Archive for November, 2011
My New Fresh Design
A little bit of yarn therapy is the best balm for the weary crocheter’s soul – especially when you feel stressed and overextended, like I currently do. This week I turned to truly the most decadent yarn ever to find calm and inner peace – a merino/cashmere/nylon blend called MCN Worsted by Indigodragonfly. Trust me, it is better than anything you could imagine! It’s pure ecstasy.
The color shown here is “Also, I Can Kill You With My Brain” and it will be featured in my latest design. Most of you know that I have been working on a couple of pieces for the new Fresh Designs Crochet series by Cooperative Press. So, fortunately, that means that I get to play with this exquisite yarn while trying my hook at menswear. It’s like someone paying you to open presents on Christmas morning!
In fact, I actually love designing for my boys – my husband and my son. Unfortunately, though, the industry keeps telling me that there is no real market for menswear patterns. I’d like to prove them wrong one day!
So, to wet your appetite, here’s a sneak peek at my upcoming menswear design….And, thank you Indigodragonfly for allowing me to play with this incredible yarn!
Pop Quiz: Can you guess which Tunisian crochet stitch is featured here?
I Found Pandora’s Box
It’s a long story, but I am going to a wedding next month and I need a long-sleeve bolero to wear with one of my famous thrift store finds. This time it was a brand new, 100% silk designer dress with the tags still on it for $8.98….yes, under $9.00! When I found it sitting on the back of the rack, I quickly looked from right to left and snatched it up as fast as I could! Anyway, to make a long story a bit shorter, I need a cover-up to wear over the dress since it is sleeveless and I have an arm complex…..can we say “bat wings” everyone?
So, I decided to spend a lovely Friday night strolling through Ravelry’s pattern database, and I found this one, Net Stitch Bolero by Pierrot Yarns. It’s in Japanese, of course, and it only includes one size. Since I am not “one size fits all” according to Asian standards, – yes, I lived in Asia for 2 years, so I know this for a fact 
- I quickly had to get busy adjusting the pattern to my larger American size 14. Then, I decided that I wanted to change it a bit more and add long sleeves. But, of course, I could not stop there….I decided that I wanted to use a slightly thicker yarn that was already in my stash and matches the dress perfectly….now you see – I have found Pandora’s box.
My quest for a nice “easy breezy” bolero pattern to whip up over the weekend turned into quite an adventure. The good news is that I never have time to actually make stuff for myself and this is a nice change of pace. Also, with the thicker yarn, it is working up very quickly. In fact, I just may have this done and out the way for more design work by the end of the week. That would be a record!
