Tag: CGOA

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Self Healing Stitches to Cut: Class Resources

2018 Self-Healing Crochet Stitches and How to Cut Them Class by Vashti Braha
Up to date as of 2/03/2022. This page will likely be updated again before class time and possibly after. 
View full size images of steeked swatches. 
This page is a conveniently clickable group of things I mention in the Self-Healing Crochet Stitches and How to Cut Them classes. I teach the next one online!—Part One on March 8 & Part Two on 9, 2022—from 10:30am –11:30am CST. I show a lots of published and unpublished designs in this class. Each illustrates the stitches and techniques learned.  — Vashti Braha
Considering signing up for this class? Read Why “Self-Healing” Crochet Stitches?

Recommended Articles

Designs & Patterns

Steeked Crochet Designs by Others

Inspiration Boards for this ClassA chunky lace vest that can be completed in 2 hours because you create armholes later with quick steeks (cutting).

Self-Healing Crochet Stitches and How to Cut Them started out Tunisian-only in 2016. It was originally titled Steek (Cut) Tunisian Crochet Lace for Fun, Fast Fashions. I overhauled the title to help differentiate this topic from steeking knit fair isle sweaters and other traditional reasons for steeks.

Three fashion trends are relevant to this class topic: graphic/linear texture, net lace, and fringe. I’ve created a Pinterest board for each trend.

  • Steeks: Ideas These are often simple shapes that become magically wearable and trendy with just a cut or two.
  • Trend: the New Fringe I thought today’s fringe was a passing fad but it continues to have a lot of mojo! That’s great for us. Many cut stitch patterns beg to be fringed, especially if you don’t want to use a double-ended hook for Tunisian lace nets. If you cut across several rows, turning that cut edge into fringe is the ideal thing to do with all the ends.
  • Trend: Simple Crochet Mesh Nets It’s a classic fabric with fresh boho looks. It’ll be a long-term trend because it’s also now going urbane-futuristic-techie.
  • To Try with Tunisian Crochet Nets (linear, visually directional fabric grain as design element)

Cutting self-healing stitch patterns is a unique and fun construction method. Knowing how to easily steek as part of your crochet skillset opens up a whole creative avenue of projects. It’s freeing and empowering. As of 2022, it’s always an option that comes to mind when I’m dreaming up a new design. It goes together with inventive folds and seams I might like to use.

I find it also makes pattern schematics newly inspiring—especially for simple shapes. You might enjoy newsletter #80: Pattern Schematics for Insiders and Outsiders. and its “overflow” blog post, Steek Crochet With Pattern Schematics in Any Language (June 2016).

Any Books on Cutting Crochet?

I’ll add information here as I find it, so please check back. (In 2016 I found nothing in books on specifically steeking Tunisian crochet. (If you know of a source, please leave a comment.)

Original 2016 Steeked Tunisian Lace Class Resources page.
Posted on by — 4 Comments

Starwirbel Class Resources

Crochet class image for Starwirbel webby veil-like star stitch lace
Updated on 7/18/18. View full size Starwirbel images. This is a conveniently clickable group of things I mention in The Starwirbel Way: Lacy Star Stitches classes. I teach the next one on July 26, 2018 in Portland OR. See student feedback. I show a lots of published and unpublished star stitch designs in this class and try new things with the stitch for each class! Each illustrates the stitches and techniques learned.   — Vashti Braha

 

Thinking of signing up for this class? I wrote this post for you.

Crochet Patterns & Crochet Alongs

Recommended Issues of Vashti’s Crochet Inspirations Newsletter

Starwirbel Class, Blogged

Inspiration Boards for this Class

  • Star Stitch Crocheting (Featured by Pinterest: “We think your board is amazing, and it really demonstrates what Pinterest is all about!”)
  • My Star Stitches Flickr album since 2013. Note that newer images display last (chronologically), the default in Flickr. Almost 600 images so far.

Any Books on Star Stitch Crochet?

Yes! Learn Star Stitch Crochet by Jenny King (2014, Annie’s)

Posted on by — 6 Comments

Love Knot Crochet Class Resources

Official 2018 image for the 21st Century Love Knot Adventures class.
Updated on 7/18/18. View the above image full size. This is a conveniently clickable group of things I mention in 21st Century Love Knot Adventures classes. I teach the next one on July 25, 2018 in Portland OR. See student feedback. I show a huge amount of published and unpublished crochet designs in this class and I try new love knots for each class! Each illustrates the stitches and techniques learned.   — Vashti Braha

Thinking of signing up for this class? I wrote the Crochet Class in a Vest blog post with you in mind.

21st Century Love Knot Adventures

In crochet, the Love Knot is also known as Lover’s Knots and Solomon’s Knots. Before 1950 it was most commonly known as “Knot Stitch” and occasionally “Hail Stone Stitch.”

Downloadable Love Knot Crochet Patterns

Vashti’s Forthcoming Love Knot Patterns

As of 7/18/18.

Crochet Inspirations Newsletter Archive

​Love knots serve as important examples for several different newsletter topics!

Online Love Knot Collections

Love Knot How-To’s

Any Books on Crocheting Love Knots?

Yes! Jenny King wrote one: Crochet with Love Knots (Annie’s Crochet 2014).

Non-English Terms (notes)

Beaded Love Knots

Ravelry gallery of my 17 beaded love knot projects

Love Knot Links Miscellany

Older sources were first compiled for the 2012 class. All links work as of 4/05/18.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

CGOA’s Lotus Yarn Pattern (Last Day Free!)

My swatch in Crystal Blue DesigningVashti Lotus yarn, and sketches of scarf and yarn amount options

Happy NatCroMo! (National Crochet Month)

Designer Andee Graves featured our Lotus yarn with her new Shining Day Wrap crochet pattern. She’s one of CGOA’s 2018 board members. At her blog she explains,

“There will be 3 other patterns available free for CGOA members only, each only for 1 week. Be sure you’ve renewed your membership or joined CGOA before you miss out!”

Today is the last day you can get this pattern for free.

Why? It’s part of the 2018 CGOA NatCroMo celebration and this one is free for everyone—CGOA members and nonmembers.

Shining Day is crocheted in a lacy stitch pattern that is flowing wonderfully off my [pink] hook. I think it flows so much because you crochet into chain spaces at an easy gauge.

A Flowing Foundation Row

This wide lacy rectangle is worked from the center out on both sides of the foundation row. You’ll have matching ends, each with a pretty picot border.

For a design like this, you wouldn’t want the foundation chains to look noticeable or feel tighter than the rest of its flowing lace. No problem! Andee uses a great type of foundation row. It’s not only stretchy, it has a nice texture that blends in.

About Yarn Amounts

Andee used four 100g. balls of Lotus to get a wrap that is 16.25″ X 68.5″. Four balls is 1,024 yds (4 X 256 yds).

The Cone Idea

Some folks have wisely been ordering Lotus Z-Bombes, which are value-priced one-pound cones. One pound of Lotus is a bit over 1,100 yds, or about 4.5 balls. (I always allow a Z-Bombe to go a bit over a pound after subtracting the weight of the cardboard. I write the exact unique weight of each Z-Bombe on its tag.)

The Lotus Snacks Idea

A floral six-pack: Orange Luxe, Grenadine, Pink Sugar, Peachy SHeen, Rose Red, Lala Yellow.
One of several springtime color combos!

In my recent newsletter issue #90, I mentioned a multicolored Shining Day using a six-pack of Lotus Snacks. I think spring fever made me do it. I kept picturing a riot of floral colors like I do every spring.

Unfortunately I miscalculated the yarn amount for that in the newsletter. The mini Snacks are one-third the size of a regular Lotus ball: 85 yds per 33 g. Not one-half.

CORRECTION: A Six Pack O’ Snacks totals 512 yds, not the 768 yds I stated in the newsletter.

My 512-yd. Shining Day

Andee Graves aka Mamas2Hands produced a lovely PDF to match her pretty lace wrap design.
Page one of Andee’s pattern. Isn’t it pretty? 

See my drawings above in that photo of my light blue swatch? That’s me figuring out that a two-ball (same as six Snacks) Shining Day would come out to 12″ X 51″ (or a bit longer).

My swatch is 11.5″ wide. I needed 46 foundation stitches to do 4 stitch pattern repeats.

Andee’s Shining Day pattern is definitely worth paying for if you miss the free version. It includes stitch charts and a photo-tutorial on making the picots.

Join the CGOA MEGA CAL group in Facebook!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Crochet Conference Prep, the Aftermath

Lacy Tunisian crochet swatches crocheted together to form a Mexican 'papel picado' style bunting. It's hung in the car during our road trip to the CGOA conference.
I crocheted together lacy Tunisian Lotus swatches in the car. It reminds me of Mexican “papel picado”. Worked out well for teaching! View full size.

 

This past June and July I blogged fifty days of crochet conference prep. I returned home from the conference on July 17. Today is August 18. What happened between then and now?

This is the first day that I could imagine sitting down to compose a blog post and enjoy it. That’s a full month of recovery from having a booth while also teaching several new crochet topics.

Here’s how the past 30 days went:

  • I needed an immediate inventory of what I came home with, so the first thing I did was unpack a gazillion boxes of booth and teaching stuff.
  • After counting everything, I put away what I could. This left me with five big heaps to sort and pack up carefully for future events. It took two weeks to work through these heaps step by step.
  • It also took about two weeks to completely unpack suitcases and get through all the laundry only because I felt like such a zombie.
  • Filled lots of orders that continued to come in every day from my website. (I love this about conferences: so many visitors to my website!)
  • Discussed new color #20 of Lotus yarn with our mill.
  • Slept and slept. Slept some more.
  • Sat still happily without my mind racing. No adrenaline rushes, worries, or multitasking. Enjoyed what others were posting about their conference experiences.
  • It took days to go through all of my emails.
  • It took a full four weeks to settle all incoming and outgoing booth and teaching monies. (This would surprise me except that it took longer last year.)
  • Thoughts: “I could maybe blog this. Or, tomorrow.” “What do I want to crochet next. No idea.” “What about next year? Not sure.”

Crochet Conference Prep Results

How it was better than last year’s:

I was careful to keep a more accurate and readable list of starting inventory. This way, after returning home, it was easy to compare with the ending inventory (and trust the numbers!). I had to force myself to be disciplined about this. While packing up the merchandise to ship up to the show, I could see when my starting amounts got fuzzier last year.

This year we shipped by UPS to a nearby UPS store, not to the event or show management company. It worked great this time: fast, cheap, and convenient.

Thanks to a tip from Doris who used to transport and manage the entire CGOA Design Contest, I purchased some giant clear blue zippered storage cubes. These are perfect for loading up every inch of a car with soft items (yarns and crocheted items).

Last year I felt like a zombie for months. A 2015 creative slump lasted for so long that I started to fear I was done with crochet designing altogether. This year I took endurance-building tonic herbs and vitamins for the weeks before and after the event. Maybe they worked! The creative slump only lasted 3 weeks this time. (Last year I also had jet lag.)

I like the pattern info tags I created at the last minute for the three shawls that George Shaheen of 10 Hours or Less designed in my Lotus yarn.

The “papel picado”-style swatch buntings (pictured above) that I crocheted on the way to Charleston worked out really well for me in classes because I could group them by technique and theme. I’m going to do this with more Lotus swatches.

*Blogging those fifty days of prep kept me focused on the present next step while also accountable to an observer (my blogging self). Plus it leaves me with tips for my future self.