Back to School Sweater CAL - Celebration of Making

What an amazing few months Helen of Making at Number 14 and I have had planning and running our Back to School Sweater CAL (crochetalong) and blog hop. We'll be closing the FO (finished objects) thread on Ravelry shortly and running the random number generator for prizes. As we write there are 53 gorgeous finished objects in there and/or tagged with #BackToSchoolSweaterCAL on Instagram. Seven makers have made two garments and two speedy makers have made three in the eight week period of the CAL from September 16th to November 17th. Incredible!

We've loved hanging out in the Ravelry chatter thread, kindly hosted by the wonderful Fay of the Crochet Circle Podcast, and over 50 of us have shared our garment making experiences together. We even had a frogging party where a fair few of us, Helen and myself included, had to frog our garments to get them to fit correctly!  There have been over 400 super photos posted on Instagram with the hashtag #BackToSchoolSweaterCAL

Many participants have been making sweaters for the first time. We've had comments on how they now see themselves as garment makers as a result of taking part. We've also received lots of feedback about how useful the blog hop posts have been (details here just in case you missed it). This has made the whole crochetalong so worthwhile for us, SO much better than just making our own garments by ourselves.

We'd like to say a huge thank you to all the bloggers who wrote a blog article (or two!) for us: JoJoTwinkletoes, The Crochet Project, Sam of SingASimpleMelody , Fay of the Crochet Circle Podcast and Knit It Hook It Craft It and Marta or MrsDaftSpaniel and for all the folk who have donated prizes: Marta, The Crochet Project, Fay, Rosina from Zeens and Roger, Yael from Emyahandmade and Lisa too. A special extra thank you goes to Fay for letting us host our CAL and FO thread in her Crochet Circle Podcast group.

And a huge thank you and congratulations to all the people who have taken part and made a wonderful handmade garment of their own!!! Let us know if you'd like to do it all over again next year!!?

I'm taking a little blog break over the holidays (here in the US we have Thanksgiving next week) so I won't be blogging next week but I'll be back soon depending on how I'm getting on with my frenzied Christmas making! In the meantime you can find me over on Ravelry, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook as CraftyEscapism.

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Woah We're Halfway There

Lovely Rosina from the Zeens and Roger podcast wrote a wonderful blog post this week about our Back to School Sweater crochetalong which included several photos of herself sporting not one but two sweaters. She is one of several talented crocheters out there who had never made a crochet garment until our CAL. I just love that!! 

Her blog post reminded me that we're only halfway there. You have until November 17th to finish a garment and post a photo of in the Ravelry finished objects thread in the Crochet Circle Podcast Group or post the photo on Instagram with the hashtag #BackToSchoolSweaterCAL Come on, you can do it! It's four weeks today.

If you need guidance on making a crochet garment we have our helpful blog hop series. Helen of Making at Number 14 my amazing CAL co-host came up with a really comprehensive list of topics. So please do check them out if you 

Week 1 - 5 Reasons to Make a Crochet Garment by myself

Week 2 - Current Trends / Choosing a Style to Suit you by Jojotwinkletoes

Week 3 - Yarn Substitution by Helen

Week 4 - Measuring & Swatching by The Crochet Project

Week 5 - Making Alterations to Fit by Sam

Week 6 - Finishing and Blocking by Fay

Week 7 - Designing a Crocheted Garment by Marta

And there are some wonderful prizes to tempt you!
Baby cardigan pattern & yarn to make it from Marta MrsDaftSpaniel
A pattern from The Crochet Project
Blocking kit from Fay of Knit It Hook It Craft It
Set of stitch markers from Helen Making at Number 14
Three Squirrel crochet hooks from myself
A pattern of your choice from Rosina Zeens and Roger
A project bag of your choice from Emyahandmade
Sugar & Cream 100% cotton yarn from Lisa

Anyway to finish up I'd though I'd share some of the lovely FOs (finished objects) posted so far on Instagram. These talented folk have all given me permission to share their photos. I know not everyone who reads my blog is on social media and you just have to see all this crochet garment loveliness! Have a wonderful week everyone!

 From top left clockwise @sophiexuan @crogemcrochet
@_toni_white @thecrochetninja

 From top left clockwise @alicecloseknit @hayrie
@jojotwinkletoes @aspoonfulofyarn

From top left clockwise @knitithookit @andthentherewasmorgan

@zeensandroger @heleneccles1

From top left clockwise @justalilbitcrafty @alicecloseknit

@flicmerrison @lisapinenotes

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Back to School Sweater CAL - Garment in Progress

In January I decided this was going to be the Year of the Crochet Garment - I even blogged about it - and I bought a book: Top Down Crochet Sweaters by Dora Ohrenstein and wrote a review on it. I managed to make one garment the Tunisian Entrelac Yoga Top by Elena Fedotova and finish off another the Classic Sweater by Rachel Choi but then was hopelessly distracted by CALs (crochetalongs) and preparing my class on crochet socks for the Houston Fiber Fest. Fortunately Helen, amazing crocheter and blogger at Making at Number 14 proposed that we organize a Crochet Garment CAL and the Back to Sweater Sweater CAL was born so this year has been turned out to be the Year of the Garment after all - and not just my garment which is even better!

Pattern: The pattern I chose had to be from my Dora Ohrenstein book having bought it so long ago and raved on about it. I chose the specific pattern I did, Zora, because the stitch design looked fun and I thought the vertical lace and v stitch panels would be flattering.

Yarn: I used mainly stash yarn, Rowan Pure Wool 4ply, bought from a super sale at John Lewis in Norwich in the UK visiting my sister-in-law a few summers ago. I bought it because it was in the sale, wool wasn't too scratchy and I liked the color. I didn't have quite have enough and it was discontinued but I found three extra balls from Love Knitting. 

Progress: My progress has been variable on the sweater. It took forever to get my yoke right. Gauge in the round is not the same as flat gauge. And my gauge swatch was for the v stitch pattern. My yoke had v stitch panels with eight sets of lace stitches between them. My lace stitches stretched a lot, far more than the v stitches. Plus my stitches are wide and short so that was another variable to factor into my calculations. I know I could use the golden loop method to increase the height of my stiches but I stubbornly stick with my shorter stitches. If I was seriously going to get into designing I would probably make a concerted effort to change. Here's a link to a video by Deja Joy Fixing Gauge When Height Is Incorrect AKA Golden Loop Method if you're wondering what I'm going on about. Anyway, after frogging back the yoke three times, I eventually got there.

I was not alone though! Over on Ravelry in The Crochet Circle Podcast Group we had a yoke frogging party going on for those who had chosen top down designs. But the bonus of so much frogging was that I nailed that stitch design and consequently the rest of my sweater was fast.

I slowed down again waiting for Fay's blog post on Blocking to finish it. I thought I knew everything about finishing and blocking but no, apparently not. So here she is my Zora!

Hope you enjoyed our blog post last week from Marta with Designing a Crocheted Garment. Next week, continuing on our blog hop, we will have a garment in progress blog post from Sam of Sing a Simple Melody. I can't wait! Have a great week y'all!

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The Autumn WiP-Along Starts Tomorrow

I'm joining in with Love Charlie Crochet's Autumn WiP Along that she's running with Gosling and Plumb. It takes place throughout the month of October so is starting tomorrow. WiP stands for Works in Progress and any craft qualifies: knitting, crochet, sewing... etc. It's happening on Instagram with the hashtag #AutumnWal17  Charlie is a new crochet podcaster I've been following for a while and she is extremely sweet and very talented but she doesn't seem to know it. Head over to her LoveCharlieCrochet You Tube Channel to check it out.

And good news - my sock crojo has been rekindled by a Sock-a-long run by StarryEyesAli. It's called the Strictly 2017 Sock-a-long and you're only meant to work on your socks while you're watching Strictly Come Dancing. This is a British show that I've enjoyed in the past so I thought I'd try out the US equivalent which just started, Dancing with the Stars, but it's not going work because even though we have lived in the US for five years I don't know any of the stars. I just don't watch enough TV obviously. However, the rules for the Sock-a-long are very flexible and you're allowed to work on your project as long as you're watching a podcaster who is participating in the Sock-a-along. Of course I love this blatant rule-bending because I've discovered more lovely podcasters: Little Drops of Wonderful (by StarryEyesAli herself) and Nordic Stitches by knitting designer Lilli who lives in Norway. And my socks are coming along nicely. There must be other podcasters also taking part - I need to hunt them down using the #strictly2017socks hashtag on Instagram and in the Ravelry thread. Do let me know if there are any more!

No doubt I'll be sharing the latest on my Back To School Sweater CAL (and I have a "Garment in progress" spot in our blog hop on the 14th of October so you'll get more chatter on my specific garment from me then). I finally made a yoke that fits - hurray! - and I'm just about ready for the next stop on our blog hop from lovely Fay of the Crochet Circle Podcast. It's on the subject of Finishing, Washing & Blocking. Check it out here on Fay's company website which is: Knit it Hook It Craft It  and have a wonderful week everyone!

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The Back to School Sweater CAL is underway!

Our Back to School Sweater CAL started just one week ago... and it's just so exciting. It's probably in my top three most exciting crochet-related things that have happened to me along with getting a job at my local yarn store and teaching at the Houston Fiber Fest. I have really got to stop checking our hashtag #BackToSchoolSweaterCAL on Instagram so often. I've become quite obsessed. There are over 150 posts as I write this ... and every day there are more. And we have 50 voices in our CAL Ravelry thread in the Crochet Circle Podcast group. I've forgotten about ALL my other WIPs. It's all consuming.

I am making Zora by Dora Ohrenstein. I thought I'd get to know Dora a little better and if you read this blog or listen to my podcast version you know that I absolutely love my podcasts. I found an interview on the excellent Power Purls Podcast which took place around about the time that Dora released her book Top Down Crochet Sweaters.

Kara Gott Warner doesn't have many crochet guests on her podcast so that's an indication of how great Dora is and after listening to this I have a total fan girl crush on her and I've had to buy another one of her books called to The Crocheter's Skill-Building Workshop: Essential Techniques for Becoming a More Versatile, Adventurous Crocheter just to see if I'm adventurous enough yet. Maybe I am, maybe not! It's a technique book and I love techniques.

My Zora is not really going very well. My yoke is too wide. I'm on my third try. But I am loving it anyway despite my low level frustration and Dora's book Top Down Crochet Sweaters has a decent technique section to help. There are V stitches and lace parts with picots. It's lovely. Fortunately this week's blog post on our fabulous blog hop is on the subject of alterations. It's by Sam of Sing A Simply Melody. She is a crochet designer and tech editor (in fact she edited my leftover sock pattern). Check it out: Making Alterations.

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7 Days & Counting Until the CAL

Yay - it's seven days and counting until our Back to School Sweater CAL starts on the 16th of September.... It has been SOOO hard not to get started on my sweater. Some people have been a little bit naughty and in their enthusiasm have already started on theirs (and even finished!) Anyway, please do go over to the chatter thread in the Crochet Circle Podcast group on Ravelry to join us and you'll see which patterns and yarn choices people are making. I've guestimated we have at least forty makers... going by comments in the group and those on Instagram using our hashtag #BackToSchoolSweaterCAL (this is another way to join in if you're not a Ravelry person).

And our accompanying blog hop is underway already. I was first up, two weeks ago and my post 5 reasons to make a crochet garment is already my third most popular of all time on my blog. And I'm stunned by how many comments I've had. I love it! Jo (JoJoTwinkleToes) wrote a fabulous second post last week on Current Trends and Choosing a Style to Suit you and it really got me thinking this week about my garment making history - the successes and the huge fails. Why did some garments turn out so badly? And when they looked good, how did this happen? I've come up two theories:

1. The style has to suit your figure
Jo was right that you've got to carefully choose a style that suits you and that you've got be honest about your body shape. I'm not going make a cropped top and my upper arms need covering up. A garment that is shaped to my waist works because of my curvy figure. And I find a wider neckline balance my hips. I very carefully scrutinize all of the project photos on Ravelry to see what the garment looks like on different body shapes.
 
2. Fitted garments look better in lighter weight yarn
I've found that fitted garments made from thicker than a DK / light worsted weight yarn just don't look flattering on me. I am not going to link you to one of these horrors. However, I have had success with a heavier worsted weight yarn with my Butterfly Garden Cocoon Shrug because it wasn't loose fitting. Helen is writing about this in her blog post this week Making at number 14 so I'm looking forward to more insight on yarn choice.

Anyway I'd love to know if you have any alternative theories about making successful garments! Let me know in the comments below...

Still on the subject of the CAL, I wanted to let you know that the Crochet Project have very kindly offered CAL participants a discount until the 20th of September on the patterns in their Ravelry store. The 25% discount code backtoschool25 can be applied to individual garment patterns as well as books that contain cardigans, sweaters or tees  

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Six CALs for Fall 2017

I thought I'd do a little CAL round up this week because we have a few starting this month including my very own - the Back To School Sweater CAL!! I just LOVE a good crochetalong . Check out my post 5 Reasons to Join a CAL in my blog archives! 

1 Back To School Sweater CAL
I'm hosting this CAL (the accompanying blog hop is already underway) with Helen of Making at Number 14! It starts on the 16th of September and runs for 8 weeks until 17th of November. All the details are on my CAL page on my website here. You can chose to make any crochet garment and a few enthusiastic folk have started already!!  We're using the hashtag #BackToSchoolSweaterCAL to share our progress on Instagram and there is chatter in Fay's Crochet Circle Podcast Ravelry group here. 

2. Spotting Clouds Top CAL
Clarisabeth from the Crochet Cakes Podcast is hosting a Spotting Clouds Top CAL. This top is designed by Christina Hadderingh who designed the extremely popular Hotel of Bees Shawl so I know the pattern will be well written because I've made this shawl. It started on 21st of August and runs until 14th of October so there is still time. You could make this one for your Back to School Sweater CAL... that's a possibility!! The details and chatter are here in the Podcast Ravelry group.

3, September Shawlalong 
Hannah from the Cozy Cottage Podcast is hosting a shawl crochetalong called the September Shawlalong which runs for the months of September and October. I'll definitely be joining in with this ...  and I may well be double dipping with the next CAL on this list. But I am also very tempted by the crochet version of the Wonder Woman Wrap designed by Clarissa Browning who also designed the knit version. And I still haven't made a Blurre Shawl and I really want to.  The chatter thread for the shawalong is on Ravelry here. Hannah is also going to be running a Tunisian Crochetalong with Claudia from the Crochet Luna Podcast and I believe Claudia will be talking about this in her podcast this weekend. Another CAL to look forward to!

4. #CAKECAL
Emma from  the Potter and Bloom podcast has a shawlong (well it's actually a stolealong rather than a shawl) with a pattern that she designed herself Liula which runs through September and October. Emma's stole is a beautiful stitch pattern and uses a color changing cake of gradient yarn hence the name #cakecal. Here's the chatter thread in the Potter and Bloom Ravelry group. I just watched Emma's most recent podcast and the CAL will run for an additional two weeks to a month to give everyone a chance to buy their yarn. 

5. #HiddenTempleCAL

Rohn Strong has a crochet sock CAL running in collaboration with Happily Hooked Magazine which started just yesterday, September 1st. There is a Happily Hooked Crochet Along group on Facebook to join. The design looks lovely. I am a total sucker for crochet socks so I might have just have to join in while I wait for my CAKECAL yarn!!

6. Welcome Blanket CAL/KAL/QAL

This CAL/KAL/QAL (is a quilt along called a QAL?) is already running and the dates to get your blankets sent off by has recently been extended to November 4th. The blankets are currently being displayed at the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago. When the show ends all of the blankets will be given to refugees and immigrants to welcome them to the US. We moved here five years ago and were made to feel very welcome in Texas so I feel that this is a good craftivism cause to participate in. Further details (and patterns) are here. I'm using one of the designs but rather than crocheting squares and joining them together I am making a tapestry crochet blanket in two colors with tassels at the sides (see the photo).

Anyway I'd love to know if you're joining in on one or more of these CALs and if there are any more CALs going on please add these in the comments for us all to see. Have a wonderful week everyone!!

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5 Reasons to Make a Crochet Garment

I'm really excited to be kicking off the Back To School Sweater Blog Hop with this first blog post in the series. Helen and I have had a super response so far from fellow crocheters who are planning to join us in the crochetalong starting on the 16th of September. But for those who are hesitating....and need that extra bit of persuasion here's my top 5 list of reasons to make a crochet garment.

1 Master new crochet skills
Making a garment that fits is, in my mind, one of the more advanced crochet projects you can undertake. There's just more involved with this kind of project including taking body measurements and making gauge calculations. You can make blankets and scarfs without ever calculating gauge - sort of winging it and end up playing yarn chicken and win or have to buy an extra ball. We've all done it. But with a garment it just won't fit if you don't calculate gauge. But please don't feel daunted by this because our blog hop is aimed at helping you to master these skills. Joanne and Kat from the Crochet Project will cover measurements and gauge in their blog post on 16th of September and Sam of Sing a Simple Melody will cover alterations in her blog post a week after that.  You will be ready!

2 You have enough shawls, honestly you do!
You have made enough shawls for yourself as well as other crochet-worthy family and friends. Be honest with yourself -  do you need another shawl? I really love making shawls and I'm not going to stop anytime soon but if I am really truthful, and you should be too, it's time for another type of project.

3 Make a handmade wardrobe
A handmade wardrobe has been very on trend in recent years. My sewing skills are not the best but I can join these hipsters with my lovingly crocheted handmade sweater. Now it's fashionable to have a more sustainable wardrobe. We buy fewer items and wear garments that last a long time. This suits me because I've never really been very fashionable, I don't like clothes shopping but I do like yarn shopping and now I get to be cool for the first time with my crochet garment.

4 To show off

You are skillful enough in your craft to do this. Wear your crochet garment and own those skills. Enjoy the compliments when people ask you "Did you make that?" and you can answer with pride "Well, yes I did!" And if you've going to a yarn event it's almost obligatory to wear something that you made. The Rhinebeck New York Sheep and Wool Festival in October even has a name for the sweater you make to wear at their event "The Rhinebeck Sweater". I'd forgotten all about this but in our Ravelry group we have a crocheter who is making a garment specifically to show off at Rhinebeck! 

5 A crochet garment is calling you
This happens to me quite often (it happens with yarn as well). I see a crochet garment and I feel totally compelled to make it. I keep thinking about it and I just have to give in to the call. If you don't currently have a garment in your favorites list, we have gathered together some patterns in a bundle on Ravelry for you. Check it out. Perhaps one of the garments is calling you....

Our next stop on the blog hop, one week today on 2nd September, will be prolific crocheter Jo or  @JoJoTwinkleToes as she is known on Instagram writing on her blog http://jojotwinkletoes.blogspot.co.uk/ about current trends, choosing a style to suit you and designers to check out. Plenty of inspiration is coming your way! 

Please do join us in the Ravelry chatter thread hosted in the Crochet Circle Podcast group which is become rather lively and if you're an Instagram fan we're using #BackToSchoolSweaterCAL We start three weeks today!!

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Announcing the Back to School Sweater Crochet Along

I'm hosting my very own crochetalong this autumn! Yay! I do hope you'll join in!! My friend Helen, fellow British yarn enthusiast and blogger suggested we organize a crochetalong together to spread the crochet garment love. How could I refuse!!!?? The crochetalong, or CAL for short, runs for 8 weeks from 16th September to 17th November.  We also invited some other British crochet bloggers to join us in an accompanying blog hop focusing on different aspects of crochet garment technique. These weekly blog articles start before the CAL on 26th August so we'll all be ready to go mid September!! 

Introducing our group of bloggers:
@craftyescapism - that's me, Tamara, crochet teacher and blogger at CraftyEscapism
@knitithookit - Fay from the Crochet Circle Podcast, owner of Knit It - Hook It - Craft It
@heleneccles1 - Helen, crafter and blogger at MakingAtNumber14
@jojotwinkletoes - Jo, crochet is her thing, at JojoTwinkletoes
@mrsdaftspaniel - Marta, crochet designer, blogging at MrsDaftSpaniel
@samsimplemelody - Sam, crochet designer and tech editor at SingASimpleMelody
and last but not least:
@thecrochetproj - Joanne and Kat at The Crochet Project, designers blogging at TheCrochetProject

And our Blog Hop schedule in brief is as follows:

We will use the hashtag #BackToSchoolSweaterCAL on Instagram and Fay from the Crochet Circle Podcast is hosting a thread in her Ravelry group too. The chatter has already begun so please do visit the thread! We have also shared a few patterns we have made and enjoyed in a Ravelry bundle if you're looking for a little inspiration! Prizes and discount codes on patterns will be revealed in Fay's next podcast which will be available Friday 4th August so make sure you tune into The Crochet Circle Podcast then!

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