I’ve been working on another design, to be published in the Fresh Designs Crochet series!
Cooperative Press is releasing the series throughout this year and next. In addition to the pattern I’ve submitted for the Home book, they’ve chosen to publish my new design in Fresh Designs Crochet: Men.
The project uses Huntington, a fingering weight merino/nylon from Valley Yarns.
The sweater is finished!
It’s light and airy, so it’s great for spring.
I’ve used my bulky corespun yarn to whip up a new crochet hat:
Just-Like-That Hat.
Simple, quick, and beginner-friendly. Free pattern coming soon…
Last month started with a weekend in central Oregon. While strolling through Sisters, by a happy accident I stumbled upon Desert Charm, a cute little fiber store inside a gift shop.
I should have splurged a bit, because I wish I’d have grabbed more than 4 ounces of this alpaca-silk fiber. Spun as a thicker laceweight single-ply, I got over 650 yards, which will be enough to crochet a small shawl.
I don’t know how to describe this fiber. It’s really soft, but I found it hard to work with because it’s very airy, and sort of clingy. Escaping the craft area, these long and lofty little fibers drifted everywhere. I’ll be curious to see how much the yarn fluffs out after it’s been worked and worn.
Can you believe that I’ve been crocheting for a decade, and I’m just now finishing my first sweater?
What can I say? I like small projects like hats and mittens. Quicker gratification.
I’ve been working on it for months, and it’s finally coming together. I just have to seam the pieces together and do the edging.
The pattern is the Spring Scoop Neck sweater from the May/June 2010 issue of Crochet Today Magazine.
By the way, those mats I’m using came from Harbor Freight. I got them in a 4-pack (about 4×4 feet) for 5 bucks when they were on sale. They’re great for blocking!
Portland’s annual Rose City Yarn Crawl is happening this week!
Starting on Thursday and running through Sunday, yarn shops in the Portland area have organized this fun event with specials, contests, and more.
While I probably won’t have the chance to go to all 19 participating shops, I’ll make sure to stop by a couple of my favorites. I’m also planning to explore a few of the shops in the area that I haven’t visited yet.
There is a ton of great info on the website about each shop, letting you know what else is around and even where the good grub is.
I sent my design off to Cooperative Press yesterday for their Fresh Designs Crochet series.
More details about the project will come once all the patterns in the Home book have been revealed. I can’t wait to share my first published design with you!
I finished up a long-term project this past weekend, adding a bit of handmade coziness to the living room.
I love our leather couch, but it’s a bit chilly in the winter.
This project seemed to take forever: I’ve been working on it for nearly a year.
Judging from the pattern I knew it would be a rather small afghan, but when I went to spread the completed squares out before assembly it was a little discouraging to see how small the whole thing was. And there were a lot of ends to weave in. That’s always my least favorite part.
Maggie seemed unimpressed at first… 
but I think she had no trouble getting comfortable.
Make one yourself! Free pattern from lionbrand.com
single-ply lace weight
two-ply worsted weight
navajo-ply (three-ply) dk weight
