My Creative Space

My creative space has been filled with …

… arm lengths of knitted i-cord,

(tutorial coming soon)

… shades of lofty violet cotton going round and round,

(my “forever” blanket wip)

… and the click clack of excited knitting needles.

(a cabled vest for me)

Life’s good.

Pop over to Kootoyoo to see all the other creative spaces playing this week.

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Free Pattern: Crimson Ridge Cowl

When the rest of the world slowly puts away their winter woolies, it’s time for those down under to start crocheting for the upcoming chill. The Crimson Ridge Cowl is an easy project you can whip up quickly for those unpredictable autumn days.



The cowl gently tapers to the top for a better fit. No need for buttons or shawl pins to hold it in place.



Simple ridges and a rope edging adds a nice detail and makes crocheting it even more fun!



Click here for free pattern (published in Favecrafts)

Difficulty level: Advanced beginner
You will need to have basic crochet skills. This project uses a slightly advanced stitch, simple shaping and edging.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
22″ (56cm) circumference around the widest part and narrows to 19″ (49cm)
9.5″ (24cm) tall

MATERIALS
Approximately 107 yards (98m) of Lion Brand Wool-ease Chunky or any bulky/12ply yarn
US M/N (9mm) crochet hook
Embroidery needle

GAUGE
10 stitches = 4″ (10cm) in single crochet through back loop

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Fresh off the hook

I’ve just finished a new crochet pattern and it’s going to be free! Here’s a sneak peak.



By the way, taking photos of bright red things is hard! If anyone has any tips that doesn’t involve buying a new camera, please share them with me. Thankyouverymuchly!

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Abracadabra! The pear is now a frog!

Cristi waved her magical crochet hook on my Pear Tawashi crochet pattern and turned it into a frog! I think it’s just brilliant and doesn’t the frog look adorable? I just want to give the cute fella a squeeze and a hug!



Cristi shared her interesting and informative journey of the pear transformation with me. Here is what she has to say:

Hi Cristi! So how long have you been crocheting?
I have been crocheting steadily for about 2 years now. I started when my Gramma died. She sent me her knitting needles and a bunch of yarn. She had tried to teach me to knit, but i was only 12 and lived in another state, and to be honest, I was not really very interested. When she died, I started crocheting because I thought it was easier and it made me feel connected to her. I still want to learn to knit, but I am having a lot of fun with crochet right now. I know she just wanted me to learn the joy of making things, which I have and it’s addictive!

Why were you looking to crochet a frog? Who is the frog for?
Ok, so this is a bit convoluted. I was without a job and wanted to make Christmas presents for my family. I thought of making those microwavable heating pads for my boy relatives, but I know my brother and knew he would be much more likely to use/enjoy something unique and not plain looking, but not cutsie. So I thought of crocheting a lizard or something as a cover for a heating pad. I found a couple of patterns I liked, but nothing clicked as “right”.

So as I was browsing through my Evernote logs for inspiration I found the pattern I had saved from your website and decided to make a frog. I found a pattern I liked for the legs and started making them. Along the way, I realized this was too much work for heating pads (after I had made four or five). I just ended up making soft cotton covers for the heating pads which went over very well, except for my boyfriend’s father. He opened the present when I wasn’t looking and thought they were sand bags to use for support for his camera… LOL … He was a little embarrassed when I told him that they were just heating pads, but tried to make up for it by using one right away. I told him that I totally didn’t mind if he used it as a sand bag, as long as he liked it. He perked up after that!

Right before Christmas, I finally found a job as a nanny and wanted to make something sweet for the children. So I made the frog as a softie for the little boy and made a FreeSpirit Doll for the little girl. Both were extremely well received.



Did you look for a frog pattern by googling or searching Ravelry?
I have some links I have saved as bookmarks that link to pages that store patterns, I also Googled, and searched Craftster. Though I am a member of Ravelry, I usually forget to check them out. I also use Evernote a lot to save interesting and inspiring things I find online so that I can find them again. There is so much neat stuff on the internet!

So what made you use the Pear Tawashi pattern for the body? Have you seen this pattern before the frog one?
I don’t know what made me think of using your pattern like that. I think it was one of those strange brain alchemy things where you mix alot of things together and something new comes out. It happens to me a lot.

Did you find my pattern easy to read and understand?
I did! it was very easy to understand, to make and modify. It was indeed well written and comprehensive.

PROJECT DETAILS OF TAWASHI FROG
Patterns:
Pear Tawashi pattern from Salihan Crafts and Frog Toy pattern from Caron.com
Yarn:
Green worsted I had from a vintage yarn score from Craigslist… epic story in and of itself!
Hook:
I believe I used G, im pretty sure, but I didn’t write it down (bad bad me) and H as the pattern calls for on the legs
Modifications:
I made the pattern with worsted yarn, but otherwise followed the patterns straight up. I made the “front” side first then when I finished making the “back” side, I single crochet all around the outside through BOTH edges. I turned them inside out as I found this made the frog thicker/taller. I put the eyes in then stuffed the frog through the “tail” and finished with single crochet to where I had started to single crochet around. I attached the legs amigurumi style to the sides of the body and to the corners where the body and the tail bent.


All photos in this post are copyright of Cristi Nelson

Thank you Cristi for emailing me and sharing your project with us. I had fun reading all about it.

If you have made one of my patterns and would love to show it off here, please email me at contact@salihan.com. I would love to feature you, yes, YOU!

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“Forever” Blanket

I’ve wanted to crochet a blanket for a few years now. I want this blanket to stay with us forever. I want it made of the softest of soft yarn in the prettiest of pretty colours. However there were things holding me back, mostly money and time commitment. I started a hexagon blanket with scratchy, squeeky acrylic yarn last year but I didn’t finish it. It just wasn’t what I wanted and it felt like a compromise. I didn’t love the hexagon blanket like I hoped I would with my forever blanket.

In a twist of fate, I started working for Ecoyarns on a part-time basis a few months ago. One day, while I was preparing sample cards for the EcoOrganic Cotton range, an idea struck me.



I could make a giant granny square blanket just like Joelle’s from Purl Bee! I’ll arrange the colours similar to the sample card and it will be a glorious blanket. Working at a yarn store has it’s other benefits too. Discounted staff prices. Woohoo!

I brought the yarn home and brainstormed the idea with Richard. He wasn’t too sure that I should take on such a big project but he could see I was desperate to do it. As soon as I showed him the yarn, he instantly fell in love with the colours and the softness of the organic cotton. He was now assured that it was not going to look like a typical nanna blanket. It’s important that he will love this blanket as much as I will. It is our forever blanket.



I spent that weekend winding the yarn into cakes, with the “help” of Olly. He was trying very hard not to attack the yarn as it whizzed past. It was truly impressive how well behaved he was. He eventually moved away and slept under the table instead. What a good cat!



Just looking at the colours made me so happy! Look how pretty they are, all snuggled up close to each other.



When I eventually started crocheting, I could not stop. The EcoOrganic Cotton yarn is a dream to work with! So soft and it didn’t split like other cotton I’ve worked with before. It’s like knitting with Malabrigo wool. Simply heavenly!

The blanket grew quickly as I crocheted every chance I got. It became my Australian Open companion. As the tennis players manipulated the ball with a twitch of the wrist, I did the same with mine on the blanket. Alas, the tennis is over and I’ve managed to crochet 5 of the 16 colours.



Here it lays on the bed it is destined for.



The blanket feels right. It’s what I imagined it would be. I think I’ve got my forever blanket.

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