New Videos: Crochet

In addition to the Tunisian crochet videos I’ve added today, I’ve also added two new regular crochet videos. If you’d like to see all my videos, please visit my YouTube channel.

Linked Half Double Crochet

I especially like this stitch and have used it in two published designs so far. I’m sure there will be many more.

Widening Rows

This video explains how to widen rows at the beginning and ending of a single crochet row. At the beginning of the row, it’s easy to add extra stitches by chaining out. At the ending of a row, it takes knowledge of the chainless foundation stitch. This stitch goes by many names and is the same chainless foundation used to start off a single crochet project without making the long starting chain. It’s also been called an extended single crochet because it adds an extra loop at the bottom of the single crochet. Lastly, I’ve seen it in the Elmore Method.

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New Videos: Tunisian Crochet

I’ve added some new videos for Tunisian crochet today. If you would like to see all of my videos, you can visit my YouTube channel directly.

Tunisian Double Stitch

The Tunisian double stitch is very much the same as a regular double crochet except that you leave the last loop on your hook. The double stitch can be worked as for any of the insertion stitches (i.e. simple, knit, reverse, etc.). In this video, I work an entire row of double stitch as for simple stitch, then on the second row, I work a few as for knit stitch to show you the difference.

Tunisian Bobble Stitch

There are hundreds of different variations you can do in Tunisian crochet to make a bobble stitch, just like it is in regular crochet. Always read the pattern instructions for the special stitches in the pattern to determine how your bobble stitch is to be made in that pattern. Here is an easy 3-double stitch Tunisian crochet bobble, worked as for knit stitch. Again, since this is double stitch-based, you could actually make it as for any of the Tunisian insertion stitches.

Tunisian Long Bobble

I created this bobble for a completely different look. It is a post stitch bobble, meaning you can, of course, work Tunisian crochet around posts, just like in regular crochet. This gives you a nice, large, textured bobble.

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Share the Love

Today, in a fit of procrasti-cooking, I decided to make some potato salad. I am a potato salad fiend. I’ve always loved potato salad. Unfortunately, it’s one of those dishes only made at special occasions in my family. You know, it’s always at family get-togethers, picnics, church potlucks, etc. At some point in my life, I decided that I was all “growed” up and could have potato salad any time I liked. And, indeed, my potato salad desire saw new heights when I was pregnant with Christian. I literally CRAVED potato salad. So funny!

This morning, I set about peeling potatoes when Christian found this one that he insisted was NOT to be cut up and put into potato salad.

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Liana: Video Tutorials

Unfortunately, there has been no sun for about a week, but I decided to go ahead and try some more videos. As you know, I have the Liana racerback vest available on my website and I wanted to make some tutorials to make things easier.

The first video is a tutorial on making the little cable without a cable needle. This is a terrific opportunity to try out cabling without a needle because the cables are only made across 3 stitches. The cable covers both the left- and right- leaning cables.

Since this design is a racerback, you need to do some quick decreasing. Working a decrease at both the beginning and ending of each row can be a little difficult, so I’ve discovered a way to make this process quicker and easier.

Now, this last video is just for fun. After discovering how to do the above decreasing, I wondered whether I couldn’t just continue across the row. Without turning, working completely in knit stitch, with no purls at all, you can create a flat stockinette fabric. Interesting! And, just for fun and giggles.

If you would like to see all my video tutorials, please visit my YouTube channel.

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Blessed Mother Prayer Shawl

So exciting! This design was originally published in the December 2006 issue of Annie’s Favorite Crochet. Since then, I have received hundreds of emails from people looking for the pattern. I am so happy that it has been made available again. It was just posted this morning in the Talking Crochet Newsletter!

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Video: Tunisian Twisted Knit Stitch

To learn the Twisted Knit Stitch, you should first become comfortable with the Tunisian Knit Stitch here.

To see the subtle difference between the regular Knit Stitch and the Twisted Knit Stitch, see the video here.

As far as memory serves, I have only used this stitch in one design.

This is the Houndstooth Baby Afghan from Tunisian Baby Blankets available from Annie’s Attic as a PDF download.

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Video: Wrapped Single Crochet

The wrapped single crochet is a unique stitch that I have used in a few designs. It produces a horizontal bar on the front of the single crochet. This makes it a wonderful stitch for using beads as it keeps the bead on the front of the single crochet instead of floating to the back.

I’ve used the Wrapped Single Crochet in these designs.

Sonrisa Empire Waist by Kimane Designs.

Simple Tunic by Caron International Yarns.

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Video: Short Single Crochet

The short single crochet is a regular single crochet with one difference: where you place your hook to pull up your first loop.

I have used the short single crochet (ssc) in several designs, but most recently in the following.

Luna Sweater from the Winter 2009 issue of Interweave Crochet.

Mens Mock Cable Sweater from Fiber Gathering.

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Response to Knitting Class

The responses I’ve received from my students have been very encouraging! Christian and I worked on the photos and videos together. It was a joint effort by mother and 5-year-old son.

Here are some of lovely things said in the classroom:

I’m probably posting too much, but this continental thing is GREAT! I’ve always had trouble working near the end of my knitting needles. I drop stitches like mad, so I do a lot of moving up and down along the needles to get knit to work for me. Makes things so much slower. My British, continential-style-knitter neighbor just shakes her head as we chat and knit on the weekends and I watch her projects grow by the hour while mine inch along. She has tried to show me how to switch over, I’ve read instructions on line, I’ve watched lots of free how-to videos and just haven’t been able to get it. Kim has DONE IT!

Great job with the instructions, photos, and videos! I’ve tried and tried to teach myself to knit in this style and have failed abysmally because I just couldn’t really understand what was happening with the yarn. You’ve demonstrated it so well, I feel confident I’ll be able to manage after a few rows of practice.

There is still time to register for the class, so if you’d like to learn the basics of knitting, perhaps just a little knit ribbing on your crochet garments, join us at Crochetville!

Picking Up Stitches Evenly

Ever have one of those patterns where it says to pick up stitches evenly across? Did you start it, all gung ho to get across the row only to discover that you’re short stitches or you have too many? Take the mystery out of it!

If you have a pattern that says to distribute a certain number of stitches evenly across then divide it into small sections to make it easier.

Let’s demonstrate.

Your pattern says to pick up 200 stitches (or to crochet evenly across for a total of 200 stitches).

Divide the piece into sections. Fold it in half and you have the center. Mark the center with a stitch marker or a scrap of yarn. You now have two sections. Fold each section in half and place markers at the center of each. You now have four sections. Fold these sections in half and place markers. You would now have 8 sections.

Now, divide the original number by the 8 sections. 200 divided by 8. That’s 25 stitches.

Begin placement of your stitches, making 25 stitches in each section. Trying to put 25 stitches in each section is far easier than trying to put 200 all the way across.

If your number doesn’t divide as equally, you’ll have to put one more or one less stitch into some of the sections. But, this is easy.

If you needed 204 stitches evenly across, for instance, you would put 25 stitches in 4 sections and 26 stitches in the other 4 sections, perhaps splitting them up for 26, 25, 26, 25, 26, 25, 26, 25.

Enjoy!

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Slowing Down?

This week, I finished everything on my to-do list. Everything. I thought perhaps it meant that it was time to take a breather. Or, perhaps it meant that I could actually breathe! After all, it’s been so stressful since the August show in Buffalo. One thing right after another, all due at the same time and no pause for thought in between. Just get it done and get it done as quickly as possible.

Mentally, I’ve been going over the things still remaining and discovered that I still have quite a bit to do. It’s just more of a scattering of things rather than what I had before. I realize that I’m still going to be very busy. It’s just a different kind of busy, I guess.

Last week, I completed a design. I had it on the mannequin for three or four days before I decided that I just didn’t like part of it. Since this is one of those designs that won’t tell you the entire story until it is all complete, it’s not unusual that there is something about it that I didn’t like. I had actually tried to make do with what I had. But, there was something about it that made me want to tweek it some more.

And, apparently, this tweeking amounted to my taking out the entire garment and starting again. It’s not nearly as bad as it sounds. At least there are no sleeves! But, it bothered me enough that I took it out. I’m almost finished with this second try and, based on the deadline, it will have to be the final version. I won’t know until later today when I assemble it. Fingers crossed!

Once this bad boy is finished, I’ll start on the new to-do list. There are two patterns to write, including sizing/grading. These have sleeves, though! LOL

I’ll be restitching a cute baby garment in alternate colors. Here’s another thing about designing. You can’t hesitate in stitching things again. If your publisher wants a different color (or a different yarn), you give them a different color (or yarn).

I also have a project which is going to take some time. It would be difficult to tell you about this project without giving you the secret details that I can’t mention. But, it amounts to more of an exploration and journey of a certain technique (which also can’t be mentioned). The work involved will be something like a mini-book on the technique.

Four items to be stitched and patterns sold independently. These will be fun because I’ve already written out the patterns and it will just be a matter of my stitching them up. What’s not to love? Unique to this project is that I have hired the extraordinary Amie Hirtes Bentley of Nexstitch to do stitch diagrams for me. Although you will know Amie as a fantastic crochet pattern designer/writer from her website (including some awesome Tunisian crochet patterns AND the awe-inspiring tutorial videos), Amie is also terrific at graphic and layout work. It’s a dream to work with her and I love that I’ll have stitch diagrams on some of my more complicated lace patterns. Look for these in the Spring!

Back to work for me! I’ll need to get this design out in the mail very soon.

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New Online Knitting Class

If you are interested in adding a touch of knitting to your crochet, this is the class for you.

I’ll be teaching it more as a crocheter to a crocheter. So, with my little adaptation to Continental, you’ll learn to knit and purl. You’ll also be using a crochet hook to cast on, bind off and pick up stitches.

You’ll have everything you need to add some fun knitting to your crochet projects. Specifically, I think this would be terrific for adding ribbing to your sweaters! It really worked out well for the Mens Mock Cable Sweater.

Registration is open and class starts tomorrow.

http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?t=107007

Enjoy!

Slip Stitch Crochet

In the past few weeks, I’ve done a bit of slip stitch crochet. Now, I haven’t explored it quite as much as others like Bendy Carter and David Burchall. But, it’s a technique all on its own that I’ve successfully tried in four projects and it’s producing good results for those projects, albeit I didn’t use the technique for the entire projects. Just parts of them.

A shining example of what can be done with slip stitch crochet is here in David Burchall’s work. Stunning! (Click on the photo for his Flickr photostream.)

What I want to mention is that slip stitch crochet, something that really should be in a technique all its own, much like Tunisian crochet, can be a little fiddly. It’s not as easy to crochet into slip stitches as with regular crochet…until now!

You see, like Tunisian crochet, slip stitch crochet benefits from the use of a larger hook. This week, I was desperately searching my crochet hooks and knitting needles for an L hook. L hooks are harder to come by and I knew I wasn’t going to find one. But, I really, really NEEDED an L hook. After a 40-minute search turning up no results, it occurred to me that I had a Denise Interchangeable Hook Set! And, sure enough, there IS an L hook in the set!

These hooks are well suited for both regular Tunisian and double-ended Tunisian. The set comes with the hook heads and cables for Tunisian work. Additional hook heads need to be purchased for use in double-ended Tunisian crochet.

So, I removed the cable from the hook and proceeded to give it a try. I hadn’t liked the gauge I was getting with the K hook. Just too tight. I started with the L and not only did I get the results I wanted, but it was easier to do! What a discovery!

You see, the Denise hooks are pointy. This makes them ideal for slip stitch crochet! I could hardly believe my luck. Not only did I find the hook I needed, but it was almost as though it was made for the project I was working on.

If you find yourself interested in slip stitch crochet, I highly recommend these hooks. And, you don’t have to purchase the entire set. You can purchase all pieces separately, if you just want to try them out. What makes them ideal for slip stitch also makes them ideal for Tunisian crochet. This will make it a breeze doing that initial foundation row into the back horizontal bar! Enjoy!

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Tunisian Lace: Filming the DVD

I remember promising to write something in my blog about filming the DVD. It was my first time doing something like it, so it was quite the experience!

When we first started talking about it, I was worried. After all, I am the person who positively hates my photo taken. I hate it so much. It makes me crazy. While at the CGOA conference, I remember Dee (crochetwithdee.com) telling me to smile, then…show some teeth! LOL I just don’t like it.

But, my excitement about having a DVD overwhelmed my fear of being photographed. I knew that having a DVD would be monumental in helping people with the stitches in Tunisian crochet. So, I enthusiastically agreed.

In late May 2009, the filming was planned. Michele Maks (who shares my passion NOT! of flying) was driving to Texas to handle the technical aspects of an instructional DVD. We’re right there on the way and the plan was hatched that she would pick me and Christian up on the way.

I was worried that Michele would never, ever want to be around children again after riding in a car all day with Christian. But, he really was on his best behavior and everything went amazingly well during the trip.

Well, everything except my sleeping. I couldn’t sleep the night before the trip. I was too nervous. Then, my mouth didn’t stop during the entire drive to Texas. I wish I could say it was because of lack of sleep and nervousness. But, it’s more a matter of … my mouth doesn’t stop. Ever.

My mother met us at the hotel in Texas. She had a much shorter ride. Probably about half. She met us there to take care of Christian. She arrived much earlier that we did and went to the room to wait. What’s funny is that Christian has never been to his grandmother’s house. So, he really thinks, even to this day, that the hotel is GranDeAnn’s house and he wants to go for another visit.

Bright and early the next day, after sleeping only a few short hours, Michele and I visited the satellite location of Annie’s Attic in Big Sandy, Texas. I had wanted to go to Big Sandy for probably about a dozen years. So, it was quite the experience. I met all the people and you wouldn’t believe the books and projects in the offices! My goodness! It was incredible. We did some prop shopping. (I just like saying prop shopping, when actually it was just clothes shopping for things to wear on set.) I got my hair cut and styled and I got my fingernails done. I was purdy!

The next day, we headed to the most beautiful house I had ever seen. It was like it was straight out of a magazine. Positively extraordinary! It was at this house that we did the filming.

The filming at the house lasted for two days, with very little sleep in between. I had a script, but had to ditch it. Actually, it was well over 50 pages. I’ve never had any training in drama. And, at 45 I don’t memorize things as well as I did in my 20s. When I tried to say things that were specifically written, I couldn’t repeat them and messed up. But, given the opportunity to just talk, I didn’t have much of a problem.

Once I got past the “stand up”, it wasn’t so bad. After all, the camera was on my hands (except that they had a separate camera on my face for some reason and I had to ignore it). And, I was talking through stitch patterns. That’s not hard at all. I can do that!

But, trying to keep my hands steady and in one spot the entire time proved to be a bit difficult for me. Trying to manipulate the 14″ afghan hook in a 10″ space wasn’t that easy either! I even had a typical actress meltdown at one point when I was filming a stitch pattern and the yarn fell off the table and rolled around on the floor. This was the third day and I had had a total of 8 hours of sleep in the last 72 hours, so a meltdown was to be expected, I suppose.

All in all, I was in Texas for four days. During that time, my mother watched Christian. They had several outings and play time. Our hotel was in a great location for that. I couldn’t have done the DVD if it hadn’t been for my mother coming to watch Christian. So, we owe it all to my mother! If you like the DVD, you can thank her! LOL

As it turns out, there were three videos of stitch patterns which didn’t quite “make the grade” when it came time to compile them. For those three, they had to be filmed again in Texas. But, the hand model is someone else. It’s my voice, but someone else’s hands. If you look closely at the DVD, you can tell which ones. And, I don’t envy her the job. It was difficult doing the videos, but she had to do the videos in a manner following along with my words in the audio.

Finally, everything came together and we now have a DVD for Tunisian crochet stitches and stitch patterns! Yay!

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New Year; New Designs

Recently, I was commissioned to do a new design that had me stumped. Oh sure, I had lots of ideas about how I was going to do this piece. But, the more I stared off into space (my equivalent of trying to visualize a design), I couldn’t determine how in the world I was going to size it up while still maintaining the look of the design and making it so that it could actually be written succinctly, without literally writing an individual pattern for each size. Always remember, when you are designing clothing, it’s not always about coming up with a really cool design. You also have to remember, at every little step, that you’ll need to have written instructions that actually work in a clear and concise way.

After the second day of space staring, I finally called the person requesting the design, explained the issues with sizing and tried to work out another plan. It wasn’t until last night that I FINALLY think I have something workable. Yay! Ah, the trials of designing! The hardest part is, of course, coming up with a really cool idea that can only be written in one size at a time. I guess the only way I could do that is to enter it into the CGOA Design Contest because I certainly wouldn’t be able to submit it to a magazine.

So, I’m happily crocheting away. And, lest I forget, I still need to finalize two patterns. I am woefully behind on that. But, my mind works in such a way that I must get a bunch of crocheting/knitting done before I can properly focus on pattern writing. I really can’t determine why that is. Perhaps it helps to clear the mind, making me more ready to get to the business of writing a pattern. And, I really need a clear head. I’ll get to it very shortly now that I’ve worked out the details of this new design.

If you have a digital subscription to Crochet! magazine, you may have already seen this new design.

This is the Fifth Avenue Hat from the March 2010 issue of Crochet! magazine. I don’t design many hats and, when I was asked to do this one, I had a bit of a problem getting going. I was concerned about how I was going to get the little brim to stay in place. I really didn’t want to have to use anything extra like wire or starch. There were other possibilities as well. But, in the end, as it turns out, it’s the unique hat brim that keeps this beauty in place. This design is made in Article 940 Cabled Cotton.

As is customary for me, I usually have new designs posted to the Ravelry database almost immediately after I discover them. And, it’s funny how well people know that I do that. Someone on Ravelry mentioned that she liked one of my designs in the Web Bonuses for this issue of the magazine and thought I might not have seen it yet. What? What? How did I not know there were Web Bonuses?

I immediately headed over to the website and, after finally figuring out how to login with my CGOA membership number, I too was able to check out the Web Bonuses, where I found this:

This is the Empire Swing Jacket I designed for Caron International Yarns in Caron Simply Soft yarns. As with all my designs, when I really think it’s a good match for plus sizes, I push them in the pattern whenever possible. This one is sized from small through 3X. I’m already getting good feedback on it and my daughter’s instincts are still on target. You see, when my daughter gives the thumb’s up to a design, I can usually depend on her instincts. Of course, like with most of the designs I’ve done in the past year, she prefers it without sleeves. She doesn’t seem much into sleeves because every time I have her try something on, she mentions it.

Shall We Talk About the Weather?

It it obscenely cold by you? Wowzah! It surely is cold here. Single digits and negative numbers. Snow and more snow. In fact, it’s going to snow again today. So, yesterday, Christian and I headed to the bread store and the grocery store. I didn’t need a whole lot, but I wanted to be sure to have some things just in case we were stuck here for awhile.

Christian is so cute at the store now. He likes to make his own food choices. Usually, he is safely tucked into the seat of the cart where I don’t have to worry so much about the “grabby” and the “I wants”. But, with his full winter weather gear, trying to get him in the cart was an impossibility. It made me a nervous wreck with all his excitement. But, he had a GREAT time! He didn’t even ask if he could have something. He just grabbed and put it in the cart. LOL Thankfully, I didn’t navigate down the aisles with the cookies, candy, chips and stuff, limiting his choices. And, truthfully, what he wanted mostly was fruit. We came home with watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, bananas, cherries and green grapes. I don’t know…I think he likes his fruit. hahahaha