Inspired Crochet Design

New Poll at RoseRed Designs

2011-02-19T10:59:00.005-05:00

I just wanted to let you all know that there is a new poll
over at RoseRed Designs.

Which Tutorials would you like to see?

I have several ideas for Tutorials and would LOVE your opinions on which ones you would like to see posted there. The poll is set up for multiple answers. Please feel free to check 'Other' and leave your own ideas in the comments section.

All ideas will be taken into consideration.

Thanx for taking the time to check it out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Free POD is now hosted at the RoseRed Designs blog

2011-02-19T10:35:00.002-05:00

Just a quick reminder that the

free crochet and knitting pattern of the day

is now being hosted at my new blog RoseRed Designs.

Please remember to also 'Follow' or
subscribe to the RSS feed there so
you don't miss any of the new posts.

I have a ton of ideas for great content and
brand new tutorials in the works.

Things are going slowly right now as
I'm recovering from back surgery but this
quiet down time has given me the opportunity
to come up with some great ideas.

I hope to see all of you there.

~Michele
aka RoseRed

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Red Heart 75th Anniversary Sweepstakes

2011-02-16T19:51:00.005-05:00

To find out more about

Red Heart's 75th Anniversary Sweepstakes

and how to enter please follow the link to

RoseRed Designs

Jimbo's hosting another hook contest!

2011-02-09T10:04:00.003-05:00

Head on over to RoseRed Designs to find out
how to enter Jimbo's contest for this Valentine's hook!

Introducing RoseRed Designs-daily free pattern has moved there

2011-02-07T18:13:00.003-05:00

I've been dreading this part but I guess it's time to make the announcement.

I'm sure many of you already know that I'm starting a new endeavor. It's called RoseRed Designs. I've already started my new blog, very soon I'll be opening my new Etsy store and hopefully Ravelry if we can get some *bugs* worked out of the system there.

ICD has been such an amazing learning process for me. I've met some wonderful people, I've learned so much about so many different things - it's going to be quite emotional for me to complete the change over.

Part of the change over includes letting you all know how to find me. So - this will be one of my last postings on Inspired Crochet Design. I do plan on leaving it up and running at least for a while. I've already began copying over the free patterns. Please let me know if there are any posts you would like to see over at RoseRed Designs.

I want to thank all of you for sticking with me over the last several years, not complaining too much about my earliest pattern designs and hope that you'll continue to 'hang out' with me over at RRD.

Not only do I have the crochet pattern of the day there - I also have the knitting pattern of the day there too. Some people just can't get enough yarn - it doesn't matter if it pointy stix or crooked ones.

So - without further ado - I introduce to you:

RoseRed Designs

Thoughts on the Feel the Wuv Heart Coaster

2011-01-30T09:22:00.002-05:00

Coming back 2 years later to check over an old pattern that I wrote when I was just starting out designing and writing patterns was like WOW!

Feel the Wuv Heart Coaster

I did find a mistake and fixed it. In Round 4 it had said to 'skip Vst' which I changed to 'skip next 2 dcs'. It was nothing that someone that has experience crocheting couldn't follow but a new crocheter would be like "What Vst? Where?" So - I fixed it.

Looking at this today - it is a difficult pattern to follow. You need to trust in the pattern to tell you where to place your stitches. It does tell you exactly where to put the stitches.. I haven't made this since I wrote the pattern and I just made one up in about 10 minutes. I also think I've come a long way in creating tutorial pictures too.

You also need to know what the stitches are so that you can make them. I went in and labeled this an Intermediate Pattern. I love testing new techniques and learning new things but to be honest - there are easier heart patterns out there. If you're not crocheting at this level then please don't blame it on the pattern. I strongly urge you to try it tho - what's the worst that can happen?

May you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day and have many hearts in your future.

Creation takes longer than Destruction

2011-01-20T12:11:00.005-05:00

It's much faster to frog than it is to crochet.

It's just a sad, sad fact.

To Frog means to 'rip-it, rip-it, rip-it'

If only I could crochet and create the same
number of stitches that I can rip out in one hour.

Frogging, or ripping out our work, is just a sad fact of our craft. Designing, creating, following a pattern, free-forming - all the different and wonderful ways that we can create simply takes so much longer than destroying that creation.
Creation takes longer than destruction.

I understand the importance of frogging. Of ripping out all the way back to fix a mistake that has bearing on all of the rows or rounds that follow it. I understand the importance of 'doing it right'.
I also understand the importance of
perfection in any pattern I'm designing.

Just because I understand it doesn't mean that I like it!

I'm sure most of you that share in my love of crochet
understand exactly where I'm coming from.

Sadly, I have no eye candy to share today.

I had to frog a very large section of a piece that I thought was finished. Somehow - that's even worse than having to frog while it's still 'under construction.'

It is a learning process. It is part of the nature of designing.
If I want to give all of you the very best patterns that I can -
then this is a very necessary part of the creation of them.

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

(ok - end of pity party - back to the crocheting!)

Ladybug ghan in Scooby Doo colors

2011-01-03T21:05:00.003-05:00

This is my ladybug square pattern. I think it's just so cute. Anyways - the ghan was a gift for a dear friend. She LOVES it! It lives in the living room. That's her couch it's spread out on.

Lots of practice squares getting it just right went with the ghan for coasters or pillows or whatever she'd like to make from them.

Just another shot. I gotta say - it's WAY bright for my taste.

I used my Bates J hook with Red Heart and Caron Pounders.

They work ok together. The Caron yarn is a little thicker
but overall - it's ok together.

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

Baby ghans for Christmas

2010-12-13T19:06:00.002-05:00

Yes - I've actually crocheted and took pictures! It's been a while. You guys know that I blog in phases. Unfortunately, I wrapped the other presents before I thought to take pictures but at least I got the baby ghans.

This is your basic 12 point round ripple. The color combos are endless. The edging possibilities are endless. I prefer to make a nice tight edging on baby ghans. This way they can hold up to some abuse. This one has a tri-color rope.

Another one for one of the guys at work. Another basic 12 point RR. This one is done in 2 strands and the shaded 'monet' technique.

My newest baby. The 5-10 point Starburst Round Ripple.
If you like it the pattern can be found on Etsy
http://www.etsy.com/listing/59553206/5-10-point-starburst-round-ripple

Make paper snowflakes online - share with friends!

2010-11-27T08:47:00.002-05:00

It's that time of year again!

Let's make SNOWFLAKES!

If you want to look for mine use the search function for

ROSERED in FL

5-10point STARBURST Round Ripple Pattern up for sale.

2010-10-20T09:51:00.003-04:00

Hey guys. I know it's been a very long time since I posted. I haven't been crocheting much lately. I do have a new for sale pattern for ya'll tho. Hope you like it! You can find it @ my Etsy store.

5-10 point STARBURST Round Ripple

~

2010-07-31T10:39:00.003-04:00

Hey guys! I know, I know - I've neglected my blog for far too long.

I've also neglected taking pics of my finished projects too. Life's been crazy hectic lately. Anyways - I thought I'd share some of my FOs that I actually remembered to take pictures of.

The Butterfly Hat that turned into
The Pony Tail Hat

The doily I made from a really good picture!

This was a gift for JoBug. It was drying
(didn't want starch on the counter)
Never did get a pic of it after tho.

RR for Mom.
Sensations Boucle & 2 strands of RH
N hook

Serafina Prayer Shawl for a
dear friend from church.

Corrections made to Diamond Ghan Pattern

2010-03-14T07:27:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to apologize to anyone who has tried this pattern and found it difficult.

There was a typo brought to my attention this morning and I am happy to tell you that it has been corrected.

Please remember that this is an older pattern of mine and my pattern writing skills have much improved since then.

Diamond Ghan

Baby girl round ripple w scallop edging

2010-02-22T17:33:00.002-05:00

1 Caron Pounder in Lilac
3 Red Heart Super Savers in Baby Pink (just a little bit more than 2)
J Bamboo Handle Bates Hook (which is more of an I 1/5 than a J)

Ghan measures 42 inches from point to point.

The round ripple.
It's just a round ripple pattern. Use which ever one makes you happy. ( I do 2 rounds of 2dc shell and 1 round of Vst) you can fudge this at the end if you don't have the right counts. I turn every single row until the border.

When I had 10 dc between the ch2 and the valley I switched colors
Starting with 11 dc from ch2 to valley - 1 row pink
1 row purple
3 rows pink
1 row purple
1 row pink

Then I did 3 rounds of purple (17 dcs from ch2 to valley) and did a boring old scallop st with a picot in the points.

Border Round 1
If you can't figure out where to start it where your yarn ends up then start in the point.
-attach w sc in ch2 sp, (sk 1 dc, in next dc work 5dc, sk 1dc, sc in next dc) 4 times,
- 4dc in valley sp, sk 1 dc, sc in next dc, repeat 4 scallops up the other side.
- in ch2 sp work (sc, ch3p, sc)
- at end, sl st in 1st sc to join

Border Round 2 - do not turn
slst into 2nd dc, ch1, sc in same st, 3sc in center dc, sc in next 2 dcs,

- to work scallops - sc in first 2 dc, 3sc in center dc, sc in last 2 dc, slst around sc into previous round
to work valley and make popcorn (you will have slst'd in the last sc on the side) insert hook into front of 1st and back of last dc, yo and draw thru, slst around sc into previous round and continue working next 3 scallops.

- to work point - (last scallop)
sc in 1st 2dc, 3sc in center dc, sc in next dc, ch2, sc in loop of picot, ch3P, sc in loop of picot again, ch2, skip 1st dc, sc in next, 3sc in center dc and continue on as a normal scallop.

... and the winner is ...

2010-02-21T13:25:00.002-05:00

... as chosen by Jimbo.

The best name for a hook in production is.....

The HookAwl

dobertoni is the winner!

~~~~~~~~~

Since her entry was sent in by email because of blogger's problem with being viewed in IE on some computers I will be contacting her by reply and letting her know to give jimbo her home address so she can collect her prize!

This was so much fun. I hope I get to run another contest with jimbo again someday.

Hook naming contest is closed!

2010-02-21T06:47:00.002-05:00

I'll be working with jimbo,

(if he can tear himself away from
his new pooping apprentice)

to pick the winner.

only 3 days left to enter the hook give-away!

2010-02-16T18:35:00.002-05:00

Just a quick reminder that there's 3 days left
to enter to win the new Jimbo hook!

~

Problems accessing Blogger

2010-02-12T12:04:00.006-05:00

It has been brought to my attention that there some people have been having a problem accessing my blog while using IE. This is a known problem with Blogger and there is nothing that I can do to fix it.

For the Hook Naming Contest, if you know of anyone who is having a problem accessing my blog, please let them know that they can contact me thru my ICD email and make sure you give them the link to the full size picture so they can see what up for the winning. I will post in the comments for them. Their hook name will be entered into the contest.

(Link to full size pic)

I apologize for any inconvenience, I'm doing my best to work around it. I will reply to your email and let you know that your name has been added to comments.

I can be contacted at

inspiredcrochet (at) bellsouth dot net

-

The Naming Contest has begun!!!!!

2010-02-11T15:10:00.006-05:00

(click on pic to see it full size)

... and this is the winner's new Pokey Hook,
Jabber the Hook, RoseRed's Pokey?????

Come on guys -
we really need some help picking out
a name for this new style of fabric hook.

It started as an idea and bloomed into reality.
It took a couple tries before we got it just right.
Even took a broken one so we knew what wouldn't work.

This new style of hook has been tested by
yours truly with the 'felt test'.
If it'll go thru a piece of felt and slide
back out in one piece it'll survive
any dishcloth or fleece blanket
that you put in front of it.

Just be careful because you can hurt yourself on that hook.

Hook Stats:

The handle is Padauk and
the hook itself is Bamboo.

It's an H and is 6" long.

Shank (including point) is 3 3/8".

(I'll be posting pics soon of some different styles of hooks
that you can order directly from Jimbo.)

He's even making one from his chopsticks so that
the proceeds go to his FARA fund.

Contest Rules:

Leave your ideas in the comments section.

You can leave up to 5 different name ideas.

Contest will end Midnight, February 19.

The winner will be chosen by Jimbo and me.
Whichever name we like the best will be the winner.

You will need to send Jimbo an email
with your address so that he can
mail out the hook to the
winning name giver.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jimbo can be found on his front porch up
at Deadman's Crick:
Jimbo's Front Porch

~

Crochet Games of Ancient Greece begin Friday!

2010-02-11T10:31:00.004-05:00

Amy and Donna are at it again over at
Crochetville.

It's time for the:
2010 Crochet Games
of
Ancient Greece

They begin with the
Opening Ceremonies on Friday 2/12

and end with the
Extinguishing of the Flame
Closing Ceremonies Sunday 2/28

That gives us 16 days to complete a
project that is a personal challenge.
You can compete individually or with a
Team of Awesome Cheerleaders.

Check out the Rules and General Info
for more information and to join.

Last time I took a Silver Medal at the Games. I didn't quite make it. I finished my giant round ripple with points a day and a half late. I did, however win the awesome drawing prize from Coats & Clark which was an awesome Redheart Tote filled with a new pattern book and the
yarn to make my pattern of choice.

So, come on out and join. It's tons of fun, lots of chatting and a great excuse to crochet your heart out without getting grief that everything else is lacking for those 16 days. heehee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WARNING! Contest Ahead

2010-02-04T11:11:00.003-05:00

Thought I'd give everyone a heads up here.

Jimbo & I are hosting a

HOOK NAMING CONTEST

for the new fabric hooks.

The winner will receive their very own ____ hook!

The contest is going to be pretty simple. Leave a comment with your ideas for this awesome hook. It'll run for about a week, I guess. You can leave as many names as you like. When the contest is over, Jimbo and I will pick our favorite name and contact the winner for their mailing address. Jimbo will send out the hook.

I've personally tested 5 different hook sizes/styles. I even broke one of them so Jimbo knows that that one didn't work well. We even came up with an excellent way of testing their strength. We call it the felt test. If it doesn't break going thru a piece of regulation felt - it'll live long and prosper as a fleece/dishtowel hook.

Pics will be coming shortly!

Jimbo (good thing I just love that man) wanted to call them RoseRed Pokeys and other variations of that. He also thought of Jabber the Hook. So, PLEASE- start thinking of some names here peoples.

-

Jump Rope 4 Heart

2010-01-27T10:21:00.003-05:00

It's that time again. Gotta love school fundraisers.

If anyone is interested in helping out or donating -
I've set up a webpage for Amber.

Ambi's
Jump Rope 4 Heart

~
Thank you.

~

I've been conspiring with Jimbo

2010-01-22T08:29:00.003-05:00

You read that right - conspiring, I tell ya!

But what about?
About a specialty hook.

I gotta tell you guys that I just LOVE working with jimbo.
He's such an awesome person.

I contacted him about creating a
specialty hook to work thru fabric.

It is such a pain to try and crochet thru a tri folded dishtowel! It's a pain to try to crochet thru fleece without something to make the holes! I don't want to pay for an edgerdy-doo or a skip blade.

So - we conspired and concocted and
came up with some GREAT ideas!

We came up with a super pointy (and I mean hurt yourself pointy and put a cover over it pointy) hook that tapers so you can push it gently thru the fabric like a knife thru softened butter. He sent me the proto-type (laugh - I'm just being fancy-schmancy here) of the hook and it was a wonderful surprise!

Instead of making the hook from bamboo knitting needles or a chopstick he made me a 'special' jimbo style hook as a thank you for working with him. I told ya - he's AWESOME!

So, I tried it out, made my recommendations and had to send it back. It's going to be a well traveled (9,000 miles) hook by the time it comes home!

The whole reason for the knitting needles and the chopstick is simply cost effectiveness for you guys. Instead of whittling down a chunk of wood (which I'm sure he would) if you place an order for a fancy one, by using the knitting needles he can make them much more quickly and therefore,
cost effective.

The hooks that he'll make from the chopsticks
will go to his FARA fund.

So, I'll post a pic of my awesome new specialty hook when it finds it's way back home! Till then -
my dishtowels are waiting.

~

The Crochet Cafe is OPEN!

2010-01-14T17:34:00.004-05:00

I've been busy this afternoon working on a new forum.
It's not actually my forum - I'm just helping out and setting it up.

Crochet Cafe

I had recently joined a CAL that was even more recently closed and deleted. Most people moved over to Ravelry. It's under the same name if you didn't realize where it went.

Coffee House on Ravelry

I guess continuing the conversation must've been a great idea since more than one person wanted to.

I LOVE Yuku forums. They're just great. I host a Health Support Group there to. They have smilies and it integrates with photobucket and lots of pretty backgrounds. I don't really care for the look or layout of Ravelry Groups or even Yahoo Groups for that matter.

Anyways - all this typing and I still haven't told you what I'm writing about. The new group called The Crochet Cafe is open! There's no members there yet but I hope it takes off. It's open to everyone and anyone that shares a love of yarn and chatting with friends.

Come check it out! Chit chat and hang out for a while.
Share your latest projects.

Hopefully, we'll get enough members to maybe do CALS and SWAPS and fun stuff like that. That's still far, far away but for now grab a cup of coffee or tea and hang out for a while. All you need is a yuku account to post (but not to lurk) and they only ask for a name, email and password.

Crochet Cafe

I think I'm going to submit a pattern.....finally

2010-01-12T19:36:00.004-05:00

The model is my Bailey. There's a whole story behind him. Basically, I got him at 5 1/2 months old. He was a product of a puppy mill. Believe it or not he's supposed to be a chiwawa. He almost has the same body shape as Poppy from Beverly Hills Chiwawa but he's 12 pounds!
He certainly has the temperament.

Ambi calls him her GermChi because he looks like a miniature German Shepherd.

Anyways - this sweater has taken close to a dozen attempts to get JUST RIGHT. I've written up the pattern so that it's made in a solid piece staring at the neck and working down to the ribbed edging. The sleeves are crocheted directly onto the sweater. I'm just having a heck of a time writing them out. A full blown migraine with a trip to the
docs office might have something to do with that.

I have several vests that I've made him that he really enjoys that I think I'm going to write the pattern up for and add to my free pattern collection. I was thinking etsy maybe, but it's my first dog sweaters and the only size adjustments really come from changing hook and yarns.

Not sure what I'm going to do there.

I gotta tell you - he LOVES his sweaters. He's so spoiled!

It's going to be very hard to give him to Mom
when we go home to visit over Spring Break.

Heartbreaking, I tell ya, BUT:

He's for my Mama and she's already in love with his total cuteness. Big sad eyes and a personality to love.

He's such a love puppy - so affectionate.

Wow, and I thought this post would be about the sweater -
not the dog. LOLOLOL

Till next time ...

~

Just me

2010-01-04T17:57:00.000-05:00

Just a Christmas pic I came across.
I love my antlers!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T09:49:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season this year.

I stopped making resolutions a long time ago -
I never seemed to keep any that I made.

What's on the hook for this year?

Right now I have an Aran ghan for Dad. I finally got around to making it. YAY!!! It was supposed to be done for Christmas but I only have about a 1/3 of it finished.
All those post sts wear on my hands.

I also have a Joann's Sensations Boucle rectangle ghan on the hook for Mom for her bday in Feb. I LOVE the color striping in the Sensations yarns. This has to be my most favorite yarn to work with right now.
I know, I know - my favs keep changing.

I did a bunch of ornaments for Christmas but forgot to take pics of most of them. So, for those of you that come for the eye candy (which I've been hopelessly behind on posting) I'll share what few pics I did take.

Problem with Blog

2010-01-02T17:10:00.004-05:00

It's been brought to my attention that there's been some problems accessing ICD.
I have no idea what the problem is or how to fix it.
There were a few days when I couldn't get on it either.

I hope Blogger clears it up soon.

`

2010 Snowflake

2009-12-15T16:32:00.003-05:00

Special Stitches
P3 - ch3 picot - ch3, sc in 1st ch
trP - Triple Picot - ch5, sc in 1st ch made, ch7, sc in 1st ch made, ch5, sc in 1st ch made, st st into 1st picot to join
shell - (2dc, ch3, 2dc)
trshell - (2tr, ch3, 2tr)

Instructions

ch7, slst to join

R1 - ch1, sc, ch8 (dc, ch7), *dc, ch7* 4 times, dc, ch3, tr in 1st sc

R2 - ch2, turn, (dc, ch3, 2dc) in same chsp, ch3, P, slst in next ch, ch3, *shell in chsp, ch3, P, slst in next ch, ch2* 5 times, slst into top of 1st dc

R3 - slst into ch2 sp, (ch1, sc, ch2 for 1st tr), tr, ch3, 2tr,
{Point - ch3, P, ch3, trP, slst in next ch, ch2, P, ch3}, trshell, ch3, P, slst in next ch, ch3,

Repeat - 5 more times- *trshell, ch3, P, ch3, trP, slst in next ch, ch2, P, ch3}, trshell, ch3, P, slst in next ch, ch3*

~

2009 Snowflake

2009-12-15T16:31:00.000-05:00

Notes -
you can substitute p3 for the ch3 between the 2dcs
you can substitute (sc in next 2 chs) for the ch2 at the base of the trP

Special Stitches
P3 - ch3 picot - ch3, sc in 1st ch
trP - Triple Picot - ch5, sc in 1st ch made, ch7, sc in 1st ch made, ch5, sc in 1st ch made, st st into 1st picot to join

Instructions

ch5, slst to join, ch1

R1 - in loop work ch6, *sc, ch5* (4x), sc, ch3, dc (6 ch loops ending in the center of last loop)

R2 - ch3, turn (counts as 1st trc) work {2tr, ch2, 2tr}, ch1 in each ch loop, slst to join round at end. (6trshell, ch1)

R3 - ch1, turn, *in ch1 sp (sc, p3, sc), ch1, in shell sp work (2dc, ch3, 2dc, ch2, trP, ch2, 2dc, ch3, 2dc, ch1) 6 times. slst to join at end.

~

Watch this space.....

2009-12-15T07:30:00.003-05:00

Coming REALLY soon:

2010 Snowflake Pattern

I'm sorry it's so late this year.

I try to make at least 1 free snowflake every year.
I'll also post the 2009 Snowflake for anyone that missed it.

If it's not up later today it'll be tomorrow.
(God-willing)

Thank you guys for putting up with my way to far-in-between posts.

Hopefully, I'll be posting regularly again after the holidays.

~

Happy Winter

2009-12-07T10:11:00.003-05:00

This page is way too much fun!

I miss snow!

I haven't been crocheting a whole lot lately.
Right now I'm doing the mad rush for Christmas.

Hopefully when things slow down a little
I'll get back to blogging.

2 more serafinas

2009-10-10T21:19:00.004-04:00

Both of these were made with
JoAnns Sensations Boucle yarn.

The red one was make wth an L and then a K and a half hook. It's a little stretchy for my taste. This is almost 2 pounds of boucle. My model is 5'3" and the shawl comes down to her mid calf.

The pink/gray/black on was made with my Bamboo Bates K hook and I think it's just perfect for this yarn. This one was made for DDs teacher/principal. She's always cold and she is just the most wonderful woman.
I just love her to pieces.

She saw me making the red shawl and asked (in a joking around kind of way) about when I was making hers. She was shocked when I came in a week later with her very own shawl. It was great - she was having a bad day so the present was just perfect timing.

She's about 5'5" and and adult small/medium
and it's the PERFECT fit on her.

After almost 3 pounds of serafinaI was very happy
to be finished with the pattern for a little while. lolol

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gift for a dear friend.

2009-09-21T08:39:00.004-04:00

This is a 13 round square that I found the chart for somewhere on the net. I changed the last round and added the beads for weight. This was made to be a glass cover.

I used Royale in baby pink and
my trusty Bates #4 steel hook.

It was a well loved gift.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edgings for Diamond Ghans

2009-08-24T15:44:00.002-04:00

The edging on the beige ghan is AA's Pearls and LAce (I think that's the name of it) and the edging on the red ghan is just a simple scallop.

I didn't write down the edging and I gave these as gifts as soon as they were finished.

I'm sorry that I can't be more helpful with the edgings but any edging you choose will work wonderfully on this pattern.

What I do remember about the edging on the beige ghan is that it's a few rows of (2dc, ch2, 2dc) shells with 2 in each corner.

Diamond Ghan - why it took so long to post

2009-08-24T09:44:00.004-04:00

I created this pattern almost a year ago. I did not post it because I didn't want to infringe on any copyrights. It is similar to the Extra Easy Diamonds lapghan that yarncat makes BUT ithis ghan is very much my own. There are MANY differences between them.

Now that Bernat is also hosting a free diamond ghan pattern I know for sure that I'm NOT violating any copyrights - cuz they're doing the same thing and they're legal department would have stopped them if there was a problem.

I always put my 'inspired by' patterns up for free here on my blog. Many of you will remember the ghans pictured in the pattern. Those of you that do will know just how long I've been holding onto this pattern.

Even according to AmyS's idea about copyrights - if you put the original pattern away and come up with it on your own without referring to it then it's yours - this pattern is all mine.

What I love about the way I wrote this up is that you can make this any size you want to. You can make 2 or 3 diamonds for a scarf, a babyghan or a full sized ghan. It's a wonderfully, deceptivelly simple pattern that looks great!

~

adding points to a round ripple

2009-08-18T09:36:00.002-04:00

What I do (and I hope this makes sense)

I find the midpoint then count 2 sts down. Attach with a sc and ch1 (makes your first dc) then continue down into the valley, skip the 2 in the center and work your way back up to the same st on the opposite side.

As you go back and forth working the point the decreases will happen automatically every time you skip the 2 in the valley.

When I get to the peak - work it until there are 2 dcs on either side, ch2 or 3 (personal preference - I use 2) and sl st into the opposite dc and tie off.

In this ghan I finished the point with a round of sc.

In the round following the added points I work a 4dcdec in the valley to keep the stitch count correct so it doesn't ruffle.

When it cools off a bit I'll be finishing another spidey ghan. I'll post a tut with pics when I get to it.

more of what I've been up to

2009-08-17T18:41:00.003-04:00

I also made Dad a 6 piece set of 96s in red to go with his chair blanket (in red) that I forgot to take a picture of. I'll have to take one when I go back down to visit. To go with the big red ghan he's getting for Christmas
(or his birthday - whichever one it's finished for)

Played with my own puff st coaster pattern
and made a set for another swap gift in multicolors.

I'm not sure if I shared this doily with you guys yet.

This was my BIG SWAP gift for a dear friend.
A jimbo hook with soft, thick case,
a custom needle holder and scissor case.
(no - I didn't write down the patterns)

(and yes, that's the flutterby on the case)

... and I'm halfway thru my next spidey round ripple.

It's August in Florida -
it's too hot for ghans bigger than baby size right now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What I've been up to

2009-08-17T18:14:00.004-04:00

I'm so bad at blogging. I've been doing lots of swap presents and since I know that almost everyone I sent to reads my blog I just couldn't put them up here until everyone received theirs.

I bought the most awesome little doily book -
99 Little Doilies
and completely fell in love with #96. This is funny - I so totally fell in love with it that I had to go and change it and make it my own. This has turned into my sitting around braindead project that just keeps my hands busy. It's amazing how just by changing the color changes the whole look.

Before we get to that - here's a couple other
coaster size doilies
from the same book.

(This one lives on top of my printer )
I just had to make one for me.

#96 in solid, flowered, patriotic and sunflower.
With the sunflower I did the same edging,
I just did it in the front and back loops and
alternated the points so it looks like a flower.

close-up of #96

(lots and lots of multiple post stitches)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rose Basket TP Topper Pattern is now Available

2009-07-02T08:29:00.002-04:00

at my Etsy Shoppe:

Inspired Crochet Design

I know I haven't been around lately

2009-06-28T16:48:00.001-04:00

I just wanted to let you guys know that I haven't been feeling well at all. My health problems are getting the best of me.

I'm crocheting a little bit here and there but not a whole lot.

When I get to feeling better I'll be posting more often.

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

Jimbo has AUTOGRAPHED hooks up for bid!

2009-06-21T07:40:00.002-04:00

The sign of a true artist! He's signed his work!

Check them out at:

Jimbo's Front Porch

http://www.jimbosfrontporch.blogspot.com/

Error in the Round Ripple Pattern has been corrected

2009-06-13T10:41:00.001-04:00

I cannot apologize enough. It was brought to my attention that there was an error in the 12 point Round Ripple pattern.

It has been corrected both here on my blog and in the pdf on my download page.

If you have the original copy of the pattern please update it to the correct version.

Once again - my apologies. I always do my best to give you the most accurate and correct patterns that I can.

~RoseRed

Jimbo's Running a Contest!

2009-06-07T07:55:00.004-04:00

Have you ever wanted a Jimbo hook but never
thought you could afford one?

Well, he's running a contest with a free hook as the prize.

It's an H hook in White Oak.

So, go check out the Front Porch and see if you've got
what it takes to win a Jimbo hook!

Jimbo's Front Porch

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

Most wonderful Swap Gift!

2009-06-03T16:43:00.003-04:00

I have my very own 8 Pocket Tote now.

My very dear friend Ann made this for me as a swap gift. I just love it! The colors are a little deeper in real life and they go so incredibly well together. The lining is just amazing! I wish I could do linings like that.

It is the PERFECT size. It hold 3 Caron Pounders or in this case 2 pounders and a cake in the center with room to stuff a ghan in it too. You can see the red and blue, the cake is black and this is holding the latest spidy ghan that I'm working on.

I've gotten so many compliments on this
when I take it out with me.

I just had to say another great big

Thank You!

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

Another Gift Doily

2009-05-31T15:02:00.003-04:00

I love making doilies. Not one I would keep for myself tho. It still needs to be blocked. I love the center with the diamonds and spiderwebs but I'm not thrilled with the zig zags. I thought they would be a little more prominent.

Camera Cozy's

2009-05-28T20:03:00.004-04:00

With Popcorns & Puffs

I just love these little camera cases. Hubby got me a great little camera for Christmas. I'm such a clutz I was afraid I would drop it and wanted something adorable and cushioned. This is what I came up with.

The popcorns are great for cushion. The front and back don't match. There's room for the closure in the front. The popcorn and the closure made is so thick across the front that I just was not happy with it.

I wasn't sure what to do with the sides. I already had the front and back cushioned. I settled on puff stitches. The cozy's just looked silly with popcorns sticking out of the sides. You'll have to use your imagination on that one.

These are made with Simply Soft. They whip up in less than 2hours for me. (Yes, I know, I crochet fast) and I can use up my little scrap balls of leftovers.

You can make these with bigger yarn and bigger hooks and they just get bigger and bigger. Notice a trend here - the bigger the bigger.

Please don't mind me tonight - I'm in a silly, silly mood.

The pattern is tested and it'll be up in my Etsy store really soon. It's been a hectic couple of days or it would already be there. It's going to be nice to have a day to sit still tomorrow.

I'd like to thank my testers for doing an AMAZING job!
I couldn't do it without them.

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

Simple Faith Series

2009-05-25T10:26:00.006-04:00

I am so happy to introduce my new afghan series -
Simple Faith.

There is a Prayer Cloth Throw, a Simple Cross Afghan and a 3 Bar Cross Afghan.

All three can be found at my Etsy Shop -

Inspired Crochet Design

The Prayer Cloth Throw measures 4x4 1/2 feet.

The Simple Faith Cross and 3 Bar Cross Afghans
both measure 4x6 feet.
*************************************************

There are many new patterns coming very soon!

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

RoseRed's 12 Point Round Ripple {free pattern}

2009-05-24T20:10:00.008-04:00

by Michele Shirley

or you can download the pdf file here
RoseRed's 12 Point Round Ripple

Instructions:

Round 1 – ch3, working over tail place 11 dc in first ch made, sl st to top of ch3 to join. Pull tail to close center.

Round 2 – ch2, turn, dc in same st as ch2, 2dc in each st around, sl st to top of ch2 to join.

Round 3 (For a solid center) – ch1, turn, Vst in next st, *dcdec over next 2 sts, ch2, dc in same st* 10 times, dcdec over next 2 sts, ch2, dc in same st, (to join the round - begin as you would a dcdec) yo, insert hook into next st, yo and draw thru st, yo and draw thru 2 loops, sl st into ch1 to join and draw thru all 3 loops.

Alternate Round 3 – (For a lacy center) ch4 (counts as 1st dc and ch2), turn, dc in same st. 1st
Vst made. Skip next st and Vst in every other st around.,

Round 4 –turn, sl st in next 2 sts, ch1, Beg shell in ch2 sp, shell in each ch2 sp around, sl st into ch1 of Beg shell to join.

Round 5 – sl st into next st, ch2, turn, *skip next 2dcs in center of the valley, dc in next st, shell in shell, dc in next dc* 11 times. Skip next 2dcs in center of the valley, dc in next st, shell in shell, sl st into top of ch2 to join.

Round 6 – turn, sl st into next st, ch2, dc in next st, Vst in shell, dc in next 2 sts, *skip next 2 dcs in center of the valley, dc in next 2 sts, Vst in shell, dc in next 2 sts* 11 times, sl st into top of ch2 to join

Round 7 – sl st into next st, ch2, turn, *skip next 2dcs in center of the valley, dc in next 2sts, shell in shell, dc in next 2sts*, 11 times, skip next 2dcs in center of the valley, dc in next 2sts, shell in shell, dc in next st, sl st into top of ch2 to join.

Rounds 8 – completion' Continue working in established pattern (Shell, Vst, Shell) increasing in the shell rounds only.

Make sure that your last round before the border is a shell round.
It gives it a much nicer finished edge.

Border:

Notes – Remember to look at the center of your round ripple. Make sure that the right side is facing.

It really doesn’t matter if you turn your work or not for the sc border so long as the right side is facing.

Round 1 – ch1 turn, (or not) sc in each st, (2sc, ch2, 2sc) in each shell and a ch1 in each valley, sl st to 1st sc to join.

Round 2 – rev sc in each sc except in peaks and valleys.

- To work each Peak: – The shell is (2sc, ch2, 2sc) - rev sc in 1st sc, skip 2nd sc, 2rev sc in ch2 sp, skip 3rd sc, rev sc in 4th sc).

– To work each Valley: rev sc down the side towards the valley, skip the last sc, rev sc in the ch1 sp, continue placing a rev sc in each sc until you reach the shell in the Peak.

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

Spidey Ghan is Finished!

2009-05-21T13:35:00.007-04:00

YAY!!! I started this way back before I had my carpel tunnel surgery. I had 4 rounds and the border left to go and I ran out of the blue yarn. So, without further chatter- here it is!

I've finally figured out my own way of adding points without getting the dreaded ruffle! Yippee!

The webbing is made from
top stitching chains across the ghan.

Statistics:

Caron Pounders
Red - 1 pound
Blue - just over 1 1/2 pounds
Black - under 1/2 a pound

I Bates hook

It measures just under 6 feet across.

Color Coding - every 4th row is an hdc in black for the webbing.
The red and blue sections get bigger with each block of color.

Round 1 - black
Rounds 2-4 - red
Round 5 - hdc black
Rounds 6-9 - red
Round 10 - hdc black
Rounds 11-14 - blue
Round 15 - hdc black
Rounds 16-20 - red
Round 21 - hdc black
Round 22 - red
Round 23-26 - blue
Round 27 - hdc black
Rounds 28-30 - blue
Round 31 - red
Round 32 - hdc black
Rounds 33-36 red
Round 37 - hdc black
Round 38 - red
Rounds 39-41 - blue
Round 42 - hdc black and added points (which should've been red)
Rounds - 43-46 blue
Round 47 - sc black
Round 48 rev sc black

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

50 Questions

2009-05-16T08:00:00.003-04:00

Before I begin, I just want to say that I've seen a lot of these in different forms with different questions. I like this one because it's really not a personal, share you entire life on the internet one.

If anyone would like to play along just Copy & Paste the list,
delete my answers and add your own.

50 Questions

1. High heels or boots? High heeled boots
2. What time did you get up this morning? way too early
3. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds
4. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Rise of the Lycans
5. What is your favorite TV show? Bones, NCIS
6. What do you usually have for breakfast? COFFEE
8. What food do you dislike? Liver
9. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Enya Aramantine
10. Favorite sandwich? PB&J - strawberry of course
11. What characteristic do you despise? liars
12. Favorite clothing? Blue jeans and tank tops
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation? Jamaica
14. Are you an organized person? not even close
15. Where would you like to retire to? an RV
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? I try not to remember them
17. What are you going to do when you finish this? Finish my coffee
18. Favorite drink? water
19. What's your sign? Gemini
20. Morning person or a night person? night
21. What is your shoe size? 8
22. Pets? Boston Bull Dog
23. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? I don't share my personal life online
24. What did you want to be when you were little? a hairdresser
25. What is your favorite flower? Roses
26. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? May 28, last day of school!
27. What was the last thing you ate? brown sugar/cinnamon pop tart
28. Do you wish upon stars? not in a long time
29. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? dark red or amethyst
30. How is the weather right now? beautiful
31. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? my best friend
32. Favorite soft drink? I don't drink soda
33. Hair color? red - this time
34. What was your favorite toy as a child? barbies - i used to cut their hair
35. Summer or winter? Summer
36. Chocolate or vanilla? depends - ice cream is totally vanilla
37. Coffee or tea? COFFEE - the elixir of the gods
38. Favorite Food of all time? pizza
40. When was the last time you cried? none of your business
41. What is under your bed? whatever didn't fit in the closet
42. What did you do last night? Discovery Channel
43. What are you afraid of? poisonous creepy crawly things and big red wasps
44. Salty or sweet? both - ever had chocolate covered pretzels?
45. How many years at your current job? not relevant
46. Favorite day of the week? Wednesday
47. Positive or negative? Positive
48. Favorite pastime? Crocheting or cooking
49. Beach or mountain? mountains
50. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? it's cute but I don't usually remember any of it later.

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

Hawk on the BBQ

2009-05-05T18:49:00.003-04:00

I was walking into my dining room and saw THIS when I turned the corner!

There was nothing but a screen door between us.
I wish it was a bigger picture but I'm lucky I got it at all -
my battery was just about dead in the camera.

After it got a good look at me it decided it was time to leave
so he just turned and flew away.

5-3-09
*******

Can't find the camera cord

2009-05-04T08:35:00.003-04:00

I'd love to show you guys the doily I just finished up but I can't find the cord to connect the camera to the computer. (UGH!)

I saw the coolest thing the other day. We have a smoker grill out on the back patio. The smoker grill has a metal tube that sticks up out of it to let the smoke out. I go walking thru the house and there was a hawk sitting on top of the smoke stack!

Just sitting there looking in the house, looking around, looking all proud and regal. (I guess he didn't realize that we cooked his cousin, Chicken, on the grill) I did manage to get 4 pics of it before he flew away.

But, like I said, I can't find my camera cord so I can't share my pics just yet.

*

We're finally home!

2009-04-29T10:56:00.002-04:00

Hey guys!

We just got back from 2 weeks of visiting back home. We had such a wonderful time - wonderful but busy.

I came up with a couple AWESOME little patterns while I was up there but silly me didn't write them down. I was just happy to be crocheting away. That's ok - it was a matching eyeglass case and cell phone holder so it'll be quick and easy enough to make another one.

It is so great to have my hands back since the surgery. Somehow I did manage to hurt my left on. (Lost my balance and caught it with my hand instead of my face) and the swelling is finally starting to go down.

I didn't get a whole lot of crocheting done.

What I did do was get my Mom on DSL so she can enjoy her time on the computer!

Hi Mom!!!!!

Pineapple Sundae (unblocked)

2009-04-07T21:24:00.004-04:00

Click here for full size pic.

This is a beautiful doily.
I got really tired of doing all those trcs tho.

I used #10 thread and my #6 bates hook w/
1 strand of purple sewing thread.

I finished it off with 2 rounds of white to give it a border.
(Actually, I ran out of thread)

I just LOVE the look of it with the color added in.

It's about 16 inches across.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the hook

2009-04-06T19:31:00.001-04:00

At the moment I'm working on a vintage doily called Pineapple Sundae. It is GORGEOUS! It all trcs. ugh.

It's my first piece using sewing thread to color it. I love the look of it except I ran out of thread!

I have 2 rounds left to go so I'm doing those in white to give it a border. Not quite the look I was hoping for but I'm too close to finishing it to stop now.

The last row was the first round of the border and it's a solid trc around. Of course I screwed up in the beginning of the round and had to pull the entire round out. That really put a damper on finishing this up. But - I'm determined.

The very last round is all scs but I don't like it. It just doesn't look finished so, of course - I'm just going to have to change it. I already have a pretty good idea of how I'm going to finish it off. I just keep thinking that if I didn't screw up it would be finished by now. I hate that feeling - it just makes a project hard to pick back up.

We're outta here for a couple weeks. We're going home for Easter. I'm hoping that by the time we get back I'll have enough strength and dexterity in my hands to block my newest doilies. They're going to look gorgeous when they're finished.

My 2nd Love Doily

2009-03-31T19:04:00.003-04:00

My hubby has been so wonderful since I had my surgery that I was just compelled to crochet hearts. Red ones. Every time I see these I'll always remember what a wonderful man I married.

I haven't had a chance to block either of them yet but
I just couldn't wait to share.

I didn't care for the edging that came with the doily so I made up my own.

If I make another on I think I'll put more spaces in the diamonds, maybe bring them all the way down or something. I just love the way the Celinda Matthews made the hearts.

You can find the pattern here.

It measures about 12 inches across before blocking.

I used #10 thread and my #6 Bates steel hook.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pics as promised!

2009-03-26T11:02:00.001-04:00

Can you believe I'm hookin?!?!?

2009-03-25T20:15:00.000-04:00

It's true. I can work with thread again. I chose a small doily to try. I'm only working at about 1/4 speed but I'm crocheting.

The doctor that did my carpel tunnel surgery is a brain surgeon and he just couldn't get over how intricate the pineapples were. It's like WOW! I wowed my brain surgeon!

I did the Hearts Around by Celinda Matthews. I'll get pics up tomorrow.

I also did the Patricia Hewett Flat Pineapple Angel.

YAY!!!

Cabled Purse

2009-03-10T09:41:00.007-04:00

This was a Swap gift for a dear friend. I had to wait until she recieved it before I could post a pic of it. This was finished before my surgery.

This was made with:

TLC Essentials Off White and

Beige Sugar and Creme Cotton held together;

and a K hook.

The surface crochet is only on the front side of the purse. Using the 2 strands together makes for a very nice colorplay and a sturdy but thick facric.

Those of you that know me know how much I hate to sew things together. So, I guess it's not a really big surprize that this was made entirely in one piece. The side seams are put together with with a surface sl st that goes down the front and the back sides of the purse. This makes the seams much sturdier and gives the illusion of width in the bag.

Yup - those are hdc's. As long as you make your cables with trcs you can get away with using hdcs instead of scs for you cables.

I didn't write up the pattern this time but I have a feeling that I'll be making this purse again.

.
Back view.

Gettin' Better Every Day

2009-03-05T11:05:00.004-05:00

I have to say that I am AMAZED at how well I'm doing after my first Carpel Tunnel surgery. The 1st 3 days were tough and painful but it's been getting better a little every day.
.
My stitches come out next week and the week after I go in for my other hand.
.
I gotta tell ya - I miss my crocheting. I miss my yarn. I really can't wait to get back to it.
.

For those of you considering surgery - I say :

Go For It!!

The pain, heaviness and stiffness is gone. It's just not there anymore. The doc told me that some people find immediate relief and I guess I'm one of those lucky 'some'.

Anyways - I've been busy fighting with this new laptop of mine. Reinstalled Windows twice already. I hope that this is the last time I have to do that. Once I'm sure it's working and going to stay working I'll be adding my pics to it.

As exciting as a new computer is - the reality of it is a pain in the butt!

Till next time - hook on for me!

Lupus Advocacy Day

2009-03-03T16:52:00.003-05:00

Today is:
The Lupus Foundation of America's
11th Annual Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill

There has not been a new drug created for Lupus
in 50 years!!!

They're trying to change that. Thru funding and research we can help the 2 million people that have been diagnosed with this awful disease 90% of which are women.

My dear friend Joann is one of those women.
My Father-in-Law is one of the other 10%.

What is Lupus?

Lupus is an autoimmune disease that can affect various parts of the body, including the skin, joints, heart, lungs, blood, kidneys and brain. Normally the body's immune system makes proteins called antibodies, to protect the body against viruses, bacteria, and other foreign materials. These foreign materials are called antigens.

In an autoimmune disorder like lupus, the immune system cannot tell the difference between foreign substances and its own cells and tissues. The immune system then makes antibodies directed against itself. These antibodies cause inflammation, pain and damage in various parts of the body.

How can you help?

Take Legislative Action
and contact your congressman.

Donate Online directly to the LFA

Other ways to Donate to the LFA

Become an e-Advocate

Become a Corporate Sponsor

Donate thru the Mail

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Lupus Foundation of America, Inc.
2000 L Street, N.W., Suite 710
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-349-1155

.

Surgery went well!

2009-02-27T10:30:00.003-05:00

I don't know how long my hands will be down for.

I had my right hand done yesterday and my left will be done on March 17th. Hopefully, when I'm all healed up and recovered I'll have my hands back.

In the meanwhile - I do have pics of lots of things I haven't shared yet so you guys will still see yarn, glorious yarn.

btw - it's really hard to type left-handed.

All my free PDFs in 1 place

2009-02-14T09:30:00.005-05:00

ICD Free PDF's

Thanx to Google Sites,

I now have ALL my free PDF Files stored in one place.

This is soooooooo cool!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can download the PDF for the

Survivor's Ribbon Shawl,

Gingham Ghan,

Prayer Cloth

&

Feel the Wuv Coaster
(with tut pics)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Check it out at:

ICD Free PDF's

~

Deer in my side yard this morning

2009-02-12T14:20:00.001-05:00

This was a total surprize this morning.

The pic is clicky for a better view.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a couple of My Serafina's

2009-02-11T13:41:00.002-05:00

I can finally post some pics of swap projects now that my partners have received them.

I did both of these with 2 strands and an N hook to make them warm and cozy.

I do NOT like the TLC Essentials varigated yarn. It is limp and very hard to work with. It was a lot better using 2 strands but I won't be using it again.

Which is really surpising considering how much I really enjoyed working with the TLC Essentials in the solid color. It's a little thinner than Red Heart and thicker than Caron Simply Soft.

I didn't get pics of Ambi modeling before I sent these off. I hope the recipients enjoy them.

Crochet Cable Scarf

2009-02-11T13:34:00.002-05:00

Crochet Cable Scarf
from Coats & Clark

Is really so much simpler than it looks. I made this one for my MIL. She prefers shorter scarves that she can tuck into her coat. One well placed button and a few chains added to a sc border and WALLA!

This is my very first cable project and they are so much simpler than I ever could have believed! The best part about this pattern is that it's made with hdc's so it was lots easier on my hands than a sc pattern would've been.

If you can front post you can do cables!

Crochet Cable Scarf Pattern from
Coats and Clark

Argyle Scarf

2009-02-02T08:51:00.005-05:00

Many thanx to mama24boyz for coming up with such a sensational idea.

It never ceases to amaze me how simple a stunning pattern can be! The hardest part is thinking of it in the first place. Even the figuring it out is easier than thinking of it.

I do have to admit:
That I didn't actually buy the pattern
(and I already spoke with her about it) -
so mine is not exactly like mama24boyz's.

I did do a couple of things differently:

- I did every row on the right side
- I knotted my pink at each crossing
- my edging is my own
- I added fringe

You really just cannot improve on
an awesome pattern!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more information check out:

mama24boyz Blog
~OR~
mama24boyz @ Etsy for the pattern

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Feel the Wuv Coaster - Free Pattern (Intermediate)

2009-01-27T16:19:00.011-05:00

Materials & Finished size:
with small amount 4ply ww yarn and I hook - 4 1/2 x 5 1/2"
with small amount cotton and an F hook - 4 x 4 1/2"

Pattern Notes:
Refer to the pictures on page 2 if needed.

Instructions

ch 8, sl st in 1st ch to form ring
Round 1 - ch2 (counts as 1st dc) and 16 more dc in ring, sl st into top of ch2 to join (17 dc)

Row 2 - ch1, turn, (sc, ch2) in same dc, (hdc, ch1) in next 2 sts, (sc, ch1) in next 5 sts, (sc, ch1, twice) in next st, (sc, ch1) in next 5 sts, (hdc, ch1) in next 3 sts, do not join

Round 3 - turn, (sc, ch1) in next ch-sp, (hdc, ch1) in next ch-sp, (dc, ch1) in next 2 ch-sps, (hdc, ch1) in next 4ch-sps, (dc, ch1, twice) in next ch-sp, (hdc, ch1) in next 4 ch-sps, (dc, ch1) in next 2 ch sps, (hdc, ch1) in next sp, sc in last ch-sp, sl st into top of (sc,ch1), ch2, sc in sp between the top 2 dcs of the first Round, ch1, sl st into 1st ch1

Round 4 -Do NOT turn, ch4, hdc, in ch-sp, (ch3, hdc) in next 2 ch-sps, (ch3, sc) in next 5 ch-sps, for picot in bottom point - (ch4, sc in 3rd ch from hook, ch1), skip next 2 dcs, (sc, ch3) in next 5 ch-sps, (hdc, ch3) in next 2 ch-sps, (hdc, ch4) in sc, slst between the 2dcs of the 1st Round, ch3, sl st into base of the first ch-4 sp

Round 5 - Do NOT turn, ch3, (sc ch3 twice) in next ch-4 sp, (sc, ch3) in next 7 ch-3 sps, (sc, ch3 twice) in center of picot, (sc, ch3) in next 7 ch-3 sps, (sc, ch3, twice) in last ch sp, sl st into sl st, and sl st into the first ch coming out of the sl st to finish.

Tie off and weave in ends.

Tutorial Pictures

Copyright 2009 - All rights reserved.
Items made from pattern are not to be sold online.

You can download the pdf file of this pattern
@ my new Google Site:
ICD Free PDFs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Feel the Wuv - Valentine's Coaster

2009-01-26T16:48:00.003-05:00

It's not love - it's WUV.

My newest free pattern!
As soon as it's tested I'll post it.
Valentine's Heart Coaster

It measures 4 1.2 x 5 1/2 inches
Made with Red Heart and an H hook.

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Doily & Coaster at Dad's

2009-01-23T16:09:00.003-05:00

He loved it - put it right to work under his lamp and uses his coasters for everything. It's a free pattern but I don't have the link offhand. It's not actually a very good - it is so full of mistakes that I don't want to finish the other one. ugh.

I can't right now anyways - my carpel tunnel's to the point that crocheting hurts. Thread is beyond what I can do right now. So - I'm making small projects instead.

I've been crocheting my fingers to the bone (or at least it feels that way), writing up a stubborn pattern for the Rose Basket. It's easy to just write it up shorthand but I want everyone to be able to make this and writing up a complicated pattern in simple to understand terms is new for me.

I can't post any pics of my most recent work since it's for Mom's birthday and she might look at my blog. Can't have that - so I need to wait a couple weeks. I do have lots of other neat stuff to share but I'm just too lazy to get up and takes pics right now.

I'm just getting over being REALLY sick. Strep/bronchitis - it's been awful. I feel better but I'm just so tired. I can't wait to get back into the swing of things again.

I'm on a roll - somebody stop me!

2009-01-20T08:48:00.003-05:00

Once again - I just make what I see. It's a little bigger than my standard Scott roll but just right for my Dad's mega roll. Here's the link to the original patter.
http://www.irishlace.net/crochet/toiletpaperroll.html

Coffee Cup Toilet Paper Cover

2009-01-19T14:33:00.004-05:00

This is just a pattern that I 'winged' after seeing the pic of the original coffee cup tp cover. I didn't even find her pattern again until after I made mine. After looking at her pattern on the blog I realized that we both used 48dc's.

Please understand that I'm not trying to infringe on her genious- it's just easier to store my tut here so I can find it again later. Besides, I like the top of hers better - she made the rim thicker.

She used homespun which is much thicker than RH. If I were to do this in black (like dear hubby just asked me to) I'm going to have to add in some extra sts so the white paper doesn't show thru.

Quick TUT

ch 55 and undo extra's later.
dc 1st row into back hump of ch for a finished edge

Round 1-10 - 48 dcs around (increase to 50 for a darker color)

Center - 4 rounds of circle starting with 12 dcs - attach as you go on round 11

Round 11 - flip circle so that the wrong side is facing up. As you st into Round 10 you'll - yo, insert hook thru the st and thru 1 loop of the circle edge, yo and complete your dc. Depending on your st counts you may not actually grab a stitch from the center for each and every dc around. Just wing it till it lines up evenly.

Handle - Rows 1 - 8 (leave long tails to attach) 5dc, sl st to join round. makes a tube.

Rose & Water Lily TP Toppers

2009-01-18T14:52:00.003-05:00

I actually did it. I still can't believe I did it! It's darski's fault! She made me do it! Well, no she really didn't but they're just so damn cute. My husband just does not understand. I guess he doesn't really need to but - check this out - told me I have to make one for his mom too. lolol

These are my patterns but I didn't write them down. Actually - I didn't type them down. I write in notebooks and hate when I have to type them up. Anyway - enjoy Kitsch!

Water Lily

(still looking for my googly eyes)

Rose in a Basket

I'm trying to get the purples, greens and beige to pull together in my main bath. Next time I'll only make one round of leaves - it just wasn't quite big enough. The basket weave needed extra space on the inside.

You can find these and great other stuff over at the
Kitsch and Kitch Can Cal
on the 'Ville.

TUT for Crocheted Cord - chaining with 2 strands

2009-01-17T12:29:00.004-05:00

This is an incredibly simple technique that you can get down in just a few minutes of practicing.

As you can see in this pic you can get 2 totally different looks simply by using 2 strands of one color instead of
2 strands of different colors.
The front looks like a knit st and the back is just way cool.

To begin -
take 2 strands of 4plyww and a G hook.

Step 1 -
Hold them together and make your first sl knot & ch1.

Now you'll alternate colors while
you chain st with only 1 strand at a time.

Step 2 -

yo and draw thru with orange

Step 3 -
yo and draw thru with blue

Step 4 -
Continue on until the cord is the desired length.

In the pic above you get a closer look at the difference between the front and the back of the cord.

Hook on!

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A Mini Flat Serafina

2009-01-11T07:45:00.002-05:00

Macy's Super Cape

You can't tell what pattern it is with the vari yarn.

I don't like working with TLC Essentials Vari. It's very limp and splits something fierce. The solid is a nice yarn to work with. A little thinner than RH or Caron but still a nice yarn to work with.

I have a more pics to post after my Swap Partners get their presents.

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Happy Holidays!

2009-01-08T11:00:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas
&
Happy New Year!

better late than never lol

Hey everyone!

2009-01-01T10:49:00.002-05:00

First I'd like to apologize for not keeping up on my blog here. It's been a while since I posted but as they say - Life got in the way.

I know I've been MIA at the 'Ville lately. 2 reasons for this.

1. My carpel tunnel has gotten to the point of surgery. I go to see the surgeon in a couple weeks and find out my options. I'm at the point - it's like - just do it already so I can have my hands back and get back to doing what I love.

My designing has been on hold while I can't use my hands. I've done a few things here and there but I just haven't had the ambition to do it whole heartedly since my hands cannot co-operate.

I do have a couple more free patterns going up if I ever get them off my note book and typed up. then they need to be tested but that'll be quick.

2. I started my very own Chronic Pain Support Group. I have many health problems and live in chronic pain. It sux but all you can do is your best with what life hands you. Getting my group set up took up a lot of my time for a couple months. It's finally at a point where it's almost running itself and I have WONDERFUL managers. Not to be rude but this is a PRIVATE group. It's also a very small group. I'm not recruiting for members here - just filling you in on what I've been up to.

I just checked my email and I have a few requests for extra help on my 24 point round ripple. I'll do my best to help you guys out with that. It even gives me a chance to check out my new camera that I got for Christmas.

and by the way:

Happy New Year!

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Amber's 1st Pattern

2008-09-13T15:04:00.005-04:00

My baby made her very first crocheted piece.
She's not much of a baby anymore. She's 12 already.

This is her very first pattern!

My aspiring designer!

For her free pattern, click below

Baba's Eyeglass Case
& Neck Holder

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

Haekelbeutel Bag

2008-09-08T11:33:00.004-04:00

Haekelbeutel Bag Pattern (pdf)

Stats:

Red Heart Peach and Soft White
H hook

17 inches across
11 inches from center dip to bottom.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

My favorite model!
My 5 ft tall 12 yr old

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Straps

21 inches long
2 inches wide.

75 chains in the center peach strip
The center strip is worked in my absolute FAV way of making pocketbook straps. Then it's just crocheted in as part of the outline around the top of the bag.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Squares

6 rounds - 6 inches

I just used the square that came with the pattern.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Closure

I love using this closure.

It's so easy to do and it looks so pretty.
The flower is the button

and the tab only looks hard.

I'll be writing up the pattern soon for
the flower button closure.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

End Notes

I am so happy that this pattern is so forgiving.
If you take a close look at it - the wrong side of the squares are showing on the right side of the bag. I stayed with it cuz I didn't want to rip out all of the last 2 rounds inside and outside of the handles.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

C'ville has a CAL going for this bag. You can check out lots of different styles and colors and tons of tips and ideas at the Heakelbeutel Bag CAL.

If you don't want to join the CAL but just want to make the bag the pattern can be found below. Just be aware that it opens as a PDF file so if you're using Adobe - jamb on.

Pattern for Inga's
Crocheted Bag

I use the Foxit PDF Reader for all of my PDF files.
It's an awesome & free program

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

2nd Annual International Crochet Day

2008-09-03T14:23:00.003-04:00

September 12

is

International
Crochet
Day

Inspired by my most favorite hookmaker of all time!

Jimbo has started something that he us now unable to stop!
It has taken on a life of it's own and is
spreading around the globe.

A day to share to our love of crochet.

International Crochet Day truly is international:
Brazil, Portugal, Germany, New Zealand, USA
just to name a few.

Check out Jimbo's Front Porc h to
find out more about ICD and to
check out his wonderf handmade crochet hooks.

I am the GRAND PRIZE Winner

2008-08-30T15:43:00.004-04:00

Here it is!!! My

Silver Medal winning aghan!

I may have taken a silver in the games,

but I won the Grand Prize Drawing!

Tender Lovin' Care Afghans

pattern book

enough yarn to make my afghan of choice

which is #6 Ethnic Drop Stitch.

and a red canvas bag to hold it all in!

Thank you Coats & Clark for sponsoring the

Crochet Games! and thank you to Vicki Blizzard for

getting a hold of me so quickly regarding the prize drawing!

You guys are great!

I know, I know . . .

2008-08-27T09:03:00.005-04:00

I've been bad. I've been lazy.
I haven't been posting like I should be.
Life's been busy lately.

Really, really good but busy.

Anyway, I will be posting my Crochet Games project
with all the gory details very soon.
(Maybe even today if I force myself)

But I did crochet a 7 foot round ripple in 2 weeks,
so I guess lazy really isn't the right word.
lolol

I missed the gold by 2 1/2 rounds
:(

What I've been up to

2008-08-16T15:36:00.003-04:00

Heather said...: I'd been wondering what you've been up to. That is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!! I must learn how to make it!!!

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

Thank you so much!
Thank all of you that've left comments about my newest ghan! I just love it!

Honestly - I haven't been up to much. I had such a bad flare up with my carpel tunnel that I wasn't able to hold a hook for about 2 months.

Sad to say - I think my thread days may be over. I did 2 doilies back to back and my hands were useless.

I hope I don't overdo it with this monster ghan.

~~~~~ NEWS ~~~~~

I do have several new patterns on the back burner at the moment. You all know I love filet. I think it's time to start using filet with yarn as that's what my hands are dictating. I have a couple shawls in the making and I finally pulled out my Ladders of Love baby ghan to work on that some more. (Honestly - I just found it again.)

There are so many round ripple patterns on the net that I'm just going to write up a basic overview for this purple one. I love the way it's coming out!

Crochet Games @ the Ville

2008-08-15T21:02:00.002-04:00

better late than never.

Crochet Games

Ancient Greece

Thanx to AmyS & Donna at our fav crochet hangout- C'ville - we have our very own special games going on. We're competing for medals and honors and glory! Yeehaw!

But seriously . . . we're having our very own Crochet Games in honour of the Olympic Games. The difference with our games is it's all 'on our honour' from starting with the opening ceremonies and crocheting our way thru the closing ceremonies. Our medals are based on our word that the projects we picked were completed in the allotted time. We don't have judges knitpicking (pun intended) our work and speed and agility. We just have to complete a project we believe to be a challenge to ourselves.

I happen to be on Team Afghan with an AWESOME bunch of ladies!

Make sure to check out that link - there are some beautiful ghans going on there and lots of encouragement as well.

My project is a 48 point Round Ripple in purples.

4plyww and an I hook

5 feet across

with another 2 feet to go.

Rainbow in my yard!

2008-07-26T16:46:00.002-04:00

Pizza Tray Trivit

2008-07-11T08:46:00.006-04:00

I adapted Crochet Patty's
Antlia Doily

Instead of using #5 thread I used
peaches and cream cotton and an F hook.

I worked the doily thru round 14.
For the border I worked
(sc, ch3) in each space around.

It measures 14 inches across.

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

US Navy Anchor Tapestry Pillow

2008-06-13T20:35:00.004-04:00

This I made for my Father in Law.
He was a Signalman in the Navy during WWII.

He has some incredible stories about flashing morse code from the tops of naval ships while under enemy fire! Apparently they targeted the Signalman so that they couldn't communicate with other ships. He has some great stories about docking in foreign ports, too lol.

I wasn't sure what to do with the tapestry -
it measures 12w x 16h
RHSS 4ply ww - H hook

I turned this one into a pillow.
I matches the fleece throw that I quilted for his chair.

On this one - instead of embroidering the lines and designs - I surface crocheted. It really gives it a super cool 3d raised effect. In person - the chain has the gold showing thru.

(You can see the fabric color on the bottom)

For the border I worked ch6 at the end of every row and sc, ch6 across the top and bottom. I used white to finish the rope effect, ch4, pull thru navy loop, sl st into place and repeat around. You really can't see it in this pic but the white curls around the navy.

I used gold fabric, made a slipcover for the pillow, hand sewed the crochet to the fabric, stuffed it and finished sewing the seam on the machine.

After I finished these 2 pieces I round Carol Alexanders blog on tapestry crochet.

A & Eagle for Father's Day

2008-06-07T09:56:00.004-04:00

After embroidery.

This took me 2 weeks.
I used 4plyWW and a G hook
(never again)
Measures 20"w x 16"h
********************************

Before embroidery:

My Dad worked at Budweiser for 20 some years before he got hurt at work. I remember way back when you still had to get a liscence to go on a CB his handle was The Budman!

He has the house decorated by Budweiser. I have a picture somewhere of me in my red snowsuit with the Bud logo on my hat. He even had the kid decorated by Budweiser. He gave me a HUGE double size Bud Label beach towel. I was wrapped up in it and laugher -
I'm still the kid decorated by Bud.

Dad'll be on a trip for Father's Day so he got his present early when he came up to visit!

He LOVED it!

He Loved it so much he's going to have it framed! WOW!

I love you, Daddy!

Happy Father's Day!

**********

Saving a family heirloom

2008-05-30T19:40:00.005-04:00

My Grandmother made these many moons ago. These are the only pieces she ever made in size 20 thread. She just didn't like working with it. She was more of a pineapple kind of crocheter.

There are 2 pieces here. A dresser scarf and a chest of drawers scarf or in my case, 1 for my piano and 1 for my coffee table.

!!!WARNING!!!

This picture is not for the faint of heart!

Don't say I didn't warn ya!

After 2 days of washing and cleaning and soaking ...
it looked like this.

*******************************************
I finally decided that it was already ruined and that I did everything I possibly could before I gave in and got the bleach.
********************************************

These are the results!

The dresser scarf that now lives on my piano.
This is the flower basket on the end of the scarf on my piano.

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

This one is on my coffee table.
It still needs some repair work to the fabric itself.

Pineapple Trivit/Dishcloth

2008-05-30T19:24:00.002-04:00

Materials
Crochet Cotton of choice - F hook
~ or ~
2 strands Crochet Cotton - J hook

Gauge -

2strand Trivet/Dischcloth -
Trivot/Dishcloth

Special Stitches
Shell (2dc, ch2, 2dc) in ch2 sp
Side Shell - sl st into ch2 sp, (ch3, dc, ch2, 2dc) in ch2 sp
5dc cl w/ picot- ch2, holding last loop on hook to create cluster: dc in ch2sp, 3dc in next ch2sp, draw thru all 5 loops, ch3Picot - ch3, turn, sl st into top of cluster, tie off.

Pineapple Trivit/Dishcloth

Instructions
ch5, sl st in 1st ch to form loop
Rnd 1 - ch3 counts as 1st dc now and throughout. (2dc, ch2) 5times, (2dc, ch4), (2dc, ch2) 3 times
~ or ~ (2dc, ch2) 8 times - without hanging loop,
sl st into top of ch3 to join
* Now you'll begin working in rows & turning at the end of each.
Row 2 - Side shell, ch2, shell in shell
Row 3 - side shell, (dc, ch5, dc) in next ch sp, shell in shell
Row 4 - side shell, 10dc in ch5 sp, shell in shell
Row 5 - side shell, ch1, (dc, ch1) in the next 10dc's, shell in shell
Row 6 - side shell, ch2, sc in ch sp, (ch3, sc in ch1sp) across, ch2, shell in shell [8 ch3sps]
Row 7 - side shell, ch2, sc in ch3 sp, (ch3, sc) in next ch3 sp, across [7 ch3sps]
Row 8 - repeat row 6 [6 ch3sps]
Row 9 - repeat row 6 [5 ch3sps]
Row 10 - repeat row 6 [4 ch3sps]
Row 11 - repeat row 6 [3 ch3sps]
Row 12 - repeat row 6 [2 ch3sps]
Row 13 - repeat row 6 [1 ch3sp]
Row 14 - side shell, ch2, sc in ch3 sp, ch2, shell in shell
Row 15 - side shell, shell in next shell
Row 16 - sl st into ch2sp, begin 5dc cl w/ picot.
Tie off. Weave in ends. Block.

Crocus Doily

2008-05-25T20:37:00.005-04:00

I just luv making this piece.

It's one of the few pieces I've made more than once and will probably make again. The pattern and the pattern repeats are so incredibly simple for such a complex looking doily.

I made this with my Bates 6 steel hook and #10 thread.
It measures 18 1/2 inches across.

This pattern is so incredible. This is the doily towel dried and laid out. It's still damp. It doesn't need pins, it doesn't need ironing, it just lays smooth.

I made this to go with a vintage lamp my husband fell in love with. I can't wait to finish getting everything unpacked from our trip so I can put them out together!

A close up view.
You can find the pattern here at the Coats and Clark site.

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

2 more Serafina's

2008-05-10T16:28:00.003-04:00

I just love my model!

Even the dog had to get in on these!

How to make a flat Serafina

2008-05-10T15:59:00.008-04:00

Can you believe that I used 4ply ww RH in Hot Red and Black with an I hook!

Look how smooth that fabric is!

I have finally figured out how to make a Serafina flat while using the correct hook for the yarn. It is soooooooo simple.

I realize that I do Seraphina Shawls a little differently than everyone else. I have 4dc's on each side of the shell columns. I think that it gives it a more even look. This works no matter which way you make them.

Directions

When it comes time to make the shells -
use a hdc instead of a dc.

From your very 1st Vst (hdc, ch1, hdc)
to your very last Shell (3hdc, ch2, 3hdc)
use hdc's.

Always use the DC Shell down the center.
The hdc's are for the sides only.

I promise it works!

Check your local fuel prices

2008-05-10T13:30:00.002-04:00

I just added a cool (and useful)

new widget.

Check your local gas prices

before you fill up!

Scroll 1/2 way down,
fill in the zip code & info
and Save Settings.

Coming Soon...

2008-05-08T15:25:00.001-04:00

How to crochet a

Serafina Shawl

without ripples in the shell columns!!!!!

Using 4plyWW and an I hook!!!

(I need batteries for my camera!)

On Display at Mom's 3

2008-05-06T14:11:00.002-04:00

I made these, too!

On Display at Mom's 2

2008-05-06T13:58:00.003-04:00

I made these!

The 8 1/2 foot Round Ripple
on a Double Bed

My very 1st MAM

That's Pooky & Gizmo with Amber on the couch!

On Display at Mom's House

2008-05-06T13:54:00.003-04:00

My Grandmother made these!

Hi Mom!!!

2008-05-02T19:55:00.005-04:00

My Mom finally got a new computer and
can start checking out the net. YAY!

This is for you, Mom!

!!! Hi Mom !!!
!!! Hi BABA !!!

! we LOVE you !

!!! we MISS you !!!

We can't wait to see you again!