New Pattern Release: Wizardly Scarf

First, let me say that without my support team here at home, this new crochet pattern would still be sitting in limbo.  It took a lot of arm twisting (and promises of iTunes gift cards) to get Dee Jr to model as Harry Potter for me (which I think he did a fantastic job of!), and it took Mr Dee to get my old software running again (bravo!).  Mini~Dee also had her hand in the project by lending me her magical wizard crochet hook/wand to be inspired with ... and her incredible vast knowledge of the entire Harry Potter book AND movie series!

The pattern retails for $2.99 and is available as a PDF download on Ravelry.  (I'll post an update if I decide to reopen the store on my website.)

Second, let me share a tip about adding iron-on patches to your crochet work:  use a mini-iron!  If you ever blocked your crochet work with steam from your everyday-iron -- and you used acrylic blend yarn -- then you know first hand the acrylic melts! 


If you want to add an iron-on patch (or two, or three ... get the picture?) and you use a normal iron to press it on, it will damage the crochet work AROUND (and under) the patch.  By using a mini-iron you can control where the heat is applied, only damaging the stitches UNDER the patch rather than also around it.  This will make the project look much neater, less "home-made" and more "hand-made."

Mini-irons retail for about $30, but if you wait for a store coupon, such as from Joanns or AC Moore, you can sometimes get it for 30%, 40%, even 50% off.  It is well worth the investment!

Now that you know this handy little tip, what little touches will you be embelishing your crochet projects?  :)

Best Reaction Caught on Camera?

The day after returning home from Stitches East this past fall, we had a family member go in for life-saving surgery.  To say all were on pins and needles is understated.  It was during that time I brought my crochet supplies to the hospital so those looking for a distraction during the waiting of the-not-knowing-if-all -will-be-OK-time had something to focus on.

As we sat in the waiting room my sister-in-law  said to me she wished she had a black shawl that was short, that held it's shape, and was comfortable to wear.  "Maybe I'll commission you to make it for me, Dee.  But after the holidays; things are so crazy right now."  There were a lot of things said in that waiting room.  But this little nugget I silently held onto.

I went home that night, turned on the laptop and checked my Twitter.  The first thing I saw on Twitter was Webs announcing a sale on Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Silk yarn.  I ordered 10 balls.  In black.  Within the week my yummy yarn order arrived and I set to work using Doris Chan's "All Shawl" pattern (found on Ravelry).  From hook to blocking the project took three days.  I had my daughter wrap it, and then we waited. (For the record, the shawl didn't require 10 balls of the silk yarn; I ordered extra so I could have some for future use/playing with.)

At the traditional family holiday gathering the kids presented her with my secret gift; Mr. Dee had camera in hand and caught her reaction:


This picture brings a smile to my face each time I see it because I know she not only appreciated the hours I put into hand-crocheting her a customized shawl (it also had beaded trim & button closure), but that she appreciated my being with her -- listening to her, offering her my support. I had provided her with a spell of relief & distraction when she needed it. That is what family is about. 

As for our patient, he is well on the road to recovery.  And we couldn't be happier!

Have you caught a fantastic reaction to your hand-crocheted gifts on film?  If so, please, share your story -- AND the picture!  :)

One Giant Leap Forward ...

February.  One of my favorite-ist months of the year.  Yes, one of the reasons is because I have a Birthday Week Extravaganza coming up.  But aside from that, I love the month because I am a fan of winter.  There is something about the nippy Connecticut air (and snow - although this winter we are not yet seeing much of  it) that inspires more crochet projects.  And then there is the shopping for new yarns.  And hooks.  And toys for crocheters...

I've been holding back on blog posts here because I had a long (technical) To Do list.  Fortunately in the past two weeks I've been able to seriously work on some of bribe Mr. Dee to help me with the technical computer issues preventing me from scratching things off that growing list!  It seriously feels like one giant leap forward!  A great example of this is being able to write up - and photograph - instructions for this month's Chapter meeting in a single day, something that in the past would have taken me a week to do.   I have two more major items on the To Do list to accomplish and from there I see clear sailing postings in my future.  And yes, one of those things is to finally take down the Christmas Tree ...

... and the 2012 Winner Is ...

I would like to thank everyone who participated in my Anniversary Celebration where, for the 2nd year in a row, I am gifting away a 1-year CGOA Membership. I greatly enjoyed reading everyone's Top 3 Favorite Crochet Techniques -- in reading all the entries it seems Tunisian Crochet is in the top spot for favorite! 

'Angry Kitty' takes on Chuck Norris

"Angry Kitty" got to pick the winner!

Before I announce who the winner is, I want to take a moment to thank Dee Jr and "Angry Kitty" for all their hard work in the preparing and choosing of this year's winner.  Dee Jr printed out all the entries, cut them into strips and then curled them into spirals; they remind me of confetti!  They were then presented to the cat, who we affectionately are calling "Angry Kitty" as she has been upset her that her human/owner has been on vacation for over a month now. (I've been tweeting about this on Twitter.)  She isn't hissing at us as much as she was in the beginning, so this is great that we got her into a playful mood where we presented the spirals to her, giving her time to "favor" one (aka "swat around the room" -this was the entry to be awarded this year's membership giftaway.)  Since she can't read, we thought this would be a fun, non-biased, kind of way to select a winner.  She certainly had fun!


So who won?  Well, not so fast.  It seems, after the winner exclaimed upon notification: "Oh Dee thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!! Hubby is not sure if his ear can take the squealing of, 'I won';" has "giftawayed" her newly won prize -- to her husband -- who she taught how to crochet back in 1999!  So, on behalf of myself, and our chews'n winner, Janie, the new winner is:

CONGRATULATIONS BOYCE!!

Disclaimer: I want to state that this membership was not something given to me to giveaway to help promote the CGOA.  Nope.  Not at all.  This membership, like the one gifted last year, comes from my crochet passion deep in my heart, and my very own wallet.  :)

Congratulations Janie, Boyce, and once again, thank you to everyone for participating, making this a wonderful way for me to celebrate 8 years of blogging about crochet, and celebrating my 11th Anniversary of being a CGOA member!

If you are interested in joining the CGOA, or gifting away a membership yourself, visit www.Crochet.org for more information.

Can You Read Me Now?

I have never stopped to count how many crochet patterns exist in the world, but my overall feeling is, there can never be enough.  I've come to this conclusion recently when I was shopping with my daughter and she found a crocheted poncho that she absolutely loved. Retail: $29.95

I looked the poncho over, and although the price of $29.95 was certainly affordable, I didn't want to buy it because I felt it was UNDERVALUED.  Why, I can't even buy the yarn to hand-crochet my own for $29 -- and here they were selling HAND work for less than the cost of the yarn.   I wanted to buy it for her, but I didn't want to -- I was very confllicted in making this decision.  We left the store; I didn't buy it.  If it had been a knitted poncho, I wouldn't have thought twice about it as the majority of knit products sold in retail stores are machine made; $29 for a machine made poncho would not have given me grief in my decision making.

Reading finished crochet work is
like reading International Crochet Symbols:
All it takes is a bit of practice.

As weeks quickly rolled by, I consulted EVERY stitch dictionary I could get my hands on, looking for the granny square motif that was featured in the poncho my daughter wanted.  I thought, "I can crochet one myself -- and give it to her for Christmas."  Christmas came & went.  I thought, "I can crochet one myself -- and give it to her for her birthday."  Yeah, that was a wash too.  And I never found the motif in any of my crochet references.

Last weekend my CGOA Chapter had a "Crochet in Public" meeting at the Danbury Fair Mall.  After the meeting my daughter and I revisited the store that had the poncho she wanted.  The poncho was now on clearance for $17; even more UNDERVALUED.  Sigh. She begged.  She pleaded.  I caved.  For the record: I am still torn; this poncho should have sold for much, much more -- I KNOW it took several human hours to create as it was hand-crocheted!

On the bright side, she is happy -- she got the poncho she fell in love with nearly six weeks ago.  And, setting the undervalue issue aside, I can be a bit happy too because I now have a new stitch motif to add to my crochet references -- I've actually started creating a simple scarf/wrap for myself!

SIDE NOTE: I think it is important to state I do not plan on recreating the poncho - there'd be copyright infringement issues if I did - but rather I do like the motif - very much so!

RECOMMENDATION: I think it is important for all crocheters to know how to read stitch work.  Knowing so will help with counting stitches, in ensuring stitch placement is correct, for locating errors, and for being inspired to create something wonderful.  The reading of actual crochet stitches is the "old school" style of crochet patterning dating back to the earky 1800s before printed patterns arrived on the scene.  Visit the threadwinder here to see some great examples of "crochet sampler" pages.

Practice. And the next time you see crochet work at a retail store, maybe you'll hear it whispering to you, "Can you read me now?"

Happy Ewe'll Year!

Hey, 2012 has arrived!  And not only does it come with an extra day for crocheting (leap year!), it also marks my 8th year in blogging about my crochet/yarn/hook/book addictions!  Eight Years!  This year will also be the celebration of my 11th year of being a CGOA member -- and my 2nd year of giving a 1-Year CGOA MEMBERSHIP AWAY!!  How cool is that?  :)
Before I discuss the rules for the giveaway, lets briefly talk about New Year Resolutions.  Do you have any?  I have a few to share:

1. For 2012 I will no longer say, "I crochet."  This will be replaced with, "I hand-crochet."  This is an experiment to see if I can help heighten awareness that crochet remains one of the last remaining fiber art forms that must be made by human hands, regardless if seen at a discount store or at a high-end boutique. 

2. I will give up all grand-illusions of hand-crocheting (see, I'm using it already!) down my yarn stash.  I know I "burn" through yarn with many projects throughout any given year, so I will resume rewarding myself, regularly, with restocking with yarns I love.  Yes, I know this will create storage problems, but I'm thinking if I rip out the mattress' stuffing, I can replace it with yarn.  Mattresses casings should hold a whole 'lotta yarn!  If the family protests too much, I can always eye the box springs as a storage solution, right??

3. I want to yarn bomb something this year.  I have my eye on a location local to me and will investigate if this is something I can do without, well, you know, having to go to jail for "defacing public property."  That would be a real kill-joy!

4. I want to develop a rhythm for my blog posts here.  I know last year was not a great year for my posting regularly, and I want this year to be a better one.  So I'll work on that.

5. I want to keep track of how many MILEs of yarn I use this year.  I think it would be fun to say stuff like, "Yeah, last night I flew through the 1/4 mile-marker and it felt great!" or "I got 3 miles in the bag." Have you ever considered how many miles of yarn you crochet annually?  Me either.  So this should be fun.  LOL

Alright. Let's get to the CGOA MEMBERSHIP Giveaway.  The rules are below.  Please follow them to ensure your entry counts!  Good luck!  :)

The rules are simple:
1. Entries accepted from now until January 14, 2012, midnight, eastern time, by leaving comments at this Blog entry.
2. List your top 3 favorite Crochet Techniques. If you're not sure, visit my "Types & Techniques" page on my website, www.CrochetWithDee.com, for some ideas.  If you don't see your favorite listed there, then please describe yours as maybe you'll inspire someone else to learn it!  :)
3. Include if you are a current CGOA member or not.
4. Leave a way for me to contact you should your name be drawn as the winner. If I can't reach you, I'll need to have another name drawn. Winner will be announced on January 15th; the winner will receive a One-Year Membership to the CGOA!

I wish you all a happy, healthy, hand-crochet-filled New Year! :)

Crochet's Unsung Heroes

It is true; I've been joy riding several new crochet hooks, not just the one I mentioned over Thanksgiving break.  What's up with that?  I suffer from HAS: Hook Acquisition Syndrome!

If this 1800s crochet hook could talk, what crochet adventures would it tell us?

It was during all this giddy-glee of playing with new crochet hooks that a thought started repeating itself to me as I worked each new stitch, each new project:

"Crochet Hooks are the unsung heroes of our craft."

Think about it.  When we see a project, in person, or pictured online, we want to know:

• if not an original pattern, then who designed it? 
• is the pattern for free or for sale?
• where can a copy of the pattern be obtained?
• can it be made/altered to fit me?
• what is the skill level: beginner? Intermediate? Advanced?
• what yarn was used?
• how much yarn is required?
• what size hook was used?

Did you read anywhere above "What hook was used?"
   Did we learn if the hook belonged to your great, great grandparent?
      Did we learn if the hook was hand-turned from a descendant of Moby Dick?
         Did we learn if the hook brought you pleasure with each stitch it helped you create?

No, sadly, we usually don't share these kinds of details, do we?  We, do, however, usually hear when a hook breaks -- I've been known to accidentally kill a hook or two in my time (linky).  And we usually hear the woes of missing hooks, too (linky).  But what about the crochet hook that was pressed into your hand as a distraction when a loved one was in the hospital.  Or the hook you bought to make your first crochet chain.  And what about the hook that helped wrap an adorable baby with a crocheted blanket you crafted with your own two hands?

All I'm saying is, that without our crochet hooks we'd be pretty much limited to finger crocheting.  (Doable yes, but try making a dainty doily with sausage fingers!)  Let's give a little praise to the hooks we love to use; regardless if it was mass-produced or hand created, I'm betting there's a story behind it.  And I, for one, would love to know about it!  :)