Woo-hoo!

My Flying Diamonds crochet shawl pattern has been very popular with crocheters. So much so that they've made it #4 on Ravelry's new and popular list of crochet patterns. Woo-hoo! (See the screen shot?) Someone told me last night at knit night that it had also been featured in Ravelry's newsletter. :) I'll have to see if I can track it down.

I'm pleased as punch that crocheters like this new pattern. Flying Diamonds came about after I read many posts from crocheters for patterns that look more like their knitted counterparts. Could I, I wondered, translate a knitted triangle shawl to a crocheted one. It was a little tricky but after much crocheting, ripping, and some not-so-nice words, I succeeded! The second crocheted shawl pattern, Glorious Morning, wasn't far behind. Several crochet designers having seen pictures of this new shawl design on my Ravelry project page and have emailed me asking if they could test it for me. I'm very flattered but...wouldn't that be like inviting a fox into a hen house?

BTW, my testers should be finished with Glorious Morning very soon. I hope to have it ready to roll out sometime next week.

My mom is doing better. She found out last week that as well as breaking her elbow, she had also cracked a bone in her leg. The doctor told her that the bones are still in place and that it should heal by itself in a couple of weeks. I'm glad she didn't need a cast on her leg too. So, not only is her right arm out of action, she also is having trouble walking on her right leg because it hurts.

Yesterday, she went back to have the staples removed from her elbow surgery. After x-raying it, the surgeon said that everything was healing well and she might only be in a cast for 2 more weeks! Yippee! That's good news! I was afraid it would be another month. The cast they put on her arm this time is smaller. The first one went from her armpit down to her knuckles. She might get it off in time for her birthday in May. : )

My knitting group is coming over on Saturday for a fiber frolic! I'm so excited! Until we built the sun room last fall, I never had the space to have them all together in one room. I've been frantically cleaning my house this week to get ready for it. Today, I went to the grocery store for food after I decided what I'm making. Everyone else brings a dish or something to share. We sit, knit, spin, crochet, talk, and eat all afternoon. I'm digging out some yarn and books for the swap/sell table and a few door prizes to give out. I hope everyone has a good time. : )

Painted Mountain Shawl to Crochet

Here's the latest in a line of crocheted shawl designs I've been working on. This is a simple half circle shawl worked in wedges from the neck down.

It made a small shoulder shawl that measured 51" x 22". It's easy to make this shawl bigger by just working a few more rows before you add the Mountain Peaks edging.

I used one ball of Noro Kureyon Sock yarn (462 yards) and a size 6 (4 mm) hook to crochet this.

This design holds up well to yarns with long color runs like Noro, Mini Mochi, Kauni, and others. Though it also looks good crocheted with a single color or crocheted in about any weight of yarn.

The pattern includes written instructions and a crochet chart. The pattern can be found in my Ravelry pattern store.

For more information, visit my Ravelry pattern store to see all my available designs, current pricing information, and purchase pattern downloads.

April, April, go away!

For some reason April isn't a good month for me. I will be so glad when this one is over.
they say that things come in threes. If so, I've had enough already.

1) Hubby and I have both been suffering from bad allergy/sinus problems due to everything blooming at once. It's like having a head cold without the germs. Not pleasant.

2) I've been to visit the chiropractor twice for my neck and back.

3) My mom fell and broke her elbow on Monday. She had surgery yesterday to repair the break. The surgeon used wire and two large pins to put things back together. I saw the x-rays and it looks pretty scary! She's home and beginning the healing process.

My second visit to my chiropractor was just this morning. After sitting in waiting room chairs all day yesterday, it did my back in. It feels better after treatment today though it will take a day or so to settle down.

I am worn out and need a break. Hubby keeps reminding me that the laundry is piling up. I know! I know! I've reminded him that he's just as capable of loading a washer and doing laundry as I am. But you know how men are about doing household chores. I'm not worried, unless all those dirty clothes grow legs and walk off, they aren't going anywhere. LOL!

Right now I need a nap and some quiet time to knit and recharge my batteries. Tomorrow will be soon enough to worry about other things.

Hip to Be Square Hat

Hip to Be Square is my newest design. Inspiration for this hat came from my socks. I can hear you all saying "What?!"

I knit my socks toe up starting with a small rectangle and picking stitches up around it to avoid all the frustrating and fiddly increases that other toe up socks have. One day I thought what if I knit a hat from the top down with a square? A somewhat nutty idea but this hat is the result. : )

This hat is a snug fitting beanie style. A 16” size 7 (4.5 mm) circular and a ball of worsted weight yarn are all you need to get started. No double points required!

Start with a square, pick up stitches around the edges of the square, and knit in the round. Easy, peasy!

Sized from kids to adults, it is easy to resize (smaller or larger). I give you tips on how to do this in the pattern.

This hat could become your favorite “go-to” hat pattern. It's easy to remember and the sides are a blank canvas where you can add your favorite stitches, color designs, etc.

The blue hat in the picture was knit with Patons Classic Wool. It was knit by one of my test knitters, Karen Sylvestre, and modeled by her daughter, Danielle. (Thanks, Karen!)

The pattern costs is available in my Ravelry pattern store.

For more information, visit my Ravelry pattern store to see all my available designs, current pricing information, and purchase pattern downloads.

Spring snowflakes

This spring so far has been warmer than usual. A front came through last night and changed that, dropping us back into the 30s today. A little while ago, a flurry of big wet snowflakes came pelting down for just a few minutes before it turned to rain. Boo and Pookie were outside. When I went to check on them, Boo came running inside with huge snowflakes on his back. He didn't like it!

We've gotten up to 80 degrees recently. Unheard of for this early in the season. My daffodils have come and gone. Here's a picture of one of them. The warmth has brought all the trees out in bloom and lots of flowers and shrubs are starting to leaf and bloom. For seasonal allergies sufferers, this is not good. Both hubby and I are having sinus/allergy problems. It's almost like having a cold. Allergy pills are just not cutting it.

My head is not a happy camper. Weepy eyes, dripping sinuses, and an occasional cough. It's beginning to turn into congestion. Not good. I'm trying to finalize a crocheted shawl pattern after my testers finished with it. It will have to wait as my brain is too fuzzy to manage it. I finished another crocheted shawl Tuesday. I haven't even begun to type up the pattern yet from my notes. People who have seen it are already asking to test it for me. They must like it. :)

I found a pattern for a vintage circular shawl in a very old publication. No picture but the description of a star and leaf pattern intrigued me enough to find some yarn and cast on. It looks like a lump on the needles. It's very possible that no one has knitted this design for over 100 years! The instructions were surprising easy to understand and update to modern knitting terminology. I'm happy with how it's working up so far. I'm at the halfway point on it. Each round is over 400 stitches. It takes awhile to knit around. If it turns out a nice as I think it will, I'll post the pattern for others to try.

More designs in the works. A few should be ready to release as soon as I get to feeling better. Hope you're having a wonderful spring!

Two new cat toys -- Bun Bun & Kitty Tweets

Here are two new kitty toys to make. Bun Bun is knit and Kitty Tweets is crocheted. Both are great ways to use up scrap yarn.

Bun Bun is an easy-to-knit little bunny toy. One of my test knitters said her husband took the first one she made for her kitties. He called it his Minimalist Bunny. LOL! The distinctive bunny ears and powder puff tail make it recognizable.

Knit it on size 8 (5 mm) straights with about 12 yards of worsted weight yarn. Then invisibly seam it down the front using garter stitch grafting. (Don’t be afraid, it's easy and there’s a tutorial.) Stuff and sew the bottom closed to use it as a cat toy or leave it open and stuff with a candy egg or wrapped candies for an Easter basket treat. (Run the yarn tails through the bottom edge to make a drawstring to keep the candy inside.) Bun Bun is 4” high. All proceeds from pattern sales will be donated to Pet Refuge (www.petrefuge.com).

Kitty Tweets are cute little birdies you can crochet up fast for your kitties to play with! Using a size H hook and about 12 yards of worsted weight yarn, you can whip one up in a flash. The finished toy is about 4” wide x 2” high. A great project for scrap yarn. Stuff these with polyfill and a little catnip as you add the border.

These patterns are formatted as fold up brochures when printed on both sides of a sheet of paper.

Kitty Tweets is available as a free download on Ravelry. Click HERE to find the pattern.

Bun Bun's pattern is available through my Ravelry pattern store. All money from this pattern is donated to Pet Refuge.

For more information, visit my Ravelry pattern store to see all my available designs, current pricing information, and purchase pattern downloads.

A Leafy Hug Shawl

I knit this powder blue shawl in January after seeing the Travelling Woman Shawl. The yarn is Lornas Laces Shepherd Sport. The shaping intrigued me so much that I decided to try my hand at designing a similar shawlette as a special gift. Though it's a beautiful shawl, I really didn't like how the lace looked at the front edges of the shawl from the steep increases that shape it. (Orchard Hill was my solution to that design dilemma.) However, so many people have asked me to write up the pattern for this shawl, I decided I would.

May I introduce A Leafy Hug Shawl. The dark purple shawl in the second picture was knit by one of my test knitters, Maria Hart. (Thanks, Maria!) She used 400 yards of Monarch Sock yarn from Fly Designs in purple. This is a beautiful superwash merino sport weight yarn. I've enlarged this shawl a little from my original shawl.

This leaf bordered shoulder shawlette begins at the neck with a plain stockinette section and changes to a beautiful leaf lace border. Increases are worked on both right and wrong side rows that cause the top of the shawl to grow quickly. Knit in sportweight yarn, this shawl blocked to 62” wide along the neckline and 20” long at the center back.

The pattern includes both written and charted instructions. You'll need a size 7 (4.5 mm) circular knitting needle and about 400 yards of sport weight yarn to knit it. The heavier yarn and larger needle size make it a fast knit!

For more information, visit my Ravelry pattern store to see all my available designs, current pricing information, and purchase pattern downloads.