Design Binge

Never fear, in this case, no news is good news.  I've been quiet on the blog because I have been in a serious design binge.  These are the result of FRIDAY's efforts. Just Friday.  I'm so excited.

Photo Friday

Here's my pal, Carol, who completed her Striped Shoulder Bag. It was published in Knit n' Style in June 2010, but now is a FREE pattern offered by Coats & Clark.

Carol was able to find the handles easily at our local JoAnn's store. Great job, Carol!

Inspiration: Go To Scarf

What was I thinking?
I originally designed the Go To scarf to try out a ball of Stitch Nation Yarn, Bamboo Ewe, when it first came out.  I wanted something easy and repetitive, that could be lengthened or widened. I love yarn that shows great stitch definition. For me, it's all about the stitches.  I wanted a project that would highlight the shell stitch pattern. What I ended up with was a "Project Maker"  A Project maker is the type of project that looks great in just about any yarn, looks great in inexpensive yarn or an exotic fiber.  It can be made in cotton (the blue is Universal Cotton Supreme) or wool or bamboo or alpaca or silk....
You can have fun adding color details on the edge (shown on the blue one), or leave it off like the above red one.  It is a project maker because it is easily memorized, fun to do, quick to make and fun to make again and again. 
The pdf pattern is available on Ravelry or Craftsy for $3.00.
Don't forget to post photos of your projects! Let's see how you can crank out the Go To Scarves!

Tonight is "Live Chat" on my Ravelry group. What is it?   If you are a member of Ravelry (or if you aren't, it's free to join, there's still time before the 9 pm EST meeting).  Go on to my Group page... here's the link to the "GoCrochet with Ellen Gormley" group page. On the right of that page is a dialogue box that says, "Chat room".  At the designated time (or even if you are a few minutes late) you can click on that box and join us.  You can chat with me and my pals in real time by typing in your comments.  Don't worry, it's not a video chat, you can show up in jammies if you like.  It's not an audio chat, only typing. 

Photo Friday

It's a long story, but here is the Carousel Capelet I made for Chickee. She didn't want the flower on it.  It's in Stitch Nation Yarn, Alpaca Love.  I'm not sure who designed it, the project page says Heather Dixon, but it also says Debbie Stoller, so maybe it was a joint effort. The is an adult "small" and you can see it fits Chickee well. In this same booklet (that is available as an e-book) you can also get my "Over the Rainbow Baby Blanket" stitched in Bamboo Ewe.

You have to see this!

Oh my gosh, I have been waiting MONTHS to reveal this project with you.  I can't even wait until a new post tomorrow, so you get another post today. 

Interweave Crochet has put out a new e-book called, "A Snowflake Story" 4 crochet accessory projects, featuring me, Doris Chan, Linda Permann and Natasha Robarge.  Here is my contribution:

 The Wintergreen Cowl is in the Bruges Style. Shown here in The Fibre Company's Road to China yarn. Which is a really luscious blend of Cashmere, baby alpaca, silk and camel (not necessarily in that order).

The booklet is $6.99 PDF download.  The projects aren't even up on Ravelry yet.  I just think this cowl would be so flattering in pink or rose for a bright winter accessory. Just in time for Valentine's day?

The pink/fuchsia yarn above is the now discontinued Mission Falls. A lovely color. Yay! It's great to have a reveal!

Motivation anyone?

I've been very productive the last few days, but in case you are needing some motivation and humor, here is a fun post on the Positivity Blog "Mark Twain's Guide to Living an Awesome Life"

"I can live for two months on a good compliment" Mark Twain.

So funny, so true. Enjoy!

Inspiration: Amazing Grace Wrap

Originally in the Interweave Crochet Spring 2009 issue, the Amazing Grace Wrap is made of SWTC's A-maizing Corn fiber yarn.  Though the yarn might be discontinued (I couldn't find it on their website), a good substitution might be SWTC Bamboo. Make a swatch in your stash yarn and then make a decision.  If I were going into my stash to give it a go and I didn't have the SWTC Bamboo, I might try Caron Spa.

What was I thinking? Again, like the Beach Sarong, I was thinking Honeymoon (with a capital H).  I originally designed this sweater to be a bed jacket, a pretty robe-like cover up for something a little more comfortable. Small join as you go motifs let you easily make it bigger or smaller in 2-3" increments. Side slits give it movement.

Photo Friday

I think this deserves TWO photos.  Here is my Mother and Father-in-law's cat, Hope, who has a broken leg.  While they were on vacation, I took Hope to her two follow up check-ups. She is expected to make a full recovery. No one really knows how she broke it.  How do you get a cat with a broken leg into a cat carrier? Very carefully. 

Fiction

Scarlet Nights by Jude Devereaux I listened to this one on audiobook.  I learned later that it is part of a series of books.  I'm not sure where it was in the sequence. Which, I guess is a good thing that I wasn't able to notice that I had missed on previous installments. A big city detective has to go back to his home town to uncover a fraud/murder plot.  Reluctant to go back and face his past, the detective finds himself more emotionally entangled in the case and the town than he had planned.  The problem with reading the middle book in a series, now I don't need to read the previous ones because I know how it ends up.


Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson  .
After limping through the first 75-100 pages the book got much more interesting. The first half of the book was full of long descriptions of small town life in a Pacific Northwest Island town. (I forget exactly where it was set). There were too many men names that began with the letter "A" so that I had trouble keeping them all straight.  The book is set in a post- WWII time. An untimely death of a fisherman is being investigated.  Prejudices and loyalties are put to the test as a Japanese-American and long time resident of the town is accused of the crime. Throw in some pride and a love triangle, unrequited love and a test of whether or not to help someone you have a grudge with... it turned into a very good book. Of course, if you can't slog through the first boring part, you'd miss out on the rest.

Bonnie by Iris Johansen, I didn't know, when I chose this book, that it is either the 2nd or 3rd book in a fictioin trilogy.  So, I was a little lost, but not completely. This book picks up with Eve, the mother of a little girl, Bonnie, who had been abducted and murdered. The mom, with the help of her, CIA friends and the soldier father of the daughter go and hunt for the killer. I listened to the audiobook version. The transitions between scenes or sections weren't always clear, so sometimes I was like, "huh, did she finish that section or did I miss something?"  It did have some interesting twists.

Books 10 thru 14 of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series 'nuff said.  She's so funny.  Book 1, "One for the Money" is a movie out this month. I am looking forward to going to see it.

Virals by Cathy Reichs, A teen book from the writer of the Bones tv series.  Amazon said it is for kids "9 and up", but I wouldn't agree.  There is a murder, guns, conspiracy, animal testing, and a veiled reference to a teen having a girlfriend spend the night.  For older kids, 13-14, ok, maybe.  Tory, a 13 year old misfit, living on an island off the coast of South Carolina is a friend to other geeky-smart science loving kids who stumble upon a shady research project funded by the University where her father works.  The kids use science and logic to uncover the evidence and follow the clues. In the midst of their research they are exposed to a virus which gives them into wolf-like characteristics (hence they call themselves "Virals".)  It should be a new series and it's nice to see a smart, science loving female lead character.

Modelland by Tyra Banks Oh my goodness, I gave it an honest shot.  I made it to about page 25 and thought "What IS this?"  It's a teen book, maybe teens will like it. It's fantasy so all the places and names are made up and funky. I moved on. Tyra should stick to show business and leave the writing to writers. I guess in a nutshell it is an ugly-duckling story.

Divergent by Veronica Roth  If you liked the Hunger Games, teen series, you'd like this one.  Again it is a sci-fi fantasy with a female teen protagonist.  Set in the future, Beatrice is introduced as she has to choose which segment of society she wants to live in. The society is separated basically by personality, Candor (honest), Abegnation (self-lessness), Dauntless (Brave), Erudite (the intelligent), and Amity (the peaceful).  Beatrice comes from an Abegnation family and the story is about which segment she chose, the training she received and how no one fits neatly into just one category.  There is violence.  It is a fascinating book though and I enjoyed it.

Embrace the Grim Reaper by Judy Clemens  I had to read this one, because I had lunch with Judy at the Books by the Banks event back in October.  First, the book is not nearly as scary as the title and cover might make you think.  It's not a horror book.  It is the story of drifter, Casey Maldonado, who's husband and son died tragically, suddenly. The book starts with Casey wandering from town to town evading the circumstances of her family's death. She happens upon a small town in Ohio where she finds some lovely people who are mourning the suspicious death of town favorite.  Casey tries not to put down roots but finds herself helping the town residents in their investigation as the past threatens to catch up with her.

Inspiration: Beach Sarong

Today's "What was I thinking" is the Beach Sarong!  It was in the Summer 2009 issue of Interweave Crochet. Here's the link to the Ravelry page for the project.  Originally when the call came out for designs for the summer issue,  I was thinking about weddings and items you might wear on your honeymoon, or items to wear on the beach.  (Remind me to tell you about the Amazing Grace Wrap).

I was thinking, wouldn't it be great to have just a little something to cover up with at the beach when you want to walk to the snack bar?  It would need to be light weight and lacy and pretty. It would need to dry quickly, handle getting wet, and wear well on the sand.  LINEN!  The wrap is made of Euroflax sportweight linen by Louet.  Though it starts out crunchy it softens the more you wash it and use it.  It blocks beautifully and dries quickly and doesn't get heavy when wet like cotton does. Perfect!  For the design, I didn't want it to go ALL the way around the body, but leave a sexy little slit.  However, there is no reason why you can't make it bigger for more coverage.  Someone on Ravelry even adapted the pattern to make it into a calf-length skirt!  For the magazine, they styled it as a yoga skirt and indeed some yoga and dancer fans have made the sarong for their own creative dressing.