Toddler Dress Revealed

First, here is the sneak peek:
and this is the finished toddler sized dress in the new issue of Crochet Today Magazine. and, it's ON THE COVER!!! WooHoo! When the website updates, I'll post the link.

Sneak Peek

Have I shown you this sneak peek yet? It's a sneaky one!

Abundance vs Emptiness

Sometimes I wonder, "What happens if I run out of ideas?" I think that worrying about running out of ideas makes you run out of ideas, kinda like a self-fulfilling prophecy. On the other hand, trusting that you will never run out of ideas can be a self-fulfilling prophecy that you'll never run out of ideas. Nothing squashes my creativity like the fear of not having any creativity.

I'm thinking about this because for a week in February and now a week in March, I have had huge gluts of creative energy and I wonder when these happen if I will "run out" of creativity sooner, if I will somehow 'empty' myself of creativity, leaving a void where all the already used ideas just spin around and around with nothing new coming out.

Do you see how my mind spins?

But never fear! I have decided that I can never run out of creativity because there isn't a 'limited supply' of creativity in the world (or in me). It's possible that if I am constantly taking in new ideas/images/sounds/textures that my store of creativity will always be replenished.

People will often say things like, "How many ways can there possibly be to make a granny square?" and I've decided the answer is something like, "How many notes are there in music? 7? ... and how many songs are there in the world?"

Giveaway Winners!

Whew! What a fun and busy week!

Monday's Winner of the Ecru Lion Brand Suede is.... KBCrochet!

Tuesday's Winner of the Magenta Lion Brand Suede is ... Lauria!

Wednesday's Winner of the Moda Dea Baby Talk in Lime is.... Nova 0437!

Thursday's Winner of the KnitPicks Wool is .... Gramma Carol!

And Friday's winner is ME for having so many great readers! Thanks all! I'm looking forward to getting back to writing more on the blog. Happy National Crochet Month everyone!

Above is a quick bucket had I made out of Garnet Suede. It's the only photo that I could think of that is even remotely related to today's post!

So, you four winners need to email me at Ellen at sign GoCrochet dot com
with your mailing address and the yarns will go out next week! Whoo Hoo!

Thursday Giveaway!

Never fear my friends! yes, indeed Blogger had some hiccups and I didn't get any comments for a few hours, then I checked a different page and there were a whole bunch! So, I think I'm getting them all. I'll wait until tomorrow before I pull a name, just in case some of the comments are delayed in arriving to my box. I'll know when they were posted by their time stamp.

:) So exciting that you all are here!

Thursday Giveaway!

4 hanks of Knitpicks in Black/purple/red! Gossamer, 100% Merino Wool in "Red Hat"

Leave a comment on THIS post, by Thursday night (tonight) at midnight Eastern Time and you'll be entered in a drawing to win. Winners will be announced on Friday!

Wednesday Giveaway!

Today, I'm giving away 3 balls of Moda Dea Baby Talk yarn in this lime green color! To win, you need to leave a comment on THIS post by midnight tonight (Wednesday) Eastern time. Has there ever been a pattern that you have made over and over again? What was it?

On Friday, I'm going to pull all the winners and post them. The winners will need to email me back with their mailing address. I'll ship the yarns out next week!

But... I'm too impatient to wait until Friday to do Monday's winners.
The Winner of Monday's Ecru Lion Brand Suede is: KBCROCHET!

I'll announce them again on Friday, but if you want to send me your mailing address at Ellen AT sign, GoCrochet dot com, I'll pack it up to ship next week with the other winners!

Tuesday Giveaway

Today, I'm giving away 3 balls of Lion Brand Suede yarn in this magenta color! To win, you need to leave a comment on THIS post by midnight tonight (Tuesday) Eastern time. Maybe you could tell me your current favorite yarn!

On Friday, I'm going to pull all the winners and post them. The winners will need to email me back with their mailing address. I'll ship the yarns out next week!

This is so fun!

Thanks all for the cute jokes. Chief is trying to learn them to share with Chickee when she gets home. Keep the jokes and comments coming! This is so much fun, I might have to add a special yarn giveaway for Friday... I'll go look in my stash...

Also! Thanks to my new FOLLOWERS!!! Hi there! Thanks for joining us!

Monday Giveaway!

Today, I'm giving away 3 balls of Lion Brand Suede yarn in this ecru color! To win, you need to leave a comment on THIS post by midnight tonight (Monday) Eastern time. You don't have to say anything funny or amusing, all comments will be equal, but if you have any quick clean jokes I can share with the kids, that would be fun!

On Friday, I'm going to pull all the winners and post them. The winners will need to email me back with their mailing address. I'll ship the yarns out next week!

Sneak Peek and Giveaway

Here's a sneak peek for you!

The yarn giveaway in honor of National Crochet Month is going to happen Monday -Thursday of this coming week. Each day I will post a photo of the yarn I'm giving away. If you want it, leave a comment on that days post by midnight Eastern that same day. I'll do this 4 days in a row. On Friday, I'll pull the winning names and post them. You'll have to email me back with your mailing address. All winning items will be shipped out the following week.

Horizon Throw Revealed!

Looks like this is to be the week of Reveals! I must have forgotten to do a sneak peek for this one! It's in the new issue of Crochet! Magazine, May 2009.

GIVEAWAY

Hey, let's do a giveaway on Monday. I'm going to give away some yarn.

Meditation Mask revealed!

Here's the sneak peek...
The new issue of Crochet! Magazine is out! This funky freeform project is sure to cause some conversation! Find this scrumble project in the May 2009 issue.

I won!.... did I tell you I won?

My award has arrived! Very cool. Thank you.

Fair Isle Messenger Bag Revealed!

This Tapestry style bag is made out of Elsebeth Lavold, Hempathy
for the new UK crochet magazine, Inside Crochet, published by KALMedia who also publishes Yarn Forward magazine. In the US, the magazine is available at Borders and Barnes & Nobles.

I also made this bag a little bigger in Lion Brand Cotton-Ease, and my laptop fits in it! This one is MINE to keep!
This is the project that helped me learn left handed crochet!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! and I am Thrilled

I can't believe it, but I WON a Flamie from the Crochet Liberation Front for the 'Best Designer of Home Decor'.

It is such a great time for crochet. The fibers are so great, the consumers are ready for our most creative and innovative ideas. I think of all the men and women crochet designers of the past (whether they knew they were designers or they thought they were just making up patterns for fun) and I think of how they used to create in a vacuum, without recognition, without feedback, without the appreciation of peers. Our predecessors created crochet for their homes and their loved ones for the joy of making something delightful and functional at the same time.

With the internet, CGOA, Crochetville, Ravelry, and other crochet communities, the designers get to hear the reaction of the consumers and the opinions of other designers. I know many crochet aficionadoes and crochet designers voted for the Flamies, so I feel that I have been voted for by some of the most intelligent and creative people on the planet. Thank you for the honor of your vote.

Thank you to Laurie Wheeler, the CLF "fearless leader" who organized this event. Laurie, you make things happen! Thank you to Fignations for the awesome graphic "trophy" that I will proudly display. Thank you to Mary Beth Temple at Getting Loopy for hosting the event. Thank you. Thank you.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone. Charlie doesn't look too happy about his St. Patrick's Day attire, does he? I think he's afraid to move!

Still Waters Shrug Revealed

From the new issue of Interweave Crochet comes....

Here's the Sneak Peek again...

From Alpaca with a Twist, in Punch

This model is TINY. I'm not a huge person and this shrug was much tighter on me.
I love alpaca yarn.

Amazing Grace Wrap Revealed

It's the Amazing Grace Wrap in the new Interweave Crochet, Spring 2009. Follow the link to see the entire preview. This is made of SouthWest Trading Company, Amaizing Corn yarn. This, by the way, is the yarn you should NOT iron. Remember?


I can't find the sneak peek photo, but here is the link to the post where the sneak peek originally was published Sneak Peek photo. I designed this to be a sexy robe, but perhaps it was a little too risque' to style it that way! Monday, another reveal!

Wedding Cake Safe Pattern

Have I ever shown you this? It was in one of the Accord-Crochet Pattern-A-Day calendars. 2006? I think. Anyway, I've been going through old patterns and thought some of you might like this one. I'm thinking about making the PDF available. It is made of Red Heart LusterSheen.