Vogue Crochet- Tips from the Stars!

Vogue continues to impress and show their dedication to crochet! Today on their Twitter feed they posted 23 tips and tricks from today’s crochet stars!

All of them were excellent but my favorites were…
1) Drew Emborsky “The Crochet Dude”: – use yarn you love!
I think this is super important! You are taking the time to make something with your time, skill, effort and love. Do it with a material you love. My fave yarns are anything from Green Mountain Spinnery, Kraemer Yarns, Berrocco Yarns, Madeline Tosh hand dyed yarn, and Claudia’s hand painted yarns.
2)Jennifer Hansen:
Warns you to loosen up your stitches remember we are creating fabric, it’s all about the drape!
3) Vicki Howell:
Offers some advice on crochet gauge! Crochet gauge is a whole different beast then knitted gauge and therefore you must swatch to get optimal outcomes. I once made a garment and had to change my hook size to three sizes smaller because I tend to be a loose crocheter!
4) Candi Jensen –
Her advice is to use the whole part of your crochet hook if you work on shaft only you will get a tight garment !
( I might add that Candi Jensen has really done so much for crochet! Her work inspired me in so many different ways! Her designs are super modern and uses many different techniques!! I heart Candi Jensen!)
5) Kathy Merrick:
Suggests that because crochet fabric is thicker and denser than knitted material use one yarn weight lighter when crocheting !

Thanks so much to Vogue and their dedication to Crochet! What are some of your tips and tricks blog friends! Comment and be entered to win a set of 5 crochet patterns from my Etsy shop!
Vogue Crochet tips from the stars!

Tutorial : Attaching a D ring or purse handle to knitted item

A lot of you have been asking me some technique questions when it comes to attaching a d ring or purse handle hardware to a knitted or crocheted garment.

I have attached a pictorial tutorial.
1) Upon finishing a knitted garment gather all your hardware and a yarn needle

2) Place the end of the handle close to the purse. Using yarn that is doubled for strength . Stitch over the d ring onto the fabric . Complete this all the way around till you feel that the hardware is well anchored

3)Repeat on the other side .

To attach a knitted fabric strap to a dring make sure the d part of the ring is pointed up and fold fabric strap around d ring and use the yarn doubled repeat above technique

A Shopping Guide to Sheep and Wool Festivals

It’s that time of year again, sheep and wool festivals galore! Maryland sheep and wool and New Hampshire Sheep and wool have come and gone already. This weekend on Long Island, we will be hosting the Long Island Sheep and Wool festival in Riverhead, NY at the Hallockville Museum.

So what is a crocheter suppose to do? Shop till you drop of course!

The crocheter will be exposed to so many great new ideas, yarns and projects it is pure sensory overload.

So here are my tips:
1) Try to have a project in mind that you are shopping for.
– I sometimes even bring patterns to match the yarn

2) Bring a good camera to take pictures of inspiring items

3) Try to bring cash as many vendors are unable to process credit cards

4) Wear clothing appropriate to the weather

5) Don really comfy shoes to make all that walking more pleasurable!

6) Bring a yarn estimator with you so that when you find a yarn you fall in love with you can buy how much you think for a project.
– A crochet project takes approximately 30 percent more yarn on projects when compared to knitting!
– Yarn market has a great app for the IPhone!
7) Check the Websites and appropriate social media sites for your favorite vendors as they may be running show specials!
– Green Mountain Spinnery had various trivia contests at Maryland Sheep and wool! Great idea guys!

8) Always good to have a portable project with you that you can conveniently hook while you wait!

9) Bring some great snacks as shopping always makes me hungry and who really wants to stop for food when you can be hunting out the greatest yarn!

10) Water and hand sanitizer need I say more!

Enjoy and I would love to hear about your experiences! Comment and be entered for this weeks blog giveaway!

The Gift of Crochet for Mother’s Day

As a crocheter, there is nothing more I want for Mother’s Day then yarn related and crochet related items. Yup I’m a nerd and proud of it! So what do you get a stitcher that has everything…
1) Gift certificate for time to stitch
Trust me there is never enough time in the day to stitch!
2) Take her on a yarn crawl to various local yarn shops!
On Long Island, my suggested route would be Village Knitter in Babylon to Rumplestiltskin in Sayville to Knitters Knitche in Miller Place and end in Montauk at Purl by the Sea. All of them I love . It just happened to be the best travel order for those shops in that order. Other great shops in the area is Knitting on the Lamb in Huntington and Keep me in Stitches in Nesconset. I

In New York City, you can’t go wrong with Habu Textiles in Chelsea, Lion Brand Yarn Studio, and Purl Soho in Soho!

3) A yarn holder or project bag (More on this tomorrow!)
But for right now, I love the Yarn Pop accessory ( Sold at Rumplestiltskin in Sayville), Della Q bags, and Namaste bags and accessories.

All of those items are found at the above mentioned yarn shops!

4) A technique specific class!
For crochet classes on the island most definitely Rumplestiltskin yarns in Sayville!

5) A Voucher for a Fiber Festival or Workshop
I highly recommend Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool, Long Islands Fiber festival and the KGOA and CGOA are meeting in NH at the end of June!!!! Also Lion Brand Yarn Studio has some pretty excellent list of a-list designers giving classes sure to knock your socks off! (tee-hee)

Bonus:
A membership to a local chapter of the Knitters or Crochet Guild of America!!!
I just joined the Eastern Long Island Knitters Guild! You also receive a bonus discount at all the aforementioned yarn shops!!!!

What is your favorite crochet yarn gift you ever got and what’s on your wish list?

Mine is going to the conference in NH wink wink!

Vogue Crochet- Tips from the Stars!

Vogue continues to impress and show their dedication to crochet! Today on their Twitter feed they posted 23 tips and tricks from today’s crochet stars!

All of them were excellent but my favorites were…
1) Drew Emborsky “The Crochet Dude”: – use yarn you love!
I think this is super important! You are taking the time to make something with your time, skill, effort and love. Do it with a material you love. My fave yarns are anything from Green Mountain Spinnery, Kraemer Yarns, Berrocco Yarns, Madeline Tosh hand dyed yarn, and Claudia’s hand painted yarns.
2)Jennifer Hansen:
Warns you to loosen up your stitches remember we are creating fabric, it’s all about the drape!
3) Vicki Howell:
Offers some advice on crochet gauge! Crochet gauge is a whole different beast then knitted gauge and therefore you must swatch to get optimal outcomes. I once made a garment and had to change my hook size to three sizes smaller because I tend to be a loose crocheter!
4) Candi Jensen –
Her advice is to use the whole part of your crochet hook if you work on shaft only you will get a tight garment !
( I might add that Candi Jensen has really done so much for crochet! Her work inspired me in so many different ways! Her designs are super modern and uses many different techniques!! I heart Candi Jensen!)
5) Kathy Merrick:
Suggests that because crochet fabric is thicker and denser than knitted material use one yarn weight lighter when crocheting !

Thanks so much to Vogue and their dedication to Crochet! What are some of your tips and tricks blog friends! Comment and be entered to win a set of 5 crochet patterns from my Etsy shop!
Vogue Crochet tips from the stars!

Crochet Soundtrack

Tonight as I crocheted, I was serenaded by the wonderful talent on the Voice. My favorite although he didn’t win was Chris Mann! Wow what a voice! It also just happens to be that his mom Judith Mann is a member of the TNNA.

I don’t know about you but I actually frequently stitch to music! After taking a class with the very talented designer Mari Lynn Patrick, I actually now come up with playlists for the things I’m stitching. She stated in class and in an interview with Interweave Press that she listens to music that helps inspire her designs. So why not, I said! Last night while watching The Voice I was designing a capelet perfect for a summer day that has a little country flair. The yarn is one of my favorites Green Mountain Spinnery’s Sylvan Spirit. My normal playlist would have been a little modern country like Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, Miley Cyrus or even a little Dolly Parton (she is a secret favorite of mine!) But the playful selections of last night were perfect and Lady Antebellum was one of the featured artists so it was just perfect!

What’s the soundtrack of your stitching? Tell us your playlist and you will be entered to win a free crochet pattern from my Etsy shop!!!

This week I’m featuring all crochet blogs to promote my new blog and project dedicated to all things crochet Chain Two. Www.chaintwo.wordpress.com Come take a look!

Crochet on the Runway

A contribution to the resurgence of crochet in popularity can be attributed to the runway and the fashion world. Woman’s fashion is taking a stroll through the ultra feminine side of things which makes open work and lace appealing. The above piece was just one crocheted piece I saw in the Manhattan shop of the widely popular Anthropologie!

My favorite piece this season I saw was a filet crochet inspired top that was super feminine and ultra elegant! I saw this at Free People in Manhattan earlier this year however I have not been able to find a picture since but am still on the hunt!

The Vogue Knitting issue of Crochet, elevated the art of crocheting to the world of high fashion. Mari Lynn Patrick, who is a veteran of the industry reinvented the granny square. Who knew a granny square could be so fashion forward! My other favorites were the various jewelry pieces that I can’t wait to start stitching!

What’s your favorite crochet trend on the runways? 5 Comments and a free Chain 2 pattern will be releases and better yet a hint of Chain 2’s phase two will be revealed!!!

Not sure what chain2 is yet? Well visit phase 1 – Chain 2 a blog! http://www.chaintwo.wordpress.com

Crocheting at Citi Field

I don’t know about you but I bring my crocheting with me pretty much everywhere! Today, my husband and I ventured to Citi Field (Home of the NY Mets) for the first time today. Between the trip in and the game, there was plenty of time to stitch!

Once we got there, I was amazed at how beautiful and clean the stadium was. We got to our seats in the 417 section and voila…. Comfy seats perfect for stitching! Even better they installed yarn holders for our yarn cakes ! Really, I’m serious! Ok they were beverage dispensers but the best part was my yarn cake of Green Mountain Spinnery’s Sylvan Spirit fit perfectly in the holder allowing for my to hook and watch the game without my yarn going for a ride and bothering serious game watchers!

So Citi Field was made for stitchers and baseball fans alike! It was a win win day. A great baseball game and a great stitching game! Let’s go Mets!

Where do you like to stitch in public? Id love to hear your comments as always! Are you looking for crochet only information… Check out my new blog which is part of phase 1 of Chain2. Www.chaintwo.wordpress.com

For the love of Crochet- stitches that sing

My favorite stitch patterns are those that have a rhythm. Last night I was putting the finishing touches on my cousins wedding gift and afghan I have been designing for quite sometime now. I was looking for just the right stitch pattern for the block. I was using the Crochet Stitch Bible as my guide and found the diagonal relief stitch which was perfect as all the beige blocks had some texture to it.

As I started to stitch, I realized the awesome two stitch switch pattern that combined fpdc and bpdc my hand sung as it stitched across the row!

Got to love crochet! What’s your favorite crochet or knit stitch? 5 comments and free pattern will be posted. So close yesterday!

Vogue Crochet Magazine- Giddy with excitement

A couple of days ago, I received an email that has had me overcome with excitement… The Vogue Crochet issue was available on the iPad! As an avid reader of Vogue Knitting, knitter and crocheter I am always to see a crochet design in the pages of the magazine from time to time. When I heard they were publishing a whole special issue dedicated to crochet my heart melted and brimmed with excitement. Like any other good stitcher would do I “borrowed” my husbands iPad and read it cover to cover.
The designs were even greater then I had imagined. I was excited to see some of my favorite crochet designers designs take the front and center of the issue. Candi Jensen had two great designs that I can’t wait to make, Shiri Mor had a pair of socks that will rock your idea of crochet and Mari Lynn Patrick amazed with her granny square pieces.
As a younger stitcher, I am so thankful to see this beautiful art showcased in such a way that is modern and fashionable.

So who’s ready to get hooking? I sure am!