Lovin' Lace

Lately I've been fascinated with lace. I only learned this week the different textures for lace like Chantilly and Duchesse. So lovely and romantic--each one more intricate and detailed than the next.

I'm so thankful that I know how to crochet. This lets me achieve that lacy look without spending too extravagantly! I love the designs of crocheted lace by Doris Chan, Vashti Braha, Lily Go and our very own Mimi Alelis. I even love the look of freeform lace (by Myra Wood) even though I don't personally like making freeform crochet all that much.

So for those whose interest I managed to get piqued, I'm sharing with you the link to the latest free ebook from Interweave Crochet:

http://www.crochetme.com/Crochet-Lace/

"Crochet Lace Pattern #1
Corset Belt by Sandi Wiseheart— Inspired by such Hollywood stars as Queen Latifah, this easy crochet lace corset is crocheted using suede and accented with three crocheted flowers. Corset belts can be worn high or low, to accentuate your own favorite curves."

"Crochet Lace Pattern #2
 Broomstick Lace Capelet by Kate Pullen—Looking from broomstick lace patterns? Light and airy, the Broomstick Lace Capelet by Kate Pullen combines mohair and silk yarn with broomstick lace to create a capelet with the perfect combination of elegance and practicality. Surprisingly warm, this accessory highlights the beauty of broomstick crochet. Stylish enough for an evening out and cozy enough for a stroll by the water, the capelet makes a beautiful addition to many outfits."

"Crochet Lace Pattern #3
 Crocus Scarf by Laura Rintala—The Crocus Scarf by Laura Rintala lends the perfect crocheted lace touch to your spring ensemble. This easy crochet lace pattern is crocheted from luscious silk and begins with a simple fan-lace pattern."

"Crochet Lace Pattern #4
 Tunisian Lace Ascot by Ellen K. Gormley— If you want to learn Tunisian crochet, the Tunisian Lace Ascot by Ellen K. Gormley is a great introduction to this technique. This quick and simple crochet lace scarf transitions seamlessly through the seasons, and the easily memorized crochet lace pattern makes it an ideal travel project. Though simple, the result is elegant and practical."

"Crochet Lace Pattern #5
 Victorian-Inspired Lace Bracelet by Sarah Read— Don’t let the tiny hook and thread fool you—this charming crochet lace pattern works up quickly. The Victorian-Inspired Lace Bracelet by Sarah Read is reminiscent of historic thread crochet. Inspired by vintage Weldon's patterns, this charming lace bracelet makes a fast gift and shifts effortlessly from elegant to modern."


Of all these patterns, I've only made the bracelet (and I made it a looong time ago!). I made a few variations, though: I made a strap with an improvised, crocheted toggle clasp for easier closure. Here are a few pictures, and you can see my Ravelry project page for it, too: http://ravel.me/clairethere/vilb

I do love the Tunisian ascot and broomstick lace capelet! I don't see any practical uses for those though... *sigh* But it's always great to learn a new crochet technique. :)

Happy hooking!

Whoot!

Owls. I became OBSESSED with them last week. For no particular reason that I could fathom. I mean, I haven't even seen The Owls of Ga'hoole yet (I'm not particularly excited by the story, but it amused me to no end that the owls had English accents). I noticed that there are a lot of crochet patterns for owl-y things. They ranged from fugly to frakking cute.

Hands down, my favorite was Rupert the Owl by Irene Strange. I gazed at it during all my breaks at work for one week before caving in and buying the pattern on Ravelry. I both love and hate that designers can have pattern shops there--it means easy access to all the lovely patterns. Instant gratification which unfortunately equates to increased spending (at least for me :D).

But for this particular pattern, I knew that I was going to get my money's worth. I've seen how the author explains the pattern via written instructions, graphs, and photo tutorial. She has some free patterns available on her website and on Ravelry.

I immediately set off to work on it. But I didn't make a toy... I made a cozy for my MP3 player! My player looks like Mickey Mouse. Seriously.

Whoot with Mickey

close,

I attached a button on the back so I can open and close Whoot's head, and a loop on top so I can wear her on a necklace. :)

open!

I don't often make things that have color changes after every single row, and lots of sewing and finishing involved. But I'm really happy with this one. I just might make another. :D

Mama for my Mommy

Catholics here in the Philippines affectionately call the Blessed Mother “Mama Mary.” My mom has always been a devotee, specially to Our Lady of Guadalupe. When I showed her this shawl, she literally begged me to make it for her. :) The pattern is called Blessed Mother Shawl, and is available for free (!!!) at Crochet! Magazine's website.

I love how it came out. With such light rayon thread, it feels like a hug when worn. Doesn’t really make you feel all that warm -- perfect for my mom who scarcely feels cold.

Finished the shawl in 3 days. Delayed adding fringe until the last minute. Just in time for mother’s day! :)

Love the pattern, even though the tiny filet chart may have caused permanent damage to my eyes (I swear they’re a little closer together now).

If you want to talk shop, visit my project page for this shawl at http://ravel.me/clairethere/bmps

I hope you all had a wonderful celebration of mother's day! :) I think no matter how much we do for our moms, we'll never outdo all they've done for us... Hurrah for moms!

Oh Baby, Baby, Baby (pronounced "bay-beh")

I just finished making the first ever baby-related crochet project. ... And now I understand why people skedaddle to crochet things at every drop of a baby.

Soooooo frakking cuuuuuuuuute... I wish it fits my head. But then again, only a cute innocent little angel can do justice to this hat. :)

Thanks (a million times over) to Ms. Mimi for the free pattern... She posted about this on her blog, but the pattern is available only on Ravelry (login needed).

 The flower is from Suzann Thompson's Crochet Bouquet. The five-petal Traditional Rose. :) Lovelovelove.

Hole-y Week

As I was going home from work last Wednesday (Holy Wednesday), I mentally prepared myself for a long weekend of contemplation. The following days, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Black Saturday are observed traditionally at our home. I found myself wishing that I'd bought "Crochet Today" magazines at Booksale--what better way to pass quiet days than working on a mindless crochet project, right?


I decided against that though, since I felt guilty of all the books and magazines I had at home already. Lent is partly about shedding unnecessary trivialities, after all.


So I get home. Waiting for me is a package from a local courier. It's my Interweave Crochet magazine! :D And it's the Spring issue, too! I subscribed to Interweave Crochet last year... I was disappointed when January rolled around and I hadn't received my Winter issue yet. I let their office know, and they sent another copy. February rolled around, and I had lost hope. Not in Interweave, but in our local post office. LOL. So I was SHOCKED when I saw the magazine calmly waiting for me (Yes, it appeared so very calm as opposed to my shock. :D).


THE VERDICT:


I love it. Comparing it with Crochet Today, it's meat compared to fluff. Crochet Today is filled with easily completed projects. Whereas Interweave Crochet has in-depth discussions, and a wider range of difficulty levels for projects. Don't get me wrong, I like Crochet Today too. Mainly because the projects they publish look so current and are easy to complete. But I especially loved the designs from Interweave because a lot of them used shells, plus there was a complete article about shells from Doris Chan. She discusses the varieties of shell stitches (all of them lovely) and how they can be used to contour garments and projects.


So, without further ado, I present to you my first Tunisian entrelac project:


This is the Forest Petals Shawl (or at least a miniature version). I loved learning how to do Tunisian, and entrelac at the same time too! Granted, I made quite a few attempts before the thing bore a similarity to the picture... All the same I'm proud of myself because I managed to learn how to do it based on instructions that assumed readers knew the basics of Tunisian entrelac. Here it is, totally unblocked and curling at the edges. :D

I used a regular size F hook -- the diamonds were small so I could use the normal hook. I was just so happy that I was able to manage the gauge swatch, that I just continued on until my Canon size 8 thread ran out. Here is a closer look at the diamonds:

Oh and as for the free pattern, Interweave is giving away an e-book with 8 Free Scarf Patterns.


And the fabulous Mimi Alelis just published a free pattern, perfect for summer. :) It's the Tropical Shawl -- a lovely openwork shawl made in multicolor Cannon thread with a large hook. The pattern for the cute flower accent is also available at her blog. :)


That felt good.*sigh* This is what happens when I don't blog often -- sorry for the uber long post! :D Happy hooking everyone!


Oh, and update: I got the Interweave Crochet winter issue today! :)

But on the upside...

CrochetMe is giving away a free eBook: 6 Free Crochet Hat Patterns: Crochet Hats with CrochetMe.

You just have to subscribe to their newsletter though. :)

Feeling very Christmassy

I logged on to Ravelry this morning, and found myself in rapture when I found this little angel pattern for free!


I've always been an admirer of Elizabeth Ann White's designs. I love traditional crochet and quirky color combinations, and she combines them both in her patterns. I love the colorful crinoline ladies and textured flowers that she uses to adorn her doilies -- even though I'm no big fan of doilies.

The only real problem I have with her designs is... That the ones I like are not available for free. :D

So I was really happy when I came across this lovely little angel. Check out the free pattern over at the author's blog: http://bellacrochet.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-angel-free-pattern-for-you.html

Colorrificacious

I saw this bag at the Coats and Clark website under their free crochet patterns section:


... And I fell in lust. :D

I love the color changes, and how the dots look like little hearts. This is a challenging project for me--I hate tedious construction. But I love it so much that I'm willing to try it. :D

The first part to make is the base. This is what I've got so far:


Tres cute, right? Wait till you see the back, though:


It looks like a houndstooth pattern drawn by a kid. Or a houndstooth pattern made by a hound with his tooth. :|

This is my first time doing colorwork, and I'm afraid I'm doing it wrong... :( Hope it's supposed to look like this.

P.S. Yes, that's my spankin' new glow in the dark crochet hook! Found it in CraftWorld Megamall. Oh, and you can get the free pattern for the bag here: http://www.coatsandclark.com/Crafts/Crochet/Projects/Accessories/WR1935+Everyday+Tote.htm

Amigurumi Love

So I came across this lovely website today: http://suncatchereyes.net.

She sells doll parts and doll patterns online. Most importantly, I found her free patterns page!

Clicky here. NOW.

A few of my faves:

You spin me right round, baby right round...

I just love making a crocheted item when the pattern calls for working in the round because:

1. It works up really fast.

The picture above was taken in the car, on my way to work this morning. I started working on that in the car! I was only about 10-15 minutes into the project, but it's already larger than a coaster.

2. It's so easy to hide the tail!

This is the tail of the project, the one left off at the start while making the beginning chain. I picked up this very useful technique in Debby Stoller's book, Stitch N' Bitch: The Happy Hooker. I crochet over the tail in the first round. That way, I the tail is hidden under the first round and I can just snip it off at the back!

See? Tail-o incog-neat-o! (Ooh I'm loving that pun! LOL)

3. It doesn't have to be round.

Just because I'm working in rounds, doesn't mean I'm working on a circular object. It can be any shape, with or without corners. The one I'm working on is a hexagon.

And the finished product? :)

I made the Travel Jewelry Pouch from Drew Emborsky AKA The Crochet Dude. It's a free pattern -- go ahead and give it a try! I finished mine in one morning--a work day, at that!


Two basic hexagon motifs are stacked on each other. I crocheted together the spaces in the motif, so that the little pouch could have six tiny panel pockets. I love it. I'm not sure I'm going to use it, though. It's so pink! I can't seem to stop making pink things!

This would be a nice accompaniment if you're thinking of giving jewelry to someone. I was also thinking how it would make a great organizer, if you use it inside-out.

Yey, Drops!

Received an email today from GarnStudio Drops Design:

"

"The new DROPS collection for fall & winter 2009/10 are being posted online!

Thank you very much for your help in voting.

We greatly appreciate you taking the time to vote.

The design team read all the comments and feedback we receive. All your comments are extremely useful and we do our outmost to fulfil all your wishes and requests. There are some strong favorites and the best of these will be featured on the front pages of the DROPS catalogs.

We will begin posting the new collection this week. The patterns will be posted continuously as they have been checked, proof read, translated and all the diagrams have been completed.

As always we are looking forward to your comments once you begin knitting the garments. Remember that you can leave comments and feedback directly on the pattern itself. If you have your own blogg with pictures of your finished garment, please leave a copy on our pattern blogg.

SEE THE ENTIRE COLLECTION AND FIND THE PATTERNS HERE

Kind regardsDROPS Design/GARNSTUDIO"

I've always been a fan of theirs. Although most of their designs are for knitting, there are still quite a lot of crochet patterns -- eleven pages on their website, to be exact. Here are some of my faves (these are also quite popular over at Ravelry):



Crocheted Slippers -- Although these might be impractical for someone living in the Philippines, I love the look of this. I would gladly make a pair. In fact, I'm looking for an excuse to make one. =D

Crocheted Headband with Flowers -- This looks soooo cute. Just right for all the hippies-at-heart.

Crocheted Bolero -- I just love cropped cover-ups. I can never get enough of shrugs, wraps, shawls, and capelets! I specially love the lacy look of this one -- perfect for the ever-changing weather here.

Circle Jacket -- I truly love this one. I just want to have the guts (and proper yarn) to crochet this... The enormity of it scares me a little bit.

Free Pattern Alert! - Beyond the Sea Hat

I just love this Beyond the Sea hat. The author originally sold this pattern for $2.50 on Etsy. Now, because of the original hat's untimely demise, she put up the pattern for free on Ravelry. Check out her blog for the Ravelry link.

I am SO making this! XD