New Patterns winter 2021

 My fans have requested patterns for these two collections, and they are on the way. Sign up for my email newsletter for notices and for the occasional FREE pattern (see below for details).

"Baby, You Can Drive My Car" was inspired by the birth of a baby girl to a family who owns an auto repair shop. The cars are the right size for little hands to grip and go, "vroom-vroom!" They are designed in 5 different shapes using Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice in some wonderful colors.

"Birthday at the Circus" is inspired by the colors of birthday cakes and vintage circus. The yarn I originally used for the animals has been discontinued, but I just discovered a new yarn by Lion Brand, A Star is Born Naptime, so I'll be re-working the whole gang--I think they'll be even sweeter and softer!

To sign up for my email newsletter, send a note to:

Donna (dot) Childs (dot) Crochets (at) gmail (dot) com 

Be assured I will never give out your email address to anyone, and I promise I will not flood your mailbox. You will get notices of new patterns and occasionally, a FREE pattern before I offer it for sale.

Check out my Ravelry page--and keep crocheting! 

#lionbrand #lionbrandyarn

Natural Dyes

Back in my hippie days, I spent a month on a sheep farm. I learned to spin yarn from fleece, and how to dye the wool using materials found in nature.

I slept on a cot near a stove, took long walks to gather plants in the morning, simmered batches of dyestuff in the afternoon, and at night, under the big sky full of stars, ate cheese and fruits from nearby farms.

After I produced yarns in about fifty different colors, I was challenged to make a final project of my own design. I came up with this vest.

I've been feeling a bit nostalgic, and thought I'd try doing some more natural dyeing this summer, but on a much smaller scale. I'm experimenting with dying small skeins of superwash wool yarn (approx. 30 yards/1 oz each) using the same method I use to make sun tea: put all ingredients in a glass jar with water, and leave it out in the sun.

I dissolved about an 8th of a teaspoon of alum (as mordant to fix the dye), added the vegetable matter and yarn to the jar, and topped it off with tap water.

The finished balls of yarn in the foreground were dyed in this method using turmeric (bright orange), spinach (yellow-green), blueberry (purple), and black beans (blue gray)--a small skein of undyed wool is shown for contrast. Steeping in the jars with some yarn are fennel, coffee grounds, and red cabbage.

If you are interested in trying natural dyeing for yourself, I've listed some particularly inspiring books below. The small batch dying is something I have come up with myself--some take a day, some take several days, some need more plant material added later. 

There's a lot of room for experimenting and having fun! Would I get different colors if I added vinegar, sea water, or a rusty nail to the jar? What if I used cotton instead of wool? This could make a good science experiment for home-schoolers.

Books:

The Natural Colors Cookbook, by Maggie Pate

The Modern Natural Dyer, by Kristine Vejar
And visit Kristine's dye garden behind her yarn shop (A Verb for Keeping Warm) in Oakland, CA.

Yarn:

Huasco DK by Araucania, purchased from Coveted Yarn in Gloucester, MA
This superwash wool yarn is soft, and holds up to all the rough handling that goes with dyeing.

Summer 2020--"Ovoid Bag"

I'm ready to enjoy summer. I've already fired up the grill and dusted off my beach chair--and if I can't get to go to the beach this summer (most in my area are still closed), I'm getting myself one of those little kiddie pools you blow up and fill with a garden hose. Because, darn it, summertime is for fun, and I am going to have some fun.

The summer 2020 issue of Interweave Crochet is out, and my "Ovoid Bag" is included.

I think it's the perfect little bag for an easy summer afternoon--big enough for sunglasses, phone, and lipgloss, yet light and casual enough to toss over your shoulder for a stroll on a hot day. And it's such a quick, carefree project, you'll want to make it in a bunch of different colors to match all your outfits. 

 

Check out the rest of the awesome summer issue HERE  And let's make the most of summer, no matter what it looks like this year!

 (All photos courtesy Interweave)

Duck, Duck--Chick!

What must my neighbors think, when I pose a bunch of stuffed animals around my yard?

  

These little cuties are available as a pattern HERE for just a dollar!

"We're in this Together" Rainbow Bear!

People are putting stuffed animals and rainbows in their windows while we all wait for the quarantine to be over.

Want to spread a little cheer yourself? I'm offering a free pattern for a small teddy bear that you can put in your window. 

Quick and easy enough for you to make up a bunch--keep crocheting and stay safe!

https://www.ravelry.com/stores/donna-childs-designs

Watching for the apocalypse...

Someplace in America right now:

Me: (looking out window) No Zombies, no walking dead...this is the most boring apocalypse ever!

Later that morning: an alert goes out about some ne'er-do-wells, posing as officials and dressed in hazmat suits, coming to door-to-door, claiming to test for virus, then robbing houses. They are reportedly driving a white van.

Dear Husband: Are you watching for a white van, now?
Me: (at window) This apocalypse just got interesting again.

...

Me: (still at window) If they come, the code phrase is: "Wait right there--my wife's getting dressed." And I'll run and call the police.

DH: (unintelligible)

...

DH: I don't want to see you standing there, watching out the window.

Me: (backing up two steps) Can you see me now?

DH: (unintelligible)

...

DH: Are you still looking out the window!?
Me: Okay, I'm getting dressed.
DH: What? Are you telling me to call the police?



(Photos of my crocheted monster hats courtesy Crochet Today! magazine and Interweave Crochet magazine)

Signs of the times!

Just in case you could use a crochet-inspired laugh right about now:



...she hid the liquor, too.

Crochet in Color--and a free pattern!

I am obsessed with color and its applications. I came up with an exercise illustrating the concept of "split complementary" color combinations. Complementary colors are those that are directly opposite each other on the color wheel. Red's complementary is green, so red's split complementary colors are those either side of green on the color wheel: yellow-green and blue-green.

Each flower here is an example of split complementaries, a satisfying combination of colors. I made these in thread, and I pin a bunch of them to a sweater when I need a little color. The same pattern can be used to make larger "corsages" in yarn.

Since March is National Crochet Month, I'd like to send you a free digital copy of the pattern. Send an email to donna.childs.crochets at gmail dot com, and I will send you the pattern in April--just in time for  making spring flowers!

Here are some related links from my blog:

Color Inspiration

"How long did it take you to do that?"