bodner041

I wish you all a Happy New Year 2015 and am looking forward to making some pretty things now for Valentine's Day. I last posted on Thanksgiving, and since then there's been nothing but celebrating in our home with family get-togethers and also the arrival of twin boys in the family! My needles and hooks have been Very Active! Now, with Valentine's Day only about a month away, I'm working on some "heart-felt" projects. If there's any small project you'd like me to design, contact me here and maybe there'll be time to complete it. In the meantime, here are some suggestions for things to knit and crochet for Valentine's Day. Project 1 -- Valentine Knitted Scarf I'm very fond of this Here's My Heart Scarf and Headband. It's quick to knit and is a great stash-buster since it uses only an ounce or so of worsted weight yarn.  Part of the heart shaping involves knitting several stitches together. This is clearly explained and illustrated in...

Wishing you all a Very Happy Thanksgiving! As we prepare our family feast, I wanted to take a minute to thank all of you for following KnittingGuruDesigns and to give you all a Black Friday / Cyber Monday treat. Just write Code #BlackFriday10 in your coupon code box when you check out of my Etsy shop and you'll receive a 10% discount on your purchase(s). Here's just a sampling of what you'll find in my Etsy shop. I've put together some things in an Autumnal colorway to celebrate the holiday. Of course, there's much more to see and many other colors in my shop. Enjoy your Holiday and please stop by at http://www.KnittingGuru.etsy.com

Brand New This Week -  the 'Round the Loop Crochet Scarf Pattern . It's super-fast and easy to crochet. The stitches used are chain, slip stitch and half double crochet. You'll be surprised at the intricate texture you'll achieve using these simple stitches. Even a new crocheter could make one of these in an evening. The scarves shown are made with Paton's Roving - a soft wool unplied yarn, and Web's Berkshire Bulky - a wool and alpaca singles yarn. Because of the pattern's openness, the yarn texture really stands out so that the scarf looks very different in these two yarns. Suggestions for ways to vary the scarf are given in the instructions. An effective substitute for the bulky yarns, for example, is to use knitting worsted doubled. These scarves don't take much yarn at all. With one skein of each color, you'll have enough yarn left over to make a matching hat. You can get your pattern here at Craftsy or Etsy . I hope you'll enjoy making thi...

I like a lot of variety in life. When I knit or crochet something, I try to design it so that it may be worn many ways. My customers feel the same way I do and appreciate the versatility of their KnittingGuru designs. The Tangerine Sherbet Swirl Summer Scarf exemplifies this philosophy. The addition of a removable tasseled drawstring allows the scarf to be worn gathered as a ruffled cowl, tied at the neck or lower, or tied casually without the drawstring. That's lots of variety for one small scarf! The Tangerine Swirl Summer Scarf is available at my Etsy shop.

When it comes to buying vintage knitting and crochet patterns, the Latin phrase Caveat Emptor - let the buyer beware - needs to be taken seriously. I'm in love with vintage knitting and crochet patterns and have been collecting them for many years. This is just a small fraction of my collection:  To look at the great styles of the past and the beautiful workmanship of previous generations of knitters and crocheters is always inspiring. However, it's important to remember that many things have changed since those patterns were written. Do not expect to buy a facsimile pattern or a cleaned up PDF pattern and be able to follow the directions!      Here's why: yarns have changed, needles and hooks have changed, sizes have changed, and most important standards of clarity have changed. The handbag pattern begins with these instructions: Please keep in mind that the only parts of the pattern that are missing in this picture are the directions for the straps and inserting a ...

Flowers are an inspiring source for many kinds of crocheted and knitted jewelry. If you pick a simple floral shape, you can interpret it in thread crochet using perle cotton or embroidery floss. Stitched with tiny hooks, these threads will be dense and will keep their shape. You can wash the rings by hand so they will last indefinitely.  I'm very fond of Zinnias. They come in many colors and shapes and always look quite bold. I began with a pretty zinnia in gold, orange, and hot pink. First I crocheted the flower. It took shape beginning with a circle and proceeding outward in tendrils of variegated color. Then I crocheted the band in a cotton and metallic dark gold perle cotton. I securely attached the flower to the band. This dramatic ring weighs almost nothing but packs a big visual punch. I hope you like it as much as I do! This ring is available now at my Etsy shop. Each of my fiber art jewelry pieces is one-of-a-kind so when this ring sells, I could only approximate a simila...

My flower garden is a great joy and one of the major sources of inspiration for my fiber art jewelry as well as my knitted and crocheted accessories. Each of my pieces begins with an image. In the case of this necklace, the image was of the humble morning glory. I'd like to invite you to share in my design process for making this piece. Once the image is determined, I gather my materials: *crochet hooks *threads in cotton, bamboo and silk *beads and other findings. I then experiment with shapes. I'm not seeking to duplicate nature, but to interpret it in order to design versatile wearable art. The Morning Glory may be worn as a long lariat, a doubled and twisted choker, and even as a dainty looking headband. This is made with fine threads, but it's crocheted so tightly that it's very durable and even hand washable to last for many years. Many people view morning glories as weeds because they're so invasive. I go after them in my garden too, but they're so lovely...

I'm really happy to say that after being included in dozens of treasuries on Etsy, my Fred Astaire Scarf is now going to a new home! I've always been a big fan of the debonaire Mr. Astaire and chose to include him in my series of knitwear dedicated to Old Time Movie Star Idols. Now that the scarf has a new owner, I've published a pattern so that even really new crocheters can make this fast and simple scarf. The pattern includes many suggestions for yarn and color variations, so there's no need to stick with the black and gray I chose for Fred. You can get this pattern at Craftsy Have fun making several of these for yourself or to give as holiday gifts. The scarf only takes a few hours and a small amount of yarn, so it's perfect for unique, inexpensive presents.

I don't know about you, but my search for a really great sunhat has been futile. Either they look good but don't keep enough sun off, or they're great looking but I don't want to lug around a big straw hat all day. (What do you do with those big hats when you go indoors?) Most hats I try on keep the sun off but look awful on me. However, with a ball of cotton worsted yarn and my trusty crochet hook, I've come up with a great solution. My new hat has a definite Retro 1940s look. I really love the elegant fashions of that period and they look just right now, too. Therefore, I'll show you the hat first in a photo montage I just made of Ingrid Bergman wearing it and gazed at adoringly by Humphrey Bogart! (Photoshop is so much fun!) Of course I can't promise you that you'll look like Ingrid when you wear this hat, but I can promise that if you have just the basic crochet skills, you'll be able to make it quickly, easily and inexpensively. In fact, the hat...

This is an update on my crocheted starfish. I had a lot of requests so I put together a pattern that includes the starfish brooch, earrings and ring. You can find it at Etsy and also at Craftsy The pattern shows all three starfish designs in turquoise, but I'm now working on some coral/apricot/tangerine starfish and really they look good in so many colors. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I always love to speak knitting and crochet, even though my patterns are always written in simple English.

My Turquoise Starfish Brooch and Ring are a call to the sea. I've loved poetry from my earliest years, most likely because of the music of its rhythms. I definitely remember learning this poem by heart when I was still quite young: This is meter right out of Homer and moves the spirit for sure! Starfish combine both the sea and the stars and also are wonderful design elements. A year or so ago I made a Turquoise Starfish Ring -- I used Perle cotton #5 to make it and it's been in quite a few Etsy treasuries. Then a few months ago, a customer asked me to make a starfish brooch -- Can you see the starfish impression on the shell? The brooch is made with a DK weight mercerized cotton. On my worktable right now is a starfish earring I've designed. This is made with variegated embroidery floss and the tiniest hook I could get to work with that easily separated thread. I'll mount these on silver plated ear wires. You can find the ring in my Etsy shop and the brooch here. fi...

I took a walk along 5th Avenue in NYC last week and noticed that there was a lot of orange to be seen in the department stores and boutiques. Now NYC is a basically black town. Everyone wears black all the time in all seasons. Yet, I saw orange in solids, patterns, and all shades from deep rust to bright orange. Does this have to do with the wretched economic times? Is there some designers' conspiracy to brighten us all up? I have no answers to this - just the observation of orange. This is not a problem for me because although I wear black most days, I do like to add some touches of bright color. My bright red shawl is shown in my last post. Here are some pictures of an orange shawl I made recently -- but before I took that walk on the Avenue. In addition to orange, I just love lace, especially hand knitted and crocheted lace which I love to combine in one garment. The beautiful handmade palm wood shawl pin is just right for fastening a lace shawl. It was made by a talented wood w...