Monday, August 29, 2016

Cascade Yarns Anthem

I have another design accepted into the I Like Crochet online magazine for February 2017. Yeah!! It's a throw/lap blanket worked with 3 colors of worsted weight yarn. This time around I chose Cascade Yarns newer offering, Anthem. It's 100% acrylic so perfect for baby and kids stuff. 



Nature has the best colour palettes 

Cascade Yarns Anthem100% Acrylic; 186 yards [170 meters]/100 grams

Comes in 33 beautiful colours and it's soft and definitely not acrylic like. No squeaking on the hook when I use it.

Size I/9 (5.5mm) hook makes a nice drapy fabric. I'm getting 13 double crochets in 4 inches.



Cascade Yarns Anthem


Colours are Emerald 032, Cockatoo 033, and Apricot Blush 001.

I'll let you know how it washes up, but I'm thinking it will look just like it does before washing.


Don't forget to sign up for your subscription to I Like Crochet which is on sale from August 29th through September 4th for $19.97. 


I Like Crochet

For that price you get 6 issues (one year) with at least 30 patterns per issue and all the back issues (16 of them). That's a lot of patterns for $19.97.


Happy Crocheting!

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Three Little Birds Pouch

As some of you may already know, I like to quilt as well as knit, crochet, and spin. One can never have too many hobbies!




I recently made this adorable quilted pouch for a wonderful friend who had her birthday in July. Three Little Birds Pouch was originally a Japanese kit and Priscilla from Stitch Publications translated it into English. It's a wonderful quick project that turns out fabulous!





You can find the pattern on Willow Lane Quilting Company for $11.95.


Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Working Cables In The Round

Have you ever tried working a simple cable in the round? How do you keep track of which round you are on so the cables are crossed consistently? 

I've tried counting rounds but could never figure out exactly which round the cable was crossed on. I've also tried those "click" type row/round counters and would get a few stitches past the beginning of the round and think .... "Did I click it or not" (I have a very, very short memory)!

Following are a couple of ways I keep track ....

If I'm working a hat for example with multiple cables that all cross on the same round I usually use this funky row/round counter (I found it on Etsy a long time ago). Each ring counts one round and the beaded loop counts each 10th round for a total of 100 rounds.


Row/Round counter found on Etsy


If, for instance, the pattern I'm using crosses the cables every 5th round, I would do so when the counter is at 5, 10, 15, 20, etc. rounds. Not too difficult? 


Place marker on first ring after first cable cross.

Work rounds in pattern until fifth ring is on the needle.
Cross cables on this round.

Work even until 10th ring on needle ... cross cables again on this round.
Continue in this manner and your cables will be even.


What if I have cables that all cross at different times? It could be very confusing to figure out which rounds to cross a specific cable. 

For example, the cable on the sleeves (worked in the round) of this pullover has a cable that crosses at odd intervals. 


Cable on sleeve worked at odd intervals


In this case, I use a removable marker to keep track of how many rounds I've worked since the last cable cross. 


Insert marker through stitch on round cable is crossed

Work even and count rounds worked from the marker to the current round
(2 rounds worked above)

Here 7 rounds worked and ready to work cable round

After cable is worked, remove marker and insert it into the new stitch

Work even until round for next cable cross
(1 round worked above)

After cable worked, remove marker and insert it into the new stitch

Continue in this manner (working cable cross and inserting marker into new stitch) and you won't have to wonder if it's time to cross that cable.

Happy Knitting!

Note: Here's a similar row/round counter on Etsy (Knitting Row Counter by WychwoodDreams). It counts up to 110 rows/rounds.

Monday, August 8, 2016

Newsletter Signup

I'm starting a newsletter ... yeah! Or maybe your thinking "Oh no, not more email"! 


Newsletter Example


I promise not to send out many emails ... at most one or two per month and probably fewer than that, if my blog writing in the past is any indication.

What will be in the newsletter ... 

Updates on new patterns and where they've been published, probably a coupon code for a discount on a pattern exclusively for you as a subscriber, maybe even free patterns.
As a thank you for signing up I will email you a code to 
receive my Caprea Hat pattern for free on Ravelry. 
You don't need an account there to use the code and get the pattern emailed to you.

Sign up below to get your free pattern (first 500 subscribers).



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Happy Knitting and Crocheting!

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

August Accessory SALE

In the northern hemisphere, August tends to be the hottest month of the year. Here in the pacific northwest though, it never gets really hot and typically is upper 70s to low 80s (25C to 30C) with low humidty. Most other places it is too hot to be knitting or crocheting on large projects.

Hat Patterns on Ravelry


Now is the perfect time to cast on one of my smaller accessories and what better incentive than a SALE.

Purchase 2 of my accessory patterns and receive a 3rd one free. 

Simple head over to Ravelry and place 3 accessory patterns in your cart and $4.00 will be discounted off the price (no coupon needed). Sale valid for the month of August 2016.



Sock Patterns on Ravelry

I hope you are finding a spare moment somewhere cool to knit or crochet your favourite project!


Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Review: August Issue of I Like Crochet

The August Issue of I Like Crochet has been out for a few weeks now. Have you looked at the new patterns? There are some really cute ones.

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My most favourite of this issue is the Owl See You At School by Kristi Simpson. Any little girl or boy would be adorable bringing this bag to thier first day of school. It uses mostly double crochet but has crocodile stitch on the outside pocket to give it some texture.

Owl See You At School by Kristi Simpson

This Boho Tote by Nanette Seale is also very fashionable. These colours work very well together and create a very "beachy" feel. The bag is worked in single crochet with instructions for the mandala as well.

Boho Tote by Nanette Seale

There are many more patterns in this issue, so go check them out.


August Issue of I Like Crochet

Happy Crocheting!

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Updated Patterns

I've finally updated my Carry On Hat and Fingerless Mitts patterns with new, easier to read charts and my updated layout. 





These patterns were created in 2013 and I didn't have any charting software at that time so I used excel which isn't really optimal for charts.





Find these patterns on Ravelry, Patternfish, and LoveKnitting websites.

Happy Knitting!

Saturday, July 16, 2016

Vacation

With July half over and August not too far away, vacation time in the northern hemisphere is well underway for most of us. Maybe this sums it up for you ....
Do you take a knitting or crochet project with you on vacation? Do you get much time to work on it?

I usually have lofty ideas of sitting on the beach for hours on end working on my knitting and bring a huge bagful of yarn/needles just in case. Of course when it comes right down to it, I don't get much time at all. I come home with only a fraction of what I had intended to complete.

Where is your favourite place to vacation?




I love the beach ... any beach ... though here in the pacific northwest even the beach in summer is not warm. We recently went to Seaside, Oregon for the first time. It is a beautiful little community with a 3 mile boardwalk along the beach. Perfect for strolling and looking at all the beautiful gardens (maybe dreaming of living here).

Cannon Beach, Oregon is only 20 minutes away and there is a little yarn shop called Coastal Yarns. Lots of gorgeous yarn and some locally dyed skeins as well. Of course I picked up a skein of sock yarn (S)



And crepes (gluten/dairy free options) ....


A wonderful vacation for us ... but now back to reality!

Hope you all have a great summer and some good knitting/crocheting time!

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Setting Goals

Do you set any goals at the beginning of the year for your knit and/or crochet hobby? Maybe how many cardigans you plan to make or baby blankets? How many dollars you will spend on yarn and patterns (I probably should do this)?


For me, I try to set some business goals at the beginning of the year and also review the previous year to see what worked and what didn't. There were some trends .... like the fact that I like to knit, crochet, and write patterns but not write blog and facebook posts! You can probably tell that from the fact that there is only one post here every 2 or 3 months LOL!

If you have a crafty business/hobby you may be familiar with Tara Swiger and her blog and podcasts on setting goals and running an effective craft business. She has some awesome resources! In particular, today's email really hit home. Be Consistent! Which I have consistently failed at (does that count as consistent)!

So I am once again setting a goal to be more consistent with posting here! Will you hold me to it? At least once a month.

One of my other goals this year has been to submit designs to magazines both in paper and online. This is one of the reasons you haven't seen many pretty pictures of new designs. I do have quite the stack of swatches though, and I will have some new patterns in print coming in a few months. 



Keep an eye out here for two crochet patterns soon to be released in the I Like Crochet October Issue. 

A SNEAK PEEK ....



Happy Knitting and Crocheting!

Monday, April 18, 2016

Yarn Weight Frustrations

I've had this frustration for a while now, but most recently with my latest cardigan design. Yarn labels that don't correctly label a yarn as the correct weight. What do I mean ....

Gorgeous Hazel Knits Lively DK in Frost

Here's a couple of examples:

Cascade 220 has 220 yards in 100g and is listed as worsted weight
Hazel Knits Lively DK has 275 yards in 130g and is listed as DK weight

Louet Gems Fingering weight has 185 yards in 50g and is listed as fingering weight
Quince & Co. Chickadee has 181 yards in 50g and is listed as sport weight

How do you then successfully substitute yarns in a pattern if the weights are all over the place?

Crafty Yarn Council yarn weight chart



You could look at this yarn weight chart found on the Crafty Yarn Council's website which looks a bit daunting to me or you could just go by the yards (or meters if you like metric) in a 50g ball.

Another example .... I used Hazel Knits DK Lively yarn which mentioned about has 275 yards in 130g. Doing the math this works out to be (275/130*50) 105 yards in 50g.

When substituting I look for something similar like maybe Cascade 220 which has 110 yards in 50g or Madelinetosh Vintage which has 100 yards in 50g or even Jo Sharp's Classic DK Wool with 107 yards in 50g. 

To me, looking at yards to figure out a substitution is much easier than looking at other options like stitches per inch or the yarn companies weight designation.

My latest knitting pattern, Strolling Cardigan can be purchased on Ravelry.

Strolling Cardigan Photo © KLM Photography


Happy Knitting!