4/8/10

A little crochet obsessed lately...

Even though I SO enjoyed embroidery class, and plan to start trekking on that sometime soon, I've been feeling a little crochet-obsessed lately. It started with crochet class, where I met Vickie Howell, who blogs about all things crochet and knit and craft on her blog.  She has a modern edgy style that puts a nice spin on this old school craft.

After that I found a pattern for a zig-zag afghan that I'm still making progress on.  It's so simple and I love working on it, it's hard to explain how therapeutic it feels to make something with my hands that isn't complex.



Then on Vickie's blog, she had a how-to for crocheted earrings that I couldn't resist trying.  Et voila! I learned some new stitches, did my first crochet-in-the-round and am now rocking some HU-UGE crochet earrings.  If you bump into a girl with these, that will be me.


Then I went into a book store this past weekend and found this book called Vintage Crochet packed full of lots of things I want to try in a style and mood that's very appealing to me.


That book inspired me to do a little browsing on Amazon only to find Crochet Adorned, another book that called my name. I ordered it on Amazon, and when it arrives I'm sure I'll be starting a new project!

This book then inspired me to look up it's author Linda Permann, who lo and behold has a fun blog called Lindamade and is a fellow Texan, like me.

This in turn led me to a blog called Rose Hip, where Beata crafts up these adorable crochet-edged pillowcases that she sells in her Etsy store - you may have to stalk her store to get your hands on one!

*image from Rose Hip

This then led me to Posy Gets Cozy, which is a blog I read regularly for several years but drifted away from.  I loved her style, but I never was crafty... until now.  So now I have a whole new appreciation for Alicia Paulson's crochet love.  I mean look at this Sunshine Day baby afghan - I love the color combinations!

*image from Posy gets cozy


And then of course there is Dottie Angel - whose style and joie de vivre I've long admired.  But I've only just learned to appreciate her freewheeling crochet and amazing use of color.

*image from Dottie Angel

I'm fascinated by all of these women from different walks of life, all over the place, with a shared passion.  It's interesting to me how you can take this same craft and translate it into so many different styles, and colors, and I love finding those examples that inspire me to want to start work on something new!

To those of you who do not love crochet, I apologize for this little burst of madness, but it had to be done!

And to those of you who do love crochet, if you have some favorite web sites or blogs or books, do share in comments!

8 comments:

  1. I've always knitted and have never got the knack for crochet. But I love all the fun things you can make... maybe I will try again?

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  2. Hi Valerie. I saw that you become a follower of my blog so I stopped by to return the favor.

    Thanks!

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  3. Okay LOVING the earrings, I have all the stuff to learn to crochet but haven't had a chance to sit down and do it yet. I think I will have to tackle those earrings though! So many fun bloggers you found, isn't the internet amazing!

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  4. I had a week off work once, with nary a holiday or day trip planned. So i headed for the shops and bought a hook and some wool, planning on starting a granny square rug like my nanna used to make. Sadle the wool is sitting gathering dust. I went on to you tube to watch a tutorial about how to do it, and got so muddled i gave up!

    going to follow your linked within threads and see if the light comes on for me.

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  5. Thank you for the reminder - I've been meaning to send the link to this blog to you since our embroidery class:
    http://sarahlondon.wordpress.com

    I remember you talking about color - her color stuff is amazing. I always wish I could get the hang of crochet when I read her blog. Siiiigh! I just can't keep count. My mind wanders when I craft! ;)

    And if you get in to amigurumi, be sure to check out Planet June:
    http://planetjune.com/
    Great patterns, and she's a super nice gal!

    Have fun! :)

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  6. i totally wish i knew how to crochet - my mom knows how but i don't know if she can follow patterns...she kinda free hands it - i should get her to give me lessons - then i could make throws/afghans for my bed in all sorts of colour combinations :)

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  7. I wish I knew how to crochet. My grandma taught me how when I was a kid but of course, I forgot. I just need to find a new teacher, I guess.

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  8. You are really inspiring me to learn to crochet again! I have the book "Kids Crochet"--I have pulled it off the shelf in hopes that it'll be enough to get me started...

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