A Wee Crochet Tour Stop

It is coming to the end of National Crochet month, and today I am one of the featured designers over at Crochetville. Big thanks to Amy and Donna for coordinating this month-long crochet party for the fifth consecutive year.

I thought I would take this time during NatCroMo to self-release a spring-into-summer poncho design that was initially published by a third party e-zine last August.

I am totally thrilled to share with you my 
Seasonal Mist Poncho. Worked in Neighborhood Fiber Co.'s Rustic Fingering, just two skeins is all it takes to make this lovely adjustable-sized poncho. Not only does this design celebrate two of my favorite crochet techniques: lace and tunisian ribbing, but the construction is easy yet fun.

Also, don't ever let it rain on your photography parade. It rains a lot here in spring, so waiting for sun could be a futile effort. Instead, we leaned into the rain, used an umbrella, and got some awesome shots. Take that, Mother Nature.

To celebrate NatCroMo, The Seasonal Mist Poncho will be 50% off the regular price of $5.00 between now and the end of the month. Feel free to drop it into your Ravelry shopping cart, and the discount will be automatic - no coupon code required.

Also, make certain to check out Crochetville's daily give-away today, since yours truly is sponsoring it!

March Has Come In Like a Lion

So, my crafty friends, it is already March. There is just so much going on everywhere! My Cozy Chic CAL is in full swing, and in fact I have extended the deadline to the end of March because ... you know ... there is just so much going on. To the left, you will see my progress. I am almost done with that first front side + sleeve. I am enjoying the Drops Flora - what a nice colorway to be working with in this winter that just doesn't seem to want to end. The Flora is, as expected, not as supple and drape-y as the Baby Alpaca Silk I used in the original, but I am looking forward to blocking this cardigan. And, of course, I am getting ahead of myself. Must finish the actual crocheting first.

Crocheting this in March leads me to the next thing that is currently happening: March is Inter/National Crochet Month! Hosted in a big way for the fifth year by Crochetville, I am really thrilled to be a participating designer this year. I would urge you to check out the Crochetville site each day this month as multiple, different designers are featured each day, along with a smattering of crochet-friendly local yarn shops, and - you guessed it - almost daily giveaways. I will be featured on March 27th, so I will have a coordinating blog post here, and you know I have donated for the cause, so look for a lovely giveaway sponsored by yours truly. I am also sponsoring the Ravelry group dedicated to this crochet party month (as I do each year), so feel free to check out the general crochet goings-on over there.

In case anyone may have forgotten in the stitching mayhem, March is also U.S. National Women's History Month, into which fell the recent International Women's Day this past Wednesday. This is definitely the time for women everywhere to #beboldforchange, as this past January's Women's and Sister Marches underscored. 

While all this has been taking place I have, since January 1, been quietly organizing my own way to respond in a meaningful way to the events of late last year. Between Brexit and the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections, it has been a time of worldwide contraction and division. In response, I sent out a worldwide call to independent yarn dyers to dream up brand new colorways that would represent progress, hope, and happiness. Five different dyers from around the globe (I am so thrilled to report!) answered the call and we now have 9 different, brand spanking new colorways on various yarn fiber bases that will be available for purchase later in early summer. 

Then I sent out a worldwide call to independent designers to create designs using the brand new colorways and yarn bases. Again, the call was answered by designers around the globe (including yours truly), and I am super thrilled to announce that nine designers from both hemispheres and several continents, chosen by the individual dyers, will be creating a collection of knit and crochet designs ready for makers to dig into in early summer! There will be a worldwide maker a-long commencing June 1, and once the artwork is complete, I will make a formal announcement of the event here on the blog. 

I can, however, share with you two of the brand new colorways I will be working with for the collection. Since they are both inspired by and named for women of some historical distinction, I thought it appropriate to share them with you right here, right now. Both created from the New England-based A Hundred Ravens, they celebrate trailblazing women (and I personally thank A Hundred Ravens for the lovely historical background included with their call submission, portions of which I have excerpted here).

To the right you will see the Claire Marie Hodges colorway on their Tyche fingering weight base.This dip-dyed skein, which fades from deep sea green at one end through shades of teal and spring green to dark olive at the other end, is named for the first female National Park Ranger. During WWI, Yosemite National Park was struggling to find enough young men to serve as rangers. Hodges, who first fell in love with Yosemite at age 14 during a 4-day solo horseback ride, answered the call. The park superintendent hired her on the spot. She rode in the park while on duty wearing the same Stetson and badge as her male counterparts.  

To the left is colorway Lucy Stone on their Aesir dk-weight 8 ply base. This colorway has depths of color in hues from berry and rose to chestnut and almond, for an almost brick-like color effect. The hand-glazed and overdyed method used produces gentle variegation that I am certain will play nicely with many stitch patterns. The colorway is named for the first Massachusetts woman to earn a college degree, which has some personal significance for me, since I am the first in my immediate family to earn a college degree, and one of my alma maters is indeed in Massachusetts. 

Lucy Stone (1818 – 1893) lived in a time when women were discouraged from any public speaking; yet, she defied expectations and social norms to speak out on behalf of women, becoming a prominent abolitionist and suffragist. Among many other accomplishments, she is credited with forming the American Woman Suffrage Association and influencing Susan B. Anthony to take up the cause of women’s suffrage.

How cool for me that I get to introduce these two new awesome colorways, with their oh-so-relevant historical ties, during this National Women's History month. Oh yeah for women who have been and will continue to #beboldforchange. 

Do also feel free to check out a quick blog post about another of the new colorways from one of the other participating designers ... all the way in Germany!

A Little Crochet Preview

To help celebrate National/International Crochet Month, I've got some crochet sneaky peeks to share with you from VK Live, held this past weekend in Bellevue.

All of these designs will be in Vogue Knitting's third (and I hope annual) crochet special edition, which Trisha Malcolm, VK's editor, told me is being finalized as we spoke about it on Saturday. Expect it to hit newstands sometime in May - but here's a little tasty preview:

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This dress front is amazing. In fact, on both the crochet and knit runways, dresses were hot.



This next summery top looked great over the white tee they had it styled with:

 This was one of my favorite pieces in the entire show - creative and full of texture.

This next top was paired with a sheer blue skirt and green shoes - I wanted the entire outfit:

 



 

Again, another great dress. While I might pick more muted colors (just think of that in neopolitan colors), this dress style is a keeper - it's easy to customize and imminently wearable by most anyone:

 

I absolutely loved this next top - it was worn by the presenter earlier in the day:

 

This next top is also great over a tee-shirt. I believe there are hairpin lace inserts on the sides, for all you hairpin lace fans. (Btw, the model is still in high school - I met her parents in the audience prior to the show and they were, as you can imagine, excited to see their daughter up on the runway.)










And, finally, the end of the show:

Trisha Malcolm was all kinds of excited for this third crochet special edition. With this preview, can you blame her?

Those Shawly April Showers

Happy Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday everyone! It's April. It's raining. Finished shawls and other shoulderwear from March's crochet part-ay.

I'll start with the finished projects that were completed at the very end of March:

This is an additional interpretation of my own Le Bouquet Stole pattern. I love the neutral (and unfortunately) discontinued Araucania Ruca Multy colorway, and yes, I had that skirt in mind when I chose the stash yarn for this project.

 

Next up (and also for yours truly), is a brown version of my Rustically Elegant Shoulder Warmer made during my Ravelry group's March CAL (crochet a-long for the uninitiated):

 

I made the widest neck opening version of this pattern. As much as I love a warm neck, I'm not a big fan of turtlenecks and other things that fit closely around the entire neck. With this version, the cowl portion actually sits very comfortably on my shoulders.

I also want to take a moment and show you one of the other finished versions from the CAL (there are a few more that didn't quite get completed prior to the end of the month):

 

 

Kristina (thanks for letting me use your photo!) used worsted weight yarn held double. Contrast that with my version, which used a light worsted weight held singly. Mine might have more drape, but her version will be uber-warm. It's amazing that we created very different fabrics for our respective projects, yet they both work really well.

Add these two projects to the two I completed earlier in March - the Icy Snowdrop shawl and  A Script for Keeping Warm, and you can see it was a veritable hooking frenzy in March. I had a very enjoyable time, but now it's on to other projects.

Wonder what it will be raining next.

Don't forget to check out what fiber is raining down with everyone else over at the Wisdom Begins in Wonder Friday link-up.

And don't forget this year's annual week-long knit and
crochet blogfest is a mere few weeks away.

March Ain't Leavin' Like No Lamb

Nope. No siree Bob. Not at chez Voie de Vie. Not during National/International Crochet month.

I'm pleased to show you my second completed shawl - the Icy Snowdrops (from the Snowdrop Shawl pattern):

I am doubly thrilled because this turned out so much better than I anticipated and I love the way it lays nicely on my shoulders. I am usually not so wild about stripes, but the darker, variegated stripes add depth and warmth to all that icy blue. Additionally, I added some beads for just a little bling (a gal can't go wrong with bling). It blocked well so it's got enough drape (considering it's worsted weight mohair), yet because of the mohair it's warm and stays in place. A very happy confluence of yarny events, if you ask me.

See the beads? Size 6 silver-lined Japanese
light sapphire.

And now, mes amis, I have a wee bloggy giveaway, not only to keep crochet's party month chugging along at full speed (which party really is year-round in these parts), but also to celebrate my latest pattern publication - the Blottir Bebe Snuggler.

From anyone who leaves a bloggy comment between now and the end of the day next Thursday, March 28, either about the spring edition of Crochet! Magazine or how you're celebrating crochet in March (or both, you can be chatty), I'll choose one name randomly drawn from the hat to win a copy of the magazine + one skein of Caron Simply Soft, to get you started on making a snuggler for someone you know who's expecting. Maybe I'll even get George Bailey to lend a helping paw when I conduct the drawing.

See - he's all ready and set to go. To where, I have no idea.

Make certain you head on over to Wisdom Begins in Wonder and see what our very own Wonder Why Gal has been up to this week ... along with all her fibery friends.

All Kinds of Fibery Project Updates

Well, well, well my fibery friends - it's almost the end of the first full week of National/International Crochet Month, and I have been a very busy hooking bee. Yes, yes I have been.

 

Initially, let me say that my Rustically Elegant Shoulder Warmer won in the voting for the JAL in my Ravelry group. So, here are the humble beginnings of the one I'm working up alongside everyone else:

The yarn comes across in the cell phone photo only slightly lighter than in real life. I'm using Elann's Lunar Mist in a brown/gold colorway. They list it as aran weight, but this feels barely like worsted weight to me. I will have much more progress on this in the next update.
 
The shawl JAL is producing all kinds of crochet shawl awesomeness. With 53 (!) participants, I can't believe the crochet party we're enjoying in the Ravelry 12 shawls Forever group. In fact, five people have already completed at least one shawl (and a few have completed more than one already). Even though my three are cruising along, I feel like a minor slacker. Here's the progress so far:

My latest Le Bouquet stole is working up rather nicely in the Araucania Ruca Multy I'm using. The colorway is discontinued, which is a shame. It's wonderfully neutral, and it shows the stitches off really well.

I've completed twelve points on my Snowdrop shawl, just about half way done. I am loving these two colorways together. I might just become an ice blue convert.  




I am more than half-way through my Shell Script, and I am loving how this is working up. I cannot wait to complete the crocheting so I can block it. I have a feeling this is going to be one of my favorite go-to thick and squoishy scarves.

So what have you been up to, mes amis? Check in with the Wonder Why Gal (you know, Andrea!) at Wisdom Begins in Wonder and fill us all in.

Oh, and continued happy hooking in March.

 

The March Crochet Party Begins ... with a New Pattern!

It is March 1st, and it's definitely roaring in like a crafty lion.

 

Initially, let me share with you my various shawl beginnings for the crochet JAL (jal = join-a-long) I'm hosting over on Ravelry:

Here's the early progress on my Snowdrop Shawl. I'm pleased with the addition of the subtley variegated darker mohair. (And yes, that's George Bailey in the background.)

My Shell Script is coming along nicely. I am enjoying my yarn combo of wool/silk/bamboo  (the lace) and baby alpaca (the horizontal bands).

And here is the gauge swatch for my Le Bouquet stole. This is another very subtley variegated yarn, which provides an amazingly neutral backdrop for this lovely crochet lace pattern. I've worked out the revised math, and will tuck into this sometime over the weekend.



A snuggling cutie, no?

Finally, I can do a little show and tell for my first new published pattern of the year - it's the adorable Blottir Bébé Snuggler! Taken from the French word for snuggle, it's a quick and easy motif project (and you all know how much I love a good motif). The squares are worked separately and then put together, an edging is added for the tie, and it's topped off with two more motifs that form the foundation for the hood.

For those of you who receive my newsletter (what? you mean you don't? go and sign up for it, like, pronto - you'll find a linky at the top on the right-hand side), this is what I made with the Caron Simply Soft. And considering it's acrylic, it really is soft. It's also easy care, which is great for wee ones ... and their parents.

Look for this in the upcoming spring edition of Crochet! Magazine, due out on newsstands in just about a month - at the beginning of April. However, I expect those with a subscription will get their copy sooner.

Now I do hope you'll head on over to The Wonder Why Gal at Wisdom Begins in Wonder to see how everyone else's March is starting off.

A sneaky peek at the spring Crochet! Magazing cover

 

Fiber Everywhere

As you all know, next Friday commences the National/International Crochet Month, and I'm in the middle of getting ready for a few crochet-alongs I'll be hosting on Ravelry.

I've been preparing for a crochet shawl JAL by choosing patterns and fiber. The patterns are from the three crochet designers who sponsor the shawl group I co-moderate. I'm working from stash, and in the process of making my choices I feel like there's fiber everywhere at the moment - yarn completely covers my coffee table, there's more on the dining table and still more in a few more corners I hadn't anticipated could actually hold any fiber. Nevertheless, I'm happy with the results:

The mohair above is going to become a Snowdrop Shawl;

This is going to be used for my Shell Script wrap; and

Last, but not least, this plate o' goodness is going to be my very own Le Bouquet Stole (about time I make my own design for me!).

I've thus far swatched for two of these. The mohair choices for my version of the Snowdrop is probably the farthest out of my comfort zone - not because it's mohair (you know I love mohair), but because of the color combo. Ice blue isn't usually in my color repertoire, so we'll see how it turns out.

There's still time to vote for a favorite pattern of mine to make along with others in March. There's a mix of paid and free patterns, so definitely head on over and make your selection. At the beginning of next week, I'll announce a winning pattern.

And, in the middle of all the above, I managed to complete another project for publication later this year (which also had a ton of yarn strewn in various places in my space). I haz been yarny busy.

Now head on over to Wisdom Begins in Wonder and see what other fibers plates everyone is dishing up.

A Little Handspun ... and the annual Int/NatCroMo is Coming

So I had a little swap with my friend Nicole over at The Knitty Gritty of Hooking Around in my Ravelry group. My package to her is still in transit, but I received my goodies from her late Monday afternoon. I am super thrilled with this wonderful handspun she sent along:

In the photo on the right is the Corriedale worsted weight; to the left is its' fingering weight brother (150 yards worth). Nicole's spinning has really come along nicely in the last year, and I'm so delighted that she thought me worthy enough to gift me two of her precious skeins. Considering the fact that she also has two little ones romping around at home (one still in diapers), I'm doubly impressed.

In case you weren't aware, March is officially designated National/International Crochet Month. It's always a busy month for me, as I host group a-longs to commemorate the celebration. March 2013 is no different: in my Ravelry group I've started a poll to see which pattern people might be interested in making; in the 12 Shawls Forever Group I'm co-hosting a crochet shawl JAL. In both groups everyone who completes a crochet project and posts a photo of their completed object will receive a free pattern coupon (and the details can be found in each respective group). Sooooo ... if you're itching for some crochet project company, check out either of these a-longs and do feel free to join the annual March hooking party.

Now definitely head on over to Andrea at Wisdom Begins in Wonder and see what other amazing fiber everyone is working with this Fiber Arts Friday. And if you're in the U.S., have a great holiday weekend!