Last weekend was lots of fun. I was teaching at the Scotts Bluff Valley Fiber Arts Fair in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. I hope to be teaching there again in 2016 and will let you all know as those dates and classes are decided on. Hopefully more of you can join me there.
One of the major sponsors for the event was the Brown Sheep Company. I have used Brown Sheep yarns for years in my felting projects. My favorite thing about their “Lambspride” yarn is the color doesn’t fade away with heat felting, which means I can depend on my finished project having the same colors as the yarns I picked out. And I love that they are a “Made in the USA” product.
Andrew Wells
At the fair this weekend attendees could sign up for a tour of the Mill where the lovely yarns are created. Brown Sheep is a family owned business and our tour guide, Andrew, is the most recent generation working there. You can learn more about their company history by visiting their website here: BrownSheep.com.
“Bumps” of clean wool fiber ready to start thier journey to being made into yarn.Fluffy wool fiber ready to be spun.
It was really fun to see all the stages the fiber goes thru from clean fiber in “bumps” to the almost rope like fluffy roving that goes into the spinning machines. A lot of us on the tour found the rope like look of the fiber ready to be fed into the machines very beautiful.
Now, of course there was yarn, and being I was at a Fiber Arts event some yarn had to come home with me.
While at the fairgrounds I met one of the vendors that is actually from my neck of the woods. ShelleyLyn Designs. She hails from the Longmont area and had some lovely knit products as well as patterns. Of course I was drawn to her beautiful hand-spun yarn and had to adopt 2 hanks of this gorgeous pink and black yarn. I’m thinking I’ll be coming up with a lovely hat or headband to wear this winter when the cold-weather “blahs” are making me wish for summer again.
At the end of the tour at the Brown Sheep Company there were mill-ends of yarn and fiber that could be purchased. A few balls of yarn needed to come home with me again.
When I initially spotted this ball I thought the color was a gray. Then I got a closer look and realized it had a wonderful combination of lavender and 2 different greens called “Green Envy”.
I got these 3 balls with something pretty for the Fall season in mind. I’m often drawn to the warm fall colors, though I don’t wear them as frequently as I used to.
These 2 balls of Navy yarn are either going to be a hat or slippers for my youngest son this Christmas. He isn’t quite as avid about hats as his Dad and older brother, so I am waffling on what I’ll pick for his Christmas gift.
Meanwhile, one of the projects I was working away on before leaving for the fair, is this lovely new Shawl design. I made this shawl with Brown Sheep’s “Wildfoote” luxury sock yarn. It was a perfect choice for a lace construction that I wanted to aggressively block.
Peggy of Brown Sheep was delighted to see the shawl when we got together at the fair on Friday. She was threatening to take it away with her, but I did persuade her to let me hold on to it so I can get the pattern published first. This pattern is going to be available the 25th of September. But it needs a name and I am stuck on 3 different ones.
Fleur de Lis Shawl
Royal Veil Shawl
Mountain Whisper Shawl
I thought it would be fun for all my readers to help choose which one of the 3 I will use. So I’ve set up a little survey for you to vote on. Everyone that votes will get a coupon code to use for 15% off the pattern the first 3 weeks it is available. Voting will start today at Noon thru 10 p.m. September 22nd.
Update: Well the survey site I chose isn’t working properly. So change of plans, vote in the comments below: Tell me which name you like best (can only pick one) and I’ll send you the coupon code thru your email (codes will be sent next week after the voting ends). Please don’t share the coupon code with others.
I’ll post the winning shawl name and the link to the pattern in my Ravelry shop on Friday, September 25th. No matter which name wins, all who vote will be a winner. Just be sure you go to the survey site to vote to get the coupon code.
I’ll leave you with a bit of poetry from William Shakespeare, who had Juliet speak some thoughts about names in “Romeo and Juliet”:
“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d, retain that dear perfection for which he owes without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, and for that name which is no part of thee take all myself.”
Yes, I like flowers. One might even say I Love flowers. Up here on the mountain the growing season for having flowers outdoors is very short. This summer I didn’t even attempt to grow any since we were still having freezing temperatures well into the middle of June.
What to do though, when you can’t grow flowers? Well, crochet them of course.
A couple of years ago I created a class on crocheting flowers for my local yarn store: Longmont Yarn Shop. The class is really about taking all different shapes of flower motifs and working them in a variety of yarns: chunky to fingering weights. Then you can stack them, add buttons or beads and have all sorts of fun.
They make wonderful embellishments for commercial items like hats, gloves, scarves or bags. Or even better add them to dress up your crochet projects. You can even turn all those flowers into fabric, or add a pin back to make a brooch.
In just a few short weeks I’ll be teaching my “Flowers, Flowers, Flowers” class at the Scotts Bluff Valley Fiber Arts Fair. The fair is September 11 and 12 in Mitchell, Nebraska.
In this class I teach working in the round, Puff and Cluster stitches, invisible joins, reading simple stitch diagrams, tips and tricks for working with novelty yarns, and two methods of adding beads to yarn, as well as a chain mesh join for turning your flowers into fabric.
I’ll also be teaching my “Crocheting Wristers” and “Don’t Let Your Hobby Hurt” classes. If you are in the area come on up and join the fun. The Scotts Bluff National Monument is right there and the landscape is beautiful. You can find out more information and enroll for classes at the website: NebraskaFiberFair.com.
Most of the time I’m talking about yarn or silly mountain adventures. But tonight I am reflecting on the hidden part of being a designer.
Designing is in its nature a fairly solitary occupation. Especially when you live on a mountain over 45 minutes from any yarn store. Online communities have certainly helped with finding like-minded yarnie folks to bond with. But having someone in your life that helps keep all the pieces together with kids, home and career is a true gift.
Our Wedding Day Portrait
Fortunately I have been very blessed in my choice of a life partner. 17 years ago we said “I do” to each other in a ceremony on a mountainside with friends and family. It was a day of laughter, tears and tenderness. It has been 17 years of discovery and growth together and I hope we have many more to come.
He has never been discouraging about my passion for yarn, hooks and creating. Sometimes he has no idea what I’m talking about when I am excited about a new yarn or stitch pattern, he still smiles at my happiness. Being that he is a geek like myself, he really appreciates my rhapsodies on geometries and design math. He even remains calm when I tell him we need to go to Kansas to visit my Dad for Father’s Day, with less than a week to plan the trip.
Fittingly, my gift from him this year, was 3 DVDs. One being Season 7 of the Big Bang Theory. Yay! The other 2 movies are also ones I have been wanting to see. Further confirmation that he “gets” me. He surprised me with this gift this morning.
We are in Kansas visiting family. Our anniversary celebration has consisted of playing at a city pool with my niece, her little ones and our boys for hours this afternoon. Then a lovely dinner at the Outback Steakhouse with our boys and my Dad. Father’s Day will be spent with my Dad and will include grilling burgers and sausages on the new bar-b-q that my brother Cy and I bought for him.
Of course, a blog post on here would not be right without a lovely box of yarn. These goodies came last week from Plymouth Yarn. I am having designing raptures and have already started swatching with the Linaza (lovely mix of Alpaca, Linen and Tencel).
Hope you all are enjoying your summer. We are certainly getting a reminder of what a hot summer can be like by visiting Kansas in June. The boys and I all are a little pink from our afternoon in the sun. But we are enjoying our little taste of Hot & Humid, since we will be headed back to our mountain Monday.
This weekend was the Estes Park Wool Market, and this time I took my family with me.
Saturday, my friend Brenda was meeting us there with her husband and grown son. Every time I go to the wool market and see all the fiber bearing animals, I keep trying to think of a way of having some of these critters at home. But I grew up on a farm and I know just how much work is involved.
One of our first stops was to watch the Sheepdog demonstration. Then we went to see the Llamas in their barn. The boys were delighted to meet 3 yearlings and their owner, Sandy of Lockwood Dreamstar, told them that llamas like to touch noses with you.
The light was a bit low, so my photos were somewhat blurred.
This handsome fella was so soft. Sandy was very kind and educational about llamas and the boys were thrilled to get to pet a llama.
After our visit with the llamas we went to watch a sheep shearing demonstration. It was hard to hear the folks that were giving the demo because their sheep were being very noisy. It was lots of fun though to see how gently and quickly the shearer worked. At the end, the amount of fleece that came off each sheep was impressive. Most impressive was when the shearer told us that he could shear as many as 170 sheep in a day, and he had done as many as 262 on one of his busiest days.
Then we headed to the Paco-Vicuna, Alpaca and Rabbit barn. There we got to see how an alpaca fleece is sorted out in preparation for spinning into yarn. Brenda caught up with us in this barn, but the boys still wanted to see the bunnies. Brenda and her family left us to our exploring and I arranged to meet her a little later at the Vendor Barn (where the yarn and lovely hand-dyed fibers live).
I stopped to visit with a lady that had 4 beautiful French Angora rabbits, she had examples of their fiber that she had brushed off them during the day. The boys were exploring further and they fell in love with a little French Angora bunny that was for sale. He was a lovely butterscotch color, and though I was tempted as well, I knew better. When I said “no” it was clear that we had waited too long to feed the boys their lunch, both of them were in tears and very upset.
After the bunny incident I sent all my men off to have lunch and go to the little amusement center across town; go-carts, miniature golf and a gigantic slide that you ride down on rugs. I headed to the Vendor Barn to meet up with Brenda. I tried to be good and resist purchasing any yarn. But there were some beautiful hand-dyed hanks that I couldn’t say no to. I have very little resistance when it comes to yarn.
This lovely yarn from Bonkers Hand-Dyed Yarn inspired me with it’s color. Don’t be surprised if my hair ends up some of these colors, I’m going to be taking this hank into my next appointment with my stylist and see what she comes up with. Traci the owner/artist always has a wonderful variety of yarns and fibers in her booth. You can visit her website at www.tracibunkers.com to see many of her wonderful products and artwork.
I saw a number of vendors there that I know. I was really excited to see Galina Khmeleva as I have been wanting to purchase her Orenburg Knitting DVD ever since I took her knitting class at the Knit & Crochet Show last summer. We had a lovely chat and I purchased the treasured DVD. You can also download her class on the Interweave website.
Brenda and I stopped to explore the gorgeous colors of yarns at Jeny Originals, Yarns & Handwovens. Turns out she also has a shop in Laramie, Wyoming (one of my favorite towns) so the next time I am up there to visit I definitely need to stop by. One thing I really enjoyed is that the tags on her hanks are the her husband’s photos that she takes inspiration from for her colors.
I couldn’t resist these 2 hanks and I think they will become something very lovely. The multiple colored one is seacell/silk and incredibly soft, the other is 100% silk and seems to glow.
I said a quick hello to my friends at the Lambspun booth. I had a giggle because this is the 25th anniversary of the Estes Park Wool Market and Lambspun was one of 5 vendors that have been there every year. So they had a banner in their booth that said “25 year Survivor”. As I walked around the floor with Brenda we spotted the other 4 booths. If you have never gotten a chance to stop in to visit the Lampspun shop in Ft. Collins you really need to treat yourself. I think of it as the Ali Baba den of yarn.
Diana White from Wyoming Equality Fiber Works had some great artwork. I had to have this T-shirt that says “My Sheep Shirt” on it in letters formed by sheep. When I showed my family my purchases that evening both boys wanted their own sheep shirts so I began to think about going back to the Wool Market on Sunday.
My last yarn purchase of the day was at the SeaColors booth. This booth was full of wonderful soft squashy yarn in delicious muted colors. I purchased 2 hanks in a lovely rose-coral mixture. I’m thinking a nice transitional piece for spring-time. The softness and loft of this yarn will definitely lend itself to crocheted cables. You can learn more about Nanne and her farm and yarn at www.getwool.com.
My last stop of the day was a visit to my friends Ron and Theresa at the Buffalo Wool Company. I was resisting purchasing yarn there, since I have a couple skeins I’m working up a design for spring in already. But I had to have a pair of these adorable earrings that are tiny hanks of Buffalo Gold yarn on silver findings. The deal was sealed when I found a pair in magenta.
I had definitely done my bit for retail therapy and felt very virtuous since I had resisted purchasing a bag at one booth. The bags were beautifully constructed and colorful, my 2 weaknesses. They were priced reasonably for the quality, but I talked myself out of it. Next year if they are at the market again I may not be able to resist.
Sunday, my oldest son wanted to go back to the market to explore the Vendor Barn. He and I headed over to Estes Park after lunch. Once we got there we went over to the building where the “Sheep to Shawl” competition was happening. Across the way was the Children’s Tent and he wanted to try learning to spin with a drop spindle. He made about 5 feet of thick/thin yarn and had a good time. It was fun for me to have a review of spinning with the drop spindle too.
As we were heading back toward the Vendor Barn he wanted to say “hi” to the 3 young llamas again. We stop by for a little bit, but only 2 of them were in their stall, the 3rd one must have been in the arena being shown. We headed back down the path and decided to visit the bunnies again.
Alpaca/Angora yarn for a hat
This time we talked to the same woman with the 4 rabbits I had met on Saturday. We asked lots of questions about having rabbits and the care they needed. We stopped at a table that was selling some angora blend yarns and my son picked out a hank of alpaca/angora that I promised to make a hat from for him. The color is nearly black, so it will be a definite labor of love.
Finally we made it to the Vendor Barn and headed over to Diana’s booth again. We picked out shirts for both boys. The white one with the bright colors is for my oldest son and the light gray one with purple is for my youngest.
We wandered around the vendor floor then. My son was attracted to the artwork and fascinated by the various drum carders. One nice woman at a booth demonstrated to him how they work.
When we found ourselves at Carl and Eileen’s Bijou Basin booth they weren’t busy so we got to visit for awhile. Carl regaled us with stories about their Yak herd and their dogs. My son was completely enthralled and I was petting the yarn.
I didn’t purchase any yarn from them this time, but I did get a couple bottles of their new fine fiber and fabric wash “Allure”. A small bottle of the Woodland Mist scent, and a large bottle of the Fragrance Free. I’m really looking forward to trying this wash product. Unlike some scented products this one did not make me sneeze, and the fragrance free may be the first I’ve encountered that truly had no scent at all.
Our last stop of the day was to visit Ron and Theresa at Buffalo Wool Company. I had forgotten to get a photo of them when I had stopped by the day before. We tried to get a photo of the 3 of us, but our photographer was a little short being he is only 12.
After all the fun with Ron and Theresa we headed out the door to drive home. The smell of the cinnamon roasted almonds was a big temptation though, so we got a little packet of those to share on the drive. On the drive home my son told me this had been an “Epic” day. I think I got some mom points and he is looking forward to next year’s Wool Market. Must run in the family.
The date for next year’s Wool Market is June 11th and 12th, so you might want to plan a visit to Estes Park to come play with fiber and have fun with friends. Estes Park is a beautiful place to visit and adding fiber and yarn to the visit makes it even better.
Today I took a lengthy drive down the mountain to attend a baby shower. This was a very special event because this is my friend Terie’s oldest daughter’s first baby. I met Terie when she was expecting her second daughter, Meghan, and her oldest daughter, Amanda, was a tiny toddler.
Amanda, Meghan and J in May 2006.
I’ve watched these girls grow up over the years and it seems almost impossible that they are both adults with busy lives of their own now. Amanda was married just a few years ago, so I knew that a baby would very likely be in the near future.
Of course, babies and crochet go hand and hand for me. 2015 has been such a busy year for my crochet design and teaching work that I decided I would make a couple of hats for this new baby instead of my usual blanket. Turns out that was a good decision because Amanda got lots of blankets for the new arrival and a couple of them were even crocheted.
The one I liked the best, was crocheted by Terie’s mom for her new great-grandbaby. A lovely oversized granny-square blanket in blues and browns. This was accompanied by a couple of books that made Amanda and Terie get teary-eyed. Turned out they were books that Amanda’s Grandma had read to her when she was tiny.
My gift was a couple of crocheted beanies, one in a cotton/acrylic blend and the other in 100% cotton. Unfortunately with all the rushing around this week, I didn’t get a photo of the finished hats. In fact I was finishing the 2nd hat during the shower, which kept me from being tearful during the festivities.
For the second crocheted beanie I used my standard hat pattern adjusting it to fit a baby’s head. I wanted it to be comfortable for summer-time wear as this baby is due the end of next month. I choose to use some Bernat’s CottonTots I had in my stash, 100% cotton and machine washable. Sadly this yarn is discontinued, but I still have quite a bit in my stash.
I also got the new baby a Sandra Boynton book “Barnyard Dance” that was my boys’ favorite when they were tiny. The photo above is of our very well loved copy. It is one of many things that are going into my box of items that will come out again someday in the distant future when I become a grandmother.
So my dear readers, what are your favorite baby gifts to make?
I love chocolate. I also love my family. So I was very excited when I found out that the Colorado Chocolate Festival was happening Mother’s Day Weekend. I contacted my dear friend Terie and told her we had to go.
My boys overheard that conversation and made it known that they wanted to come too. So we have all been very excited this week waiting for Saturday to arrive. The Festival actually started on Friday, but I figured I only really needed to spend one day at a Chocolate Festival. Especially since my treadmill conked out on me Wednesday.
We woke up yesterday morning to icky weather. Snowy and nasty up here on the mountain. Terie sent me a message asking if we were still a “go” for Chocolate. Normally I would have punked out with weather like that, but hey, we are talking about Chocolate here. We did decide to meet a little later than originally planned.
Herded the boys out the door and we were on the way. The top of the mountain wasn’t the nicest drive, but half way down the roads were just wet. We made a stop to grab an early lunch, since eating lots of chocolate samples on an empty stomach didn’t sound like a good plan.
Finally we made it to the Denver Merchandise Mart building where the Festival was being held. Saturday was clearly the day everyone had decided to be there. The parking lot was very full, and we ended up parking some distance from the entrance. All to the good though as it allowed me to get a few extra steps in. There was a small fee at the door for entry and then we purchased “sampler” tickets. These tickets allowed you to obtain samples from the various vendors.
I had purchased 24 sampler tickets and split them among my family. Himself is not quite as wild for chocolate as the boys and I. So he took 3 tickets while the boys and I each had 7. We also got 2 complimentary tickets for a dip in the Chocolate fountain that the boys laid claim to. As they were waiting in line for the fountain I went in search of Terie.
Terie and I
Amazingly, even with the crowd and the size of the venue, I found her fairly quickly. She finished making her purchase and we went back to say “hi” to my boys. When we got back to them the boys were finishing their chocolate dipped marshmallows (I was exceedingly grateful I had fed them “real” food first). My youngest was a bit enthusiastic with his enjoyment and had chocolate all over his face.
While searching for Terie I had found there was an activity area for the kiddos. We headed that direction with the boys before Terie and I resumed our chocolate quest. There was a bouncy castle for the littles, plus an inflatable obstacle course and these big inflatable balls called “Hamster Balls”. Those were too tempting for the boys and they needed to try them. I got tickets for the boys and then Terie and I headed off to explore the chocolate options while the boys waited for their turn to be hamsters.
My purchases from the Festival
This was a very well attended event and the crowds made it nearly impossible to get much in the way of good photos, but I did get a couple. There were booths selling various other items beside chocolate as Gifts for Mother’s Day. There were temptations at every turn, but I did manage to behave myself somewhat.
Jenny at Sheaberry
I couldn’t resist trying the testers at the Sheaberry booth. They had lovely lotion bars and lip balms.
My Sheaberry purchases
In keeping with the spirit of the Festival the lipbalms were Chocolate Buttercream. They have a lovely chocolaty scent to them, but no chocolate flavor. I got a couple of them and added one of their Solid Lotion Bars in Lavender to my purchases.
There were even booths with goodies for the furry four-legged members of the family alongside treats for the humans. Terie and I stopped at one booth that had sold out of all her brownies for people, but she still had a few bags of canine cookies. I had to purchase a bag of them for my dogs.
There were lots of chocolate companies there, but I was excited about the discovering some Colorado Chocolate companies that I didn’t know about. Both of these are small companies with a specialist chocolatiers hand making all the delicious goodies.
Marisa of Truffles in Paradise from Longmont, Colorado. She had a beautiful booth presentation, and divine chocolates. I loved her gorgeous little sample sized chocolates so much that I decided to splurge on a little Mother’s Day gift for myself.
This little box of 4 truffles was perfect. Though I am really trying to pace myself on eating the chocolates I got from the Festival, these little hearts have been tempting me all day. If you want to acquire some of Marisa’s goodies for yourself you can visit her website at: TrufflesinParadise.com.
Kim of Toute Douceur from Conifer, Colorado. I did a terrible job taking this photo, with such a busy booth I had to take it quickly when there was no one standing in front of her company sign. Kim was quickly selling out of her delicious chocolates. I fell in love with her Chocolate Ganache truffle. “Toute Douceur” is old world French for ‘All Sweetness’ and Kim has aptly named her business.
Dark Chocolate Expresso truffles from Toute Douceur
When I went back by her booth to purchase some chocolates to take home with me she had sold out of the Ganache. Instead I purchased a couple of the Dark Chocolate Expresso truffles. These should be perfect this week when I need an afternoon pick-me-up. You can find Kim’s website at: www.toutedoucercustomsweets.com.
It was wonderful meeting these chocolatiers, and hearing a little of their adventures with chocolate. I’m inspired to learn more about Chocolate and how these delicious confections that I adore are created. Watch for a few more blog posts about chocolate the next couple of months.
Just because I’m too excited about this to wait until the weekend to let my lovely visitors know. I’m going to be teaching this September at the Scotts Bluff Fiber Arts Fair in Mitchell, Nebraska.
Classes will be offered on Friday, September 11th all day long. I’ll be teaching my “Crocheting Wristers” and “Flowers, Flowers, Flowers” classes that day.
Then Saturday all the action moves to the Event Center at the Scotts Bluff County Fair Grounds, where I will be teaching my “Don’t Let your Hobby Hurt” class. This class is all about how to prevent injury (especially Repetitive Stress Injuries) while we practice our crafts.
There will be fiber bearing critters to meet, all sorts of fiber art demonstrations and vendors of the many things all us fiber loving folks enjoy. There will even be an opportunity to sign up for tours of the Brown Sheep Yarn Company (who are a sponsor of this fair). You can find out more about the Fair by visiting their website at nebraskafiberfair.com
September 12th is also International Crochet Day. What a perfect way to celebrate this day of crochet! Class registration will be opening in early June, but don’t worry, I’ll be posting when it is live. Hoping this gives some of my readers a chance to come join me for a class or two, or at least get to say “hi” in person.
Well, I’m a bit behind again. Today I was at the Interweave Yarn Fest.
Toni, Brenda, Me and Marcy
Got to see lots of crochet friends, though once again did a terrible job of getting photos of everyone. The picture above, with the lovely Interweave ladies: Toni Rexroat and Marcy Smith and my good friend Brenda Bourg, was one of the few that I managed to get. I also got to see briefly Lily Chin, Darla Fanton, Marly Bird, Robyn Chachula.
Also had to adopt some beautiful yarn. Lovely silks and silk blends from RedFish Dyeworks. I’m going to be creating something luscious in this gorgeous stuff for sure. I was also enabling Brenda and she ended up buying some of the silk lace, can’t wait to see what she comes up with using it.
After the classes were out I snagged my dear friend Mary Beth Temple and we went off to dinner. Kind of blew away an entire day playing, but it was an inspiring mental health day.
Well springtime in the mountains has come, though we aren’t finished with snowy days quite yet. This past week has been the usual yo-yo weather.
Down in town the high temperatures were mid 70s on Monday and low 90s on Tuesday (which actually felt more like summer than spring). Both of those days we saw high 50s to low 60s up here on the mountain.
Then Wednesday came with slightly cooler temperatures. I went to the yarn store that day and my fellow crocheter and crafty friend Margie came by. She had this fun little sugar egg for me. Isn’t it cute? Scary thing is it is edible. Eek!
By the time the boys and I had gotten ready for bed the temperatures were dropping and it started to snow lightly. I woke up Thursday morning to below freezing temperatures and spent most of my morning feeding the wood-stove to keep the house warm.
Thursday evening the snow settled in for a steady visit and Friday morning this is what my backyard looked like. Fortunately the temperatures were a little warmer and toward the evening most of the snow had melted. That is actually why I prefer spring snow storms. They don’t stick around like the snow when we have the weeks of arctic temperatures.
Saturday morning was crisp, but not too bad temperature wise. The big town Egg-Hunt was on. Being we are all mountain folk the egg hunt goes forward no matter what the weather does. So it was nice to have sunny relatively warm temperatures for it this year. A few years it has been conducted in freezing drizzle. And sometimes the poor Easter bunny had to hide the eggs in the snow. It was a bit muddy, but I’ll take mud and sunshine over freezing cold.
I drove down to Longmont after the egg-hunt to teach at the Longmont Yarn Shoppe. It was pretty quiet there while I taught, usually Saturday is a hopping day at the shop. I think the nice weather, after a couple of cold snowy days, had made everyone decide to stay outdoors and enjoy it while they could.
I had to grab a couple photos of these trees in bloom. Most of the trees are still just beginning to get leaf buds, so there is that hint of green like a mist around the branches, but a few of the trees are already beginning their spring show. Because of our longer wintery weather I really love to see Springtime showing up.
I hope everyone else is enjoying this time of renewal as well. And for those of you celebrating Easter today, a very joyful holiday to you.
National Crochet Month is zipping by, and I am honored to be celebrating by participating again in the Crochetville NaCroMo 2015 Blog Tour. Amy Shelton and Donna Hulka are terrific supporters of the crochet community and designers.
Amy and I in Reno at the Knit & Crochet Show (yes, she is wearing a tiara)
I’ve met both of them in person thru the Crochet Guild of America (CGOA) and have spent many fun and often inspiring hours in their company.
One of my favorite things about being a member of the CGOA is how it has put me in touch with lots of other crocheters. I’ve met many wonderful crochet friends thru my involvement in CGOA, like Amy and Donna. It’s great fun to be with your “people”, folks that understand this love of playing with yarn. If you haven’t joined CGOA you may want to consider doing so, the annual conference is great fun to attend, but there is even more. Opportunities to meet up locally with other crocheters and to meet online on the CGOA website. The website is: Crochet.org.
As the owners and creators of the Crochetville community and dedicated CGOA members themselves, Amy and Donna are always aware of the importance of supporting others thru charitable work. This year’s blog tour charity project is making hats (or making a monetary donation) for Halos of Hope.
Halos of Hope is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization committed to providing volunteer-crafted hats to cancer centers across the country. You can make and send in hats to Crochetville in Alabama or donate money to help Halos of Hope pay for shipping hats to the centers. You can find the mailing address and read more about this project on the Crochetville blog.
Hats are one of my favorite projects to work on but with this recent spring like weather I’m looking at transitional pieces. Headband/Headwrap/Earwarmers (I’m never 100% sure what to call them) are a great choice. I love them during the transitional seasons because they easily fit in a pocket and are a great way to keep my ears warm if the weather gets chilly. They also help keep my hair under control when the wind gets too blustery.
I tend to have light weight gloves and a headband tucked into the pockets of every jacket. Since I recently got my hair cut into a very short 1920’s style bob, headbands can also look quite stylish. In celebration of NatCroMo I’m offering this fun textured headband pattern to my visitors. I’ve used a lot of textured stitches in this project which helps make the fabric even warmer.
This is an intermediate level pattern, but it’s a great project to expand your skills with. I’m including a tutorial on making cluster and puff stitches here for those of you feeling like tackling a new crochet skill. For those of you that already have some experience with cluster and puff stitches the “Special Stitches” section in the pattern should be sufficient to get you started.
Cluster Stitch Tutorial
The cluster stitch for our headband has more texture to it because it is framed on either side by a shorter stitch, the half double crochet. If cluster stitches are worked with spaces and/or taller stitches on either side they are a bit flatter and more of a decorative grouping that doesn’t rise as far above the surface of the work.
The textured “bump” of a cluster stitch as used in this headband sits on the back side of your row, for a single sided project you want to work them only on alternate rows in the project.
In this headband project we are using a 3 dc cluster stitch to create our textured stitches. In a cluster stitch you make the base of the 3 dcs being used, then work the final dc step for all 3 in one go.
Photo A
To make a 3 dc cluster st, yarn over (yo) like making a dc and insert in st or sp, yo, pull up a loop (3 loops on hook), yo {Photo A},
Photo B
pull thru 2 loops on hook (2 loops remaining on hook, 1st base made), yo, insert in same st or sp, yo, pull up a loop (4 loops on hook), yo {Photo B},
Photo C
pull thru 2 loops (3 loops remaining on hook, 2nd base made), yo, insert in same st or sp, yo, pull up a loop (5 loops on hook), yo, pull thru 2 loops (4 loops remaining on hook, 3rd base made), yo {Photo C}, pull thru all 4 loops on hook.
Puff Stitch Tutorial
This stitch is often a challenge to get right. The primary trick is getting all of your loops to the same length. That can be particularly challenging if you crochet tightly, so remember to keep your work loose.
Puff stitches tend to sit centered in the fabric, which makes them a great stitch to use in scarves, since the texture is visible on both sides of your fabric. In the case of this headband project we are framing the puff stitches with hdc stitches. Like with our cluster stitches this “framing” helps the stitch sit on the backside of the row and creates a 3D effect on the finished project.
There are a number of ways to make a puff stitch, the version I use in this project is secured at the top similar to making a single crochet (I think of these as “locked” puff stitches). For this project you will be making 5 “wraps” for the puff part. Each time you do a “wrap” you get 2 more loops on your hook.
Photo D
Yarn over (yo) and insert your hook in the indicated st or sp, yo, pull up the 2 loops to above the top of your previous st {Photo D},(yo, insert hook in the same st or sp, yo, and pull up the 2 new loops to the same height of the previous loops) 4 times.
Photo E
You will have 11 loops on your hook*, 10 tall loops for the “puff” and the original working loop. Yo {Photo E} and pull thru the 10 tall loops,
Photo F
you will have only 2 loops on your hook, yo {Photo F}, pull thru the last 2 loops, your puff stitch is complete.
* A peek into the design process: For the eagle-eyed amongst my visitors, you may have noticed in the photos for this tutorial I have only 7 loops on my hook at this point. This is because I made a change in the pattern after I shot the photos. Originally I thought I would like the 3 wraps for my puff stitches, but they weren’t dramatic enough for me in the sample. So I changed it for the final sample and pattern.
SPRINGTIME HEADBAND
designed by Andee Graves
SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Headband is approximately 3.25”/8.125cm wide x 22”/55cm long.
#139 Dark Rose Heather sample used 31g/aprx 72 yards = approximately 2 Headbands from 1 skein
CROCHET HOOKS
Size US 7 / (4.5mm)
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
Stitch markers
Yarn needle
GAUGE
6 rows & 9 sts in hdc = 2”
SPECIAL STITCHES
3 DC Cluster Stitch (Cl): (Yo, insert hook into indicated st or sp, yo, pull up a loop, yo, pull thru 2 loops on hook) 3 times, yo, pull thru 4 loops remaining on hook.
Puff Stitch (Puff): (Yo, insert hook into indicated st or sp, yo, pull up a loop to desired height) 5 times, 11 loops on hook, yo, pull thru 10 loops on hook, 2 loops left on hook, yo, pull thru remaining 2 loops on hook.
Half Double Crochet 2 Together (hdc2tog): Yo, insert hook into indicated st or sp, yo pull up a loop, insert hook in next st, yo pull up a loop, yo pull thru all 4 loops on hook.
NOTES
The Cluster stitches and Puff stitches in this project have more texture because they are “squished” between 2 shorter stitches. The texture is created on the back of the rows. The finished project will have the textured side as the right side of the fabric.
Once the first 65 rows of the headband are crocheted, edging is worked along one edge, then ends of headband are seamed together using slip stitches to reach 2nd side, then 2nd side edging is worked.
INSTRUCTIONS
Row 1: Ch 11, turn, working in back bumps, hdc in 3rd ch from hook and each ch back to beginning. [9 hdcc]
Row 2 (RS): Ch 2 {turning ch only, does not count as st here and thru-out the pattern}, turn, hdc in each st across. PM on front of row to mark right side. [9 dc]
Rows 3- 7: Repeat Row 2.
Row 8: Ch 2, turn, hdc next st, 2 hdc next st, hdc next 5 sts, 2 hdc next st, hdc last st. [11 hdc]
Row 9: Repeat Row 2. [11 hdc]
Row 10: Ch 2, turn, hdc next st, 2 hdc next st, hdc next 7 sts, 2 hdc next st, hdc last st. [13 hdc]
Rows 11 – 16: Repeat Row 2. [13 hdc]
Row 17: Ch 2, turn, hdc next 6 sts, Cl next st, hdc next 6 sts. [12 hdc, 1 Cl]
Row 18: Repeat Row 2.
Row 19: Ch 2, turn, hdc next 4 sts, Cl next st, hdc next 3 sts, Cl next st, hdc next 4 sts. [11 hdc, 2 Cl]
Row 20: Repeat Row 2.
Row 21: Ch 2, turn, hdc next 2 sts, Cl next st, hdc next 3 sts, Puff next st, hdc next 3 sts, Cl next st, hdc next 2 sts. [10 hdc, 2 Cl, 1 Puff]
Row 22: Repeat Row 2.
Row 23: Repeat Row 19.
Row 24: Repeat Row 2.
Row 25: Repeat Row 17.
Rows 26 – 28: Repeat Row 2.
Rows 29 – 52: Repeat Rows 17 – 28, twice.
Rows 53 – 55: Repeat Row 2.
Row 56: Ch 2, turn, hdc next st, hdc2tog next st, hdc next 7 sts, hdc2tog next st, hdc last st. [11 hdc]
Row 57: Repeat Row 2.
Row 58: Ch 2, turn, hdc next st, hdc2tog next st, hdc next 5 sts, hdc2tog next st, hdc last st. [9 hdc]
Rows 59-65: Repeat Row 2. Do not fasten off, Secure working loop so work doesn’t come unraveled.
EDGING
Side 1: Ch 1, with RS facing turn band to work along first edge, work sc in side of Row 1, then work 98 sc spaced evenly along edge in ends of rows (3 sc in the ends of the every 2 rows), sl st to first sc in round.
Align ends of band, RS together sl st loosely working thru both the top of sts in Row 65 and bottom of sts in Row 1 across to second edge.
Side 2: Turn work with RS facing and work along edge, ch 1, work 99 sc spaced evenly along edge in ends of rows, sl st to first sc in round. Fasten off.
FINISHING
Weave in ends. Block lightly, if desired.
Now you are ready to make a bunch of these headbands to be ready for those cooler spring days. Have a great time crocheting and keep celebrating crochet everyday.
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