Week 4: How did you learn to crochet, or who taught you?

My crochet history isn't very glamorous or a heartfelt tribute to someone who lovingly taught me to crochet. Nope, I taught myself. But, I guess in a way it is a tribute, a tribute to books and how important they have been, and are, in my life.

Learning to crochet had been on my to-do list for some time. A former co-worker of mine had crocheted me a set of the most beautiful place mats. I imagined that they took her a really long time to make, but she assured me that it hadn't. She taught me how to make a chain, but we never really got beyond that point. It wasn't until a few years had passed that I decided I was going to take the time to learn. So, I bought myself a kit and I went through the instructions step by step. I was "hooked". I wanted to learn as many stitches and techniques as I could, and books were (and are) my best teachers.

Books, for as long as I can remember, have been a constant in my life, and since I learned, crochet has been too. And I am so grateful! Gratitude grounds me, and reading and crocheting truly are simple joys that I enjoy every day. I hope that others will be inspired to learn something new with this Challenge, and hey, I know a great book that can help . . .

Welcome to week 4 of the 52 Week Crochet Challenge! It's not too late to join in the fun:
52 Week Crochet Challenge
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Week 3: Celebrate Spring with Flowers

Week 3 of the 52 Week Crochet Challenge is here! The challenge is to crochet a flower, or make a project that has a flower motif or theme in celebration of the first day of spring. It's hard to believe that spring officially arrives tomorrow but I am sure we are all ready to welcome it!

For my project I chose to make a flower decoration.

I began each flower with a long length of yarn, then crocheted a basic 5 petal flower. I sewed a pony bead to each center. For the vine I crocheted a long chain and worked slip stitches into it, working more than one stitch into some of the chains to give it the curl. To finish I attached a keychain hook to the vine. I cut the lengths of the flower yarns to different lengths and knotted all the flowers and the vine together at the top. It measures about 15 inches long.

I made this decoration as a pick me up for a boring black tote bag that I use.  Now, it's not the only tote or bag that I have, because like office supplies, tote bags are an addiction of mine :) But, what's special about this one is that it's got ------------------------------------wheels! You can't see them in the picture, but they're there, and it is so handy to use especially when I am teaching a class and have tons of stuff to bring.

I like that it easily hooks onto the bag and I can change out the decoration each season if I want to. But for now I will be enjoying the bright happy colors and saying hello to Spring!

Links:


52 Week Crochet Challenge- it's not too late to join!
Ravelry Group

Week 2: Start a Crochet Notebook, Journal, Scrapbook or Blog

Week 2 of the 52 Week Crochet Challenge is here, and since I already have a crochet notebook, journal, scrapbook and blog, I thought I would share my notebook with you.

I have to admit I am crazy for office supplies, so when I came across this notebook, I had to have it. What I love most about it is that the pages are graph paper. The graph paper makes it super easy to draw out stitch charts neatly. I also found a handy cover for it. It's clear plastic and has a zipper close pocket where I can store my pencils, color wheel and whatever else.

I started this notebook while working on my book Crochet-opedia and it's helped keep me organized. I can easily find notes, patterns I'm working on, design sketches, and anything else I need to keep track of. I also find that it's made me even more creative. Just looking through it is inspirational to me and will spark my creativity.

I also like to play with color. The picture above is a free blanket pattern that I created for the National Crochet Month blog roll, hosted last year by Crochetville.http://crochetville.com/ The blanket is worked in squares that are then joined together, but I wasn't sure exactly how I was going to arrange them, so I colored squares and cut them out. Then I was able to play around with the placement. It was a fun pattern to make, and it's on Ravelry here: Bright Striped Blocks Blanket Charity Pattern.

So, that's my crochet notebook, and my week 2 challenge. Thanks for visiting, enjoy!

Week 1: How Do You Celebrate National Crochet Month?

Happy National Crochet Month!

This year I am celebrating National Crochet Month by hosting a year long crochet challenge! It's off to a great start and there are already over 60 members signed up in the Ravelry group.

I'm looking forward to great year of crochet, 

new friends, and new challenges. 

I don't think there is a better way to celebrate than that!

Join the fun! 

It's easy to jump in, just click the link below to download a pdf of the weekly challenges. 

Then email me a link of your blog if you'd like to be added to the blog roll list. 

You can also find us on Ravelry!

52 Week Crochet Challenge: Get Started

Ravelry Group