Time to Make Some (or All!) of The Things

Oh, my maker friends, it is that time of the year - November! Time for all the best food, best drink, and - most importantly - best making. It is a time we get ready for the annual gift-making-palooza known as the Indie GAL (and I am all ready to sign up once again as a participating designer), as well as perhaps make a thing or two or five for our very selves.

In the spirit of the last suggestion, I am hosting a fun CAL on my Instagram account for my latest design, featured in the December issue of Crochet Magazine - the Frosted Berries Shawl. Since this shawl was a collaboration between myself (the design) and Crochet Magazine's editor, Jackie Daugherty (the hand-dyed yarn), we are teaming up for this Instagram CAL. 

I will be, starting today, November 13th, posting weekly Wednesday updates, tips, and answering any questions makers have about the design. Crochet Magazine will be providing some prizes, the first of which will be given away right off the bat - an electronic copy of the magazine to one lucky winner. See the deets below and link to the post:

View this post on Instagram

Attention all my crafty maker friends! I am so thrilled to announce a festive maker a-long right here in my Instagram space. We will be working up my design, the Frosted Berries Shawl, made with hand-dyed yarn - thanks Jackie Daugherty, editor of @crochetworldmag - and featured in its current December issue. This shawl is so warm and cozy compliments of @berrocoyarn's Ultra Alpaca - it is the perfect project to work up during these upcoming cold winter evenings (and yes, the snow has already started to fall in some places!). * * To kick things off, I will be giving away a digital copy of the December issue of Crochet World Magazine to a lucky winner who wants to (hopefully) join us in our merry maker event. To be eligible, simply leave a comment on this post with potential color combinations you would use in your own Frosted Berries shawl between now and next Tuesday, November 19th, and do make certain you follow this account. I will pick and announce a winmer next Wednesday, November 20th, from all of the unique original comments received. (and this giveaway is not affiliated in any way with Instagram) * * Each Wednesday between now and December 18th, I will be here posting my own progress, as well as answer any questions makers might have. This shawl is a fun make, and the edging is technique-rich to keep everyone's interest. At the end of the a-long, I will be giving away two prize packages from all of the finished shawls. I will have more to say on the prizes a little later in the a+long. * * My goal between now and next Wednesday: get my own yarn and dye materials so I can attempt to dye my own yarn! #voiedevie #crochetinspiration #crochetersaroundtheworld #tunisiancrochet #indiedesigner

A post shared by Voie de Vie (@denisevoiedevie) on Nov 13, 2019 at 7:33am PST

I'll be picking a winner from all unique comments received between now and next Tuesday, November 19th, and I'll make a winning announcement with next Wednesday's Instagram post.

I hope to see some wonderful color combinations from makers out there, so start plotting your color choices. While Jackie dyed the jasmine rice colorway of squishy Berroco Ultra Alpaca, I am going to try my hand at a little home dying with a different base. Stay tuned for details next week ... as well as how I fare in this, my initial home dyeing foray.  

Seeing Shades of Red This August

Hello my making friends - yes, here we are in the dog days of August.  While it has been relatively cool in the Pacific Northwest, it's about to heat up, and not only in terms of temperature.

I have been absolutely loving the Rio Olympics, and of course I am working up a few things while cheering the U.S. athletes in both the pool and the gym. Get a load (to the left) of my progress on a Nichols Cardigan in Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Worsted in the most awesome Station North colorway. I'll be sending this one to NFC headquarters, and I cannot be more pleased with how this looks so far.

However, I am all kinds of thrilled to show you what I did with the Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in the mixed grapefruit colorway I initially posted to my blog way back in January. Crochet! Magazine has published a special fall issue, Stress-free Seamless Crochet, and I can finally show off my included shawl design. The Paisley Lace Shawl is featured in the "Clever Construction" section of the magazine, since the main body of the shawl is worked first and the intricately beautiful lace edging is worked after and attached with a series of chain stitches. With a 70" wingspan, this stunning shawl can be worn in myriad ways - loose around the shoulders for an elegant, formal look (can anyone say little black dress?); pinned asymmetrically in the front with a lovely shawl pin (as shown in the one of the magazine's photos), or worn bandit-like around the neck with the lace edging prominently displayed in the front. This lace edging is one of the most beautiful things I've ever designed, and I am so pleased to see it finally out there in the maker wild!

One more thing about this special fall Crochet! Magazine issue: I would urge you to pick up a copy. It has to be, hands down, one of the best special issues Annie's has published. If I didn't have so many other personal design projects in the mix, I could easily envision making no less than eight - yes, eight! - projects from this magazine, for both myself and my living space. I know design aesthetics are, in large part, a function of personal taste, but there is just a whole lot to love in this magazine's pages that extends far beyond my own one included (albeit awesome!) shawl design. Kudos to Annie's for such a strong addition to the fall making line-up. 

Warm up your hooks, everyone.

Sadly I Say Good-bye to Shawls

Well, I say good-bye only to my shawl a-long! I thoroughly enjoyed this CAL, and I am so impressed with all of the lovely projects people worked up. Here's a sampling of a few of them:

A great version of the Colorblocked Scarf in some
dynamite neutral colors.

A lovely interpretation of the Pommi and Pearls shawl
that the maker plans to wear to the upcoming Knit and
Crochet Convention in Charleston, SC. Must ward off
the evil air conditioning chill.

And get a load of that color! The Wyvern Warmer looks
dyn-o-mite in Malabrigo Rios' teal feather colorway.

Thanks to everyone who participated, as well as Annie's Publishing and Berroco for providing such amazing prizes. I'll be drawing the winning entries for these in just a few days!

It's Spring - Time for Shawls

At least it's spring up here in these northern hemisphere parts! 

And so, with that comes the third K/Cal in my 12-month five year design anniversary - we'll be celebrating all things shawl, stole, and scarf in my Ravelry Spring Shawltime Thing thread between tomorrow, April 11 - Sunday, May 15. People are in the process of signing up, and there are 16 of my designs that qualify for lovely yarny prizes. Want to see them? Yeah, I thought so.

First up, an awesome magazine + yarn package from Annie's Publishing/Crochet! Magazine, including two back issues containing several of my designs and three (yes, count 'em 3!) skeins of Manos del Uruguay Fino. This silk and extra-fine merino blend is light and airy and will no doubt make some excellent warm weather finished items.

Additionally, Berroco has generously offered a Folio prize package - four skeins of Folio and their booklet #372 featuring knit designs utilizing this soft alpaca/rayon blend. I'll also be throwing in a printed, color edition of my Pommi & Pearls Shawl, which I plan on working up in Folio Luxe.

Pretty generous of them both, huh?

So c'mon, join us and let your own new shawl bloom this spring.

On the Needles/Hooks

Just a quick post to show everyone a few of the fibers I've currently got in design play:

Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in the Grapefruit Mix colorway 

Neighborhood Fiber Co. Rustic Fingering
in the Columbus Circle colorway

And, just so you can see the gorgeous yarn I used in the most recent design, the Wyvern Warmer, since I couldn't reveal it prior to Yarnbox subscribers receiving it:

MJ Yarns Peruvian Dream Worsted in the Green Dragon colorway

Yarny life is pretty good.

The GAL Excitement is Building

Hello everyone - we (us indie designers who have volunteered) have begun the Pinterest pinning frenzy! After a minor administrative hiccup on my part (that underscores my need, finally, for glasses), I am off to the races. I cannot wait to reveal the board links as well as my personally curated design board once this pinning portion is all done. The sale gets started next Thursday, and there are some absolutely beautiful designs this year for everyone to make, so get that hand-made-gift-worthy list together, and check it twice ... like ... pronto.


I thought I'd share with everyone another design of mine that's been out there for a while, but which I've recently added to my design store, and just for the GAL. As most everyone knows, I published a book earlier this year, Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace. What I've done is pick out 4 designs from the book and made them available as individual pattern purchases only for the 2015 Indie Gift-a-long. Once the gift-a-long is over at the end of the year, so too will be the ability to purchase these four designs individually.

The back view of the bulky weight
version. Get a load of all that
textural goodness, as well as a
pretty nifty pompom.

One in particular, the Beryl Hat, I've also added a bulky weight version to the pattern, just for the GAL. We love those super quick gift projects, and this hat can be made pretty much in a long evening, or over a weekend if you're super busy. 

My model and I have nicknamed this the gnome hat, and it's totally appropriate. Both versions were made with Berroco Yarns (Abode for the original version, Peruvia Quick for the bulky weight) and just a few skeins of each are needed. I am, admittedly, particularly fond of the bulky weight version, but only because I just recently whipped it up.

Get excited about making all the things!

On My Fiber Plate

Happy Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday, everyone! It's been a while since I've written a Friday blog post - it feels good to do so again. Of course (as most of you probably already know) I was absent from the blog in order to finish up Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace. I'll be hosting an a-long for the book in April and May (but more on that in a little bit). Now, I can get back to my normal, bloggy routine. 

The first thing: I have a new published design to show off! 

This is the Monochromatic Checkered Muffler from April's ILikeKnitting.com. I'm really pleased with the almost embossed quality of this super-simple pattern (but you'll be helped greatly with stitch markers cause there is some counting involved). There's ribbing on each long side and the fringe on each short side makes it just a little more elegant. I used one luscious skein of Lost City Knits Twin Canyon Merino Silk in the silver bells colorway. Love, love and love; this is a great one skein project which, btw, was inspired by the ladies of Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace, but I had so much material I made an editorial executive decision. It appears in ILikeKnitting.com's ode to spring and Mother's Day edition. Maybe you'll find a design in it to gift to a mother in your world.

Finally, I leave you with a photo of the fiber used in one of several projects I've been working on for future publication. The deadlines keep a-coming, but with gorgeous Noro color to work with, I almost don't mind.

New Designs This Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday

A wee process photo. See my
straight pins? Markers for
the side buttons.

Hello everyone! Happy first Friday in September. As we enjoy the final throws of great summer weather, here are a few new designs published just this past Monday in the October issue of iLikeCrochet.com.

I do love how this colorway mimics the
tree's leaves in the bottom of the photo.
So not planned.

Everyone who reads this blog or knows anything about me knows that I lurves my morning coffee. And yes, I drink decaf - I actually love, love, love the taste and smell of coffee - it's definitely a Proustian thing with me. So even though I've designed one French press cozy already, why not another one? The Cafe au Lait French Press Cozy (found in the "Autumn Around the House" section of the e-zine) is a one-skein fun project that most crocheters, including adventurous beginners, should be able to whip up in no time at all. I especially love these granny square motifs in Lion Brand's Amazing in the strawberry fields colorway. And once closed at the top, your coffee will stay warmer much longer. Really.







The next new design in this edition has been dubbed a "hot pattern" - it's the Floral Embellished Tablet Cozy. I do think it's rather genius, not to mention a great use of color. Just two skeins (one each of Berroco Comfort and Noro Kureyon) makes this great cover for your tablet; you choose from three different dimensions in order to get the best fit for your tablet size.







Here's a peek at the inside:

The pocket at the top of the photo holds a piece of lightweight foam board so your tablet has a great stabilizer. Pretty neat, huh?





And finally, to cap the cozy warmth theme of these designs, please check out my Autumn Leaf Shawl:

Done in Dream in Color Wisp in the Anguished Rose colorway, this light-as-a-feather shawl carries a big shoulder-warming stick. As a rather fun fact, this is my first triangular shawl design, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The stitch pattern creates "veins" from the center spine outward, not unlike a leaf. The edging is simple, yet seems to grow organically from the main body of the shawl. It can be customized to pretty much any dimension - the stitch pattern allows for as many repeats as the wearer chooses.

Now don't forget to head on over to Andrea's at Wisdom Begins in Wonder to see everyone else's finished projects this week.

Have a great weekend; get out there and enjoy all that final summer weather!

Great Things To Look At

Happy Friday, everyone! While I'm working on a fun project using the Berroco yarn to the left, I thought I would provide you with a few links and tips to really wonderful designs I've come across during the week.

If you haven't yet seen this awesome fall designs show from Lion Brand, you're in for a treat. While I admit I'm not the biggest lover of 100% acrylic yarn, they do have a time and place, and while yes, Lion Brand does promote a fair amount of its acrylic yarn through this show, there's also a lot of other great yarn they produce, and these designs are just super no matter what yarn one uses. Of course, I provide full disclosure: I design with many of the Lion Brand yarns, and especially love their LB Collections line. So, sit back and enjoy:




And if you've still got a little more fall preview to spare, I would urge, urge, urge you to check out Louisa Harding's new books for A/W 2014. They are simply stunning - great use of color and pattern : Esquel, Eventyr (check out all that fur), Nightingale (so many stunning accessories), Odense, and Susurro (just so decadent). Some of her best work, I think.

Now don't forget to head on over to Andrea's at Wisdom Begins in Wonder and see how everyone's Tour de Fleece spinning is winding down (bad, bad pun I know).

Design Backstories this Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday

Hello my fiber lovin' friends - it is once again that Friday fiber arts time of the week. I thought I'd provide some background to the three recently published designs I blogged about on the 1st. All of them can be found at iLikeCrochet.com (although only one has thus far made it to the Ravelry database):

1. Boxed Sorbet Blanket: Designed in connection with an article I wrote for the same e-zine/edition about the difference between three different crochet stitch clusters, this blanket's inspiration is one of my own paintings: Tunisia Tryptich: Pink Blocks (scroll down once at the link to check it out). Made in Berroco Weekend (of which I posted a photograph here), I thoroughly enjoyed this blanket's design process. Not only did I see so much more in the painting while staring at it for several weeks (!), but the Berroco yarn is wonderful to work with, and the colorways are just so yummy. I really did think about gelato a lot while making this project (when I wasn't drinking copious amounts of coffee). 


2. Colorblock Plum Scarf - ILikeCrochet.com did a wonderful job photographing this lovely summer scarf made in Fibra Natura's 100% flax yarn (again, blogged about here). I think they even used one of their editors as the model! This is a very easy project - one that is perfect for traveling. It's light weight and fairly mindless, yet the end result is fantastic. I would highly recommend flax or linen or a very rustic, nubby cotton/silk for this scarf. The key to this project's success is definitely in the yarn texture, so do keep that in mind. 

3. Tunisian Lace Curtains: Last, but definitely not least, my wonderfully lacy tunisian crochet curtain panels. Don't let these panels fool you: a generously-sized hook + lace weight hemp yarn = a light, airy outcome. The stitch pattern is easily memorized and there's not a difficult stitch in the bunch. The absolute keys to project success here lie in blocking aggressively to bring out the beauty of the lace as well as the fiber, and choosing a tonally related yet different colorway for the rod pockets. 

I must give a shout-out to Tara Swiger. I met her during a local crafty event in December, 2010. That's where I first saw her excellent yarn and knew I wanted to make things with it. While we've both come a long way since 2010, and the main focus of Tara's business has veered in a slightly different direction, she's still providing wholesale this great hemp laceweight (and you can find out where to purchase it here). I so enjoyed working with it. 

Now I hope you will head on over to Andrea's place at Wisdom Begins in Wonder and see what fiber stuff everyone is spinning/weaving/hooking/sticking this week. We are in the middle of the Tour de France, so it's a safe bet there will be lovely Tour de Fleece spinning to ooh and aah over. As for moi, I'm finishing up a project using this:

Stay cool and calm everyone, and carry on with the fibering.

Well ... not really any finished stuff, but ...

Aren't these greens fantastic?

... what's a designing gal to do? I have finished stuff; I just can't tell you about it.

I'm loving how the Abode is working up.

The best I can do is keep showing you all the lovely fiber I've been working with. The published projects will start to come ... eventually ... really they will. Really. 

Don't forget to head on over to Andrea's at Wisdom Begins in Wonder and see what everyone else is working on - at least they can talk to you about it.

(Just Another) Melange Monday

Hello everyone - it's Memorial Day here in the United States, and of course it's Monday, so time for melange.

The Presidio, San Francisco, 2007
photograph (c) Voie de Vie

In honor of the holiday, I point you toward The Legacy Project, started in 1998 by Andrew Carroll. It's an attempt to document the country's memories of war through the letters of those who served. In the more than 13 years since it's been in existence, the project has compiled enough letters to launch four separate books, live exhibits, two television specials and an online collection. Definitely check out the online collection - but be warned, war is hell.


          ******************************


I continue to be elbow-deep in projects for publication later this year. It's difficult to work on things and not be able to share them, so the best I can do currently is share the fiber I'm working with. This week, it included the below two skeins:

Anyone who's been reading this blog for a while knows how much I love, love, love Kureyon, and this colorway (#95) did not disappoint. The sticky quality of Kureyon's wool is just as big an appeal as the amazing colorways. Look for the project associated with these yarns to be published in early fall.

     ***********************************

Finally, I leave you will a snapshot of a very moody, yet cool Pacific Northwest sky. Memorial Day weekend is always a weather crapshoot here in the northwest corner, and this weekend was definitely more of the same. Nevertheless, we managed to have sun two of the three days, so hopefully everyone had an opportunity to get their bbq on in between the showers.

Not too shabby - I'll take it!

All Fiber All The Time

Hello my fibery friends - so sorry I haven't been around for a few Fridays, but what's a designing gal to do? Play with all the fiber, of course! So here's a round-up of news on the Voie de Vie designing front:

Initially, here's the fiber I've been playing with on several recent projects:

 

There was a ton of sunlight when I took this cell phone photo, but the colors are not too washed out. I can also tell you that beads were associated with this project. :)

I absolutely loved working with this 100% flax yarn. It's got a very rustic quality to it and lots of "bite." I definitely will use this yarn again (and aren't the colorways fantastic?).

I cannot wait for everyone to see what I made with all of this loveliness. Despite the high acrylic content (which is saved by the balance of cool cotton in the blend), Berroco Weekend is a dream - it's got great texture and the colors are saturated and gorgeous.

Additionally, this luscious Lion Brand yarn + beads are about to be whipped up into a fun little project for charity - Knitting for Gold, a childhood cancer awareness project. It will be completed for an e-book to be published this coming September (which is, of course, childhood cancer awareness month). All proceeds from the publication will be donated to a charity that specifically does childhood cancer research. Kellie Huffman is the whirlwind behind all this - and her daughter is currently waiting on a heart transplant list. Many knitters and hookers have donated projects to this e-book, and Kellie's receiving great help with publishing this project, most notably from Twist's Kate Gilbert. Stay tuned, because I will be looking for testers once this project is completed.

Finally, earlier this week, I had a wee little surprise hit my inbox - here's the cover of the lastest F+W Media book containing two of my designs! It's slated to hit bookstands everywhere on or about April 16th. All of the projects in this book (and there are a whole lot of them between these covers!) are meant to be made in an afternoon, day, or weekend. I'm pretty excited to receive my copy - who knows, I just might try a new-to-me craft (like, I don't already have enough on my plate).

Now do make certain you head on over to Andrea's blog at Wisdom Begins In Wonder to catch up on the latest doings with everyone else. And I promise I won't be a stranger for so long again.

Day 7 of 8 Days of Designs: One Awesomely Quick Pullover

Well, everyone, I am up to the penultimate design of my Romantique collection for autumne/hiver 2013, and we have come upon my pullover for the season - the Moody Bleu:

This pullover may have a rather detailed pattern, but it is actually quite simple to put together: it's bottom-up construction, worked in the round to the underarms. The sleeves are also worked in the round to the sleeve cap, so finishing is minimal. Intuitive, intuitive, intuitive.

What surprised me the most about this design is my final choice of fiber. The body of this is worked up in Red Heart  Boutique Eclipse, and people let me tell you this yarn is incredibly lightweight and springy. And look at those colors! I used two different colorways (carrying both but using one each on alternate rows) and I absolutely love how it turned out. Combined with the Berroco Cirrus I used for that spiffy collar, and I am completely pleased with the color play.

This is a pullover that will do well with a lightweight, very sproingy yarn - something with a tight twist, or with some amount of nylon. The chainette construction of the Red Heart also makes the texture of this almost crunchy, which I just love. Can you tell I'm completely bowled over by this yarn? Really, I had no idea.

Blogger is giving me fits this evening, so loading more photos will not be possible. However, look for more on the Ravelry pattern page as well as in the online preview book. I am just so thrilled with this pullover, I didn't want to wait any longer to post. :)

Ok, just one more to go. Let's hope Blogger behaves better later.

 

EDIT: Moody Bleu Part Deux

What a difference a good sleep can make - Blogger is now back to its ole' self, and uploading photos of the Moody Bleu pullover is easy as cake.

To the right is a back shot - I love how these colors and textures play together. The lace is a very easy stitch, picked up around the neck edge and worked in successively decreasing hook sizes; there's also one row of actual decreases, which gives a nice fit at the back of the neck. It can also be folded down for a slight shawl collar effect.

I am also a big proponent of Tunisian 1x1 ribbing - the other knit/purl ribbing, as I like to call it. I love its great stitch definition, although it behaves rather differently than it's knit counterpart: there's really no stretch to speak of, so whatever gauge you work the stitches is how it will stay - no expansion or contraction.

Nevertheless, I think it provides a neat finish to most edges, and is especially intriguing with this self-striping yarn (I used only one color at cuffs and hem).

Thanks so much for sticking with my Romantique collection roll-out. If you haven't yet seen the pattern preview book, feel free to check it out here.


And happy holiday making!

We Have a Winner!

I'd like to thank everyone who read last Friday's blog post and commented, not only generally but also specifically regarding the fall issue of Crochet! Magazine. I am so thrilled to have two designs included in the edition. Like ... squee.

There were six comments that corresponded to the give-away, and the random number generator picked 2 - so Katrog, you are the lucky winner. I'll be getting in touch with you to arrange delivery of your prize, which again is a copy of the fall edition of Crochet! Magazine, as well as one skein of Berroco Lustra in the ratatouille colorway.

I'm looking forward to seeing all the creativity that flows from these designs. In that respect, we're all lucky winners.