All crochet posts

The gift-a-long ends at midnight eastern time on Wednesday which means you only have a matter of hours to save 25% on thousands of patterns from hundreds of designers.

I decided to look through the shops of some of the participating designers and picked out a few eligible designs that looked like they'd be fun to make or fun to wear. Links below the image.

Trellis & Chevron by BabyLove Brand | Tablet Braid by Janelle Martin | Peacock Tail Feather by Christa Veenstra
Rigel by Helen Gipson | Roses and Ivy by Julie Yeager | Irish Rover by Kirsten Hipsky
Estuarine by Stephannie Tallent | Mint Coffee Mandala by Tatsiana Kupryianchyk | Grow Your Molecule by Elena Fedotova

As you can see, there's lots to love in the GAL. Check out these designs and many many many more over here. If you buy a pattern during the GAL, you can join in the various KALs and CALs for a chance to win prizes. And remember, the discount ends at midnight eastern on Wednesday. After that, all patterns turn back into pumpkins and you'll have to leave the ball. Use code giftalong2016 to get your 25% discount until then.

And, if you happened to miss them, my eligible patterns can be found here.

A few years back, I participated in the Gift-A-Long and I'm doing it again this year. For those of you who aren't familiar the organizers describe it like this:

"The Indie Design Gift-A-Long is a 6 week long KAL/CAL of holiday gifts made from patterns designed by a rather extensive list of independent designers. From November 22, 2016 at 8:00 pm US EST to December 31, 2016 at midnight US EST there will be fun games, contests, and 8 KAL/CALs that will help you get your holiday knitting done with companionship and fun! From November 22, 2016 at 8:00 pm US EST to November 30th at 11:59pm US EST tons of indie designers will be discounting between 5 - 20 of their patterns 25% for this event. Use coupon code: giftalong2016. You can read all about the details in this post: click here or on the FAQ page in our group pages."

My eligible patterns are shown in the graphic above and are viewable in my GAL bundle on ravelry. To get all the details and join in the fun, check out the Ravelry Group. You'll find pinterest boards of all eligible patterns from all the designers as well as details about prizes.

I hope you've all seen the Winter 2015 Twist Collective that went live a couple weeks ago. My designs for the edition, is featured in the "I think I'll stay home" shoot which might as well be called the "Marnie's life if she were better dressed" shoot because I'm a shameless homebody who spends most of her time in her pajamas. In fact, I'm writing this post from the comfort of my big red robe and fuzzy slipper boots, right now. And, as is my wont to do, I'm sipping tea from my favorite mug that is nearly as big as my head.

See, I'm just like the shoot only, sllliiiightly less well dressed. Don't you agree?

The shawl is a modified half-circle design, featuring just enough beads to add a little weight and drape. I love beads, but I find they slow me down when I'm working so I prefer to use them sparingly. I chose a deep aubergine shade to pop against the lilac color of the shawl, though I think gray or silver would be a really nice alternative option, for a subtler effect.

While I include instructions for a standard knitted picot bind-off, the sample is shown with my suggested bind-off. It's worked with a crochet hook using very simple crochet stitches and some pre-strung beads. I love this option for lace because the bind-off basically cannot be worked too tightly to block the piece out well.

I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but blocking lace shawls is one of my favorite parts of the shawl-designing process. It seems like magic; turning a crumpled mass of fabric into something airy, orderly and filled with unexpected detail. Twisted stitches, beads and nupps all pop and yarnovers and decreases scallop the edges in subtle or dramatic ways. But a tight bind-off can ruin the effect and knitters often can't tell how loose the bind-off needs to be until the piece is ready to be blocked. By then, hundreds of stitches may have been bound off, the yarn has been cut and ends woven in. It can be pretty disheartening.

The crochet method joins a small number of live stitches together with loops of single-crochet chains that provide more-than adequate flexibility to block out the shawl as aggressively or lightly as desired and unlike a too-loose standard bind-off, the edge is neat and tidy no matter how lightly the shawl is blocked.

Not a crocheter but willing to give it a try? The pattern includes a tutorial but if you want more detail, I've got an article for that.

Crochet really is my first crafting love and this season, I take you through the basics of holding the hook and yarn, and working all the basic stitches. Crochet is knitting's best friend and knowing how to do both will open new finishing and embellishing options for your projects and designs. It may take a little time to get comfortable with it, but crochet is a great tool to have in your arsenal. If you've never crocheted before, I hope you'll give it a try and if you just need a refresher, I hope the article will get you back on track. I even point you to some existing Twist patterns that already feature some crochet. You won't lack for projects to put your crochet skills to work.

And lastly, I have a companion article to last season's article on Tubular Cast-Ons.

Just as a tubular cast-on gives those edges a professional finish, a tubular bind-offs produce flexible and attractive edges that elevate the quality of the work to a more professional level. Learn to work a standard tubular bind-off and how to adjust the bind-off for knit-two, purl-two edgings like ribbing and moss stitch.

I feel so fortunate to be a part of Twist Collective each season and I never cease to be impressed with the great articles and designs my fellow contributors bring to each edition. Even if you don't like my additions to the edition, I hope you'll flip through the magazine, read the articles and browse the shop.

Last year, a few designers organized a mass gift-a-long in which any designer could participate and offer up their patterns for 25% off for a limited time. It was, I would say, a huge success, both for crafters and designers. Well, the gift-a-long is back and bigger and better. I'm really impressed with all the work the mods have done and they've drummed up a ton of great prizes that participating knitters and crocheters can win.

I'll be offering the patterns pictured below (also here) in this year's gift-a-long. Per the GAL rules, ebooks/collections aren't permitted, only individual pattern downloads, and there is a limit to the number of patterns we could offer this year, so I've picked the patterns where the discount will go the farthest. I mean, how many people really need 25% off a $3 pattern, right?

But don't stop at my shop, because there are so many great patterns on sale. Some helpful links:

• The Gift-A-Long group is here
• Participating designers and their eligible designs can be found here.
• Find out about prizes here.
• What to see blog posts about the GAL? Check out this thread.

I hope you'll take some time to look around, share links with your fellow crafters and, if it's in your budget, support some independent designers while getting a great discount. As always, if you have any questions or problems with purchasing my patterns, don't hesitate to contact me.

There's clearly something in the air. Dyers are making beautiful gradient kits and knitters and crocheters are scooping them up. Why? Because they are beautiful, of course. The good folks at Pigeonroof Studios gave me some of their Mini-Skein Sets, a few months back and I've been swatching and ripping and mulling things over, trying to find the right project for them. I ended up settling on a crochet fan motif. The scalloped stitch pattern helps the gradient pattern to blend between colors, making the ombre affect even more pronounce, though I really feel it could be just as fun to mix up the order of the skeins, alternating darks and lights, for a different effect.

I started with a cowl, which uses only one, 240-yard/6-color Mini-Skein Set. It can be easily finished in a weekend, making it a great option for the gift-giving season. The stitch pattern is a simple 4-row repeat, and the buttons fasten into the existing openings created by the pattern.

But if you can get your hands on 4 or more Mini-Skein Sets (or a little under 1000 yards of the yarn of your choosing) you will have more than enough for a dramatic shawl.

The stitch pattern is only slightly more complicated, to form the triangular shape and it's edged with a surprisingly simple little border. While the pattern is written for 4 Mini-Skein Sets, you can really adapt it for whatever yardage you have, just work until you cannot work another full row in the current color, and switch to the next.

As with my other crochet patterns, all the stitch patterns are fully charted and include row-by-row instructions as well. US Crochet terms are used throughout, but the symbols should be standard for anyone who routinely works from crochet chart. For more on UK and US crochet terms, you can visit this page.

If you are interested in purchasing the cowl, the shawl or both, they are available individually and as a set. I'm also offering all three of my crochet shawl patterns and the cowl as a set. If you've already purchased either of my crochet shawl patterns, you can simply purchase the other items, individually, and the discount will be given, automatically.

Find out more about the pieces and purchase them individually or as a set using the following links;

Precipice Shawl

Precipice Cowl

Precipice Shawl and Cowl set

Crochet Collection