Today I present three very different crochet textures in the SAME. EXACT. YARN. View image full size.
These projects span about seven years. The particular hand dyed yarn is Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Sock.
The 2016 design on the right was such a different experience of this yarn that it felt like a new purchase from the yarn shop. I had crocheted a whole shawl with the same yarn, though, seven years ago.
I thought it was just me. When I showed the two projects in a Stitch Games class yesterday, others were also noticeably surprised that it’s the same yarn.
Hope you’ve had a great weekend! If you don’t see a new blog post from me tomorrow, it will only be because we lost power due to the tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico. It hits sometime tonight or in the early morning.
I taught a small, intimate two-hour crochet class in my favorite Sarasota yarn shop today. It was a test of a few ideas I have for next month’s Stitch Games class in Charleston.
Color-POP-corns
A few days ago I imagined using the popcorn stitch to show one way to group colors of a bold variegated yarn. I’m glad I crocheted a swatch in time for this class. It was perfect. I think I’ll turn it into a summer handbag.
Some of the students were surprised that you could get the look of alternating two or more yarns with just one yarn. I hadn’t thought of this advantage, but it’s true. Sometimes, alternating different strands of yarn in a project interrupts the crochet flow, so that’s why this is an advantage. It’s nice to have this built in option with just one ball of yarn, if you know how to do planned pooling.
Color Stacking 101
Simple rows of double crochets (UK: trebles).
Susie, a student in today’s class, crocheted this swatch. It’s color-stacked double crochet. Susie is actually the resident crochet teacher for the shop! Isn’t it beautiful?
You can use a taller crochet stitch like the double crochet (dc) if each color in a variegated yarn is long enough. In this swatch, the yellow is barely long enough for one full dc, but it looks cool the way it shades into the green, doesn’t it?
For the handbag I used half doubles (hdc or UK: htr) for the aqua, and dc for the peachy popcorns.
The yarn I wanted to use for the Jempool Scarf pattern had shorter colors, so I used (soft, loose, stretchy) slip stitches. You can see another color-stacked slip stitch project at the top of this page.
I’ve tested many CGOA crochet class topics at A Good Yarn over the years, and a subtropical theme always seems to work well 🙂 The handbag looks just like Florida peaches against the Florida sky.
Pictured is a type of photo gallery that I’ve started including in my crochet class handouts. This one is for the Stitch Games class. View it full size. It shows a few different stitch games across the top. In the row below are finished designs that are based on one of those game types.
(I’m still tweaking the handout. This gallery may change by July 13.)
Pattern Galleries are Like 2-D Trunk Shows
Crochet class pattern galleries have turned out to be very useful over the years. I bring an overabundance of crocheted examples for what we cover in class. It’s like a whole trunk show per topic! Anyone is welcome to examine them and try things on. As you can imagine, I’m often asked what the name of a design is, or whether the pattern for an item is downloadable. It’s just easier if I label thumbnail photos of them in the handout.
I first did this in 2012 with the 21st Century Love Knots handout. It helped immensely. When I pass around items, someone will ask, “Is the information for this one in the handout?” and it’s wonderful to be able to say “Yes, in the gallery on p. 3.”
Back in January I read a stack of crochet books (and many knitting books) as research for my Stitch Gamesclass topic. I welcome doing this, especially in January after the hectic holidays. It’s so cozy.
I take notes as I read them. Then I set it all aside for a few months until I’m ready to look it all over and start writing the class handout.
It wasn’t necessary that I do this kind of research for the other class topics this year (one never knows how time-consuming it’s going to be!). I went through stacks of crochet books about love knots, star stitches, and Tunisian lace methods in earlier years.
Below is the list of seventeen knit and crochet books that helped me in some way. They’re in alphabetical order by title. I starred the ones that I recommend the most (about stitch games/pooling techniques). The list doesn’t include a few articles and websites I also used.
17 Knit and Crochet Books Read
***Artful Color, Mindful Knits: The Definitive Guide to Working with Hand-dyed Yarn by Laura Militzer Bryant XRX Books 2013 ISBN-13: 978-1933064260
*The Essential Guide to Color Knitting TechniquesMargaret Radcliffe Storey Publishing, LLC 2015 ISBN-13: 978-1612126623
Exploring Color in Knitting: Techniques, Swatches, and Projects to Expand Your Knit HorizonsSarah Hazell, Emma King Barron’s Educational Series 2011 ISBN-13: 978-0764147395
**Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece: Custom-Color Your Favorite Fibers with Dip-Dyeing, Hand-Painting, Tie-Dyeing, and Other Creative TechniquesGail Callahan Storey Publishing, LLC 2010 ISBN-13: 978-1603424684
*The Knitter’s Book of Socks: The Yarn Lover’s Ultimate Guide to Creating Socks That Fit Well, Feel Great, and Last a LifetimeClara Parkes Potter Craft 2011 ISBN-13: 978-0307586803
The Knitter’s Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying YarnClara Parkes Potter Craft 2007 ISBN-13: 978-0307352163
The Knitter’s Guide to Hand-Dyed and Variegated Yarn: Techniques and Projects for Handpainted and Multicolored YarnLorna Miser Potter Craft 2010 ISBN-13: 978-0823085521
The Knitter’s Life List: To Do, To Know, To Explore, To MakeGwen W. Steege Storey Publishing, LLC 2011 ISBN-13: 978-1603429962
**Knitting Socks with Handpainted YarnCarol Sulcoski Interweave 2009 ISBN-13: 978-1596680982
The Twisted Sisters Sock WorkbookLynne Vogel Interweave 2002 ISBN-13: 978-1931499163
Wrapped in Color: 30 Shawls to Knit in Koigu Handpainted Yarns by Koigu Wool Designs Sixth&Spring Books 2015 ISBN-13: 978-1936096848
The Yarn Lover’s Guide to Hand Dyeing: Beautiful Color and Simple KnitsLinda LaBelle Potter Craft 2007 ISBN-13: 978-0307352538
A friend is preparing to teach at the same event for the first time, and another friend is considering it in the future. They’re on my mind as I do this prep again. (It’s my 2nd time having a booth and I think the 6th time teaching lots of classes.)
I’m going to track my progress and thoughts out loud as I go. Some days it’s teaching prep, other days it’s booth merchandise/yarn company stuff, and always lots of swatching and designing. Most days it’s a jumble and I’ll blog a highlight of it. Years from now I’ll enjoy looking back over this.
Today I Cross a Big Teaching Item Off the List
The yarn used in a crochet conference class can matter immensely. Having also taken many crochet classes, I know how hard it is for students to choose which yarns to bring to class.
I asked a yarn company if they would sponsor my Stitch Games class at the crochet conference. This means they would donate enough yarn for all the students to use. Today they said yes.
This makes my week. Their hand dyed yarn is my first choice for this class! (Below are swatches of this company’s yarns in soft colors. These are tests for other class topics.)
I’ve used it so much while developing the Stitch Games swatches and designs. I know its fiber, weight, bounce, and twist work for key stitch patterns, and I find the color sequences are dependably easy and fun for crochet. I want each student to have the best possible experience learning something unfamiliar. This yarn helps guarantee it!
Tunisian crochet extended net in “Grape Jelly” custom colorway.
Silk yarn dyed in the same colorway. Swatch is a mix of Tunisian crochet stitches: simple, knit, and purl.
This colorway is custom hand dyed for my local yarn shop. It’s called “Grape Jelly” and is based on the colors of the Crown Jellyfish photographed by the yarn shop owner in Fiji’s Rainbow Reef.
Bare Bones Scarf, a “stitch pooling game”. Sock yarn dyed in the custom “Pyramid Butterfly Fish” colorway.
Bonefish is like Bare Bones Scarf with love knots thrown in for spice!
Bare Bones Scarf is crocheted corner to corner as a “game” in which you assign stitch groups to yarn colors! It’s one of three patterns in the Crochet to the Colors Playbook.
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