Amigurumi crochet, hemp jewelry and more.

CrochetandKnitting Newsletter - Amigurumi crochet, hemp jewelry and more.

CrochetandKnitting Newsletter
Sunday, June 29, 2008

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are enjoying summer. I just had a lovely
visit from my daughter. She lives 3000 miles away from
me, so I only get to see her once a year. We spent a lot
of time crocheting together.

I am still working on the crocheted vest for summer made
with 2 ply yarn, so it will be much lighter than the one I
designed with 4 ply yarn.

I tried to do a different design for it and it didn't work so
I had to rip it out and start all over. That's to be expected
when you are designing a new pattern.... :) As well, we
all have to "rip-it" now and then when working from a
pattern and we misunderstand the instructions.

I received a very nice email and photos from Alicia. She
sent me pictures of her Knitted Moccasin Slippers she made
from my pattern at
http://crochetandknitting.com/mocslipk.htm

Alicia is a new knitter. This is her first project. I was very
happy that she found the pattern to be easy for beginners.

I was doing some searching around for crochet patterns
and I came across Amigurumi crochet. I was thinking
"what the heck is that?" I had never heard such a term
before.

The patterns I found looked like they used only single
crochet and they were all little animals or dolls.

So then I did a search on the term and found that Amigurumi
is the Japanese art of crocheting small animals or toys. The
dolls are done in single crochet in the round. It's kept very
simple. Sometimes you don't even have to join at the end
of a round, simply go in a spiral.

I designed my own snow man and snow woman dolls for
Christmas before and that was a the way I did it. So I
guess I was doing Amigurumi crochet and didn't even
realize there was a name for it.. :)

Amigurumi is using your imagination and going with it. So
if you think you can't design a pattern, you might want to
try this and discover that you can!

Look at these Love Bugs. Aren't they cute!

And this little Amigurumi Chihuahua is so cute!

As well as this Amigurumi Butterfly.

Zach Swinehart sent me his article on "How To Make
Hemp Jewelry". I found it very interesting and sounds like
a lot of fun. Zach says, "This article will teach you everything
you need to know about macramé; (the art of weaving and
knotting cords—in this case, hemp—to make jewelry)."
You can read his article at:
http://crochetandknitting.com/articles/art159.htm

A couple more new articles have been added to the Craft
Articles section as well, "Tips to Learn How to Knit", and
"Reusing Yarn - Getting the Kinks of Out Yarn That Has
Already Been Knit". You can read them at
http://crochetandknitting.com/articles

That is all for today. Happy Crafting!


Sincerely,

Sue Norrad
CrochetandKnitting.com - Free Patterns, Craft Supplies
and much more.
Craft Discussions and Pattern Search Forum

Summer project ideas, Knitting Article....

CrochetandKnitting Newsletter
Monday, April 7, 2008

Hello Everyone,

I have been busy doing spring cleaning. I never like
the thought of having to do it, but once I get started
I don't want to stop. Everything is so fresh and clean
and smells wonderful along with the fresh spring
air coming in my windows.

I have been having thoughts about summer and what
patterns would be nice to make for the upcoming
season. I was doing some searching and looking
over patterns when I found this Beach Cover-up
Isn't that beautiful!

I have been making so much for others, so I thought it's
about time I made something for myself... :) I don't swim
or go to a beach, but I think the cover-up would also look
great over a tank top or t-shirt. It is light, lacy and airy.

Lion Brand has a pretty Beach Cover-up Cardigan.
and a Beach Cover-up Pullover

So then I got thinking about a nice lacy vest to wear
over a tank top or t-shrit and started searching for
vests.

I found this one.
Empire Jacket Vest
Very pretty! And the empire waist is very much in style now.
You get the empire waist effect with the drawsting tie which
is run through the spaces two rows below the armhole. But
the pattern uses a bulky yarn. I would think a bulky yarn
would be rather heavy for summer!

So I think I will just try the medium or large size with a
lighter yarn, either worsted or sportweight and try to adjust
it. There is no gauge or measurement sizes given on the
pattern either, so this will be a challenge. If I can alter
it for a lighter yarn, I will let you all know and post the
pattern for you.

I also found this vest.
Very pretty. It's a very long vest but could be shortened
up for summer.

Here is a midi length vest. Pretty too and could be shortened
for summer.

For knitting I found this Light Summer Vest.

All these vests would great over a dress or skirt and
blouse to be worn at a wedding or any special occasion.


I recently found this site where you can save on over
50,000 brand name craft supplies - CreateForLess.
I was very amazed by the low prices, especially on
all my favourite yarns. However, they only ship
within the U.S, which is great for our U.S. crafter
friends. Click here and have a look.


I really like this article by Alice Seidel, "The Tao Of
Knitting". I thought it was very beautifully written.

The Tao Of Knitting
By Alice Seidel

As Winter is slowly giving way to Spring, it is easy to
look around at all the new beginnings. Slowly, little
plants are beginning to poke their heads out of the
ground, and trees are blossoming into pretty shades
of new pink, white, and lavender.

Spring is a wonderful time of the year to think about
knitting. What it means to be knitting. Why I knit, and
why I love it so much. What about knitting, is so
fulfilling to me.

I think anyone who knits and loves to knit, will tell
you they love to knit for a variety of reasons. At their
core, those reasons all hold the same essence. Passion.
Another word for it would be fulfillment. There is something
beyond money, beyond fame, beyond ego, that has us
knitting.

That something I like to call "the tao of knitting."

Like the Bible, the Tao Te Ching is a spiritual guide;
one that has been around for centuries. It inspires,
teaches, assists with the rigors of daily life, and provides
examples of how best to find peace within ourselves,
for each other, and for the world in which we live.

Whether we be learning from the Tao Te Ching or
learning how to knit, purl, and yarn-over, the lessons
are very much the same. A few examples would be:

-- building self-esteem and self-acceptance. Knitting
is a great way to formulate self-esteem. In today's harried,
rushed world in which we all live, finding substance in the
things we do is often a difficult endeavor. Too often we
are left wondering if our talents are needed, and even if
we have talents at all! By learning to knit, there is no
doubt that when finished with our projects, that we
always have something to show for our efforts; the
trappings of our "yarn life" are always useful.

-- bringing greater joy and creativity to daily life. Why,
when you knit, it is practically a given, that those simple
rhythms, those quiet needle clicks, and back-and-forth
cadences of creating row upon row of our patterns, help
to create endorphins in our brains; those key receptors
which produce a calming effect in our lives. This is
documented behavior. But, we knitters could have told
you that.

-- understand life as a series of changes and challenges.
For life is transformation. It is always evolving into something
else, something more, not less; yet, we have to see that for
ourselves. Not a day goes by where we can say, joy is
mixed with sadness, serenity is suffused with conflict, ease
blends with difficulty. When we knit, oftentimes there are
challenges to patterns, stitch work which may be initially
foreign to anything which we've tried before, even words
and phrases new to us, which make the going slow, indeed.
Perserverance prevails, and when we stick to our resolve,
we come away with knitted creations that are sublime;
just this side of heaven, and truly our masterpieces.

So many of life's little lessons are learned along the way,
when we knit. Patience, self-awareness, growing in harmony
with ourselves and other knitters we meet along the way,
welcoming challenges as good things, allowing even the
mistakes to have a place in our lives.

Follow your heart to all things knitted. It is the road which
leads you to life.

About the Author:
Alice Seidel works as a freelance writer. She is the author
of dozens of articles, a full-length book on knitting, and is
the Author and Publisher of "Knit Stitch & Whimsy", a
monthly knitting newsletter. For details, visit
http://www.theknitstitch.com


That is all for today. Happy Crafting!


Sincerely,

Sue Norrad
CrochetandKnitting.com - Free Patterns, Craft Supplies
and much more.
Craft Discussions and Pattern Search Forum

New Pattern is ready

CrochetandKnitting Newsletter
Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Hello Everyone,

My new pattern is available on the free patterns
page of my website:
http://crochetandknitting.com/patterns.htm

The pattern is called "Sue's Knit Baby Slippers."

These are based on my Knitted Moccasin Slippers
for adults. They are made smaller for babies, of course,
with a ribbed cuff. As well, you could leave the cuff
off if you prefer. But I find them to be so cute with
the cuff.


That is all for today.


Sincerely,

Sue Norrad
CrochetandKnitting.com - Free Patterns, Craft Supplies
and much more.
Craft Discussions and Pattern Search Forum

New size for Easy Slippers For Beginners.

CrochetandKnitting Newsletter
Thursday, February 7, 2008

Hello Everyone,

I have a children's version of my Easy Slippers For
Beginners pattern at
http://crochetandknitting.com/slpprs8.htm

The Children's Easy Slippers For Beginners is here:
pattern at http://crochetandknitting.com/slpprs8c.htm

Special Thanks to Janette for testing this pattern. She wrote
to me about how she had made the adult version of these
slippers for her husband and daughter and now her two
grandsons wanted her to make some for them too.

She said she didn't know how to make the pattern small
enough to fit their feet. So I did some calculations based on
my gauge and sent the new instructions to Janette. She wrote
back and said they came out good and the fit was just right!


At the Crochet and Knitting Forum
I have had to make some changes to the registration
process.

We will now preview all new registrations. That was
necessary because when it was set on automatic too
many spammers were joining and posting trash.

Since it was changed to "preview all new registrations"
we have eliminated that problem. So far so good anyway!

I realize that we could decline a registration by mistake,
such as not information to make the right decision. So if you
have a problem with joining the forum, please contact me
at webmaster at crochetandkntting.com and I will fix it for
you.

Also at the forum, I have set up a new category where we
can share photos and information about our completed
projects.

I am working on a new pattern for babies. These are
knitted baby booties and are based on my Knitted
Moccasin Slippers for adults. For the baby version, I
am adding a ribbed sock top.

I will let you know when that is ready.

New craft articles have been added to the Article
Directory at
http://crochetandknitting.com/articles


That is all for today.


Sincerely,

Sue Norrad
CrochetandKnitting.com - Free Patterns, Craft Supplies
and much more.
Craft Discussions and Pattern Search Forum