Designs by KN blog

Since I received a new tote bag as a Christmas gift (adding to the collection of miscellaneous bags acquired over the years from vendor fairs and other sources), reprinting here an article I wrote which was published in the July 2007 CGOA Chain Link newsletter:

Stash Bustin’ Time

Funny how what goes around, comes around….how one (wo)man’s trash is another (wo)man’s treasure…..how simple is as simple does….ok, enough clichés, here’s the story:

I had been making and selling originally-designed hats. A friend of mine, who has excellent fashion and color sense, told me about a hat she bought at a craft fair in another state, and asked if I could make something similar. Thinking this was some kind of unusual one-of-a-kind, high-style hat, I was shocked when I saw it:  a basic double crochet beanie in acrylic yarn, the kind of hat some of us have been making as charitable gifts for years. The only difference I could see was that 2 or 3 strands of thinner yarns had been combined to achieve a chunky gauge, rather than using one solid color.  In an odd coincidence, shortly after receiving the hat I spent some pleasant evenings reading “The Yarn Stash Workbook” by Laura Militzer Bryant (c2006, Martingale & Company, ISBN 156477614X). While this beautiful book offers creative ways to use up stash yarn in knitting projects, the same color and design principles can apply to crochet. My friend’s hat, while nowhere near as exuberant as projects in the book, was made following a similar concept: use up leftovers in a creative way, for projects that display richer color, texture and interest. I could see now why that basic beanie had appealed to her.

With a stash that threatens a “home takeover” I decided to try a yarn blending design of my own. Since all things retro seem to be the rage, colors straight out of the ‘70s inspired the Stash Bustin’ Tote. Creams, yellows, golds, oranges and greens were sorted into a shading scheme from light to dark. I began with three strands of compatible light colors. As each color was used up, I replaced one strand at a time, changing to the next darker color. While it can be awkward wrestling three wayward strands at once at a bulky gauge on a large hook, it is great fun to see what happens as the colors change.  By keeping yarn-combo projects on the small side so they’re not too heavy, you can enjoy a bit of stash bustin’ too! Have fun with this project:

Stash Bustin’ Tote

As a side note, the Double-Double Crochet Hat pattern uses the same technique of blending and shading with multiple strands of yarn:

Another tote from the DBKN pattern database using multiple colors of yarn and striping patterns (combined with felting) is the Jumbo Felted Tote:

If you’re doing post-Christmas cleaning, packing, sorting and organizing for the new year, totes come in handy for storing all kinds of things, including knit & crochet works-in-progress. If you’re planning travel (as we are on our annual road trip to the ski area) grab a tote packed with yarn, books, craft magazines, needles & hooks … and go!

You’ll find several other tote and bag ideas (in assorted sizes) on my Ravelry page, including the Provence Summer String Bag, Go Green! Lacy Shells Bag, and Stained Glass Felted Bag.  Keep on stitching and stash busting!

Ah, the day after Christmas.  Time to relax and enjoy gifts received from friends:   “Joy” tea from Starbucks (only available this time of year), fruitcake (yum) and an Amazon gift card. With it I ordered three books: “Sweater Design in Plain English” & “Knitting in Plain English” by Maggie Righetti, and “More Crocheted Socks” by Janet Rehfeldt and Mary Jane Wood (not that I need any more books, but I do work in a library and have my own personal library at home and I don’t yet own these titles and they will be enjoyable to read through the long winter nights ahead and they are educational and … well, you know what it’s like with YAS, PAS and BAS*!)

I hope your hand-knit & crocheted holiday gifts were well received!  The two scarves I made for DD were gratefully accepted. Here’s one of them (the other can’t be shown right now as it is designated for publication):

Liquid Gold Chain Mesh Scarf

Thanks to the thoughtfulness of my mother, DD (the cross-stitcher) and I received cotton tote bags from Lands’ End to hold our projects, as well as this fun kit:

Just before Christmas I released a new free pattern, so if you are one who’s already looking ahead to spring (and trying to dig out from the piles of snow across the country) you might enjoy this fine-knitting project for your kitchen or dining room:

Peachy-Keen Placemat

So on we go to 2011, with great plans for new knitting and crocheting projects.  My first will be the aforementioned scarf design.  While waiting for materials and specs to arrive, I have been working my way through another generous gift: a large box of unlabeled yarn given by a friend who asked that it be put to good use for charitable causes.  I just finished this Rippling Waves Baby Blanket with some of it:

Rippling Waves Baby Blanket

I hope you’re looking forward to working on new knitting & crochet projects in the months ahead.

Happy New Year, everyone!

*YAS = Yarn Acquisition Syndrome, PAS = Pattern Acquisition Syndrome, BAS = Book Acquisition Syndrome

… to finish those last-minute Christmas gifts!  I’ve just completed one, with one left to go before the big day. You’ll be seeing one of the designs in a year (or two). I just received word yesterday that it’s been accepted for publication in a book, so that will be fun to anticipate (& a nice Christmas gift for this designer!)

I was surprised when I checked my Ravelry page this morning that there’s a race going on in my design faves category. I can tell that it’s last-minute Christmas gift-knitting time by the sudden amount of interest in my Men’s Fingerless Mitts pattern. So far, 289 completed pairs of mitts created by many Ravelry knitters are showing up in the project pages. Although basic, plain and simple, they are ever-so practical, which must account for the current number of faves (1,008).

These are quickly becoming the most popular pattern offered in the Designs by KN pattern database.

As faves go, this pattern may soon overtake the Provence Summer String Bag which stands on Ravelry at 1,018 faves with 137 completed projects, and is itself worthy of being a last-minute Christmas gift idea:

Photo copyright Classic Elite Yarns

Another last-minute mitt idea is Fingerless Wristlets which I designed for Knit.1 Winter 2007 issue (now offered as a free pattern):

Photo by Paul Amato, copyright Soho Publishing

Since then, I’ve made many more of these (they take less than 3 hours a pair.)  Here’s the latest, part of my own last-minute Christmas gift knitting session:

More fingerless mitt patterns are available from Designs by KN (if you’re still knitting and crocheting at the 11th hour!):

Twist Mitts (knit)

Ice Chip Mitts (crochet)

Ribbed Fingerless Mitts (knit)

Ribbed Pulse Warmers (knit – they do work to keep hands warm)

So if you’re needing last-minute Christmas gift ideas, get your mitts busy and make someone a pair of mitts.  They could become a fave!

Since there have been so many changes this year, I started thinking about phases — the phases we go through in life, in work, even in our hobbies. Like me, you may have been through sewing phases, quilting phases, needlepoint & cross-stitch phases, and painting & drawing phases.

One pursuit that has “stuck” the longest in my life is crocheting, followed closely by knitting, but even with those fiber arts I go through phases.  There are times when creative juices flow (or not), hooks & needles fly at lightning speed (or not), piles of finished items appear (or not).  During the “not” times, I take a break and usually go into a reading phase. What do I read? Knitting & crocheting books, of course!

Right now I’m in one of those “it’s dark early, it’s cold outside, I’m tired, I think I’ll just curl up with a book” phases. I have a personal library of knitting & crocheting titles and enjoy pulling a book from the shelves at random. The other night it was ”Crochet Style” by Shannon Okey. What a pleasure to spend quiet time engrossed in this book while keeping my hands busy with a simple knitting project (yes, I like to knit while I read!)  Even though published in 2006, the designs still look contemporary and fun, so I may have to try some of these patterns when the next creative phase hits.

Speaking of phases, thirty years ago when my daughter was born the needlework industry’s cross-stitch phase was at the height of popularity. Since then the popularity cycle seems to have touched many handcrafts:  sewing, cross-stitch, needlepoint, crochet, quilting, knitting and back to sewing.  I am pleased to see my daughter experiencing her own creative needlework phases now.  Her hobby of choice? Cross-stitch (how’s that for the circle of life?)  She has created some wonderful pieces so far and has a dream of being a “ghost-stitcher” some day.

I’ve encouraged her to hang on to that dream, as I have to mine. A few years ago I wrote the following article for the CGOA Chain Link newsletter.  It describes the creative phases of my own life and how they have led to my dream of becoming a knit/crochet designer:

“A most amazing thing happened recently at the local yarn shop where I assist:  a customer, when she discovered I had designed the patterns and models on display, shook my hand and said, “Thank you! Thank you for designing crochet patterns.”  It was one of those totally unexpected moments in life that surprises and delights.  After thanking her, I thought to myself “Hey, I’m a designer. How did that happen?”  Perhaps you’d like to know….

The 50’s:  Childhood.  I drew and colored, played with paper dolls, spent hours pretending to be an artist using the giant watercolor paint-box given me by my aunt.  Saw my grandmother’s crochet handiwork on visits to her house (and cherish her doilies handed down to me years later).

The 60’s:  High school.  No dates, but instead spent hours in my room crafting. Painted unique and colorful bugs on smooth pebbles (for paperweights), drew cartoon characters such as Charlie Brown and the Hawaiian Punch guy (to the delight of friends during homemaking class!), sewed my own clothes.

The 70’s:  College. Visited the local five-and-dime and was awestruck by the rows of colorful acrylic yarn on display.  Bought my first pattern magazine for the afghan on the cover, which consisted of hundreds of tulip shapes joined with rows of chains and double crochets.  During breaks from studying, my roommate sat on her dorm bed and knitted, while I sat on mine and crocheted.  Taught myself to crochet from my mother’s 1950′s Coats & Clark Learn How Book (link to updated version).

The 80’s:  Birth of my daughter. Crocheted a small granny-square blanket in baby yarn and pastel colors, simply for the occasion of bringing her home from the hospital (both baby and blanket received compliments!)  When she was older, worked part-time job in a needlework shop where cross-stitch and needlepoint were all the rage, but a selection of yarns was kept in the back.  I was the lone crocheter in a crowd of knitters, but taught myself to knit, due to exciting new patterns hitting the market.  Began donating crocheted/knitted items to charities.  The finished articles I made were noticed by co-workers, which led to custom orders for sweaters and baby things.

The 90s:  Continued to fill my family’s and friends’ homes and wardrobes with hand-crocheted and knit creations, but still followed published pattern instructions to the letter.  Kept a photo album of every item I made, and when not crocheting or knitting, read every magazine and book  available on both subjects.  After reading “Crocheting for Fun & Profit” by Darla Sims, I thought to myself “Hmmm…..”, but still was not confident enough to design from scratch, despite frustration with errors in published patterns.  It seemed that ideas floating in my head were appearing in all the latest pattern catalogs and magazine ads.  Frequently joked to my husband “they stole my idea!”

The 21^st century:  The sock craze was on in the knitting world.  After 9/11, patriotism swelled, which led to my first published design, a knitted mini-sock pin in red, white and blue, which was submitted to a charity newsletter.

Patriotic Mini-Sock Pin

Another charity newsletter published a few baby-item designs.  When I joined an online crochet group, more original designs were submitted for members’ use.  In 2004, a new yarn shop opened nearby, where I offered services in model-making, custom knitting/crocheting, and teaching.  As the shop’s success grew, so did mine.  Each new yarn they gave me for a shop model led to a new design and finished pattern.  One very lucky day, a sales rep walked in and offered to rep my patterns throughout his territory.  At that point, I knew my pattern design dream was about to become a serious venture.”

The result of that dream?  Publication in national periodicals & a collection of over 200 patterns in the Designs by KN pattern database

Here’s hoping that whatever phase you’re in at this busy time of year you can eke out some quiet crafting time for yourself and the pursuit of your own dreams.  Stitch on!

I’ve just finished a version of my Liquid Gold Chain Mesh Scarf for DD.  As we were rushing through the aisles at Michaels the other day, she spotted a yarn and remarked “That’s pretty!”  I took one look and realized it was perfect for this pattern. “Vanna’s Glamour” from Lion Brand Yarns is aptly named: glamourously sparkly, soft, and ideal for holiday party wear. I had fun capturing these photos of the scarf & yarn (color: Moonstone) on our little white Christmas tree lit with twinkling white lights:

The original scarf, designed several years ago, was created in attention-getting red:

If you love red, this is your season! Looking back through the Designs by KN archives, it seems I have created quite a few designs & projects with red yarn over the years, so here are some project possibilities in that eye-catching color:

One-Ball Holiday Keyhole Scarf (yes, I know, it’s eyelash yarn, but some still like it!)  

Totally Texture Table Mat

Provence Summer String Bag

Ruffly Coasters

Cuddle Cable Baby Blanket

Acorn Bobble Hat

Ballet-Style Slippers

Red-Hot Headband

Even though the project I just finished isn’t red, it still has a holiday look and feel due to the sparkly nature of the yarn.  So whether you choose sparkle, glitter, color or texture to knit, crochet or wear for the holidays, enjoy playing with the possibilities. There are so many choices, we as knitters & crocheters will never be bored, no matter what our favorite color is.

P.S. Mine is aqua, so don’t ask me why there are so many DBKN designs in red!

The other day I posted the following status on Facebook: “Generosity … seen a lot of it lately and it’s heartwarming.“  ‘Tis true, it’s the season for giving, sharing, caring (and don’t we wish it would extend throughout the year, not just at the holidays!)  The evidence is everywhere, as I have recently observed bountiful donations to food drives, coat drives, gift drives and toy drives.  This week I was totally surprised when a generous box of knit & crochet supplies ended up in my care. I thanked the giver profusely, with the promise that it would be put to use for the good of others.

A few months ago I received a similar surprise donation which looked like this at first:

… but through the work of many hands was transformed into this:

(These items were sent to the 2010 Crochet & Knit-a-Thon Snug Hugs for Kids drive where they will be distributed to needy children later this month.)

There are countless other charitable causes like this one that exist to provide services and physical comfort to others in the form of hats, scarves, socks, baby wear, and blankets. Over the years, some of the organizations that DBKN has contributed to are: Christmas-at-Sea, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Children in Common, Care Wear Volunteers, Project Linus, Warm Up America!, The Ships Project, Hats for the Homeless and many more, including rescue missions and shelters in our local community.  Be assured that there are many worthy causes that appreciate our knitting and crocheting skills.  Check out any of those listed above if you’re interested in contributing your knit & crochet items to help others.

For me, it was that one hat and one scarf donated to Christmas-at-Sea years ago in the early ’80s that started a lifelong interest in contributing knit & crochet items to charitable causes, not only at Christmas but throughout the year.

An abundance of patterns suitable for donating are offered free in the Designs by KN pattern database, including hats, scarves, slippers, socks and shawls like these:

Knit Hat for Anyone!

Garter & Stockinette Scarf

C.O.O.S.

Cozy Comfort Prayer Shawl

My Grandmother’s Slippers

Simple Crocheted Scarf for Teens & Adults

Crochet Hat

Generosity is my buzzword of the day, and I hope you too will experience  demonstrations of it wherever you may be.  Now it’s time to start working through that generously-given box of supplies to transform it into more of these:

Season’s Greetings!