Crochet Bean Bag or Pin Cushion...You Decide!

If you have been reading my blog for long, you know that I love to come up with other ways to use patterns I have designed.  The other day, I was sewing a Moroccan belt for my daughter to wear for international day at school, and I realized I didn't have a pin cushion!  Laying the pins on the table proved to be dangerous, because they kept rolling off and were almost stepped on by my husband.  I saw one of my daughter's bean bags lying around, and got the idea to use it as a pin cushion.  It worked very well and looked very cute next to the sewing machine!  

With 4 different circus balls to choose from you could make a nice little pin cushion for yourself, or to give as a gift.  I also love the idea of this as a pin cushion for a child's first sewing box.  

The "Cirque Du Crochet" bean bag pattern is available for FREE on Tangled Magazine's website!  

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"The Cure" Crochet Necklace

I am so happy to be able to reveal "The Cure" necklace, featured in the latest issue of Tangled online magazine.  It is a special issue in honor of the Sock Summit, so all of the patterns use sock yarn.  It really is a fantastic issue filled with beautiful designs.

When I saw the call for submissions for this issue I was thrilled, as I enjoy using sock yarn for accessories. The background squares in this necklace and the linking rings are crocheted in Berroco's Comfort Sock yarn.  It is one of my favorite yarns for jewelry making, since it is fine and soft.  It is perfect for wearing next to the skin.  I chose DMC variegated pearl cotton for the motifs and ring detail, as I needed something finer than sock yarn, and the shades of color give the motifs depth.

This necklace is rated "experienced", because it includes thread crochet with a 1.65mm hook, and embroidery embellishment.  The Crochet work goes quite quickly, because there are only 3 elements in the necklace, and their patterns are easily memorized.  The really fun part of the project comes at the end, when you get to combine all of the pieces and see it come to life.  It is an eye-catching accessory that will turn heads wherever you go!  You can customize the size of the necklace, by adding or subtracting motifs and ring links to make it your desired length.

UPDATE: I have just created a stitch diagram for the motif and added it to the pattern pdf. If you would like to purchase the pattern, it is available for sale from Craftsy for $2.99.

Variations on the Helleborus Gloves

Version 1

Version 2

One of the most wonderful things about having your designs listed on Ravelry, is that you get to see what other crocheters have done with your pattern!  It was so exciting to discover these two versions of the Helleborus gloves I designed for the Winter Issue of Tangled Magazine.  Version 1, by Tracy St. John, has little flowers at the ends of the vines instead of berries.  Version 2, by Debbie Schuster features the gloves in a shorter length, 9".  Both are unique and beautiful, and show the versatility of the pattern.  It is also fun to see what the gloves look like made up in different colors.  I hope that others will post their photos on Ravelry, and that seeing these versions will encourage more people to make the gloves!

When I was preparing this blog post, I found out some interesting information about designs that  are featured in Tangled Magazine.  All of the patterns are very well tested!  Tracy St. John and Brittany Tyler, the creators of Tangled, work at Stix, a yarn shop in Bozeman, Montana.  This gives them the opportunity to be in contact with many knitters and crocheters.  

Sometimes they do a class at the shop to test selected Tangled patterns,  and sometimes they offer a class as a way to promote one of the designs which has already been published.  Classes are free of charge, and are open to people who have purchased the pattern (if it is an already published pay-pattern) and the materials for the class.

When I asked Tracy to tell me more about the pattern testing, she replied; "We have gotten very valuable feedback from students when we do a class to test a pattern....several errors have been found and we always find ways to clarify and refine a pattern when we are helping students work through them. We also have several customers who work through the Tangled designs as testers.  They get a free pattern and a discount on materials (or sometimes even free materials), and then they make notes, offer suggestions, and check math and size grading for us. It works really well to get lots of eyes at different skill levels looking at the instructions".

As a designer for Tangled, it is comforting knowing that the pattern has been tech edited and tested so thoroughly.  This gives me the chance to clarify anything in the pattern that may be difficult to understand, BEFORE the pattern is published!  This is also comforting for any stitcher who would like to purchase a pattern from the magazine.  Well done, Tangled!

Introducing The Helleborus Gloves!

I am so happy to be able to tell you about the Helleborus gloves I designed for Tangled Magazine!  I was excited when I found out about this unique online magazine, and I really wanted to be included in it.  

I originally submitted a wristlet design with the same style flower, vines and berries embellishing it.  Tangled later contacted me, to ask if I would mind using the same embellishment on some mittens or fingerless gloves.  I thought the vines would be showcased well on some elbow length gloves, so we agreed that I  would make them for their Winter issue.

When it was time to decide on yarn, I immediately thought of Berroco's Ultra Alpaca, as it is wonderful to work with and comes in an amazing array of colors.  For the background, I chose 2 colors that were very close, so that it would look almost like a shaded yarn, but I would have control as to where the colors would appear.  After I chose the base colors, the others just called out to me!  Thank you Berroco for generously providing the yarn support for this project!

After the fun of choosing the yarn colors, it was time to work out the shape of the gloves.  I really wanted them to be fitted so they would act as a canvas for the vines.  It was an interesting learning experience, and it made me look at the shape of the arm in a way I never had before.  It took a few fittings and adjustments to get the shape just right, but it was worth every minute when I saw the elegance of the finished gloves.  It is fairly easy to alter the size of the gloves to custom fit them to your arm, and some guidelines for doing so are included in the pattern.  

There is a diagram provided to help you place the vines, but feel free to arrange them however you please. They could even be different on each glove.  The main goal is to have fun with this pattern!

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