Category: DV Yarns

Crochet yarns developed by Vashti specially for the DesigningVashti Shop! We focus on yarns for crocheting that are durable, add a designerly drape and polish, and that resist “splitting” thanks to a final Z-twist (counterclockwise-spun).

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Happy [inter-]National Crochet Month

This is my Crochetville NatCroMo blogging day.

Larger wrap size of DJC Curaçao Wrap in Emerald Deep Lotus yarn
New pineapple crochet lace wrap pattern for Lotus by Doris Chan in Emerald Deep Lotus yarn.

Thanks for stopping by! It’s certainly a big weekend for us crocheters.

Tomorrow is a very green holiday (St. Patrick’s Day) so check out our DesigningVashti Lotus yarn in the new Emerald Deep color. This is a rich, satisfying, inspiring green to take you from winter to spring.

Want to feel warm and cozy quickly? 

I’ve just returned from teaching “Big-Hook Slip Stitch Crochet” in icy Chicago. I urge everyone to gather up their jumbo crochet hooks and super bulky yarns! Some of my slip stitch projects take only an hour or two this way.

Expedient Cowl Took Only Two Hours to Make.

Beginner slip stitch crochet with a big hook!
Cozy Expedient Cowl: Use beginner slip stitches and a big hook. (Add a third ball and more rows for a trendy skirt!)

Warm up a big hook (size P/11.5 or 12 mm) for this toasty, speedy item. I named it “Expedient” because it took me just two hours tops to make one during LAST year’s surprise cold snap.

No super-bulkies handy? Create your own: just crochet with multiple strands held together of whatever’s in your yarn stash.

Tip: throw in at least one strand of alpaca or angora. These fibers are four times warmer than wool. Add a yarn with a halo like mohair, or a textured novelty yarn, to fill in any gaps between stitches.

Set of 5 Big Crochet Hooks: Perfect for NatCroMo

Set of 5 sizes of jumbo wood crochet hooks, and the crocheted "bucket" caddy for them showing the base that's reinforced by crocheting around a recycled plastic ring.
It’s displayed in my studio and I use it all the time now.

Be ready for the next cold snap with this set of five jumbo crochet hooks—sizes Q, R, S, T, and U—bundled with a free Big Hook Bucket pattern. (It’s already at a discount as a kit so I’m unable to discount it further for NatCroMo readers, sorry.) You can buy these crochet hooks individually here.

Armed with these hooks you’ll also be ready for when I release these new Big-Hook Slip Stitch crochet patterns (links currently go to their Ravelry project pages):

Zumie Lace Vest  I used a size S (19 mm) hook for most of it. This one-skein lace item took only 45 minutes to crochet. Yarn: the fun Hikoo Zumie by Skacel.

SS-Luscious Sampler  Size 12 mm (“P”) crochet hook and two skeins of luscious Berroco Noble.

Pink kitty-ears hat with only 95 yds and an M/9 mm hook. It’s simple back loop slip stitch in rows, then seamed on the top and side. It came out smallish on me and perfect on my friend (she kept it!). No yarn left over so I’m mulling a way to get a slightly more out of about 95 yds of yarn for this.

Slip Slab Neckwrap  It was the first prototype for the Expedient Cowl. I needed only 168 yards and a P/12 mm hook.

Also: Happy Spring Break!

Does it start this weekend for your family? My son’s starts this afternoon.

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Crochet Mini Skirt Hem Tests

Crochet mini skirt in dark grey "Carbonite" Lotus yarn color: 2 lacy and 2 solid hem tests

I’m working on a crochet mini skirt! The last time I crocheted a mini skirt was in 2006 for Crochet! Magazine (March 2007 issue). Today I completed the third and fourth ideas I have for a decorative hem.

Finally a Crochet Mini Skirt for Fall!

It may be a trendy item this year, but every fall I want a crochet mini skirt to wear with leggings and boots. This dark grey is a perfect neutral color for me.

I’m calling this design Carbonite after the name of this newest color of our Lotus yarn.

Crochet Stitches for Skirts

My goal was a solid stitch pattern with a brocade-like texture and a nice drape.

Does the stitch pattern look familiar? It’s a modified “Catherine Wheel”, a.k.a. “sunburst stitch”. This popular crochet stitch pattern is often used for thick wool scarves and afghans. I tweaked it a bit to prevent gaps that commonly happen between the tall stitches of the “wheels”.

I have a few more idea for hems I’d like to try but I don’t want them to slow me down too much. Each time I try a hem idea, I block it, let it dry, style and photograph it. Then I have to edit each photo a bit so that the tones and light levels match ok. I take each photo on a different day and time of day. A few were taken during Hurricane Hermine!

Next I’ll make decisions about the waistband.

This Carbonite crochet mini skirt design has a Ravelry project page that you can check to see more updates.

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Pineapple Lace and the CGOA Conference

Doris Chan's pineapple lace jacket and wrap design shown here in 3 sizes and Lotus colors.

Pineapples are the theme for this year’s crochet conference (2016). CGOA’s Hall of Fame Award winner happens to be a pineapple lace queen!

You know these are freshly crocheted because the colors are the new ones we just received from the mill. Even my husband is amazed. (Not shown: Lavender Ice. That’s for another day.)

If you’ll be attending the conference this month, come by our booth #203 (on the right after you enter the market). Lots of pineapple lace to see and try on!

Pictured: Three sizes of Curaçao —a wrap with jacket option—in Carbonite (dark grey), Emerald Deep, and Dark Roast colors of Lotus.

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New Lotus Yarn Colors Arrived (finally)

NEW: Orange Luxe, Carbonite, Lustrous Tan, Lavender Ice, Emerald Deep

Five New Lotus Yarn Colors are Here!

Now that the new yarn shipment is here I’ll make this a quick post and then go back to checking it all in. I weigh each cone and list it with its lot (a way to keep track of inventory, etc). I’ve learned it’s best to treat each raw cone from the mill as a unique item. Each has a different amount of yarn on it and is part of one particular lot.

I took the speediest photos I could. These five colors all fill gaps in our existing range. That’s a total of twenty Lotus yarn colors.

I’m pleasantly surprised by the rich and elegant look of the new colors. The orange could have been bright; instead it’s warm and rich. The emerald green is a full jewel tone. Even the neutrals are rich-looking and make my fingers itch to crochet them (it takes a lot for a neutral to hit that spot for me).

New Lotus Yarn Colors Need New Names. Hmm.

The ideal name for each color meets three priorities in this order:

  1. The color name has a maximum of twelve characters so that it fits well within the space I’ve left for it on the ball band.
  2. The name conveys the spirit of the exact color. Like our “Bamboo Green”: it is not minty just because it’s a light green; it’s more pistachio, and clean like a new spring shoot: bamboo. “Satin Grey” is exactly that. So is “Dark Roast”, and “Rose Red” (it’s not a hot fire red). A mental picture of the color can help correct whatever it looks like on someone’s monitor.
  3. It’s nice when the color name refers to the signature sheen and drape that makes this yarn a keeper for us.

The final Lotus color names I’m considering:

  • Pale Violet or Lavender Ice or Smoky Lilac or Icy Amethyst
  • Emerald, Emerald, or Emerald
  • Soft Caramel or Mushroom Bisque or Cafe au Lait or Honey Taupe or something
  • Carbonite or Slate Patina or Graphite or Charcoal or Gunmetal Glint
  • Orange Riche or Persimmon or Tangerine
2018 update: The color names Doris and I settled on are: Lavender Ice, Emerald Deep, Lustrous Tan, Carbonite, and Orange Luxe. (Links go to projects that show off these colors in good lighting or with contrasting colors.)
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Crochet Booth 203 Finalized (Day 8 of 50)

Crochet Booth PAID IN FULL

Every year CGOA’s Chain Link conference has a market with knit and crochet booths, in addition to a full schedule of classes and special events. I’ve attended these conferences every year since 2002 (except in 2003). It’s always fun to walk the show floor between classes.

As a teacher now, I look forward to seeing what students bring back from the market during a class break. This is often how I first hear about something I need to go buy before it sells out! (I can imagine other teachers nodding their heads when they read this.)

Doris and I had our first crochet booth in this market last year. (The event is also known as the Knit and Crochet Show because it also includes the TKGA/knitting guild.) That was in San Diego; this July it will be in Charleston SC.

It’s Officially All Ours: Booth #203!

Today I finished paying for the DesigningVashti booth space—well before the late June deadline. I paid first half of the fee ($300) in April to get a great location. It’s also one of the few corner spaces. I love the location. People will be able to see our crochet booth from the entrance, and I’m going to enjoy being right across from Crochetville’s booth. Not will it be fun to be near Amy and Donna the whole time (like last year), the market opens with a strong crochet presence.

 

 

It’s Friday and this is my last businessy item to cross off for the week. This is also Day 8 of the epic 50 days I have left to get ready. I’ll be teaching five classes at CGOA‘s conference and have a crochet booth on the show floor.