Bonnie Barker - Crochet Cables

While I was at the Knit and Crochet Show this past summer, I met a wonderful woman named Bonnie.  She is a homeschool mom like me and makes beautiful designs using crocheted cables while taking inspiration from the Aran Isles of Ireland.  In fact, she just visited Ireland this past fall and has posted some of her photos on her website:  www.bonniebay.com


If you receive Red Heart's E-Newsletters, you may have already seen one of Bonnie's fantastic designs in the current: 12 Weeks of  (free) Christmas Patterns.  Her design was featured in Week 2 and is called the "Holiday Cable Throw".

 It can be found here:  http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/holiday-cables-throw

Bonnie recently posted a blog about her pattern here:

 http://www.redheart.com/blog/help-holiday-cables-throw-bonnie-barker-guest-bloggerdesigner

and she has great video tutorials on her website.

Over the summer I watched one of her videos to learn how to do her "Celtic Weave".

I had admired this stitch while seeing some of Bonnie's designs at the Knit and Crochet Show Fashion Show and Design Competition and was eager to try it out.  I used Lion Brand's Homespun yarn in one of my favorite colorways.  (Bonnie uses Homespun often for her designs.)

I have always been drawn to crocheted and knitted cables because of how they are woven like Celtic Knots.  I think I will turn this swatch into a simple drawstring bag to hold some of my crochet notions.

Crochet Today - Jan/Feb 2013- Blue Note Scarf

The next issue of Crochet Today! has been out now for several weeks.

It is their 2nd annual Music Edition.

You can order this and other issues at www.crochettoday.com.
A subscription would make a great gift for any crocheter!

I was so pleased to find out that one of my designs made the cover- the Blue Note Scarf!

My daughter was the one to get the mail out of the mailbox that day and she came running inside, saying, "Mommy, your design made the cover!"

I had completed the design over the summer while we were on vacation.
The design uses common clothesline and basic crochet stitches.  I thought it would appeal to music lovers and music teachers to show their passion for performing and sharing music with others.

My love of music:
I love music and enjoyed coming up with this scarf.  My mother is an  opera singer and voice teacher.  As long as I can remember I listened to her teaching people to sing in our home.  I especially enjoyed watching her perform on stage.  She was great as Carmen and even took me on tour with her when I was a toddler.  When I was in high school, we performed in several concerts together and in the musical, "Kismet".

My father has been the director of his church choir for a long time.  Every Christmas Eve we would celebrate the birth of Christ with a beautiful service of "Lessons and Carols".  My dad is a funny director and gifted musician. He has a beautiful tenor voice.

I have sung soprano in a wide variety of choirs over the years - church, high school, college, and community.  In the past 10 - 15 years I have done more solo work, too singing for special events and even the National Anthem at our local Triple A ballpark.  This past summer my sister (who has a beautiful soprano voice) and I were able to sing a fun duet for my mom's students' recital.  Music is best when it is shared with others - whether performing or listening!

Every day my family and I listen to all kinds of music.  This time of year I love to listen and sing along to all of the Christmas music I have collected over the years.  Music is such a big part of our lives that I cannot imagine a day without it.

Celtic Knot Belt - FREE Pattern

 

Celtic Knot Belt

 

This new design of mine is available at www.redheart.com.

It is a FREE pattern and can be found by following this link:

http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/celtic-knot-belt

**I will be posting some photos (on one of the pages to the left)

to show how to weave the center knot**

 

To make this belt I used just one skein of Red Heart's Luster Sheen yarn in Cherry.

I think it would be fun to make in 2 colors - Green and Red - for Christmas.

Please email me if you have any questions about how to make it.

Ladies Night Out Crochet Class

Our Ladies Night Out Crochet Class has been going well and everyone has been doing a great job stitching multiple scarves.  Here we are modeling some of our scarves - some completed and some still in progress. :)

Our first scarf pattern was by Donna Hulka of Crochetville.  I saw her "Easy Beauty Chain Scarf" at the Red Heart yarn booth at the Manchester CGOA conference.  Her sample was made with the new Red Heart Boutique yarn - Unforgettable.  It is a great yarn - It looks like wool but is 100% acrylic (which means it is affordable and comfortable for those who find wool too itchy to wear).  It comes in a variety of variegated colorways. 


Since this Unforgettable yarn is so new, I could not find it in any of the craft stores in town in September (now it is on sale at AC Moore) so I substituted the yarn for Yarn Bee's "Danielle" yarn.  This is a beautiful yarn, too and available at Hobby Lobby.  The photo on the right-hand side of this page shows my sample of the scarf with the Yarn Bee yarn. 

It also comes in a blend of turqoise and browns - very pretty.  During our next class I will be taking photos of all the students' projects to show all the variations we've completed and then I will post the photos on the Student Gallery page (found on the left).

I Love Yarn Day!

I was so looking forward to today! Give out a "WAH - HOO!" if you love yarn!
How many of us have so much yarn in our stash that we'll need to live to 150 to use it? :)

Anyway, I encouraged my Ladies Night Out Crochet Class to wear a crocheted creation to work today.  I also mentioned all the benefits of "Ravelry" to my students, saying that is was a great place for "fiber enthusiasts".  Well, Bonnie made me laugh when she said something like, "Yeah, we're just 'fiber freaks'" - very cute and funny.  Let's hear it for the "Fiber Freaks"! 

Since I am a stay-at-home mom, I don't leave the house everyday (my work comes to me :) ).  But today I actually did go out for a lovely annual doctor's visit . . . .and I proudly wore a crocheted creation.

I also worked up this heart motif - I may turn it into a pendant for a necklace - not sure.  Over the summer I found a new heart knot by JD on his website (Tying It All Together) and I have been wanting to do something with it since.  Here is my first attempt:

Hope you had a great "I Love Yarn Day".

Crochet Today! Nov/Dec Issue

The next issue of Crochet Today! has been published. It is their Holiday issue so I have not seen it in many stores yet - I think they are waiting until we are closer to Christmas.


Here is my design in this issue - The Solstice Tote.



It is the first time I've designed with Red Heart's Sashay Yarn.  The yarn gives very unique results and once you get the hang of it, is easy to work with.

There are many other great holiday projects that the designers came up with. I hope to try the  Granny Brag Frames and Winter Berry Earrings.

Check the photos out at: www.crochettoday.com and while there you can subscribe on-line to get these and many great patterns in each issue.

Patterns Coming Soon to Ravelry

Over the next few months I am planning to post several patterns of my designs on Ravelry.
My Ravelry name is: CelticKnotCrochet.
Feel free to hop on over and see my designs and projects all in one place. :)

Here are a few photos of designs to come:
(I will post on my blog as each pattern is available.)

Celtic Knot Bun Cover

(for your little ballerina)

Crimson Beaded Neck Wrap

Ireland Forever Bowl

Sweet Summer Knot Bag

(shown on its side)

Trinity Shamrock Applique

on our little leprechaun!

Autumn Snowflake

Yes, I know, why are we thinking about snowflakes in the middle of August?
Well, I wanted to share my other entry into the CGOA Design Competition.
Here it is:

"Autumn Snowflake"

It reminded me of an intricate snowflake and the colors reminded me of fall. In fact, the pretty coral color was also my wedding color.  I used the pretty Perle Cotton crochet thread and a small steel hook. (All of which I had found a long time ago on clearance!)  I had a basic idea of what I wanted the doily to look like but as I created it, I had to improvise the structure and amount of rounds.  I am pleased with how it turned out. 



Crochet Today!

The Sept/Oct issue of Crochet Today! is on sale now on newsstands.
To order a subscription visit: http://www.crochettoday.com/navsub

To see all Crochet Today has to offer visit their Facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/crochettoday

In this issue I designed the "Dino Mitts" for kids.  I decided to make them in a puppet-style mitten so they would not only keep hands warm but also be able to "come to life" while playing in the cold.  They are made out of Red Heart Soft yarn - it has a wonderful sheen and is very soft.  I love the colors that it comes in.

Fashion Show at CGOA

On Saturday night during the conference, I attended the Fashion Show and banquet.
It was more great fun to talk with fellow crocheters and eat good food!
The Fashion Show was full of beautiful and unique garments modeled by many of the designers themselves.
I enjoyed modeling my Glendalough Shrug with all the other winning garments.
Here are some photos of the evening:

Margaret Hubert receiving the Crochet Hall of Fame Award

 Beautiful Garden Sweater

Carlotta modeling a wrap

Doris Chan modeling her new Spiral Top design

Katie modeling a woven top

(We love how Katie is an Irish Step Dancer! )

Me in my winning shrug. :)

Glendalough Shrug

On Thursday night of the conference I attended the Design Competition Awards Ceremony.
I had entered 2 projects into the competition - I thought the prizes were very good and I thought it would be neat to have my projects on display in the Expo Center.  During the course of the well-executed ceremony, I was so pleased and surprised to see one of my projects coming up to the front to be recognized as the Second Place Winner in the Fashion Category!

Here is my short description of the Glendalough Shrug:
(I named it after a pretty little spot in Ireland where there are many stone Celtic Crosses decorated with all kinds of Celtic Knots. It is pronounced: "Glen-da-lock")

The highlight of this design is the intricate decorative knot on the back. A fine yarn made of nylon and acrylic fibers was used to create a “crocheted-cord”. After this cord was carefully woven into the knot, it was then embellished with crochet stitches to transform it into the shrug shape. Other knots were added as trim along the back, sleeve and upper edges. Glass beads and crystal gems were also added as a finishing touch of sparkle.


Doris Chan has posted all the photos of the winning projects here:http://dorischancrochet.com/2012/06/28/cgoa-2012-crochet-design-competition-results/
I am honored to be called a winner with all of these other talented designers.


** Special thanks to Doris Chan, Shari White and other members of the Design Competition  Committee. Also, special thanks to KJ Hay (and her husband) for putting together a great slideshow of all the winners.

Love Knot Adventures

During the Knit and Crochet Show I took a class by Vashti Braha.  It was called, "Love Knot Adventures".  Vashti has some beautiful designs available on Ravelry and she has done some very creative things with common stitches, such as the slip st and single crochet.

Make sure to check out her website: www.designingvashti.com
and her patterns on Ravelry - vashtirama
(And now she is offering exclusive Doris Chan designs/patterns on her website!)

I enjoyed the class - Vashti prepared a great handout about the Love Knot stitch (also called "Solomon's Knot) and first took us through making the stitch and then all its variations.  We ended the class with trying our hand at adding beads to each knot stitch in a variety of ways.

Before the class I practiced the Love Knot and had fun making this necklace to wear to class. I will be posting the pattern soon on Ravelry for FREE (CelticKnotCrochet).

Of course, after the class my mind was filled with even more ideas from Vashti so I created this motif.

I love the Love Knot stitch -Its lacy and delicate look make for very classy garments. And its "build-as-you-go" style makes for endless creative possibilities!

Knit and Crochet Show by CGOA

The Knit and Crochet Show is going on right now in Manchester, NH.
We are all having a great time getting to know other designers, taking classes
and buying beautiful yarn to add to our stashes.
I have been impressed by all the members at the conference and how well everything has been run.
I am glad I joined the CGOA (Crochet Guild of America) recently and I highly recommend it for all crocheters.  Consider visiting their website: www.crochet.org
More about the conference later . . . .

Crochet Today! - July/August Issue

The latest issue of Crochet Today is out in the stores and I would like to highlight the 2 designs I created for it.  First, is this Crabby Carry-all with matching Crabby Cap (found on page 50).  It was fun to design and crochet - everyone who saw the project in progress had to comment on how cute it looked.  I plan to teach a special workshop this summer on how to make this project.

The other design (another project for kids) is "Sea Turtle Floaties" (found on page 60) - A basic hexagon shape can be made into turtles. I created 3 different shell designs and came up with a way to make them float in the "ocean, bathtub or backyard pool"!

Sunshine Days

I have a dear friend who wears a lot of hats.  I saw the summer hat by Linda Permann in the 2011 Jul/Aug issue of Crochet Today! and immediately thought of my friend.  I could not find the yarn Linda recommended so I used a denim colored baby yarn from Yarn Bee.  I was able to deliver the hat to my friend on her birthday and it looks great on her! :)  The hat worked up very quickly - I may have to make one for myself!

Handbasket Knot

One of my favorite books for knotting is: "Decorative Fusion Knots" by JD Lenzen.  His photographs and instructions are excellent.  I have taken many of the knots from this book and created a crochet version.  Here is my crocheted version of JD's "Handbasket Knot".  I used some Martha Stewart yarn and made each side a mirror-image of the other.

Science and Crochet

My daughters and I have been studying our Solar System this spring.  At the beginning of our studies, the book we are reading encouraged us to make a paper model of all the planets.  Well, that just wasn't  interesting for us so . . . . we decided to crochet our models.

One of my daughters and I shared the task of crocheting the flat circles to make this model.  (We followed the sizing guide in our book.)  We enjoyed picking out yarn from our stash to match the color suggestions, working together and seeing the end result after hot gluing everything onto a fabric covered rectangle of cardboard.

My oldest daughter decided to make her planets 3-D.  She worked on her mobile for about 2 weeks.  She stuffed each planet with fiberfil and hung them from a thick wire frame with fishing line.  She still has plans to add some gold glitter to the large sun sphere on top.


As their homeschool teacher, I give them both an A+!

Spring is here!

My family loves ladybugs.  I came across a free ladybug pattern on-line and decided to make a few for my crochet students.  This spring semester we had a great class of women from all walks and stages of life - all levels of crochet were included, too.  As a little thank you to them, I took the pattern I found, "Spring Ladybug," at: http://m.allfreecrochet.com/Crochet-Amigurumi-Patterns/Spring-Ladybug by Emi Harrington, made a few changes,glued on a magnet and gave them out the last day of class.  I used the Red Heart Shimmer Yarn to give each bug it's own sparkle.

Welcome Readers of Crochet Today!

Thank you for stopping by this website. Here you will find a variety of crocheted and knot projects.

If you are stopping by to find tips on weaving a Celtic knot, please click on the first page to the LEFT - "Tips for Weaving Knots" and there you will find step-by-step instructions for weaving a knot, complete with photos.

If you have any questions, please email me : celticknotcrochet@gmail.com and put "Questions about Celtic Knot Scarf" in the subject line. Also, feel free to send photos - I would love to see your finished project.

Crochet Today!

On February 8th the March/April issue of Crochet Today! will be on newsstands. I am looking forward to the issue because one of my designs will be inside. There will be many beautiful spring patterns included. You can preview them at www.crochettoday.com. Here is a photo of my design: Celtic Knot Scarf. All the pattern details can be found in the magazine next month.

http://www.crochettoday.com/crochet-patterns/celtic-knot-scarf