Question from Reader: Illusion Crochet?

Hi Dee, I was reading your entry from yesterday and saw the picture you posted.  Is that Illusion Crochet?  I looked on the Knit and Crochet Show site but could not find where you are teaching it.  Am I missing something?  Carol

Hi Carol,

Thank you for visiting with me.  The image I included in my post yesterday is not Illusion Crochet.  But, in looking at it in a technique persepective, I guess you can possibly call it a cousin to the Illusion Crochet technique.  Illusion Crochet is the technique of using two contrasting colors of yarn (or thread if you want a smaller project) so that when  you look head-on, the work looks one way, yet when you view it at an angle an image magically appears.  Darla Fanton will be teaching the Illusion Crochet class at the Conference.

The work I showed yesterday is a sample I am currently designing for the Pushmi-Pullyu class I'll be teaching at the Conference.    The picture I am showing today is a longer view -- which, btw, I am showning at an angle for a reason.  This might be why you were thinking it was Illusion Crochet!  :)

The Pushmi-Pullyu class I am teaching will focus on the crochet technique of turning stitches around -- creating them backwards!  This is just one sample to show that there are fantastic advantages to knowing this technique -- and if you're interested in learning it, then I highly recommend registering for it ASAP as it's close to being sold out.

Thank you for visiting me, and for the great question!
~Dee

Yeowser!

I survived our four day heat wave.  Barely though. 

I spent Sunday afternoon with fellow hookers -- members of the Happily Hooked on Crocheting Club, Connecticut Chapter of the Crochet Guild of America, for our monthly meeting.  It was another great meeting, and I got to show the progress of my Secret Project -- it received many compliments.  The AC felt delicious.

Mini~Dee did not take the heat well, and was sick all that night.  She and I spent Monday at our local Borders bookstore, enjoying their AC.  She worked on drawing characters for their  cornnecticut blog (they're hoping to come up with a design to create T-shirts with), while I worked on crocheting many swatches that I later photographed and inserted into the class handouts such as the one you see here to the right.  (I love photos, diagrams, and such in handouts I receive for memory jogging.  Conferences are great, but when you take many hours of various crochet classes back to back to back, I've found it's nice to have a little something to set those light bulbs off again once you return home.)  Mr. Dee came home later in the evening witnessing his wife melting into a lowercase "d" and decided the heat was too much.  We spent the evening setting up the AC.  It felt good, but I was too spent to crochet any more.

Yesterday I roasted.  Seriously.  It was the children's school picnic at our local YMCA.  Even though they cut the picnic time down, I still roasted while wearing many applications of SPF 50 sun-block.  It was so hot that later I took my children and a couple of their friends to a local hotel with an indoor pool.  I jumped in, clothes and all!  (I do have sunburn, but not as bad as I feared!)

Later, we had a big booming thunderstorm blow through in the evening and that broke our four-day heat wave.  Or was it Bonnie, who broke it?  She sent me snow wishes, writing, "We still have 12 feet of snow an hour from us, and it is snowing up a storm in areas we've never had snow this late.  We're having the coldest June (we call it Junuary) in about 150 years.  It's about 50 and drippy here."

Ah!  Thank you, Bonnie!  I love snow.  :)

Whew! It's Hot!

Here in Connecticut we are experiencing our first heat wave of the year.  I'd call it our first heat wave of the summer, except summer doesn't officially start until June 21st.  It doesn't matter, really.  I just know I'm too hot to crochet, and the electric/gas prices are out of control so I'm keeping the AC off for now. 

So what's a crocheter to do when it's too hot to crochet?  Shop!

That's right.  I've been burning up the phone and Internet lines shopping today!  And I feel a great sense of (cool) relief that I have nearly all the materials on hand, or ordered, for my upcoming classes I'll be teaching at the National Conference.  I am still working on my handouts, but having this much done already is a fantastic feeling!

In the past I've always appreciated all the hard work the teachers put into the materials they provided me, and my fellow classmates, when I was taking classes at the Conference -- but this brings a whole new level of appreciation!!  So to my past teachers -- let me thank you AGAIN for being so wonderful!  I do hope that all the work I've been putting into my materials (i.e. class handouts & supplies ) will echo your caliber of greatness!  And to Mr. Dee, I want to pre-thank you.  I know this is going to be a "whole 'lotta" stuff to haul with us to Manchester come this July!  ;)

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Cluster @ our Coffee, Crochet & Chat

Every month, on the first Wednesday of the month (unless there is a major holiday), we have a "Coffee, Crochet & Chat" session at our local Borders bookstore located in Brookfield, Connecticut.  On this day we hold two sessions: one in the morning from 10AM - Noon, and one in the evening 6PM - 8PM.  If you find yourself in the area, please do consider joining us!  :)

I usually attend the morning session.  And I was there yesterday, enjoying the company of our regulars: Ruth, Judy and Priscilla.  Joining us for the first time, thanks to Ravelry.com, was Karin.  Since we were having so much fun, a Borders' customer decided to join in, Marsha!

Ruth was working on a baby sweater that she plans on selling for the Jimmy Fund; Judy was working on a ripple blanket, Karin was working on a dress designed by Lily Chin, and Priscilla was working on a Doris Chan pattern.  Marsha didn't have her crocheting with her, but she picked up a lot of tips, and shared in our discussion of various projects and yarns we love. 

What did I bring?  My "top secret" project.  I did show my current project to the ladies and they loved it.  While showing it I expressed my extreme dislike of using turning/lifting chains when working new rounds starting with a cluster stitch.  Seriously.  You have the chain just "standing there" next to a two-legged cluster.   I really don't like the way it looks.  So I changed it.  For this "top secret" project, I have replaced the chain with a single crochet, chain one combo prior to starting the "two-legged" cluster.  To me, it looks more "normal" to a real cluster.  And since it doesn't matter, in this case, that the beginning of the cluster is a bit smaller that a chain-3 would normally be, I went with it for the entire project.  Do you like the way it looks too?

Experiment.  Then go with the technique that you like best.  :)

How to make a Cluster: YO, insert hook in st, YO and draw up a loop (3 loops now on hook), YO and draw through two, YO, insert hook in st, YO and draw up a loop (4 loops now on hook), YO and draw through two, YO, insert hook in st, YO and draw up loop (5 loops now on hook), YO and draw through two, YO and draw through all remaining loops on hook.

How to make a Beginning Cluster Like Dee's:  (remember, only use this technique when starting a round that begins with a cluster stitch)  Instead of joining round with a slip stitch, remove hook from work, insert hook under top two loops FROM THE BACK, placing loop back onto hook; draw loop through.  This will have your loop ready to immediately start a single crochet stitch without the slip stitch joining bulk!  Create your single crochet stitch as normal (no need to chain 1 first), chain one and then create cluster as follows:  YO, insert hook in st, YO and draw up a loop (3 loops now on hook), YO and draw through two, YO, insert hook in st, YO and draw up loop (4 loops now on hook), YO and draw through two, YO and draw through all remaining loops on hook.

If you liked this tip, you should consider signing up for the Pushmi Pullyu class!  :)

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A Contest: Where In the World Would You Like Dee to Be?

Sandie cracked me up this morning when I read her blog entry expressing her wishes of having me live coser to her in Louisana.  And while I'm not moving, yet, she got me to think:  where else would my readers wish I lived?

And, since I'm coming up to 150,000 visitors here at CrochetingWithDee (not including RSS feeds & subscriptions), I thought that would make a great contest!

So, readers, do share!  Where would you like for me to live -- and why?  Submit your entries by leaving a message here, by emailing it to me, or by bloging your answer (please ensure I have a link for your blog!) !  All entries will be accepted until the magic number of 150,000 visitors are reached.  (please do not reload the page to make the number climb -- I'll know!) Once all the entries are in I'll have one of the Dee's (Dee Jr., Mini~Dee, or Mr. Dee) select a winner randomly.

What will you win, should your entry be selected?  Something grand from my private stash! 

Sandie, thanks for the lovely compliment.  I'm counting you as my first entry for this contest!  :)

Bonus Question:  Create a great caption for the world/frog image here for a Runner-Up prize!  Captions will later be voted on by readers.

If you'd like to meet me in person, I will be teaching at the CGOA's summer conference, The Knit and Crochet Show!  Consider taking a class with me, or meeting me at one of the many events taking place!  I always love meeting my readers!  :)

Eye Candy

It's going to be another busy week for me, but just because I cannot show you what I currently have on my hook doesn't mean I can't offer you some eye candy to enjoy!

First, I'd like for you to check out what the International Freeform Fiberart Guild created for the 2008 Challenge entitled "Through Our Eyes":   http://www.intff.org

This year, along with the online exhibition, a companion book is available for purchase, that includes the photos of each piece and the poem or writing that accompanies it by each designer.  And -- 100% of the profits will go to Women for Women International.  The book is available in hard or soft copy; either of which would be a treasured addition to your freeform library or make a wonderful gift for a special friend or family member. Last year many Conference attendees had their books autographed!  More information about the book is available here:  http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/244119.  Myra Woods did another fantastic job with putting this exhibit & book together!

Secondly, if you're not a member of Ravelry.com, what are you waiting for?  I received a private message from Lucy, saying, "Dee: Did you see the NYTimes article about the glass blowers who have made chain stitches with molten glass? The article says, “Who knew you could knit and crochet with glass?” Check out the slide show picture #6. The site is: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/arts/design/28glas.html"

Thank you, Lucy, I hadn't!   Now that's amazing!   :) 
 

Question From Reader: Benefiting from Classes?

Dear Dee: I have been knitting for years, mainly using a crochet hook to pick up stitches and do some edgings.  I have tried crocheting an entire project before but found reading the patterns difficult, and forgetaboutit  when it comes to meeting crochet gauge.  I am looking at your crochet classes on the Knit and Crochet Show site, and even googled you.  You are all over the Internet!  Do you think I would I benefit from taking your beginner classes?  Thanks, Linda

 

Dear Linda,
Thank you for contacting me and inquiring if my classes would help you with learning more about crochet.  First, let me state I am flattered you googled me.  You are the third person this week to tell me they've done so!  :)

Second, my answer is yes!  I do think you would benefit -- greatly, if I do say so myself -- from taking my Crochet 101 and Crochet 102 classes.  Do you need to take both classes?  Honestly, I think you're the best person to answer that.  The Crochet 101 class is for beginners -- those who need to learn from the ground up.  Based upon what you wrote, I'm guessing you are comfortable with some of the basics already.  If this is the case, that you are comfortable with making basic crochet stitches and maintaining stitch count, then I think you can pass on the 101 class.  Then again, we'll be covering information you might find very helpful.

The Crochet 102 class will cover more of the rules of crochet and why we need them.   It also includes gauge (discovering if you are a "lifter" or a "rider" -- which is important to know, reading patterns, how to properly  add on new yarn/colors, and more!  Since you have a knitting background, we can use that information to make your crocheting experience more enjoyable!  

If you're still not sure, then I highly suggest taking both classes.  I definitely think you can benefit from taking both, but since I am not beside you observing just how much crochet knowledge you have already, it's up to you to decide.  I wouldn't wait too long though, as classes are filling up fast! 

By the way, I'm not sure if Google picked up on this when you researched me, but I can crochet with either hand.  So it doesn't matter to me if you are left or right handed!  I teach can teach both!  :)

I hope this helps,
~Dee