Fabulous Friday Finds - Cool Crochet

I have a bookmark folder on my computer titled "Cool Crochet". I've been collecting odd, funny, and really cool crochet links, so I thought I would share a few with you on this fabulous Friday.


An awesome way to dress up your car



I smile every time I look at that picture :)




An amazing crochet artist



Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

Yarn Dyeing Sheep & Wool Festival

Last weekend was lots of fun despite the cool and windy weather. I went to the Sheep & Wool Festival at Mt. Bruce Station and had a great time! I was able to take a yarn dyeing class, which I thought was very informative. The instructor showed us how to dye yarn using the water immersion method using acid dyes. Here's a photo of the gorgeous yarn, dyed in three different autumn colors.



And here's a pic of my yarn swift - getting ready to wind:


The yarn is sock weight, wool, a bit of nylon, and something else that I can't remember (and didn't write down!). Now is the hard part:


What do I want to make? Socks maybe? I'd really like to find a good toe-up crochet sock pattern. Or maybe a pair of fingerless gloves? I wonder if there's enough yarn to make a neck cowl?
Hmm, I don't know yet, but suggestions are welcome :)

Monarch Butterflies Passing Through Michigan and The Butterfly Project

I was lucky to have spotted a lot of Monarch Butterflies around our house the last week of August. Especially around our willow trees, they were hanging out in groups, so I was determined to take some photos. I wasn't able to find a group of them, but this little guy was hanging around.




Cool picture? I thought so! It was getting close to dusk, so I used the auto setting with flash. I tweaked it a bit in Paint.net to darken the background up.

Being curious about the migration I found this great site: Journey North's Monarch Butterfly Migration. Lots of info here, FAQ's, maps, and lists of sightings. There's quite a few sightings listed in Michigan - I'm not surprised!

And along with my Monarch sightings, it called to mind a very special project which I plan on donating to - The Butterfly Project. Thank you Doris! She's my crochet friend that let our crochet team know about this, and you can read Doris's original blog post about the project here. But essentially, The Holocaust Museum Houston is collecting 1.5 million handmade butterflies in remembrance of the innocent children who perished.

I will be sending in some crocheted (of course!) butterflies and I found this great 2-D pattern here. But, they don't have to be crocheted and can be made in any medium. This would be a great project for kids.

Here are a few pics of some butterflies I crocheted. The first I made in worsted weight yarn.


The smaller butterflies I made using variegated embroidery floss. I used to love to cross stitch, but don't anymore, so I have tons of floss. Each butterfly took less than 1 skein and I used a size 3 (2.10 mm) steel crochet hook. I think they turned out really pretty!

Piece of Cake Potholder - NEW Crochet pdf Pattern

Today I listed a new pattern in my shops:


Cute, whimsical, and quick to make :) Here's more pattern details:

Who doesn't love cake?! This cute and whimsical potholder is a really fun project and quick to crochet. You'll need 100% cotton yarn and sizes G and F hooks to complete this intermediate pattern. The finished size of your potholder will be 6.5 inches (19 cm) wide by 6 inches (15.2 cm) tall.

This pattern includes complete instructions and color photos in a pdf file. My patterns also include a Helps & Hints section to explain and show (with photographs) techniques and steps that may be unfamiliar to you. Also included are explanations of special stitches and a list of abbreviations used in the pattern.

This would make a great gift for birthdays or any celebration. Choose different yarn colors for different “flavors”. The potholder is reversible so you can “decorate” the frosting to suit your “tastes”. They also look cute displayed in a kitchen and make a fun and useful gift!

You can purchase this pattern by clicking on the Pattern Downloads button, or visit my:

Ravelry Pattern shop (also instant downloads upon payment)

RedBerryCrochet Etsy Shop

redberrycrochet.ecrater.com

Thanks for visiting, and please check back for more new pattern updates!

Special Olympics Michigan Charity Scarf Project

I was spending some time in the forums the other night and someone had posted information about this Michigan Special Olympics Charity Scarf Project.

I had donated scarves to 2009 World Games and the response was overwhelming and the organizers had extra scarves to share with the local community of Boise. So, I really like the idea of helping out in my home state and will be making scarves to donate. I will encourage my fellow crocheter/knitter friends to do so too, it's an easy and fun way to contribute!

Here is some more information about this project:

Scarf Project for Special Olympics Michigan Winter Games

Scarf Project Deadline January 15, 2011
Goal: 2500 scarves

Yarn: Coats and Clark Red Heart Soft Yarn #9518 Teal & #9925 Really Red or Red Heart Super Saver #0656 Real Teal & 0319 Cherry Red. These are the official colors of the Special Olympics Michigan.

The requirements for the scarves are that they are hand knit or crocheted using a combination of the above two colors. Sizes for the scarves are 6 inches wide and 50 to 60 inches in length but you can use any pattern that you would like.

Please send or deliver completed scarves to:

Special Olympics Michigan
3800 Hamlin Road
Auburn Hills, MI 48326 or

Thank you to cstewart who had posted the original thread I found on Ravelry. If you belong to Ravelry you can find the link here: http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/michigan-yarn-sales/1163479/1-25#reply_form
and if you're not on Ravelry - why not? It's free to join, full of information, and a really great community of wonderful fiber enthusiasts!



Click for more info and to see my finished scarves:
http://redberrycrochet.blogspot.com/2010/12/special-olympics-michigan-charity-scarf.html

Red Berry Crochet is having a sale!

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RedBerryCrochet - SALE EXTENDED through Sunday, May 2nd - Receive 10% off all items (pdf patterns not included, see special below). Put RHHN in the notes to seller and I will send a revised invoice. Or I will refund the discount amount if you've already paid.

BOGO Free! - Purchase any crochet pdf pattern from my shop and receive another (of equal or lesser value) absolutely free! Purchase the higher priced pattern and let me know of your free pattern choice in the notes to seller at checkout.
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Please note that the sale discounts are through my Etsy shop only. Stop in for crochet pdf patterns, crocheted goodies, yarn, stitch markers and more!

Baby Blocks Blanket and Sneaker Booties for Baby Boy

Here's a cute baby blanket that I made for a friend who is due very soon. The pattern is from the February 2010 Crochet World magazine and is designed by Lisa Naskrent for Caron International. I made the blanket in little boy colors to match his new room using Caron Simply soft yarn. I am really happy with the way it turned out, and my friend loves it! It really has a cozy look to it, modern, yet retro too.







I had some extra yarn and couldn't resist these cute baby hi-top booties, designed by Lisa Gentry. So cute! And fun to make too.




I've just started another baby blanket for a little girl. I'm futzing with the pattern, and will post pics when I've finished it. I haven't made baby blankets in awhile, now it's 2 in a row. They say good things come in 3's . . . hmm, maybe another friend or relative is expecting? Wouldn't that be fun!

Continuing Crochet - Weeks 3 and 4

These 2 weeks were busy for the Continuing Crochet Class. Week 3 we concentrated on motifs, joining, seaming, and basic construction of garments.

Above is a slightly modified motif pattern from the book Beyond the Square: Crochet Motifs by Edie Eckman. This is a great book with lots of patterns, and includes tips for making your motifs, finishing them, joining, and much more. It is one of the most detailed and useful books on crochet motifs that I have found.

For the second half of class I demonstrated joining motifs, and seaming. I also discussed basic construction for garments. I brought a finished sweater, an unfinished sweater, and a pair of socks, plus we also talked about glove and mitten construction. I brought along the patterns to show as examples. My goal was to show my students the basics of shaping techniques in different patterns and also to show them the schematics for the sweaters. We also discussed the importance of gauge (which had been stressed repeatedly in the beginners class).

Week 4 I taught them the basic afghan (Tunisian) stitch, and supplied them with simple charts (heart, sailboat, clover) that they could use to cross stitch onto their finished fabric swatches. I showed them a scarflette of my own design I made using a different Tunisian stitch:





They picked up the Tunisian Simple Stitch really quickly, and were eager to move onto bead crochet, which they also learned really quick and were surprised at how easy it is. So, here is the finished bead crochet project, a girls beaded drawstring purse of my own design.



Whew! We covered a lot of different subjects these 2 weeks, but my class was ready and eager to learn. I wish I had taken photos of their finished projects, I am kicking myself for not doing so! One lady made a gorgeous motif shawl, and quite a few finished their beaded bags before the 5th class! I am very proud of them all :)

Thanks for stopping by, and next week I will update you on Weeks 5 and 6.

Links: Continuing Crochet - Weeks 1 and 2

Continuing Crochet - Weeks 1 and 2

So I haven't been busy blogging (obviously) but I have been busy crocheting and I thought I would post here about what I've been up to. I am currently teaching a Continuing Crochet class that is 7 weeks long, and this Thursday will be our 6th class. I didn't have a set lesson plan because I wanted to find out from my students what sort of projects they would be interested in learning. So, each week I devise a lesson plan and work up a project for the next class. It has been a success, with 8 to 10 students each week.

The first week, I wanted to keep it fun and get some ideas from the students about future projects, so I started with embellishments.


We learned how to make fringe, tassels, pom poms, and twisted cord. I had square cardboard templates for the fringe/tassels and circular templates for the pom poms. Pictured above are the samples that I made up. The blue variegated tassel is made from size 3 thread.

Week 2 centered around color work. I handed out a ripple scarf pattern that I designed, which includes simple color changes.


I haven't yet decided if I'm going to add fringe to mine or not. I'm real happy with the colors I chose for this project. Several of my students have completed their scarves, and they really enjoyed working this stitch and pattern.

The same week I also introduced them to working from color charts. And here is the chart:

Each square represents 1 stitch in single crochet, and 2 stitches in double crochet. I also provided them with basic instructions to complete a potholder.


Above are pictures of the front and back of my sample. We used the stranding method (also called the carry over method) to work the colors for this project.

Pictured below, the top photo shows the same chart worked in single crochet. The picture below that is a single crochet fabric with cross stitches worked over them.


The cross stitch sample above reminds me that I still haven't completed my Search to Be Square, but I have several samples of that to post later on. I will also update you next week of Continuing Crochet - Weeks 3 and 4.

Thanks for stopping in :)

Piece of Cake - A Self Imposed Deadline

Piece of Cake Potholder
Back on a November 2 blog post I challenged myself to a deadline of December 8th (today, he, he) to create a new design. I decided then that I wanted to make a new potholder, and at not quite the 11th hour, I've finished it :)



I'm really happy with the way it turned out, and I love that it is reversible and looks great on both sides. I will be sending out the pattern to be tested and I am working on getting a pdf file together.

Self imposed deadlines are a really great idea for me, and I was really inspired!

Stay tuned for the pattern listing announcement, and also a new challenge (self imposed of course!) Now I want to eat some cake - nom, nom, nom . . .