble stitch that I came up with. I haven't found it anywhere else, so I will continue to proudly believe that I invented it unless someone tells me differently! If you have an idea for what I should name it I'd love to hear about it.

I am currently working on a baby blanket pattern that will utilize this stitch. Stay tuned if you're interested in trying it out yourself!

The work grows at a decent rate while using this stitch. Because you work bobbles for every row instead of every other like a traditional bobble stitch, the bobble portion of the blanket looks the same on both sides. The piece is quite flexible and moves nicely while still being plush. I have already used this stitch for several items and it will probably be a go-to when I need to make something fluffy.