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!!

Listen to the Audio Podcast

Book Review - Step into Crochet

Working in a yarn store is just too tempting at times. The sweet owner, my boss Chris, knows about my passion for crochet socks so it took me all of three seconds to purchase Step into Crochet by Rohn Strong when she handed me the newly arrived copy.
I am a big Rohn Strong fan. I first discovered him last year when I bought his book New Methods for Crochet Socks and this led to me to join his Facebook group Crochet Sock Addicts! I took part in his July sock CAL (crochetalong). And on that CAL I made the first pair of crochet socks that actually fit me. I didn't know before I started trying to crochet socks that I have a wider than average ankle and I had to customize them for my feet.

Rohn also has thick ankles and the first pair of socks he crocheted didn't fit him either. He wrote Step into Crochet to help people crochet socks that fit by teaching them "all there is to know about crocheted socks". And the book does just that. There are four chapters covering technique at the beginning of the book before you even get to the patterns. These chapters cover measurement, gauge, sock construction, stitch choice, heels, toes and cuffs and yarn choice. My favorite page has to be "Top five ways to adjust patterns for a custom fit". So helpful for me with my nonstandard feet!!

When I buy books I do tend to go for the ones that cover technique being a teacher it helps me with my students' questions. The patterns are almost secondary.However the patterns in this book are wonderful!! There are eighteen, grouped into Simple, Textured and Cabled, Colorwork and Lace. The three Textured sock patterns in particular are calling to me. They are gorgeous. I feel a little intimidated by the colorwork socks - but I've decided to work up to them. I really like the fact that each pattern gives details on what kind of heel and toe construction is used. I think one of the best things about having a collection of sock patterns is going through them and trying out new types of construction. Then you'll find out what your personal favorite is...

I would highly recommend this book. Rohn told me it took two years to write and he crocheted every single sample. It has taken me three months to design and write up one basic small sock pattern so I'm extremely grateful that he's there sharing all these tips and producing such amazing designs for us!!

Have a great week y'all. And leave me a comment about your crochet sock experiences below. I'd love to know!

Listen to the Audio Podcast

A serious case of crochet sock startitis

I have developed a serious case of sock startisis. In case you're not familiar with the term here's the Urban Dictionary definition:

Startitis: noun - Repeatedly starting new projects while still having multiple uncompleted projects.

 

Melanie is plagued by startitis. She frequently starts knitting something new rather than finish her other incomplete projects.

 

 

 

I am definitely making great progress on my summer mission to find the ultimate crochet sock pattern and I'm learning SO MUCH about socks but I now have five socks started but not completed. It feels a little excessive.

Sock #1 is the Survival Socks pattern that appear in an earlier post of mine The Hunt for the Ultimate Crochet Sock Begins and I'm working on this with one of my students in the weekly workshop I run on a Friday at my local yarn store. And I'm almost there. It's a toe up design and I'm just finishing off the cuff ahead of my student so that's fine. 

Sock #2 is the current most popular sock on Ravelry coincidentally called the Ultimate Crocheted Sock (with an -ed) by Dorothy Hardy. This time the pattern called for an extended single crochet stitch and I just LOVE how stretchy this stitch makes my sock compared to single crochet. However, still being the sock novice I need photos really and there was an error in the pattern which threw me a bit. And something odd happened with my gauge - the sock is huge. (I have since discovered that I need to make the sock 1/2 inch to 1 inch smaller than my foot circumference because this stitch will stretch.) #2 has been abandoned.
 
Sock #3 is above. It's from Karen Ratto-Whooley's absolutely super book I Can't Believe I'm Crocheting Socks which I bought recently. It's the cabled sock and I'm using Premier Yarns Wool-Free Sock Stripes yarn in the Phoenix colorway purchased from Hobby Lobby. I had intended to make a basic sock from Karen's book. She has both cuff-down and toe-up basic sock patterns in the books. But all of my sock stash is in fingering / sock weight and the patterns call for DK weight. It would be more sensible to start with thicker yarn and a bigger hook and work down to fine yarn so I can see the reason for the yarn weight choice. The basic sock patterns have extremely good photo tutorials with differently color coded parts of the sock. Looking at these I was able to visualize exactly what happens at different parts of a sock. For the cuff down pattern there is the cuff, leg, heel flap, heel turning, gusset, foot and toe. SO helpful!

The most recent socks that I've started #4 and #5 are not entirely my fault because I am working to someone else's deadline - Rohn Strong has a July sock crochetalong (sock #4) and also started a sock club this month (sock #5) which I couldn't really resist.

Well better get back to the socks..... Hope your week is going wonderfully!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The crochet sock pursuit continues

I've dedicated this summer to the pursuit of the ultimate crochet sock and with my first sock underway I decided to source more patterns that I could try out.

My first port of call was the Craft Yarn Council Certified Instructor's Program private Facebook group. Students, graduates and teachers all frequent this group so there are some extremely knowledgeable folk on there. My wonderful master crochet teacher, the always helpful and super friendly Barbara Van Elsen suggested I try Karen Whooley. I put her on my list.

 

Looking on Amazon.com I discovered Karen had written two crochet sock books. I ordered the first one I Can't Believe I'm Crocheting Socks published by Leisure Arts. What a great name! And then I looked for the most recently published crochet sock book. Crochet trends change and techniques do tend to improve over time.I found New Methods for Crochet Socks by Rohn Strong which was published by Annies' Crochet, another reputable crochet brand. 

Checking Rohn out online I discovered he is a Craftsy instructor teaching Crochet Socks: Essential Techniques Sold! I placed my order. Coincidently, one of my favorite American crochet podcasters Mary Bird was interviewing Rohn that same week. Socks came up A LOT in the interview and Marly is always great to tune in to so it is well worth a listen!

Rohn had also just set up a brand new Facebook group Crochet Sock Addicts! with a July Sock CAL (crochet along). What perfect timing! There is actually a scientific name for this phenomena when one thing leads to another "correlated novelties".

 

So while I was waiting for my two books to arrived I started on my second crochet sock ..... pictured above is the gauge swatch already underway.

Until next time, hook on everyone!