Sonata Shawl pattern available

The pattern for the Sonata Shawl in the "Ice" colourway of mercerized cotton from Blue Heron Yarns is now available for purchase through my website. I combined the dense stitches of large clusters with airier double-trebles and some chain stitch mesh to create visual interest and to make it fun to crochet. Originally I thought of this lightweight shawl as something for spring and summer, but it looks gorgeous over a turtleneck, too, so I reclassified it into the "year-round" category. I can't wait to make more of these in other Blue Heron colors, starting with "Spanish Dancer," "Mossy Place," or "Slate." Hard to choose but impossible to go wrong!

Upcoming Event at Lion Brand Studio

The Lion Brand Yarn Studio opened last fall in New York City. It’s a fabulous space that combines retail, classrooms, and display areas. A yarn-lover’s dream (and featured on Martha Stewart’s show this week)!

Five of the sixteen projects in my Tunisian Crochet book, including this sleeveless shell in organic cotton, use Lion Brand products, so it would be a perfect venue for a book-signing and Tunisian crochet demonstration. The staff agreed, so I will be doing a book-signing/demo event at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio on October 1.

Sonata Shawl

In music, a sonata has several movements. Some are fast, some are slow, later ones evoke earlier ones, and they all fit together in a beautiful whole. That concept inspired the name of this shawl. When I began to experiment with this hand-dyed mercerized cotton in the "Ice" colourway from Blue Heron Yarns, I kept going back and forth between open stitch patterns and denser ones. It seemed a shame not to show it off both ways, so I picked a few patterns that worked well together. As soon as the pattern (with better photos!) is available, I'll post the ordering information.

Stained Glass Scarf pattern finished

After taking some new photos and whipping the pattern into publishable shape, the Stained Glass Scarf is finished and is now available on my website. I enjoyed using the PolarKnit yarn. It's very soft and warm. This was fun to make, with a crocheted mesh and then the bright colors woven through.

Crochet Get-Together

Last night I had the pleasure of joining local knitters and crocheters for their weekly get-together. Some people I had met before; for others, this was our first meeting. Everyone was working on such interesting and beautiful projects!

I got to show them the advance copy of Tunisian Crochet. As is always the case, they were amazed at how the Tunisian stitches look knitted or woven. A case in point is this Hug-a-licious jumper, one of the patterns in the book. It is done in Tunisian knit stitch but looks for all the world like it is knit in stockinette. Tunisian adds so much to a crocheter's bag of tricks!

Blue Heron silk/merino

I'm designing a garment made of silk/merino in the Ocean colourway from Blue Heron Yarns. The deeply saturated jewel tone yarn has a slight sheen, almost like sunlight glinting off water, and it's amazingly lightweight with beautiful drape. I'm having fun with this project! Here's a little snippet of what the item looks like; when I complete the design and confirm the details with Blue Heron, I'll post a picture of the finished garment.

Stained Glass Scarf

PolarKnit yarn is so soft and snuggly! I was lucky enough to receive a bag of samples to design with. When I saw the bright colors next to the black, I immediately thought of stained glass. This crocheted and woven scarf worked up fast and fun. The pattern will be available for sale either on my site or from PolarKnits or both as soon as we work out the details...meanwhile, I'm working on a matching hat.

It's a Book!

An exciting day! I received an advance copy of Tunisian Crochet: The Look of Knitting with the Ease of Crocheting. The photos by Alan Wycheck look gorgeous, and the technique illustrations done by David Bienkowski are helpful and beautiful. I'm thrilled with the way the book came out! It is already available for pre-release purchase on Amazon, and should hit the shelves next month. Here's a bit of a sneak preview of the front, back, and inside. I'll try to take some better pictures in the next few days. And maybe I'll figure out how to get them all lined up on my blog entries... I'll be doing a book-signing at TNNA in Columbus in June. If anyone is interested in having me sign books and teach a Tunisian crochet class, please let me know!










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Crocheted Cable Scarf pattern available

After some very intense work creating a template for all future patterns, the first one is ready for sale through my website. It's the crocheted cable scarf in Bijou Spun yak-bamboo blend. I purchased a new tripod and set up a little photo studio to get clear technique pictures. Much better than my previous "earthquake" shots! The finished scarf is warm, soft,

and lightweight, and does not shed. Now that the pattern is published, I can get to work on my designs for a hat and mittens to go with the scarf.