Today I had a brief conversation with Kim Werker on Twitter about crochet blogging and twittering. It was actually the longest ‘conversation’ I had ever had on Twitter before. After our discussion, Kim wrote a blog post regarding Crochet Blogging. I was going to directly write to her, but instead, I decided to BLOG about it. Somehow, I think Kim would be happy about that. 
Just like several other crochet industry professionals have stated, blogging about our crochet design work can be difficult. It is hard to mix business with the pleasure of blogging mostly because there are so many things we just can’t discuss!
On the other hand, as I told Kim today, when I do blog, I usually always try to keep my posts and my twittering crochet related. Kim makes a valid point when she suggests that it is hard to remain engaging when you continually just speak about one topic. So I am definitely guilty of this. Why have I chosen in the past to just post about crochet? First of all, I guess I am basically a private person and until now, never thought that anyone would be interested in anything related to my life but crochet. Do I want to have an interesting crochet blog that people can relate to and will want to return to? Definitely! Do I want to sometimes voice my opinion on industry matters? Yes, certainly! Can I think of some topics right offhand that I would have loved to have blogged about in response to some crochet or knitting controversy? Absolutely. Boy do I have an opinion! But being a professional in the industry and having an opinion doesn’t always seem to mix. So I usually just decide to keep quiet. It seems better that way.
I think I learned today, though, that it doesn’t have to be so cut and dried, as they say. It doesn’t have to be ‘all or nothing’ when it comes to blogging, just like in real life. Maybe I can begin to blog about crochet, crochet design, the process and how it relates to my real life without ‘putting it all out there’ and giving away all the secrets.
So what is the answer?
From now on, I think I will try and take my cues from Kim’s Top 10 Ways To Be More Interesting. If you read her post, at the bottom she outlines how she feels you can be a better blogger.
Oh and by the way, if you really want to see how it’s done, click on over to Doris Chan’s Everyday Crochet. She has a wonderful way of telling a great crochet story. I think she must be the epitome of what Kim would consider an incredibly interesting crochet blog.
Since many of us are in need of Spring, I thought I would take a couple of moments to post links to a site I found that specializes in really pretty crochet flowers and bouquets. I think you might enjoy Crochet Bouquet. Crochet Bouquet is an Etsy shop that sells crochet flowers and bouquets, and crochet related items. You might also enjoy viewing these beautiful crochet bouquets on her Crochet Bouquet Blog. So pretty!
I was informed last week by Coats and Clark that the Knit and Crochet Scarf Project they sponsored had been an overwhelming success!
At that time, the World Games committee had received over 40,000 (yes, 40,000!) knit and crochet scarves from all over the world! Amazing, right?
Today, you can read an article posted on the Special Olympics World Games Website that states they have received over 60,000 knit and crochet scarves to date!! It is truly incredible!
Of course, WE always knew how GENEROUS crocheters and knitters are, right?
I can’t wait to actually see the atheletes wearing the scarves. The Games begin February 7 and run through February 13. Check you local television listing to see where in your area the Games are being broadcast.
I finally had a few spare moments to work on the Special Olympic Scarf Project that I had been wanting to participate in. The PROJECT is sponsored by Coats and Clark. You can read about it HERE, and you still have time to crochet a quick scarf and send in your entry by the January 15, 2009 deadline! Here are mine:
I fell in love with the pattern that I found over at my friend Darla’s blog. She designed this scarf using the book: 365 Crochet Stitches A Year Perpetual Calendar by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss. I think the pattern stitch she used is beautiful and I just couldn’t resist copying it! With permission, of course! Thanks, Darla! The pattern stitch works up so quickly that I was able to make two scarves in a very short period of time.
I just posted a new pattern at Crochet Cafe Patterns.
There is still time to make a few before Christmas. They would make really cute package toppers, also! Especially if made in several colors! Get the pattern HERE. Enjoy!
I learned to crochet 31 years ago while my husband was stationed in Italy and I was pregnant with my first child. I had been knitting for several years, but had always wanted to learn how to crochet because it seemed there were so many beautiful things you could make from crochet that you could not do with knitting. Being in Europe and surrounded by so much old crochet lace only enhanced my desire to learn. So when two of my friends started making beautiful pineapple crochet tablecloths, I knew I had to learn. I just loved the delicate, lacy thread designs of doilies and wanted to create some of my own. The pineapple design continues to be my favorite today and I am still inspired by beautiful thread crochet designs.
So when I saw Doris Chan’s book, “Amazing Crochet Lace”, New Fashions Inspired by Old-Fashioned Lace, I just knew I had to have a copy!
The book, itself, grabbed me from the beginning. Yes, I knew from flipping through the pages that it had luscious designs; but I was also pleasantly surprised when I began to read (in Doris’ own words) the Forward and the Trimming Me section in the beginning of the book. Doris has a natural talent for telling a story that makes you want to know more.
Crochet-wise, Doris introduces and teaches her own approach and techniques to making “a seamless lace garment”, which are used throughout the book. She calls it her MO, or modis operandi and says you need only to know basic crochet skills in order to learn them.
Fashion-wise, the book is filled with lovely, lacey wearables that have become Doris’ signature style. It seems as though she put a lot of thought into choosing a variety of beautiful styles and colors that would appeal to many different tastes. One of my favorites is the beautiful pineapple Blue Curacao Shawl. Apparently, I am not alone, because I have seen this lovely shawl posted many times on Ravelry!
The book is photographed beautifully. I love the black and white backgrounds contrasted by the full color of the crochet designs.
If you love crochet lace, you will love this book! It is crochet lace-lover’s eye candy!
Oh, and for the record, I know I am a couple of years behind on this review and that Doris has another book out since writing this one! I can’t wait to buy Everyday Crochet to see what that is all about!
BTW, if you enjoy Doris’ storytelling as much as I did, you can visit her blog Doris’ Everyday Crochet to hear more!
Oh no! I just checked my links for the Pineapple Shawl pattern in the post below and found that they are no longer working. Whoever had posted the Chairback Pineapple pattern we were all using for the Shawl below has taken the pattern down! I need to go through my patterns and see if I can find my copy of it. If I do, I will try and post it here as soon as I get the chance!
When you are a self publisher, there are so many aspects, from start to finish, that go into the completed product you offer for sale. Photographing my designs is probably the most difficult and tedious task of all the work I do. As I show you the update of my finished pineapple shawl, it might give you a bit of insight into how the same item can photograph under different circumstances. It can be very, very frustrating at times! Since this crochet project for for FUN, though, I did not follow the usual ‘professional’ techniques I normally apply, and boy did it make a difference!
I started this Pineapple Shawl almost 3 years ago using Bernat Berella ‘4′ worsted weight yarn and an H (5mm) hook. The pattern comes from an old chairback. It really works up fast with the larger yarn and hook! PLEASE NOTE, though, that you need to correct the first few rows of the pattern in order for the Pineapple Shawl to come out right! On ROW 1, you need only 16 dc including the ch-3, which then gives you 32 dc for ROW 3.
These are important changes to the pattern that are NOT listed!
I like the photo above the best for lighting!
The pattern is available HERE. Don’t forget the changes to the pattern!
BTW, HINT: For professional results, you need to control your lighting and photograph your items under the same circumstances as much as you can! My shawl is white as you know, not blue!
In the end, I gave my Pineapple Shawl to my mom. I completed it while she was recuperating after her accident in the hospital. It got rave reviews from the nurses! When she was transferred to a rehab facility, she was able to wear it every day when they got her out of bed to take her to therapy or took her down to her meals in a wheelchair. It was perfect because as she was recovering, she needed to be warm, but it was also so very important to me that she look pretty while she was recovering! And she did! and does! So this pineapple shawl will always be very special to me!
It’s time again for the Rwanda Knits Project Benefit Auction! and it starts tonight! The Rwanda Knits Project is the beloved brainchild of Cari Clement of Caron Yarns. Cari blogs about this month’s auction here on her latest blog post. Scroll down past the patterns to read about it. Cari’s segment on Rwanda Knits is right below the Cusco Leg Warmers designed by one of my favorite designers, Margret Willson!
You can bid on and win (if you are so lucky!), a knitted or crocheted item from one of your favorite designers and help a wonderfully, worthy cause at the same time. For knitters and crocheters who love to give, it just doesn’t get any better than that! The auction runs from today, October 16 through October 26 at 8:30pm and will offer one-of-a-kind knitted and crocheted wearables and home-dec items from top designers. If you click Rwanda Knits anytime between today at 11pm ET and October 26, there will be a direct link to the AUCTION on the left side of the page. I can’t wait to see what will be offered! Good luck and happy bidding!
Did you know that Annie’s Attic offers a free pattern for download every day? Incredibly, it is a different pattern each day from their huge archives and sometimes it is even a pattern that would still normally be for sale. The catch is that it is only available for one day. When it is gone, it is gone! Here is the direct link to their daily free pattern:
Annie’s Attic Free Pattern of the Day
If you are lucky enough to read this today, you will see that they are offering a very famous pattern for free! The pattern today is the Black and White Baby Tennis Shoes originally designed by Annie Potter! I think every crocheter is familiar with this pattern! Annie Potter, her Baby Bootie Boutique, and her company, Annie’s Attic, revolutionized the crochet industry in the late 70’s. Thankfully, crochet is still going strong and better than ever!
Get your bootie pattern today before it is gone!
