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by Knit Picks Staff on April 6, 2011
I've been knitting for over 20 years, and I've learned to latch hook, embroider, sew, do needlepoint, and a lot more. But I was undeniably terrible at crochet. Really, really bad. I would love to show evidence of some of my epically failed attempts, but I threw them in the trash years ago. The trash never forgave me. When we started getting more crochet books, and several of my coworkers mentioned an interest in learning to crochet, I thought, hey, why not? It's been years now, maybe my old crochet hooks have forgotten what I'd subjected them to. I decided that this time, I am actually going to learn to crochet, and remember it. We were all talking about goals with our crochet - everyone else is going to make things. My goal is just to crochet something that is not utterly horrible. Like, it looks like I meant to do that. So, Nina and I signed up for a learn to crochet class! I could chain when I got there, but that was it. I then learned how to single and double crochet, and then it clicked - I was terrible at crochet because I did it completely wrong. So, with my newfound confidence, I kept going with my little swatch. In the class, the instructor suggested we make a little bag out of it, so I began to crochet in the round (correctly! ...mostly). I realized that it was going to be a very ugly bag. Very, very ugly. So... In my typical fashion, I completely ignored what I was supposed to be doing.And the results... Meet Carl! |
Category Archives: crochet
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by Stacey on April 6, 2011
If you've joined our Crochet Along group (you haven't? Why not?), you may have seen Allison Harding posting some great hints & cheering all of us newbies on. Allison is one of our Independent Designers and we are so happy to have her help out with the CAL - she is a wonderful and innovative designer, both for us and her own website. I recently did an interview with her so we can all get to know her! |
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by Stacey on April 6, 2011
Pam Daley is one of our most prolific IDP crochet designers - she has 5 so far in the program with several more on the way. And all are super cute! We enjoy getting the samples of her designs & ooing and ahing over them - oh and putting them the KP babies! (that's baby Ella, the newest member of the KP team, wearing Pam's Sweet-Heart Hat) |
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by Stacey on April 6, 2011
One of my favorite things about working with the Independent Designers is finding new projects for myself! So when we started up the Crochet Along, I immediatly choose Lauren Osborne's beautiful Adva for my project, as I've been eying it since we recieved it. Lauren has many beautiful patterns, both knit & crochet and I am so thrilled she is in IDP. |
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by Stacey on April 6, 2011
Kim Guzman is an amazing knit & crochet designer - she's been featured in magazines such as Crochet World, Interweave Crochet and Creative Knitting and in many booklets - including her new one Learn to Do Tunisian Lace Stitches. She also won 3 awards at the Crochet Awards! So really it's not a surprise that two of her designs are our top selling crochet patterns (that would be Solaris Lace Crochet Shawl and Dreams Lace Crochet Shawl) We are so thrilled to have her part of of IDP! |
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by Stacey on April 6, 2011
As I've stated before, toys are one of my favorite things to knit. So I was excited to learn to crochet to make the very cute crochet amigurumi I see everywhere! And I went a little crazy - they are so quick! My desk already has quite a collection of toys, (you can see some of them in Kerin's post about Carl) but these guys made a nice addition! |
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by Alison on February 16, 2011
My husband Dan and I bought our first house last year at the end of February, and the upcoming anniversary of our move has prompted a rash of home improvement fixes of the "What do you mean, you never finished the (insert project name here)?" type. Our bathroom needed major work when we moved in: new flooring, new shower surround tile, new drywall, new paint, new cupboards. We've been working on it in fits and starts, but in the last two or three months we've finally gotten to the point where we could start thinking of comfort or style instead of just function. I found a cotton voile print that I really liked and put it up over the existing linen curtain as a temporary fix, but ended up liking it so much that I wanted to pull the colors into the rest of the room. |
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by Stacey on November 11, 2010
One of my favorite things I've learned this year is how to crochet! I've always been surrounded by women (and men!) who crochet more than knit, but for some reason I couldn't pick it up - I had some sort of mental block. That ended back in May when my mom & I took a rainy holiday on the Oregon Coast - finally for like 20th she tried so show me, something in my brain clicked and I've been crocheting up a storm since then! And since the IDP Crochet pattern selection has grown so much, I've been in heaven. My first big crochet project was the Adva Scarf by Lauren Osbonre. This is her version: |
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by Knit Picks Staff on November 9, 2010
You may have noticed that since the introduction of crochet patterns by indie designers through IDP, we've been slowly expanding our selection of crochet hooks and books. In addition to the Clover hooks we've had, we've added Susan Bates and Boye hooks, a pretty set of rainbow acrylic Clover Reflections hooks, ergonomics, and a few new complete sets. With all these crochet hooks floating around the office, some us have gotten curious about what to do with them! Kim and three of our wonderful customer service representatives, Lori, Georgianna, and Jeanine are our in house experts, but since we have a slew of employees interesting in learning, we thought we'd ask you for help. Come teach Knit Picks how to crochet this summer in our first crochet along! |
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by Knit Picks Staff on November 9, 2010
I was feeling fairly confident when I choose my crochet project for the summer. I've crocheted a hat and a scarf before, how hard can expanding on those basics really be, right? Um, wrong. I'd bookmarked a tutorial for how to make gorgeous crocheted lamps months and months ago from resurrection fern, and I decided this summer was the perfect time to make a pair for my porch. I picked out my Cotlin colors, chained 5 and away I went. First mistake- using the wrong size crochet hook. I started out with an F which made sense for the Dk weight yarn, but not for the lacey, stretchy fabric I wanted to make. This is much too dense- |
