Grannys on the Go

Today when I came home, I found a wonderful surprise in my mailbox. No - not more yarn! This time it was a book. But not just any book. It was the pre-publication copy of the new Grannies On the Go, published by Vogue/Soho. It's a book of - yup - Granny Square designs. But not just afghans. No, there are shrugs, shawls, purses, hats, yes - some afghans, and a whole lot more. 19 designs by 16 crochet designers. (Three of the designs are mine!)
The book should be published on September 2, according to Amazon.com. And if you can't wait, you can pre-order there. Here's a picture of the cover, to whet your appetite!

Crochet Motifs

It's finally available - the Harmony Guide to Crochet Stitch Motifs by Erika Knight. 250 motifs to crochet! I have been waiting, not patiently, for this book, haunting the bookstores, checking on Amazon - it seems like forever!. Finally - today - I got an email from B&N - it was here! I rushed to get it, and so far, just glancing through it briefly, I haven't been disappointed. The swatches are new, according to the introduction - redone for this book. And the stitch diagrams are really clear. When I have some time to breathe, and sit down and swatch, I'll work some of the motifs. One thing that I like about this guide, that I think is better than the old Harmony Guides, there is an index in the back of the book which lists each pattern. So it's much easier to find the one you want, if you remember it's name! :-)

Less than two weeks to the Crochet conference in New Hampshire! And I'm busy getting my handouts ready, and my swatches and designs for the classes all packed up and ready to go. And I can't forget the goodies and surprises for the students! And I have a lot of goodies and surprises. I just got another BIG box of them today. If you don't know what I'm talking about when I say "Crochet conference", check this out: Knit and Crochet Show

One of the fun things to do at the conference is to shop in the Yarn Market! Unfortunately, because of my heavy teaching schedule, (I'm teaching 7 classes) I may only be able to go to the Yarn Market for the Thursday night preview. Unless I skip lunches. (That may not be such a bad idea!) I'll be sure to take some pictures of the whole experience - the Saturday night Fashion Show, Professional Development Day, the Design Contest submissions, the classes I teach, and whatever else I can take, so I can share it with you here. And I'll try to post from the Conference. I promise! :-)