Celebrating – Page 10

Getting Together to Crochet!

November 20, 2013November 19, 2013Celebrating, YarnLeave a Comment

My favorite thing about discovering the online world of crocheters has been that it has helped me find real life crocheters (and knitters) to hang out with and share our enthusiasm for all things fiber and yarn.

Today I’ll be making the drive down the mountain to hang out for a few hours with fellow crocheters at the Longmont Yarn Shoppe from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. It’s a great place to meet, wonderful natural lighting, beautiful yarn and even a shop dog.

This past weekend I braved the wind and snow on my mountain to drive all the way to Denver to spend Saturday evening with my yarnie friends at the Lambshoppe on 12th Street. We had a great time laughing, eating chocolate, admiring each other’s yarn and fiber. Sue let us see the gorgeous cashmere fiber she is spinning into yummy yarn (so soft).

I purchased this yarn that is destined to become either a snuggly sweater or wrap for me. I want something to keep me warm this winter. I keep promising myself that I’m going to crochet something beautiful just for me, so getting this yarn is a good start.

The drive back from Denver that night wasn’t too bad until I got up on the mountain. Then I had a few exciting moments with blowing snow that would temporarily obscure the roadway. Fortunately, I am a very experienced mountain driver. A few times I stopped to let the snow clear away and then continued on, I also slow down so I don’t come round a curve in the road and find myself in trouble.

It is clearly winter up here on the mountain now so getting out to meet up with my yarnie friends could be a bit more of an adventure, but I have good tires. And what’s life without some adventures?

Unforgettable Granny Fans

November 10, 2013September 29, 2015Celebrating, Crochet, Crochet DesignLeave a Comment

It is fall and the trees down in town have been putting on a show with colorful leaves. I couldn’t resist taking some photos this week when I was off my mountain.

With Fall adding a chilly nip to the air (and the snow we have had up here on my mountain) I’m definitely feeling the holiday season just around the corner.

MainlyCrochet Photo — Photo courtesy of MainlyCrochet.com

Which is why I’m so excited to share my design the “Granny Fans Scarf”

It is available thru the MainlyCrochet.com website. If you haven’t had a chance to check out MainlyCrochet.com you will be delighted with all the wonderful patterns you can have access to for a small annual subscription fee.

This is a really fun to stitch scarf that I designed especially to work well with color changing yarns like the lovely “Unforgettable” from the Red Heart Boutique line. The finished scarf looks like painstaking color changes were worked and all those lovely little tails were tidied away. Instead the yarn does all the heavy lifting and you get the accolades.

This is a super fast project to work up for a holiday gift. You can make it as the scarf length in the pattern. Or work fewer “fans”, add a button and you have a lovely neck cozy.

Just be warned though. This is a rather addictive project to crochet. I found myself happily lulled along as I stitched up the sample.

Update September 30, 2015 – The pattern for this scarf is now available thru my Ravelry Shop as “Granny Fans Redux” as well as thru the MainlyCrochet.com website. You can see the pattern page on Ravelry by clicking this link, and you can read a few more details about the new version on my blog post here.

Rainbows

August 21, 2013Celebrating, Latest NewsLeave a Comment

I’ve lots to write on here about the wonderful time I’ve been having with Jan’s visit. But we are having so much fun it may have to wait until she is headed home.

We have been on the go everyday since her flight landed in Denver. There has been Vera Bradley, Yarn, Antiques, more Yarn, Glass Galleries, some more Yarn, Hiking, and Yarn. Yes, you are seeing a trend there. Of course, considering how we met originally it is no surprise that yarn is the common thread.

Today there was a lovely rain storm in the early evening, pouring rain with bright sunshine. So of course, there was a gorgeous double rainbow. I wasn’t quick enough with the camera to catch the double, but the remaining rainbow was pretty spectacular by itself.

More soon, including pictures of my lovely yarn and other goodies.

Running Around

August 15, 2013August 15, 2013Celebrating, CrochetLeave a Comment

Yes, I was running around like a crazy woman today. Trying to get things finished up because….

Jan is coming to visit starting tomorrow thru the 24th!

Since I want to be free to play and sight-see with her, I’m trying to have all my projects work and household caught up. Of course, trying is the key word there. Those old sayings about Murphy and no rest for the wicked seem to be quite true.

Good thing Jan is a crochet yarnie like myself, so I can do some “work” whilst we are playing.

We will be going down to PJ Jam at the LambShoppe this Saturday, then joining my Mountain Top Stitching Group on Sunday. Clearly getting the visit started off with some fun yarn stuff. Then hopefully part of our week will involve making stops at the various yarn stores that are part of the “Hot August Knits Yarn Crawl”

A couple of the shops involved are in Wyoming, so we may be re-tracing some of our travels from last September when we drove to Reno for the Knit & Crochet Show.

Will try to get some blog posts up about our adventures as the week goes along, but we might be having too much fun.

My Secret Weapon

August 14, 2013August 14, 2013Celebrating, Crochet, Crochet DesignLeave a Comment

Anyone who is successful will tell you that they couldn’t have done it alone. This is certainly true for me and my crochet design work. In fact, two of my recently published designs owe their existence to my secret weapon, Val.

At the July 2012 Knit & Crochet Show in Manchester I had a meeting with the lovely Carol Alexander. She is the editor-in-chief for Annie’s “Crochet! Magazine” and “Crochet World”, and a former designer herself. We were discussing all the design ideas I have, but that my time for creating samples was limited. She suggested that I look into finding some contract crocheters that could stitch up samples for me while I work on creating the designs.

So I talked to a number of my designer friends to find out if they used contract crocheters and what was the best way to go about finding someone. Many of them use contractors that live far away from them, this involves shipping yarn and projects back and forth. Some are fortunate to live in an area where they have lots of reliable crocheters nearby to choose from.

But I live on a mountain, a fair distance from most everyone I know of that is interested in doing contract crochet. Then I had the brilliant idea of my friend Val doing some crocheting for me, she lives down the mountain from me so shipping wasn’t an issue.

Val and I have known each other for about 7 years and have been getting together regularly to crochet for the past 3. She helped me teach the Crochet Club at our local elementary school. So all that was left was to ask her if she would be interested in doing contract crochet work. We discussed the details and logistics of her doing this work for me. And thus began a new facet of our relationship.

Photo courtesy of Crochet World / Annie's Publishing — Photo courtesy of Crochet World / Annie’s Publishing

The first design she worked on was my “Butterfly Days Baby Blanket” published this summer in the June issue of Crochet World.

The second design she worked on was my “Greek Squares Afghan” that just came out in the August issue of Crochet World. Val crocheted all the blocks for me, then I crocheted them together and did the final edging.

The photo was taken by me in my living room before I shipped off the finished afghan. I found myself glad that I had photographed it, as there was some confusion when the photography was shot for the magazine. The picture in the magazine shows the afghan from the backside. Fortunately, I always finish both sides of my work to look good.

Val has worked with me on a couple other projects since that one, but they haven’t been published yet. Because of her work I am able to design more large projects, like afghans and throws. Keep an eye out for more designs from me, now that I have my not so secret weapon.

Where did Andee Go?

July 25, 2013July 24, 2013Celebrating, CGOA, Chain Link, Creativity, Crochet, Inspiration2 Comments

I know, my blog has been very quiet the last couple of months. It’s been a wild and crazy time. Cloning myself is a fantasy, but one I’ve been thinking would be a lovely solution (my luck the clone would only want to do the fun stuff).

Fortunately, I’m finding my way clear and will be blogging more regularly starting now.

Me speaking at Professional Development Day

I just got back from a wonderful week at the Knit & Crochet Show called Summer Chain Link by many of us CGOA folks. This one was held in Indianapolis. For the first time ever that I was one of the speakers at Professional Development Day.

Of course I had a fun time shopping in the market for fiber goodies. The above is the pile that had to come home with me. I’m really looking forward to playing with the yarn and thread. One of my purchases was a Steamer and another a Jumbo Yarn Winder. Unfortunately I have to be patient as those are being shipped to me.

I took 4 classes during the show and found lots of inspiration in all of them. Keep an eye here as I will be blogging about my them and the results of all that inspiration. Especially my class with the amazing Lily Chin. If you can only take one class when you go to a show I highly recommend that you take one of Lily’s. She always has information packed classes that will fire you up to tackle crochet (or knit) challenges you never thought you would be ready for.

So get ready my dear readers, the last 5 months of 2013 should prove to be exciting and interesting for us both.

The World of FreeForm

June 28, 2013Art Projects, Celebrating1 Comment

As many of you know, I love to create art pieces as well as design crochet patterns. I’m a member of the FreeForm Fiber Artists Guild. Every year we vote on a topic and have a challenge to create a freeform piece that reflects our topic. The last couple of years I’ve not managed to participate. Fortunately this year I was able to join in.

Suspended Jewel - all rights AF Graves — Suspended Jewel – all rights AF Graves

Our topic was “Mother Earth”, which is very inspiring to me. I’ve long been a big fan of images of the earth from space, so that is right where my mind went. After playing with the colors of yarn in my stash, I opted to go with a somewhat simple graphic representation of the gorgeous world we all live on.

This year’s Gallery is available online here. Check out all the wonderful creative works by my fellow guild members.

A Tour Through Crochet Country

March 15, 2013August 14, 2020Blog Tour, Celebrating, CGOA, Pattern28 Comments

I am honored to be part of the “Tour thru Crochet Country” blog tour organized by Amy Shelton and Donna Hulke of Crochetville. I love that this is a great way to celebrate National Crochet Month and the CGOA (Crochet Guild of America).

I’ve been a CGOA member since the summer of 2008 and it has been the way I’ve met all sorts of crochet friends. Before CGOA I was crocheting and creating in a vacuum, now I get to share my love of crochet with thousands of folks. You can find out more about CGOA and join this wonderful organization at their website: Crochet.org.

As my gift to all you wonderful folks stopping by for the tour I wanted to offer a new heart pattern. I’ve been posting a heart pattern the last couple of years for Valentine’s Day, but this February got away from me. Seems quite appropriate to celebrate NatCroMo with a heart pattern though, since we all love crochet.

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Crocheted Love

Pattern is in US terminology.

Finished size will depend on the size of yarn and hook you use. The heart in the photo was made with Cascade 220 Superwash and a Size G-6/4mm hook.

Start with an adjustable slip knot

Round 1: Ch 4, 12 dc in 4th ch from hook, sl st in top of ch-4.

Round 2: Sk 2 sts, 7 Tr in next st, dc next st, 2 dc next 2 sts, (2 dc, ch 1, sl st in top of previous dc, 2 dc) in next st, 2 dc next 2 sts, dc next st, 7 Tr next st, sl st between last dc and join of Round 1. Fasten off, pull beginning tail to close center snugly, weave in ends.

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Now that you are making quick little hearts, how about using some to embellish simple crocheted blankets for Project Night Night.

Project Night Night is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides over 25,000 Night Night Packages each year to homeless children. Each package consists of a new sturdy tote bag with a new security blanket, an age-appropriate children’s book, and a stuffed animal. These comfort objects help to reduce the trauma of homelessness for the children served by Project Night Night. Both the handmade blankets and stuffed animals provide the children with objects of love and security.

You can help all of us on this tour help Project Night Night by making and sending in new crocheted blankets (50” x 60” or smaller) and/or making financial donations. A group effort will help us do more for Project Night Night than any of us could possibly do on our own.

For more information about Donating a Blanket to Project Night Night visit this webpage.

For more information about Donating Money to Project Night Night visit this webpage.

And please stop by here to add your donations to our group tally.

Thanks for stopping by today. Remember to visit the other stops (listed below) on the Tour through Crochet Country all during March.

List of Stops Along the Tour

Click on any designer’s name to go directly to their blog.

While you are invited to visit any site at any time, a designer’s post created specifically for A Tour through Crochet Country will not be posted until his or her scheduled date.

March 1	Jenny King	Shelby Allaho
March 2	Ellen Gormley	Nancy Nehring
March 3	Phyllis Serbes	Mona Muhammad
March 4	Amy O’Neill Houck	Akua Hope
March 5	Mary Jane Hall	Lindsey Stephens
March 6	Edie Eckman	Shannon Mullett-Bowlsby
March 7	Jennifer Cirka	Annette Stewart
March 8	Andrea Graciarena	LeAnna Lyons
March 9	Dawn Cogger	Angela Whisnant
March 10	Andrea Lyn Van Benschoten	Renee Rodgers
March 11	Joy Prescott	Donna Childs
March 12	Pam Daley	Deb Burger
March 13	Tammy Hildebrand	Marty Miller
March 14	Jocelyn Sass	Jennifer E Ryan
March 15	Andee Graves	Kimberly McAlindin
March 16	Laurinda Reddig
March 17	Brenda Bourg
March 18	Rhonda Davis
March 19	Julie Oparka
March 20	April Garwood
March 21	Alaina Klug
March 22	Erin Boland
March 23	Margaret Hubert
March 24	Bonnie Barker
March 25	Kim Guzman	Susan Huxley
March 26	Susan Lowman	Michele Maks
March 27	Marie Segares	Brenda Stratton
March 28	Kathy White	Lori Carlson
March 29	Amy Shelton	Donna Hulka
March 30	Linda Dean	Kristin Dragos
March 31	Karen C K Ballard	Gwen Blakley-Kinsler

Happy Pi Day

March 14, 2013March 14, 2013Celebrating, GeekeryLeave a Comment

Today is March 14 or 3.14, the short version of Pi. I’m not sure when folks starting celebrating Pi day. I am sure it was some geeky types that got it going.

Pi is actually much longer than 3.14. Figuring the decimal digits of Pi is a math problem without a final solution. Mathematically Pi is referred to by the number of decimal digits, ie… 3.14159 is referred to as “Pi to the 5th degree.

A couple of years ago I posted my “Pi recipe”. Where I showed you step-by-step how to make crown down hats that fit using Pi.

So if you want, today you can crochet a hat as part of celebrating Pi Day. Have fun.

Angels

March 11, 2013March 11, 2013Art Projects, Celebrating, Creativity1 Comment

My newest technology acquisition is my Samsung Galaxy Note II phone. This phone is a bit larger than my old phone, but it is lighter in weight. It is very useful.

This lovely new phone has a “pen” that is housed in the phone itself, so it is readily available when needed. Best of all, when I pull the pen out the phone automaticially opens up the SNote app that allows me to choose a page type to write on. I’m still working on the learning curve with this. But am already having lots of fun with it.

There is a little app that I’ve been using for some doodling, Paper Artist. Using it and the SNote app I made a series of Angel drawings.

I started out with a photograph of this little Angel ornament.

Then I pulled it into Paper Artist to make some changes.

After that I brought it over to the SNote app to add color and further refine the image.

Then it was time for the real fun to begin. I pulled the colored image back into Paper Artist and had all sorts of fun with the various effects.

It is going to be great having a handy little art studio with me that fits in my coat pocket. I don’t think it will completely replace my beloved sketch pads, but it will be very convenient for quickly jotting down ideas and inspiration when I am on the go.

And one last photo for you. The hard shell case I purchased to protect my new investment is of course…Hot Pink (like anyone is surprised about that).