For the benefit of those who haven’t seen photos of Christian in awhile and for those who happen to be his grandmother, I give you three current photos. 
What child doesn’t want one of these?
Here is Christian wearing one of the hats Brianna has knitted.
And, here is Christian doing one of his favorite things.
Tunisian Strip Lap Robe from Crochet World magazine, October 2009.
The first thing I notice is that I made a boo-boo in the instructions for the Tunisian Reverse Stitch. Honestly, I can’t even begin to explain why I made this mistake, except that I was under the gun to get the instructions ready for this one. I’ve been trying so hard to get my Tunisian stitches written correctly in publications and here I make a mistake of my own. Yikes!
For the Tunisian Reverse Stitch, please do the typical Tunisian Reverse Stitch that you’ve learned from me in the past.
The words “always keeping hook to front of work”? That’s just not true and it’s my mistake. Just do the regular Tunisian Reverse. If you’ve not taken one of my classes and don’t know the Tunisian Reverse, you can find it on NexStitch here:
http://www.nexstitch.com/v_tunisian_reverse.html
If you need to learn the Tunisian Knit Stitch, Amie also has a video for it here:
http://www.nexstitch.com/v_tks.html
So sorry for this inconvenience. I assure you it was unintentional.
I’ve been keeping an eye on this to see when it was released at JoAnns. The tearsheet with the hat pattern has been available for awhile at the store. But, the sweater wasn’t available. Until now!
This is the debut of my new doll that I actually purchased almost a year ago. Isn’t she pretty? Her name is Lucy.
The pattern is currently available at the JoAnn’s website. (Note: This is a direct link to a PDF.)
ETA: The hat pattern is ONLY available as a free tearsheet with limited availability from JoAnn stores. It is NOT currently available on the internet.
You may recall that I tried to get a photo of Michele Maks of DRG Publishing after the Chain Link Fashion Show. I wasn’t able to find her, but she has graciously provided a photo.
Michele Maks, Carol Alexander and Judy Crow, all of DRG Publishing
Michele is wearing one of the shawls from my upcoming book on Tunisian lace. I used a lovely mohair yarn from Drops called Vivaldi.
I’m getting ready to start designing a new Tunisian afghan and I’m going to try out my new Denise Interchangeable Hook given to me by Darla Fanton while at the 2009 Chain Link conference in Buffalo.
If you knit, you’ve probably already heard about the Denise Interchangeable Needles. But, very soon, the interchangeable hooks will also be available in the US.
Read more about these hooks at KnitDenise.
The package above shows the hook tips and the connecting nylons with stoppers. But, if you’re also a fan of double-ended Tunisian (cro-hook), you can purchase extra hook tips so that you’ll have one for each end.
I’m very excited to try out my new hook and look forward to hearing from others how they like these new hooks.
If you’d like to try to get them as soon as possible, I’ve heard that Morgan of AllPointsYarn had some available. They may have sold out, but I’m sure he’ll be getting some more.
We have a small balcony and I wanted to see what would happen if Christian had his own wee tomato plant. It hasn’t grown much and we, obviously, won’t have an abundance of tomatoes before the season is over. But, he DOES have a few tomatoes on there!
By now, you probably know about my new book, coming out in November at the Annie’s Attic website, right? I wasn’t able to get good photos of two of the projects from the book that were modeled during 2009 Chain Link in Buffalo. But, Drew “The Crochet Dude” Emborsky was able to get some photos of them. And, well, he got a WHOLE LOT MORE. You can find his photos on the new CGOA member blog, CGOA Now.
If you’re looking for some more memories of the 2009 Chain Link conference, or if you just want to live vicariously through other blogs, be sure and check out my Blog Tour post. I’m updating it with new links as they come in.
I can finally tell you something that I’ve been dying to tell you for several months.
When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a hand model. I really did. I even looked into it. Unfortunately, I discovered that it’s hard to get a job as a hand model without the entire modeling package. It’s just a better bargain for anyone hiring the model for them to do all types of modeling. And, although I was quite thin, I knew I would never be lithe. LOL I gave it up.
So, I find it incredibly funny that now, at 45 years’ old, I find that I am now a hand model! Yes, I DO consider demonstrating crochet stitches on a DVD to be hand modeling.
I have been receiving lots and lots of emails about this and a lot of people have searched for it on the internet, only to find my blog instead of the pattern.
You see, the pattern for the hat is available (or WAS available) at JoAnn Fabric Stores in tear-off sheets with a note that the sweater is available on the website. Please be patient. I check the website about every other day to see if it’s made it to the site. Unfortunately, not yet. But, I expect it soon and will keep you posted.
After getting home from a whirlwind trip to Buffalo, New York, I certainly did find myself in a quandry about what to do next. The obvious choice was to upload all the photos and make blog posts. I felt much better sort of re-living and categorizing my time spent at the Knit & Crochet Show.
I received the October 2009 issue of Crochet World magazine in the mail yesterday. It includes a unique Tunisian crochet afghan I designed in Simply Soft Eco.
I had completely forgotten that I was going to be the featured designer in this issue. So, I flipped open the page to find myself looking right at me! Too funny! What’s even more funny is that there is a photo of me on page 4 and a photo of me on page 21. 4-21. My birthday. How strange!
It is very exciting to see mention of the book coming out later this year. Usually, I certainly keep these things to myself. But, it’s a lot of fun to FINALLY be able to say something about the book that had taken over so much of my time.
I believe the book will be titled Learn To Do Tunisian Lace Stitches. It was quite a bit of work. More than I had expected, really. I don’t want to say too much about it yet since it’s not available yet. But, I expect it to be on the Annie’s Attic website in November.
What makes this book so unique is, of course, the DVD. Filming a DVD wasn’t at all what I had expected. And, to be honest, I don’t know what I was expecting. hahahahaha The work that went into that DVD from so many people is astounding.
It was very rewarding and what made it especially fun is that my mother met us in Texas. She watched Christian during the day when I was filming. And, she took care of me in the evening. She is a sweetheart! I only had 4 hours of sleep each night because I woke up at 2 am to start working on the next day’s taping. I am sooooo glad we only had 3 days! And, when I told you that I slept a week after I got home, I really meant it.
This morning, I’ll be finishing up a pattern which really needs to get moving out of here. Then, I’ll begin afresh with a brand new design. So, I’ll be swatching for it soon.
Well, of course there is yarn at the crochet conference! What were YOU thinking? Here is my haul.
On the road trip to Buffalo, we stopped at the Hillcreek Yarn Shoppe in Columbia, Missouri.
2 hanks Talinay, color 217, 330 yards
6 hanks Cascade 220, coral, 1320 yards
Then, while at the conference, I only shopped at two vendors. (But, really, that’s probably all I could pack so it’s a good thing I didn’t go elsewhere. LOL)
Last year, I purchased only one hank of silk/cashmere from Skaska. This year, I was bound and determined NOT to do that again.
3 hanks silk/cashmere laceweight, 1650 yards each
Yarn Place, Heaven, color 311, 3280 yards
And, from The Yarn & Fiber Company, the following. Did you see that they had a truck outside in the parking lot, all painted with their shop name?
6 hanks, Cascade 220 Heathers, 1320 yards
2 hanks Ivy Brambles Pure Silk 20-2, color zinnia, 2000 yards
One HUGE hank, Cherry Tree Hill Merino Lace, winterberry, 2400 yards
This is a list of blogs I’m compiling so that you can buzz around and see other photos and stories about the 2009 Knit & Crochet Summer Show in Buffalo. If you know of anymore, please either post them in comments or email me and I will update the list.
Note: At the time of this initial posting, it is possible that some of these folks haven’t made it home in time to post something about the show. Please give them some time because I know that they’ll be posting later. Also, you may want to check back with them because, like me, they may need more than one day to complete their postings.
I really did take a lot more photos of the fashion show. Unfortunately, the catwalk photos didn’t come out at all. Apologies to Tammy Hildebrand. I told her I would get photos of her girls. Unfortunately, you can barely tell it’s them. BUT, I did get a few photos. I really wish the others had come out. Plus, it occurred to me that most of the photos were of the kids on the catwalk. I’d rather not post them without permission of the parents. I’ve got LOTS of kid photos!
I managed to get Willena Nanton from the New York Guild in her own stunning design.
Being the proud mommy….errr….mentor, I was able to capture front and back of my mentee, Andrea Graciarena’s placing design in the CGOA Design Contest. This beautiful dress incorporates Tunisian crochet, broomstick lace and traditional crochet.
And, I guess the proverbial cat is out of the bag now. I can tell you the reason for my mysterious visit to Texas at the end of May. You see, later this year, I will have a new book published by Annie’s Attic called “Learn To Do Tunisian Crochet Lace Stitches”. I positively love this book, most importantly because, during my whirlwind trip to Texas, I FILMED A DVD for it! Yay! So exciting!
Intrigued by Tunisian crochet but unsure of the stitches when the instruction is only in words? You’ll soon be able to learn those stitches with a DVD that you can pause or rewind right there in your computer or DVD player. How cool is that??!! Look for it on the AnniesAttic.com website in November.
Three of the designs from the book could be seen at the fashion show. I barely caught this one done in NaturallyCaron Country.
And, here is Doris Chan, modeling the capelet, done in Omega Sinfonia.
The third design was worn by Crochet World magazine editor, Michele Maks, done in Garnstudio Vivaldi. I tried to find Michele after the show, but no luck.
Here is a photo I took specifically for Mary Jane Hall. Tracie Barrett had done this from Mary Jane’s book, Crochet That Fits. Since Mary Jane wasn’t able to make it to the conference, I wanted to be sure she got a photo.
More to come….
These photos were all taken on Saturday. I remember them well! But, they’re definitely out of order. hahahahaha
Christian wanted his photo taken beside one of the painted Buffalo in the convention center. He kept telling me about the zebra. It took me awhile before I figured out what the “zebra” was.
Here is a photo of Christian’s fort. Didn’t everyone make a fort in their room?
The Designer Meet & Greet is possibly the single most important event for new designers and established designers alike. There is the opportunity to meet with editors and publishers, face to face, to show them your designs, submit them and basically, get the work moving!
I believe I had the most fun hostessing the Designer Meet & Greet. Oh, so much fun! I would really like to be the official hostess next year. This involved checking to make sure that the designers and editors were matched up as quickly as possible and keeping the line moving. It gave me an opportunity to speak with people I may not have had the chance to get to know. And, fun! Fun!
Cari Clement and Susan Lowman
Michele Maks and Sherri White
Carol Alexander, Tammy Hildebrand, Judy Crow and Sheldon
Another benefit of the Crochet Guild of America is the professional mentor program. Here is one of my mentees, Andrea Graciarena, with her lovely daughter, while waiting in line at the Designer Meet & Greet.
Stay tuned! More to come!
Yes, the rumors were true! We actually did have a band staying in the same hotel as the Knit & Crochet Show! We found out on Thursday evening that Creed was staying in the same hotel. My son, Derek, was so very excited! He set about getting all the signatures of the band members, without a whole lot of success.
On Friday morning, Derek was able to get the signature of Scott Stapp, the lead singer. But, he literally sat downstairs in the lobby ALL DAY, trying to catch the other guys. Finally, it was time for mom to step in.
We were sitting outside of the restaurant when Brian Marshall walked up the sidewalk. He and Derek had previously spoken (before Derek got the idea to get the band members to sign his laptop). Brian not only remembered Derek’s name, but said “So, I hear that you’re the crochet queen!” hahahahahaha Derek must have spoken very highly of me. We got the second signature!
A little bit later, Scott came out of the restaurant and I literally chased him down the sidewalk! Poor Scott, this crazy lady just runs after him proclaiming that her son had been waiting in the lobby all day and I wouldn’t even let him walk up to the band members when they were sitting in the restaurant eating with their families since that would be completely uncool. “Scott, please, is there anything you can do to help us get the remaining signatures?”
So, Scott is so gracious and immediately escorts us into the private room where they were having a birthday party (and, which by Wikipedia results above, it appears to have been Scott’s birthday party) where he tells Derek’s story and gets the remaining two signatures!
Now, it doesn’t matter whether I listen to Creed. All that really matters is that Derek wanted their signatures and I was going to do whatever I could to get them. And, we were both so tremendously happy. Nervous as all get-out! But, happy! Those boys were definitely raised right!
We went back outside to recuperate. Honestly, my hands were shaking and I was crying and I was telling anyone who would listen what had happened. While out there, someone walked up to us. He was just a kid. Couldn’t have been more than 24 or so. He introduced himself and told us he was a new guitarist for the band. (Brian, I believe, is the bass guitarist.) Whereupon I said “well, SIGN!” So, we even got the signature of the new band member. He’s not on the website yet, so I don’t know his name.
So, Derek had an extraordinary experience at the CROCHET conference.
Look for Creed’s new album in October 2009.
Wednesday meant Professional Development Day. After two days of traveling, however, I simply could not make it down there in time. So, what does one do when they are lazy and wake up too late for planned events? Go to Niagara Falls!
Derek and I had a wonderful time at Niagara Falls. I am so very happy that Tammy Hildebrand’s long-time friend, Becky Marchetti, asked us to go! And, it was a terrific day for it. There wasn’t even a line for the boat tour, Maid of the Mist.
Derek and I each took photos from two different cameras. They are all nature photos of the Falls and surrounding areas. Click on the photo below to go to the photos. Up in the upper right corner, there is a button where you can view the photos as a slideshow.
Here is a video Derek made of the entire Falls. The video is short, I know. But, we didn’t want to make it so long that it couldn’t be viewed.
And, that concludes Wednesday. More to come!
