100 Motif Crochet Book

Here is another crochet book I got at my local Japanese bookseller. This one is ISBN978-4-8347-2650-3 or just 4834726503. I wanted some more patterns that you work in the round. I was keeping my eye out for a different book that has more motifs but this one is pretty good!



I haven't stitched from it yet. I think I invariably am drawn to books with floral patterns. Look at these:


Beyond that, there are a few edge patterns along with round patterns:


Square patterns. I like these using multiple colors, but many patterns are just one color:


Here are triangle motifs:


Hexagons:


Octagons:


And something called "knit ring". I think these are done around stitch markers. They show squares and triangle centers as well as the circle I'm familiar with:


So pretty! I'm really feeling crochet right now. It is super cold here, so working with fuzzy yarns seems right somehow. I committed to doing a review/article on embroidery for February, so I'll have to get out that stuff again too! and oh man.. I have 2 baby quilts that need borders and backs and those babies are growing every day!

I made this scarf with some really expensive hand dyed superwash wool. I love these circles! The pattern was in Crochet Today, but I've seen it lots of places:

Magic Scrubber Book 9

This is book 9 of the Magic Scrubber Series. I found it at my local Japanese bookseller. This is ISBN978-4-8247-6460-4. I think that if you do a search for it, you use the numbers 4834764604. Searching by ISBN is tricky. I never seem to get it right, but people always ask for the numbers so there they are!



I learned recently that these scrubbers are made from acrylic yarn. I found that out by trial and error, but there was an article and a pattern written about these useful little things in the latest issue of Craft magazine. According to the article, (what I remember.. I read it yesterday at the bookstore) these qualify as eco-crafts because they are effective without the use of soaps or cleaning chemicals. Also, they are durable and reuseable.

Here are the ones I've made recently:


In this book there are about as many knit patterns as crochet:


The ones on the right below appear to have a soft sponge inside. I've been wanting to learn this kind of knitting:


Here are knit houses and funny crocheted dusting girls:




Here are hears and stars:



This book also has a bottle scrubber, some cute animal faces, simple fruits, and a colorful crocheted mitten scrubber and a glove scrubber.

Finally... This is the advertisement at the end of the booklet for the yarn they are using. I can't read any of this, but maybe this is useful to someone! This same ad is in all of my magic scrubber pattern books.




Note: I edited this post from an earlier version where I'd included a photo of one of the patterns. I've since had a crisis of conscience about copyright and have deleted that photo.

Handmade Toy Alliance

Have you heard about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and how it will affect handmade toy makers and small businesses? Read about it at the Handmade Toy Alliance, or Etsy. I read about it first at the Fantastic Toys Blog.

Mr. Squirrel is quite disgruntled about this and encourages you to sign the petition.

Craftster Linking

The truth is that my little dyed lace project that got a Best of award at Craftster is cute and all, but is kind of lame when you see some of the other winners.

I'm going to do links here because I don't want anyone to get the idea that these are my crafts!

Merwing (Aimee Ray) honored her childhood heroes with charming embroideries.

Look at THIS fantastic crocheted mushroom house.

Mario is beloved by all, HERE in an epic crosstitch and his buddy Yoshi is HERE in glass mosaic.

This treasure map quilt is cute and inspired. This Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt is incredible. This pattern is very difficult and must be stitched entirely by hand.

This dinosaur play mat is ingenious and she even includes a pattern and instructions.

Doesn't she look cute in her Old Timey Bathing Costume?

Seriously, y'all have to dye your own wool with Kool-Aid or try dyeing your own self striping yarn. I also use food coloring droplets in a vinegar solution.

If you are quietly crafty, I encourage you to find a halfway decent camera and a bright area of your living space and start taking pictures and posting your creations on forums like Craftster. Craftster is my favorite because people are nice, not snarky, and the discussions stick to crafting. It really is inspiring to see all the things people make!

Craftster Best of 2008

WooHoo! Craftster put up their Best of 2008 list and my colorful dyed lace made the best of list for Fiber Arts: Dyeing. I blogged the lace project HERE and shared it on Craftster HERE. I used this lace in a bunting for my daughter's birthday.



The Craftster list is a combination of most views and judgment of awesomeness by the moderators so I feel quite honored.

I'm on the list twice! Our Tea Towel Tour Round 3 was the most popular swap of 2008! Rectangel organizes the Tea Towel Tours and she is a huge part of why it is successful. It is not easy to keep everyone on track in a swap like that. My role is a co-organizer and group leader. That's my hapless Owl in the thumbnail pic they used. I stitched this for Fruitloops.



Speaking of stuff like this. I can hardly believe that I have contributed 258 photos of embroidery to the Flickr Embroidery Group. That makes me #3 of the top 5 contributors there (out of 2,826 members). Most of the embroidery is my own although I also share vintage work done by the women in my family and embroidery done for me in the swaps I've participated in. If you look at my submissions, you'll see that I embroider a lot of small felt applique.

Pom Pom Maker Review

Even though you can make pom poms with cardboard, I still love my new Pom Pom Maker. I reviewed it for Craft Critique. Read my article HERE.

New Year

Ahh the new year.. We are crashing headlong into all sorts of stuff I forgot I was supposed to do..

I still had time this morning to fiddle on the computer. This video cracks me up. Note that it is from The Onion and is completely false, but seems like it is real.

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard