Sunday, March 14, 2010

Someday, My Prints Will Come...

At long last, I can officially reveal that the magazine featuring my first design in a national publication has arrived!! (At least, digitally...)

I'm still waiting on the actual print version of the magazine to arrive in the mailbox and on the bookstore shelves, but "hey" the official website for the magazine has made it public and I'll take my cue from them.

"Ribbons and Bows Socks" is in the May 2010 issue of Crochet! magazine and features hand-dyed yarn by none other than Madelintosh (Hi Amy! Thanks for the beautiful pallete!) in their "Clover" colorway.

Here's the picture posted on the magazine's website. The socks are modelled by the lovely... uh... the lovely... Foot Model!




















(photo is property of Crochet! magazine)

I have been experimenting for a couple of years with crocheted socks and I have to say I am pretty happy with this one. (Of course, I did work these in a hook size a little larger than the one I personally prefer, but I feel it is more approachable by the general crocheter.)

There are still (currently) five completed projects approved and in the pike for publication... Stay tuned!


As anyone following my endeavors knows, felted handbags have been another journey for me.


One technique I have found for the construction of the bag is one that I affectionately call "Jan's Nightmare." It involves ALOT of color changes throughout the construction, which results in ALOT of ends. My friend Jan S. absolutely hates to weave in ends! (So much so, she invented a whole style of crochet patterning that leaves very, very few ends!)



This technique is not for the feint of heart or those who agree with Jan. For example:
But, from that seeming chaos emerges a beautiful finished piece of art!





















Using that technique for the flap only, I created this piece for the daughter of a friend. She's almost 6.

This bag was crocheted using Cascade's "Quattro" yarn for the body of the bag. (This yarn is 100% Peruvian Highland wool and it felts beautifully with only a couple of cycles in the machine!) Quattro is a 4-ply yarn with each of the plies a different color so, for the flap I used 3 yarns, each matching one of the 4 color in the "Quattro."

In my next posting, I hope to have a couple of finished scarves as examples of an original pattern I plan to make available (for free) on Ravelry. Currently, the working title of the pattern is "Rikki's Ruffles" and it will be easy enough for even the newest crocheter to attempt, but interesting enough to hold the discerning attention of the experienced crocheter... I hope!

Now... where is the print version of Crochet! magazine???


SDOSAS!
Jer