This week I was thankful for many, many things and one of those things was the terrific crochet blogging community that I get to be a part of. Here’s my roundup of the best posts of the week from that community.
Something Special
Wow – an entire city is being yarnbombed. Streetcolor explains: “in March 2013 the entire port city of Genova will be yarnbombed or as they say in Italy “bombarded with yarn” . The city has set up more than a hundred different locations for people to meet and knit – including libraries, senior homes civil service buildings, youth organizations and even a prison.”
Crochet News, Reviews, Interviews and Thoughts
- Hairpin Lace Trend. Stitch Story shared that hairpin lace seems to be a fashion trend right now in Saudi Arabia.
- Chanel Cape Revealed. Crochet designer Ellen Gormley shared a short video of her design process for this new piece.
- Curvy Girl Crochet Review. Crochet designer Marty Miller shares her thoughts on this book by Mary Beth Temple that came out a few months ago.
- On Ergonomic Crochet Hooks. @FreshStitches discusses what they are, some of the different styles and whether or not you need one. She mentions that hand pain is one reason people choosen ergonomic hooks. Aberrant Crochet also shared thoughts on ergonomic hooks this week in a video post with lots of great info about crocheters’ hands.
- Crocheting with Mismatched Yarns. About.com Crochet shared a question from the past with an update with thoughts on using completely mismatched yarns in a project.
- Interview with Rohn Strong. Lion Brand interviewed this crochet and knitwear designer.
- All About Tunisian Crochet. Cat over at Craftsy shares a lot about this craft. If you enjoy tunisian crochet you might like the free Tunisian cowl pattern over on One Yarn After Another this week.
Beautiful Crochet Work
I’m in love with the weekly crochet mandalas that A Creative Being is still making and how she shares her inspiration for each one.
@thisiscarrie made one of the patterns in Long-Legged Friends
I’m adoring this textured owl blanket, pattern not yet available, that was being tested by @caseyplusthree
How to Crochet
- How to Turn Your Crochet Sweater into a Pullover. Linda Permann did this with the Saturn Sweater in Interweave Crochet Fall 2012 and the CrochetMe blog shares some tips from her.
- How to Surface Crochet. A video tutorial over on the Moogly blog.
- How to Hold Your Crochet Hook. A video instructional over on Aberrant Crochet.
- How to Make a Ripple Straight. Little Tin Bird shares a tutorial for working around a ripple to make it straight (for example, to create the squared off edge for a ripple blanket).
- How to Bobble Stitch. This is one of my favorite stitches. The tutorial is from Stacey @freshstitches.
Crochet Patterns
- Turn a Square into a Star. A crochet pattern over on Sew Ritzy Ritzy. Adoring it!
- Crocheted Starburst Baby Blanket Pattern. Beautiful free pattern from @creativejmom. Crochet baby blankets make great Christmas presents!
- Crochet Snowflake Pattern. Speaking of Christmas, there are a lot of patterns coming out now for holiday home decor and gift wrapping, like this free crochet pattern from Lazy Hobbyhopper.
- Christmas Tree Decoration Tutorial. A free pattern over at Little Woolie for a textured decoration.
- Vertical Stripes Newborn Crochet Beanie. Alli Crafts always shares cute free crochet patterns for newborn hats.
- Sunset Slouchy Hat. A free crochet teen/adult hat pattern over on Calleigh’s Clips.
Crochet Quote
I loved that Cami of Art, Like Bread said this week:
“One of the things I really love about crochet is how it makes me feel. I love the entire process of creating something unique and useful. It may sound funny, but it actually makes me feel powerful!”
Yarn
Crochet Chat Podcast. Another great episode from @freshstitches and this one is about the LYS where Stacey tells us about what a good yarn store should be like and how to comfortably enter one as a newbie.
I’m curious about the two cashmere yarns recommended in WEBS gift guide for knitters and crocheters – especially the washable cashmere!
Video
Information on how to make one of these crochet singing birds yourself is available on Instructables.
Other Crafty Things
- Congrats to Twinkie Chan who has opened her first online store called Yummy You.
- Fox’s Lane shared fun photos of alpaca shearing season as they get started developing their own wool yarn. Love it!
- Craftys shared social media tips for indie makers and designers.
- OMG Heart gives some love to Kollabara, a new online craft community you may want to check out if you haven’t already.
And Some Special Thanks
- Gwen of Crochet World for doing a positive review of Crochet Saved My Life in the Talking Crochet Newsletter.
- Sibel Hodge for featuring my guest post on writing, crafting and health.
- Mixed Media Artist for reviewing Crochet Saved My Life.
- Marie for mentioning my post on choosing not to do YOP this year in her post on the same topic.
- Kara of Petals and Picots who shared some tough things on her blog this week and mentioned that she’d thought of Crochet Saved My Life and the benefits of crafting during this time.
Happy Thanksgiving, happy weekend, happy reading!
6 Comments
I tested that owl square too. Turning it into a pillow eventually. It was a test on Ravelry for dc2tog. I love it!!!!
Thanks for the link love Kathryn! I had no idea anyone else was talking about ergonomic and hooks too! Guess we’re all tapping into the same crochet consciousness right now. I have struggled with my 3rd and 4th videos here the last two weeks for my challenge series. Hopefully I will be able to get them presentable by the end of next week. Took far longer than I would have liked on the first two. :/
@AberrantCrochet They were worth any wait!
Great links this week – thanks so much for including moogly! :D
Thanks for the link love, Kathryn! I so look forward to these posts – you provide a real service to the crochet community!
@undergroundcrafter I’m so glad that people enjoy them and utilize them!!