TT Tuesday Tutorial Solomon's/Lover's Knot Crochet Stitch

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Tuesday Tutorial

Lover's Knot is a beautiful, lacy crochet stitch that I have always wanted to master. I love this stitch!

Pia has a great tutorial on her blog, Stitches N Scraps that will teach you how to create this lovely stitch!

The tutorial can be accessed  HERE

You can also read about the origins of the Solomon's Knot  HERE

Give it a try and you just might fall in love with this stitch also!




Photo courtesy of Pia of Stitches N Scraps.
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Crochet Stitches Giveaway Winner

Good morning! We have a winner! Congratulations goes out to Shawn of New York for winning Robyn's new book, Crochet Stitches, Visual Encyclopedia. Shawn is an AVID crocheter who makes a lot of gifts and charity items in crochet. She is thrilled to win this book! Thank you, thank you to all who participated. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for SEVERAL new crochet book reviews! After all, it is the gift giving season!

Crochet Stitches, Visual Encyclopedia by Robyn Chachula

At Cute Crochet Chat, we LOVE any kind of giveaway! Today I am pleased to review (and give away) a wonderful new book by the incredibly popular crochet designer, Robyn Chachula. The book is entitled, Crochet Stitches, Visual Encyclopedia and is published by Wiley. It has been a while since I have seen a crochet book that is so visually appealing.

This book is beautiful. But Crochet Stitches, Visual Encyclopedia is so much more than that! This is a book that you will keep in your crochet library forever. This is a book that you will browse through when you want to be visually inspired. This is a book that you will pick up when you are looking for just-the-right-stitch-pattern for your latest design or project. This is a book that you will go to when you want to LEARN a new crochet stitch pattern or when you want to EXPERIMENT with new crochet stitch patterns. Not enough? There are stitch patterns in this book that I have not seen anywhere else!










Each crochet stitch pattern is accompanied by beautiful full color photographs and easy to read stitch diagrams. There are TIPS throughout the book, which will make learning and using the stitch patterns even more enjoyable!

There are a whopping 36 individual crochet stitch categories, encompassing nine chapters! Included are Simple Stitches, Textured Stitches, Lace Stitches, *Unique* Lace Stitches, Colorwork Stitches, Tunisian Stitches, Square and Hexagonal Motifs, Flower and Snowflake Joining Motifs, and Edging Stitches!

Some of my favorites are the Circular Motifs and the Partial Motif patterns.







Robyn was gracious enough to answer a few questions for our readers!

1. Do you have a favorite book that you have authored?

That is a hard question since I am in love or hate every book I have worked on.  It all depends.  Right now I am loving this encyclopedia.  I have one stationed upstairs in my office and downstairs in my living room.  I am coming back to it over and over while I am writing my new book.  And that is exactly what I wanted to do.  I really wrote this one for me, to catalog all my favorite patterns in one place. *  And so far I have been really using it.  But I am sure my mood will switch and I will get fall back in love with another soon.
* (Reviewer's Note) I love the fact that Robyn initially wanted to write the book so she could compile all her favorite stitches and motifs into one resource!


2. Which is your favorite crochet technique?

Again, it all depends on the way the wind is blowing.  I adore motifs when I am exploring a yarn for the first time.  I love simple stitch patterns to highlight more challenging garment construction.  I use Tunisian to relax after a stressful day; I just love the woven look some patterns can give. 


3. Do you ever crochet from other designer's crochet patterns and if so, do you prefer to follow the written instructions or a visual stitch diagram?

I rarely have time to do anything but my own work.  I think the last time was 18 months ago, when we were moving actually.  And even then, I made up my own pattern.  I do like reading patterns though.  I love to see how another designer's brain works.  For me, stitch diagrams are the key to reading.  I am dyslexic, and the abbreviations are incredibly difficult. That's why I love stitch diagrams.  I can follow those so much easier and really understand how a piece goes together.

Thank you, Robyn, for giving us a glimpse into your design world! If you would like to "meet" Robyn or learn more about her new book, she recently was interviewed on Getting Loopy podcast and Yarn Thing podcast and LB YarnCraft podcast.
Just for FUN, Wiley is giving away a copy of Crochet Stitches to ONE lucky reader of Cute Crochet Chat! In order to be eligible to win, comment on this blog and tell our readers how you have used crochet stitch dictionaries in the past to enhance your crocheting! If you have not done so before, HOW WOULD you use this crochet stitch encyclopedia? Please DON'T FORGET to leave a contact email address in your comment!
A thank you goes out to Wiley Publishing for providing the review copy to Cute Crochet Chat and also the giveaway copy of the book!
You may also purchase a copy of this book at Amazon.

Crochet Eye Candy

Let's face it; we're hooked on crochet and everything it has to do with, ie yarn, hooks, crochet patterns, etc. In this new, ongoing feature, I am going to share photos and links of some of the things I find interesting in crochet. I might just include some knitting, also!

 
I LOVE this pineapple crochet sarong, designed by Dora Ohrenstein, in the current issue of Crochet Today! The beautiful, lacy pineapple stitch is one of my all time favorites and it looks as though this could be stitched up quickly using Lustre Sheen instead of thread. The design is also shown as a scarf or wrap, which makes it very versatile.

 Crochet is such an incredible craft, in that it is so versatile! You can go from a very pretty and lacy shawl (as above) to a formed and stuffed item! This adorable crochet chair is an example of how crochet can become anything! I love all the dainty details of this design. The pattern can be purchased from AmiEggs Etsy shop!







Is this the cutest baby hat that you have ever seen? I ♥ it! Crochet baby photography props have become all the rage lately and designers are outdoing themselves to create some of the sweetest looking crochet yet. This adorable Lamb crochet pattern is available for purchase at RAKJ Patterns.

 

I flipped out when I saw this gorgeous Mega Doily crochet rug!  It is truly a work-of-art. The rug is crocheted with cotton rope and is 3 feet in diameter. It can also be made in custom sizes. I cannot imagine crocheting with any material this large, but I think Ladies and Gentlemen did a beautiful job! The rug carries a hefty price, but I would bet it is worth every penny!






 
I hope you have enjoyed our first Crochet Eye Candy post. If you crochet and would like to be included in future Eye Candy posts, email me at toocutecrochet AT gmail DOT com
Stay tuned for our next update, which will be another crochet book review and, of course, a GIVEAWAY!

I recently created a new Facebook business page for Too Cute Crochet! If you are on Facebook or would like to join, please stop by our NEW PAGE ! Thanks!

50 Ripples Stitches Crochet Book Review and GIVEAWAY!

What a treat! A book devoted only to crochet ripple stitches! I love crochet stitch reference books. I have several different ones and the books that have beautiful color photos are my favorite.

As a designer who loves crochet stitch patterns, crochet stitch reference books can be so inspirational when contemplating my next design.

This new book, "50 Ripple Stitches" by Darla Sims and published by Annie's Attic is definitely a book that you will want to add to your crochet stitch library. Since I learned to crochet, ripple stitches have been one of my favorites stitch patterns, especially in afghans and dishcloths. But I recently designed a women's headband in a ripple chevron stitch (you can view it on the left sidebar), so wearables can be designed with these pattern stitches also! There is something magical about the variety of patterns that can be achieved just by changing the order of your basic ch, sc, and dc stitches! I think ripple stitches also remind me of quilt patterns, which I love! 

"50 Ripple Stitches" has such a variety of ripples with so many different stitch patterns!

Each listed Ripple Stitch has very detailed instructions. Each Stitch is named,  the Pattern Notes tell you how many colors are used in each sample, it outlines the Special Stitch for each pattern, then gives row by row instructions on how to duplicate the stitch pattern.

There are some incredibly UNIQUE and fresh Ripple Stitches in the book including

                                                                      SWEET DREAMS

 AND

                                                                         CURLIQUES

Some of my most favorites stitch patterns are:                           

                                                                       BODACIOUS

                                                                     LITTLE HEARTS

                                                                     PRETTY POSIES

Besides the ripple stitch patterns, this book includes:

1. An illustrated Stitch Guide with stitch abbreviations,
2. A yarn conversion chart, 
3. A conversion chart for both United States and United Kingdom crochet stitches.

Some of the ripple patterns were familiar to me but most were ripple stitch patterns that I have not seen before, which is a great plus!


Annie's Attic has generously supplied us with TWO books for our giveaway! In order to be eligible to win one of these books, become a FOLLOWER OF THIS BLOG in the left sidebar (if you have not already done so!) and leave a comment on this post.  Let us know if you have any crochet stitch reference guides and which one you like best! I am going to enjoy seeing all the responses! PLEASE, PLEASE don't forget to leave your contact information and/or email address, so we can contact you if you are one of the winners!
Two (2) lucky winners will be drawn at random at the end of the contest!
I ♥ giving things away! Good luck!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. THANKS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED!

Interesting New Pillow Pattern

Most crocheters love new and interesting pattern stitches. I think a lot of you will love the new, complimentary pattern I just uploaded to my pattern blog at: Cute Crochet Blog Patterns. It is a lovely pillow pattern designed by Michele Wilcox that has a very cool stitch pattern, that once learned, is really fun to do. The stitches are called Embossed Roundels. Check it out HERE!