In all my years of crocheting, I have yet to make a granny square, let alone an entire afghan of pieced-together granny squares. This is probably due to the fact that I already have an excessive number of crocheted afghans from more than one crocheter, including one of my grandmothers. Now, there’s nothing wrong with granny square afghans! It just isn’t something I find myself wanting to make. (There’s also a heat index of 100 today, so I am definitely not in any mood to think about afghans!) I have, however, seen some interesting uses of the proverbial granny square in totes, shawls and clutches, elevating this common crochet motif to new heights. This Smart Car, covered in crochet granny square goodness, takes the cake.

Photo by StartTheDay

Although it has been 6 months since the catastrophic earthquake hit Haiti, the already impoverished country is still struggling on just about every level. How could crochet possibly come into play? Here goes: Pat Eidsness is the pastor of South Dakota’s Peace Lutheran Church and she recently spent time volunteering in Haiti. While there, Eidsness tried instructing mothers to avoid letting their children play in or sleep on the dirt-covered ground.

Upon her return to Sioux Falls, SD, she wanted to do something more for the people of Haiti, so she started brainstorming. Her memories of the mothers and children sparked an idea: cutting up t-shirts into strips and crocheting mats from them. Soon enough she was requesting t-shirt donations from the community and asking for volunteers, from experienced crocheters to those who have never crocheted (but are willing to learn!). The collective effort has already resulted in dozens of completed mats and it’s fortunately an ongoing effort.

You can read more about crocheting for Haiti here.

Don’t you love holidaying in the summer? I know I do! I also love getting started on holiday gifts for the family and friends. If you would like to get started on holiday items too, I’m pleased to tell you that all Christmas patterns are currently 40% OFF! Hurry before the sale ends on Wednesday 7/28/2010 at 11:59 PM EST. Visit the Crochet Spot Store to shop!

The sale includes the following Christmas crochet patterns:

Santa Claus Hat (5 sizes) – Yes, that’s right, this pattern includes instructions for crocheting the Santa Claus Hat in 5 different sizes! From a newborn baby to a man, everyone can have a crocheted hat.

Christmas Applique Set #1 – This set includes 5 crochet patterns: candy cane, Christmas tree, gift box, Santa Claus hat, and stocking. Appliques are great to use as ornaments, pins, or to sew onto a bag, hat, or blanket!

Christmas Applique Set #2 – This set includes 5 crochet patterns: elf, gingerbread man, reindeer, Santa, and snowman.

Don’t forget that patterns can be downloaded straight from your store account after purchasing. No need to wait for an email 🙂

Have fun crocheting your holiday items this summer!!

Kate Jenkins pushes the envelope when it comes to fiber art possibilities. She doesn’t just knit and crochet, she knits and crochets. A former designer for fashion lines like Donna Karan, she is the owner of Cardigan, a knit and crochet shop and gallery all in one, based in the U.K. Her mission statement unravels like this: “anything can be created from yarn as long as it is made with love.” From striped wraps to fish and chip platters, dragonflies to the pork pie you see below, Kate exhibits at galleries and art shows all over the world and is known for her attention to small details and use of vibrant colors. read more »

Hello! My name is Erin and I’m a writer, mother and crocheter. My days are filled with mayhem, mischief and makings.  I started crocheting while on bed rest with my second daughter and have been crafting items for sale and as gifts ever since.  You can read all about my chaotic life at my personal blog Blogging is For Dorks and see my hand made items at Ultra Cute Crochet.

I love sharing my patterns and experiences in crocheting with beginners and with more advanced crocheters looking for more to learn!

Photo by Saki Chikaraishi

You could crochet a cozy for your brand-spankin’-new iPad like Japanese crocheter Saki Chikaraishi did…wait, you’re a novice still learning the crochet ropes? There’s an App for that! Thanks to Jones APR, a mobile app, consulting and PR firm, there is now “Knitting & Crocheting HD,” an application specifically created for Apple’s iPad. The app just hit the iTunes store in late June and features over 500 photos, illustrations as well as instructions to take you through the knitting and crochet basics, including supplies needed and yarn types explained.

Apple gadgets are no strangers to crochet applications: there’s already one for the iPhone and iPod Touch, not to mention a few podcasts to choose from. But, the iPad is obviously more conducive to learning just about anything because of its visually-friendly size. Have you tried out any of these crochet apps or do you stick to crocheting up gadget cozies when it comes to the intersection of tech and craft?

Photo by H. Scott Hoffmann/News & Record

Maggie Weldon learned to crochet at an early age, the craft quickly turning into an escape for her. It gradually developed into a full-fledged business of patterns, books and even crochet supplies, all based in North Carolina. Somehow Weldon found the time to take a pottery class with her daughter, and the creative juices, rooted in crochet, began to flow. Upon working in slabs, versus on the wheel which she didn’t take to, she took crochet doilies and linens, and stamps them into the wet clay.

Weldon became quite hooked on these crochet-inspired ceramic designs and decided to pursue it more seriously as part of her art repertoire, saying, “I push the envelope and try to make the biggest pieces I can.” One of those pieces is a 28-inch wedding cake plate! For delicate lace pieces that may be disintegrating, imprinting them onto clay may be a way to at least preserve their patterns in the long run. And who wouldn’t want a set of table linens AND all place settings to be crochet-related?!

More about Maggie Weldon can be found here.

Great news everyone! I have an extra, brand new copy of The Crochet Stitch Bible and would like to give it away for free to one of Crochet Spot’s awesome readers. Last week I did a review on this book, and it is one of my favorite crochet books that I have in my collection. If you would like to read the review here’s the link: Book Review: Crochet Stitch Bible. The review is an honest look at what’s great about the book and what may not be so great, so check it out! To enter into the giveaway you must…

Leave a comment on this post discussing the type of stitches in the book that you would like to learn. To do so, go to amazon.com and take a look inside of the book. You will be able to see the table of contents and the first few pages of the book! Please leave only 1 comment on this post, duplicated comments will be deleted along with comments that are not on topic.

All participants must be either a Crochet Spot Newsletter subscriber or a Premium Pattern Member at the time the winner is drawn. If you are neither, feel free to sign up for the newsletter or a membership.

Giveaway ends on Thursday, July 1, 2010 at 11:59PM EST, where a winner will be randomly drawn.

Good luck everyone!

ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED! Thanks for participating. The winner is posted here.

The Crochet Stitch Bible is one of my favorite and most used crochet book in my collection. Yes, there’s lots to rave about in this book, which I’ll be sure to tell you about. But there is always small flaws, which I’ll share with you as well.

As the title implies, The Crochet Stitch Bible is a book containing lots of stitch patterns, over 200 to be more precise. The stitches are organized into 14 different categories from basic stitches to special techniques such as texture, shells, lace, and Tunisian, just to name a few. Having so many stitches to choose from can be overwhelming, but the most convenient part of the book is that there is an eight page “Stitch Selector” where you can preview a small picture of each stitch without having to thumb through the entire book.

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