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.

Friday Focus: Sarah Jane Designs

We've reached the end of the month once again. You know what that means... Friday Focus time! Today's featured designer, Sarah Jane, creates really interesting lacy and textured patterns. Her accessories have such a neat Victorian flair. If you're looking for something a bit different yet still elegant and chic, Sarah's got just the patterns for you. She's here today to tell us a bit about her patterns and about her design career.

Who taught you to crochet? How long have you been doing it?
I have been crocheting since I was about 4 years old (if very long chains count!). From memory I was shown the basic stitches by a great Aunt of mine who was actually blind. I only ever saw her the once but she was patient enough with a curious 4 year old and sent me away with a ball of wool and my very own crochet hook. The rest I taught myself via library books and trial and error (lots of error!). My first actual finished object was a hideous cape thing made from any scrap of yarn I could salvage, using only chain stitch and single crochet which were the only 2 stitches I knew at the time (I was about 8 I think)....I wish I still had it.

Why do you crochet?
I need to be creative, it helps to keep me sane in the insanity of a life that involves 8 children even though they are a mixture of children and adults now. I love to crochet because it’s portable and needs minimal tools, I can pick up a hook and work just a few stitches or spend an entire afternoon ‘hooking’. I have done many other crafts but have always come back to crochet which is my first love. With the number of children in the house it’s great to have a craft that I can pick up and put down at will and that doesn’t include copious pins or other sharp implements, also if I lose a stitch it is only one stitch :D.

Crochet Favorites
Magazines, I love all kinds of magazines for crochet and I get a lot of inspiration from knitting and fashion magazines as well. Pinterest is my very favourite place (after Ravelry of course), I can spend hours on Pinterest if I’m not careful. I have a couple of stitch dictionaries but these days I find most of what I need on the internet. Also www.mooglyblog.com and www.undergroundcrafter.com are my favourite blogs both for reading and tutorials and things.

As for hook I use the cheap aluminium hooks that can be bought on Ebay for just a few dollars, I also use Boye aluminium hooks and love them. I seem to prefer the weight and feel of the aluminium hooks over other types and don’t like hooks that have handles because my crocheting style means that the handle gets in the way.I adore colour and texture, I am inspired by the feel and colour of the yarn as well.

What are you working on right now?
I have just finished a shawl that I am blocking and am part way through a submission piece. I also have a few ideas floating around for a couple of collections I’d like to publish next year. I am also working on a hat but am not liking it so much so that one will probably end up in the frog pile.

A few finished objects...
I am very proud of my Hardware Heaven Collection which combines both crochet and steampunk. It’s made in Jilly yarn from Dream in Color and I loved everything about working on this collection.

Soft as Butter was a departure for me as it is a larger item than I usually make. Creating the pattern and charts was challenging but I love how it turned out.

Frostberry Hat is one of my most popular designs and came from a stitch pattern I saw on the internet that I loved and was determined to use in something...The difference in the texture from one side of the hat to the other is my favourite thing about this.

Sarah is so talented to be able to create such unique and different designs. Take a look at more of her work on Ravelry and catch up with her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Thank you so much for joining us today, Sarah!

Remix Friday: Walking After Midnight Dress

Some folks are so creatively amazing that it boggles the mind. It seems like they have a special gift for looking at the world and seeing latent possibilities everywhere. Have you ever met a person like that? Today's Remix was hooked up by a woman whose creativity shines so brightly that it has recently been praised by ABC, Buzzfeed, and The Huffington Post. She's a fellow Seattle-ite and I'm so happy to share more of her creativity with you today! Let's take a moment today to learn about her and look at the alterations she made to an existing pattern.

The Crocheter
My name is Chi Krneta and I am an architect by day.  The design and graphics experience I have as an architect applies beautifully to other hobbies that I enjoy such as photography, apparel design, jewelry design, and crocheting.  I first learned how to crochet from my grandmother when I was 7 but haven't made much until the past few years.  I'm usually thinking of ways to make something function better and be more beautiful just like what I do at work when designing a building.

The Original Pattern
I was browsing Ravelry and saw Doris Chan's beautiful "Walking after Midnight" crocheted skirt.  I wanted to give it a try.

The Story
The dress originally was a skirt just like the "Walking After Midnight" skirt except it didn't turn out quite as nicely as Doris Chan's skirt because I'm terrible at following directions (I actually don't know how to read written crochet directions and rely only on photographs and diagrams).  I wore it for a while as a skirt and decided it was longer than I had liked for a skirt so I turned it into a dress by adding a top to it.

The Remix
I did not sew a lining to the dress because I wanted to make it flexible and to be able to wear it for different occasions with different things underneath.  I took a series of photos of myself to document and diagram how the dress could be worn for each season.  I love the flexibility of lacy crocheted garments that could be mixed and layered depending on weather and occasion.

Crochet is... beautiful, innovative, versatile

I use my Flickr album to document my design endeavors.

So pretty. How cool that she even styled the finished object! Check out her other projects too, they're amazing of course. Thank you so much for joining us today, Chi. Have a great weekend everyone!

Schultertuch/Dreieckstuch aka Orchideeflower Shawl

Have you every crocheted with Knitpicks Chroma? They have such lovely colorways! I had been gazing longingly at Wondermint for a long time and finally decided to purchase it for myself. I'm so glad I did -- they are retiring it! What did I make with my precious Wondermint fingering weight yarn? A lovely shawl.

Such pretty colors! The pattern is a really great four row repeat that was very easy to memorize. Here it is on Ravelry. The original pattern is in German so I ended up using the chart. As other Ravelers suggested, I subbed in a ch 7 for the ch 10 loops and it came out very nice. I also added a simple single crochet border at the very end which I think ties everything together. I definitely recommend it as a great pattern for showing off a slow striping yarn. Thanks go out to my lovely husband Alex for helping me take pictures! Also, wow do I need a haircut or what?

I may end up vending at a craft fair this winter, but if I don't this shawl will eventually show up in my Etsy shop.

Crochet in Downeast Maine

Sorry, no Remix Friday today :/ I haven't mentioned this before because it isn't terrible productive, but I do want to say that while it's usually a complete joy to connect with other crocheters and designers it's sometimes difficult as well. There are some occasions when a commitment someone has made to me falls through and it makes my job a bit harder. Today was one of those times. I suppose the thing I should take away from these moments is a resolve to be as easy to work with and as reliable as possible when it's my turn to make commitments. Stay tuned, there are many other awesome Remix Friday and Friday Focus posts on their way in coming weeks! In the meantime, here's a crochet sighting.

Alex and I recently took a trip across the country to Maine for a wedding. The rehearsal dinner was a low-key affair in a vacation cabin with lovely views of the forest and ocean. While we were there I noticed this crochet valance. When I told everyone it was handmade, they didn't believe me at first! It's true, though. While some machines can mimic the look of crochet (you may have seen mock-crochet edgings on the necklines of tops and dresses like the one I'm wearing below), true crochet cannot be done by machine.

Cool, huh? Also, this post would not be complete without a giant blueberry. Yes, a giant blueberry! I didn't know this but Maine is apparently an important blueberry location. We visited a super fun tourist attraction called Wild Blueberry Land. The inside of the main building had blueberry flavored/themed everything. We got some blueberry coffee, blueberry taffy, and blueberry soda. The complex had other things to do as well, like a blueberry-themed mini-golf course. If you're ever in downeast Maine, go have a look :)

Book Review: Crochet Lace by Pauline Turner

The Good
This book has some interesting information on the history of different styles of crochet lace. It also has one of the clearest explanations of filet that I've seen so far. The book goes into great depth in its descriptions. There are several motif patterns as well as a few edging patterns. The author herself is an accomplished crocheter with many publications.

The Bad
There isn't necessarily a picture for every pattern. The book focuses more on the general application and formation of the crochet pieces rather than focusing on finished objects, so it may confuse those who are looking for clear start-to-finish patterns. Also, I expected a book about crochet lace to have more doily patterns and examples.

The Verdict
If you're looking for an interesting read and introduction to crochet lace and object construction in a general sense, this book is a yes. If you've been having trouble with filet and want another take on it, this book is a yes. If you are looking for a book with many fully-formed start-to-finish lace patterns, especially doilies, this book is a no.