Darla Fanton

Special Olympics Scarf Update

Over 60,000 scarves were received!  WOW!!  I’m impressed, but not surprised.  I’ve known for a long time that knitters and crocheters are very generous people.

Click on over to Red Heart to read more about the project and links to photos of the athletes and VIPs decked out in their blue and white scarves.

Anytime is a great time to crochet something for charity.  There is something very soul-satisfying about crocheting or knitting for charity.  I’m sure there is a homeless shelter, nursing home, neonatal unit, grade school or other group in your area that would welcome your donation of afghans, sweaters, hats or scarves.

Knitting or crocheting for charity is a great time to relax with friends as well. Check out the Crochet Guild of America or The Knitting Guild Association to see if there is a local chapter in your area…or start a group of your own.  Many local yarn shops also have schedules times for charity knit and crochet.  If you live in Portland, OR join me for the Charity Stitching Circle the first Wednesday morning of every month at the Knitting Bee.

Crochet Classes …and….Teaching Award Nomination

As I sat down at the computer to tell you how pleased I am to be teaching a variety of classes at the 2009 Knit and Crochet Shows I was both honored and humbled to learn that I am one of four nominees for the first-annual Crochet Liberation Front’s best Crochet Instructor of 2008!

Check out the Crochet Liberation Front blog to read more about this group and the 2009 Crochet Awards.   There are 20 categories for the “Best of Crochet…” so jump in and vote for your crochet favorites before March 3.

I am excited, for the eighth year in a row, to be teaching for the Crochet Guild of America!  I will be teaching a variety of classes including several on Tunisian and Double Hook Crochet as well as a class on Needle Felting.

Appropriately, in view of the nomination just received, I will also be conducting a 3 hour Teacher Workshop.  I hope to help others find as much joy as I have while teaching their favorite form of needlework.

I hope you can join me for classes in Portland, OR in May or Buffalo, NY in August!

Free Crochet Pattern for Throw

I visited the Coats & Clark website today intending to view some yarn color cards and was pleasantly surprised to see the Dots & Dashes Throw I recently designed is this month’s featured project in the Needlecrafts Center.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with the Eco-Ways yarn and hope you will too.  I love the colors, it’s nice and soft and as an added benefit it is made from 30% recycled plastic soda and water bottles helping to keep them out of the landfill.  Snuggle up in your finished throw and lower the thermostat to help the environment even more!

The Third Special Olympics Scarf

Yes, I’m back with another scarf.  Keeping the theme going, let’s turn to Feb 9 in the Perpetual Calendar stitch dictionary.

Okay, another one-color stitch pattern.  How am I going to introduce the second color here?  This pattern has a two-row repeat.  It is really going to be easy to introduce the second color. I could alternate two rows of each color, but I think I have a better idea for this pattern.

I’ve decided to work in the vertical again.  Have you figured out that I really like vertical stripes for scarves?  I’ll work one row of each color, cutting the yarn after each row, leaving tails long enough for fringe at the beginning and end of each row.

I really like the way this scarf turned out.  On one side the white rows stand up, nice and crisp.  On the other side the white stripes are very subtle, receding into the background.  I need to remember to come back to this stitch later and use it in a design.  I’m not sure what yet, but hey, that is what yarn doodling is all about.

In this case, my yarn doodling resulted in a scarf to keep a Special Olympian warm. An I (6 mm) hook with a beginning ch of 195 resulted in a scarf 60″ long (excluding fringe).  The disclaimer “your mileage may vary” does apply.

A Second Special Olympics Scarf

The first scarf was so much fun to make, I’m back with another.  The Special Olympics runs for seven days. I doubt that I will have enough free time to complete a scarf for every day.  But using the starting date of Feb 7 in the Perpetual Calendar stitch dictionary worked out so well, let’s keep the ball rolling by turning to Feb 8.

Hmmm, the pattern, Little Balls, is shown in one color.  Does that mean I can’t use this pattern since one of the requirements of the project is that I use two colors?  The little balls are actually puff stitches.  Wouldn’t they look cute in white?  Sort of like snowballs?  Well, maybe a little small for snowballs - more like marshmallows.  Marshmallows = hot chocolate!  Hey, that’s a good idea I’ll go have a cup of cocoa!  ….Just kidding.

Remember, I use the dictionary as a starting point to yarn doodle.  For this scarf I decided to again work in the vertical.  In order to be able to carry the colors along the edges and have fewer yarn tails to work in, I need to  work two rows of each color.  The puff stitch row is Row 3.  Hey, this is going to work out just fine.  I’ll work the pattern as printed for two blue rows, then change to white to work the puff stitch row,  insert one row of white single crochet after the puff stitch row, which brings me back in place to pick up my blue yarn for two more rows, and repeat the sequence.

An I (6 mm) hook with a beginning chain of 179 resulted in a scarf 63″ long.  As always, your mileage may vary.

I think the scarf turned out very nicely.  What do you think?

Time to go have that hot cup of cocoa now!

Special Olympics Scarf Project

I recently read about the project Coats & Clark is sponsoring to provide each athlete and the delegates supporting them a hand-knit or crocheted scarf for the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games.

What a great idea!  Although Coats & Clark provides a free pattern in both knit and crochet, it is not a requirement to use that pattern.  The only requirement is to use Red Heart Super Saver in Delft Blue and White as those colors match the Special Olympics logo.

This seems like a perfect opportunity to pull out a stitch dictionary and start playing with yarn.

If you are new to crochet you may be wondering what I mean by stitch dictionary.  These are books that contain a collection of stitch patterns.  Some contain only crochet stitches, some contain only knit, some may contain both.  A few will also contain patterns for projects using the stitches shown, but the majority of the stitch dictionaries I own contain only stitch patterns.  Yes, the same stitches do show up in several different dictionaries, but like many designers and other crocheters, I continue to collect new ones.  You just never know when you will stumble across the perfect stitch pattern among the hundreds (maybe I should say thousands) of possibilities.

I think of stitch dictionaries as the perfect starting point for “doodling with yarn”.  I’ll work a swatch as shown in the dictionary and then, depending on the pattern, I start substituting stitches, adding chains between stitches, skipping stitches, adding rows, or any other change that may come to mind.

How do I decide which pattern to start with?  It depends.  If I’m doodling prior to starting an actual design, then the parameters of that design will decide which stitch I start with.  Do I need something open and lacy or tightly woven?  Something with a lot of texture or fairly flat? Something in one color or multi, etc.

If I’m yarn doodling just to be yarn doodling then I might page through the dictionary until something strikes my fancy or I might open it at random and work the stitch on that page.

For this project I thought it would be fun to use the 365 Crochet Stitches A Year Perpetual Calendar by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss.  This book was a welcome addition to my library, both for the volume of information it contains and the fact that it was compiled by two of the most knowledgeable women in the field. I’m proud to add that Jean and Rita have been my mentors and friends since they published my first booklet, Doll Shoes in Plastic Canvas, in 1985.

Since 365 Stitches (it really has 366 due to leap year) is set up as a perpetual calendar I decided to turn to February 7, the day the Special Olympics will begin.

Winding Roads seems a perfect pattern for this scarf.  It is worked in two colors and it is a ripple variation.  I truly love working ripples of all types - soft gentle wave ripples like this one or sharp pointed chevron ripples.  It doesn’t matter, I like them all.  Even the name, winding roads, seems perfect for the occasion.

When working a gauge swatch for a ripple it is important to work at least two repeats (three is better) and several rows of the pattern.  The straight chain you start with is going to have to travel uphill and downhill to create the ripple.  It takes several rows to discover how much of the original length will be taken up by those uphill, downhill journeys.

I decided to work the scarf lengthwise.  With an I (6mm) hook, a beginning chain of 219 resulted in a scarf 72″ long.  Of course, depending on your tension, your mileage may vary.

I still have time before the mailing deadline so perhaps I will get another scarf or two done.  Please check back to find out.

Magical Mitered Squares Vest Beginning

I am always thrilled when a former student shows me a project they are working based on something they learned in one of my classes.

When Sharon walked into the Tunisian Crochet Bracelet class at the Stitching Jubilee, the first thing she did was show me the Mountain Peaks Mitered Square Vest she is working on.

Sharon was in several of my classes at Chain Link 2008 in Manchester last July.  One of the classes I taught there was Magical Mitered Squares.  After teaching seven classes in four days, many with over 20 students per class, I remember the students but often forget which class they were in.  I just assumed Sharon had been in the Mitered Squares class. When she reminded me that she was in the beginning Double Hook Crochet: the Basics class, I was truly impressed.  I told her she was obviously a fantastic student, she countered with I was obviously a fantastic teacher and the pattern was so well written it was very easy to follow. It seems we formed our own little mutual admiration society!

All kidding aside, Sharon is doing a lovely job with this project.  I wish you could feel how soft it is.  I can’t wait to see the finished vest….maybe at the next Conference.

If you are interested in making your own reversible Mt. Peaks Mitered Vest with a double-ended crochet hook, my local yarn shop, Knitting Bee, carries the complete line of Designs by Darla J patterns.  Call toll free 888-KNIT-BEE to inquire.  As you can see in the photos of my finished vest it is totally reversible - and there is no sewing required (except for the buttons).

Crochet Bracelet Classes

I had my camera with me during all my classes at the Stitching Jubilee, but somehow I only managed to take pictures during Friday’s Bead Crochet classes.  I have no explanation for why this happened other than - the beads made me do it.

We started the morning with the Tunisian Loop-de-loop Bracelet.  This class combines two of my favorite things - beads and Tunisian crochet!

Here Sharon begins working on her bracelet.  Notice the magnifying lights beside and behind her?  Since the main focus at this conference was even-weave fabrics, all the classrooms were set with a magnifying light at each student’s place.  What a benefit for the students!  It sure worked out well for the bead crochet classes!

At the end of class Sharon shows off the focal beads on her finished bracelet and Darlene shows the tri-bead portion of her bracelet.

In the afternoon it was time for the Two Bead Bracelet.  Worked with finer thread and smaller beads it is more of a challenge to finish this bracelet in class.  Sharon did complete her bracelet but unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of it.  Here are a couple of  photos  taken early in the class.

Stitching Jubilee 2008

I’m back from Valley Forge and the Stitching Jubilee!  Since this conference was mainly counted cross stitch and needlepoint my classes were smaller than I usually teach in a conference setting.  It was not quite so hectic for me and I’m sure the students enjoyed the more individual attention.

In my experience most people who enjoy one type of needlework, enjoy others or are interesting in learning others.  I enjoy a variety of things myself.  In fact my design career started twenty-five years ago with counted cross stitch.  I might add that I still have quite a stash of even weave fabrics and floss, because you just never know when the urge to cross stitch might strike again. Some of the beautiful pieces I saw on display this week-end were certainly tempting.

At the moment however, the crochet hooks, - both long and short - the beads, and the yarn seem to have a pretty strong hold on me.

One of the interesting things about teaching for a new (to me) group is seeing the different ways they set things up.  At the registration desk there was a lovely display where students could see either the projects they would be making in class or for technique classes, an example of something made in the technique.  Teachers were allowed to check their samples out as needed.  Since classes were in session when I took this photo some items are missing, but isn’t it fun to see all the possibilities for classes in one spot?

And I just couldn’t resist showing you a close-up of the two crochet jewelry classes I was teaching.

I’m still unpacking and trying to get caught up on mail,  so I’ll be back soon with some more photos from the Stitching Jubilee.

Yes, Another New Crochet Necklace

I’ve already talked, more than once as I remember, about my inability to resist glass baubles and beads. As I was putting away my latest acquisitions it occurred to me that I don’t seem to ever actually MAKE anything with them.  It seems to be enough for me to just have them sitting in a box on my desk where I can stop occasionally and visit them.  Admiring the rich colors, the depth, the textures, and the amazing flowers ‘blooming’ within some of them seems to bring me instant relaxation.

However, since it was never my intention to withhold these little glass treasures from view I decided to bring one of them out of hibernation and create a necklace around it.

The rich copper, black and purple in this glass button were a perfect match for the colors in a jacket I already had in my closet.  I pulled out chips and 6/0 beads in the same colors and created this necklace, which is a variation of my Two Bead Bracelet class.

It was a bit difficult to get a good photo due to reflected light, but you can see the necklace in person if you are attending the Stitching Jubilee in King of Prussia, PA this week-end.  I will either be wearing it or have it in class with me on Friday.

This beautiful button, now used as a focal bead, was created by Judith Copeland.  I purchased it at the 2007 Knit and Crochet Show in Manchester, NH.

I can hardly wait to see what treasures I may find in the marketplace at the Stitching Jubilee!