Basketweave Cowl

Remember my Basketweave Scarf? Recently I was just itching to work up another project with that stitch. Just my luck, a friend introduced me to Meg White. Meg is a knitter and crocheter who also writes her own patterns. She had come into some free yarn and was sharing with the group I attend on Sundays. How generous! You'll never guess what I scored... more of that awesome Mountain Colors Twizzle yarn in a different color, Big Sky. It was perfect for a basketweave project!

It turned out deliciously squishy if I do say so myself :) I used a 5.5mm hook and not quite one whole skein of the yarn. I still have another one! What shall I make with it?

Did you want to make your own basketweave cowl? Simply follow my basketweave tutorial (linked above) until your cowl is the desired length. Then add a few rows of single crochet with some button holes. Ta da!

Friday Focus: Susan Carlson aka Felted Button

One of the best things about yarn is that it comes in so many pretty colors. It's so delightful to softly run those colors through your fingers as you make your masterpiece. Today's featured designer, Susan Carlson, is a master of color. Her patterns capture the best face of the yarn with lovely textures. Don't take my word for it! Feast your eyes on the splendor that follows.

Who taught you to crochet? How long have you been doing it?
I was taught to crochet by my left-handed granny. Since I'm a righty, I'm still not certain how she pulled it off with a distracted and squirmy 9 year old, but I'll admit I found the process intriguing. From there I made only one thing that I can really recall...a hideously long, squeaky black scarf for my dad. See, my granny never taught me how to fasten off, so I just kept going until the entire skein was gone. That whole "not knowing when to stop" was a problem I faced in school, too, as my teachers confirmed. Indeed, I immediately got distracted--for over 30 years--with things like running hurdles, teaching high school sciences, and learning a lot about other crafty things. But then, being inspired by a number of crochet blogs, I found the hook my granny had given me and bought A LOT of yarn. Again, not knowing quite when to stop, I made the most ginormous blanket! But I was "hooked" and have been crocheting ever since! 

Why do you crochet?
I have what I call a very "noisy" brain. I crochet because it quiets the noise. And I remember as a child feeling the NEED to create something... anything. With crocheting, not only do I get a quiet mind, but also a wonderful, colorful, original handmade item to enjoy or share. Plus, do you realize how many colors of yarn there are?

Crochet Favorites
COLOR!! Anything colorful makes my wee heart sing! I love colorful yarn and my rainbow set of Clover Amour hooks! I love soft and colorful cotton, colorful feltable wool, and colorful buttons—hence Felted Button! Why designing and writing patterns? To have someone with their own hands translate and make a tangible creation from what started out as only an idea in my head, well, it’s magical!! Plus, I never have to make the same thing twice—it’s that distraction/focus issue again. 

For me, I tend to be more focused on the art of the design than the current style or trend. That’s probably why I am drawn to blankets and rugs as they are essentially a huge canvas on which to "paint" or "draw" with colorful yarn!

A few finished objects...
Like the Painted Pixels Blanket which is made with 7 colorways of a self-striping yarn. This one was taken on as a challenge to myself to see if I could make these 7 disparate balls of yarn actually look good together.

Or the Rainbow Sprinkles Blanket which came to me as I imagined little sprinkles of color falling against a neutral background gaining more color as they fell into a colorful pile of happiness!

Or the Pointillism Posie Blanket which dawned on me while reminiscing upon my sixth grade art class where we learned about pointillism. Each of the 29 colors of motifs—busted from my stash--makes a little spot of color that adds to the image of the huge flower!

Texture and color are vital elements in my designs, but never at the expense of crocheting that is not pleasurable, as I believe the fun is in the action of hook and yarn in hand, not merely the finished product. So I strive to make my patterns friendly for various skill levels with any unusual stitches and techniques shown in detail. It has to be fun to make, right?!

What are you working on right now?

I am adoring this hooky adventure I am on and hope to continue designing, crocheting, and sharing some happy colorful creations with the world. I love meeting other like-minded crocheting fools geniuses like me and am looking forward to challenging myself with new designs and colorful creations! Now if I could only get focused on just one design at a …squirrel!

Find Felted Button colorful crochet patterns on Ravelry, Craftsy and Etsy. Stay in the “Button” loop with me on Facebook, Pinterest or at Felted Button.

Just stunning, Susan! Thank you so much for joining us today.  

A Little Bit Of Fun... "Crochet": A Lyrical Parody of "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha

Crochet
To be sung in the style of “Tik Tok” by Ke$ha
Parody lyrics by Sara Leighton of Illuminate Crochet

Wake up in the morning feelin’ like Doris Chan
I grab my WIP, I’m out the door, I’m makin’ an afghan
Before I leave pack my bag with alpaca silk blend
‘Cause my hooks and my skeins are like my best friends

I’m talkin’ projects in my queue queue
Don’t know which to choose choose
Gotta hook ‘em in every hue hue
Hats and scarves and doilies
Cute amigurumi
Gonna get a little bit stitchy

Crochet
Every day
Got my WIPs and chains out tonight
Hook it tight, weave some ends in alright
Crochet
Gettin’ cray with the winder and swift like
Whoa ooo oh ooo uh oh
Whoa ooo oh ooo uh oh

Crochet
Every day
Got my WIPs and chains out tonight
Hook it tight, weave some ends in alright
Crochet
Got it made, blue ribbon win at the craft
Show ooo oh ooo uh oh
Show ooo oh ooo uh oh

Ain’t got a care in the world but got plenty of yarn
If I ever run out I’ll make some tarn or some plarn
And now the dudes are lining up for some sweet handmade sweaters
Gotta get them their own hooks so they can become brocheters

I’m talkin’ bout
Granny squares at my place place
Haters up in my face face
Can they make Irish lace?
(Didn’t think so)
Pinterest boards are full full
Yarn over and pull pull
Never leave without my wool wool, gotta have my wool

Crochet
Every day
Got my WIPs and chains out tonight
Hook it tight, weave some ends in alright
Crochet
One more row, gotta hook up one more
FO ooo oh ooo uh oh
FO ooo oh ooo uh oh

Crochet
Every day
Got my WIPs and chains out tonight
Hook it tight, weave some ends in alright
Crochet
Feelin’ great, got my Christmas gifts ready to
Go ooo oh ooo uh oh
Go ooo oh ooo uh oh

Crochet, you build me up
You make me glad
Not just a fad
Yeah, you got me

With my hands full
of hook and wool
my heart is full
Yeah you got me

Crochet, you build me up
You make me glad
Not just a fad
Yeah, you got me

With my hands full
of hook and wool
my heart is full
Yeah you got me

With my hands full
of hook and wool
of hook and wool

Now the yarn swap don’t start ‘til I walk in

Crochet
Every day
Got my WIPs and chains out tonight
Hook it tight, weave some ends in alright
Crochet
What a day, finally finished my UF
O ooo oh ooo uh oh
O ooo oh ooo uh oh

Crochet
Every day
Got my WIPs and chains out tonight
Hook it tight, weave some ends in alright
Crochet
That’s my game, come on try it, you never
Know ooo oh ooo uh oh
Know ooo oh ooo uh oh

Update: The Craft Club's World Record Yarn Bomb

Remember when I sent a few items to The Craft Club for their world record yarn bomb? Here's a bit of an update! They not only met but exceeded their goal of 4,000 items with 13,388 items present. Wow! Talk about breaking a record. Here are some bright and beautiful pictures of the event, taken by and used with the permission of The Craft Club. Big round of applause for all involved!

Remix Friday: Tree of Life Stone

Crochet covers have been pretty popular lately. There are covers for jars, electronic devices, chapstick tubes, and more. But have you ever thought of crocheting a cover for... a rock? How creative! There are several really interesting patterns out there for dressing up stones and using them as classy home decor. Today's Remix takes this idea one step further. Rae made her rock overlay even more special by using wire and incorporating a tree shape. Let's have a look!

The Crocheter

"Oh what I know about myself isn't really worth telling. If you'll only let me tell you what I imagine about myself, you'll think it ever so much more interesting" - Anne of Green Gables

My name is Rae - an 'UpNorth' Girl, from Northern Wisconsin. My love for knitting and crocheting all began when as a small girl I would sit with my 'Gramma Great' and 'help' her knit socks. Gram knit many pairs of socks for her family and would even knit new feet onto the socks when the feet were beyond darning anymore. Gram also crocheted new mittens every winter for all of us. The men in the family would use their mittens as liners inside their leather choppers.

My son who is 30+ still has a small pair of knitted socks that Gram had knit for him when he was a small child. I have passed on crocheted baby blankets that Gram had made for my son to his children, my grandchildren, who never got to meet Gramma Great but her blankets got to hug them tight for her many years later. Gram was the first to introduce me to the basics of these handcrafts and here I am now many years later carrying on the tradition. Thanks Gram!

The Original Pattern
Lacy River Rocks by Margaret Oomen

The Story 

Several years ago I happened upon a blog, 'Resurrection Fern', and fell in love with the crochet covered stones of Margaret Oomen's. I was so pleased to see in 2009 that 'Crochet Today!' featured Margie and patterns for 3 stones designed by her. I immediately purchased that issue and got out a hook and some thread and dove right in. I was Hooked! My love of stones and crocheting with thread were a perfect match!

Since that time I have created many covered stone projects, including versions of Margies Merfish. 

I love to walk the shores of Lake Superior and find just the perfect stone!

The Remix
Why not wire? My Tree of Life Stone was my first attempt crocheting with wire. I had seen some beautiful wire crochet art while surfing the net and was very interested in giving it a try. I did a little research, found some tutorials, gathered supplies that were suggested and Voila! My Tree of Life Stone.

I used a 1.5mm hook and Artistic Wire 28 gauge in non-tarnish silver. I crocheted around the stone first and then cut shorter pieces of the same wire to begin creating the tree itself onto the front of the stone. The small piece of sea glass was given to me by a dear friend. I inserted the glass to represent green leaves among the branches.

So thanks to Margaret Oomen for sharing so generously I now have my own collection of covered stones with many given away as gifts to friends and family. So give it a try and you too will be on your way creating many variations of your own just as I have.

Crochet is...  Memories of Gram

Wow, look at all of those neat rocks! Crocheting with metal is a bit tricky, so props to Rae for doing such a lovely job. Beautiful tree! Interested in what other creative ideas Rae has to share? You can find her on Ravelry and Flickr. Thank you so much for sharing your project with us today, Rae!

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!

Review: Manos Del Uruguay Franca Yarn

Today I'll be reviewing Manos Del Uruguay Franca yarn. Disclaimer: I received this complimentary yarn in exchange for a review. I am not being paid to write this review and everything shared here is my real opinion.

I'm always excited when I receive yarn in the mail. What fiber lover doesn't enjoy that first squish of a new acquisition? However, when the parcel with Franca came I wasn't prepared for the delightful poof that would pop out.

Seriously. It was the biggest, softest poof of yarn ever. And so colorful! The colorway is Granada and it reminds me of a tropical drink. Franca is 100% superwash merino. Superwash! Yarn this soft and exciting that you can actually wash? Sweet! Also, the yarn label included information about this yarn's fair trade status. Manos Del Uruguay seeks to improve the lives of Uruguayan women and their communities. The label was even signed by the artisan who dyed my hank!

Franca is a pure delight. It's everything that's fun about yarn: colorful, soft, squishy, fun to work with. It's a lot like roving without the hassle. What to make? I pondered my project as I wound the hank. By the by, I put the whole hank around my neck first like a scarf just because I could :p

That is one formidable cake of yarn! I was worried that its thickness would affect winding but I had no trouble at all.

Okay, now, what to make? I finally settled on a simple stitch since the yarn rather speaks for itself. It's colorful and bold without needing a complex stitch pattern. I wanted my item to have some movement, so I chose the tall triple crochet stitch. I used a 9mm hook since it's the biggest that I currently own, but this yarn could go for a 10mm or even a 12mm as well. Ready to see what I made? It's a snuggle-worthy neck warmer! It only took me a little over an hour and used up not quite the whole yarn cake.

Yay! So let's recap. This yarn is soft and fun to work with. It works up quickly. You can wash it. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Instant gift! It's perfect for whipping up nice holiday or birthday gifts. You get to have fun and the giftee gets a beautiful, easy-care gift. Slender scarves, hats, neck warmers, and cowls would all be good projects for this yarn. With several other temptingly pretty colorways, I may just have to get some more!