Yarnspiration & Crochet Crowd Cardigan Tutorial - love this video tutorial!!!

I wrote how I wanted to try my hand again at crocheting a top in this post. My YouTube subscription alerted me of a new crochet tutorial upload by The Crochet Crowd. It is a very simple granny square cardigan.

I sat and watched the tutorial this morning while sipping on my morning coffee. It doesn't seem very difficult at all!! Now my dilemma is deciding on a color palette and yarn. The pattern used Paton Classic Wool Worsted. Now I do not have this type of yarn on hand and I really do not want to purchase anymore at this moment. I do have wool yarn in a couple of different brands.

Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash:

I have a few colors in this brand, but I just don't know if I have enough to complete the whole project. These are the colors I have on hand:

Can you tell I love natural colors? LOL!!

I have plenty of the Walnut Heather and Pumpkin Spice so I know I could make these the main colors.

I also have a few skeins of Lion Brand Fisherman Wool in Maple Tweed. I just don't know if I want it all one color, but I do have enough to complete the project.

I have never mixed these two brands of yarn together in a project so I do not know how they would work up together. My thoughts are to maybe work up the body in the Lion Brand Fisherman's wool yarn and do the cuffing in the Walnut Heather in the Cascade brand. Anyway I do it, I think it will be a pretty quick project and once passed the center portion of each granny square, very non-thinking.

Work that Stitch Wednesday - Standing Stitch

Hi everyone! Hope you are enjoying my Wednesday posts. I am really learning a lot by doing these posts. Researching for tutorials for these stitches has really helped me understand the steps so much better. I hope it has help you as well.

I wrote about post stitch in my first installment of Work that Stitch Wednesday in this post. The Enchanted Garden Tote uses this stitch in a variety of ways. Bpsc (Back Post Single Crochet), Bphdc (Back post half-double crochet), Bpdc (Back post double crochet), Bptr (Back post treble crochet), Fpsc (Front post single crochet), Fphdc (Front post half-double crochet), Fpdc (Front post double crochet) and Fptr (Front post treble crochet) are all the post stitches throughout this pattern. So glad I have been checking out tutorials on the post stitch!! I will need to look at a few more tutorials for the different variance such as the half-double crochet and treble crochet post stitches, but I am at least familiar with the process already.

In my second installment of Work that Stitch Wednesday I wrote about the Bobble Stitch. Again this stitch is used in the Enchanted Garden Tote. It is called the Bubble Stitch in this pattern but it is pretty much the same stitch. A few great video tutorials can be found by clicking on this link.

Standing Stitch

The Standing Stitch is the stitch I will be writing about today. This stitch allows you to begin a new row in a new color without having to join the yarn the a slip stitch and chaining one and then a single crochet. I have used this stitch in the past but never really knew it was the standing stitch. Now that I have studied the tutorial I do believe this will be my go to stitch when I am working with rows of multiple colors. It keeps the edges so much cleaner! Please check out this terrific tutorial by Marly Bird.

The Standing Stitch is used in the Mandala portion of the tote at about row 8 right before you begin the Crocodile Stitch Flower and then again at around row 30.

Photo source

Until next week, be creative!!

Winnie

Work that Stitch Wednesday - Crocodile Stitch

Hello everyone! If you have followed my blog you know that I am a planner. I research a pattern and break it down to the tiniest details before I dive into making the project. As I wrote about the Enchanted Garden Tote many months ago, I am still in the planning stage for this anticipated project.

The Enchanted Garden Tote is a purchasable pattern so I won't post all the details of it on my blog, but I can breakdown a few of the trickier stitches. As with the internet you can find so many free tutorials and patterns that you may never have to purchase a pattern in the entirety of your creative endeavors. I do find that some patterns are just worth the money and I will splurge on them. I did with the Enchanted Garden Tote and thrilled that I did. As I posted before, this pattern is a three pattern combination and is nearly 100 pages. I am still reading over the patterns and making my notes. (my planner personality gets the best of me sometimes)

One of the more interesting stitches is the Crocodile Stitch. A wonderful written beginner's guide to the Crocodile Stitch can be read over at Red Heart. I love how they explain the stitch as a layered look stitch. This stitch can add so many different variances to a project.

You can see how this stitch creates a beautiful flower.

Picture Courtesy of Courtney Laube Designs

My goal is to practice the stitches in this pattern before diving into it. I figure if I get the concept of the special stitch combinations prior to actually tackling the project, it will go much easier and enjoyable. It's no fun when you work on a project to just get stumped because of a certain stitch combination and its wording or technique. If you are interested in this stitch, check out the video tutorial by The Crochet Crowd below.

Until next week, be creative and have a wonderful week!!

Winnie

Work that Stitch Wednesday

Hello everyone! To follow up on last week's post on a favorite stitch of mine, I would like to further examine the pattern Tree of Life and discuss another versatile stitch used in this pattern, the Bobble Stitch or Popcorn Stitch. This stitch is used in the flower portion of the afghan. This is the area of the afghan that divides the top from the bottom with rows of beautiful flowers.

Picture Courtesy of ArtyCaelitha at Ravelry.com

A very lovely raised texture stitch that can be a little tricky at first. The stitch begins with a double or triple crochet but you end up having 4 loops on your hook before completing the stitch. For us hookers we are kinda use to only two or three loops at once on our hook. I believe this is why knitting is so frustrating for me to learn. All Free Crochet has a great video tutorial by The Crochet Crowd on the Bobble Stitch.

Until next time, have a creative week!!

Winnie

Work that Stitch Wednesday

Hi everyone! Hope your week is going great and creative.

As a crocheter there are days and even weeks where I might not pick up my hook. Crocheting takes a lot of thinking and counting especially the more tricky stitches and patterns. Even though I might not be hooking up a project, I am still browsing through the internet and my books enjoying the art of crochet visually. It is amazing how a simple stitch can create an extraordinary piece of art from a hanging tapestry to a simple dish cloth. And yes I consider a dish cloth a piece of art as well as an elaborate tapestry.

I want to share with you a stitch that I find is simple yet can create amazing work. The post stitch is such an easy stitch yet very versatile. The post stitch is normally a double crochet stitch that you work around the previous row double crochet post. This stitch creates a ribbing look and can be used as a border to a brim on a hat. The post stitch can add a visual, texture look to any project. One of my favorite patterns that is based on the post stitch is the pattern found on Lion Brand called the Tree of Life.  This is a pattern that is on my list of projects to complete this year.

Picture courtesy of Lionbrand.com

Picture Courtesy of ArtyCaelitha at Ravelry.com

This is a great video tutorial for anyone who might be interested in this simple yet very versatile stitch, the Front and Back Post Stitch by the Crochet Side

Thanks for stopping by today and enjoy your week.

Be Creative,

Winnie

Crochet Pillows!!!

Hello everyone and a Happy Friday!!

I have been crocheting away on a few pillows! It's so nice to do quick fun projects that really do add something nice to my home. I try to be that whimsical art loving and making person, but my practicality personality always perseveres. So I made some really cute pillows these past couple of weeks. If you remember, I posted a WIP on making a Diagonal Pillow here. Well I made a couple and love how they turned out. I found the pattern on Red Heart's website under their free patterns. It is by Kathy Wigington called simply "Diagonal Pillow".

Then I decided to do some stash busting and worked up a Ripple Pillow. I had attempted the ripple afghan stitch before but could not remember the exact sequence. So I found a great video tutorial by The Crochet Crowd. I inserted the video below for anyone who is interested in making an afghan or pillow.

 I had seen a really cute ripple blanket and cushion by Lucy at Attic 24 and wanted to do something similar. I wanted some pops of color but also liked the idea of white as the main color. So I made it with alternating stripes of white and a different color until I reached the length of my pillow. The video tutorial instructed to make sections of fourteen stitches until you had reached your idea width. So that is what I did. I liked the idea of my stripes going vertical instead of horizontal. (okay I didn't feel like making long stripes and opted for the shorter way) The shorter way did pay off with my stash busting because I had just enough of one color to do two rows...whew it was a nail biter!!!

I think they all turned out really cute and provided the splash of color I was looking for. Making the smaller projects using new stitch patterns is helping me learn more and have something quick and cute to showcase.

Caron Simply Soft Diagonal Pillow - WIP Wednesday

I have the pillow fever once again!! I am in the process of hooking up a diagonal shell stitch pillow out of Caron Simply Soft yarn. I had some off white and bone/beige skeins of Caron Simply Soft on hand. I am using the Red Heart free pattern "Diagonal Pillow" by Kathy Wigington. It is a fairly easy pattern once you figure out the first three rows. The second row was so very confusing when I first read it. I almost decided against this pattern, but then googled for a video tutorial on how to stitch the diagonal shell stitch. I was so lucky to find a YouTube video by jifrpreston called simply "Diagonal Shell Tutorial". It is a very good video. My pillow will be slightly larger than the Red Heart pattern because of using the different type of yarn. So mine will be 16" x 16".

It is turning out very nice and I am looking forward to completing it today!! Take a moment and check out other WIPs over at Tami's blog!!