How a Calligraphy Passion Inspired "Lovepod" Love Knots

Top half of my first business card

When I was a teenager some decades ago, I learned how to do calligraphy. The old-fashioned kind appealed to me the most -- gilded ornate first letters and flowery scripts. I learned about fine old parchments and vellums and 'aged' them with tinting. I even tried charring the paper edges.

Lovepod inspiration

Lovepod Boa

I loved calligraphy so much that my mother's friends paid me to "write pretty" on invitations and on framed parchment as gifts. More requests came from their friends of friends, and I soon had the start of a calligraphy business in my little midwestern town.


When I moved to Seattle in my twenties, I worked first in a flower shop, then at a dessert cafe and catering company where my employers put my calligraphy to new uses.

1980's promo dessert price list

When I look back on it now, the spidery lines that I could make with fine pen tips and ink bottles felt a lot like crocheting lace with fine thread. Thinking about where to embellish lace with beads or special stitches is like adding little flourishes on and around formal lettering.

A big difference between crochet and calligraphy is that I can just rip out a faulty stitch, whereas with calligraphy, I often had to start over completely!

These love knots have something of a
botanical look too. Palestrina Lace

Love Knot Nakshatra Wrap

The reason my old calligraphy days have been on my mind lately is that I've been bringing together all of my crochet experiments and ideas for my upcoming Love Knot Adventures class. 
(Sorry--that class just sold out. But here's the recent newsletter issue I wrote on Love Knots. See the image gallery links in it. Here's another link too, if you're a Ravelry member: I just created a Love Knots-only category of my Ravelry projects, which are the not-yet-published designs.)

One of my early calligraphy pieces

The Lovepod Boa is one of the first crochet designs that I was excited to publish myself. It was directly inspired by my favorite method of embellishing my calligraphy, especially the fancy initial letter: I loved adding leafy, budding vines and sprigs, and tinting them. Sometimes I gilded them with a bit of silver or gold, such as the "Irish Lullaby" title at right (the entire poem is embellished like this!).

Close up of Love Knot network

Lovepod Boa, 'gilded'

I remember travelling to another place in my mind while I added these ethereal little sprigs and flowers. When I first crocheted love knots* with fine mohair yarn, the same daydream came over me again. The idea for the Lovepod Boa came from this place. 


*Here's the usual string of alternate names for this stitch: Lover's Knot, Solomon's Knot, King Solomon's Knot, Knot Stitch, Hail Stone Stitch; in Portuguese ponto segredo). It's used in Turkish Oya crochet too, but I don't know what the stitch is called.

Crochet Jewelry Class: Resources

Tomorrow I teach a class in Sarasota, Florida on crocheting jewelry--a.k.a. "jewellry," "jewerly," "jewellery" and other favorite spellings :-)  

Love-Latches (convertible crochet jewelry)

For all of my crochet classes I include a page of resources in the handouts (helpful links, books that I recommend, etc.). However, my jewelry class handout is already several pages long due to so many close-up photos. 

The best class handout for jewelry crochet needs to show several close ups of those precious little details and special crochet stitches that make crochet bracelets, necklaces, rings, brooches, and earrings so fun to make and give as gifts. What to do? 

Irish Pearls

Today I hit on a great idea: I'm going to post the Crochet Jewelry Class Resources list HERE IN THIS BLOG POST! See below. Cool idea, right? This way they're clickable URLs. Also, crocheters anywhere can refer to it, even if you can't attend the Sarasota crochet class tomorrow. (If you think you can attend, it will be held from 1 - 4 pm on March 24, 2012 at an easy-to-find yarn shop on South Tamiami Trail called A Good Yarn.)

[Hi, this is FutureVashti from 2018. See the class resources for all of my classes at my new blog!]

Crochet Jewelry Class: Resources

All class content ©Vashti Braha. Resources recommended for a three-hour class held March 24, 2012 at A Good Yarn yarn shop in Sarasota, Florida USA; and taught nationally at the CGOA Chain Link conference in Reno Nevada in 2012. Please see this blog post also for more crochet jewellery resources I like.

(This is what my shop's crochet jewelry page
looked like in 2012!)

My published Jewelry Crochet downloadable patterns

Some of my not-yet published Jewelry Crochet projects

Crochet Inspirations Newsletter Topics:

Issue #43 "Crocheting Pure Silver Wire"
Issue #38 "A Jewelry Experiment Method"
Issue #17 "Fancy Cords in 360º"

Issue #16 "Flavor-Burst Crochet" (Get jewelry effects with simple stitches) 

Issue #8 "Crochet's Commutative Property" (Convertible crochet projects) 

Issue #18 "Deep Crochet Research" (Foundation Stitches)

Blogged:

"How to Crochet Spiky Puff Stitches" (as used for Palmetto Cuff pattern; with video)

"How to Make a Bead-Stringing Needle (and Why)" 

"Standard Necklace Lengths" 

"Crochet Cords for Pendants: Happy Pairings" 

"Cotton Crochet Thread Sizes and Equivalents" 

"Choosing Cotton Thread for Crochet Jewelry" 

"Using Crochet Jewelry With Wire Free Patterns" 

"Poem-Lariat for a River Goddess" (Freeform Trailing Vine Lariat design)

"Jewelry Design Tips" 
"Photographing Beaded Crochet Jewelry"

Books I've consulted. The most recently published are listed first with short descriptions of the books I recommend and use the most & why:  Click on a title to go to the book's Amazon page for more information.

2010. Ann Benson, Tapestry Bead Crochet: Projects and Techniques. Lark Crafts. This is my favorite source for this specific type of bead crochet. Not only is it very inspirational for me, it also is written by someone who is obviously a good teacher. She even created many of the excellent illustrations.     Author's site: beadseast.com

2009. Pat Harste, Hooked on Jewelry. Sixth and Spring Books. This is my resource for how to use stylish and traditional metal jewelry findings with fiber crochet jewelry designs, and why I might want to. I usually prefer to crochet them, but this author uses them in such an inspiring way. I also love the way the book makes it clear and fun to learn about the jewelry tools and supplies.  Author's Ravelry page.

2007. Waejong Kim and Anna Pulvermakher, Crochet Jewelry. Interweave Press.  This book combines a creative and exciting array of jewelry designs by several crochet designers. I use it as a resource of other designers' "lab notes" and results crocheting jewelry with eclectic materials. (Scroll halfway down through my other blog post for more on this.)

Size #20 crochet thread pendant cords;
some are published in Jewelry With a Hook.

2007. Terry Taylor, Jewelry With a Hook. Lark. Like the Waejong Kim book above, this book is a wide-ranging compilation of creative jewelry crochet designs and materials. So I use it foremost as a source for "lab notes" (how other designers combined eclectic materials). In addition, I like the "Crochet Basics" section at the back of the book. (I would still value this book the same way even if it didn't include four designs of my own.)

2006. Carol Ann Ventura, Bead and Felted Tapestry Crochet. Self published, ISBN 978-09721253-2-1. Carol Ventura is the queen of tapestry crochet in crochet circles, and her self-published books are the next best thing to taking her classes at the CGOA conferences. The one I have includes sections specially for left handers, and for working flat vs. in the round. Author's site: tapestrycrochet.com

2005. Adele Rogers Recklies, Bead Crochet Snakes: History and Technique. This book fascinates me. I had no idea of the history and art of bead crochet ropes as snakes. Beautiful examples. Self published: Reckless Beading Press, ISBN 978-0-9791649-0-3.     Author's site: beadcrochetsnakes.com 

2004. Bethany Barry, Bead Crochet. Interweave Press. This book used to strike me as odd (like the Neiman book below), but not anymore, now that I understand the differences between beaded jewelry that happens to be crocheted, vs. crochet that is used for jewelry and that may include some beads. In other words, jewellery crocheting lies at an intersection of two industries: the crochet ('handknitting') yarn industry, and that of the beaders and other non-crochet jewelry making hobbies, like wirework/wire-wrapping, micro-macrame, etc. The basic materials, tools, and vocabulary can be very different. It's more obvious when you visit a bead shop and then a yarn shop; or the crochet aisle, then the jewelry aisle in a craft store!  Author's site: bethanybarry.com

2004. Lily Chin, Knit and Crochet with Beads. Interweave Press.  A masterful reference especially for exploring the choices crocheters and knitters have when incorporating beads into several kinds of projects besides jewelry.  Author's  site: lilychinsignaturecollection.com

2004. Sherri Haab, Designer Style Jewelry. Watson-Guptill. I enjoy having this one on hand for the techniques I hope to try someday, for example, using resin to create pendants and charms, which would be easy to combine with crochet; or updated possibilities with that "ShrinkyDink®" material I LOVED as a kid. So it has a great list of suppliers at the back of the book.

2004. Mary Libby Neiman, Bead Crochet Basics. Design Originals booklet, ISBN 978-1-5742153-4-2. This slim book is a good reference for me because I'm a newbie when it comes to a particular type of crochet jewelry: "beaded ropes" a.k.a. "tubular bead crochet." The idea is to see all seed beads, no crochet stitches. (Also see Ann Benson's Tapestry Bead Crochet, above.) Like I described Bethany Barry's Bead Crochet book above, this one used to confuse me as a crocheter. Part of the confusion is that both titles use "bead crochet" in a much more limited way than I would with the crocheters I know. Both also seem to be written by and for a general beading/bead shop audience rather than a crocheting audience.   Author's site: d-originals.com

1997. Lydia F Borin, Beadwrangler’s Hands On Crochet with Beads and Fibers. I was happy when a copy of this book fell into my lap because I'd tried to locate a copy for several years, after learning so much about the topic at the author's site, below! Self published: Lyden Enterprises, ISBN 1-891302-01-9.     Author's site: beadwrangler.com

Quick Update: Crochet Ribbing Comparisons & More

Naturally biases!
Alternating rows of slip stitch
and single crochet.

Hdc in lower third loop;
simply alternate the colors!

I'm buffing and polishing this blog a bit. Isn't the new color scheme refreshing? It's as if I spritzed some tangerine-vanilla room spray.

I'm also trying to figure out how to reproduce my newsletters here. In the meantime I've created a special tab for them (see tabs above this post). Importing the content, especially with the newsletter columns preserved, is surprisingly complicated.

So: crochet ribbing. I have more photos of ribbed crochet stitches that I didn't have room to include in the latest Crochet Inspirations Newsletter issue (#36). 

Another slanter.
Half double crochet (hdc; UK: htc
or htr) rows in different loops.
Good to know about ribbings that
 bias, no?

Here's the photo set I've created for them so far. 

UPDATE: See the follow up newsletter issue #37: "When Stitches Lean."

Isn't slip stitch ribbing amazing?

A Tunisian Crochet Tea Cosy/Tea Cozy with Insulating "Rimples"

Tea cozies (in the UK: tea cosies) have been my constant companions as 2012 has gotten off to an eventful start! Most recently I've been drinking record amounts of hot tea to help me recover from a severe head cold, as well as to catch my breath between events. 

Rimply: Ready for Tea Time

The longer my teapot stays hot, the better. Handmade tea cozies work great! If a crochet cowl or hat feels warm and toasty, you can bet the same crochet stitch and yarn will also work well as a tea cosy. 


In fact, a crocheted hat or cowl can quickly be turned into a tea cozy. This is what happened to Rimply, one of my Tunisian crochet cowl designs. I've used it more as a tea cozy than as a cowl since I designed it a year ago. Also, I leave it on a silver teapot when I'm not using it, because it also slows tarnishing.

Same Rimply as a Cowl, but worn upside down.

Tunisian crochet is not known for being stretchy. In this case, though, the combination of wooly yarn, bigger Tunisian crochet hook, and the unique heat-trapping tunnels ('rimples') all contribute stretch to this solid Tunisian Knit Stitch fabric.


To turn this cowl into a tea cosy, all I did was crochet two lengths of chain stitches. One serves as a drawstring along the top edge of the cowl to fit it snugly around the top (where much heat would otherwise escape). The other ties together the cowl just under the teapot handle. These simple ties make Rimply nicely adjustable as a tea cozy.

Another way to style Rimply.
This one was crocheted in a finer
purple yarn that has more drape

In this case, the spout is slender enough and the stitches stretchy enough that I can poke the spout through the stitches. If I were to crochet another one, I'd add an easy buttonhole-type slit for the spout instead.

Winner of Book Giveaway, plus More Stitch Photos

Tunisian Shakti, "Mobi-Dickie" version in bulky yarn

The winner, according to this random number generator, is Colorful Temptations. After I complete this blog post I'll alert the book editor, Robyn Chachula, to release a downloadable copy of the new Simply Crochet book to her. 

Thank you to everyone who entered! I like that my blog visitors from outside of the USA are equally eligible to win because the prize is downloadable.

Tunisian Shakti, "Mobi-Dickie" version in bulky yarn

Meanwhile, here are more photos of the Tunisian crochet stitch I described in the previous post. This one is an experimental möbius (or moebius) cowl--in bulky wool yarn--and a large Tunisian crochet hook! Fast to crochet and pleasantly stretchy. 

Tunisian Shakti, "Mobi-Dickie" version in bulky yarn

I'm adding its pattern details to the Tunisian Shakti Scarves Superpattern in case someone would like to try it.

A Powerful Tunisian Crochet Stitch to Love

Neck Lattice (1 skein!) 
photo ©2011 Vashti Braha

Neck Lattice 
photo ©2011 Interweave Press

I'm giving away a full downloadable edition of the new Simply Crochet   book! 

If you don't know about the main stitch used for Neck Lattice (just published by Interweave Press) and all designs shown in this post, please read on. 

It's one of the two stitches that have liberated my Tunisian crocheting.   (See "Breaking Out of Tunisian Ruts," issue #10 of my Crochet Inspirations newsletter for the other one.)


This amazing Tunisian stitch:

A Shakti Scarf (new design)
shows both sides of fabric

• Conserves yarn. Neck lattice uses ONE SKEIN. So do my other designs based on this stitch. 
• Loves every Tunisian crochet hook size.
• Loves a wide range of yarn weights, thicknesses, and textures.
• Is reversible: looks fabulous on both sides (not always the case with a Tunisian crochet stitch).
• Is fast to crochet (not always the case with a Tunisian crochet stitch).
• Singlehandedly creates a sheer, breezy, weightless Tunisian crochet lace. Not only that, it can be stretchy.

[Have you ever used this stitch? Leave a comment on this blog post about it and you'll be entered to win the Simply Crochet e-book. 
You have until tomorrow, Fri. Dec. 9 at 10pm EST to enter.]

Notice in these photos how different the Tunisian crochet stitch can look depending on fibers, yarn weights, hook sizes, and degree of laciness over the years. (I know the photos are arranged weirdly in this post. It's just the way Blogger is sometimes.)



When Interweave Press published the new Simply Crochet book this month, I took stock of my design journey with this unique Tunisian crochet stitch. Neck Lattice, included in this book, was a pivotal discovery for me as a crocheter. 

Same Neck Lattice pattern and hook size, thicker yarn!

I released my early photos of it (including a prototype) this week, and I remembered the exhilaration of discovering its edge-as-you-go latticework. 

And, the wonder of using the yarn that book editor Robyn Chachula chose for me to use--it's the mottled red alpaca one in the two uppermost photos. 

I had only used fingering weight yarn (sock yarn) for it until she sent me a lace weight yarn. I worried at first, but then I loved seeing the design take shape from only one skein. It grew quickly because I used a big Tunisian crochet hook.

A Shakti Scarf (new design)

For all its power, this Tunisian stitch doesn't seem to be one of the basic stitches one learns after the Tunisian Simple Stitch (Tss), even though it's easy to do! It's not standardized: it goes by more than one name, and explanations for how to do it vary widely. I've seen it called Extended Knit Stitch, Corded Stitch, Tunisian Knit Single Crochet, Tunisian Shaker Stitch, and "Tunisian Knit Stitch with a chain-1."

Here are my other experiments with this stitch over the past year or so. NOTE: several of these are "Shakti Scarves," which are all versions of the same Tunisian Shakti design. 

A Shakti Scarf (new design)

Update:
Tunisian Shakti Scarves crochet superpattern is now available in my DesigningVashti pattern shop, and Ravelry store. 

A Shakti Scarf (new design)

Islander Wrap

A Shakti Scarf (new design)

A Shakti Scarf (new design)

Undaria Flutter Scarf, New Short Row Design

Check it out: I've just done a whole new kind of blog post, right at my DesigningVashti.com website, and it was easy! It's about my newest crochet pattern coming out very soon, the Undaria Slip Stitch Flutter Scarf. 



You can see a gallery of TEN ways of wearing it over there. 

I'll have more links created after Thanksgiving. For now, here's its Ravelry project page, and its online photo set.


Edited on Dec. 3, 2011 to add: 

• I blogged the story of the "Undaria" name here. 
• You can now download the final pattern at DesigningVashti and in Ravelry.

Being able to blog right from my website is making me irrationally happy and kind of wonderstruck. I've had that website for a little over a year, and it's been slow-going for me to remember how to update it. (I'd rather be designing...) Meanwhile, I know how to blog and enjoy it, and how to create colorful newsletters. 


Wow. A Wordpress-driven website is going to be FUN! 

I'm Crocheting Slip Stitch Short Rows...

...and I hope every crocheter will try it. I now have a free pattern for you: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/slip-slope-scarf-free-pattern 

See the bumpy short row ends along the top edge?
You can make them melt (as they did in the 2nd photo below), or you can emphasize them as a decorative texture (see 4th and last photo below)

called "Slip Slope Scarf." Even if you've already tried crocheting short rows with other stitches like single crochet (sc or UK: dc) or double crochet (dc or UK: tr), give my slip stitch way a try. 

First set of short rows completed. As you can see in the top photo, they melted in nicely
as more rows were added. I should create a mini-video to also show how thoroughly
stretchy it is: not lumpy or tight where the short rows end.

I can't stop! It's an irresistible combo of: 

I love this color effect.
I think it'll become a design
called..."Slippery Fingers"?

• Fabulous fabric: solid - warm - soft - thin - extra-stretchy - reversible
• Fascinating color and texture effects
• Fun stitching progress: I get to stop in the middle of a row and turn around (instead of always going all the way across to the end). And it's easier. I don't have to manage lumps in my fabric like I do if I use taller stitches (by tapering the stitch heights or messing with the turning chains, for example.) I don't have to stop and figure out which loops to work into when I crochet over a short row (like I do when I've tried tapering rows of taller stitches). 

I just plain enjoy the look and feel of these crochet short rows as I go. Is it like this for you too? I hope you'll try it and let me know.

Slip Tectonics, a neck warmer using two kinds 
of slip stitches to create a self-shaping cowl.

See also my newsletter issue about crocheting slip stitch short rows. 


After I write this, I'll go over to my Crochet Pattern Companion blog and create a photo tutorial for the short row basics.


After Slip Tectonics, I have another pattern coming out using crochet short rows, so if you like the free pattern, keep an eye out for "Thaxton Hood."