Category Archives: Patterns/Design Thoughts

Designs that Will Ring in Spring

Posted on by

ScannedImageSpring is in the air; the ground is beginning to warm and release the blooms of daffodils. The days are getting longer and spending time outside is a greater joy. So it has made it a nice time to release 2 of my latest designs, they help take a little chill out of the air and dress up a casual look.

IMG_6149.1

Summer Rays Drop Stitch Wrap

The first is the Summer Rays Drop Stitch Wrap; it is created with a simple 3 row repeat, and 1 skein of Lisa Souza Sylvie 100% Bombyx Silk yarn. The highlight of this wrap is a unique stitch that is created free hand, of long loops, a technique that was originally featured in my article in the Summer 2012 issue of Crochet! Magazine, with the Drop Stitch Short Scarf. I really enjoy this technique as it gives the appearance of hairpin lace without the loom, or the joining of strips. It is worked as one continuous piece, and when you finish, you only have 2 ends to weave in.

This pattern includes the details on how to complete this technique, and I have to say that the silk gives it such a great drape that it adds IMG_6150 - Copyelegance to the work.

What inspired me to put this design together was actually the yarn. I had a skein, and I made it a personal challenge to see what I could create with it, and the Drop Stitch lends itself to this non-stretch yarn very well. The openness of the stitch with the smooth surface of the yarn, allows both to be featured in a positive way with this design, creating a classic style.

$

Fiji Flowers on Flowers Shrug/Wrap

The second design I am releasing is the Honorable Mention Winner of the 2013 Crochet Guild of America Design Contest, Accessories category; the Fiji Flowers on Flowers Shrug/Wrap. This is a uniquely constructed piece that is comprised of 3 large pentagon motifs created with Tunisian Crochet. These motifs create a negative space design that is enhanced with additional motifs, thus creating flowers inside of flowers. All motifs are joined as you go, requiring no sewing.

One of the original features of this design is the “floral buttons” these are added embellishments that allow the fabric to be secured together to create air sleeves of a shrug, or left unsecured for an interesting wrap. This versatile piece is also worked in Lisa Souza Sylvie 100% Bombyx Silk yarn, which has beautiful color and gives great drape to this piece. This is a fun shrug that can be paired with jeans or a simple black dress, can be a nice compliment for a day at the beach, or a night on the town. It fills a very unique niche in any wardrobe, and trust me, it is fun.

#My inspiration for this design was born out of a watermark I saw in a magazine advertisement. It was a flower that was actually featured in a negative space (the space that is not the color, but the blank background), and I began daydreaming of how to create this in crochet, thus the large motifs were created. However they lacked structure and did not allow for a stable fabric, until the addition of contrasting motifs within them. This the negative space flower grow to have an addition of flowers within its petals. 

Both of these designs are available for sale on Ravelry.com or Crochetville.com for the simple price of $5. Check them out and let me know what you think of them.

Summer Rays Drop Stitch Wrap (Ravelry – Crochetville)

Fiji Flowers on Flowers Shrug/Wrap (Ravelry – Crochetville)

Inspiration is Outside my Crochet….but not my Expression

Posted on by

ScannedImageI was asked a question recently, about what my “design inspiration” is. This actually made me think, as my inspiration is not usually crochet, although that is how I express it. My “inspirations” come from some unlikely places.

I actually put together the idea of an afghan while practicing dance steps. My mind would envision visual patterns to help me remember the points in the music and what steps I was to execute.  Things like “the rodeo move”, where the dance would rotate around with an “in & out” movement of the arms….it became a crocheted flower. MB900441798

Other times it is from seeing shapes in nature or art work. Sometimes just a piece of something visually piques my interest and I can see it as something else, like the simple stack of triangles that became a beret.

Conversations lead to many ideas, talking with people, not necessarily crocheters or even crafters for that matter. Usually they ask questions and help me to look at the craft from an angle that I have never thought about before. Like when someone that has never tasted chocolate before (okay, I know this has to be a fictitious person), and asks you if it always has a little salty after taste. It is something that you have taken for granted, and not until someone that doesn’t experience daily asks you a question do you reflect upon it.

I cannot even count how many pictures I have taken of motel/hotel lobby carpets, or brick work of old buildings. There is always something about these repetitions that give me ideas.  Not to mention I love catching the sewing/quilting shows on my local PBS station, it helps open up different ways I can put things together.

MR900441790These ideas only cover the basic stitch; it does not even delve into my color inspiration that can come from even more interesting areas.  But mostly what “inspires” me, takes a little practice, it is being open to accepting inspiration. I find that days when I can smile and the world feels like sunshine, that I can see inspiration everywhere, compared to the more typical day when the kids are fighting, the dog is barking, and dinner is burn. I have to keep that little note book to jot down those times of inspiration, so I can remember those days of “sunshine”.

Glove and Hat Set from 1 Skein! -Rice Paper Weave Thoughts

Posted on by

ScannedImageSpring is on its way, but winter is still holding on….

IMG_6007.1

Rice Paper Weave Gloves
-I made the hand-to cuff a little longer to keep a little warmer-

I was thinking of family that I have that moved to the Chicago area this year, and how they may need to find ways to keep warm, so for the holidays I made them some gloves. They came out well enough I decided to share them in a pattern.

The stitch pattern is worked in a spiral, upon a base of ribbing that makes up the cuff. Instead of making the new popular option of fingerless gloves, I went ahead and added fingers. I admit fingers seem tedious and intimidating, but I found them much easier then I first thought. They worked up quickly in the same stitch pattern and add the practicality of warmth to the project. I also left the option of having a texting glove, by not completing the thumb, but having it long enough to cover the tip.

IMG_6011.1

Rice Paper Weave Hat
-Matches to gloves, and are available in the same pattern-

Then the most amazing part…I still had enough yarn left in the skein to make a matching hat! I worked this design up on an alpaca yarn from Lisa Souza Dyeworks, so it feels yummy and  makes a very nice cold weather glove and hat set (at least for Chicago weather, it might be fall and spring).

IMG_6014.1

Optional “Texting Thumb”

This design is sized for both men and women, in the gloves and the hat, ensuring that with 1 skein you can get an entire set of matching gloves and a hat!

So far it appears that my family members are enjoying them and keeping warm. If you would like to check out this pattern it is available for sale on Ravelry and Crochetville for $5. I call the “Rice Paper Weave Glove & Hat Set”, the name comes to me from the stitch pattern, and to me it reminds me of the placemats I have found at some Asian restaurants, which are woven but have great texture. The mats are probably made with bamboo but my mind keeps thinking of rice…for some reason it just seems a little more fluid.

Anyway, I hope you want to attempt to keep your fingers warm and will check out my latest design.

Thoughts on Grace in the Garden Sun Hat

Posted on by

ScannedImageI enjoyed this project, Grace in the Garden Sun Hat (found in the new special issue of Crochet! Magazine Crochet in a Snap, currently available on newsstands); I had fun putting it together. It has a classic sun hat feel, but a not so classic crochet approach.

Grace in the Garden Sun Hat 1

photo courtesy of Annie’s

I usually always have a crochet hook close at hand, heck usually I have one holding up my hair, but that does not mean I always have yarn flowing through my fingers; this is a project that highlights that.

Originally I was looking to create this hat out of jute, I liked the natural woody color and stiff feels, but after some discussion with the editor it was decided to use household twine (as the jute has an abrasive quality, it was probably a good choice). As chaining and joining can be a bit more obvious with this material, it is worked as a continuous spiral, so it has a very clean look. I was really please with how it came out.

The scarf woven through it is just a simple silk scarf that I found at my local Kmart. As it was near the end of the summer season when I was working this up, I found it on a discount rack, and for only a couple of dollars it really dresses up the hat.

Grace in the Garden Sun Hat 2

photo courtesy of Annie’s

However the twine does lend itself to be a little flimsier in the brim, it likes to bend and fold more than the stiffer material of jute, but this can easily be corrected with some spray starch or other stiffening techniques. But sometimes the floppy looker can be charming as well.

This hat reminds me of ladies lounging poolside, wearing large sunglasses and reading magazines, like some old Hollywood movie, maybe I will have to give that a try with this hat…but I’ll let the weather warm up just a little first.

CrochetInASnap_Cover

photo courtesy of Annie’s….check out newsstands for the latest special issue!

 

Enjoy the Breeze Tee Thoughts

Posted on by

Enjoy the Breeze Tee 2

Photo Courtesy of Annie’s

ScannedImageJust because it is cold outside doesn’t mean that spring isn’t right around the corner! My latest design,  Enjoy the Breeze Tee is found  in the Spring 2014 Issue of Crochet! Magazine.

Enjoy the Breeze Tee 3

Photo courtesy of Annie’s

I enjoyed the way the color of the yarn worked up in the design, it is Deborah Norville Serenity Garden, in color #0005 Mountain Heather, and I admit I think the name fits it well. I can see the color of the wild flowers along the melting snow of the mountains, hinting in spring. The yarn also lends to the fabric draping really well, it is a microfiber and is cool to the touch.

There is a more subtle design going on in the shirt it has “peek-a-boo” kind of rows that are placed at expanding intervals, more closely together at the bottom and further apart at the top (none over the bust line, as I really do not feel it is flattering to “peek-a-boo” ones undergarments).

Enjoy the Breeze Tee 1

Photo courtesy of Annie’s

In the sizing (from S-2XL) not only is the shirt wider, but it is longer in larger sizes as well (amazing how much more flattering a couple of rows can be, and comfortable). Another of my personal pet peeves is when my shirt rides up the back as I sit down.

This design is also featured as a Crochetalong at the Crochet! Magazine Ravelry Forum throughout the release of the issue. Join along and see how it came out of others.