Posted on March 25, 2020September 10, 2020 by Vashti Braha — Leave a comment

Crochet Retreat Idea

Editor of Theresa Capuana describes Shanie Jacobs' crochet retreat; book cover design is crocheted.

It’s Day Thirteen of my self-quarantine from the pandemic. One of my favorite ways to use this time is to reduce my large collection of crochet books. As I mentioned recently, my husband and I plan to move. Fewer books will make moving easier.

I discovered an interesting bit in the Foreword of Shanie Jacobs’ Crochet Book published in 1979. I’ve bolded the part that I can’t stop thinking about!

Shanie Jacobs was already an outstanding designer when she first came to my office in 1973 to show me a wonderful bias-striped poncho she had crocheted and which we subsequently presented in our February 1974 issue. She had just returned to New York City after six work-filled months of communal living with two friends and their seven children in an old wood-heated house in upstate New York. The three women had set up a rotating daily schedule that enabled one woman to carry out the household duties and care for the children while the other two crocheted. It was here that Shanie, who had never crocheted before joining the commune, really learned the basis of her craft in an environment of shared experiences where each gave of her specialty.
Theresa Capuana, Needlework and Crafts Editor, Woman’s Day Magazine 1979.

So Many Questions!

I have many questions for Ms. Jacobs! (Unfortunately she recently passed away.) Who were the other two friends and how did this crochet retreat plan come about? It sounds like the other two already knew how to crochet different things. Did Shanie come up with the idea as a way to hone her crochet skills?

What about the seven children: have they stayed in touch with each other? How did they get along? How do they remember those six months? Was anyone else there besides three women friends and seven children? Whose house was it?

A rotating chores schedule among three moms seems workable. I’ve done some long solitary days of marathon crocheting to meet design deadlines for publishers. After crocheting for two days straight, I’d welcome a day of simple routine tasks. What fun to be able to listen in on what the other two crocheters are talking about!

How Did Her Schedule Work?

I’m still thinking this through. Say the three participants are named A, B, and C. A crochets clothing and uses Tunisian and Hairpin lace sometimes; B crochets a lot of motifs and amigurumi and home decor; C is new to crocheting, having only learned how to make rectangle shapes with simple stitches.

A week’s schedule could go like this:

Monday: A & B crochet, C doesn’t (she’s doing everything else—cooking, cleaning, shopping, and keeping the kids entertained/homeschools them or takes them to and from school).
Tuesday: B & C crochet, A doesn’t.
Wednesday: C & A crochet, B doesn’t.
Thursday: repeat Monday.
Friday: repeat Tuesday.
Saturday: repeat Wednesday.
Sunday: If everyone takes Sunday off, they can repeat the same work schedule from Monday to Saturday.

For each week, each person has four days of pure crocheting per week, plus two days of chores. Everyone has Sunday as a free day. Every Monday and Thursday, A and B would share what they know about crochet with each other. On every Tuesday and Friday, B would help C learn more about crochet. And on Wednesdays and Saturdays, A would help C with crochet.

Crochet Retreat, 1970’s-Style

After several days of daydreaming and reminiscing about my own (much shorter) crochet retreat experiences, I started noticing the language Ms. Capuana used. She called it a commune and mentioned an old wood-heated house in upstate New York (away from the big city). Just three friends and their kids. It sounds idyllic, doesn’t it? I wonder if it was.

Six Months Long?

Six months is a long time! Did she plan to take six months? (According to a 1998 profile of her in the Miami New Times, it was three years.) What goals did each of them have and did they meet them? What were the costs and how did they budget and pay for it? Do they think back on that time fondly? Are they still in touch with each other?

Two crochet designers and I met up for a crochet retreat eleven or so years ago. There were no children around and it was nowhere near six months long.

Crochet Retreat 2009 in Longboat Key, Florida: Marty Miller, Vashti Braha, Drew Emborsky — You can see more of my photos of Marty Miller on my Facebook profile for February 4, 2020.

It was heaven! And, as I recall we tended to get restless after a few hours. Maybe the longest we could crochet for was about four hours at a time? I didn’t time it, but I do remember at least one of us getting restless on a given day and coming up with tempting ideas for going out for dinner or visiting a new yarn shop. We all needed to deal with meals every day, and that’s a significant difference from Shanie’s commune, and from crochet conferences. We didn’t do the rotating schedule of one person cooking and shopping for the day.

The Queen of Angora

“The saga of Shanie Jacobs, Miami’s angora queen, is a curious weave of glamour and feminism” –Judy Cantor, Miami New Times (read full 1998 article)

This is how Shanie is described at her website: In 1970 at 30 years of age and a lifetime of unexpressed creativeness inside of her, Shanie learned to crochet. Four years later she took a bundle of original crochet designs to Woman’s Day magazine. Her patterns would repeatedly appear in the magazine for more than a decade.

In issue 88 of my newsletter I wrote, Ever wonder what Shanie Jacobs was up to after she wrote the 1979 Shanie Jacob’s Crochet Book? I Googled her when I dipped into her book for this issue. She was dyeing her own angora yarn to crochet and knit trendy cropped tops for fashion magazines and her website customers!

At her daughter in law’s Facebook page you can scroll through photos of her angora designs and magazine covers. Visit her Etsy shop for angora items and yarns.

If you liked this kind of blog post, I expect there’ll be more of them as I comb through more of my crochet books.

Mindbender Mobius News

Mindbender Mobius crochet class for CGOA conference

I am excited about teaching a class on this special mobius design! It’s one topic of my seven three-hour class topics scheduled for the big Chain Link conference this July (2020) in New Orleans. This crochet conference has been produced every year since 1993 by the Crochet Guild of America. It’s the longest-running national-level conference. (I’m tempted to call it international because over the years many teachers have visited from other countries.)

As we get closer to July I may update this page with discoveries and other news. For example, when I create a Mindbender Mobius Class Resources page. I’ll add a note at the top of this page saying when it was updated last. It’s likely I’d also announce the news in my newsletters, so subscribe (free) if you want to stay in the loop.

Each One is Unique

Each Mindbender Mobius is unique and so is the experience of crocheting it. It’s a true mobius shape and this means it’s crocheted in infinity rounds—picture a figure-8 path. All you do is add a half-twist to the foundation row before joining it into your starting ring. This simple twist introduces features that have fascinated mathematicians for decades. See the newsletter issue I did about it four years ago; I still enjoy reading it.

I’ve made three Mindbenders so far:

Three different Mindbender Mobiuses due to dye method, fiber blend, yarn weight, and crochet hook size — Mindbender Mobiuses from left to right: Bosni-Misti-Moiré (2016), Dragon Bee (2019), Renegade (2019).

What’s So Different About This Mobius?

These Mindbenders don’t look crocheted. I promise zero knitting is involved. It’s 100% crochet with a regular crochet hook, preferably one that is two or three sizes larger than normally used for the yarn you choose.

For the first one on the left I used Misti Alpaca “dyed to the stitch” Hand Paint Sock, a fingering weight yarn. It calls for a 3.25mm or so crochet hook size on the label. I used size 5.5mm. The dyeing method used for it baffled me to no end! This mobius is the test of my theory and proof of my triumph when I finally cracked its true color repeat. I’ll explain what’s going on with this kind of variegated yarn in class. Have a look at this earlier blog post, Hand Dyed Yarn Three Ways about this yarn.

I wanted to try several more things with the first one, and that’s what brings on the mindbending. When colors change quickly in a variegated yarn, like they do in the Misti Alpaca one, slip stitches are fabulous because they take up very little yarn per stitch. Even if you use a big hook. Just look at how slip stitches helped me get the most out every color in the Jempool scarf!

Unlike Jempool though, I couldn’t stack the colors of the Misti yarn unless I crocheted it in the round with no turning. With slip stitches that means Bosnian crochet.

Challenge accepted! I had never tried planned pooling with Bosnian. I knew it would be interesting because it has an innate lean. And what does the lean do if the rounds are figure-8’s? Each round builds on the others on both sides of the foundation. In other words, the foundation (or Round 1) runs down the center of a true mobius. I think of it as its spine.

Mobius Foundation “Spine”

You can disguise/hide the spine, or emphasize it and turn it into a design detail. For this class I found a simple way to make it blend in so well that it’s invisible. (In the projects above you’re seeing mostly planned texture changes in some of the rounds, not the spines.) Look below at a close up of the Dragon Bee and the Renegade mobiuses: it’s quite pronounced in the one on the left; in the Renegade it melts away to nothing. You can’t even feel it.

The foundation round of a true mobius runs down the center and is usually an obvious ridge unless you do something to make it blend in. — Foundation round at the center of Dragon Bee (left) is a pronounced “spine”. It’s hidden in the Renegade Mindbender on the right.

Here’s another mobius oddity to address: if you’ve ever crocheted a true mobius, you know that not only does the foundation run down the center of it, but all the stitches above the foundation face one way, and all of them below the foundation face the other. It depends on the stitch pattern whether it’s obvious or not. (For example, Doris’ Snow Day is a true mobius and you don’t notice the foundation OR whether the fronts or backs of stitches are facing.)

The back of Bosnian crochet looks distinctly different from the front. It really does look like it’s the back. Tunisian crochet is often like this too. So, what to do? I need to crochet the yarn in the round with no turning if I want to play a moiré color pooling game with it. I could omit the mobius twist and make a simple tube shape, but I wouldn’t be able to add increases to shape it at the shoulders. It would throw off the color stacking. (Have a look at Misti Fondant, which I’ll bring to class. The Mindbender inspired it; I found a way to do it in rounds with turning, plus I shaped it without throwing off the colors by using vertical ribbing.)

It turns out inverse slip stitches work great! It wouldn’t be a mindbender without them. Check the close up photos of the spines above: don’t the stitches match each other on both sides of the spine and look symmetrical?

Prepare to Take This Class

Registration will open in early March. The Mindbender Mobius pattern will be available for the first time in class. The class is rated Advanced. A great way to get up to speed for it is to brush up on three skills:

Slip stitch crochet. Try one of my slip stitch patterns. For the simplest first experience, try the Slipster Slackscarf or Eva’s Ribs. I designed the Luckyslips Mitts for students of my Slip Stitch Crochet 101 classes.
Simple planned pooling. After some slip stitch crocheting, try is Jempool. It combines simple slip stitches with simple planned pooling in color stacks. Have a look at my Planned Pooling class resources.
Crochet a true mobius. Doris Chan’s Snow Day would be perfect!

Posted on February 10, 2019September 10, 2020 by Vashti Braha — 73 Comments

Delicate Crochet Book Giveaway

Update: I’m so inspired by your comments! Your comment may take a few hours to show because they go into a moderation queue.

I’m giving away a copy of the new Delicate Crochet book by Sharon Silverman to a randomly chosen commenter on this post. You’re welcome to enter even if you live outside of the USA. If you win and you have a non-USA shipping address, you’ll receive a free downloadable crochet pattern of your choice instead. Scroll down for the book giveaway details.

Pattern Riffing

Over the holidays I “riffed” on the patterns I wrote for Delicate Crochet. I’ll explain how, in case you have (OR WIN!!) this book and want to riff too.

Meet Zegue

Tunisian ripple stitch Ziggy Vest with its variation Zegue — **Zegue** (left) with *Delicate Crochet’*s **Ziggy Vest** on the right.

Zegue is a simple wrap version of the Ziggy Vest. I used up scraps of fancy yarns in my stash. In Ziggy’s case the armholes are cut into the self-healing stitch pattern. I omitted that step for Zegue. (I could still add a hole later, such as for a one-sleeve wrap, or for a keyhole scarf style like I did for the pink Mesmer. Or go with my original idea: add a seam at each end of the long sides to create tubes (sleeves) for a shrug.)

Yarn: I had one small ball each of the four Stacy Charles Fine fashion yarns I used. (See Zegue’s project page in Ravelry for the yarn facts.) One of them has sequins so I had to use it. Using a mix of yarns for the Ziggy stitch pattern was really fun! I’ve always wanted to do a stripy scrappy ripple, especially in Tunisian stitches.

Crochet Hook: I used the 7.0 mm Addi Tunisian crochet hook from my shop; the Ziggy Vest calls for a 6.0 mm size. A 6.5 mm for Zegue would probably be just as lacy though you might need a few more rows and additional stitch repeat or two.

Finished Dimensions: 14″ x 57″ (35.6 x 144.8 cm), measured flat and blocked. I like wearing it as a wrap. For a shrug option I might add buttons. It weighs 71 g. and I had about a quarter of the Luna mohair and Crystal left over.

I chose the length of each row to match the length from my wrist over the shoulders and across the back to the other wrist while my arms hang at my sides—an easy measurement (57″/144.8 cm). This is because I thought I was going to turn it into a shrug. I just kept adding rows until my forearm would fit through the sleeve tube if I seamed part of the first and last row together; I’d need a minimum of about 9″ (22.9 cm). I figured the yarn amount would get me at least this far.

Foundation and Row Repeats: You’ll need the Delicate Crochet book for the actual Ziggy pattern (starts on page 140). Here are my changes for Zegue:

I chained 178 with Color A (Stella).
Row 1 forward pass (FP) is also Stella, and then I changed to Color B (Luna) for the return pass (RP) and the Row 2 FP. Fasten off every time you change yarns.
Row 2 RP and Row 3 FP: Change to Color C (Céline).
Row 3 RP and Row 4 FP: Change to Color B (Luna).
Row 4 RP and Row 5 FP: Change to Colors C+D (Céline & Crystal held together).
Repeat the color sequence of B, C, B, C+D for a total of 16 rows; for Row 16 RP change to Stella. Complete Row 17 FP and RP with Stella and then fasten off.
Edge Row 17 with a strand of Luna and Crystal held together: Single crochet (sc) in first FP stitch, chain 1, slip stitch (ss) in same sc, sc in same stitch, *chain (ch) 1, sc in next FP stitch, ch 1, sc in next stitch group, ch 1, sc in next FP stitch, [sc, ch 1, ss in same sc, sc] in next FP stitch, repeat from * in each remaining FP stitch of row. Fasten off.
Attach Stella to first foundation ch. Working along the other side of the foundation, sc in first ch, ch 1 and skip next ch that was not used by a FP stitch, sc in available loop of next used foundation ch, repeat from * in each remaining stitch of row. Fasten off.
Attach Luna and Crystal to first sc of Stella. Edge this row the same way you edged Row 17.

Yvelino the Paneled Ring Scarf

Icelandic wool ring scarf vs DesigningVashti Lotus wrap of Bias-crocheted Tunisian net, surface-crocheted with love knots. — **Yvelino** Ring (left) with *Delicate Crochet*‘s **Yveline** Wrap on the right.

For this version of the Yveline Wrap I used four colors of lace weight Icelandic wool, one ball per color. See its project page for the yarn deets. I loved this yarn; it’s very “sticky” and almost bristly or wiry in a way that works great with this airy bias-worked net.

Crochet Hooks: 5.0 mm (H) Tunisian hook; for the surface-crochet I used a regular 3.5 mm (E) crochet hook.

Finished Dimensions: 13″ wide with a 58″ circumference (33 x 147.3 cm). It weighs 100 g. so I used only half of each ball. (I thought I might want to add a lot of surface crochet, so I reserved yarn for that.) Instead, I like the texture contrast zones.

Foundation and Row Repeats: You’ll need the Delicate Crochet book (starting on page 133) for the actual Yveline pattern. Here are my changes for Yvelino:

Chain 58 in Color A. Complete 33 rows. Edge the last row with sc.
Slip stitch Color B to the bottom right corner foundation chain of the previous panel. Chain 58. At the end of the Row 1 FP, slip stitch in the first FP stitch of Row 1 of the previous panel and then complete the RP as usual.
Repeat this join-as-you-go process at the end of every FP until you’ve completed 33 rows. Edge it with sc like the previous panel.
Repeat the above with two more panels. For the last panel, also join-as-you-go the first FP stitch of each row to the last FP stitch of the first panel you completed to create a ring. (Or you could seam the first and last panel sides together to for the ring as a separate step.)

Adding the Frills: The only thing different from the book is that I used a 3.5 mm (E) crochet hook, and surface crocheted a column on each side of the joins.

Oh the Resources Buried in Crochet Patterns

I hold onto lots of crochet pattern books and “mine” them for interesting stitch patterns (love those stitch symbols!), shapes (love those schematics!), and construction methods (love the rare assembly diagram!).

The stitch texture combinations, color contrasts, or styling ideas in pattern books are also inspiring.

Ravelry takes this into account so I know I’m not the only one who uses books this way. (When creating a new project page, there used to be a box you checked if you improvised from an existing pattern. Now you can choose additional patterns if you’ve incorporated elements from them.)

Delicate Crochet offers hours and hours of riffing on its interesting stitch patterns, shapes, and styles, thanks to the range of designers represented—and thanks to all the stitch diagrams and schematics.

Book Giveaway Details!

You could win this! **Delicate Crochet** by Sharon Silverman with 23 patterns by 10 designers.

I’ll use a random number generator no earlier than February 18 (Monday, President’s Day) to choose from among the commenters to this post.
There may be two winners: one with a shipping address outside of the USA as well as within it. If the first winner has a non-USA shipping address, the prize will be a free downloadable crochet pattern (winner’s choice). I will then draw a new number randomly until the new winner has a USA address to which I can ship the book.
To contact the winner(s) I will do these three things: comment on your comment with the news, and announce the winner’s name (as it appears on your comment) in my Ravelry group, and at my Facebook page. I suggest you opt-in to receive alerts of responses to your comment in case you’re a winner.
Your comment may respond to my question, “What crochet book would you like me to write?” (as explained in my newsletter #97), or at least be crochet-related. I reserve the right to remove spammy comments as always.
Commenting more than once does not improve your chance of winning.

Posted on November 29, 2018September 10, 2019 by Vashti Braha — 2 Comments

Holiday Crochet Project Habits

This blog post is part of today’s newsletter issue #96. That issue has a storewide 25% off coupon code in it as a thank you to my subscribers. Look for it in your inbox later today. Also check your spam folder because this is a high-volume week for email. (Not a subscriber? It’s not too late.)

The clean, bold holiday template I used for issue #96 limits how I want to write, so here’s the rest of the story. This year I look at my holiday crochet project habits over the years. (By “holidays” I mean from Thanksgiving in the USA to New Years Day.)

Holiday Crochet Project Types

It turns out I look for about eight kinds of holiday crochet projects! Sounds like a lot but they usually overlap. I wonder if you are the same way? I’ve compressed my list into three in no special order.

Feel the Peace of the Season

Relaxing & rejuvenating holiday crochet projects of Decembers past (2011-2017) — Image #1. View full size.

Crochet is my go-to to relax and recharge, and it has been ever since I was nine years old. (When I learned how to do Transcendental Meditation, my first thought was, “This is like crocheting.”)

The crochet that replenishes me during the holidays is an instinctive thing and unique to each year. I loved looking back at these!

Clockwise from top left of image #1:

Big Hook Bucket of 2016 (I made three). Seeing it daily in my studio makes me happy.
Luckyslip Mitts of 2013: I just kept making ’em in all kinds of yarns, sizes, and stitch accents.
Antoinette Sparklescarf of 2011: The one shown is made with the same breathtaking yarn that inspired Starwirbel later. I made about ten and turned some into reusable gift wrapping ribbon.
Solstice Bangles of 2017. I really needed a lot of gem-like bling last year. Each was a tiny retreat: I got totally immersed for short moments because the materials were tricky, but each bangle was quick to complete.
Bling Bam Bangles of 2014: Took me by surprise. I wondered what it would be like to crochet Lotus yarn with a strand of sequined thread and I couldn’t stop. Very simple. A mindless, familiar rhythm.

Last-Minute Gift Making

I’m easily inspired by great new gift ideas to crochet, but I typically don’t have a sense of occasion until the last minute. (Fortunately crocheting smaller items is fun. They often become new designs instead of gifts though.) I greatly admire event planners and others who can plan ahead well, like those who have crochet gift lists they work through months ahead.

Last minute gift crocheting puts a burden on a crochet pattern to be easy to understand, and to call for no-fuss materials. It’s sort of like freelance crocheting for magazines in the sense that it’s tight deadline crochet.

If the item is a crowd pleaser, then it’s production crochet territory. Ideally the pattern is easy to memorize for make multiple items from it, efficiently (and still be fun).

Niche Crochet Gifts

Crochet patterns for niche gifts: no-fuss materials, easy pleasers. — **Image #2, Niche Gifts. View full size.**

Niche items are about specialized appeal and could be the perfect thing for someone. I focused on some in the newsletter: men, boys, teens, tweens, teachers, and mothers-in-law. These are the patterns shown clockwise from top left of image #2:

Expedient Cowl: Has trend appeal for teens and 20-somethings, including as a skirt! What makes it fast and easy enough is the super-bulky yarn, big hook size, and simple stitches.
Aran Rozsana cuff: Folk-boho jewelry trend. A mood boost to crochet with fingering or sport yarns and embroidery flosses because of the colors. Mostly single crochet (UK/AUS: dc).
Petticoat Cozy: Just a token gift item. It’s the double layer of lace that appeals to people. Same yarns as Aran Rozsana.
Frostyflakes: A really popular pattern and addictive to crochet! It has special appeal to women over 30. Use any yarn; I even made a bookmark with size 20 thread.
Gallon Friend: This curio is very niche. Make them for grade school and ESL school teachers, children, and for home cooks. I’ve always wanted to try a keychain size in thread!
Lucky Twist Mitts: One of the patterns that comes to mind for men. Has sizing for both sexes, same with Luckyslip Mitts.
Slip Slope: The scarf is a crowd pleaser and Google Trends tells me the boot cuffs are still trending high for younger folks! Also see the Lucky Twist Boot Cuff pattern in Ravelry.
Burly (center) and Burly Bias: The basic Burly scarf for men and boys, and the niche diagonal Tunisian necktie for the man who has everything. I love making the ice creamy one and like how it settles on my shoulders and frames my face.

Crochet Gifts for Mothers-in-Law

Seems oddly specific, doesn’t it? I’m surprised by the number of times someone has told me they used one of my patterns, or took one of my classes, specifically so that they could make the item for their mother-in-law. (My own mother-in-law wanted a white angora hat to keep her ears warm.) The mother-in-law patterns:

Satin Pillows Necklace (often for Mother’s Day too.) Add a matching bracelet!
Starwirbel
Weightless Wrap Maybe do a scarf size if you’re making it for Christmas.
Electra Wrap Plan ahead for this one or do a scarf size at this time of year.
Frostyflakes (listed and pictured above)

Hostess Gifts

Some Decembers I go to so many parties. A pile of small crocheted gifts on hand would be great. Maybe a sack or decoration for a wine bottle, to decorate the lid of fresh-spiced nuts, etc.

Last year I had extra Solstice Bangles to toss onto a wine bottle neck—so festive! And the hostess ends up with new bangles.

Trend-Inspired

I checked on this season’s knitwear trends and this is what I found:

Creative use of fringe remains a strong fashion trend. My first thought is the Starpath Scarf because at this time of year it’s easy to set it down and remember what you were doing when you get back to it. Also, no ends to weave in, no matter how many colors you use.
Giant yarns, stitches, and accessories. Burly and the Expedient Cowl in super-bulky yarn (see Image #2 above) are tame compared to what’s on the runway. A Q-Star Coverlet in bulky yarn would be a lavish winter blanket! Or rug/bath mat?
Asymmetry, and diagonal/multidirectional seams and surface grain. Hello, Burly Bias (see above).

Go Luxe!

Splurge-worthy for 2018: Doris Chan patterns, Vashti's investment patterns, yarns, hooks, and the new Delicate Crochet book — Image #3, Splurge-worthy. View full size.

The holidays is when I splurge and reinvest in my craft. I hope you also treat yourself or another crocheter. Beyond shopping and spending, to me it’s about using this time to crochet with my fanciest yarn stash and maybe break in some new crochet hooks.

Other years it has been about bling. This year I’m feeling very angora-luxe. I’ve been hoarding angora yarn for too long.

If someone asked me what they should get from my shop and money was no object for them (or they want to make the most of the coupon code in the newsletter), these come to my mind in no special order:

Top row, Doris Chan’s DJC patterns (examples: Spirals, Lotus Bolero). And, cones of Lotus to go with them.
Next row, these patterns of mine as an investment for the particular crochet experiences they provide: Eilanner, Starwirbel, Rosepuff, Weightless.
Third row, every color of Lotus in Snack ball size (3 Six Packs would be 18 colors). So fun to have on hand.
Next row, Jelly Yarn (especially glow and glitter colors); Tunisian hooks in every size.
Bottom, a compact Japanese hook set like Classic 3, Tulip’s deluxe rose Etimo set, and the brand new Delicate Crochet book (in Amazon but Karen McKenna is having a giveaway for it on her blog for the next five days!).

I wish for you the experience I aim to have with my 2018 holiday crochet projects: peace, cheer, inspiration, and warmth inside and out.