A Variation on the Catena Scarf

When submitting a design idea to a magazine, sometimes things change based on what the editors are looking for. In the case of the Catena Scarf for Interweave Crochet Magazine, the look of the scarf changed because of the yarn choice. When I made the sample, I used yarn that I found available in Kuwait in my local yarn shop, and when they went to choose yarn for the magazine project, they couldn't find anything similar in the brand they wanted to use. 

The original swatch used yarns from the Turkish Nako company: "Sport Wool" & hook size H/8  for the base of the scarf, and "Spaghetti" & hook size N/15 for the surface crochet. 

So if you prefer a little warmer and chunkier version of the scarf, you can switch to heavier loftier yarns. For the original sample, I also chose the two yarns in as close to the same color as I could get, and in the magazine we used two different colors. You could also go the other way and use 2 very contrasting colors for another look.

This sample emulates a shaker knit

My Catena Crochet Scarf in Interweave Crochet Magazine!

Winter is an amazing time to crochet, and I am super excited to have a fun scarf pattern in the new Winter 2020 issue of Interweave Crochet! This scarf is such fun to crochet and it includes my favorite technique, surface crochet. You begin by crocheting a mesh base, then you surface crochet into it with a heavier weight yarn, to create a lovely warm textured scarf. You can really be creative with your yarn choices with this pattern!

There are many beautiful patterns in this issue! Head over to the Ravelry Page for the issue to favorite the patterns you like the most!

More on Using Crochet to Finish Weaving Projects!

I am always finding a way to use crochet in my projects, no matter what technique I am using. I find that it is a great way to finish the edges of a purse. I crochet along the sides so I can make neat seams, and I find crochet is the best way to make fastenings and handles. For this purse, I crocheted two strips, then crocheted them together on the edges to make a strong handle that won't stretch out. I also crocheted a bobble that I stitched to the body of the purse, and I crocheted a fastening loop to the flap of the purse. Because you can insert your hook anywhere, crochet gives you the flexiblity to change the look and shape of the woven piece after it is finished! 

Crocheting on a Cracker...Looking at Snacks with New Eyes!

I thought I had tried stitching into everything in the house that had holes in it, but Crochet! magazine inspired me to try something a little crazy. Crocheting on a cracker! It was a fun exercise in patience in creativity! I had to handle it very delicately, but the cracker was stronger than I thought it would be. After seeing the Facebook post by Crochet! magazine, I immediately wanted to try this and went to my kitchen looking for crackers with holes in them. I was thrilled that I had Tuc crackers on hand,because I was able to embroider the name as well! 

Now, what to do with an embellished cracker? I may try setting it in resin as one of the posters suggested on the Facebook post... Stay tuned!

Playing with Scale- A Larger Stone Crochet Necklace!

One of my favorite pieces of jewelry lately is the Single Stone Necklace. I have really been enjoying wearing it, and one day it occurred to me that it would be fun to have a larger version that would be even more of a statement necklace! 

The original version is crocheted in a sock yarn, and in order to make a larger version, I switched to a worsted weight yarn. I was fortunate to have grey ombre yarn in my stash. It is one of those yarns that I only bought one skein of years ago, and now I wish I had bought several! I followed the original pattern instructions, but moved up to a size E/4 crochet hook. The only other change I made was to slip stitch back into the chain made for the necklace cord, to make it stronger and to match the scale of the stone. I am looking forward to wearing this one!

Original Version vs. New Larger Version

STONE NECKLACE TRIO PATTERN COLLECTION

Free Crochet Lace Patterns!

Hello all, I hope your summer is going well and that you are all enjoying your crochet projects! I just received the news that the crochet enthusiasts at All Free Crochet have featured my Blossom Necklace Pattern in their collection of crochet lace scarves, wraps, tops, jewelry, and afghans.  Summertime is a lovely time to crochet lacey pieces, so head over to their website to check out the entire collection!

Crochet Edging to Finish a Weaving!

I am striving to create useful things out of pieces woven on my lap loom.  I have discovered that I can make a nice sized purse on the loom with the help of crochet! I made this purse recently, as a way to feature some handspun thick and thin Spinerations yarn. I love to use thick and thin yarns in weaving and let the thickness changes in the yarn bring the piece to life! 

When I finished weaving, I took it off of the loom and tied the warp ends to secure it. Then I carefully hid all of the ends at the back because I decided I didn't want to have any warp fringe. Then, I crocheted on the top and bottom edges to give a nice shape to the purse and to make the piece longer.

I also crocheted along the sides of the weaving so the seaming would be easier and neat. The third way I used crochet to make this purse was in making the fastening bobble. I crocheted the bobble, then embellished it with an embroidered lazy daisy, which some of you may know is one of my signature ways to finish off a project!

Before I removed the weaving from the loom and added crochet

New Oregon Summer 2019 Classes at Cozy Yarn!

It is that time again, and I am so thrilled to be back in Eugene, Oregon for the summer, and to be  teaching 4 classes at the wonderful Cozy Yarn shop in the 5th Street Market District! I am teaching 3 different weaving classes: Weaving 101, Weaving 102, kids bookmark weaving, and a crochet necklace class featuring my latest crochet jewelry design!

If any of you are in the area and are interested to learn from me, I would love for you to join me this summer! Here is the link to sign up for any of the classes.

Here are the class details:

WEAVING 101

Date: July 27

Time: 10:00am-1:00pm

Cost of workshop: $70.00 (includes $40.00 for the kit)

Description: An introduction to modern weaving with a lap loom, to create small-scale woven paintings created using a mix of techniques and surface textures. The class will teach you how to use all of the tools in the eWoodStory fiber arts kit, which will be yours to take home and continue creating with! In addition to learning how to weave, you will learn how to make tassels, pom poms, and lucet cord with the specially designed tools in the kit.

    KIDS BOOKMARK WEAVING

Date: July 28

Time: 1:00pm-3:00pm

Cost of workshop: $28.00

Description: Kids will learn beginning weaving techniques on a specially designed loom that will be theirs to keep, while making a unique bookmark to brighten summer reading adventures!

VENEZIA CROCHET NECKLACE

Date: August 9

Time: 5:00pm-7:00pm

Cost of workshop: $20.00

Description: Shelby designed this necklace as a modern interpretation of filet crochet, inspired by macrame. In this class, you will create this necklace step by step, and learn blocking and finishing techniques for professional finish.

WEAVING 102

Date: August 10

Time: 10:00am-1:00pm

Cost of workshop: $30.00

Description: A freeform approach that will add texture and interest to your weaving. We will explore spiral weaving, gradation, wrapped tassels, carpet pile, surface crochet and embroidery embellishment, shaped borders, and more!

The Beautiful Cozy Yarn Shop

The Results of the Crochet Remnant Weaving Experiment!

In organizing my studio, I came across some crocheted pieces that never became anything. Looking at them took me back to the excitement I had when I created them. I love the pieces and thought they would be interesting to try weaving on one of our mini looms! I really enjoyed the challenge of weaving each piece in and making design decisions along the way. I ended up doing a little embroidery embellishment on top of the ridges as well. As many of my weavings do, it took on a floral theme with the use of some of our handspun Spinerations yarn as inspiration. I love how the ridges in the crochet interact with the warp strings. I plan to crochet more ridged pieces in the near future to create more weavings similar to this. I want to experiment with various piece sizes for different effects. Expect to see more development of this technique!

Crochet Remnants Ready to Weave In!

Dragon Themed Crochet Patterns!

I was recently contacted by the All Free Crochet website because they put together a collection of Dragon themed crochet patterns, and one of my patterns was included!

I was intrigued because I haven't ever actually designed with a dragon theme inspiration. I love it when other people see things in your designs that you never saw yourself! They chose my Blossom Necklace pattern, and now that they have included it in the dragon themed collection, I can see its dragonesque qualities! I think the embroidery embellishment really makes it fit into the theme.

Whether you are into dragons or not, they have put together a lovely collection of 30 FREE crochet patterns to inspire you!

Blossom Necklace Pattern

Repurposing My Crochet Remnants!

I often weave with yarn scraps leftover from crochet projects, but this week I had a new idea! I was looking through a bag of crochet remnants (leftover pieces from projects that didn't work out), and I was inspired to repurpose them. I like weaving with crochet, and I usually crochet random pieces to weave with. This is the first time I try weaving with pieces that were intended for another use. These pieces are from a necklace I was designing. They got put aside because another idea for the necklace took over! I have plans to weave in these pieces with yarn scraps and also do some embroidery embellishment on the piece. It will be very interesting to see the outcome of this experiment, and hopefully, it will lead to more pieces like it! Stay tuned for a progress report!

International Crochet Month Designer Showcase 2019!

If you didn't already hear the news, March is International Crochet Month!

I am participating in the International Crochet Month Designer Showcase with Underground Crafter. Come join the fun! Every day in March 2019, a different crochet designer who is also a member of the Crochet Guild of America, will be highlighted. Each designer will share a free crochet pattern or a 25% discount on a premium pattern. We've partnered with some of our favorite companies to get some great prizes for you-- including yarn, crochet hooks, notions, pattern books, and more! Find out more information about participating designers, the schedule, and how to enter to win the prizes on Underground Crafter.

I have been a member of the CGOA for the past 10 years, and what a wonderful 10 years it has been! I first joined because I was interested in starting designing professionally for publications and I wanted to take advantage of the mentor program.

From the CGOA Blog:

"Crochet Guild of America offers a mentorship program, which matches new crochet professionals with established professionals to help enhance the crochet industry, while ensuring that professional ethics and standards are practiced and encouraged. It is these professional approaches that help to bring crochet from a hobby to a career".

I was paired with the amazing Margaret Hubert, who gave me advice on getting started submitting to magazines, and how the industry works. Within two years, I was able to obtain Professional status within the CGOA. It means a lot to be recognized in the industry for your work, and the mentor program has successfully launched many designer's careers!

In addition to the mentor program, I love the CGOA for the community itself. Most of the time, designers are working solo from home. The yearly Chain Link conference is a great chance to get together with others who are working in the industry and who understand exactly what you do and why you love to do what you do!

To see all of the benefits of being a CGOA member and to join the organization, visit their website.

To celebrate international crochet month, I am offering a 25% discount on my new Stone Necklace Trio pattern collection. 

Stone Necklace Trio

This collection of necklaces was inspired by jewelry made with natural stones. I love the idea of crocheting around real stones, but it would be difficult for people to make the necklace exactly as I designed if they don't find stones similar to mine. The resulting pendant will be very different. By writing a pattern for the stones, everyone will be able to make the necklace as I intended it to be!

I wanted the stones to be 3-D, and I didn't want the supply list for the necklaces to be too extensive, so instead of stuffing them with fiberfill, they are stuffed with crocheted pieces. These pieces are the perfect shape, and they add just enough weight to the pendants so they hang nicely. Each one has its own personality, and would make a unique gift. Fun to make and fun to receive! You can choose to embellish the stones with embroidery or let the crochet and beauty of the yarn speak for itself.

The regular price of this pattern collection is $4.95, and starting today through March 21st, it will be available for $3.71. Just enter the coupon code: ICM25 when you check out.

I look forward to seeing your stone jewelry creations on Ravelry! Best wishes for a March filled with the joy of crocheting!

Combining Crochet, Wood, & Embroidery!

I keep developing my mixed media style to incorporate techniques I love into unique jewelry pieces. This time, I decided to make mini versions of some of our eWoodStory Modern Stitchable Pendant shapes for the Sadu House Shop in Kuwait. These pendants were inspired by the patterns in traditional Sadu weaving. I crocheted the backgrounds for each shape, then embroidered the design on top of the crochet. I made 21 of these, and no two are exactly alike! That shows how much inspiration can be taken from traditional patterns! I especially love how they look as a collection, cohesive in color and similar in pattern, makes them interesting to look at!

Spinerations...The Latest Fiber Adventure!

eWoodStory is a collaboration between me and my woodworker husband, and it was only a matter of time until I found a way to collaborate with our daughter, Sara! 

In my weaving work, I found that my favorite yarns were handspun with beautiful textures and color blends. That led me to spinning my own yarn, and my daughter joined in my quest for spinning knowlege. It is the activity we like to do most together, so we thought why not make it into a business!

We have just launched our new project, Spinerations, two generations a mother and daughter duo, spinning our hearts out! Our mission is to create unique yarns for modern weaving. We each have different spinning styles which are a reflection of our personalities. If you are interested in following our fiber adventure, please visit our account! We will be posting about our creative yarn making experiments in our "Yarn Lab" posts, as well as spinning challenges we take on, to showcase our unique spinning styles. We would love it if you would follow our fiber adventures on Instagram!

Handspun scraps of Sadu Yarn were recycled and spun into new yarn!

Sara and I will each use the same fibers in our own way to create yarns in our own styles!

Venezia Crochet Necklace with Sparkle!

For the first blog post of 2019, I have a few ideas on how to customize my newest crochet necklace pattern, the Venezia Necklace. The first idea I had, is an easy and subtle way to add a little sparkle. The ring links that link the chains to the medallion were crocheted in a silver metallic yarn, and the tassel was also wrapped in the same yarn. The finishing touch was the surface crochet between the second and third rows in the medallion, from the beginning to the end of row, crocheting around the chains in the center as you work across. This version doesn't have to be limited to using a metallic yarn, you could make the same modifications using a different color or colors, for a completely different look!