Introducing the Garden Party Necklace Pattern

Spring is definitely here where I live, and it seems like a nice time to release a new pattern with a garden theme! This is a great pattern when you want to make something that you can complete quickly with a small amount of yarn. The super bulky yarn helps to make it work up fast, and it makes the necklace into an eye-catching statement piece.

Here are the pattern details:

Skill level: Advanced Beginner/ Intermediate

Length: 22” (56cm)

MATERIALS

Yarn: Schachenmayr Nomotta “Boston”, 60 yds /55m, 1.75oz/50g 

Super Bulky Weight (3 sts= 1”)

Color A (Leaves and Stems): #071 Sage Green

Color B (Flower Buds): #035 Fuchsia

Hook size: N/13 (9.00mm) 

This pattern is now available as a download for $1.99. A stitch diagram for the necklace is included in the pattern.

In honor of National Crochet Month, from March 28-April 11th, all proceeds from the sale of this pattern will go to the Crochetville Designer Blog Tour's chosen charity for this year: Halos of Hope.

I hope that this next year of crochet is a happy, creative, and productive one for all!

Berroco Book and Yarn Giveaway!

Berroco generously gave me yarn support for 6 of the projects in the Crocheting Clothes Kids Love Book! They just announced on their blog that they are giving away a copy of the book, AND enough of the lovely Comfort DK yarn to make the Sunny Day Skirt from the book!

If you are a US or Canada resident, you can enter to win. Simply go to their blog post about the giveaway, and leave a comment about why you like to crochet for kids. Enter by 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 26th.

Bow Necklace and Bracelet-My New Free Patterns for Premier Yarns!

Not long ago, I revealed the Bauble Necklace for Premier Yarns as part of a mini jewelry collection I designed for them. They just recently released my Bow Necklace and Bracelet patterns. The patterns are offered as a free download on their website! They feature them as a set, but each of them could easily make a statement on their own. Simple stitches are combined in an effective way to make these pieces stand out in a crowd. I used their Spangle yarn, which I find to be a wonderful weight for jewelry, with just the right sheen. I also love the range of colors it comes in! Since they take very little time or yarn, they would also be nice projects to crochet for gifts. Visit Premier Yarns website for a wide variety of free patterns featuring their yarns.

National Crochet Month Giveaways!

His and Her's Mittens by Ellen Gormley

The fun continues this month with 2 giveaways related to Crocheting Clothes Kids Love! Yesterday Ellen Gormley posted about a yarn giveaway on her blog- enough yarn to make the adorable His and Her's Mittens from the book! Leave a comment on her post by March 14th.

Today Jocelyn Sass posted a review, which highlights some of her favorite projects and tells you about the informative sections in the book. Jocelyn will be giving away a copy of the book. Leave a comment on her post by March 10th to enter!

Kicking Off Crochetville's 2014 Blog Tour: Make Your Own Crochet Wrapping Paper!

Welcome to Crochetville's 2014 Blog Tour for National Crochet Month! I am so excited to be a part of the tour, and I am really looking forward to seeing what the other designers post on their blogs. Everyone is preparing a special post for this month, and it is a great time to catch up with your favorite designers, and also find new blogs to follow! Crochetville chose Halos of Hope this year as our charity to promote. If you aren't familiar with this wonderful organization, they accept donations of crocheted, knitted, and sewn hats, that they distribute to 450 cancer treatment centers in the US each month. If you are interested in donating hats or money to help get the hats distributed, please visit their website.

I am always looking for other ways to use my crochet, especially when I do freeform crochet. When you invest so much time crocheting something, it is nice to find other ways to use it. I think that making wrapping paper from your crochet is an excellent way to get more mileage out of your hard work. It makes the gift extra special as well! We recently bought a laser color printer, and when I saw the quality of the printed images, I knew I had to try this!

Here is how my first experiment with this technique worked:

I needed some gift wrap for a small box, so it was easy to print a piece large enough.

I decided to take photos of a freeform crochet purse that I made a few years ago. It happened to coordinate nicely with some ribbon I had on hand.

I took photos of different sections of the purse and downloaded them to my computer. I chose the one that I thought had the best composition and balance of colors.

Then, I simply printed it out, and cut the piece to fit the gift! You could also use an inkjet printer, but the printout won't be glossy like commercially purchased wrapping paper. It will still be beautiful though! I will be using this technique for making greeting cards and small book covers as well. The possibilities are endless!

Also posting on the tour today is Marie Segares, aka the Underground Crafter. She is giving away a free pattern for a beautiful square motif. She has a great blog, so please be sure to visit it today!

Be sure to visit Ellen Gormley's wonderful blog tomorrow (March 2), as it is the next stop on the tour. Ellen and I just co-authored a book together, "Crocheting Clothes Kids Love", so I think it is fitting that we are "neighbors" on this blog tour. She will be giving away yarn! Enough to make the set of boy's and girl's mittens she designed for our book. Enter to win before March 14th!