Sublime Sneak Preview

Sublime Sneak Preview
Originally uploaded by rchach

Sometimes projects go completely as planned. The design works, the crochet goes smoothly, the finishing is easy....

Or you have my next 2 sneak peeks.

This one was for a Fall magazine. Ginny crocheted it months ago. And did a great job letting me know that we probably would run out of yarn. I mean she did such a great job, that I could let the publisher know a month ahead of the deadline that we were running out of yarn. (Let's make that a bit clearer: most times I only have 6-8weeks to design and crochet a project. I try to jump on the design as fast as possible to give my crocheters (or me) a month to crochet. I include a week of time with me at the end for the fussy finishing, and another 4 days or so for shipping. So when I say that Ginny let me know early- I mean she was a speed demon and whipped through this so fast!) It really was incredible, especially b/c it looked great too.

Well, as in most good plans.... The yarn manufacturer had some kind of communication breakdown and I did not see the yarn for 2 months. And guess how much more I needed - 1/2 a ball. Man, that annoys me. Nothing worse then having everything finished but this tiny amount. So I am not sure which issue it will get moved into, but I will certainly let you know when I do.

The project is made with a cashmere merino wool blend in Aran weight. (did you drop over? I know me- using something heavier then DK- crazy!) It is fast crochet because of the yarn (and because the yarn is heavenly too) as well as the pattern being pretty straightforward. Not too many twists in this one.

I'll let you know more specifics about the project when I can. Just so happy to have this off my to do list and out of the office!

Interweave's Hurt Book Sale

It doesn't happen too often, so when Interweave has their Hurt Book Sale I don't mosey I gallup over!

The savings are incredible on books. Especially if you don't mind if they are nicked or otherwise slightly damaged. Last time they had the sale, I went a bit nuts and ordered like 6 books. And not one was damaged, so you never know. But who cares if they are nicked, when they are so cheap!

For Example, you can get Blueprint Crochet for 50% of the cover price! (Yes, that's cheaper then amazon!)

Here are the listing of the crochet titles in the sale. I for one, am using some of the pattern sales to get a new harmony guide. Mine is so marked up and highlighted, that for 10$ it is totally worth it to get an updated copy.

My other obsession are the Weldon's Practical Needlework Volumes. I love old needlework magazines, and add that these were originally published in the Victorian era, I'm hooked. IW has re-printed the volumes, and put them in a nice hard cover. I limit myself to one each sale, but I could easily go crazy. Granted if I did that I would never get my new book written, I'd be reading and checking out these all the time. You never know what old doily or crochet edging is going to inspire you, when you open the cover.

Hope you find some treasures yourself!

Setting some goals

Since my plans have changed over the last week, I spent the weekend thinking about what goals I wanted to reach in the book. I work much more productively if instead of having this huge pile of work in front of me, I can narrow my focus to one task at a time. Sometimes its not even one project, but one task within the project.

I must be a goal junkie, but I love finishing each task and getting to cross it off my list; one by one.

I set my overall goals to complete 2 projects for the book each week for the next 6 weeks. That will give me another week or so to edit those patterns, ship them off to the publisher; all way in advance of CJ (in case she decides to come really early). Plus the more I can finish, the longer I can take off from the book once she comes. I think it will be do-able, in addition , to my magazine work and volunteer work. I'm hopeful at least.

So to get the ball rolling I finished writing the pattern that goes with the swatch above today, and shipped off the yarn to my crocheter. (Thank goodness for them!) Especially since my "other work" this week is 2 tunics that I need to finish crocheting and writing. It certainly will be a busy week around here! The yarn in the swatch is Classic Elite Allegoro from the Verde Collection, if you were wondering.

2 designs finished for the new book, 23 left to write.

Calling all Cincy Area Crocheters...

This is what happens when you have severe baby brain! You totally forget to mention that you are teaching. And I'm teaching in the Cincy Area. And it's free! Luckily, I remembered that I was teaching, I just totally forgot to tell you all about it!

Here's the details:
Crochet Like a Pro
July 23 6:30-8:30pm
at The Kenton County Library
(Erlanger Branch, 401 Kenton Lands Road)
Learn designer crochet tips and tricks to make your work look sensational with Robyn Chachula (that's me) author of the fantastic crochet book "Blueprint Crochet." In this fun program, you'll discover the joys of blocking, the ways around frogging some of the worst mistakes (like how to move a button hole, and how to cut your crochet), and finishing techniques that will make your garment look store bought. You'll also get to try out different techniques to crochet colorwork and crochet with beads. Participants should bring one ball of yarn and matching hook. All crocheters welcome! Space is limited and pre-registration is required. See the website for registration details.

Basically it will be a shortened version of my Crochet Like A Pro class. I'll cover my favorite techniques and tips, and let the others be take-home learning. It should be really fun and a relaxing way to spend a Thursday evening in the Tri-State (Ohio, KY, Indiana).

Hope to see some of you there! It will be my last class for months with CJ coming so soon.

Weekend Crocheting

I get asked all the time what I am crocheting for CJ. And my immediate response is NOTHING. Na da. Zippo. Zero. I am way too superstitious to allow too many baby gifts in the house, let alone crochet her something yet.

Luckily, cousins on both of our sides are having babies and I get to work out my baby crochet fix that way. This weekend was my cousin, Rebecca's*, shower. (yes the same cousin that helps me crochet.) And I wanted to make something special for her.

Our grandmother always made every baby a granny square blanket, so I knew I wanted to honor her by doing something along the same lines. Here's a shot of the baby blanket she made me when I was a baby. I also knew I wanted to use a mix of yarn from my stash, grandma's stash, and Rebecca's stash. (purely so that it can be said "that a village made this blankie for you peanut") I was asked at the party how long it took me to make it and I stalled a bit. Mainly because I didn't crochet those blocks this year. Actually I crocheted them 4 years ago for a different WIP, and stole them for the blanket (knowing that I would never finish that other WIP). So actually I only crocheted the blocks together and added the border this time, and I did that in the car trip. Here's a more Detail shot of the blanket. I think it turned out pretty well for being a hodge-podge of sorts. Hopefully baby will like it too!

*What makes it super special is that we are actually due only about 2 weeks apart. So besides getting to share our love of crocheting, we'll be new mom's at the same time too!

Getting back on the bike

On Friday I officially crossed off the first of 25 projects for the book that I need to design and write. (See, the swatch in the picture. Not in those colors, so you will have to let your mind imagine). It just was the best feeling to be writing again. And writing for me.

Designing for your own book is very similar to designing for magazines, except in one very unique way. Instead of formatting and styling the pattern to another person's way; you get to write it anyway you want. I really love that freedom, and get excited to think of ways to best describe technically how to crochet the pattern and the best way to describe the aesthetic of the design.

Good thing too, since priorities have changed a bit around here. Not at CBF headquarters, but at Casa Chachula. As most of you know, I lead a double life. On any given day I am both crochet designer, and structural engineer (as well as doggie mom and such). But today marks the last day of being the latter, not due to interest (I actually really enjoy that job) but due to the stinky building economy. (Aka, no one building or repairing = no jobs for architects, engineers, contractors and such) We are not upset, we have seen this coming for months and months and have gotten prepared for the outcome (changing healthcare and loss of income). Plus, I can't dwell on things I can't control, I just look at it as an opportunity. Since the economy stinks and I am in my third trimester, its not likely that another structural engineering job will pop up anytime soon; so I am looking at it as a time to work on the book and get ready for CJ.

I'm actually pretty excited to give crochet design a chance to flourish full-time, and see what I can conjure up in the next few months. And there is plenty of work to be done around CBF. I have the other 24 book projects, plus 3 magazine projects to finish, and 1 book contribution project. Those alone will keep me busy for months, which is great.

Best part is just turning the next page in our book of life. We don't know what will happen, but boy are we excited! I'll try my best to keep you up to date on the journey. Hope you will enjoy the ride with me.

TNNA Fibery Goods Winners

Congratulations to ......

Rebecca and Linda! You both are the winners of the fibers from TNNA and Louet. I hope you guys enjoy them! I split all the entries into 2 categories, new how to spin and beginner/ wants to learn. Then I chose at random from those categories. Thank you everyone for commenting. I was great fun to see what projects you all would make.

Here's what they had to say about Spinning and Crochet:

Rebecca: "mmm yummy nepps! my favorite way to spin is a mildly thick/thin dk weight... and then i usually crochet scarves...although, i made my sissy a coat from my handspun for Christmas last year!" - I was blown away by her talent to not only crochet a coat but spin the yarn too!

Linda: "aw, what the heck, i think this post is what pushed me to finally learn to spin today. so far i make thick slubby stuff since i am a beginner, which i'll probably make into my go-to: hats." - Well, learning how to spin from inspiration on my blog post. Wow! And if any of you are familiar with Linda, you know that as soon as she gets spinning down- we'll be seeing amazing yarn!

Interweave Crochet Summer 09

By now, most of you have probably seen the preview of Interweave Crochet Summer. I got my copy in the mail a few days ago as well. It has a very feminine and romantic feeling this time, which I thought was nice for summer.

Of course, my stuff did not fit in that box at all. I was totally channeling big, bold, and loud for summer. Not that there is anything wrong with romantic, I just was on a different wave length completely. (Not too surprising, since I always feel like that nowadays)

My two projects in the issue are the Aragon Tunic and Island Earrings and Necklace.

The Aragon Tunic was a mix of inspiration. I love my Dream Motif Tunic so much, I wanted to create another top with that easy wearabilty and "grab'm" look. While swatching, I had been listening to the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series (recommended by Annie- thank you!). I love the main characters look at traditionally built women (hallelujah!) and totally used that out and proud spirit in the design. My cousin, Rebecca, helped me crochet the top by crocheting all the fuchsia body, then I crocheted the edging. I did this mainly b/c I really was not sure what edging I wanted. My gut always goes to straight lines, but I just didn't think that would be right for Mma Ramotswe (that's the main character). So I jazzed it up a bit, and just fell in love. The top is made with Cotton Fleece, but you in no way have to use that for yours. It would hang and flow great in any bamboo or soy blend too. (oh and the button on the belt band, totally should stay offset. I think it just looks funny centered on that poor model. Now don't I sound all bossy- guess I am really a designer afterall?) Here was the sneak preview. And Here are more of my photos.

The Island Necklace and Earring (Or Cavtat- as I called them originally) were totally taken from a necklace that I really wanted, but at 200$ was way out of my league for jewelry. So as usual, I crocheted one instead, with the same big and loud motifs. The necklace and earrings are really lightweight, so it makes for easy wearing in the summer. They are all joined by jump rings, mainly b/c I was lazy after I crocheted all the beads and motifs and just wanted it together fast. I like the way it turned out with the jump rings, so three cheers for being lazy! Here was the sneak preview, and here are more of my photos.

Hope you enjoy the issue and are enjoying crocheting pool/lakeside this summer!

Surprise Baby Shower

Surprise Baby Shower
Originally uploaded by rchach

The rock-stars of Stitch Coop threw me a surprise baby shower on Sunday Morning. I thought we were all there for a meeting (and me being the secretary- mainly since if I don't write it down- I don't remember anything) was all serious and ready to go.

Instead I spent the entire day crying in each re-telling of how sweet they all were to make handmade gifts for CJ.

She's now has rock-star made knitted socks, crocheted booties, crochet hat (by a knitwear superstar no less), and knitted washcloths. I am still so touched. Aren't they all fabulous?

Aqua Booties- Julie
Multi Moccasin Booties- Annie
Pink Slippers and Crochet Cap- Kristi
Yellow Washcloths- Stefanie
Purple Socks- Amy
Pink and Purple Socks- Andi
Camo Socks- Miriam
Multi Socks- Shannon

Thank you all again and again!

TNNA: Gift for you

Now for the exciting news for you guys!

On teardown day, it is a chaos of fiber and yarn literally in some cases flying through the air.

The Louet booth was next to our Stitch Coop Booth, and they had a big pile of fiber that they just could not pack to go home with. So they asked us if we could use it. Uh, yeah. Whatever the ladies did not want I picked up for you!

I'm opening up this fiber to two lucky blog readers (2 bags to one and 3 to the other- the green is only half full). Leave a comment here (or on Ravelry) or email me with what you like to spin and then crochet. I'll choose the winners at random next Thursday, so check back to see if you won. Just make sure if you leave a comment, I have a way of contacting you (email or Rav name).

What all is there? A bag of White Merino Top, a bag of Superwash Wool, a bag of Sea Foam Green in Merino, and a bags of blue and black wool nepps.

Good luck! I can't wait to see what you come up with.

TNNA: The Goodies

As always, there was so much great stuff from the weekend. I decided to break it up into a few posts, mainly since my brain can only keep so much info in and I have been remembering events in waves.

First up: The goodies- so much yarn. This year I spent a good portion of my time just strolling for inspiration. Usually I have booths already scoped out that I need to visit, but this time I just let my eye wander and I strolled to whoever caught it first. Here's some of my favorites from the show:

1. Spud and Chloe- New line of washable yarn from Blue Sky Alpaca. I am in love with this line. Their patterns are adorable and their line looks fantastic. I can't wait to start swatching. (Plus, they are absolutely wonderful and gave me a ton to work with for the new book. I am just itchy to start winding.) I love their tag line "sweet yarns for real life". Totally for me. At this point, washable yarn is a must for how klutzy I am. You have to check them out, honestly their line is great. Plus, Amy's scarf is genius- back is just as cute as the front.


2. Kitchen Sink Dyeworks- Mercedes brainchild. Great line of hand dyed yarn. She's got great colors, plus a mission. Check out Kiva for more info. I can't wait to swatch something up with it. Oh, and Mercedes is a crocheter too- so she totally gets us. Just saying...


3. Twisted Fiber Art- Meg is the creator behind this super cool hand dyed yarn. She uses calculus to figure out the color changes, and can vary it for your project. Neat right. She also has a beautiful range of variegated and subtle colors to choose from.



4. Schaefer Yarn Company- This company has really great yarn mixed with a really cool color concept. Their yarn colorways are named after famous women in history. They let me come home with Heather in Elena Piscopia (mathematician from the 16th century), Nicole in Aung San Suu Kyi (Burmese advocate), and Lola in Indigo. Plus they are sending me Susan in Frida Kahlo to create something (hopefully) as creative as she. But come on, how cool it is to say I'm crocheting with Frida? Every hank has a tag telling about the woman behind the inspiration. I think these would make fantastic gifts to girls to inspire them to greatness in craft and in the world.



5. Pagewood Farm- While walking around with Miriam (the rock star of lace), Pagewood Farms booth caught our eye. Their colors just jumped out and were begging to be petted. The Tundra line caught both of our hands in how lovely it was to the feel. It's a camel silk blend, that looks just heavenly to crochet with. I will let you know how it turns out.

Birthday Gift

Happy Birthday to Me today, and I am passing along a special gift to you!

For one week, you can get CJ's favorite patterns for 50% off.

Here's her picks:
Lucky Clover Shawl- now only 3$


PDF download, only






Cozy from the Toe UP Socks- now only 3$



PDF download, only



Dream Motif Tunic- now only $3.50


PDF download, only







Rochelle Ripple Cardigan- now only $3.50


PDF download, only


So that's now till midnight on June17, Lucky Clover Shawl, Cozy from the Toe Up Socks, Dream Motif Tunic, and Rochelle Ripple Cardigan will be 50% off.

Fine Print: To use the PDF, you will need appropriate software such as Adobe Acrobat Reader. By purchasing this pattern, you are granted a limited license to download the pdf file to a single personal computer and to print out a hard copy of the pattern, solely for personal non-commercial use.