I made this shawl last fall for the new Tension Magazine and it’s finally been released. This narrow shawl was worked in Filatura di Crosa Superior, a very fuzzy cashmere silk that was lovely to crochet. It’s a filet-crochet style pattern that shifts organically from triangles (hence the isoceles) to diamonds (double triangles) and back to triangles at the end. It’s been a season of shawls. I have had three in the works for most of the winter, and now they’re all finally done and will be released in one form or another over the coming months.

Before I sent off my shawl, I got my friend Erica to model it for me. Here’s another one:

You can find all of this chilly photoshoot in the slideshow below. Luckily the Orca Books, where we finished up, has hot coffee!

Last week, while I was in Friday Harbor, my friend Angela watched my kids for several days–the ship was out and James gone with it. I wanted to make Angela a little something as a thank you, and since she is going to Vancouver in a couple of weeks to watch the olympics, I was inspired by the traditional art of Northwest Coast Indians which often uses black, red and white. (Of course, my crocheted headband is also a nod to the Dale of Norway “Team Norway” sweater which uses the same colors. Were they inspired by the traditional northwest art as well?)

Here’s the wave chart created using my newly acquired illustrator skills learned in a class at the Visionary retreat. The chart is adapted from a chart in Interweave’s new Harmony Guide to color work patterns.

To make the headband, I made a chain long enough to wrap around my head, then adjusted the stitch count to be a multiple of six–which is the length of the repeat of the chart (above). Be sure your chain is not very tight.

Work the first row of sc into the back bump of the chain. Join to begin working in the round–be careful not to twist your chain (it is hard to see when using black yarn, so take your time.)

The rest of the head band is worked in single crochet through the back loop only. Work one more round in black, then work a round alternating red and black yarn every other stitch. (Remember, when working colorwork, work the last yarn over of the single crochet before changing colors in the NEW color so that the top loop of your new color stitch will be the correct color.)

Here’s a little video I made last year about changing colors in crochet:

Work one round in black after the red/black row, then work the wave chart. After finishing the chart, work two rounds of black, then a final red/black row, and one last round of black. Fasten off and weave in ends. Enjoy!

I do want to particpate in the Knitting Olympics, but I haven’t picked a specific project. I think I will use the event to finish up UFOs and patterns already on my to do list.

I did start cast on for a new hat last night that wasn’t on my list, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while. I’m working it in Malabrigo Merino Chunky in my new Addi Clicks, which for some reason I like even better than the regular Addis. I won’t be watching the opening ceremonies in real time because for some reason on the West Coast they’re not showing them live! But I’ll catch up tonight after I get back from a Copper River Drifters rehearsal. Tomorrow night we’re performing at a Valentine’s dance.

Voyage of Avalon, from Flickr User Reinante El Pintor de Fuego, CC-licensed, some rights reserved

I absolutely love being home. I love setting up house (a good thing since we have to move every 2-3 years) and I love living in a comfortable cozy space and doing the things that create that space. Its ironic then, isn’t it, that one of my favorite things to do is travel?

Last weekend, we went to Anchorage, and we had a great time, and the day after we got back, I was unpacking and repacking, and cursing the fact that I was leaving again the next day for a trip, this time by myself to attend a writer’s workshop. People in town would ask where I’d going and I’d tell them and they’d seem excited and happy for me, but I wasn’t feeling it. I just wanted to be home.

Luckily, I woke up this morning and the travel mojo has caught me again. The BIGGEST reason I love travel is it stimulates my creativity. Being removed from my natural routine and surroundings all of these ideas that I usually need to shove aside because I don’t have time to contemplate them come rushing back. It is a rush. Just this morning, I’ve been having the best time waiting. I’m sitting in the hotel lobby waiting for my ride, and I’ve been reading and interacting with great blogs (Diane of CraftyPod over at Make and Meaning and Kim Werker are stirring things up among crafters with a fabulous conversation on the value of FREE).

I’ve been working for a couple of weeks on a class I’m teaching tomorrow to a group of designers about using social media tools to market your business. I’ve got tons of notes, but this morning, I’ve gotten more great ideas to share than I did in the previous two weeks. I think it’s the travel. As a side benefit, when I travel, I take better care of myself–I don’t eat snacks because they’re not all around me like they are at home (and I don’t miss them). I don’t forget to floss!

Of course, you can harness this great travel mojo when you’re at home. You just have to think and act like you’re on a trip. I know its crazy, but it works for me. When I was writing my Nanowrimo novel and I was stuck, one of the things I could do that was a surefire help was to go for a drive.

Of course, you must be alone in the car because conversation stifles the creative flow. I find a quiet car is best, but if music works for you, go for it. (I know, you’re thinking, where does she go? there’s No Road to Cordova! Well, there are roads here, they just don’t connect to any other town, and the drives are beautiful. The photo above is one I took of the view from the top of the ski hill looking out towards the Copper River Delta along our longest road which is 54 miles).

Another thing you can do is find a not-so-quiet place to work. The bustle of a coffee shop might be just the thing to allow your mind to focus. Choose a place that is not necessarily your favorite haunt. Since you don’t know all the regulars and the staff, you’ll be less inclined to chat.

Lastly, you can plan a trip. I think that planning for travel is almost as fun as taking the trip itself. The research allows your mind to begin the trip long before your feet have set foot on new ground. What do you do to get those creative juices flowing? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

If you haven’t been sucked into the world of vampire fiction, you can just consider my newest pattern something sweet for Valentine’s day and spring.

$4.00

This scarf celebrates my love of hearts and my love of vampire fiction–especially Charlaine Harris’ novels, The Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries. Sookie sometimes wears a little scarf around her neck the morning after an encounter with her vampire-amour Bill. I thought, in February it’s even cold in Louisiana, and she might like something with a little warmth. I know I would. So this bandana-esque scarf was born.

Fold the scarf and wear the point in the front, side or back. Worn close around the neck, the scarf will keep you warm and hide any little “love bites.”

The scarf was made using center increases which gives it a nice diamond-y shape and the hearts are simple fillet-crochet designs, which can be easily memorized once you’ve tried the chart out once.

We’ve been in Anchorage for the weekend attending the Folk Festival there, we performed and jammed and generally had a good time making music. We got back last night and I’ve spent the day un-packing and re-packing because tomorrow I leave for Friday Harbor to attend Cat Bordhi’s Visionary Retreat. I’m excited to be returning and working more on self-publishing. There are going to be some great knitters and writers in attendance this year, some who I’ve met before and some who I only know online. I can’t wait to meet and work with everyone.

GRANNIES!!!!!!!!!! This is how Julie Holetz and I have felt lately talking about granny squares.  Julie and I are working on a new project: A small book of granny square and granny inspired projects that will have you running for your hooks and your scraps of yarn.

What is it about grannies that are so appealing? Maybe it’s because they’re small, self-contained and take only a few minutes to make each one. They allow you to play with color.

“Grantastic” by ChocolateGirl64 on Flickr CC, some rights reserved.

We’ve been brainstorming and coming up with ideas and trying to limit ourselves because the possibilities are endless. So I’ve been thinking a lot about how granny squares are designed and I thought I’d share a bit of my process here.

First the important bit: Granny Squares are not *really* squares. When you’re making a granny square, you’re working in the round and your artfully placed chain spaces determine the ultimate shape of the thing. (Note in the photo above, that the first two rounds are, indeed, round, but the ultimate motif is square).

You can design your own granny squares! You just need to be consistent. Just like when you’re working a hat in the round, making a granny square involves using a consistent number of increases. In a traditional granny square, like the one in the chart below, there are 20 new stitches per round.

So, if you wanted to play around with the look of the square–you could alter the arrangement of the stitches and chain spaces as long as you kept the number of stitches and the rate of increase consistent.

A first round like this one:

Establishes the corners right away, but one like this:

Would work just as well. Sort of like this one:

The way they get to square is by concentrating the increases in the corners in the final few rounds.

I love how this one by KnittyCent turns the square on its side, then back again.

Julie is working on a great post about planning the arrangement of your squares in a project. Stay tuned to the Skamama blog to see it.

James told me today that the Coast Guard Cutter Oak (out of Charleston, NC) is on its way to help with the Haiti earthquake response. I’ve been meaning to make an additional donation to Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) since I heard about the disaster, but this news made me sit down and actually do it.

Have you heard of other ways to help? Please let me know in the comments.

Thanks.

Congratulations to Caitlin of Running With Needles. She’s the winner of our little Japanese crochet book. I’ve been spending the last week working on a writing project that has kept me away from blogging. Hopefully I can talk more about it soon.

Today over at Crafty Pod, Sister Diane has a great post on her blog about Japanese craft books, and there’s a good discussion going in the comments, too. I agree with her–US craft books need to take a look at what works in the Japanese model and adopt more of it into our own publications.

My brother proposed a theory to me the other night on the phone. He said that the Internet had slowed cultural change. Specifically, I think he said something like, “Things haven’t changed much since 1995 when everyone got online.” His feeling was that people are spending their time on the Internet and participating in online culture, and they’re not out in the world developing new trends in fashion, music, film, etc.

You know, I felt skeptical the moment he said it, I thought–well, things are certainly different than they were in 1995. Then the last couple of days I’ve paid a little more attention to songs on the radio and to fashion in the media, on blogs, etc, and I started to question my own skepticism. Some things may be different, especially if we go back as far as 1995. But what if we consider say, just the last decade when many more people have been actively participating in online culture.

The music I was hearing called “new” and “innovative” on all of the year in review shows and new for 2010 shows on the radio didn’t sound all that “new” to me. Granted, my tastes may have changed, but I’m not saying I didn’t like the music, I just wasn’t struck with a sense of newness.

When is the last time you saw a new fashion trend that seemed really different? I know fashion is often about revisiting popular ideas of earlier times and re-invisioning them, but I was just reading a round-up of various “favorite” fashion blogs and while I liked a lot of what I saw, I was struck mostly by their sameness.

I’m not actually advocating change for change’s sake, I’m just curious–do you think that the Internet could have caused a cultural slowdown?

It’s amazing the energy that seems to be happening this new year. The few listservs I am on are abuzz with ideas, it’s exciting to hear about new technologies and trends in publishing and the web new books coming out in crochet and knitting. (I’m particularly excited to see Dora Ohrenstein’s new book Creating Crochet Fabric, and I’ll post a review as soon as I can get my hands on it.) Right now I’m reading Myra Wood’s Crazy Lace, An Artistic Approach to Creative Lace Knitting. It’s a wonderful book that teaches how to knit lace without patterns. I loved Myra’s first self-published book Creative Crochet Lace, and this book does not disappoint either. It’s a groundbreaking new look at lace with fabulous techniques and ideas.

I want to thank everyone who participated with me in making ornaments in December. I’m sorry I only got to 18! I would love to try again next year for 24, so I’ll start looking for ideas sooner.

We spent our Christmas holiday in San Francisco with my brother and his family. It was fun to be in the city, and do big city things–I got to go to a real bar with live music including my sister-in-law Sara’s best friend Kristen who sang some great holiday tunes and a visit by one of my favorite singers Jonathan Richman:

We went to the movies and saw Avatar (fun, but we were sitting too close for the 3-D effects, and it made the print look blurry), and took the kids to see The Princess and the Frog which was great! I loved the music and the actors and the story, AND the “old-style” animation.

After leaving the theatre, we were wondering through downtown looking for a Japanese restaurant that was open on a Sunday afternoon and we walked right up to the Museum of Craft and Folk art. It was true serendipity. I had e-mailed Sara in November to say I really wanted to see their current exhibit, but then I forgot about it. The exhibit is called Open Source Embroidery and it is a great intersection of craft and technology, and it really appealed to my geekier side.

I loved the quilt of web colors.  (Little known fact: a million years ago before I was a knit and crochet designer I was a web designer!) Each hexagon was embroidered with it’s HTML color equivalent:

The kids enjoyed the more hands-on pieces in the exhibit including a chair that played music while you embroider on it, and graph paper where you could draw a pattern which would then be interpreted by a computer and turned into music.

Here’s a slide show of our visit to the exhibit which continues at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art until January 24th.

Now that we’re back I’m quickly throwing myself into a slew of new projects I had been saving until the new year. I’m preparing to teach, take classes and work on an upcoming book project at Cat Bordhi’s visionary retreat in February.

For the first time in years I won’t be attending the winter TNNA show. I’m sad I won’t get to see friends, but I’m excited about the new things that are brewing within the Stitch Cooperative. We have TWO collaborative books coming out this year and much more exciting stuff in the pattern department.

I’m working with Julie Holetz on new issues of Inside Crochet magazine and we’ve got some great designs in the works there. In fact issue 6 will be out pretty soon with a great cardigan by Robyn Chachula among other things. (Oh, and Julie made the trek to our airport hotel to visit when we were stopped over in Seattle on our way home to Alaska, and I can prove it with a cheesy self-portrait!)

I made a fun hat for my sister-in-law for Christmas which will certainly end up being published sometime this year, and right now I’m working on a little scarf in 100% Yak yarn from Bijou Basin Ranch. I will post pictures as soon as I’m done.

During the crazy ramp-up to Christmas I took Stefanie Japel’s class on Teaching Online Classes–and I plan to start offering my own online classes soon. I have some fun class ideas lined up but I’d also love to hear what YOU would like to take a class on. Leave a comment on this post letting me know your thoughts and I’ll enter you in a drawing to win this adorable little Japanese crochet book full of cute accessories that I picked up during my mad rush through Daiso–a Japanese store in San Francisco which is GREAT for buying stocking stuffers.

The book has amigurumi toys, cute little purses and flowers and even a lipstick cozy. All the patterns are done using charts so there’s no need to know Japanese. The contest will be open until Friday January 8th. I’m looking forward to hearing your ideas!

Yesterday we got a huge dump of wet, wet snow, the city almost shut down which is saying a lot for Cordova. The snow removal machines (And James who seems to be constantly shoveling our BIG driveway) have had a very hard time keeping up. Snow keeps falling off the roof (roofalanche!) and piling up in front of our windows,  so we get a lot less light in the house during our short days, but the view outside is very pretty now that its gotten a little colder and the snow has slowed. I’m just hoping everything is cleaned up by the time we fly out on Sunday.

Meanwhile, even in the thick of the snowstorm people were out in droves walking through the foot-deep slush in town shopping and generally having a good time. The Net Loft was busy yesterday and several friends stopped by and we did some exchanging of gifts. I gave my friend Angela a little Noro scarflette like the one I made myself back in May.

Angela gave ME this adorable little handmade doll by an Alaskan artisan. The doll is a weaver and has a little in progress basket in her hands. She’s also wearing a Kuspuk which is a traditional native Alaskan garment.

I haven’t mailed this little scarf yet, and the recipient may or may not be reading this blog post, (I hope she likes it when she gets it!) but Colleen was kind enough to model it for me. The scarf is made using the snowflake garland pattern from Red Heart, I made it with Brown Sheep Bulky and a USM hook, and added the tassels at the end.

Finally, I re-discovered this custom colorway of Three Irish Girls Gallenas at The Net Loft on Wednesday, and had to get it to make some small ornaments for gifts. This is the heart from simplebeans.

I hope you’re all finding a little time to crochet during these busy weeks. I’ve been saving this skein of handspun from Blonde Chicken Boutique since I bought it last spring. I’m thinking of making my Elsinore Woods Scarf [Ravelry Link] with it this evening if I get the chance. The scarf pattern is in the latest issue of Inside Crochet (issue #5).