The last thing I need is another project, but every time I finish one, I start two more. I blame the yarn! You see, I ordered yarn for a project and then kind of forgot about it. Well, this week the yarn came in and it's been staring at me, beckoning. What kind of woman would I be if I ignored this poor, innocent yarn?
This is how I ended up starting a new Tunisian crochet project even though I have a long way to go on my current one. There are a million tote bag patterns, but I wanted to make this particular one because of the basket weave design. I've never done this with Tunisian crochet before, so I wanted to check it out. The basket weave is subtle, but I hope you can see it in the picture here.
I'm enjoying this project more than I imagined I would to tell you the truth. It's moving along very quickly which is always a plus for those of us with attention issues. Creating the basket weave adds just enough detail to keep it interesting and the yarn is pretty cool too. I think it's perfect for a market bag like this one. The color is Grass and it's made by Plymouth Yarn. It's 65% cotton and 35% hemp. If I had to guess, I'd say they dyed the cotton green and then carded it with natural hemp. The result is a sort of distressed look like worn denim only in green. It feels just how you expect a market bag to feel and I think it will be strong as well.
In case you're interested, this is one of 13 patterns that can be found in Get Hooked on Tunisian Crochet by Sheryl Thies. This book has a nice variety from sweaters and scarves to pillows and place mats. It's a fun way to hone those Tunisian crochet skills.
I devoted a good part of this past holiday weekend to completing my tatted scarf necklace. This is a design that I first started talking about back in May. At that time it was a mere pencil sketch and I had begun to make flowers and leaves in all different colors.
Then last week I took my first shot at a prototype. I wasn't happy enough with the outcome to post about it. Now I feel like I'm beginning to do my idea some justice.
This version in black and silver is making me happy. You can't really tell by this picture, but I designed the necklace so that there are three chains in the center, so that even when you only wrap it around your neck once, you look like you are wearing a layered necklace. I have the scarf wrapped around the mannequin's neck several times for the purpose of the photograph. I wanted to be able to show the tasseled ends with the flowers. This is actually a pretty cute way to wear it.
I wore it to my crochet class today to get feedback from the group. At the time I was wearing it wrapped around my neck just once. The piece is long so that with just one wrap, the ends come down almost to the waist. The sweet ladies in my class gave me some lovely, positive feedback. I did however, as the day went on, begin to feel like I had made the scarf too long. I wrapped it around my neck one more time bringing the ends more to chest level and liked that look much better. I think my future tatted scarf necklaces will be made a little shorter than this one.
The last time I talked about this project, I was wondering what I should call it. On a whim, I searched for "scarflaces" on Etsy. Wouldn't you know there were quite a few, but it seems like the most popular way to refer to this sort of accessory is as a scarf necklace, so that's where I've landed. Now that I have a design I like, it's time to play with different colors!
Over the last couple years, my family has developed a ritual. When we get to the point where we need a nice night out, we head over to Brio's for an Italian dinner. Brio's, besides being a tasty treat, has the added attraction of being just down the sidewalk from a Barnes & Noble. In essence, once every six to eight weeks, we spend too much on dinner and then walk down the street and spend too much on books. It's a lot of fun!
When we hit the bookstore, tummies full, we fan out in four directions. The men head upstairs for Sci-Fi, the children's section and general fiction while I head to the back corner downstairs where they hide the craft books. The first thing I always look for is a book on tatting. I never find anything, but I figure someday, someone's just got to publish and excellent book full of innovative tatting projects. Then I pass a little time looking through the different crochet motif collections. I might pick up a volume on scrapbooking or jewelry making and lament that I don't have more hours to deeply explore all of the things I love. On this particular visit, I was heading out of the craft corner empty handed when something caught my eye. If I were a shorter woman, I might have missed it altogether, for up on the highest shelf sat The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook. Of course I stopped dead in my tracks and grabbed the one and only copy like securing the last new release at the video store, back when we all went to video stores. My inner voice told me I should wait and see if they have it for less on Amazon, but I just couldn't put it down. Brio's and Barnes & Noble night is a dangerous thing.
Just as the slip cover indicates, the Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook details over 200 fiber producing animals and is full of amazing photographs both of the animals and of their fiber in various stages of preparation. To give you some idea of the depth that the authors, Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius, went into, the book has a six page bibliography. The body of the publication includes four hundred and nineteen pages covering everything from Alpaca to Zwartbles. There are maps showing the regions or points of origin for each species. It's the most comprehensive encyclopedia of fleece and fiber that I've ever come across. It's gorgeous!
I can't wait to seriously explore my new favorite book. I get a lot of questions at Wind Rose Fiber Studio and with this on my bookshelf, I feel prepared for even the most obscure inquiry. Ask me anything, fiber lovers, I'm ready!
Truth be told, I have about 10 projects in the works right now, but two are occupying the front burners this week. Today I finished making the main length of my needle tatted chain. It's hard to tell from the photo, but this chain is about four feet of split rings. In the middle portion of the chain I've alternated between large and small rings.
As soon as I'm done with this post, I'm heading off to work on the finishing details. At each end of the chain, I'll be joining three shorter chains to form a sort of tasseled end. Flowers will be joined as I tat the tassels to add a decorative element to this piece.
I'm not sure what to call it because I'm designing it to be worn like a scarf. The idea is to wrap it around your neck and have both ends facing front. It's 100% cotton, lightweight and meant to be more ornamental like a necklace. It's a ... scarflace. No, that doesn't work! I'll figure that part out later. When it's finished, I'll come back and show you how it turns out.
The other project that I've been devoting time to is my Tunisian Crochet Project. It's coming right along. I'm on my second skein of sock weight yarn. It' looks like I'll get about 10 inches of length from each skein so I'll need about 5 1/2 to get to the goal length of 56 inches. Then it will be joined together like a Möbius strip and worn as a casual shawl.
This will probably take some time to complete just because of the size of the project. On the one hand, it's a little tedious, but on the other, it's nice to have something about which you don't have to think very hard. This is exactly the kind of crochet where you can watch TV or maintain a conversation and not lose your way. It's for when you're in the mood to crochet, but you don't want to strain your brain; a good end of the day project!
I'm making some changes around Wind Rose Fiber Studio this week. Every so often I like to add new products and mix things up a bit. It keeps life interesting!
Beginning this week, Bluefaced Leicester Wool Top and Falkland Wool Top are now available by the pound. I'm starting off with a limited quantity, but if it catches on, I'll make it a staple.
If these wools are among your favorites to work with, you can now buy 16oz or more at a time!
There are two newcomers to Wind Rose Fiber Studio, Mixed Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) and Polwarth Wool Top. The Mixed BFL is gorgeous! It's all of the natural shades of the breed combed together. It's mixed just enough to be nicely blended, but all of those colors come through in a pretty swirl. I can't wait to spin some of this myself!
The pretty, snowy wool on the right is Polwarth. I've been reading about the gaining popularity of this breed and so I decided it was time to check it out. I was pleasantly surprised when I handled it for the first time. It's nice and soft. It reminds me a little of Falkland, but it's more closely related to Merino. In fact, it's 75% Merino and 25% Lincoln. This breed was developed in Australia in the 1890's and I have a feeling it's here to stay!
I have a limited quantity of each. If they turn out to be a shop favorites, I'll add them to my regular inventory. Right now they are listed in three quanitites each:
Mixed BFL: 1oz, 2oz, 4oz
Polwarth: 1oz, 2oz, 4oz
On August 19th, I shared the beginning of my Tunisian crochet project. Since then, I have changed yarns twice. This picture is of the second yarn choice. This yarn is a little heavier than the sock weight suggested by the pattern and I was also using a larger hook. I like the look of this, because you can really see the pattern in this yarn. I guess I'm being fickle with this project though, because I have changed back to a sock weight.As much as I like this yarn, I think that the finished piece would be too warm for where I live (the outskirts of Phoenix) and it would also be kind of pricey. This is Boboli yarn by Berroco in color 5305 which runs about $15 a hank. I'm guessing this project would take at least 6 hanks. Ouch!
My new, and I hope final yarn choice is Serenity Sock Weight in navy. I picked this up at Joann's yesterday and while it sort of freaks me out that there is a picture of Deborah Norville on the package (I try to avoid "collections"), I like the color. For a navy, it has a lot of grey in it and I think it will look nice with black, white and blue which are kind of wardrobe staples. Plus, it's $4 a pop, so even if I still need about six skeins, it's a nicer price. I should also mention that fiber content is pretty important to me and sock yarns are usually better that way than most craft store yarns. This one is 50% superwash merino, 25% bamboo and 25% nylon. It feels good, I think it will have a nice drape and it will be easy care.
So I'm starting over for the third time. This is no way to get a project done! On the other hand, now that I've had all of this practice, the pattern has become second 
nature. I've avoided telling the name of this pattern because I find it kind of embarrassing. Okay, here goes. The project I'm making is called "Mystifying Embrace". For some reason this name bothers me like an overly syrupy love song or something. Couldn't they have called it... um... well, anything else? I shouldn't talk. I'm sure I've come up with some goofy names for my stuff too and it's a very pretty Möbius ring wrap. Hey, there's a good name. How about Pretty Möbius Ring Wrap?
Where can you find this "Mystifying Embrace"? It's part of Get Hooked on Tunisian Crochet and it's on the cover too. See? Very pretty. Hopefully, next time I chat about this project, I'll be much farther along!
I'm back to share this week's adventures in teaching crochet. My crochet class meets on Tuesday mornings, so I am writing this after the fact. Of course blog posts are sort of frozen in time, so I guess it doesn't matter all that much whether I talk about the class before or after it happens. I just like the idea of bringing you along for the ride.
I always tell my kids to have their assignments done at least 24 hours early so they have time to tweak them or possibly to remember any details they may have missed. Do I take my own advice? No, I'm afraid not. When did I prepare for my Tuesday crochet class? Monday! So rather than leisurely getting things together, I celebrate mad Monday where I run around like a crazy woman, shopping for supplies, working through patterns, filming tutorials and writing up designs. As a matter of fact, as I came out of Joann's with two bags full of yarn and other various supplies, I had the strongest sense of deja vu. I wondered to myself if this feeling would become a weekly occurrence.
So let's talk about the actual lesson plan. Last week my fellow teacher and I introduced crocheted flowers to the class. They were such a big hit that it was decided that we would focus on flowers as a theme for the time being. Our first project was the Deco Rose whose pattern I now have listed here at Wind Rose. The Deco Rose was a very good starting pattern. This week we tackled a Zinnia Flower.
Years ago I found a Zinnia pattern on Crochet Pattern Central that I really liked. When I went back to find it, I had no luck. If it's still there, it's hiding from me. I remembered the basic premise, so I just wrote my own pattern. I knew that the Zinnia Flower Pattern would be more of a challenge for our students, so I made a video tutorial for it as well. Actually, since I was filming anyway, I made videos for the Deco Rose, Zinnia and also a Veined Leaf. I think the video tutorials really help. The class can watch the project from beginning to end and then feel more confident as they follow the directions and make the pattern themselves.
In preparation for teaching class, I also worked through a traditional rose pattern that one of the students saw in my book Crochet Bouquet. I wanted to be ready to help her through the pattern if she wanted to give it a try. In a nutshell, I wrote up patterns for the Deco Rose, the Zinnia and the Veined Leaf. I made samples of each including the traditional Rose, and I filmed and edited three video tutorials. That was a lot to do in one day!
On the upside, I shouldn't have as much to do for next week. I'll probably add one more flower to the collection and write up a couple more patterns, but whether I'm preparing like crazy or not, it's all worth it. The class had a great time today visiting and crocheting. Flowers were made and newer members were inspired to learn. I thoroughly enjoy the time I spend this this great group of people. Also, from one crocheter to another, I like passing on my lesson plans. I hope you enjoy the patterns and if you happen to teach a class of your own, maybe your class will have fun with these flowers too. Until next time...
Here's a simple pattern for creating a pretty Veined Leaf. You can also follow along with a complete YouTube tutorial. That video can be found here: How to Crochet a Veined Leaf
Veined Leaf Pattern
chain 10 leaving 8” beg tail
Side 1: working in back loops of beginning chain, 3 dc in fourth st from hook, dc in next 3 sts, hdc in next st, sc in next st, sl st in last st, ch 1, sl st in ch just made (leaf point made)
Side 2: working down the other side of the beginning chain in the front loops, sl st in next st, sc in next st, hdc in next st, dc in next 3 sts, work 3 dc in next st, join with sl st to top of beg ch 3
Stem: chain 4, sl st in second st from hook and in next two sts. sl st to next dc, finish off weaving in all loose ends
I posted the pattern for this flower just recently, but I'm sharing it again because now you can also follow along with a complete YouTube tutorial. You can find the video by clicking this link: How to Crochet a Deco Rose
Deco Rose Pattern
chain 21 leaving 12” beg tail
Row 1: work 2 sc in second st from hook and in each stitch across, ch 3 turn (40 sc)
Row 2: dc in 1st st, work 2 dc in each st across (80 dc incl. beg ch 3)
cut off pulling yarn through final st to create a knot. Leave 12” ending tail
Curl flower into the desired shape. Thread large eye needle with one tail end. Use this yarn to weave in and out of the end rows in the center of the flower back. Leave yarn off to one side
Thread the remaining tail end. Repeat sewing above to secure the shape of the flower. Leave yarn off the the opposite side of the first tail end. Use ends to affix flower to pin back or other projects.
I just wrote up this pattern for my crochet class, so I'm happily sharing it with you as well. The Veined Leaf Pattern is also coming.
In addition to the written instructions below, you can view a complete video tutorial on my youtube channel. How to Crochet a Zinnia Flower
Zinnia Pattern
chain 2 leaving 12” beg tail
pattern is worked in the round
Row 1: 6 sc in second st from hook
Row 2: working in back loops only, 2 sc in each st around (12 sc)
Row 3: working in back loops of Row 2, sl st in next st, ch 10, sl st in same st, repeat around until you have 12 large petals
Row 4: Working in front loops of Row 2, sl st in next st, ch 8, sl st in same st, repeat around until you have 12 medium petals
Row 5: Working in front loops of Row 1, sl st in next st, ch 6, sl st in same st, repeat around until you have 6 small petals
Finish off weaving in all loose ends on the back side of the flower or use to affix flower to pin back or other projects.
