Lily of the Valley Necklace & Flowers - Harbingers of Spring

When my Lily of the Valley first bloomed I made this necklace to celebrate the arrival of High Spring.

Here's the necklace on a mannequin to give you an idea of the dimensions.

The necklace is large and makes a big visual statement, but because I crocheted it with fine threads, it's actually very lightweight. I'm fond of using French embroidery floss for my fiber art jewelry because it has a beautiful sheen and comes in an almost limitless number of colors.

Today I was delighted to see that the flowers are still blooming. This is unusual for Lily of the Valley which generally only lasts a short time in the garden. I'm assuming that the cold weather has lengthened their lifespan.

This picture shows them just after a rainstorm last week. I like the sparkly water on the sturdy leaves of these very delicate looking flowers.

These are the flowers I picked this morning. Not only do they look like little ivory bells, but they also smell so intensely sweet that the whole room is deliciously scented.

I'll leave you today with a close-up of the necklace showing my interpretation in crocheted thread of these lovely flowers.

To make this necklace I crocheted a band in a braided stitch with a vintage button fastener. Then I applied the flowers and stems to a leaf I crocheted, and sculpted the leaf around the flowers. Finally, I sewed the leaf and flowers to the necklace band. This is a very labor intensive, but also very satisfying process. My necklaces are strictly one-of-a-kind. You can find out more about this one by clicking on my Etsy shop.

Pink Tulips Inspire a New Cuff

As promised, I have my Pink Tulip Baroque Crocheted Cuff Bracelet to show now.

This is how the tulips looked in the garden last week. When I cut some and put them in a vase, they opened out to over 7 inches in diameter. That gave me a chance to analyze the coloration more which led to the cuff itself. 

 The crochet of these cuffs is so detailed that I didn't want to have any visible closure. Instead I used a tiny snap to securely hold the bracelet together. Here's what the fastener side of the cuff looks like. This smooth closure is very comfortable to wear and easy to fasten too.

 I've been experimenting with Photoshop to join the cuffs and their floral inspiration. The next photo is an example of my playing around with Photoshop.

 Many of my friends on Facebook have expressed an interest in my making a pattern/tutorial for these cuffs.

 In the meantime, and for those who don't crochet themselves, the cuff is available in my Etsy shop here.

I'd be happy to hear about other color combinations that inspire you that you'd like to see reflected in these cuffs!

Totally Terrific Tulips and the Crocheted Bracelets They Inspired

I've been working on a series of Baroque cuff bracelets inspired by the amazing tulips blooming in my garden this spring. I went a little wild with the plant catalogs last fall and am now reaping the benefit of my indulgence in floral fantasy. Some of these tulips are just amazing. Their size and colors are a feast for the eyes.

Here's a sampling from my garden this week:

This is a close up of the gorgeous yellow, red and green Parrot tulips:

As they open up, they become more flamboyant looking!

Here are the giant red tulips with touches of yellow on them:

 As these flowers were coming into bloom, I was working on my thread crocheted cuff bracelets. I use fine French cotton threads to make them and a very tiny hook. At least 4 different colors and several stitch textures are incorporated into each bracelet. The intricate detail of these bracelets is reminiscent of the decorative Baroque style in the arts of the 17th and 18th centuries characterized by ornate detail. Think of the palace of Versailles, the music of J.S. Bach, and the paintings of Caravaggio and Rubens. I love the theme and variations quality of this work.

Here's one of the cuffs in blues:

This cuff is a polychrome interpretation of the tulip on the left:

Today I'm finishing a cuff bracelet related to these gorgeous pink tulips. I'll be showing the cuff bracelet companion to them soon!

As long as the garden keeps blooming and my imagination keeps going, there will be no shortage of these to make and display.

In the meantime, the blue cuff is available here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/97702205/crocheted-cuff-bracelet-turquoise-green?listing_id=97702205&listing_slug=crocheted-cuff-bracelet-turquoise-green

and the polychrome cuff can be seen in my Etsy shop here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/97872557/crocheted-cuff-bracelet-multicolored?listing_id=97872557&listing_slug=crocheted-cuff-bracelet-multicolored

Making PDFs for My Patterns

Perhaps it's because I was an English teacher, or perhaps because I spent some career time doing technical writing for a school district, but it takes me so long to get my pattern PDFs to look satisfactory to me. I'm a stickler for details and keep editing and editing!

This is my latest pattern which is now available here. I'll be adding it to my Craftsy shop and other places soon.

This Striped Baby Sweater and Hat Set is sized for newborn babies. It's made with sock yarn. There are many things I love about using sock yarn for babies. It comes in gorgeous colors, is available in great wool blends, is machine washable, is soft and lovely next to baby skin, and is generally fairly inexpensive.

The yarn used in this sweater set was a vintage Kroy sock yarn with a higher proportion of wool and more yardage than the newer Kroy sock yarns. The pattern works with any sock yarn though. Picture this made in many bright crayon colored stripes, or in muted pastels. If you use one of the variegated or self-striping yarns, the sweater would really go fast because there would be no color changing.

Except for the ribs, I knit this set with #3 needles - a larger size than I would have used for socks. Baby sweaters don't get nearly the wear of socks, and knitting with larger needles makes the sweater extra soft.

The greatest thing about this pattern is that the sweater is knitted in one piece, so when you're through knitting you only have to seam the underarms and sides. There's no tiny sleeve to set in. Really, this whole set takes much less time than making a pair of socks and is so much easier too. This pattern is for beginning knitters. You only have to know how to knit and purl to make this.

New Knitting Pattern

Those of you who know me know that I'm very active online. I can be found at the following places in addition to here at my blog:

http://www.KnittingGuru.com

http://www.BurryBabies.com

http://www.KnittingGuru.etsy.com

http://www.BurryBabies.etsy.com

http://www.KnittingGuru.artfire.com

http://www.facebook.com/KnittingGuru

http://www.twitter.com/KnittingGuru

http://www.twitter.com/BurryBabies

http://www.pinterest.com/KnittingGuru

http://www.flickr.com/KnittingGuru

http://www.flickr.com/BurryBabies

http://www.ravelry.com/TheKnittingGuru

So why am I so derelict in writing in my blog???

Today, I finally finished a new knitting pattern PDF and I thought I'd motivate my inner blogger by posting the pattern here. It's one of the many patterns for which I have photos and instructions written out, but which I haven't made into PDFs yet. My many friends at Facebook keep asking me to get this done, so it's their motivational messages that have gotten me to do this one and to blog about it -- a mere 1 year since my last blog entry!!!

The pattern is great for beginners since it's really just garter stitch, but with a delightful and lacy difference. This led me to name the pattern Heavenly Garter Lace Scarf. I haven't posted it on Etsy yet, but if you "like" me at Facebook -- http://www.facebook.com/KnittingGuru -- I'm having an introductory sale on the pattern this week. It will be $6.95, but I'm offering it on Facebook for $5. The pattern includes a tutorial on blocking lace and suggestions for ways to vary the stitch to make other scarves or even shawls. I hope you like it!

Thread Crochet Work in Progress

I love to make fiber jewelry using fine cotton threads and sometimes beads too. Each piece is one of a kind for the simple reason that writing out the pattern would be much too time consuming. Even more importantly, these works take shape as I crochet and having to stop to write down what I'm doing frequently would interrupt the creative process and the flow of my work.

Since this blog's reason for being is to take you on a trip inside the mind of a knitwear designer, I though it might be interesting to show a work in progress along with a picture of what inspired the piece.

This view from my window was taken this morning. We've had an awful lot of snow this winter, but I had a suspicion it wasn't over yet. I really hate the way it collects on the sidewalks and turns black and icy or mushy, but when the snow is fresh, and especially when it's on tree branches, I just love it. To me it looks like lace.

I'd been thinking about making a necklace to show this and had even started it. Today I began to put the snow on the branches that were previously crocheted. You'll notice that there are lots of threads hanging. These all need to be finished off and hidden securely. That's one of the reasons it takes so long to make thread crocheted jewelry. It's also the reason the snow is on both sides of the brances -- I couldn't deal with the profusion of thread ends if I only crocheted the snow on one side as it is in reality.

I'll post the finished necklace -- maybe in a few days or maybe longer depending on what other work intervenes. 

© KnittingGuru, 2011. All rights reserved. All images and finished designs, including the name and description, are the intellectual property of KnittingGuru.

Ask the Guru Q & A

On my website - http://www.KnittingGuru.com - I have a section called "Ask the Guru". People send me knitting/crochet questions and I answer try to help clarify things for them. I received an interesting question today and thought it might be interesting to show it and my answer.

Ask the Guru - Question

Hi,

I have this pattern for a knitted flower for a hat. The instructions are a little confusing

Co 79sts

1st row; Purl

2nd row; K2, *k1, slip this st back onto left needle, lift the next 8 sts on left needle over this st and off the needle, (yfwd) twice,

Then knit the first stitch again, k2. rep from * to end.

    ( This is where I am confused, I did the lift the next 8 sts on the left needle over this st and off the needle. I understand the yfwd twice, but the knit the first stitch again?? I wasn't sure what that meant. then k2.rep from * to end.?? I don't usually have a problem with patterns ,but for some reason, I can't get this. Can you help me?)

3rd row; K1,*P2tog (k1,k1 tbl) into the 2 yfwd sts, p1. Rep from * to last st, k1. 30 sts.d

4th row; Knit

5th row; (purl 2 tog) 15 times.

Break wool and thread through remaining 15sts. Fasten off.

Thanks so much. Joanne

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Ask the Guru - Answer

Hi Joann -

I'm assuming that you're sending this in response to my "Ask the Guru" column on my website - http://www.KnittingGuru.com - and I'll be happy to help.

I can understand your confusion. Knitting directions are often terribly unclear and mysterious. When I make my own patterns, I write out the directions without abbreviations and include charts for just that reason. We read and speak English, not "Knittish"!

Anyway, if you look at the stars that indicate a repeat of the pattern on Row 2, the answer becomes clear. After the first star it says k1, slip this st back onto left needle, lift the next 8 sts on left needle over this st and off the needle, (yfwd) twice, then knit the first stitch again, k2, rep from * to end.

The stitch that is referred to as the first stitch has to mean the knit 1 stitch that you put back on the left needle - the stitch you lifted 8 stitches over. That stitch is still on the left needle so it's now the first stitch after the star. Any pattern repeat is knit from * to *. So after you knit that stitch again you do 2 yarn overs or as this pattern calls it "(yfwd) twice". Then you k2 - knit 2 stitches and repeat from the star.

To repeat this a different way,

Row 2 -- Knit 2 stitches * knit 1 stitch and put it back on left needle, lift 8 stitches on the left needle over this stitch and drop them off the needle, yarn over twice, knit 2* Repeat from * to *.

Some of the confusion comes because the writer left out the second star which sets the repeat apart, making it hard to know which stitch is the "first stitch".

I don't have the time right now due to work I must finish for my knitting business or I'd knit this to double check, but I'm pretty sure that the instructions call for you to knit that stitch again to firm up the area with all the stitches passed over. If you didn't knit it again, you'd have to slip it to the right needle and it would be quite stretched out.

I understand that Row 2 is probably where you stopped. However, I want to caution you about Row 3. The directions call for you to knit 3 stitches into each of the yarn over stitches. This will be a little tricky, especially if your needles don't have narrow pointed ends. Be careful that the second yarn over doesn't slip off while you're knitting those 3 stitches into the first yarn over! Also note the repeat from * to *. After you have done all the repeats, you should have one stitch left which you will knit.

I hope that this helps and that all is now clear to you. Good luck with the flower! I'd love to see a picture when you finish it!

Warm Wishes and Happy Knitting!

Veena (aka the KnittingGuru)

http://www.KnittingGuru.com

http://www.KnittingGuru.etsy.com

http://www.KnittingGuru.artfire.com

http://www.facebook.com/KnittingGuru (please join me there if you're on Facebook)

http://www.twitter.com/KnittingGuru

I'm also on Ravelry as TheKnittingGuru.

My patterns are available at Etsy, Artfire and Ravelry.

With all of this activity, I haven't yet updated my website and put the pattern on there - part of my goals for 2011!

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If I can carve out a few minutes today, I'll try to knit this flower and see how it looks. I'll post a picture if there's anything worth seeing here. Right now it looks like more trouble than it's worth, but who knows? It might be lovely.