Blue Ribbon Surprises

If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been the last month…well, a lot of LIFE has been happening: speaking at a women’s retreat, teaching knitting and crochet classes, beginning a new job with Maggie’s Crochet, my sister having her third baby, my dad enduring and recovering from a bicycling accident, a beloved friend in our congregation going home to be with our Lord and exchange his cancer-ridden body for a new one, (whew! all this makes my head spin!) and last but not least, the Dixie Classic Fair! Every year our family enters various and sundry creations to the Fair and enjoy seeing what ribbons, if any, our creativity rewards us. This year I entered a free-form crochet purse, a multi-yarn crocheted vest (both previously blogged about) and this multi-yarn knitted jacket. I was flabbergasted to receive blue ribbons for all three! Yippee! My husband received second place for his chili sauce, and our 5-yr old received third place for a piece of pottery she made. Our earnings actually help to pay for the fair entry fee, rides, cotton candy, homemade root-beer and other things we love about the fair every fall. Though it doesn’t actually feel like fall, we are starting to see touches of color in the trees…makes me want to knit and crochet with reds, golds, greens, and browns, and…

Yum!

Here’s an example of how one idea or pattern sparks another idea…my previous poncho, crocheted in Noro Silk Garden and modifying poncho pattern, led me to wonder if I could change yarns and then add a collar at the top. Bingo!! This is my favorite! I had purchased two balls of exquisite yarn this summer from Laura’s Yarntastic up in Boone, and it was nothing but approx. 8 yarns that had been attached by knots together into one long string of yarn rolled into a ball. Mind you, they were lovely yarns that had been pre-chosen for the purchaser, but I just kept on adding my own leftover yarns to the mix. I also switched up the stitch–stockinette here, garter there…put a roll-up edge to it along with a collar and voila! I’ve been using these light ribbons to tie them up the side…perhaps I’ll look for something a bit more substantial, but for now I like the difference in texture they provide. I have one more poncho idea and then I should probably give ponchos a rest…although, my daughter would look oh so cute in one, and maybe my sister would like one…:)

Fun with Teva’s Design

Teva Durham is one of my all-time FAVORITE designers…both her Loop-d-Loop knitting and crochet books are exquisite! I’ve had my eye on this capelet for a long time and decided to make the pattern “work” for a bulky weight yarn rather than the super bulky it calls for. I had this yarn from a summer purchase. The yardage wasn’t enough for a full sweater, but I was tired of making sleeveless and short-sleeved things…the warm weather has been hanging around far too long in our great state of North Carolina. Anyway, it was not a problem to convert her pattern to use a smaller gauge yarn, and I love the result! Teva has a knack for designing pieces from the top-down with all the increasing being a decorative addition that is to-die-for! I love the simplicity and complexity of her designs! Now I can’t wait to have cool enough weather to be able to wear it! Someday, I’ll make the super-bulky version!

"Amy" Filet

Filet crochet sounds exotic and difficult, but is really quite simple when you understand how the chart works. I made this simple “tee” with Elizabeth Lavold’s Silky Wool. I actually purchased the yarn a while ago, buying only what was left of this yummy color and convinced I could find just the perfect pattern to go with it. I like the hunt of matching the yarn and yardage I have with a pattern that would “work” and that I would like to wear. This pattern is one of Louet Sales’ patterns, very well-written and thorough, called the “Amy” pattern.