Tag Archives: Design

A Little Flirt in the Tunisian Skirt

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ScannedImageI had a lot of fun creating the Flirt Skirt that can be found in the October 2016 issue of I Like Crochet magazine. It has a slight swing, and is inspired by a simple traditional full skirt. It definitely has a feminine quality, yet it is made from a linen based yarn and thus has a nice structure.

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Tunisian Flirt Skirt Photo courtesy I Like Crochet/ Prime Publishing

The entire skirt is worked vertically, so it is pretty easy to customize it to any size. All you need to do is add or subtract rows to make it bigger or smaller, and if you would like to change the length, simply increase or decrease the number of the beginning chain. All the shaping is created with short rows that give a great flare at the hem.

I definitely need to make this one for myself! I find that giving a little flounce at the hem gives a little more accent to my “curves”. Granted, I am of a large, okay, extra-large size, but that does not mean that I don’t like to have an outfit without some shape. I don’t want to wear a sack and hide, and this skirt allows me to help add a visual balance to my shape. I have found that this skirt shape is very flattering on many different body types.

The construction in essentially in one simple stitch, which gives the overall design a classic, and clean feel, while maintaining a pattern that is easy for beginners. For more seasoned crocheters it is a relatively quick project to work up, making a quick addition to any wardrobe.

It is constructed in a yarn without much stretch, and substituting a yarn with more bounce, like a wool, will definitely give this skirt a different life. While even a hand painted or variegated yarn can give a really great visual effect, causing a slimming vertical line.

Yeah, I am happy with the way this one came together.

The Wine Country Throw Comes Alive

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ScannedImageI love simple stitch patterns that really look much more difficult than they are. My latest design the Wine Country Throw in the October 2016 issue of Crochet World Magazine fits this description.

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Wine Country Throw Photo courtesy of Annie’s

When I originally came up with this design I referred to it as “Titter Tat” because the stitches had such a back and forth feel to it that was like seesaw, but the current name of Wine Country is pretty fitting since I am surrounded vineyards. Even as I type this the harvest known as the “crush” is happening as the wine making process is beginning. Sitting back on my screened porch wrapped in this throw is now a great way to end the fall day.

The way the stitches come together, almost has you believing that they are working in opposite direction yet it is simply where the stitches are worked. This also causes the fabric to have an incredible amount stretch.  The edging is what ultimately creates a bit of drama to this piece, as it adds a lace quality and feminine charm, by changing the border to something more solid, such as a couple of rounds of double crochets and this throw has a completely different feel, something a little more masculine, a little more modern.

133005_small2I have to admit that this project works up pretty fast, as it is a worsted weight yarn with a relatively large hook. I know this first hand as I had to rework the pattern a couple of time to ensure the correct size of the finished sample. The stretch of the fabric was misleading my gauge, and thus had me creating throws that were a bit too small. I tore it back and reworked it at least three times before it became what I had envisioned, but in doing so it helped me understand the stitches more, and I am think the end result is definitely a good one.

A Throw of Garden Tendrils, the Ivy on the Fence

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ScannedImageThere is something about taking a simple skill, like making a crochet chain, and using it in a way that you hadn’t conceived of in the past to make you smile. That is how I feel about my latest design Tendrils Throw, in the Summer 2016 issue of Love of Crochet magazine.

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Tendril Throw Photo courtesy of Love of Crochet/ Julia Vandenoever

The throw is worked with large open, airy, and join-as-you-go motifs, which look delicate, but really hold its structure together quite well.

This motif was a resulting of playing. It was a while back, but I was working with chain loops, and I was experimenting with the effect that was made by twisting these loops to work the stitches. It might not seem like this simple concept should actually do much, and if it is worked without subsequent rounds it can just make things feel, well twisted. However it creates neat negative spaces, and actually makes the open work feel a little heartier without adding bulk.

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Tendrils Throw Photo courtesy of Love of Crochet/ Julia Vandenoever

Overall the inspiration was taken from ivy that was climbing on a wrought-iron fence, I think that the shells and picots that make up the solid spaces of this resemble leaves, while the chain loops form the iron work of support.

The pattern creates a throw that is large enough to cover a twin size bed, and if placed over a solid bed cover can be reminiscent of the heritage thread bedspreads, it can also add a bit of whimsy and feminine touch to a garden space.

I like how it ultimately came together, I hope you enjoy it too.

Easter Challenge, I Think Success

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ScannedImageI was recently presented with a challenge, and honestly I enjoy designing this way.

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Empress Jeweled Egg US $3.50

Bead Biz, a great bead supply company, presented me a challenge to create a beaded ornament primarily for Easter. After some research and some playing I think I came up with a couple that fit the build pretty nicely.

At my home Easter is pretty quiet. We color eggs, finding that we love the jewel tones that come from dyeing brown eggs, then I may use the dyes to color yarns that I may have around (you can find out how to do that here). We snack on candy from baskets, may head out to an egg hunt at a local park, and generally enjoy day as a family. However doing some research into this challenge brought back some memories for me, and some of the images of egg decorations I found very fascinating. I remember as a kid, one year my mom decided to attempt some natural egg dying, using onion skins. I recall her poking pin holes on the ends of the eggs, and blowing the content, after much work, into a bowl, leaving the egg hollow. She then tied small leaves around the egg and rested it in her onion skin dye. After a great while she removed the egg and its bindings and she had a beautiful brown colored egg that had leave images. However what I remember most, is her finding the effort not entirely worth the outcome. She only did this craft once.

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Imperial Delight Jeweled Egg US $3.50

In designing these ornaments some of these memories joined me, so I managed to keep the overall design simple, but what I think are beautiful results. I really wanted the beads to shine, and I think I have succeeded in that. They really seem like the star of the show. I found that once I was completed with them, that I felt that I could find a place in my home for them year round. They can easily be adapted to the Christmas holiday traditions, as well as beautiful gifts to welcome a baby, a birthday, or even a hostess. They work up rather quickly, and with different bead color combinations can offer many stunning results. Each pattern actually has two designs, one for a large oval ornament, and one for a small plastic Easter egg, giving variety and additional options and inspiration.

I have both sets of patterns available on Ravery and Craftsy, and if you would like to check them out for yourself, I am offering a 20% off coupon code for all of my patterns through the end of March 2016 to celebrate National Crochet Month. So if you see anything you like at my Ravelry store, use code SW2016 and receive this discount until March 31, 2016.

If you want to learn more about using beads in your crochet? Or even your knitting? Considering attending my class “Beading 3 Ways” at the Knit & Crochet Show in Charleston, SC Saturday July 16, 2016. I am excited! It is my first time teaching at a national venue, if you happen to be able to attend, please check out my classes!

Unexpected Journeys- A Little Like Life

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ScannedImageThe interesting thing about ideas is that you never know when they are needed, or used. My latest released design, Holiday Sequins Sweater, reminds me of that, its journey was an awkward one, but now it sits on the cover of the Winter 2015 issue of Love of Crochet. I may not have even known that it graced the pages, let alone the cover had it not been brought to my attention by a very compassionate and supportive designer, Marly Bird. She had noticed it, took a picture of the cover and tag me in a Facebook post.

IMG_20151201_172418778The idea for this sweater came to me nearly four years ago as I was swatching with a yarn, which I believe has been since discontinued. I was inspired by a top that my sister had given me that had this cowl type neck, but I was never happy with how it only came to my waist line, it felt to short. I created a sketch to accompany the swatch of a simple texture, and sent it to various publishers, none of which were interested. As the seasons changed I would send it to a couple of other publishers, but it never found the right fit, until I answered a call for designs for a new book that Lorna Miser was putting together.

At the time, I had never met Lorna, yet I had heard about her as a local legend. She is the original founder of Lorna’s Lace Yarn, and actually began the business just a couple of miles from me as I was growing up. Of course I had no knowledge of this at the time, or frankly the interest, but as I grew older and even began working in the crochet/yarn industry, people would notice my street address and ask if I knew Lorna. That is just how small the world can be, she began the business and grew it for several years literally just down the street from me.

She has since sold the business and is focused on designing, and was putting together a new crochet book, one in which this sweater made to cut for, so the sample was made and the pattern written. The book never made it to fruition, but the design found its way to Love of Crochet, where unbeknown to me it landed on the cover. When the design was conceived I really thought that it was great, but then it was constantly rejected, then I thought it had found its way into an actual hard copy book, to learn that things had shifted once again. It was then possible that it may make it to the light of day, only to then dance upon the cover.

This seemingly long journey, which had a couple of twists and turns, just to have a pattern for a sweater, reminds me a little of how things ultimately go in life. You think you are on one path then all of the sudden you are on another and you end up in places that you may not have expected. So as I begin the time of year that has me usually reflecting on the past, looking at where things were a year or two earlier this design will remind me that you never know where the journey might take you.