Fair Isle Crochet by Brenda Bourg

What a thrill and an honor it is to be reviewing this wonderful book which is Brenda's very first! It is a spectacular book that has set the bar pretty high and will be a hard act to follow with any future books but if anyone can do it, Brenda can!

Before I tell you about all the fantastic things this book has to offer, let me give you a little background on how Brenda and I came to know each other. Brenda and I met online about 8 years ago when she contacted me on Ravelry about a design of mine that she had made. We got to chatting and a friendship was born. Brenda was just getting started in the industry as a professional and as a CGOA member she wanted to take advantage of our mentoring program. She asked me if I would be willing to be her mentor. Initially, I said "no". Not because I didn't want to but I had a lot going on and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to devote the necessary time. However, as I thought more about it, being a firm believer that people don't come into our lives by accident and God places them in our path for a reason, I told her on second thought I would love to be her mentor. The official mentoring program lasts 2 years and here we are 8 years later! We have both learned an awful lot more than we knew way back then and I have learned every bit as much from her as she has from me. It has gone far beyond mentoring to a truly wonderful friendship that I treasure.

So on to the book. It is incredible and I know you are going to love it! Brenda is extremely thorough and covers everything you could think of so even a beginner could create these projects. There are step-by-step photos for all the stitches which I found enormously helpful. I'm a very visual person so this was great!

Brenda includes sections with tips and hints, seaming, blocking, tension, changing colors and all that entails as well as helpful tools and choosing your own colors! She has provided everything you need to know to sit down and get started right away. The only thing that you are going to find extremely difficult is which project you would like to start with first!

My personal favorite is the Cora Sweater. This design just speaks to me! I love the colors and the complexity. I love the shape and the ribbing. I just really love everything about it!

I also adore the Annabel Bag! Is this not absolutely gorgeous?! 

There are lots of little projects if you're someone that likes instant gratification. Fingerless mitts, cowls, headbands and boot cuffs to name a few. 

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Fair Isle Tunisian Crochet, please enter our giveaway! And if you don't win, no problem...you can order a copy right here! Enjoy! I NEED THIS BOOK NOW!

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CGOA Conference Prep Time & Celebrating Two Years of Healthy!!!

For many years July was both exciting and terrifying for me! It was exciting because it was time for the Crochet Guild of America's annual conference but terrifying because I lived with chronic illness and never knew what my body would be doing. Since there were times when I wasn't able to walk on my own, I remember trying to decorate my walker with crocheted motifs in case I had to bring it with me. I would contact my beautiful roommate, Kimberly, shown below multiple times telling her I didn't think I was going to make it because I was so afraid of the "what if's" but she would convince me to come and would reassure me that she would help to get me through it. Wow! What a friend to take on that burden.

Two years ago, everything changed. Kimberly was doing a nutritional cleansing program. She looked totally amazing and she was so full of energy and vitality! I immediately knew I wanted to try the program. The picture below was taken just 4 days before I began the program July 26, 2013. Lynyrd Skynyrd was staying at our hotel and we are pictured here with Rickey Medlocke but I was so sick. Just look at my eyes!

Even if it gave me just a little of my health back that would be better than nothing but it blew that totally out of the water and gave me health that I never would have even dreamed of! At 51 years young, I feel better than I did in my twenties and I am certainly way stronger! Another amazing thing I have enjoyed over the last 2 years is that I have been able to help others achieve the same results! There is nothing more rewarding then being able to offer solutions to peoples problems! My favorite days are when I get up to a message from one of my cleansers telling me their doctor has taken them off of some of their medications or an excited phone call telling me they have lost 20 pounds and now fit in a pair of jeans they've had for years. This is by far the most rewarding, exciting and meaningful adventure I have ever been a part of and I feel so incredibly blessed!

So this July for the second year in a row, I am not terrified of anything about traveling to the upcoming CGOA conference. I am very sad that Kimberly will not be attending but I will be totally fine on my own thanks to her caring enough to share this program with me. My biggest concerns are bringing my program supplies and making sure my sneakers fit in my suitcase so I can work out. Exercise is something I had never done before and it is now one of my very favorite activities.

I am completely unstoppable and there is nothing I can't do now! I cannot wait for all of you to feel this amazing too! Please, send me a message! My email is THilde5939@aol.com or message me on Facebook. I am so excited to see many of you in San Diego and can't wait to get lots of hugs!!! See you in 2 weeks!

Happy National Crochet Month 2015!

Wow! I can hardly believe it is this time of year again already! I hope everyone has a lot of fun events and activities planned to celebrate National Crochet Month! I would first like to thank Amy Shelton and Donna Hulka, owners of Crochetville for once again hosting this incredible blog tour! I love to read all of the wonderful entries and this year there will be more free patterns and prizes than ever before! Thank you to Red Heart Yarns for sponsoring the great giveaways! You can find the complete list of participants right here!

One great way to celebrate National Crochet Month is by joining the Crochet Guild of America! There are so many benefits to being a member of CGOA; you can find just a few of the top reasons here. The picture below is from our Summer conference last year in Manchester, New Hampshire! Pictured is Jenny King, Amy Shelton, myself and Marcy Smith. We have so much fun and I have learned so much with incredible volunteer opportunities. I am currently serving my second term as Vice President of this wonderful organization. Find out how you too can become involved.

Another great way to celebrate is to pay it forward and share your gift of crochet by bringing love and comfort to someone in need. We will once again be supporting Halos of Hope which is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization committed to providing volunteer-crafted hats to cancer centers across the country. Founder and executive director, Pam Haschke, is a cancer survivor and you can find all the details of their program on their site. I am offering a free hat pattern in celebration of National Crochet Month and I ask that you make a hat or two (or as many as you are able) and send to Halos of Hope! There are also many knit and crochet patterns offered on their site and they also accept donations to help cover the expenses of shipping the hats!

Whatever you do to celebrate, just be sure you ARE celebrating and sharing the love of crochet! Teach someone to crochet, gift your projects, send some yarn and patterns in a random act of kindness to someone in need, just celebrate!

And be sure to stop by and visit me on my Facebook Hot Lava Crochet page, my Craftsy pattern store, my Ravelry page, and lastly, if you are looking to improve your health, lose weight, increase your energy or even create an additional stream of income, I invite you to visit my Facebook Healthy Begins With You nutritional cleansing page. I have lost 53 pounds and I feel absolutely amazing!!! 

And now on to the free pattern! A very special "thank you" to Bendy Carter with her help 

testing the pattern! 

Enjoy!!!

Celebration 2015 Hat

  

Designed by Tammy Hildebrand.

RED HEART® Super Saver: 100% Acrylic; 7 oz. (198g), 364 yd (333m) skein; 1 skein each: Shocking Pink #718 (A); Jade #3862 (B); Lavender #358 (C).

Crochet Hook: 5.5mm [US I-9]. Yarn needle.

GAUGE:

Finished Size:

Special Stitches Sc2tog (single crochet two stitches together)

Notes Ch 3 at beginning of rounds counts as first double crochet. To change color, yarn over with new color when working final slip st to join round. Drop unused color to back of work until needed again and loosely carry up.

Instructions With A, ch 4, join with sl st to form ring. Rnd 1 (RS): Ch 3, 11 dc in ring, join with sl st in top of beg-ch changing to B. 12 dc. Rnd 2: With B, ch 1, sc in first st, ch 3, skip next st, *sc in next st, ch 3, skip next st; rep from * around, join with sl st in beg sc changing to C. 6 sc, 6 ch-3 sps. Rnd 3: With C, working all sts in skipped sts of 2 rnds previous and behind ch sts of previous rnd, sl st in first skipped st, ch 3, 2 dc in same st, ch 1, *3 dc in next skipped st, ch 1; rep from * around, join with sl st in top of beg ch-3 changing to A. 18 dc, 6 ch-1 sps. Rnd 4: With A, ch 1, * sc in first st of 3-dc group, working in ch-3 sp of 2 rnds previous and next st at same time, sc in next st, sc in next st, sc in next ch-1 sp,; rep from * around, join with sl st in beg sc changing to B. 24 sc. Rnds 5 – 7: Rep Rnds 2 – 4. 48 sc. Rnd 8: Rep Rnd 2. 24 sc, 24 ch-3 sps. Rnd 9: With C, working all sts in skipped sts of 2 rnds previous and behind ch sts of previous rnd, sl st in first skipped st, ch 3, 2 dc in same st, *3 dc in next skipped st; rep from * around, join with sl st in top of beg ch-3 changing to A. 72 dc. Rnd 10: With A, ch 1, * sc in first st of 3-dc group, working in ch-3 sp of 2 rnds previous and next st at same time, sc in next st, sc in next st, rep from * around, join with sl st in beg sc changing to B. 72 sc. Rnd 11: With B, ch 1, sc in first st, sc2tog, *sc in next st, sc2tog; rep from * around, join with sl st in beg sc changing to C. 48 sc. Rnd 12: With C, sc in each st around, join with sl st in beg sc changing to A. Rnd 13: With A, sc in each st around, join with sl st in beg sc changing to B. Rnd 14: With B, sc in each st around, join with sl st in beg sc changing to C. Rnds 15 – 23: Rep Rnds 12 – 14 three times. Rnd 24: Rep Rnd 12. Rnd 25: Working in front loops only, rep rnd 13. Rnd 26 - 28: Rep Rnds 8 – 10 (do not change to B in last rnd). Fasten off after last rnd.

Finishing With yarn needle, weave in ends.

ABBREVIATIONS: ch = chain; dc = double crochet; sc = single crochet; sl st = slip st; sp(s) space(es); st(s) = stitch(es); * = repeat whatever follows the * as indicated.

Wrapping Up National Crochet Month With A Winner!

There are many of us, myself included, that celebrate crochet every day of every month but the official National Crochet Month celebration ends in just a few hours. I hope everyone enjoyed the blog tour put together by Crochetville. Thirty-one days of blog posts from our professional and associate professional members of the Crochet Guild of America. You can find the complete list here in case you missed any of them. If you'd like to learn more about CGOA, please visit our site http://www.crochet.org/

Don't forget to join us in supporting Project Night Night which is an organization that provides homeless children with a new security blanket, an age-appropriate children's book, and a stuffed animal -- all nestled inside of a new canvas tote bag. You can find all the details here.

And now to announce our winner of the yarn giveaway........ the winner is Carrie P. Congratulations! I will get this sent out to you right away and I hope you will share photos with us on my facebook page Hot Lava Crochet of all the wonderful things you create with it!

Crochet Guild of America Professional Development

Please be sure to stop by the CGOA blog tomorrow where I will be talking about some of the many benefits the Crochet Guild has to offer to our professional and aspiring professional members. I'll be wearing my Vice President hat for that post. If I really had one, I'd post a picture of myself wearing it here. Note to self: make Vice President hat! (I'm just jealous of Amy and her crown!)

You'll also want to visit This is Crochet, our other stop on the tour tomorrow. Turquoiz Blue is one of our  professional members. She designs beautiful fashion, accessories and home decor. I love her  Fleurette Scarf, a clever piece done in Tunisian Knit Stitch that I think is so pretty. Tell her I sent you!

Until tomorrow.....

The Next Stop on a "Tour Through Crochet Country" is Hot Lava Crochet!

I'd first like to thank Amy Shelton and Donna Hulka of Crochetville for putting together this "Tour Through Crochet Country". What a great idea and I have enjoyed reading all the blog posts in celebration of National Crochet Month. You can find the whole list here blog tour in case you missed any of them.

There are so many ways to celebrate National Crochet Month but don't we really celebrate the joy every day? I know I do and I can't imagine my life without crochet. It is the one thing that stays constant in an ever changing world.

I first learned to crochet from my second grade teacher, Mrs. Crooks. I can remember it like it was yesterday. After school I would get to pull my chair up to her big, wooden desk as she patiently taught me the stitches to create a floppy, purple "hippie" hat that I still have. Little did she know all those years ago just how big of an impact her act of kindness would have on my life! I am so happy to still be in touch with her and I was thrilled to see a comment she recently left on the CGOA Facebook page saying she was going through my patterns to find one of my designs to make in celebration of National Crochet Month. Thank you Mrs. Crooks!

After that first hat, I've never stopped. I have crocheted everything from garments to dog jackets to baby booties and everything in between. I love to experiment with new techniques and try different things. My crochet goes everywhere I go. I have been spotted stitching at bus stops, on my treadmill, on airplanes, on my riding lawn mower and even floating in my pool! 

And speaking of CGOA, which stands for the Crochet Guild of America, I must also remember them as we celebrate this month. CGOA has been instrumental in helping me pursue a professional path with crochet. They offer a mentoring program, a day long event called PDD - short for professional development day - at each conference, and opportunities to network that wouldn't otherwise be available. Even if you have no desire to become a professional, CGOA has so much to offer. Please visit their site for more information. 

My friend, fellow guild members and former CGOA president, Marty Miller, is also blogging on the tour today. You'll want to stop by and see what she has to say! Marty was the person that took me to my very first ever LYS! You can find her site here at the crochet doctor

Lastly, I want to hear about YOU! Leave me a comment on here or my Facebook page and tell me about how you learned to crochet or the craziest place you've stitched! I went through my stash and pulled a few of my favorite yarns to share with you. One winner will be randomly chosen at midnight on the last day of March. As much as I hate to do this, I have to limit it to US residents only. Shipping prices have skyrocketed     and I just can't ship outside of the US. 

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Happy National Crochet Month!

I'd like to wish everyone a very Happy National Crochet Month! I hope you are doing something special to celebrate and sharing the love by teaching someone how to crochet!

Unfortunately, (hanging head in shame) I also need to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year's, and Happy Valentine's Day. Where on earth does the time go? In my defense, it has been a very busy time. My first little granddaughter, Willow, was born just before Christmas. She has been a blessing and brings much joy to our lives. Since neither of my daughters have any interest in knit or crochet, I have very high hopes for Willow. I had a hook in her hand by the time she was one week old.

And I include her while I stitch so she is exposed to yarn regularly. She may not seem like she is very interested but I could tell she did enjoy it! I am determined that this child WILL crochet!

I have also been keeping busy with work. I became the vice president of CGOA in January. That has been very exciting and fulfilling. I just finished my first book which will be released Summer 2014 and I'm now working on my second book which will be released Fall 2014. I will tell you more about them in my next post. I promise it will be soon and not months from now!

Furls Crochet

Usually I have to force myself to walk out to the mailbox. I know it's never going to be an enjoyable experience since nine times out of ten, the box is filled with bills and advertisements but it has to be done. So it was a great surprise to open the mailbox and instead find a wonderful little package from Furls Crochet.

I had the pleasure of meeting Harrison Richards at the Crochet Guild of America conference in Reno last month. He is the founder and president of Furls Crochet and an all-around nice guy. He is absolutely passionate about his hooks and with good cause - they are amazing! You can see for yourself in this video  http://vimeo.com/49476483

As I opened the box, it is instantly evident that Harrison gives impeccable attention to detail, not only with his hooks but with everything involved with the entire process.  My hook has it's own beautiful, little bag all carefully wrapped! Also included is a postcard with fantastic photographs of some of his hooks and a write-up about their "Refurls Promotion" on the back of the card. You receive two "15% off your first purchase cards" to share with friends. When they order a hook using these referral cards, you receive a free...YES....I did say FREE hook! How cool is that?

In Reno, Harrison measured my hand so my hook is a perfect fit just for me! And it is so gorgeous. I selected Tulipwood in a size I (5.5mm). There is nothing better than a functional piece of art.

Please check out his website http://furlscrochet.com/ and tell him I sent you! You can also find him on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/furlscrochet He's always giving away free (YES...I did say free again) hooks on there so you're going to want to "like" his page.

Thank you so much for my amazing hook Harrison! I'm looking forward to seeing you again at a future conference!

Stitches Midwest part 3

Our booth neighbor at Stitches Midwest was CGOA. The Crochet Guild of America is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit educational organization dedicated to preserving and advancing the art of crochet. The main purpose of the Crochet Guild of America is to educate the public about crochet, provide education and networking opportunities, and set a national standard for the quality, art and skill of crochet through creative endeavors. If you're not a member, check out their site for all the benefits of joining.

Volunteers from the Northern Illinois chapter staffed the booth including founding member, Gwen Blakley Kinsler pictured below. You can read more about the show at Gwen's blog Crochet Queen Royal Ramblings Thank you for all of your help!

Penny Sitler and Karen Kinese, part of our management team.

I just love these girls!

Each year our board of director members create a special design to be 

compiled into a book, "Across the Board", which new members receive

when joining. Penny and I are each wearing a beautiful necklace created

by Guild VP, Cari Clement.

Here is the cover of the 2012 Across the Board book of crochet designs!

FREE with membership!

In my next post I'll share some pictures of special friends I got to see at the show!

Stitches Midwest Part 2

Thursday evening is the first opportunity for people to shop at the Market preview. They start lining up at the door long before opening time talking about which booth they want to visit first and how they have been looking forward to this for so long. They are a very loud and excited group of people ready to fill their bags and empty their wallets. We hear the final countdown begin; 10, 9, 8, 7.......

Amy Shelton, co-owner with Donna Hulka, of Crochetville is ready for business! I love working with Amy. No matter how busy we get, she is always this calm and cool, never getting frazzled by the line wrapping around the booth.

The shoppers arrive! The booth looks great and everyone is happy! 

Check out the cool Red Heart bags we were giving away in the

 picture below. They were perfect to stuff full of yarn!

                            

Just look at all these beautiful yarns with the gorgeous colors

and textures! If you couldn't make it to the show, don't worry, 

all these yarns are available online at Red Heart Yarns

I was very excited to discover that my design; the Square Deal Sweater, 

was featured on one of the big Red Heart banners! 

I had to have my picture taken with it. 

Tomorrow I'll tell you about our neighbors, the Crochet Guild of America, right across the aisle from us. 

Stitches Midwest 2012

I think it has become abundantly clear that I am the world's worst blogger! When it has been so long since you've posted that you have to look up your log in information, you know you're in trouble! I'm going to try and change all of that and post regularly. I am now busier than ever but that also means I have lots of exciting things to tell you.

Back in April, I attended my first Stitches show in Atlanta. Red Heart yarns and Crochetville partnered together and somehow I ended up in the middle of it. Could I be any luckier?! Here's a picture of our very first booth.

We just got back last night from our third show (we were at the Knit and Crochet show in Manchester back in June) so I thought it was time to share with you. If you haven't checked out Red Hearts yarns for awhile, you're going to want to see all the amazing new products they are offering. http://www.redheart.com/yarn There is something for everyone! Each show we need to bring a little more stock because it has been so well received. We had 5 pallets of wonderful yarns, books, Red Heart bags, hooks, needles and the list goes on!

I thought you might enjoy seeing the booth before we get it all put together. It's a lot of work but we have such a great team that we actually have fun doing it. Team Red Heart consists of Kathleen Sams of Red Heart http://www.facebook.com/redheartyarns?ref=ts, Amy Shelton of Crochetville  http://www.facebook.com/Crochetville and of course, me! We also had Amy's sister Julie with us this time. You'll want to check out her page at http://www.facebook.com/julie.r.mitchell. She is a glass artist and brought some gorgeous jewelry to sell in our booth. She's busy working on shawl pins for a future show.

Ok, on to the pictures!

 Yarn, Yarn and MORE Yarn!!!

Getting the shelves ready for all that yarn! There is excitement in the air as the countdown to market preview is quickly approaching.

The poor naked mannequins waiting for their gorgeous display samples.

Come back tomorrow to see the finished booth and hear more about what a great show it was! The next Stitches show is in October so there's still time to make plans to attend.
http://www.knittinguniverse.com/east

Across the Board Crochet 2011

One of the added benefits of joining CGOA (the Crochet Guild of America) is the pattern book put together by our board of directors. If you are a new member just joining or an existing member renewing your membership,  look what you will receive!

Seven great patterns from our board of directors! My design is the "Vertes Ananas" shawl. This is a fun, easy to stitch design. I hope you like it!

CGOA Fall Conference

Four weeks from today is the Fall CGOA conference in Greensboro, North Carolina. It's not too late to make plans to attend. If you've never been before, it is an awesome experience. There are so many classes to choose from, a fashion show and banquet, design competition, great shopping in the market, and the list goes on! For aspiring designers, the meet-and-greet is a fantastic opportunity to meet publishers face-to-face with the potential to sell your designs on the spot! It doesn't get much more exciting than that! The event kicks off with professional development day on September 21. I hope to see many of you there!

You can check it out here!

I will close with an introduction to Marley and Rugrat. Take note of their tails. Even the cats have to match the furniture around here!