Encyclopedia in the house

I got an email from my editor at Wiley this week that Crochet Stitches VISUAL Encyclopedia
was printed, then boom its at my front door! This book moved so fast that I am still in disbelief that it is real. I only started writing it in mid January of this year, and its now in my hands. (for BC, BBC, and SC all took over 18 mths to publish from my start date of writing) So yeah, this moved fast.

What's in the book you might wonder? Well over 300 stitch patterns for starters. It is broken into 9 chapters: simple stitch patterns, texture and cables, lace, unique lace (Brussels, filet, broomstick), color, Tunisian, granny motifs, flowers and snowflakes, edgings.

As an art form and craft, crochet spans centuries and countries around the world. In this encyclopedia, I tried to pay homage to that fact. Inside you will find patterns that date from Victorian lace work, 60s retro granny squares, and modern interpretations of crochet. The stitches span the globe from here in the US to Ukraine to Japan to South America and more. I wanted to compile and touch on as many art forms of this unique craft as I could. You will find patterns that look deceptively like knitting, but in actuality are simply slip stitch crochet. You will find patterns that look deceptively challenging like the mosaic colorwork pattern, but in actuality are simply stripes of color. You will find motifs that range from the classic granny square to Gothic window inspired hexagons. In the Tunisian chapter, you can explore my favorite part of the technique which is the woven like fabric it can create.

Every pattern in the book has a stitch diagram alongside of the written directions. This is to help guide you in the pattern, and make it easier to see where the stitches will be created. Included in the chapters are tips and tricks of mine to make your work look sensational.

Below is a little slide show of a few stitch patterns from each chapter. Later in October, I have set up a blog tour with some great reviewers; so they can let you all know what they think of the book too. (plus, they all will have giveaways... so stay tuned!)

Till then, here's a peek inside:

Congrats.....

Congrats to Cupcake Catie for winning Lion Brand's yarn and my DVD giveaway. When you get a chance send me your address, and I will get the DVD right out to you.

Bartlett Car Coat Live

Petite Purls just went live this morning with their latest issue. If you are not familiar with them, they are the online knitting and crochet magazine for little ones (babies and small kids). They also have great articles on moms and other crafty ideas.

In this issue, I have a baby girl car coat that is free for you guys! It is sized from 6mth to 24mth. Made from a few skeins of Spud and Chloe Fine, it is a great wearable sweater for playtime. CJ is modeling it here on the blog, and Brandy's daughter is modeling it on Petite Purls. So you can see how it fits on 2 different 2 yr olds. The stitch pattern is really easy with just back and front post double crochet stitches. Sometime after this book, I hope to release it here for sale on Crochet By Faye in more sizes; but knowing me that will be a while from now.

I couldn't be happier with how it turned out, and can easily see it being a staple in CJ's wardrobe this winter. Big Thank You to Diane for crocheting the sample for me. She just won the grand prize at CGOA's design competition, besides being thrilled for her, i am so thankful to have her expert help on my projects too.

I have lots and lots more pictures of the sweater modeled by CJ, here at flickr. Don't forget you get the pattern over at Petite Purls.

My love of mock-ups, project 1.

;

This month I started my 4th book for this year. And I totally thought by this point, I would want to stab my eyes out instead of LOVING designing yet another book. Amazing. This one is totally different from the other books I wrote this year.

Simply Crochet was kinda a sampler book on how you can crochet your heart out without breaking your bank.

Crochet Stitches VISUAL Encyclopedia was like doing a thesis for my crochet PHD (it has so much packed in there)

The third (yet to be announced) was a designer collection book that will blow all the competition in the category out of the water.

This book is back to Robyn (as I am seeing it.). Basically crochet projects that I like crocheting, with tips and techniques that I use when I crochet. That said, I am being very picky on exactly what is going in the book. I am taking WAY to long to design each project because I am trying to make them all perfect. (that is not Robyn)

It took me FOREVER to pick out colors this time, and I am still fighting with myself on some of them. And some arrived perfect as I knew they would. Here's a pic of 3 different projects.

Yesterday, I broke though and finished the first project (of 8) for my next milestone. I had to make a mockup to get the measurements exactly right. And remembered how much i love mockups. (a mockup is a quickly cut out version of the schematic size... you can see how quick above) I make my crochet mockups with lightweight fleece or heavy flannel. I want them to "stick" to other clothes and be thicker to mimic, sort of, how crochet fabric behaves. Using knit or cotton fabric for the mockup never gives me the results I need, after I drape it on Susie. The mockup for this first project was fantastic. I draped it and saw the front looked good, but the back hung all funny. It was invaluable. It saved a lot of ripping and re-crocheting later. I almost hugged Susie for modeling. Actually, before I crochet a sweater for myself I make a mockup. Nothing better then to see what it looks like on me before I crochet, so I can make changes if I want.

Now to get moving on project 2.

Granny Square Skirt

The preview for the Nov/ Dec issue of Crochet Today is up on their site. Included in the issue is my granny square skirt.

I was asked to create a granny square skirt, and since it is way to difficult for me to do anything literal... I had to do something different. The motif is an off centered granny with log-cabin-like edging on 2 sides. Each motif is rotated before seaming together to get a mosaic-ish fabric.

Of course, in my head there are a lot more motifs. Especially since, in my head I am designing for me, which would have more motifs to go across my hips. I think if I were to make this for me, I would make the motifs smaller so there are more of them. I really like the idea of the skirt, but am not crazy with the outcome. Oh well, that happens.

I finished this in June with the help from my cousin. She crocheted 12 of the motifs; then I made the shaping ones, seamed it together, and added the edgings. I love my cousin for being so cool with helping me out. Having someone who can tag team crocheting with me is fantastic. I still get to crochet and work out the fussy bits, perfect! (a lot of times I have to get a contract crocheter to crochet the entire project, so then I pout because I didn't have the time to make it myself).

You can see more of the skirt here and the details on the yarn. (Which actually is perfect for skirts. Durable and sportweight.)

What's on sale?

Just so you can see the amazing deals first hand....

Blueprint Crochet and Baby Blueprint Crochet are on sale (around 13$-- 40% off)

The ebook version (which is new, btw) of Baby Blueprint Crochet is on sale.

The ebook of 6 designs of mine is on sale (about 6$- 40% off- and since normally 1 pattern is 6$ that's like 5 for free)

All my Interweave patterns are on sale. (30% off)

Looks like just my DVDs and Simply Crochet (pre-order) are not on sale. Not bad, so now what am I going to buy?

Lion Brand... A little Q and A

Did you know that YarnCraft is getting ready to launch its 100th show? Yup, Lion Brand's informative and fun podcast is about to air its 100th episode on Sept 13th. In honor of their great run, Liz and Zontee sat down to answer some of my burning questions.

RC: Liz and Zontee what do you do at Lion Brand?

Liz: I do product and yarn development at Lion Brand. That means I work with mills to create the yarns that will eventually be on the retail shelves. Yes, this is every bit as awesome as it sounds.

Zontee: I edit our various newsletters, our company blog which is the Lion Brand Notebook, produce the YarnCraft podcast, and oversee marketing initiatives like our booths at yarn events. I also work on content for our website, and I work with artists and designers who use our yarns, which means I get to spend a lot of time out and about in the wonderful yarncrafting community.

RC: Lion Brand has a great Podcast, interviewing lots of designers, authors, teachers; and coming up with project ideas, organization, and techniques. Where do you get your ideas for each of your podcasts?

Zontee: Liz and I do a lot of brainstorming and try to think about topics that will be interesting to other yarncrafters. Sometimes we’re inspired by suggestions from our listeners, coworkers, or friends. Other times, we start with a guest that we’re interested in speaking with and build the topic around their expertise. In the world of yarncrafting, there’s no shortage of creativity and inspiration.

RC: We know that a ton of work goes into each podcast, how early do you start planning shows and how long does it take you to edit all the segments into a show?

Zontee: We usually plan several episodes at a time, so we have our ducks in a row usually a few weeks before the episode airs. Once everything’s recorded, it takes me a few hours to go through all the segments and put everything back together again.

RC: How do you keep your sanity being surrounded by all the great yarn colors and textures all day?

Liz: Well, I think the matter of my sanity is definitely a topic for debate! Honestly, at this point I start to feel anxious if I am NOT surrounded by piles of yarn, since that is such a big part of my work and home life. You should see how much yarn I bring when I travel.

RC: What is your current favorite Lion Brand yarn to crochet?

Liz: The LB Collection Cotton Bamboo – I love how smooth and silky it is. It just flies through your fingers. I made a granny square baby blanket out of this and it went so fast!

Zontee: For everyday projects, I’ve crocheted a lot with Vanna’s Choice, which makes a really lovely dense fabric, and is very versatile. For special projects, I like crocheting with the LB Collection Silk Mohair, since you can crochet a

seriously fast-finish project that’s lacy and open.

RC: You know I am in love with the LB Collection. Can you tell us how that came about?

Liz: We wanted to offer our loyal customers high quality, natural fiber yarns that unfortunately are too expensive to be carried at our normal retailers. By selling them direct to customers on our website, we can make luxury fibers like cashmere, alpaca, angora, and mohair available at reasonable prices. An important part of our Lion Brand philosophy is to provide high quality but value priced yarns for every type of crafter – whether someone is looking for an inexpensive acrylic yarn for their child's classroom project or for 100% cashmere to make an heirloom gift.

RC: How does Lion Brand decide out of the millions of fibers and weights and colors, on a new yarn line?

Liz: When developing new yarns, we try to balance the newest fibers and yarn construction techniques with practical applications for our customers. We want to make yarns that are new and exciting for people, but not so unusual that people won't know how to use them!

Zontee: In fact, we’ve done an episode about this very topic, so be sure to listen to episode 90.

RC: LB Collection Superwash Merino is one of my favorites to use, it has been featured in a number of my books and DVDs. What was the inspiration behind that yarn?

Liz: I am so glad to hear you say this, because the LB Collection Superwash Merino is one of my favorites too! It was created to be as versatile as possible, so we went with a DK weight and a multi-ply construction that resists pilling while staying lofty and soft to the touch. This means that you can use this yarn at a variety of gauges, all with great results. I've used it for everything from socks to sweaters to baby blankets.

RC: LB Collection also has a really cool yarn with Steel in it, that will be in my new book, Simply Crochet. It can be crocheted and then the project can be formed into different shapes, it is really neat. What was the inspiration behind that yarn?

Liz: The LB Collection Wool Stainless Steel is such a fun yarn to experiment with. At the time we were developing the LB Collection, we were approached by a Japanese mill we had worked with in the past who wanted broader distribution for their Stainless Steel yarn. We had already been big fans of the yarn, so were thrilled to included it in the LB Collection.

RC: What is coming up next at Lion Brand that we should keep an eye out for?

Zontee: This fall, we have a couple of awesome things coming out. First off, we have a brand new collection in conjunction with Martha Stewart Crafts that features 8 yarn lines, as well as a Knit & Weave Loom Kit that’s one of the most versatile knitting loom/weaving tool combinations I’ve ever seen. Second, we have several new yarns in chunky and bulky weights that feature great textures. These will be great for gift projects for the holiday season. Be sure to keep an eye on our newsletter, The Weekly Stitch, and LionBrand.com for announcements. We’ll also, of course, be talking more about them on YarnCraft!

Thank you Liz and Zontee! I can't wait to see what comes next on YarnCraft!

Continuing the celebration, We will be giving one lucky winner a copy of my DVD "Design Your Own Crocheted Baby Sweater" and a few balls of LB Collection Superwash Merino (my favorite for crochet). The cabled cover sweater is made with Lion Brand's Microspun, which is another good yarn for kids.

To enter: Leave a comment here (or email me) your favorite yarn at Lion Brand or your favorite YarnCraft Episode. Enter by Sept 16th at midnight (EST) and I will announce the winner the following week. Good luck!

Stash Busting Sale

Mark your calendars....

tomorrow starts Interweave's Stash Busting Sale!

Books and more will be marked down... way down. I was told that Blueprint Crochet and Baby Blueprint Crochet will be 40% off. CRAZY! (I don't know if the eBooks, patterns, and DVDs will be on sale. I guess we will have to wait and see.)

In addition to crazy cheap books, they are doing a huge giveaway. One lucky winner will get to choose 5 brand new books from their 2011 lineup, and another 5 will win either Inside the Creative Studio or The Crafter's Guide to Taking Great Photos.

What do you need to do? Either upload a picture of your craft stash (yarn, fabric, crayons... whatever you have that is crafty) to the Stash Bash flickr group or tweet your photo with the hashtag #stashbash

To help with your anxieties of showing it all... Here is a look into my studio and my yarn stash.

So don't forget to check out that sale tomorrow (stashbustersale.com) and enter the giveaway by Sept 16th.

Design time

Design time
Originally uploaded by rchach

It's September, that must mean it is design time! This month I have 10 projects to design (not including this one). I am hoping to push out the designs so that my crocheter can have time to crochet and not rush. (yes, there is NO way I can crochet 6 sweaters and 4 accessories. in one month. I am shooting for 1 sweater and 4 accessories, plus all this designing)

Today's design is a project I demo'd on the new season of Knit and Crochet Now. Need to get this one in the mail pronto, since the new season starts soon. Nothing like last minute! I still don't know when it starts airing -- either October or January-- I always forget. But I will keep you posted!