Interweave Crochet Accessories 2016!

 

It is no secret that accessories are my favorite thing to design! That is why Interweave Crochet Magazine's special Accessories issue is one I really look forward to!

This year I have three designs in the issue, and I can hardly wait to share them with you! The magazine is available for preorder now, and will be officially out on November 10th. I am planning to do a post on each design to share all of the details and features of each, as soon as Interweave puts up the full preview of the magazine. Designers don't see photos of their pieces before that, so I am really excited to see how mine were styled. I am counting down the days!

Painting Crochet on I love Yarn Day 2015!

 

Actually  I celebrate my love of yarn, everyday, but today it is celebrated around the world!

Lately I have been fascinated by asymmetrical motifs, and I decided it would be fun to crochet them in an off white cotton/bamboo yarn, so I can paint them. You don't have to worry about color changes or weaving in ends! Decide the colors later! If you don't like how it is turning out, you can wash it out before it dries. It is a really fun thing to do. My daughter wants me to crochet more motifs for her to paint.

I thought this motif looked like a flower, so I decided to paint it to look like one. I crocheted it to fit into our "Olive" shape Stitchable Pendant. This technique is perfect for jewelry, because you don't have to worry about washing the piece. I used watercolor paints because I like the effect on yarn, but if you want something more permanent, you could use fabric paint.

Painted motif before adding details and stitching into the pendant.

This is not the first time I have painted my crochet. Many of my longtime readers may remember my post for Crochetville's annual blog tour, about painting crochet trim.

After stitching it to the pendant, I decided to paint the stitching too! I used this wonderful watercolor set that I purchased from Michaels:

Here is the version with the painted stitching. I can't decide which version I like best! What do you think?

30 Minute Jewelry Book and Mini Masterpiece Pendant Giveaway!

Beverly McCullough of the infamous Flamingo Toes Blog, has written a fun and inspiring book of 30 Minute Jewelry projects. We were so thrilled to find out that she used one of our Mini Masterpiece Frame pendants in her book. She stitched a beautiful painting that her artist father painted, into it. It is such a gorgeous piece:

 To celebrate the release of Beverly's new book, we are teaming up with her to do a giveaway. The winner will receive a copy of The 30 Minute Jewelry Book, plus 2 Mini Masterpiece Frame pendants of their choice from our eWoodStory Etsy Shop!

To enter to win, visit Beverly's blog and enter via the Rafflecopter at the end of the post. Follow Beverly on Twitter and Instagram to keep up with her inspiring crafting adventures!

A Beautiful Hairband Stand!

I love being on Instagram. It puts me in touch with so many wonderful crocheters! Yesterday a crocheter in Singapore who goes by the name @kayekrafts on Instagram, found a post I had done when I first saw our book, "Crocheting Clothes Kids Love" at Barnes and Noble. She commented that she and her daughter are enjoying the book, and that she had just completed her first project from the book. She made my Festival Hairband Stand, and is already planning to make two more to display all of her daughte'rs hairbands! I love the fun colors she chose, and can't wait to see more stands made in other colors! I also recently received an interesting suggestion on Ravelry, that the stand would be even more useful if one of the ends could open up to hold hair clips. That would really maximize the storage capacity! I love the idea! The internet never ceases to amaze me and the connections between crocheters that can be made are invaluable. It is so great to have the exchange of ideas!