Crochetville Designer Blog Tour

Hello everyone!

Thank you for stopping by on the Crochetville Designer Blog Tour! Have a look around at my past posts and the pages on the left.

Thank you to Amy and Donna of Crochetville for all the work they are doing to make this 5th annual tour happen! Make sure to click back to Crochetville to see all that they are offering this month. Great stuff!

Crochet has always been a part of my life.  When I was a little girl (too young to crochet yet) our home had many beautiful thread crochet projects all around that my grandmother had made (first photo in this post).  Then I learned how to crochet at about age 8 and had my own creations of crocheted doll clothes and bookmarks around.  

A few of my very first projects - a doll top and stuffed animal hat

Once I became a teenager I bought my own crochet leaflets (with babysitting earnings) and taught myself how to do the thread crochet while making a variety of Christmas ornaments.  For several years I consistently brought out my crochet when it was time to make Christmas gifts.

Thread Crochet Ornament

I crocheted baby blankets and booties for my first child while I was pregnant. 

Cute little booties for my first child

Then about a year after my second child was born, I started teaching crochet to adults and children. Creating courses and coming up with designs that allowed my students to practice their skills became a great new creative outlet for me.  About 5 years after that, I tried my hand at designing crochet patterns for publication and crochet became a much bigger part of my life! (Visit the Editor's Blog for Crochet World by Jackie Daugherty TODAY to hear more about how I began my Celtic Knot Crochet technique.)

My daughters now all crochet and love the craft - it is wonderful to see them create school projects, gifts for family and friends and their own accessories.

Crocheted projects all by my daughters

  And I am often crocheting while waiting for them (during their appointments or classes) or spending time at home - I always have several projects in the works either for a magazine publication or for my own website.  My Celtic Knot Crochet creations are often my most favorite.

So, with all of the crocheting that goes on here, I guess you could say that every month is like National Crochet Month!  In honor of this special month and all of you who are visiting this year and have visited in year's past, we are offering a NEW FREE Celtic Knot Crochet pattern.

Come visit my Ravelry store here to download your free copy.

Thank you for visiting! 

National Crochet Month - Crochetville Blog Tour!

The 5th annual blog tour is underway! Crochetville is stopping by to visit several designers and yarn shops this month.  Every day there are projects to see, patterns that inspire and giveaways to win!

Stop by www.crochetville.com to see all that is happening.

I have enjoyed reading the answers to the various questions Crochetville is asking the designers and it's great to see all the beautiful designs they have created.  It is only the beginning of the month, so there is a great deal more to see!

Stop by here on Tuesday, March 7th for my turn - I'll be publishing a new Celtic Knot crochet pattern.

Crochetville and the Crochet Express!

Welcome everyone to the next stop on the Crochet Express!

I hope you have been enjoying this tour of designers, yarn shops and yarn companies along with all of the great giveaways in honor of National Crochet Month.

(In case you have stopped by without coming in on the 'Express', please make sure you check out all that's happening at www.crochetville.com - so many talented designers with many beautiful projects to crochet and give bunches of inspiration.)

A big thank you goes to Amy and Donna of Crochetville for putting this all together - make sure to click on their link above to read some fun travel stories from each designer on the tour - My stories include traveling on a train in Russia and going to Ireland this June.

Today in our house we are celebrating many things - St. Patrick's Day by wearing green, listening to Irish music and eating corned beef; the birthday of our youngest daughter who is turning 7; and crochet! by wearing our crocheted projects and working on new ones together. 

In honor of all of these celebrations I have a new Celtic Knot pattern for you:

 

The Celtic Rose Bookmark

 

This pattern is available for FREE until 4/17 here in my Ravelry store.

 

With my upcoming trip to Ireland in June with Annie's and Craftours and spring on its way here in New England, I am inspired by Irish art and flowers.  I hope you enjoy crocheting this project. Please email me if you have any questions.

 

 

Happy National Crochet Month and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 

Make sure to check out my friend, Bonnie Barker's blog today - she has a fun song to share and two great giveaways!  Bonnie designs wonderful Celtic cabled projects.

Crochetville Blog Tour - National Crochet Month

 

Hello everyone! 

Thank you for stopping by - I hope you have enjoyed the blog tour so far.  I have enjoyed reading about each designer in addition to seeing examples of their beautiful work.  Many of these designers I have met through CGOA (Crochet Guild of America) events.

I highly recommend becoming a member of the guild.  Immediately you have access to all sorts of great crochet resources and become a subscriber to Crochet! magazine.  And, then the best part is meeting many talented people who love crochet like you do at a guild meeting or the annual conference.  Visit their website to find out more: www.crochet.org.   (You can also read about many of the designers' experiences with CGOA throughout this blog tour.)

Last year we had a great time with the yarn bomb I designed and implemented.  See the page on the left for photos of all that fun (and for more photos - click here and scroll down).

 

Since we love all things Irish here at Celtic Knot Crochet, we are offering a new pattern for you in honor of National Crochet Month.  It is a quick project that you can make in time to wear for St. Patrick's Day - the Celtic Pendant Necklace.

 



In this design the Celtic Knot is added with a decorative button.  The two-colored woven edging compliments the knot pattern and is a fun technique to try.  Included in the instructions are photos of other color combinations and Celtic Knot options to give the pendant a different look. (This Celtic Knot button I found at my local JoAnn Fabrics store in the button section.)

You can download this pattern for FREE here.

Please post photos of your finished pendants on Ravelry so we can all see your version and be inspired!

(If you like our combination of crochet and Celtic Knots, be sure to check out more photos of our Celtic Knot Crochet Designs in the page on the left.)

Make sure to check back here throughout the month of March as I feature various crocheters to continue the celebration of National Crochet Month.  They have worked hard to turn our yarn bomb pieces into blankets for charity or they give of their crochet talents by teaching.  And some have made some Celtic Knot Crochet designs with wonderful results while sharing neat stories along the way.  (See the post just before this one about Susan Lowman.)

Thank you to Amy and Donna for all of their hard work on this blog tour!  This year, Crochetville, is highlighting the charity, Halos of Hope.  They provide knitted and crocheted hats to cancer centers around America.  Check out their website here to see how you can donate a crocheted hat or money that would help pay for shipping costs.

Other designer on the tour for today :  Julie Yeager (www.julieyeagerdesigns.com)


And tomorrow visit: Amanda Saladin (www.desigingcrochet.com) and Kathy Kelly (www.crochetbird.wordpress.com)

Crochet World April 2015

Our family loves to watch cute animals wherever we can find them - in our backyard, around our neighborhood, at a local sanctuary or zoo or even in our home.  In our home it may be a funny video on YouTube or the entertaining antics of our mini-dachshund. Hedgehogs are one of these adorable animals that make us smile and  say, "Awww". So, I crocheted this design of a hedgehog pincushion based on a sketch by one of my daughters. 

The instructions to make this little guy can be found in the April 2015 issue of Crochet World which you can download or order here.

 

Did you know that March is National Crochet Month? 

 

To celebrate I will be highlighting several crocheters  - they may have taken our CGOA yarn bomb pieces and turned them into blankets for charity, they may have crocheted one of my designs and shared a special story about it or they are helping to keep the love of crochet alive by teaching and giving.

Also, on March 10th this will be a stop on the Annual Crochetville Blog Tour - This is a great event taking you all over the web to visit with some of the crochet industry's best designers - http://crochetville.com/  On March 10th I will be offering a new free pattern in honor of the tour.    Check back soon!