Remember this post back in 2009 and an earlier post in 2008 - showcasing ravelry’s most popular free online crochet and knitting patterns. Here is the updated list for 2012 … what are your thoughts? I have not included the designs that have appeared in the original 2009 list – although these patterns are still up there and the  february lady sweater by pamela wynne and Saartje’s Bootees by Saartje de Bruijn (available in Dutch and English) Free Ravelry – both hold their place in the top 10. Shalom Cardigan by Meghan McFarlane is also still popular

Knitting:
1. Citron: by Hilary Smith Callis — this sweet little shawlette uses one skein of laceweight Malabrigo.
2. Turn A Square by Jared Flood is a knitted striped beanie made with worsted wool.
3. honey cowl by Madelinetosh uses a simple slip stitch pattern cowl to create a dense waffle‐like fabric.
4. Lacy Baktus by Terhi Montonen – this is a modified version of Strikkelise pattern.
5. Bandana Cowl by Purl Soho — inspired by the desire to make “effortlessly chic” even more effortless.

Crochet:
1. Calm Cowl by Suzana Davidovic – stylish and simple cowl
2. Olivia’s Butterfly by Valerie Whitten easily adjustable crochet hat.
3. Mary Jane Slippers by Lisa Gutierrez – quick and comfy
4. Nordstrom Crochet Hobo Bag by Dao Lam (image by by Arielluria)
5. Neat Ripple Pattern by Lucy of Attic24 – very lovely

 Similar Posts:

• most popular knitting + crochet patterns on ravelry |
• from the archives: free knitting patterns |
• guide to the best free knitting patterns on the web |
• more… guide to the best free knitting patterns on the web |
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Laura Nelkin is a knitwear and jewelry designer who just finished an e-book of knitted jewelry designs called Adorn. Laura is a compulsive knitter who made her passion her career… and is loving every minute of it. Follow Laura and her exploits on her blog, on twitter and in her Ravelry group.

Eye-Glass Cord by Laura Nelkin

Need a last minute gifting idea? This easy eye glass cord is sure to be appreciated… video tutorials are included for the tricksy beading steps so anyone who knows how to knit can tackle this project and get it done in a night!

Materials

• Approx. 20 yards of fingering weight yarn
• Two Size 1 (2.25mm) double-pointed needles or size needed to obtain gauge
• Approx. 6 grams of Size 8 glass seed beads
• Dental Floss Threader
• Tapestry needle
• Eyeglass Grips (I got mine here)

Notes:

• Finished length: 27 inches (69 cm) long
• Skill Level: Easy
• If you want to lengthen or shorten your bracelet or necklace it is easy! There are approx 9 beads used per inch of i-cord, (3 reps of stitch pattern.) So, if you want your finished piece an inch longer add 9 beads, or if you want it shorter, subtract 9 beads.

Set Up:
Thread 225 beads onto yarn with dental floss threader.
(Wondering how to thread on the beads? There is a great video tutorial here)
Cast on 3 sts as follows:
Hold yarn ready to work a long tail cast on with at least a 8” tail.
*With rh needle or a crochet hook reach through center of one eyeglass grip grab long end of yarn and pull through, then cast on one st with long tail cast on (2 sts on rh ndl), lift first st over second st; rpt from * two more times. [3 sts on ndl]

Slide sts to other end of ndl.
You will now be working beaded I-cord on these 3 sts as follows:
K1, k1 w/ bead, k1. Slide sts to other end of ndl.
K1 w/ bead, k2. Slide sts to other end of ndl.
K2, k1 w/ bead. Slide sts to other end of ndl.

Rep these 3 rows until all beads have been used.
(Need help with this beaded I-cord? There is a video tutorial here)
Knit one row.

Bind off as follows:
K1, then pull yarn through loop on second eyeglass grip and place onto rh ndl.
Take first st on rh ndl and slip over the second st. [1 st on rh ndl]
Bind off 1 st.
Pull yarn through loop on eyeglass grip again and place onto rh ndl.
Take first st on rh ndl and slip over the second st. [1 st on rh ndl]
Bind off last st.
Cut yarn leaving a 6 inch tail, pull end through last stitch. Weave in ends. Block if desired.Similar Posts:

• Guest blogger series: Sideways edge knitting pattern |
• Guest post | Felt house ornament |
• Guest post | Seat sack tutorial |
• Guest post | Crocheted cloche pattern |
• Guest Post | Shell Crochet trim |

Welcome to Stacey Trock who is doing the rounds with her book Crocheted softies. Today she stops in to give us some tips for designing your own crocheted animal. {The rest of the schedule is here}

Stacey Trock is the designer for FreshStitches Amigurumi. You can see her designs at: www.freshstitches.com. Check out her newest book, Crocheted Softies, available online and in bookstores.

Hi there! I’m an amigurumi designer… which means that coming up with adorable stuffed animals is a major part of my job description! Even though I often say the ideas ‘just come to me’… there’s still quite a few steps involved in getting an animal from ‘idea’ to finished animal. I’m going to show you the process I go through in designing an animal, using my cuddly friend Milton the Snail (from my new book, Crocheted Softies) as an example. Who knows… maybe you’ll even want to give designing a go!

Steps for designing an awesome stuffed animal!

Step 1: Determine your audience: Who are you designing for? Are you making a wacky gift for a coworker to keep on her desk? Or a cuddly stuffed animal for a child?

You can make anything from a teeny tiny animal to a giant one! And since the size/purpose will affect all of the subsequent design decisions, it’s important to get this one nailed down. I designed all of the animals in my book to be kid-friendly and cuddly… but not too big that they’d take too long to crochet. So, I knew I wanted my finished animal to be about 8-12 inches tall when finished.

Step 2: Pick your animal: This seems like the obvious question, but what animal do you want to make?

And, once you pick your animal, you’ll want to do a bit of research. I usually browse around online and gather lots of photos of my animal (real and cartoon) for inspiration. I’m obsessed with snails (I even have a snail tattoo!), so I KNEW that I needed to design a snail for my book. Once I decided to make a snail, I looked around and made an ‘inspiration board’ of pictures.

Google images, Microsoft Clip art and Pinterest can all be great places to look for inspiration. Real animals, drawings and sketches can be great sources but don’t forget that your intent isn’t to copy, just to get ideas! You’ll come up with your own design!

Step 3: List your fave features: Once you’ve picked your animal and looked at some inspiration, you’ll want to pick out the features that are most important to you. What HAS to go in to your animal to make it awesome?

For my snail, I picked four features that were must-haves (you may have more or fewer features!): buggy-eyes (because they’re super-cute), tall antennae that would curve over a bit at the top, a snail shell with some interesting shape to it (I thought a ‘ball shell’ would be too plain), and a snail foot underneath the shell.

You might find yourself drawn back to your inspiration board. Notice that on my board there are snails with lots of different types/shapes of shells, some have a foot and others don’t, and some even have eyes on their antennae! Think about which features speak to you, and roll with them!

Step 4: Sketch: Now that you’ve picked out the most important features to you, it’s time to sketch!

Here’s my sketch of a snail that incorporates all of the features that I decided were important:

At sketching time, you’ll be making some decisions… and you may need to revise some of your features. Notice on my sketch that the shell is rotated to a 45 degree angle? I had pictured it laying horizontally, but it wasn’t until I sketched and fit the pieces together that I realized a tilt was necessary.

Step 5: Pick your yarn: Now that you have a sketch… you’ll need to decide which yarn you want to crochet your animal out of! This can be one of the most fun parts!

I’m really passionate about using quality yarns for making stuffed animals. Why? First of all, stuffed animals don’t use too much yarn, so it’s not too expensive to upgrade to the nice stuff. Second, if you’re making a stuffed animal for a child… don’t you want it to be soft?

And remember that, from the start, my goal was to create an animal that didn’t take too long to make? So, I knew I wanted a worsted (medium) weight yarn… something that wasn’t too tiny! I also wanted super-bright and fun colors… so I thought instantly of Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton. It’s a super-soft worsted weight yarn made from 100% organic cotton. And it comes in bright colors… perfect snail yarn!

Step 6: Start Crocheting: Now that you have your yarn and sketch, it’s time to turn the sketch into a crocheted animal!

I look at each part individually, and plan out where I’ll need to put increases and decreases to create the shape I want. (You might want to read this previous post on WhipUp for tips on designing shapes)

Below is an example of my planning for the snail shell:

Once I’ve got a plan, I start crocheting. Of course, you may find that your plan needs adjustments once you try it out in real life!

Step 7: Love: Once you’ve made your animal… all that’s left to do is love him!

Oh yeah… and take lots of lovely photos!Similar Posts:

• Book: blog tour: Country side softies |
• Book: blog tour: Little crochet |
• blog tour: Berocco’s comfort knitting and crochet: Afghans |
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• blog tour: crochet adorned {+ a giveaway} |

This is a guest post by Kathryn AKA CrochetBlogger. She is the blogger at Crochet Concupiscence, a leading source for all crochet news and information.

From Kathy Withers Fiber Ranch in Arizona: Tucson Wool Festival http://www.uniquedesignsbykathy.com/

What is the Slow Yarn Movement?

The Slow Movement has taken off in recent years. Many people know the term because they are interested in slow food (as opposed to fast food). However there are also trends in slow gardening, slow travel, slow fashion, slow schooling and slow art. And I would argue that there is a trend towards Slow Yarn despite the fact that not many crafters are using the term.

Understanding the Slow Movement

The Slow Movement is, as the name suggests, an intentional shift towards living a slower paced life but it is about far more than just simplifying life and reducing fast-paced processes. The slow movement is about sustainability, supporting a local economy and engaging more hands-on in all areas of a craft. So for example, the slow food movement encompasses buying from local organic farmers as well as growing, preparing and preserving your own foods.

So What is Slow Yarn?

When it comes to yarn, the slow movement can encompass many different things. Knitters and crocheters are already participating in a slow yarn way of life since they are choosing to hand create items, including clothing and home furnishings, rather than buying them factory-made. But those yarn crafters who want to go further into the slow yarn movement can do so at many different levels from raising their own fiber to spinning their own yarn.

Elements of a Slow Yarn Lifestyle:

• Choosing carefully sourced yarn. A responsible approach to yarn crafts includes making careful choices in the type of yarn that is purchased and where it is bought. Slow yarn supporters choose sustainable yarn, usually from independent sellers. There is a big emphasis on buying locally at fiber festivals but some people consider “local” to refer to purchases from their home country and may be through indie yarn sellers online. The book Knit Local by Tanis Gray is a great resource for people interested in the history and business philosophies of local yarn sellers.
• Growing your own fiber to create your own yarn. Even slower than buying yarn responsibly is making your own yarn. This can mean starting a small fiber farm with animals like sheep and alpacas or growing your own plants to process into yarn. You can then spin the fiber into yarn and use the yarn in your crafts.
• Using recycled yarn materials. Recycling and upcycling are certainly also part of the slow yarn movement. You can make yarn out of plastic bags, old T-shirts and sheet and even bicycle tire tubes.
• Home-based yarn dyeing. The slow movement breaks down the process of a craft and encourages the crafter to participate in each step. Instead of buying a pre-dyed yarn, the crafter may dye yarn at home. A truly committed slow yarn crafter would grow her own herbs and use them as a natural dye base.

Benefits of a Slow Yarn Movement

Here are some of the reasons that people choose to join the Slow Yarn Movement:

• Supporting the local community. People who buy locally are helping to lend support to the other indie crafters in their area. This is good for the local economy, enhances options for people to live creatively and builds stronger ties with others.
• Meditative qualities. Taking the time to slow down and participate in each part of the process allows the crafter to enjoy more of the “in the moment” wonder of crafting.
• Eco-conscious lifestyle. The slow yarn movement emphasizes eco-friendly practices and habits from reduced transportation when buying local yarns to increased use of repurposed materials in upcycling.
• It’s fun! If you already love to knit or crochet then your whole experience of crafting can be enhanced when you also learn to dye or spin your own fiber.

So are you going to jump on the slow yarn train? Why or why not?

Similar Posts:

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• Lets discuss slow |

Maize Hutton lives in a little cottage in the woods with her Westie Violet Blossom. She’s a recycled silver artist and owns two websites: Mommytags and MaizeHutton. She loves crafting of all sorts and has recently taken up crochet. You can find more tutorials on her blog.

This quick crochet project would be a perfect last minute gift – or make a heap of them – you could definitely personalise this to be more masculine too.

Crocheted Cloche Pattern

This is my very first crocheted hat pattern! I gave myself an extra challenge of making it from two skeins of yarn from the dollar store. These crochet up quickly and you can easily finish one in an evening.

Notes and materials

• H Hook/5mm
• Two skeins of yarn from the dollar store
• The hat is made using two strands of yarn together but I’ve also made it using Lion’s Pride Bulky with one strand. If you’re crocheting with one strand, I suggest repeating another row of TC after row 6 and deleting one increase row from the brim.

Instructions

• Begin: Using 2 strands of yarn, chain 4, join to make circle with st st in 1st chain or make a magic loop with 4 sc then join.
• Row 1: Chain 2 (counts as 1st DC) 12 DC in circle, join with sl st on 2nd chain in 1st DC (13)
• Row 2: Chain 3 (counts as 1st TC) TC in same chain as chain 3. 2 TC in each DC to end, join with sl st at top of 3rd chain on 1st TC (26)
• Row 3: Chain 3 (counts as 1st TC) TC in same chain as chain 3. 2 TC in next chain, *1 TC in following chain, 2 TC in following chain* repeat from *to* to end. Join row with sl st in 3rd chain of 1st TC (39)
• Row 4: Chain 3 (counts as 1st TC) 1 TC in each chain to end. Join with sl st in 3rd ch of 1st TC (39)
• Row 5: Repeat Row 4 (39)
• Row 6: Chain 2 (counts as 1st DC) DC in each TC to end. Join with sl st in 2nd chain of 1st DC. (39)
• Row 7: Chain 1 (counts as 1st SC) SC in each DC to end. Join with sl st in 1st chain (39)
• Row 8: (making the brim): Chain 1 sc in next 10 SC. 1 DC in next chain, *2 DC in following chain, 1 DC in following chain* Repeat from *to* for 19 ch. SC in next 9 ch, Join with sl st to end row. (49)
• Row 9: Chain 1, SC in next 10. 1 DC in next ch, *2 DC in following chain, 1 DC in following chain* Repeat from *to* for 28 ch, SC remaining 9 ch. Join with sl st to end row. (63)
• Row 10: Chain 1, SC in next 10 ch. 1 DC in next ch, *2 dc in following chain, 1 DC in following chain* Repeat from *to* for 42 ch. Sc in remaining 9 ch. Join with sl st to end row. (84)
• Row 11: Chain 1, SC in each ch to end. Sl st to first sc. Fasten off. Weave in ends. (84)
• Line Detail: Use scrap yarn. Starting in the back seam, SC around stem at top of brim (in hole) then chain 1, repeat to end. Fasten off. Weave in ends.
• Finish: There are many flower patterns on the web if you’d like to embellish it with a flower like I did.

ENJOY!Similar Posts:

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November is book month at Whipup.net

The Best of Knitscene: A Collection of Simple, Stylish, and Spirited Byy Lisa Shroyer. Published by Interweave Press (November 8, 2011).

20 most popular knitting patterns and expert advice from the first five years of Knitscene magazine. Knitscene is an Interweave publication and started out in 2005 with a mission to showcase new designers and unusual yarns. The designs are simple and stylish with this compilation of patterns showcasing designs that have been popular with real knitters – these include some of my favourites: Central Park Hoodie by Heather Lodinsky, Equinox Raglan by Debbie O’Neill, the Geodesic Cardigan and the Riding to Avalon sweater by Connie Chang Chinchio, the Berkshire Dolman Sweater by Melissa Wehrle and the Opulent Raglan by Wendy Bernard. The patterns have been restyled and reknit and re-photographed and tweaked a little to incorporate current yarns and colours.

The Best of Interweave Crochet: A Collection of Our Favorite Designs By Marcy Smith. Interweave Press (September 13, 2011).

A collection of favourites from Interweave crochet including the extremely popular Babette Blanket by Kathy Merrick and my two favourite crochet sweater designs: Northern Dreams pullover and the Big Bow Cardigan both by Julia Vaconsin. As well as patterns you will also find a series of “Beyond the basics” articles including Tunisian Crochet Primer by Kathleen Power Johnson.

Similar Posts:

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Kathryn Vercillo is a crochet blogger, pattern designer, author and fiber artist based in San Francisco, CA. She aims to spread crochet love and information and strengthen the crochet community through her blog, Crochet Concupiscence. She is @CrochetBlogger on Twitter and Ravelry.

Swaddle: Crochet Shows the Value of Women in Art and Society

Crochet art is a terrific niche art form that often doesn’t get the attention that it deserves. This is due in large part to the fact that crochet is considered a feminine craft and still sometimes not taken seriously by the fine art world. However, this is precisely what makes it the perfect medium to express ideas related to femininity, gender and relationships. And that’s exactly what you’ll find with Swaddle, a crochet art project through which I explore the role of women’s communication styles in relationships.

What Swaddle is All About

The premise of this crochet art project is that women have a communication style that is unique from men and that this form of communication both nurtures and suffocates their relationships. Women are raised to be word-oriented problem solvers who talk through issues (or choose to remain silent in strategic ways) in order to maintain balance in their relationships with men. However, their words can sometimes be used as a weapon (intentionally or unintentionally) that harms relationships. It’s called Swaddle because of the immediate nurturing (but sometimes suffocating) image that the name conjures up. Historically women swaddled babies to keep them safe but this sometimes lead to their deaths; similarly women talk through issues in order to keep their relationships healthy but sometimes this is precisely what stifles them. Swaddle is specifically about communication in male-female romantic relationships but also applies on a broader scale to how women talk to their male friends, parents, children and brothers.

Why Crochet

Crochet is the ideal medium for exploring women’s communication roles for a number of reasons. First of all, crochet has typically been considered a woman’s craft and therefore lends itself well to explorations of femininity. It can therefore also be paired with stereotypically masculine things in order to emphasize this exploration. For example, I am using the math-based ‘hyperbolic crochet’ in some pieces. Pairing the traditionally feminine craft of crochet with the traditionally male subject of math makes for interesting pieces. Additionally, crochet can be constructed in both lacy, ‘feminine’ ways and highly structured ‘masculine’ to further express these ideas.

Another key reason that crochet is great for this project is because the repetition of crochet (loop after loop, loop after loop) is similar to the repetition we see in language and communication. Words differ, just like different crochet stitches are unique from one another, but ultimately it’s all the same language and a lot of messages are repeated again and again. Some of the pieces in Swaddle will intentionally explore this. For example, I’m doing a piece called 40 Variations on a Granny, this is a repetitive crochet piece showing how the tiniest shift in a stitch can alter the appearance of your work. It represents how small changes in conversations (using ‘I’ statements is a well-known example) can improve relationships. It also references the way that men sometimes feel like the women in their lives are just saying the same thing over and over and so they stop listening. The piece places 40 granny squares side by side, each one a variation on the traditional granny square.

Crowdsourcing Funding for Swaddle

In order to make this crochet art project a reality in a timely manner, I am crowdsourcing funding through Kickstarter. What this means is that you can contribute to the project to get it off the ground. In turn, you’ll get to be a participant in the project by choosing some colors and stitch numbers that will represent you in a large scale crochet art piece representing how ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, a piece that explores the role of gender-based communication in societies.

If you are interested in supporting this project, you can go to Kickstarter and pledge any amount starting with just $1. I need $2000 before November 14th to get the Kickstarter funding. What I’m hoping to do is to get 100 people to support the project with donations of $20 each – it would be awesome if you can help. You’ll be supporting crochet art, the value of women’s crafts in the art world and even indie yarn dyers since I’m sourcing Swaddle’s yarn from female entrepreneurs with their own yarn shops.Similar Posts:

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Tegan Rose & Lara Cameron run the textile design and print studio, Ink & Spindle, located in inner city Melbourne. Their focus is on sustainable, ethical & local production.

Thanks Kathreen for asking us to guest blog today! Very exciting.

Lara & I had a chat about what we should write about & decided that if you wanted to read about us, you could do so on our blog or Facebook page. So instead I’m going to tell you about a fun, non-Ink & Spindle thing that has been happening after hours here in the studio this year!

Knitting. Machine Knitting to be precise!

And we have the raddest machine knitting crew around…

Backstory: My mum taught me how to hand knit when I was very little. We lived on a property in South West Victoria, with no TV, far away from anything or anyone that wasn’t a cow or sheep, so I spent my childhood following my parents around, probably loudly complaining about being bored. As a consequence of that I learned how to do a lot of odd things. From catching yabbies with my bare hands, to making candlestick holders on a lathe, to knitting. Not that knitting is particularly odd. Though it was maybe 1990 and I was around 6 years old. I have no idea what other 6 year olds were doing in 1990, but they were probably having an ace time playing Guess Who or Hungry Hungry Hippo (I always wanted, never had, those games – deprived child, I know), probably not hanging out in the garden with knitting needles.

So as you can probably already tell, I have a little trouble staying on topic at the best of times… ok – KNITTING! You see, I could decide on, plan and begin a project no worries. But finish one? Rarely. I have very distinct memories of my step-dad telling me – throughout my childhood, probably every time I picked up my needles – that I needed a knitting machine. I had no idea what one was, but he would describe one to me and tell me how his mum had one when he was little and used to knit all his clothes on it. And how great they are. And how I’d absolutely LOVE one.

But it was all just a bit too abstract and complicated for my brain to get a handle on without ever actually seeing one in action. But I always remembered about the mythical, amazing knitting machine.

So last October, when my lovely friend Suzie said she had just aquired a knitting machine and it was totally awesome, my immediate response was: FIND ME ONE TOO. So she did.

Less than 2 weeks later I was sitting in the home of the President of the Machine Knitters Association of Victoria, having a lesson on how to clean, care for and (thankfully!) use my new, highly confusing, complicated, beautiful and retro looking Singer 888 from 1960-something. I excitedly called my step-dad on my way home and told him it may have taken 20 years, but guess what I just bought? Hilariously, he couldn’t remember ever telling me I needed one.

But yay! It was fair to say my new machine was totally overwhelming, and also super exciting. Mostly overwhelming. I could make scarves – because they’re rectangle. But I needed lessons. Pronto.

The cool thing was, that Suzie dove head first in to the land of MK’ing and got involved in different groups like the Brunswick Novices Group and the Aussie Machine Knitters – Suzie was also experimenting like crazy with yarns and talking to people who had been knitting forever and generally doing all kinds of really awesome stuff… but best of all, through her our little crew of newbie MK’ers (who also needed lessons, pronto) developed and Suzie organised us a semester of classes with the hugely knowledgable Angela. [You can read about Sooz's machine knitting journey on a previous whipup.net guest post here. ed.]

Lara and I quickly volunteered our studio to host the classes, as we have a big long table perfect for the machines & really love that we can share our studio space with other creative and like-minded people within the Melbourne/handcrafted/local community.

We spent the next 6 months learning, practicing, making mistakes, doing homework (my step-dad scored himself a very unattractive birthday beanie which, I have it on good authority, he loves) then our beginner classes came to an end…

Have to say I felt quite bereft when our monthly Friday night MK classes stopped! (Yes, Friday night. I had to laugh when I turned down invites from my 20-something friends to all kinds of ace gigs/parties/bars because I was much too busy… attending knitting class.)

Again Suzie came to the rescue. Now we had learned just how to use our machines, we wanted to learn more about technique and garment construction. Suzie got us Brianna. Brianna has an amazing knowledge of machine knitted garment construction and generally I think is pretty brilliant at all things textile related.

Brianna spent the whole day yesterday teaching the crew all kinds of nifty tips and tricks, not just how to knit a super cool cardi. Which, yes, I am totally wearing today. That’s how great knitting machines are – in one day, even learning a new thing (so we were really slow) and we all have a spanky new cardigan.

To conclude: My step-dad was right. They really ARE awesome. Go get yourself a knitting machine and someone to teach you how to use it – build your own crew of MK newbies and a wardrobe of handmade garments!

xx TeegsSimilar Posts:

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Katie Startzman blogs at Duo Fiberworks. She writes about simple wood carving, knitting and felting, and is right now obsessed with making sandals and shoes.

Knitting pattern: felted milk & juice bottles for pretend play

I like making small felted toys for my two sons. We’ve been working on adding to our play kitchen by making play food from wood, but I wanted to bring some softness to the space.

These sturdy felted bottles are just the thing for a pretend glass of milk or juice. You can knit up both bottles in an evening, and the pattern includes illustrated directions for how to hand felt, embellish and shape the bottles.

The bottles are knit in the round and require only simple shaping. It’s a great project for beginners because minor mistakes will be unnoticeable after felting. The yarn choice determines the finished size, the juice bottle is knit with a heavy worsted wool and is a bit larger. The bottles are adorned with a simple wool-felt label and the cork stoppers are an old-fashioned touch.

Download the PDF knitting pattern here.

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Maya Kuzman is the creative mind behind Little Treasures, she is elbow deep in craft projects, mostly crochet lately, although she loves to jump into other fulfilling crafty activities to satisfy the everlasting urge to capture the beauty in the nature and the world and bring it home.

Currently, I am having an exciting, inspiring and rewarding crochet lifestyle and I love every single minute of it! So when lovely Kathreen invited me to guest a post I knew right away it is going to be crochet as the main topic.

I grew up in a family where traditions were deeply rooted and respected and handwork was highly appreciated and praised. Both my grandmothers were proficient in what I like to call handmade art – one was a professional seamstress, the other masterful crocheter and knitter. I readily accepted the love they shared for sewing and crocheting and started paving the way of my handmade life.

When it comes to crochet I think of it as the means for beautifying my home, clothes and most of all as a tool to create wonderful, eye-catching accessories through which I strive to express my love for the beautiful world, to show the rainbow of my soul and the whims of my imagination.

Having been surrounded by wonderful crochet creations that leapt into life through the magical hands of my grandmother I became deeply entranced by the world that could be created with the simple ‘twist and turn’ dance of the yarn with the hook. And I was truly hooked. To be honest I find it quite rewarding. Thus for example, when I get tired of (the plainness) my clothes I settle this by adding a crochet detail or a trim and voila! My garments shine with a new sparkle.

Then I plunge into creating amazing, eye-catching accessories. The palette can be immensely varied:  headbands and lariats, scarves and chokers, necklaces and rings; or if I happen to come across old bangles I give them a facelift immediately. These make my style unique, distinctive and sometimes whimsical.

For me crocheting is not simply a hobby or a recreational activity. It is the tool for preserving tradition, making my own clothes and accessories, embellishing my home. It also contributes to my pledge to live an environmentally conscious life. The yarn I use is mostly organic and when something loses its attractiveness or I just get bored with it I can unstitch it and re-use the yarn to make another lovely thing. In a word – it makes my world richer and more meaningful.

I do hope you get inspired by the boards I’ve prepared for you and crochet yourself a fine stitch.

Here are some tickles for you:

• If you want to make a necklace yourself with some crocheted beads – I have a tute for that here
• How about a sweet home project? Here is a free pattern for a blanket you would certainly love to make!
• Or a rug maybe?
• You can surprise your kids with wonderful crochet toys. You can make a pony, a dragon, or an octopus.

Thank you whipup.net for letting me be part of your fabulous guest series!!Similar Posts:

• Guest blogger series | Creating a Crochet Pattern |
• Guest blogger series | Crocheting through life’s seasons |
• Guest blogger | Crochet imagery |
• Guest blogger series | Introduction |
• 2010 guest blogger series: Handmade inspiration from jCasa |