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Simply Crochet: Tallula Top

And...we're back :-)  That's right, the next stop on the Simply Crochet blog tour stops in here today for the last time.  So far you have seen some of the simply WONDERFUL crochet that can be found in this book.  I don't know about you but I find it inspiring.  Behind the designs there is a collection of talented designers that is amazing.  Not to mention the uber talented Robyn Chachula herself...it is no secret that she is my absolute favorite crochet designer and I am thrilled that I can call her my friend.

So, let's get on with the party :-)  I told you all about the Botan Placemats that I did as a 3 ball project but I didn't tell you about the other project I did.

The Tallula Top is a little girls top made out of the timeless beauty of crocheted motifs around the body coupled with textured griddle stitch, makes this a perfect piece for every little girl.  I made it without too much fuss or frill so it will look great made oversized and worn as a dress or fitted and worn as a top.  I do want to mention that if you are making this for a little girl who still puts small objects in her mouth choose a different closure than the buttons as I don't want her to choke...okay?

I used the wonderful Spud and Chloe Fine and I have to tell you I simply LOVED it!  Such wonderful luster to the yarn, it felt great in my hands and it blocked beautifully.  I would put this yarn on my top ten.  Yes, I loved it that much.

So, how long did it take me to make this?  It took me about a week of working on it consistently.  Actually, while my youngest was in preschool I would go to a place called Einstein Bagels and work on my projects.  Which means I can honestly say that I spent a week of 4.5 hours a day on this project.  Not long at all if you think about it.

Okay, there is only one thing left to ask: WHO WANTS TO WIN A PRIZE?  Yep, there is a prize to be won.  Here is how to win:

Tweet about the book SIMPLY CROCHET and link 

to me in the post, marly_bird.  

Each person who links to me in their post will be entered to win a FREE DIGITAL COPY OF THE BOOK! 

Simply Crochet: Botan Placemats

Welcome to the next stop in the Simply Crochet Blog Tour. I am your host, Marly Bird! I have two designs in this great book but today we are going to talk about the 3 Ball project, the Botan Placemats. 

--You know what, let me begin by telling all of you what a great idea I think this book is. So many people I know (knitters usually) tell me that they don't crochet because it takes so much yarn and that they never can find anything that they like that actually doesn't take that much yarn. Well, the next time I hear that I am going to hand them this book. It is FULL of absolutely fantastic items that maximize the value of the yarn but don't compromise on style.--

Anyway, let's get on with the show :-)

The idea for the  Botan Placemeats (ravelry link) came from a felted coaster I made myself out of some scrap Stitch Nation, Full of Sheep yarn I had left over from working with Debbie Stoller (that is a whole different story).  The coaster is a simple two row color repeat stripey thing that sits to the left of my computer and is absolutely perfect.  I love this coaster and thought that a set of cute felted placemats would look wonderful on my kitchen table.

When I saw this inspiration photo I though that making the placemats felted just like my coaster would be perfect.  They have clean lines and are not too busy which are two things I like.  But it needed that little extra something.  So, I pulled out one of my MANY crochet stitch dictionaries and made the little Botan Flowers and stitched them to the placemat.  The flowers are the little touch that makes them cute, don't you think?

Are you on a time crunch?  I made these in about a day and a half.  SERIOUSLY! Actually, I had enough time from the deadline that made two sets to play around with colors.  Check out the other color option you could do.

As for yarn amount, these placemats literally use just about every last bit of yarn of yarn in the three skeins.  I had maybe 24" left of each color.  Not bad huh?

So,if you are looking for a quick, inexpensive and easy project or a gift for the holidays or a house warming these are perfect! Go and favorite them on Ravelry would ya? 

Oh..you want a prize?  SURE...I am the Oprah of the Podcast world...let's spread the love here too!
Leave a comment on this blog and be entered to win a FREE DIGITAL/E-BOOK copy of Simply Crochet!  I will pick a winner randomly in a week so don't wait.

Last but certainly not least...check out my teacher profile and classes for STITCHES West.  I would love it if you would join me for a class or two! Trust me, I am a lot of fun :-)

Sheryl Thies: Tunisian Crochet...

Such a good time talking with Sheryl on today's podcast.  She is a wonderful bi-crafty lady who has some real design talent :-) Her three books are Ocean Breezes, Nature's Wrapture and Get Hooked on Tunisian Crochet.  All three are available on Amazon.com.

You can find more of Sheryl's designs on her Ravelry designer page here.

If you didn't get a chance to listen live, don't worry!  As always, all Yarn Thing Podcast shows are archived for your listening pleasure at your convenience!  So be sure to catch up on any that you might have missed. 

Also, there is a Yarn Thing Podcast app available on Droid and iTunes so if you want to keep up to date with the show that is another option.  (side note: if you have suggestions on how to make the app better I would love to hear that!)

Catch you on the next show!

I Knit Happy.com Podcast

Hey there!

Today's guest was Karen from I Knit Happy and it was a ton of fun to chat with her and learn about her business ;-)

If you didn't get a chance to listen live go and have a listen now: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthing/2011/08/30/knit-happy-and-crochet-happy-1

xoxox
marly

Still Here

I promise I have not left the podcasting life!  I will be returning soon with special guest.  Stay tuned and you will not be disappointed. 

KnitGrrl: Shannon Okey

On the show to talk about her new book!!! I am part of her blog tour. Join me LIVE Thursday, July 15th at 7:00pm MDT at www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthing

• 3 July, Annie
  Modesitt, @modeknit


• 5 July, Diane
  Gilleland, @SisterDiane


• 7 July, Natalie Zee Drieu, href="http://www.twitter.com/craft">@craft


• 9 July, Marnie MacLean, href="http://www.twitter.com/MarnieMacLean">@MarnieMacLean


• 11 July, Daniella Cortez/Craft
  Culture, @danidocrafty



• 13 July, Kim Werker, href="http://www.twitter.com/kpwerker">@kpwerker



• 15 July, Marly Bird/Yarn Thing, href="http://www.twitter.com/yarnthing">@yarnthing



• 17 July, Ellen Gormley, href="http://www.twitter.com/GoCrochet">@GoCrochet



• 19 July, Kerrie Allman, href="http://www.twitter.com/yarnforwardmag">@yarnforwardmag



• 21 July, Vickie Howell, href="http://www.twitter.com/vickiehowell">@vickiehowell



• 23 July, Melissa Wehrle, href="http://www.twitter.com/neoknits">@neoknits



• 25 July, Julie Holetz, href="http://www.twitter.com/skamama">@skamama



• 27 July, Donna Druchunas, href="http://www.twitter.com/druchunas">@druchunas



• 29 July, Amy O'Neill Houck, href="http://www.twitter.com/plainsight">@plainsight



• 31 July, Jasmin Canty/Knitmore
  Girls, @knitmoregirls

For the Twitter tour with Kim on the 13th, you'll want to visit us at @kpwerker
and @knitgrrl from 7:00-9:00 p.m. -- don't forget the #knitgrrlguide hashtag!
What's a hashtag? (Well, it is explained in the book...)

See you here, there and everywhere!=

Episode 27: Online Classes with Stefanie Japel

I had the privilege to chat with THE Stefanie Japel last night about her new online classes.

Have you wanted to learn how to knit items that Fit and Flatter your body? Well, that is what Stefanie wants to teach you. There are only a few classes being offered right now but more will soon come.

The classes are wonderful in these economic times and a great way to take your knitting to the next level. Go, Take a look at her new site and sign up for a class :-)

www.stefaniejapel.ning.com

xoxox
Marly

Episode 26: Let the new season begin!

Yep, I am back and it is time to chat about knitting and crochet.

I talked about a lot of different things in this episode but some of the stuff I can think about off the top of my head are...

www.techknitting.blogspot.com BEST BLOG EVER!

www.insidecrochet.com NEW CROCHET MAGAZINE (I have a couple of pieces in this one)

www.crochetuncut.com THE UNOFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE CROCHET LIBERATION FRONT

www.tensionmagazine.com/ AWESOME NEW ONLINE MAGAZINE FOR CROCHET AND CREATIVE LIVING

www.slackfordstudio.com NEW WEBSITE FOR SUSAN (Pigeon Guts Purple Lady :-)

www.knittingdaily.com NEW DVD WORKSHOP CLASSES: Cables, Fair Isle, and the different seasons

www.knitandcrochettoday.com/ GET SEASON 1 & 2 ON DVD!

www.ravelry.com WANT TO SEE THE LIST OF PEOPLE ON THE SHOW THIS SEASON?

www.listeninglibrary.com BOOKS ON CD...Love them!!!

OH...I made a bag for the new season of Knit and Crochet Today (I think the name is changing but I am not sure what it will be called). Do you want to see it? I can give you a peek!

Peek-A-Boo Chevron Tunic

Yep, I am still here. I have been very busy finishing up a book I am writing with Jill Write for Leisure Arts and various other patterns for magazines.

Here is my newest published pattern. It is in the newest issue of Inside Crochet. You want the Ravelry links? The Peek-A-Boo Chevron Tunic is what I called it but in the magazine it is the Chevron Tunic I hear (I don't have the magazine yet) but you can find it in Inside Crochet, Issue #4 October/November

Here are some pictures on flickr I took of it before I sent it to the UK.

To tell the truth, I am not totally happy with the color choices that we used over the left boob. It would have been cuter with a blue instead of the green but the color cards we used to choose the colors made it look like the green would be perfect. The hard part is that the yarn is kettledyed and each skein is a little different from the next so even though one skein of the multy looked great with the green the others didn't. Does that make sense?
Here, I took pictures with a blue held up to it so you can see what it would look like in a different color.

So, I know some of you will be wondering, "why make one side different than the other?" Well, you don't have to do that at all but I thought it was a cool way to make an everyday chevron piece different. Actually, that is how I got the Peek-A-Boo idea. To me, the idea that only one boob has a striped chevron is like a game of peek a boo.

What do you think? You can be honest with me. I know that some of you will just LOVE it and some will HATE it. I am prepared for that as I too am in a love/hate relationship with it.

The only other thing that I might change when I publish this pattern myself is the way I did my decreases. I think they are a little too drastic and I think that I will do a little more math to make them a little more subtle in future patterns.

Other than that...I hope you will go to RAVELRY and favorite it right away :-)

I will try to update you all more soon with all the other things I have been up to lately!

OH...the podcast is scheduled to start up again in OCTOBER!!

xoxoxo

Twitter

Do any of you Tweet? It is pretty cool. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I am on twitter under...wait for it...YarnThing :-)

Ep. 13 Sally Melville

What a wonderful woman. I have learned so much from her and I have never actually met her. Joy to talk to Sally Melville about designing, teaching, and her uber famous books!

• The Knit Stitch
• The Purl Stitch
• Color
  
• Mother and Daughter Knits
  

It was a good show if I say so myself! Go, have a listen.

You can find more information about Sally at http://sallymelvilleknits.com

If you are in a town where Sally is teaching I encourage you to Run, not walk, RUN to her class!

Ep. 12 Tasty Crochet

Ep. 11 Robyn Chachula

Ep. 10 Donna Druchunas

Wow, I fell in love with Donna during this podcast. So much talent in one lady...it almost isn't fair.

This capital K Knitter is not only writing pattern books but offering us knitters a true history about what it is we love! Seriously, these books are a MUST HAVE for any knitters library!
OH...I guess I should tell you what books I am talking about huh, lol.

The Knitted Rug
Arctic Lace
Ethnic Knitting Discovery
Ethnic Knitting Exploration

You can read more about Donna and what she is up to on her blog http://www.sheeptoshawl.com/blog/

She also teaches several classes at Shuttles, Spindles, and Skeins in Boulder, CO.

Ep. 9 Kate Jacobs: The Friday Night Knitting Club

Did you read this book? Did you fall in love with Georgia and Dakota? Did you wish that you had a Walker and Daughters Yarn Shop near you? Well, you are not the only one.

I had the privilege of chatting with the beautiful Kate Jacobs about her New York Times Bestselling book The Friday Night Knitting Club, the sequel Knit Two, and her recent book to hit paperback Comfort Food.

Listen to the show and have some of your questions finally answered.

• Does Kate know how to knit?
  
• Did she create any of the characters after anybody she knows?
  
• Is there a really a movie in the works?
  
• Can we expect more books about the ladies we love?

Ep. 8 The Crochet Side

I got a chance to talk to the wonderfully talented Briana Mewborn of the Crochet Side Podcast and the uber successful the Yarn Side!!!

Have a listen to the show ;-)

Ep. 7 Keep the Fleece

Hi, I wanted to let you all know that I got to chat with Linda Cortright, editor of Wild Fibers Magazine on the podcast this week! Here is the 411.



Have you heard that it is the International Year of Natural Fiber? Seriously, it is a United Nations sanctioned event. How cool is that?

Not sure what that means for you? Well, that is why I am leaving this post :-) In today's world we are all trying to think more green, we are trying to have a better awareness of our carbon footprint and are much more conscious of the global impact we are making vs. just local. Not to mention we LOVE NATURAL FIBER! Put all of this together and we have more than just a Kal-Cal for shopping bags to use at the grocery store...we have a movement for social awareness beyond anything that has been done in the fiber world.

Okay, I am not the most knowledgeable person about this so I went to the person who was! I had a chance to talk with Linda Cortright, the head honcho of the Keep The Fleece organization, about what it is they do and why we should be involved.

Please, go have a listen to the podcast all about these natural fibers we love!

If you want to read more about Keep the Fleece go to their website at www.keepthefleece.org and see what you can do to be a part of the Worlds Longest Scarf, Natural Fiber Contest, or the TNNA Benefit Dinner!

Think about putting together a team for yourself and join in the fun!

HEY, If you make a team let me know (leave a comment either here or on Ravelry) and I will give you a FREE copy of my Sweetheart Tunic Pattern (ravlery link) made out of the wonderful Yak/Bamboo blend yarn by Bijou Basin Ranch Yarns!!!!

xoxox
Marly

Ep. 6 Amimono Kimono

LOOK, I have a pattern with Classic Elite Yarns.

AND IT IS FREE!!!

Listen to me chat with my friend Jenn about the whole experience :-)

xoxox
marly

Ep. 5 Marly is my Teacher

Okay, first of all I am SO SORRY that the last 15 minutes were crap. My connection was lost and I just couldn't get it back. BUT, I feel like the rest of the 45 minutes that you can listen to turned out really well so please, go have a listen!

Book I use to teach knitting it Stitch and Bitch

Book I use to teach crochet is Teach Yourself Visually Crochet

xoxox