CATCHING UP WITH THINGS....

So, first off, I mailed my surprise stash yarn package to my winner Hakucho. She's been a reader of my blog for a few years now, and I've followed her blog too! Why don't you drop by her blog today and see all the beautiful knitting she does. So inspiring, practical and fun! Maybe she even posted photos of what she received from me.... Speaking of readership... Even though I supposedly have over 26, 000 visitors to my blog (if you can believe the counter)based on the lack of commenter's, I couldn't help but notice that mine has dropped off a bit. Of course, I'm totally to blame because I have so sadly neglected my blog over the past year. To maintain a blog one needs time and lots of it! How to repair the damage I've done? Post more and relevantly too? And, how does one go about generating a large following? By posting regularly? Daily? weekly? Sign up with a blog list? Does anyone one know of any good ones? And, hey folks, leave a comment already! I love hearing from you guys! I make it a point to always visit the blogs that leave comments. It's the neighborly thing to do. I always drop a line or two when I visit others, so don't you be shy! Anyway, how to increase my readership..... Posting scads of colorful and unique creations or just plain old vanilla type knit or crochet? AH! And should it be knitting, crocheting or both? IMHO, I think crochet is undergoing it's very own renaissance movement right now. Take a look at this, this, and this, favorite sites of mine and you'll see what I mean. The new catch phrase is "Granny Chic". I love it! Looks like knitting might be taking a turn in the back seat, but not for too long. Everything is cyclic, even in the creative craft world. Which leads me to this: I want to concentrate on crocheting more for my charity because the results are quick, and gratifying. There are excellent videos on YouTube for the Scrappy Steps Afghan. Looks like a great stash buster for oddballs of leftover yarn. Aren't those baby shoes adorable? My favorite is the pair that looks Japanese.

I can honestly tell you that this is an excellent resource for anyone who loves to crochet. Even if you're only thinking of learning, or a brand newbie, this book is full of easy to follow instructions, covering basics to Tunisian. I'm loving more and more the way a simply single crocheted dishcloth made with Sugar and Creme cotton and a size H hook looks and feels. I blinked and it was done! Chain 25, work only the back loops, quit when it feels right to do so. No blocking needed. Yes, I still love my knitting needles, just in case you've been wondering if I've gone completely GA-GA for crochet! I've been wanting for years to give The Accidental Bobble by Coming Unravelled a go.

This, too, worked up very quickly, and was quite pretty, so I was glad that I finally made the time to try this pattern. Find it here. As we were invited by our neighbors to a weekend ST. Patrick's dinner, I added this quickly knit shamrock to my last minute hostess gift. My thanks to Vicki Howell for this one. As long as you can knit or crochet you need never go empty handed to a social gathering! Until later, Happy Spring!

GOOD MORNING, MONDAY!!!

Keeping with my commitment to a regular posting schedule, today I'll update you with a few photos of recent FOs.


Ever since returning from Stitches East 2010 in Hartford, Ct. I've been totally intrigued with the art of Tunisian Crochet. The Bagsmith provided great demos at the show for both knitting and working Tunisian stitches on gigantic long crochet hooks and needles, using several combinations of yarns at once. Think "Stash Buster"! If you visit the site I linked you'll see a great video on getting started crocheting Tunisian style. Although I'm eager to dig into my Stash and get busy working with the collection of interesting novelty yarns I've amassed over the years, I've played around mostly with the dishcloth cotton stash and Tunisian crochet. I enjoy the process and the outcome!Very easy and quick, IMHO. The cotton becomes more like a thickened woven mat with a stiffer body. I'm seeing the potential for a bath mat or baskets.

I probably could have just left the potholder as a single layer but wanted to have two different front and back designs. The checkerboard design was worked in panels, with the second and third panels connected to the previous panel as each end of row stitch was worked. I really didn't have a pattern for this initially, just made it work for me as I went along. But, you can order this book for some guidance and patterns, which I eventually did!
And here is the back. Just some Sugar and Cream cotton Ombre and some bits of hot green to finish around the edges and connect the two cloths at the same time. I think I used a G or J hook, but you get some great looks and draping by going up in hook sizes. I like to use a K double hook for dishcloths for just that reason and to change colors, but, really, you could get by with just a crochet hook that's a bit on the longer side to accommodate your # of stitches.

I'll be doing a lot more of this, I think!

Until next week-happy Tunisian!

AND THE WINNER IS....

HAKUCHO!!!!!!

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 3 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Stop by her great blog for a visit and a little inspiration too! And Hakucho, let me know what type of fiber you'd let me to send to you!

Many thanks to those who responded. I appreciate your comments and kind thoughts!

Not a big response to my previous post. Apparently, various knitting groups no longer allowtheir members to post blog updates or giveaways to the group. AHEM! Oh well, that's the way the yarn ball rolls....

Or, perhaps the lack of response has more to do with folks HAVING MORE OF THEIR OWN STASH THAT THEY COULD POSSIBLY USE UP IN THEIR LIFETIME???

I get it.

Anyway, here's what I've been up to:

Another nice dent made in my dishcloth cotton stash.
Until next week-
Happy knitting!