Afghans in Crochet Today!

I recently designed two completely different afghans for the January/February issue of Crochet Today! It's finally out on the news stands, and the issue is now on their website. But, I want to show you the pictures of my two afghans - they both were fun to design and crochet.
This is the Big Love afghan.


It consists of hexagons, many hexagons. But - they get connected as they are crocheted. So there's not a lot of finishing. When you're finished with the last hexagon, you're finished. Except for weaving in all the ends. :-)



The other afghan I designed is a baby afghan. What I like about this one - I made it with one skein of Baby Blankie, a new yarn from Red Heart. One skein - only 2 ends to weave in. Oh - I did add a bottom border, so that's 2 more ends. So a total of 4 ends to weave in. The side and top borders are made along with the rest of the afghan. When you're done, you're done. And, did I mention, only 4 ends to weave in? That makes it just about the perfect baby afghan! A friend of mine, another designer (Vashti Braha) called it my "Go To Afghan". And it really is. It doesn't take long to finish so it's a great last-minute present for a shower or a new baby.
Here's the picture:


Of course, it can be worked in other colors, not just pink.
What's great about the Crochet Today web site, if you want to, you can order the magazine, along with the yarn for whatever pattern you choose, right from their site. You don't have to search for the correct yarn - it's right there.

It doesn't really matter how many times you see one of your patterns in print - even if the same pattern has been offered in a magazine, and then as a downloadable pattern. When you see it again, in a new venue, it's exciting. That's how I felt this week, when I found 2 of my patterns in places I didn't expect. Yesterday, I saw my Granny Square Shrink Vest in the on-line newsletter from Crochet! magazine, as a free pattern! Click here to get the pattern. Remember those "Shrink" vests that were so popular in the '70s? Those vests were my inspiration for this one. I made it in Lion Brand Suede, but any bulky weight yarn would work as well.
Here's a picture:


The next surprise I had this week was when I took a trip to my local bookstore, and found the Fall 2009 issue of Crochet! magazine. It's a special issue, for the holiday season, full of quick projects to make for gifts. I opened it up, and found this:



It's one of my favorite hats that I designed, with one of my favorite stitch patterns. And two interesting things about these two patterns - they are both worked in the same yarn - Lion Brand Suede, and, they both look like spiderwebs. So - they can be made as a set! What a great present to give someone special!

Crochet Edgings and Trims

I just received the book, Crochet Edgings and Trims, a new Harmony Guide, by Kate Haxell. It has 150 edgings, and lots of good ideas. I know what you're probably saying - what do you need another book for? You like to make up your own edgings and trims and stitches. And don't you have enough books? Well ----- yes, I have a lot of books. (The Crochet Dude told me I have enough books to start my own reference library). But my philosophy is that one can never have too many books. Just like one can never have too much yarn. Or too many hooks. You get the idea.
And I do use my books. I look for inspiration, ideas, older stitch patterns, different stitch patterns, different stitches. I recently found some wonderful old stitches - in some new books. But, I'm digressing. Back to this book - Crochet Edgings and Trims.

I have the old Harmony Guides (300 Crochet Stitches, and 220 More Crochet Stitches) - and still use them. But, for some reason, I like having the smaller books, with the stitches, motifs, and edgings in separate books instead of all together. The older books have a total of 44 edgings, this new book has 150. And while some, maybe all, of the 44 are repeated in the newer book, it still has many more to choose from. And lots of fresh ideas. This book is a good addition to my library.

Now, you may say - who needs all those edgings? Especially when you have your favorite ones that you use whenever you need an edging. My answer -I don't just use edgings as edgings. I look at edgings, and get ideas for other things - scarves, belts, ties, and, of course, regular stitches to incorporate into my designs. And one idea leads to another and another and another. It never ceases!

Books to me are like food - I can't live without them! I'm just glad they're not fattening! :-)

On another note - Noreen Crone-Findlay recently interviewed me for her blog. So check it out to find out more about me and my crocheting!

Crochet Adorned

One of my favorite things to do is to doodle. When I was in Graphic Design, I doodled with a pencil or pen. Now that I'm in Crochet Design, I doodle in yarns and hooks. One of the ways I doodle is to take "classic" stitch patterns, and change them somehow, to make them uniquely my own. Then, of course, I incorporate them into a design. :-) Or, I just do something different with a basic stitch. Or, I look at stitch dictionaries, and get ideas from them. When I work from stitch dictionaries, I like to work from stitch diagrams and/or clear photos that show the stitch pattern straight on. (Many of the older stitch dictionaries that I have just show the photos, along with the written directions.) But I am always on the lookout for more stitch dictionaries. And even if there are only one or two new-to-me stitch patterns in the book, I must add it to my library. It's worth it to me - I teach classes on various stitches at the CGOA Conferences, and I do research in my own library. And I can come up with new, invented-by-me, stitch patterns to teach my students. So, today, I was at Barnes&Noble, and as usual, I wandered over to the Needlecraft books with my decaf Americano in hand. I really didn't expect to see anything new - I had just been there on Friday, 2 days ago, and there were no new books then. But, I looked there anyway. And, what do you know, I found a new book! Crochet Adorned, by Linda Permann. I thought, oh - just another crocheted flower book. And I almost didn't look through it. After all, I was holding on to my Americano, and couldn't find a space on the shelf to put in down. But then, I saw a space on a shelf below, so I carefully set my coffee down, and picked up the book. And looked through it. And saw it was also a stitch dictionary. And Linda had included some interesting variations on standard stitches, and on not-so standard stitches. And in the first section, where the projects are, there are more stitch patterns. All kinds of motifs, flowers, trims, they're all there. And ways to use them! Plus, the book is a good book for beginners - it has a basic instruction section. It tells you how to read a crochet pattern, what all the symbols mean, and how to read a stitch symbol diagram. I'm going to enjoy having this book in my library!

Chain Link 2009

This is one of the things that has been occupying my time during the past months. Preparing for the CGOA Chain Link National Conference, held in tandem with the Knit and Crochet Show. I taught 4 classes at the Chain Link conference last week, was in charge of Professional Development Day, edited a book of patterns that the CGOA Board of Directors introduced on Saturday during the day-long Knitting Meets Crochet membership drive (more about that later), and had a day-long board meeting/strategic planning session on Monday. And, of course, I met with friends I hadn't seen for a long time. It was a busy, but fun week. And yes, it was a full 7 days.

I spotted this sign in the convention center, and took my one and only picture of the conference - with Vashti, another member of the CGOA Board of Directors, and designer extraordinaire, standing beside it.

The Knit and Crochet Show - the market place - the yarn market - whatever you want to call it, was amazing. Lots of venders, lots of different yarns to see and touch and want. I saw some Silk Sari Ribbon that I had heard about, and Jelly Yarn in a great silver color - just what I wanted.

And hooks - bamboo and wood were prevalent, but regular hooks were present too. And, after being introduced to ChiaoGoo hooks at TNNA, I was happy to see them here. They make wonderful bamboo hooks and needles. They have regular hooks for crocheting, Tunisian hooks in different lengths, circular Tunisian hooks, and cable Tunisian hooks. The hooks come in all sizes - small to large. They have an in-line shape, and when I used them on a small sample of ribbon yarn, they didn't snag the ribbon. I'm in LOVE!

One of the projects that I was feverishly working on before Chain Link was a free pattern booklet, which is now being offered to new members of CGOA. I edited this booklet of patterns, by 6 of the CGOA Board Members, and we premiered it on Saturday. It is a download - only booklet for new and renewing members only. Here is a picture of the cover, so you can see the designs included. They are by Carol Alexander, Amy Shelton, Vashti Braha, Drew Emborsky, me - Marty Miller, and Lorraine Lucas.

Crochet Today!

The preview of the Sept/Oct 2009 issue of Crochet Today is on the web site. Check it out here and look at the Ripple Cloud Afghan that I designed for this issue. It was a lot of fun to do, and quick to make. I used bulky yarns, and a large hook, but the best part was that there were no ends to weave in. I incorporated the ends into the fringe! Here's a picture:

I haven't posted a lot lately - I've been busy getting my classes together for Chain Link, the CGOA conference in Buffalo, which is next week. If you're going to be there, come by and say hello. You can go shopping in the yarn market, see the fashion show and all the other festivities on Saturday night (it's CGOA's 15th Anniversary), take classes with some great teachers, and hang out and crochet in the 24/7 lounge. There will also be other special events. On Saturday, we're hosting a "knitters meet crochet" event - come and meet and greet knitters and crocheters. We'll be giving away some great prizes to those who join or renew their membership to CGOA, and there will be a lot of other fun activities going on. Don't miss the Yarn Market Preview on Thursday night. You can check out the program and events and classes by going to Knit and Crochet Show. And stay tuned - after Chain Link, I should have some great news for you! :-)

Crochet Kimono

I love to find my patterns for sale on-line, and this is the latest one. It's one I designed for Plymouth Yarn, using Plymouth Encore. Encore is 25% Wool, and 75% Acrylic - it's soft, machine washable, machine dryable, crochets beautifully, it has a lot of yardage in a skein, and it comes in great colors! Here's the picture of the kimono:



And here's where you can purchase the pattern:
Annies Attic

Look at all the Plymouth Yarns here:
Plymouth Yarns