Celebrating – Page 16

Feeling the Love

February 1, 2011February 19, 2024Celebrating, Crochet, Crochet Design, Pattern13 Comments

I always think of February as the month of love, so it is fitting to celebrate my latest pattern release from M2H Designs. The Luv Bug.

It is available thru my Ravelry Shop. My inspiration for the name for these cute little bugs are my adorable kids. I call them my Love Bugs or Cuddle Bugs on a regular basis, so creating a cuddly Luv Bug toy was a logical step.

These bugs are great fun to make. A bit of instant gratification as they require very little yarn and minimal sewing. Each bug is made up of 4 separate crocheted pieces, with the stitch work creating the nose, antenna and feet. Sizing of the bugs depends on the thickness of yarn you use.

With Valentines Day just around the corner someone on your list might enjoy having their own Luv Bug to cuddle.

It’s amazing how quickly a year has gone by. Last year for Valentines Day I offered a little heart pattern here on my blog, I thought it would be fun to do that again. So here is a new heart…..

SPIRAL IN A HEART

by Andee Graves

Note: All rounds are worked spirally without joining. Use a stitch marker in the last stitch of the round and move it up as each round is completed. US Crochet terminology used throughout.

Yarns: Caron International Dazzleaire for Heart, Caron International Simply Soft for Spiral.

Hook: I-9 / 5.5 mm & H-8 / 5 mm

Gauge: Finished heart measures 2.5 x 2.5 inches. Gauge will vary depending on yarn and hook size chosen.

Rnd 1: Ch 2, 7 sc in 2nd ch from hook.

Rnd 2: 2 sc in next 7 sts. [14 sc]

Rnd 3: sc in next st, 2 sc in next st, hdc and dc in next st, 5 dc in next st, sk next st, sl st next st, sk next st, 5 dc in next st, dc and hdc next st, hdc and sc next st, sc next 2 sts, 2 hdc next st, fasten off. [6 sc, 5 hdc, 12 dc]

Spiral: Holding working yarn behind heart and smaller hook at front, pull up a loop thru the center of the heart, work surface sl sts at base of each st of Rounds 2 and 3. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Happy Valentines Day

Ooooo Sparkly!

December 22, 2010September 15, 2011Celebrating, Crochet, Humor, YarnLeave a Comment

This past weekend included another Saturday night spent (or is that mis-spent?) at the LambShoppe with my stitching friends. Admittedly the amount of actual stitching I got done was minimal. But I did do some damage shopping for yarn and consuming yummy food.

Everyone brings a dish or nibbles to share. My contribution was a Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese ball. Even me, with my severe culinary challenges, can manage to mash up smoked salmon with cream cheese and shape it into a ball. I also provided gluten-free crackers to eat with it.

When I wasn’t being a social butterfly visiting with the friends there I was having fun cruising about petting yarn and filling a shopping basket with balls that needed a home. Some of this yarn is destined to be sent away as gifts to stitching pals further afield. Much of it is for me to play with though.

In particular is this gorgeous stuff. Lang Yarns’ LanaLux (40% Merino, 28% Polyamide/Nylon, 32% Polyster). Anita, one of the owners of the LambShoppe actually helped me find this yarn at the last PJ Jam. I was on the hunt for seriously sparkly yarns. You have to admit, this is seriously sparkly.

It is also really fun to stitch with. I made up a couple of my Little Christmas Wreaths in it and was quite pleased with the way the yarn performed as well as the beauty of the finished wreaths. I may have to come up with some other fun designs using this yarn.

I keep visualizing an open work FreeForm Lace style capelet. Worn over a black shirt it could make for a wonderful bit of dazzle and warmth for New Year’s Eve. The more sedate version would be to use one color. But the wild woman in me is seeing something using every color.

So on this jaunt I was determined to acquire every shade they had available to experiment with. There will also be a few more wreaths made as gifts for family and friends this holiday season.

The Gift of Crochet

December 12, 2010Celebrating, Crochet2 Comments

Giving crochet as a gift is something that has brought a great deal of joy into my life. I’ve crocheted many gifts for friends and family over the years, as well as loads of projects for charitable efforts.

Thinking about making gifts reminded me of a discussion on Ravelry in the CLF Group. The original poster had discovered a handmade gift she had given someone in a thrift store. The conversation was interesting, and really made me think about why I make a gift or even give a gift.

Sometimes it is a matter of concern or worry for someone in my life. I love to make gifts for those I care about, especially when they may be going thru a troubling time in their lives. I like the feeling that the effort I’ve put into the gift will translate to the giftee as love.

Sometimes it is a matter of expediency too. I have made many a quick gift either by crochet, sewing, beading, paper-crafting or one of my myriad artsy/crafty pursuits to fulfill the need for a last-minute gift. In particular are the times I’ve whipped up a cute little toy for a child’s birthday present. Being we live on a mountain a good 40 minute drive (one direction) from the nearest shopping options, having those skills is very helpful.

With Christmas time almost here many of us will be burning the midnight oil attempting to finish crocheted or other handcrafted gifts in time for our various holiday get-togethers. Some of us will be lucky enough to receive handcrafted gifts from other people in our lives.

No matter if we are giftee or gifter, it is good to remember what my paternal grandmother always said. “It’s the thought that counts.” I would add to that “Once it is given, let it go.”

If your gift ends up in a thrift store somewhere trust that it will eventually find its way to someone who will treasure it. Even if it is you purchasing it at the Thrift store to bring home or to wear to the next get-together with the original giftee.

Maybe the most important “gift” of crochet, is the gift we give ourselves. Challenging ourselves to make something using the magic of hook and yarn, whether for ourselves or to give to others, the joy of the crocheting and the sense of accomplishment when a project is done is tremendous.

Better yet, give someone the gift of teaching them to crochet.

Wishing all of you great joy in this season of giving.

Happy Holidays

December 10, 2010December 19, 2010Celebrating, Crochet Design6 Comments

Here on the Mountain the days are getting shorter and colder and 2010 is nearly over. It’s that time of year when I run thru my list of folks that I’m giving gifts to. In just 2 short weeks my family will be celebrating Christmas with each other.

Front-Cover-Image — M2H Designs - Little Christmas Wreath

I’m also celebrating the launch of M2H Designs with my first independantly published pattern, Little Christmas Wreath, now available in my Ravelry Shop. As a special thank you and gift to all my supporters I’m going to offer a complimentary copy of this pattern to everyone thru January 7th.

I created this fun little wreath to celebrate the holiday season. The pattern is a PDF that includes stitch diagrams and photo tutorials along with written instructions (US terminology).

These are fun festive touches to add to gift packages and greeting cards or to make into a brooch to wear on a jacket or as a shawl pin. Quick to crochet up and ideal for using up leftover bits of yarn from other projects.

To get your copy go to Ravelry and use the “Buy Now” button to purchase the pattern, when you get to the cart enter the coupon code LCW2010G where you see the “use a coupon code” option. The code will only be good until midnight Mountain Time on January 7th, 2011.

I hope you enjoy making your own little wreaths and look forward to seeing project photos on Ravelry to see what everyone did with this idea.

Happy Holidays from M2H Designs.

Gift for a Thanksgiving Baby

December 8, 2010Celebrating, CrochetLeave a Comment

Some neighbors just had a baby girl, so I decided she needed some crochet style to see her thru our mountain winter. She is a petite one, beginning her life journey weighing in at only 6.6 pounds.

Baby-Hat-and-Blankie — Baby Hat and Car Blanket

The car blanket is just a quick 23″ x 23″ V-stitch granny square with an opening for a car-seat buckle to fit thru. I used my Little Noggins Cap pattern with a worsted weight yarn, which resulted in a slightly larger hat than the gauge on the pattern (perfect for a slightly larger than premie baby).

The yarn is Premier Yarns’ Deborah Norville Collection EveryDay Soft Worsted. This is the first time I’ve used this yarn and I am really loving the feel and resulting finished project. I won a bag of 3 balls in the “American Hero” colorway at the CLF Retreat in October. I used every bit of the 3 balls for this hat and blanket.

I liked the colors because there was some pinkish tones in this yarn without it being too “girlie”. I’m one of those people who gets very tired of pastel baby yarns and I knew my friends would also prefer something not too frou-frou.

The EveryDay Soft Worsted is named aptly. It is super soft even before being washed. I machine washed and dried the finished hat and blanket to be sure they wouldn’t be a pain for my friends to launder. Hopefully these will be well used by them, as this new baby and their 4 year old son keep them on their toes.

Welcome baby K.

Friends I am Thankful For

November 24, 2010March 23, 2020Celebrating, Humor2 Comments

The Thanksgiving holiday is almost upon us here in the US. Amongst the mayhem of preparing to have guests for dinner at our house, I have been thinking about all the wonderful blessings in my life this past year.

Warning – This post may become a bit mushy for those of a less sentimental nature.

The last 12 months have been an amazing whirlwind of growth for me as a designer and a small business owner. Opportunities that I thought would be years down the road have come far more quickly.

So I think it is very fitting to give some public “Thanks” to those who have helped me find my way into this amazing career path and are my continuing support system. I’ll try to keep some order to this list, but no promises (after all, I’m generally typing quite late at night for these entries).

First on the list must be my Mother. I’m sure she never imagined that putting a crochet hook in my hand all those years ago would eventually lead me to become a crochet designer. Though she has commented many times that I never followed patterns in my crocheting or sewing efforts. So I’m guessing she really isn’t that surprised.

The slew of friends that have stuck by me over the years, despite a propensity for drama and other growing pains. Particularly on my mind tonight are my friends, Terie and Melodi. They have both known me over 20+ years and somehow held fast despite some real stupid times on my part.

My wonderful family. My dear husband, who has never complained about my incredible expanding yarn stash or the ever-growing collection of crochet books, hooks and knitting needles. My 2 kiddos, who have an insatiable curiosity about mom’s yarn and have learned that they need to wait til the end of the row to ask a question.

The talented Doris Chan and especially her book “Amazing Crocheted Lace”. I find myself still very inspired by Doris’s take on design and the lovely pieces she keeps cranking out. When I met Doris in person it was a joy and each time I see her at conferences I am still delighted.

My good friend Tessa who introduced me to the world of online resources that eventually led me to Ravelry. Tessa doesn’t crochet or knit, but is an encouraging and loving friend that tolerates my obsession with compassion.

A very big Thank You to Jess and Casey Forbes for creating Ravelry, since everything else that has happened was because of connecting with other crochet and knitting enthusiasts on their wonderful site.

Laurie Wheeler of the Crochet Liberation Front. Laurie’s group on Ravelry was a revelation and reward all in one. To converse with others who loved crochet and yarn like myself was a freeing and joyful experience and one that lead me on to other groups on Ravelry that would change my Life.

Jenny Dowde whom I met thru Ravelry as well. Her FreeFormations group was a fun place to learn and explore the world of Freeform stitch work and opened my eyes to using fiber arts in my other artwork in ways that I will be exploring for the rest of my life. Her 3 books on FreeForm techniques are still favorites on my shelf.

It was also because Jenny was coming to the US to teach in Portland that I discovered the CGOA and attended my first ever Knit and Crochet Show.

The Lovely Sarah, who has become a cherished friend and one of my most staunch supporters in my efforts to create a career path that matches my ethics and creativity. Getting to meet her at that first show in Portland after having met her on Ravelry was a real treat.

My dear friend Pam, whom I first met in Portland in one of Jenny’s classes. Her grounded approach to life has been my rock when I feel like I am flailing about in my life roles. Whether it is the challenges of being a mom and self-employed, or just deadline madness…she always has the right words to help me find my sanity again. Pam also was the one that told me about Mary Beth Temple’s podcast “Getting Loopy”.

Dear Bonnie Pierce, who adopted me at the Portland Knit and Crochet Show. Her generosity in including me in all the madness with the FreeForm group that was represented there was so kind (plus she introduced me to “Moonlight Chocolate”). The further invitation to join the online FreeForm Yahoo group has also been a blessing and inspiration.

Then of course, is the talented and dynamic Mary Beth Temple. Listening to her podcast I heard about her class, “Designing for Print Publication”. I took it in March 2009 more out of curiosity than anything else. It was online and only 3 weeks, so I figured I could fit it into my life.

As part of the class Mary Beth had us create a design proposal and submit it. I sent mine off fully expecting to be rejected, so it was with some amazement that I sold that first design. She has cheered me on every step of this mad journey.

Zoomie, who I meet in the “Getting Loopy” chat room. When I found out she lived in the Denver area we made arrangements to get together. Now, we see each other once a month and go play at one of my favorite yarn stores The LambShoppe.

Thru Zoomie I met all the lovely fellow yarnies at the LambShoppe’s monthly Pajama Jam. Many have become good friends and we get to have other yarn adventures together like going to the Estes Park Wool Market. They are also great about cheering me on in my design adventures and have even offered to help me with my knitting attempts (unsuccessfully so far, but that is a reflection on my failings as a student and not their’s as teachers).

My official CGOA mentor, Karen Ratto-Whooley. Karen has been so generous with her time, advice and encouragement. Our time as mentor/mentee is drawing to an end, but our friendship will last a lifetime. Sometimes the most help has just been the laughter we share at the craziness of living the busy life of designers and moms.

Janet, another fantastic acquaintance from that first Portland show. Over a year later we ended up rooming together at the Chain Link show in Buffalo. We had such a lovely time being roommates that we vowed to do it again. So we shared a cabin at the recent CLF Retreat. It probably isn’t legal for friends to laugh so hard and long, but we sure enjoy ourselves.

The fun and sweet Cozy. So talented and entertaining, as well as very understanding about the madness my life is. Someday soon we have promised ourselves to meet in real life. Meanwhile online, email and the telephone will have to suffice.

All my other fun online friends, especially those on Ravelry. Whether you know it or not, all of you lift my spirits with every post and message. Having a chance to share ideas, encouragement with learning new techniques, or just drooling over yarn is so much fun.

Thank you to all these friends and more. I’ve likely forgotten to name someone who should be on this list, but you are all in my grateful heart this Thanksgiving Day.

Christmas Crochet

October 30, 2010Celebrating, Creativity, Crochet DesignLeave a Comment

Oh boy, it’s time for some quick work with the hooks. Christmas gift making season seems to have snuck up on me once again. Though I had thought about it earlier. In fact, was happily reminded when the Special Newstand issue of Crochet! Magazine came out the end of August.

It was particularly exciting for me as the hat on the cover is my design, Roundabout Hat (thanks to Carol Alexander, the talented editor of Crochet! Magazine for the name).

Fortunately, I already have a hat done for my beloved because of this design, the hat below was actually the proto-type and will be one of his Christmas presents this year.

I had the ball of Universal Yarns Classic Worsted Long Print in the Black Heathers colorway for ages, intending it for a hat for my beloved. When Carol asked me for a warm earflap hat design for this issue my mind went to that yarn right away.

One thing I really love about this design is the simplicity of the color work as the yarn does all the heavy lifting. The hat is worked top down in half double crochet for a lovely stretchy fabric. The earflaps are worked in the round as well so there is a cozy extra layer over the ears, which is super handy in cold winter weather.

I may be making a few of these hats this Christmas as they are quick to stitch up and can be embellished to make them more feminine or fun. There are loads of other fun gift projects in this magazine as well. So if you are looking for some inspiration for your gift list, this issue is a great place to start.

Crochet At Cama – The First Ever CLF Retreat

October 25, 2010September 17, 2022Celebrating, Crochet, Humor, Wood Crafting6 Comments

Just got home to Colorado this past Sunday after spending an inspiring, exciting and hilarious 9 days in the Pacific Northwest. My trip began and ended in Portland and the entire trip was quality time with the Lovely Sarah. My main reason for scheduling this trip was the CLF Retreat – Crochet at Cama, that was held at Cama Beach State Park (October 17-21) on Camano Island, Washington.

I flew into PDX the afternoon of the 15th, and Sarah and I spent Saturday shopping and cooking in preparation for our journey north to Camano Island. Sunday morning I managed to pack Sarah’s little red car fuller than it has ever been before. In fact Sarah really didn’t believe all the stuff we were taking was going to fit in there (I confess I had my doubts too). Especially as we were picking up the Brilliant Janet at the Sea-Tac Airport on our way.

Despite a late start beginning our trip north all things worked out perfectly. The car was certainly filled to capacity once we added Janet’s suitcase and bags to the mix, but we all fit and we traveled safely onward to our destination at Cama Beach State Park.

First descriptive for this lovely stretch along the Puget Sound is Wow! When we saw our little cabin and how close the water was to our front porch we were delighted beyond description.

The next 24 hours passed in a bit of a blur. Sarah, Janet and I got moved into our cabin, grabbed some dinner then headed over to the Firehall to join up with the rest of the folks arriving for the retreat.

Monday morning I had an informative and interesting class with Laurie Wheeler about Yarn. The next thing I remember is a lovely dinner with our friends Jim (Jimbo) Price and Karen (KRW Knitwear) Whooley. I was getting a bit antsy at that point as later that evening was to be my debut doing a presentation on Crochet Ergonomics and Hand Health. My dinner companions jollied me along and helped me set up for the presentation.

Once I was in front of the group and started talking about my subject the audience was a blast. There were many faces in the crowd that I knew and could call on by name (and my friends refrained from flinging tomatoes as had been threatened before). Everyone was very interested in the topic and Laurie Wheeler (Fearless leader of the CLF) extracted a promise from me that I will teach at least one class at the retreat next year.

Tuesday morning I was in Karen Ratto-Whooley’s Toe Up Sock class, where I demonstrated my poor pattern reading skills. My sock did not turn out well. But I had loads of fun and am hopeful that my next attempt will be better. I’ve decided that it will take lots of stitch markers for me to find the right stitches to work into. I really want to make sock/slippers for my family for this Christmas.

Karen, as always, was a fun and well prepared teacher. She even managed to help me figure out what I had done to create such an oddly shaped sock. The picture was taken after I frogged the 2nd part of my heel flap.

Walking back to our cabin after the class I hiked around and took some pictures of the gorgeous shoreline and scenery.

Close-up-of-2nd-group-of-Bu — Close up of my Bullions

That evening Jimbo held an auction for a chopstick Bullion hook that he developed with Bonnie Pierce. Bonnie had signed the hook. The bidding was fun and Janet and I joined forces to win the bidding. Using the hook that evening (and with some coaching from Bonnie) I successfully made my first ever bullions.

Wednesday morning was my Hook Whittling class with Jimbo Price. Another fun teacher and an informative class with lots of students. I got my hook looking like a hook during the class and did some further shaping of it once I got back to Sarah’s house after the retreat. I wanted to try and create a hook with a similar shape to the Etimo hooks from the Tulip Company. I’m still having fun shaping this hook and am not 100% sure I’ve finished carving and sanding on it.

I’ve been playing with wood carving for about 20 years, but I still learned many new things and different ways of approaching the challenges of making the wood into the object you visualize. As well as new ways of looking at how I hold my hook and what shape is best for my style of crochet.

That evening was the Good-bye party where Deb and Don Burger gave a wonderful musical performance. Then it was visiting til we were getting too tired and silly. The next morning was misty and cold which seemed fitting as final hugs and good-byes were shared.

The-Last-Morning — Our Last Morning at Cama Beach

I am looking forward to next year’s CLF Crochet at Cama Retreat. Mark your calendars and save your pennies to join us there. October 16 – 20, 2011.

CLF Crochet Retreat

September 12, 2010September 12, 2010Celebrating, CrochetLeave a Comment

Oh boy, I can hardly wait! In just a little over a month I take off for the Crochet Liberation Front Retreat at Camano Island. This is going to be a fun time of stitching with pals, taking classes and enjoying the beautiful North West.

CamanoIslandJune2008 — Photo from CLF Website of the Ocean at Cama Beach

I have a passion for the ocean. Maybe it is because I was born and raised in land-locked Kansas, and currently live in land-locked Colorado. The rhythm of ocean waves is one of my favorite sounds.

Combining the joy of being near the ocean with the joy of crocheting and comaradery of fellow CLF friends. Heaven! If you haven’t registered for the retreat yet go check out the CLF website.

If being there everyday isn’t an option for you, there are day passes available. You can join in the retreat activities of the day and take a class or two. There is a great line-up of classes and teachers, and I’ll be giving a talk Monday evening on Crochet Ergonomics. Hope to see lots of folks there.

Searching for the Perfect Bag

September 4, 2010Celebrating, Creativity, Yarn4 Comments

I love bags, purses, satchels, totes. You name it, likely I have at least one in my collection of “containers for carrying stuff in”. I am particularly fond these days of this bag.

Kanji-Bag3 — Kanji Project Cozy by CozySpirit

My dear friend Cozy has a lovely Etsy shop: CozySpirit where she sells bags of all sizes, moth-away sachets to match, and gorgeous yummy hand-dyed yarns. This bag was a synthesis of both our creativity. She did all the hard work though.

I wanted a bag that was a good size to carry a small yarn project in. I was particularly looking at it from the standpoint of classes at conferences. I sent her the measurements I was contemplating and she did some figuring for me.

I purchased 5 bags from her and I used all the bags at this summer’s Chain Link. They were ideal for the classes, easily holding numerous small balls of yarn, my hooks, class notes and a pen.

The pockets of this bag are a gorgeous Asian style print she had leftovers of. I had fallen in love with another bag she had in her shop, but missed out on purchasing it. She only had a bit left and came up with this design to utilize it. It is perfect in so many ways.

The straps are long enough that I can slip the bag over my shoulder and keep stitching away on my project while walking around. The outside pockets are very handy for a place to stow my keys, a small pad for design notes, or even a spare hook or needle when I need my hands free to do something else.

And the interior details are just as nice as the exterior. The seams are fully finished, so there are no fuzzy edges to add lint to my yarn or otherwise gumm up the interior. There is a handy pocket on the interior too for keeping my hooks and such from diving to the bottom of the bag. A nifty little loop on the interior also provides a good spot for stitch markers to rest when not in use.

Cozy has numerous versions of this style of bag at her shop now. She calls them “Project Cozys” and they are very reasonably priced. I use all of mine on a regular basis.

Cozy has also come up with a larger project bag that I will be adding to my collection very soon. Sometimes I need more room in a bag for a project that outgrows the Project Cozy, so I’m looking forward to getting my new bag. This one will be large enough to carry a big shawl project in.

And even if you are not a stitching kind of person Cozy’s bags are a wonderful well-made addition to your own collection. The Project Cozy size is ideal for using as an everyday handbag with lots of good spots to stow your wallet, phone, car keys and all those other necessities when running about.