Free Yarn and a Cute Baby

This is the giant scumble I made with yarn destined for the trash by my friend Robin. She was quite frustrated with what she was making with it and threatened to trash over $100 in yarn. I saved it from a sad fate and am now working on a freeform wrap using these wonderful fibers.





My sweet love bug is 1 month old.

Hide and Seek

In my former life I moved, on average, every 6 months. I have now lived in the same house for 18 years so to compensate for the need for change I move my blog every 6 months. The fact that anyone can ever find me is nothing short of miraculous.

I am a newly devoted Mac owner and have decided to utilize the .mac account I paid for by setting up a website and blog all in one place. It is cool because it will be a one stop place to send family to see photos of the grandkids and other parts of my life. It will be the home to my blog and other webpages for my creative endeavors including Hip Cat Designs.

Check out my new page at: http://web.mac.com/sherylmeans/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html and be sure to subscribe with the RSS.

I plan on cross posting for a while to be sure the word gets out.

Happy Hooking to all my Hip Cat friends.

Larger Than Life

I fell in love with this bag the minute I saw it. My dilema was - what yarn and when will I find the time? This week both of those issues were solved. I realized that Suede, Suede Deluxe and Suede Tri-Color by Berroco would work beautifully for this bag. I began rummaging through our supply and came up with just the perfect combination to make a Hip Cat version of this bag.Guess what I'll be working on tonight?

Well, not one to rest on my laurels, I started putting together groups of this yarn and came up with 9 different combinations. I have put them together in kit form and will have them up on the Yarntopia website late tomorrow (hopefully the pictures will work too!). It will be a great deal as well. The average retail cost for the yarn alone is $104.00 and we'll sell the kit for $69.99 + shipping & handling.

I'll post pictures of my progress and hope to have some of you join in on the fun!

The Secret Self

I own my first Lexie Barnes Lady B. Amy calls this the Cadillac of knitting bags and as much as I love my Namaste Bags I am currently absolutely in love with my Baja. First of all, as you can see, I am totally color coordinated (crucial for any self respecting Hip Cat!). Secondly the bag has meaning on so many levels. At first it looks like a flowery (as we say here in the south) girly-girl bag. Upon closer inspection, however, one finds little surprises buried amongst the flowers.

Do you see them? Little faces peeking out from the darkness. When I first saw this bag I didn't like the idea of skulls, but the more I thought of it the more I liked the idea of a secret self. Who lurks inside of you?

The inside is luxuriously large and pink.

It is so me!

Back To The Future

This is the first hard cover crochet book I ever purchased. I did so in 1983 with the dream of crocheting garments and then designing crochet. Jump forward many years and I am finally working on this dream. What really struck me when I set up to take this photo is that the model is wearing a top that looks very much like Yarntopia's colors. I don't want to wax poetic or anything, but I find it so interesting how each and every experience in life builds upon itself, and if we are alert to our surroundings and true to the people in our lives then everything has a place and purpose.

Stitch Diva

Jennifer Hansen, aka The Stitch Diva, is another huge source of inspiration to me. Her crochet and knit designs are cutting edge, feminine, and fun. I have to admit that for a long time her patterns intimidated me. I'm not sure why. There is a great deal of information on the page and I think that visually I got bogged down and felt overwhelmed. It seemed ridiculous to me to carry these fabulous patterns at Yarntopia and not actually make them! I took the Celebrity Shawl for my trip to TNNA. I crocheted. I frogged. I crocheted. I frogged. Finally I had a V-8 moment and was able to figure it out. There is nothing hard about the stitch pattern or the instructions. I simply had preconceived ideas; didn't follow the directions exactly (made assumptions); and allowed myself to get bamboozled. Well, I am happy to report that I am past my mental block and proudly present...

Yarn: Silk Spun by Fleece Artist/Handmaiden in Yarntopia's signature blue, red & brown Hook: I

There is far less yarn in one hank of Silk Spun than the pattern calls for, but I decided to crochet until I ran out of yarn and see what I get. I know it will be big enough for a shoulder wrap. I plan on teaching a class using this pattern later in the summer and I want to show folks what can be done with this yarn.

We ordered all of Jennifer's new patterns. Go to her website and check out all the cool stuff she is doing.

FOs But No Patterns

I can create garments. This in and of itself is a major revelation to me. The problem, however, is the discipline to write patterns. At least - thanks to so many wonderful designers/bloggers - I have learned great tips and now do a better job of keeping notes as I work. I hear this pattern writing problem is not unusual, and it is nice to have company at the bottom of my crochet quagmire.

The above items came off my hook in May. Flash, made with Flotsam and trimmed in Fauve both by Louisa Harding, got its name because it reminds Amy of Flash Dance...not sure I want to go back to the '80's but I do love this top. It makes me feel rather sassy when I wear this little off the shoulder number.

On the right is a vest made with Noro's Silk Garden and trimmed with 1824 Cotton. I can't think of a name for this one yet - somehow "Silk Garden" just seems so predictable. This is actually my second attempt at making this - the first is gorgeous but ended up being WAY too big for me. Even this one became noticeably larger in the blocking process. Something to remember and pass along to those who choose to use this yarn.

"Louisa"

I am absolutely in love with the current fabric coming off my hook. Again I am using Louisa Harding. This time it is Cinnabar, a cotton, linen and silk blend that I absolutely fell in love with. I am combining it with Louisa's Nautical Cotton. There is such joy for me in the creation of fabric. Louisa Harding is a master at combining her yarns to produce wonderful textures and colors, and is an inspiration to me. My original idea for this garment is evolving as I continue to work. The motif in Nautical Cotton looks fabulous against the backdrop of the fabric. This is the artistic side of me. I create as I tend to live - on the fly and ever evolving.

Crochet Revolution

The picture may be slightly blurry but the passion and vision are clear to all -there is a crochet revolution underway and the fiber world will never be the same.

Three years ago http://www.crochetme.com/ was founded by Kim Werker because she could not find the kind of crochet patterns she desperately wanted - fun, modern, and hip. Kim is now the editor of Interweave Crochet and is working with others to bring crochet out of the closet and into the public awareness. Kim is young and most of the crochetme designers are young, 20 & 30 something professionals who just love to crochet. There are many others of us who learned to crochet in the 70's and remember the days when crochet ruled the needlework world.

Our mission is not to replace knitting or any other form of creative expression, rather to create a welcoming environment where crochet is valued and appreciated; where crocheters are as welcome in yarn shops as knitters; an environment in which "bitextural" folks can stand proud. We long for yarn companies to produce patterns and books for crocheters that takes full advantage of the unique characteristics of crochet.

Raise Your Hooks High and Crochet with Pride!

There are some very famous crochet faces in this crowd.

Houston's own Drew Embrosky - The Crochet Dude yukking it up for the camera. Amy is having fun and Doris Chan (foreground) is also having a good laugh.

Drew gets around; here he is with Candi Jensen and Marty Miller.

Without a doubt the highlight of my trip to TNNA was meeting and crocheting with these amazing people. Coming together with a common passion and vision for our craft is both exhilarating and motivating. I came home ready to hit the ground running. I have 2 of my original designs on display at the shop. I am in the process of writing patterns for both. I came home with a clearer vision of myself as a crocheter, shop owner and designer. I feel free to find my own design style and express it confidently. Jennifer Hansen (The Stitch Diva) and Kristeen Griffin-Grimes (The French Girl) are both a huge inspiration to me. Their work stands out from the crowd because it is unique and totally represents their personal sense of style. Stefanie Japel (Glampyre) is the knitting version of this inspiration. That is my goal - to communicate a unique sense of style through my crochet. So, I will continue to create. I want to traverse my own trail rather than following the crowd even if it means I travel alone.

Until next time - crochet with pride!