Crochet Journey

There are some "un-fun" aspects to crochet, such as weaving in ends, running out of yarn in the middle of a row and having to add a new ball, and blocking.  Blocking is the process of pinning a crocheted item, or portions of an item, such as sweater parts, to specific dimensions and applying heat or moisture, or sometimes both, to provide a professional finish with straight edges and sharp corners; it improves the look of any crocheted piece. But is it always necessary to block?  Blocking a large, unwieldy afghan isn't necessary, but for almost everything else, if you care about the finished product, yes, I believe it is.  I have to say in my earlier years of crochet experience I rarely blocked anything, but these days I block every item I make. Why?  Take a look:  Here are two identical double-crocheted squares, using Lion Brand Pound of Love acrylic yarn.  The square on the left has not been blocked, and the right one was pinned and steam blocked...

Today we began to build on the fitting techniques introduced in December when making pet sweaters!  We have chosen an adult/child-sized sweater to take these fitting skills to the next level, and we will be working on these through the remainder of February, ending with an introduction to garment finishing techniques. When thinking of a handmade sweater, one most often thinks of knitting, but there are many terrific patterns out there for crocheted sweaters, both fun and fast to make!  This project was a special request of one of my students, who is very interested in making an actual article of clothing for herself.  After swatching to be absolutely sure of correct gauge, we dove in and made a start during today's class.  Sweaters of grays, pinks, blues and greens began to emerge, and everyone was pleased with their progress. Yarn is Simply Soft in Kelly Green by Caron, wooden hook is Streamline by Furls Crochet. This is what we do in our Crochet Journey class...

It's the first Monday in February, which means it's time for another Square of the Month!  This square is number six in our series of twelve sqaures for assembly in September.  This is the Shell Network stitch, an easygoing openwork shell that works great for scarves, shawls, cowls, and squares!  It's based on a multiple of 8 stitches plus 6, and has better stretch and drape than the basic all-over shell stitch pattern. We're alternating solid squares with openwork squares to make sure the September afghan has enough body and stitch strength.  Yarn is KnitPicks Brava Worsted in Almond, hook is Cherry Streamline Swirl by Furls.  This stitch is a particular favorite of mine because it's relatively easy to do, it always looks great and is very versatile.  Here's the stitch in a much lighter weight yarn that I used last year for this shawl/scarf with rows of treble crochet interspersed for interest.  In this case, the yarn is Red Heart "It's a Wra...

Being it's a new year, and a new decade, and because I've seen many posts regarding "de-stashing" and reorganizing one's yarn and projects, I decided to tackle mine.  The things I found!  That purple tam in the upper right corner I knitted 10 years ago and had never worn it (until today)!  I moved, donated, trashed, reorganized for several hours last Saturday, and also finished a few unfinished objects (UFOs in the yarn world).  What a satisfying feeling when it was done.  And I can now find everything easily! In other news, I recently completed my course work and received my Craft Yarn Council knitting instructor certification!  I am currently offering one-on-one knitting instruction in Portland.  Join our crochet class on Mondays at 10 a.m.!

I have always been fond of small items -- little boxes, little baskets, little stuffed animals and amigurumi, little trinkets, even little notepads and kitchen utensils.  So it was fun for me to design this simple tapestry pattern for a little basket; but why stop at one?  I had to make another, and Stella and Stanley were so taken with them that they had to jump right in!  This was our second class on tapestry crochet; last week we made a small flat design, and today we did tapestry crochet in the round.  The continuous rounds and single direction crochet make for a sharper, clearer design than back-and-forth flat tapestry crochet.  The stitches have a rightward lean, but in most cases this is unimportant.  There are a couple of ways to correct the lean so the stitches stack more evenly; one is to crochet in the back loop only, but that causes a ridged effect.  The other is to wind the yarn around the crochet hook in the opposite direction, but th...