The Goldilocks Method of Designing Crochet.

You know that feeling! You get a brilliant idea and in your head it is epic!

This is going to be bigger than Ben Hur (Or that is what the saying is, I think?).

You map it out in your head and the sheer magnitude of just how brilliant this idea is, makes your head a few sizes too large for the gorgeous crochet beanie you made last week!

Of course whilst in your head this design works PER-FECT-LY.... Every stitch lines up and it all falls into place to create a piece of crochet that a Queen would wish to have adorning her in some manner or other.

Then you begin working on this masterpiece. You try one lot of yarn, and it doesn't work that great. Maybe the texture is too rough. You try another lot and it is way too soft. Then you try a third lot and it seems just right.

You grab your 5mm hook and do a few rows. Turns out it's too big.

You work a few rows in your 4mm and you guessed it, it is too small. By this time you can hear your 4.5mm grumbling from the hook storage. 'Told you I was the right size. You should have picked me in the first place'.

Sure enough the 4.5mm is just right and it did have a point, you should have listened.

Single Crochet.

You think you are now ready to whip up this masterpiece and begin using Single Crochet (US). You work up a large portion of the design, but the further on you get, you start to think that this stitch is maybe not right for the design. Maybe this will not work. You work slower, so you can ponder how you could possibly be wrong. It worked so well in your head. Eventually you are working one stitch a minute. Your brain is stating in loud terms that IT WILL NOT WORK. The realization dawns on you that it JUST AIN'T GONNA WORK, and a frogging you go.

Your vision begins to shift. This new idea will work, it will be super fabulous for sure. How could you have missed this?

Half Double Crochet.

Half Double Crochet may well be the way to go with this. This will work! This will be great! Fantastic! Fabulous! You may be awarded Queen of the world with this design, butttttttttt....... you get to about the same point you were at with the Single Crochet and just KNOW it is NOT SO!

By this time the new, fabulous, incredible design has had the gift of flight bestowed upon it (you chuck it across the room and leave it there for a few hours.)

Waist coat stitch.

Waist Coat Stitch. This is it! This is the one!! This will be raised above all others and become legend in this design. People will queue for hours to view the crochet artistry that you have designed with this stitch. As you work, you realise that this is quite true. It does work. It is right. Wonderful even. You work harder and faster knowing that those queues of crochet fans will be waiting to view your masterpiece.

Again your head has grown a few sizes too large for that beanie, and you realise the day is gone. It is late and suddenly you feel like eating a large bowl of porridge. You must have one! You have been working very hard all day on this so deserve it!!!!!

You are now so exhausted from your day of frogging that you also require a nap. You go looking for a bed, but you do need to find one that is JUST RIGHT!

The Goldilocks Method of Crochet Design is a patented method used by Auburncraft Design. No bears were harmed in the making of this method of crochet design, although several bowls of porridge were eaten.

You Know Your Yarn Stash is too Big When.........?

Who said that?

Totally not going to tolerate that sort of statement from anyone! My yarn stash is not too big, nor could it ever be too big!

Just because I have searched for two hours trying to find that elusive ball of pink Stylecraft Special Dk that I know I have somewhere, and I cannot find it, that does NOT mean I have a stash issue.

Sure I will admit I have more yarn than I can probably use in my remaining lifetime but how much is too much? And really what is the point of only buying one of something? I may need more than one and if I don't buy it then, the dye lot may well be different. Imagine all that work on something only to find it looks odd due to different dye lots! Unbearable!

And I actually gave this lot away to someone. I must get some points for that!

I can still get inside my front door and do have SOME room to move around. It is also great exercise leaping over tubs of yarn!

Is it really my fault that I think up a new design and none of the yarn I have seems to be JUST RIGHT, resulting in an order being placed or a trip to the local LYS?

No, it is not!

I have been extremely fruggle this year! I have only purchased 2 skeins of yarn!

I know I have used a ton more than that, so I could almost say my yarn stash is in deficit, comparing it to what it was, that is.

Maybe I should go visit the LYS and stock up! After all I wouldn't want to run out of yarn!!!

Disclaimer: The amount of yarn I have in my stash may have been grossly over exaggerated. Yes I do have too much but my house is not overrun with yarn! No Skeins of yarn were harmed in the writing of this blog post (but I did squeeze a few of them and exclaim how soft they were!).

Crochet It's a Fairytale!

My kids grew up with me reading them all the old Fairytale stories. They each had their favourites.

Well the older two did. The youngest took great pleasure in making me read a book about combine harvesters, tractors and potato harvesting over and over and over........................ till the very thought of potatoes made me ill. That book was a gift from a friend. Needless to say we are no longer friends! Trying to sound enthusiastic about a conveyer belt full of pototoes is pretty darn hard!

But back to the fairytales! Life is sure not like a fairytale for most of us, but maybe it should be!

I got to thinking about how much better life would have been for these fairy tale characters if they had, the ability to crochet?

Think about all the things they could have achieved if they had this unique ability to hook along with the best of us.

The Ugly Duckling would have been strutting around in a lovely crochet sweater. Not so ugly any more!

Hansel and Gretel could have left a long Chain of crochet to help them find their way back home.

The Emperor in the Emperors new clothes would not have needed fine invisible clothes. He would have had a drawer full of granny square outfits to wear.

Little Red Riding Hood's cape would have really popped, having been made from a lovely red toned yarn and any wolf would have been sure to get the yarn stuck in his teeth, making the idea of eating her a lot less appealing!

Rupunzel could have whipped up a nice rope ladder scarf to make her escape with. With the ability to crochet her escape would have been swift and assured.

She could make her escape by dantily climbing down that beautifully crochet scarf, head to the nearest Spa and get herself cleaned up and begin her own life (just thinking of all those years locked away in a tower that didn't even appear to have a bathroom). She could open a little business selling handmade crochet scarves and certainly would not have needed someone to save her!

Think about Sleeping Beauty! With all this social distancing the Prince would have been really frowned upon, just turning up and planting a kiss on a damsel sound asleep. Now if Sleeping Beauty had been a crocheter it would have been a simple thing to wake her. The Prince could have kept his distance and yelled 'HALF PRICE YARN SALE'. Sleeping Beauty would have jumped up and made a dash to her nearest yarn store and again problem solved!

The mind boggles with what these characters could have been with their hobby of crochet. They most certainly would have been a lot more chill with this calming ability.

Billy Thunder Crochet Tote

Sometimes when I design, I begin with an idea in my head and it tends to morph as it progresses. I may get an idea part way through, suddenly change course and the design changes.

This was very much the case with this design. I had already begun to make the Tote when I decided it needed beads. I found myself thinking of ways to stiffen the edges of the Tote by thinking a little bit outside the square. I ended up using plastic clothes line, inside the edges, and I added stiffness to the base of the design with a layer of pvc plastic, sandwiched between the crochet.

I am very happy with the end results!

I chose to use Patons cotton blend DK simply as I had some in my stash and I rather liked the idea of using black. I also wanted my beads to shine through and be a contrast to the black.

My only complaint with using black is the horror it is, trying to get decent clear pictures. The pattern has pictures of most rows to help with stitch placement and count.

Most rows of the pattern have pictures.

I spent a bit of time looking at the Tote and trying to think of a name for it. Nothing was really jumping out at me and then I thought about the colour cotton I had used. This prompted me to choose a name.

So introducing the 'Billy Thunder Tote'. Named as a tribute to a squatter who decided to move into our house a few years ago.

The following is the story behind the name:

One very cold winter a few years ago we discovered that a stray cat had been sneaking into our house and curling up on one of the beds in one of our now grown childrens rooms. It was caught sneaking back out the door, which was promptly locked in an attempt to keep this interloper out.

The cat had a collar on, so we assumed he had owners. We discovered soon enough that he did not.

Over the next couple of weeks, we had a number of sleepless nights due to this cat crying outside our bedroom window. I vividly recall one night when the men in the family were away racing motocross, that I resorted to banging a saucepan outside the house in an attempt to get the cat to stop. The cat had no intention of doing so. It had already decided it now lived in our house and was letting us know, he did not approve of being locked out of his home.

My husband and I have always loved animals and at one stage in our lives had, two horses, three dogs, over a hundred very large goldfish and our property was and is the home of a mob of kangaroos. But we were now at a stage where we really only had the one dog and the fish (and the mob) and were happy with that.

I found myself leaving food outside for this cat without telling my husband. I then discovered my husband was doing the same. Both of us are softies when it comes to animals, and neither of us wanted the cat hungry.

Slowly the cat moved in! He already felt he owned the place and was allowing us to reside there with him.

He didn't have a name and my husband kept suggesting some pretty terrible names for him. I believe one of his first suggestions was 'Pushkas'. I remember just looking at him with a 'what the' expression on my face with that one!

We couldn't call him any of the names I had yelled at him during the sleepless nights and the saucepan banging. This name choosing went on for a number of weeks with me vetoing the suggestions put forward. I kept telling my husband that I refused to be seen calling out some of his suggested cat names. He eventually decided to name him 'Billy' as he would now come up and rub his head against him. He said it was like a billy goat head butting him.

I was still not totally wrapped with this suggestion until I remembered a children's novel all my kids had read named 'Billy Thunder and the Night Gate'. This is a brilliant book by Isobelle Carmody!

So I began calling OUR cat 'Billy Thunder' and the name caught on. It slowly got extended to 'Billy Thunder Cat'.

It also suits him as he was very vocal with his necessity (demand) to live with us.

Billy is a very plain, all black cat ( you cannot count the tiny smudge of white under his chin) with a lovely nature and so the black yarn made me think of him.

So this one is for Billy Thunder! Interloper, squatter and now (in his opinion) ruler of our house!

And yes I am quite happy to be seen calling out 'Billy Thunder Cat', it just seems right!

As for the Tote, it is now in testing and the pattern will be released on my Ravelry and Love Crochet pages in a few weeks. So stay tuned for the release!

This post may contain affiliate links.

Too many crochet design ideas!

My car NOT!

So there I am, driving to the gym in my little 4wd bomb (note in the picture I wrote blue on it as mine is blue, mine also has a roof and if you need more detail I have a sticker on the back that says 'help zombies ate my stick family').

Don't trust Zombies!

I should be focusing on the road ahead and just getting to the gym, but no..... I have this light bulb flashing on and off in my head. Stupid thing won't go away. The little creatures living in my brain are saying 'Don't think about driving the car. We have this great idea for a crochet design. Trust us it will be IN-CRED-IBLE! You need to think about this'.

Inside my head!

It is a lucky thing I can multi-task and think about this design, while managing to stay on the road at the same time. By the time I got to the gym, I had pretty well planned this whole design. I had the whole thing sorted in my head as to how I would make it. Sure I need another design, it isn't as though I have about 15 sitting partly done as I keep thinking of things and getting started on them, then swapping over to another design.

What I really need to do is clone myself a few times. The clones can be then forced to work in sweat shop type conditions, producing my ideas. Of course I will feed them if they work hard enough. This could all backfire! Knowing me, all the clones would have crochet design ideas of their own and down crochet hooks to ponder on them. Then they would all start making their own ideas, getting another idea, repeat, repeat, repeat!!!! It could be a nightmare. Something to think about I guess!

A Bit of Luck for Sure!

Are you a glass half empty or half full type of person? I am a bit on the half empty side at times, but today I choose to see the glass as half full!

Photo credit and made by Purled Decay

To cut or not to cut!

On my hook right now, yep, this very minute, is a blanket design. I am closing in on the final stages of it and looking forward to getting it out to test.

At this point I have used almost 4 full 200g balls of Bendigo Woollen Mills Dk cotton. These balls have about 485 metres of yarn in each ball. That means I have worked my way through almost 1940 metres of yarn. I have around 150 metres left on the fourth ball and I have won the lottery! Yes, lucky me! Winner, Winner!

When these balls are manufactured, those making them are going to have to make a join somewhere. They kind of just have too! Finding one of these joins is like finding a needle in a haystack! Or maybe (for those Harry Potter fans) a Golden Snitch!

I had worked my way through around 1800 metres and didn't find a join. This was when my luck cut in. How did this luck manifest you may ask? I found a join in the fourth ball.

Imagine my delight! I could have found my way right through the entire project without finding an elusive join! Of course the obvious reaction to this (if we are being realistic) rather offensive join, would be to get annoyed. Curse my luck, thinking 'Why me', Why did I have to get a join?'

I decided that instead of viewing this as bad luck, I would choose to believe that I am extremely lucky. 'Oh, what luck, a join!'

Just think if you found yourself at the wool mill and were told to go find a ball of yarn with a join somewhere inside, the chances of finding one would be pretty slim. But I found one and I didn't even have to leave home!

Out of all those balls of yarn in production I managed to get the one with the little prize hidden inside!

Out came the scissors and a cutting I went. You just can't trust that those pesky little knotted joins will hold, so a re-join is a must. My mind then shifts to the thought that I now have 2 extra ends to sew in. How fantastic!

You just have to love those little joins! I am so glad I had the honour of finding one! I feel so special!

A Bit about this yarn!

Bendigo Woollen Mill yarn is super soft and incredible to work with. This is an Australian owned and made yarn!

Please and Thank You!

It has been a week of standing on the sidelines and watching many designer friends deal with situations very unique to designers. I decided that it was time for a blog post on the trials and tribulations facing crochet designers.

Find yourself a time machine and step back in time fifty years. To crochet you had only a couple of options. You would learn from someone else and if you needed a pattern you would either go to the library and borrow one (where no doubt the designer had been paid for the design in the publication) or the local store that sold a little bit of everything and buy one, along with your yarn and probably most of your groceries as those stores had everything.

Sneak peek of a design that will be listed this weekend

Of course most people didn't need to use a pattern as there was often someone around to help show you how to crochet, but then you were limited to their abilities.

Right now you can go online and learn to crochet for free and there is a huge amount of patterns for free. Many designers offer free patterns and I know I have a few myself. But these patterns don't magically make their way onto the web for everyones use. They take work.

This week I know of one designer who was almost in tears, due to having one of her patterns bought by one person and then placed for free on a website that is well known for doing this. Her pattern had then been downloaded over 5000 times for free. She complained about this and was told (by someone who claimed that they never bought patterns and all patterns should be free) that she was greedy. Patterns should be free. She pointed out that her crochet business was her only means of feeding her family, but the accuser did not seem to care. Patterns should apparently be there for everyone to just have. Doesn't matter the hours of work involved in this pattern. It should just be free!

A lot of the bigger name designers can offer free patterns and still gain income. They get kick backs from yarn companies and affiliate links. Smaller designers don't have these options.

Another designer friend did a giveaway to try and draw some marketing interest in her work. She gave away quite a number of patterns for free to people. Again, it was hard work for her. Out of all the people who took those patterns, only 6 bothered to say thank you!

Designers are mostly creative people with a love of crochet. But this doesn't mean they should not be paid for their hard work. If you are offered a free pattern by someone, when you know it is actually a paid design, think twice before taking it. You could actually be taking food out of some families mouths by doing so. You don't walk into a Bakery and just take the bread rolls. You don't ask a Tradesperson, Doctor or Accountant to work for nothing and give you freebies. So please do the right thing and pay for your paid crochet patterns, and be thankful for the free ones given to you by the designer.

Also if you have to contact a designer, please be considerate of their time. The stories some of us could tell you about customer contact. We love to help you, but if you just so happen to do a blanket with chunky yarn when it should be make in fingering weight and decide you have an issue, please realise that the issue is your own. If your printer won't work then call a tech person as a crochet designer can't fix your printer.

I will end with the fact that most people who designers have contact with are lovely. It is just not always the case. But designers need to eat too!!!!

Disclaimer:

No Designers or crocheters were harmed in the writing of this post!

I Talk To Yarn!

Like a lot of crazy crochet people during this difficult worldwide pandemic, I have been locked away with my quite substantial yarn stash, whiling away the time crocheting and whipping up designs.

I have been drawing up quite a few new designs as my head just refuses to stop doing so. If I am out on my lawn mower I find by the time I am finished, I have a new idea all formatted out in my head and I am reaching for a pen and paper to jot it down. This happens no matter what I am doing. I just try to remember my ideas for a more appropriate time.

I have truly done my best to use stash yarn for many new designs, but sometimes it just is not enough.

I have one new idea that I have been itching to start. I then start to think about what yarn I need for it and of course colour!

If I had my way every single design would be made in the only colour truly worthwhile of being named Overlord of all Colours! Yes. Of course I am talking about PURPLE! I would truly make everything in purple if I could, but being a designer I do try to be a little bit diverse. Just don't suggest I work in GREEN (yuck) and we will probably get along fine, and don't get me started on RED! Red I only use very, very occasionally. One of my only designs in red is my Frankie Drake Cloche Hat (click here for a link to the pattern).

Frankie Drake Cloche hat. Pattern available on

Etsy (click here)

,

Ravely (click here)

and

Lovecrafts (click here).

Suitable Yarn to Make

Frankie Drake (click here).

For this new design, I had a NEED, LONGING, NECESSITY, UNDENIABLE URGE for Scheepjes Whirl yarn and thankfully my LYS has finally re-opened with a 2 person limit on how many people can be in the store at any one time.

I pondered long and hard as to which colour I should use. Of course I truly wanted to use Whirl in Lavenderlicious, but I have recently done a blanket in this and so I knew I must resist.

I looked at many items made in all the colours, trying to decide what colour would be just perfect. This had me rushing for the anti nausea pills as I came across Peppermint Patty Cakes (Green YUCK!). Once my stomach had finally calmed down, I narrowed the choice down to Mid Morning Mocha'roo and Licorice Yum Yum. Trying to decide between two colours totally does my head in at times. I find myself swapping and changing my mind over, and over, and of course the Lavenderlicious keeps popping into my head as the ultimate choice.

Find Scheepjes Whirl Click Here

The outing to the LYS was a real treat after being stuck in for so long, but my trusty little car had not forgotten the way there. I could hear the joyous hum from the motor as it knew just where to go. I soon found myself stepping over the threshold into yarn heaven. I didn't let any of the other yarns entice me to stop and adore them. Don't you worry, they were really trying. I could hear them whispering, 'Look at me, I am so soft'. 'Come on over here, you know you want to squeeze me! I told them to leave me alone in a harsh tone and they did quieten down considerably.

I stayed focused on my mission and headed straight for the Whirl section. I quickly scanned the shelves looking for the Mid Morning Mocha'roo and finally found one lone cake sitting all by itself as though being shunned by the other cakes. Normally this find would have had me singing BUT.... I needed TWO. My bottom lip dropped to the floor and I had to resist the urge to cry, or throw a tantrum. I managed to hold it all together as the last thing I could want is to be banned from the yarn store. Looking again for the Licorice Yum Yum my eyes landed on the LAVENDERLICOUS! I slapped myself a few times and forced my gaze to move on. 'My eyes, oh my eyes'. My gaze had fallen into the abyss, landing on the PEPPERMINT PATTY CAKE. This had me staggering to hang onto the shelves as nausea took hold.

Regaining my composure and averting my eyes from the hideous green, they finally landed on several cakes of Licorice Yum Yum. I reached for two cakes and headed to the checkout. The Mocha'roo was taunting me as I passed it 'You know you really want me, I'm much better than Licorice, C'mon buy me'. 'You know I can't' I muttered to it. I held my head high and kept walking. The store owner did give me an odd look as I paid for my purchase, but doesn't everyone talk to the yarn? Surely they were standing well back simply due to the covid restrictions and no other reason. Oh, well back to my designs!

You can follow me on the following:

Facebook: Auburncraft Crochet (click here).

Instagram: Auburn1414 (click here).

I also run a Facebook group in partnership with an Irish Designer: Two Redheads Crochet (click here).

Now to the boring stuff!

You are welcome to sell items made from my patterns, but please credit me as the designer and add a link to purchase my pattern in your sale.

Many hours of work go into the designing and producing of my patterns.

You are purchasing/downloading my patterns for personal use only. Please note my patterns and my images are copyright protected, please do not use my images to sell your items. No pattern or photograph may be reproduced or distributed — mechanically, electronically, or by any other means, including photocopying, without written permission of Auburncraft Design. Please do not copy, rewrite, or redistribute this pattern as your own or otherwise. Just because you can copy does not mean you should. Please do not resell my patterns. This post may contain affiliate links.

6 (un)Helpful Crochet Hints That Could Save Your Project! Maybe!

Helpful crochet hints

1: How to find the yarn tail to pull from the centre of the ball:

This really depends upon whether the Pixie living inside the yarn ball is in a good mood or a bad mood.  They tend to like biscuits, honey and warm milk and so if you speak to them nicely and offer them at least a nice biscuit they may offer the end of the yarn up to you.  Whatever you do, do not annoy them. Get them annoyed and you will end up with a tangled mess and may never find the end of the yarn.  Good luck!

2: How to deal with finding a mistake in your project and the need to Frog (pull the project back to before the mistake).

Frog it!

There are several different methods that I have used/employed to deal with this situation.  I guess my all-time favourite is throwing the project into the open fire.  It solves the issue of having to Frog (see what that means above).  If you really cannot do this, I do recommend you throw the item across the room and call it names for several minutes.

3: How to deal with people who want you to make them items for nothing.

Perfect item to make certain you never get asked to make anything again!

This can be a really tough one as sometimes (just sometimes) you really don’t want to annoy your friends and family as you may need them at some stage,  so saying a firm ‘no’ may  not be the best answer.  The best thing you can do is make them the item and do a really, really bad job.  Make this the worst thing you have ever crocheted.  I can guarantee they will never again ask you to make something.

4: Those you live with are getting annoyed that you are using the dining table as a blocking board.

My Fishing for Luck Shawl Blocking. Pattern available on Ravelry, Etsy and Lovecrafts

Of course, you could just go and buy some blocking boards but really that is just money you could have spent on more yarn. Yes, I do know that most of us have a huge stash that could sink the Titanic but that is another issue altogether.  I suggest visiting a thrift store and buying those little trays that you can sit on your lap, or even a stable table (those things were a fad back in the day and nearly every mother and grandmother ended up with one, so thrift stores are full of the things). Train your family/room mates to eat with their meal on their lap.  Problem solved and everyone is happy.  I think!!!

5: You made your starting chain or foundation row for your exceptionally large blanket too tight.

Dogs have super powers

Yeah sure you could Frog the whole thing but who enjoys frogging. A tried and sure-fire method to fix this issue is to give your dog one end of the blanket and encourage a game of tug of war.  Dogs really do have super powers! Keep this up till your chain or foundation row has enough give in it.  If it has not worked then your blanket is probably ripped to bits by the dog anyway, so problem solved!

6:Your child or pet will not let you crochet and is insisting upon being on your lap!

Of course you could get rid of the offender but I know this is not an option for everyone. This is however a simple fix.  Go out and buy a large playpen.  Put your crochet chair inside the playpen and leave the child or pet outside of it.  If you also leave a set of textas with the child and perhaps a full bag of doggie food with the dog. Problem solved and a bit of peace to crochet. I cannot guarantee the condition of the house after several hours of free rein with textas and dog food (note: It is also not a good idea to get these two methods confused. Unless your dog is a budding artist). Crochet time is everything!!!

Disclaimer: No crochet items, children or pets where harmed in the writing of this post. If you took this seriously, then all I can say is 'Really!'

Pixies and Leprechauns stole my Crochet Hook!

I have a habit of misplacing things!

In reality I don't actually think that I misplace them; I am pretty sure that I have Leprechauns and Pixies that live in my house.

Maybe I could entice the little things with a pot of gold. If only I had one.

Note to self: Ask my Irish designer friend and partner in crime if she knows how to trap a Leprecaun!

These little creatures wait till I am asleep and steal the things they know very well I am going to want to use the next day. My fabric tape measure was missing for several weeks. I eventually found they had returned it and shoved it down the side of the couch. Very Sneaky!

I love my Clover Armour Hooks, but I only have one in a few sizes. My 6mm is gone. No doubt the Pixies found the shiny hook too much to pass up! They don't realise the imposition that they are putting me too. I have had to resort to using a cheap Aluminium hook for my latest design. It is equivalent to entering a Formula One race, while driving a Mazda 3, or attempting Brain Surgery with a Chisel.

Clover Armour

The Clover Hooks glide nicely through the yarn seemingly with no or little effort. I feel like I am wielding a Jack Hammer having to use an inferior hook.

I bet those horrid Pixies and Leprechauns will wait till I have finished this design and then my Clover Hook will appear. I can just imagine their laughter having caused the chaos they wanted.

So if you happen to know how to trap a Pixie or a Leprechaun please let me know and if you speak to one, please ask them to return my 6mm hook.

Frustrations of a Hooker!

What is frustration to a Hooker?

Some actually find being referred to as a hooker a major frustration! Not me that is just fine! Call me a hooker all you want!

Others cannot stand that mess of yarn barf and will actually throw it away or pay someone to untangle it.

Yarn Barf!

My frustration for the day is reaching for a design I have partly done and then looking for the 4mm hook needed to do some on it. Mr. 4mm is in my favourite colour purple and you would think I would know his where-a-bouts given that. But, no, he has left the building. Maybe he got a better offer. Better work conditions. Someone with nicely manicured hands to hold him. Someone who will pack him away nicely into a beautiful hook case with tender loving care, instead of leaving him laying around till he is needed. He didn't leave a note to say he was leaving! Nothing!

Then to add to the frustration, all the silly red 3.5mm hooks and 3mm hooks that I do use quite often and have slowly lost, turned up in my search.

Red hooks everywhere!

So I am now in a sea of red hooks and not a purple one in sight.

Footnote: Major alert! Call off the search!!!

I found him... He was hiding in amoungst a bag of purple and pink squares I have been designing. Now we are going to have to have a talk about hiding. He could have let me know with a yell or a 'Hey I am here'. Typical male. he knows how much I want him and he is playing hard to get. Well he won't be happy once I give him a few hours of hard labour hooking away!!!

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https://www.facebook.com/Auburncraft-Crochet-103007401116090/

Crazy World!

The world has finally gone crazy!

Things are not great no matter what part of the world you may be in!

The only thing left to do is CROCHET!

So many people are looking to their crochet as they know it is a great stress reliever.

Myself and with another designer, the incredible Fiona from Flo's crafty crochet, run a great little crochet group on facebook. So if you are looking to find a group that is still positive and a happy place, pop over to the group.

Click the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/703981100116431/

You can also follow us on our individual crochet pages:

https://www.facebook.com/Auburncraft-Crochet-103007401116090/

https://www.facebook.com/floscraftycrochet/?eid=ARDZYLPf_U1RS-6R88dE91rq3yxvXRWHv-qHUFWEc__kgz8NGVLEgAgjvq3k00JIiDVKK9IeTKaQoLwU

We run designer of the month focus takeovers and the odd giveaway. A new giveaway will begin tomorrow (20/19 March).

If you are a designer we allow self promotion on weekends.

Crochet is our Happy Place!

Crochet Design is Hard Work!

Just ask my computer!

I am apparently quite hard on my computers (according to my tech guy). The hours I spend writing up patterns and editing pictures drives most of my poor computers right over the edge, so to speak!

In the past 18 months I have gone through two computers. They both died a slow painful hinge death. Once the hinge goes, the case cracks and it is all downhill from there.

I know I should have learnt my lesson with the second computer hinge and taken it straight to the computer techs to fix it. But I am sure everyone knows how things tend to creep up on you. I told my tech guy that I had dabbed a little bit of WD40 onto the hinge and he was less than impressed. This is (according to him) almost like sudden death to a hinge. It attracts more dust etc to the troubled spot. The look on his face, when I told him of my handwork with the spray can, was quite priceless. He was trying to be diplomatic and tell me of my error, but I could see he really just wanted to jump the desk and slap me a time or two.

The tech guys updated my computer with one that has an almost industrial type casing. Bet they think I can't break that!

I think they are considering me for a job as a product tester. If any computer can stand up to the punishment, I put it through then it must be GOOD!

So today, here I am working away on a new crochet design that needs to get to the testers. This pattern has a heap of pictures. I am editing this picture and so what does my idiot computer go and do? It froze! It would not unfreeze. Begging it to do so had no affect at all! Selfish thing! So I had to close it down and reopen. All the while I am thinking, 'did I save my work?' Apparently not! Why would I do something that sensible?

I lost 2 hours of work on my crochet design! The selfish computer should have thought of that, but no it had to go and freeze. I am quite sure it had nothing to do with the fact that I had approx. 45 open pictures in editing, probably around 30 different pages also open on the computer and I was also watching an episode of the Good Doctor and had not shut that. Still if the computer can't cope with that and doesn't want to work hard enough and do a good job, then I doubt this one is going to last all that long either. I thought about throwing it on the floor and jumping on it, but I could just see my tech guys face when I tried to explain that one!

Ah well, back to pattern editing!

A New Design is Coming!

Having survived Christmas and made my way into 2020, I was extremely happy to get two new blanket designs off to my testers. My testers were all really glad to be released from the locked room I keep them in and allowed to get to work on the roughly 28 pages of the pattern put in front of them. A couple of them complained about not being allowed to go home for Christmas, but I did allow them some turkey scraps, so they should all be good to work! If I can force them to all work really hard, not sleep and generally crochet 24 hours a day, I am hoping to have the designs really to publish towards the end of February.

I made a promise to one of my testers a few months back that I would name a design after her and so I named the two blankets, Bouquet for Bethany Blanket and Vintage Bouquet for Bethany Blanket.

The blankets are a mixture of Filet work and Popcorn stitches and I am really looking forward to publishing them. The patterns are similar, with one using a solid yarn and having a variation on the border to make it an individual design. The other a slow colour change yarn for a completely different look. Vintage Bouquet for Bethany is made using Bendigo Woollen Mill 4ply cotton and Bouquet for Bethany I have done in Scheepjes Whirl.

Yarn and colour choice can take a design and change the look of it completely. It then becomes an extension of the person making it with their choices.

Sneak peek Vintage Bouquet for Bethany Blanket coming soon.

I have been using Scheepjes Whirl yarn a bit over the last few months and had some success with my Flight of the Dragonflies Blanket and my Fishing for Luck Shawl. Both have been accepted well and are proving to be my top sellers.

Fishing for Luck Shawl is available on: Etsy (click here).Ravelry (click here) and Lovecrafts (click here).

Flight of the Dragonfly Blanket is available on: Etsy (click here). Ravelry (click here) and Lovecrafts (click here)

Left: Fishing for Luck Shawl. Right: Dragonflies in Flight Blanket.

I have quite a number of partially completed original designs on the hook at present and should have some great things coming in 2020.

Thanks to everyone who supported my designs and patterns in the past 12 months. I appreciate it!

Now to the boring stuff! You are welcome to sell items made from my patterns, but please credit me as the designer and add a link to purchase my pattern in your sale.

Many hours of work goes into the designing and producing of my patterns.

If you purchase/download my patterns, they are for personal use only. Please note my patterns and my images are copyright protected, please do not use my images to sell your items. No pattern or photograph may be reproduced or distributed — mechanically, electronically, or by any other means, including photocopying, without written permission of Auburncraft Design. Please do not copy, rewrite, or redistribute this pattern as your own or otherwise. Just because you can copy does not mean you should. Please do not resell my patterns.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

Two Redheads Crochet Pattern Give-away

This year, a designer friend and I decided to start a Facebook group which combines our love of crochet, our businesses and a whole pile of other people (including other designers) who share our interest.

The Designers in our group are welcome to post their patterns on weekends, using the tag #wickedweekend. This is great for the Designers and also prevents the group being over run by Designer posts every day.

The group is slowly growing and we have implemented a Designer of the Month program. Each month a new designer has free reign to run giveaways and promote their patterns whenever they want.

My partner in crime in this venture is an Irish Designer who runs Flo's Crafty Crochet. Our partnership works well as when she is awake in Ireland I am sleeping in Australia. So one of us is usually around to tend to our group.

To get our Designer focus months started Fiona became Novembers Designer of the Month. This month I am Decembers Designer (Auburncraft Crochet).

It has been a fun month with pattern give-aways and competitions. At present I have a competition running for a copy of my Flight of the Dragonfly pattern. So if you would like to join in and win a copy of my Flight of the Dragonfly Blanket Pattern, join Two Redheads Crochet on Facebook (click here).

Flight of the Dragonfly Blanket

Two Redheads Crochet on Facebook

Auburncraft Crochet on Ravelry (click here).

Flo's Crafty Crochet on Ravelry (click here).

Flight of The Dragonfly on Ravelry (Click here)

Flight of The Dragonfly on Etsy (Click here)

What is an Afghan?

I was asked the other day, what is an Afghan?

Now, this question was asked in a facebook group dedicated to crochet, and I know what popped straight into my head, me being a self confessed Hooker.  But the word covers so much more and it very much depends upon who you ask, as to the answer you will get......

Afghan Dog!

If you ask a dog lover you will be told that an Afghan is a very tall, hairy dog with a pointed nose.  Yep, that is true!

A

AFGHANISTAN!

If you ask a person who paid attention at school, or maybe lives there,  they will tell you:  An Afghan is a person native to Afghanistan.   Again right!

If you bother to look the word up in the online Dictionary it states:

: a native or inhabitant of Afghanistan

A blanket or shawl of colored yarn knitted or crocheted in strips or squares. 

A  Turkoman carpet of large size and long pile woven in geometric designs.

Afghan Hound: A tall hunting dog of a breed with long silky hair.

---

Afghan Blanket!

A Crochet Afghan

But getting back to what us Hookers know as the only RELEVANT meaning of the word, that being crochet blankets: Afghans come in a huge array of styles, shapes etc.

This gives me a very amusing visual of a person of Afghanistan origin, sitting on an Afghan carpet, with their Afghan dog, crocheting an Afghan. Who knows they could even be in Afghanistan doing this.

If you are going to be really fussy about what a Crochet Afghan is, then it specifically refers to a blanket made from Tunisian Crochet. Of course those who are not proficient in Tunisian Crochet will claim the word Afghan as being relevant for any crochet blanket. Right or wrong is anyones guess!!

It may well be that we all just prefer the word 'Afghan'. If someone claims 'Oh, what a beautiful blanket you are making', we can respond, 'Oh no, It is actually an Afghan!'. Certainly sounds just a little more special.

Afghans can be made in one solid piece (which is usually the case in Tunisian Crochet), motifs joined together, crochet squares and strips. How versatile is that! And the word 'Afghan' does sound so much more interesting than just a boring old blanket.

Must get back to making my latest Afghan Crochet!!! I need it to take on my trip to Afghanistan! May take my dog who would like to be an Afghan hound but isn't (Cocker Spaniel).

My prize winning AFGHAN BLANKET

Why I Make?

Where to start?

Asking the question as to why I make is a little like asking someone why they breathe!

Lovecrafts Blogger Awards. Link to Lovecrafts https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-au/l/yarns My blog may not be the biggest or have the most followers, but it is mine!!!

I always tell people that I crochet because punching people is frowned upon. But of course there is more to it than that! Being creative is who I am and so I guess crochet is my happy place.

My most recent Design Only One Woof Cushion. Pattern available soon on Lovecrafts

I have always had the need to create. Just you try and stop me, it won't be pleasant!!!.

Even when very young, I used to make clothes for my dolls out of scraps of material. They were not particularly all that good, but I thought they were.

I am not really an extroverted type of person and don't feel the need to be out there in front of everyone, but when it came to being creative, I was always the weirdo in the hand painted jeans, or the tie-dyed head scarf.

As I got older and had my own home, nothing was safe from my creative hands. The picot fences had flowers painted on them, so did the letterbox and front gates. I painted pictures on the doors inside the house and carefully painted flowers or pictures on the power point covers throughout. Art work is everywhere at my place and I recently began producing resin art pieces as well.

One of my Resin Art Pieces

My kids had paper mache piggy banks and their rooms became works of art. My daughter wanted fluro pink walls with tiny daisies painted on them. My husband shook his head, but he painstakingly marked out intervals on these fluro walls so I could add the tiny white daisies, one by one. Her curtains had hand threaded beads on them, which took me forever to do.

I spent a lot of time with beads and sequins adorning Ballet and dance costumes for her as well during all her dance years.

My sons who were motocross riders had finish flags for curtains and handmade blankets with the motorbike brand logos on them.

Then they all went and grew up!

My youngest still raced motocross and supercross and for anyone who knows about this sport, for mothers it is a lesson in how to manage stress. I had the basics of crochet and knitting taught to me by my grandmother and had done a little of each throughout the years, but now I needed something to stop me climbing up the walls whilst my youngest child sped by on his motorbike, jumping huge mounds of dirt as he went, all the while with other riders slamming into him and basically making a mother want to jump the railing and send them all to the naughty corner for attempting to hurt my little boy!!!

My son #14 getting the holeshot at an outdoor event. Talk about stressful for a mother.

This began my real journey into the crochet world. There I would be, in the pits at a National event as my son prepared for his next race. As the line of bikes all revved up in anticipation of the start flag, I would be clutching my crochet hook and trying very hard not to have a melt down. I have stood in stadiums full to capacity of over 35000 people waving my crochet hook in encouragement as my son raced by. As he progressed in his career I would at times be sitting up in the middle of the night, glued to a computer, hook in hand, furiously working on another crochet design, while watching my son race overseas in Germany, USA or half a dozen other countries.

Crocheting in the pits at a National Motocross Event.

I can truly recommend crochet as a stress reliever and great for anxiety!!! I would also strongly suggest never letting your child take up motocross/supercross racing.

Designing crochet is something that comes easily to me and ideas are always whirling around in my head. I don't have a specific niche of how I design. I do what makes me happy, I make with yarns that make me happy. If a yarn is calling to me then I really must answer.

I appreciate all the outlets such as Lovecrafts that allow me to publish my designs, although I sometimes wonder if they don't add something addictive to their yarns that make you want more and more. They wouldn't do that, would they?

I can't say I have a favourite yarn, although I tend to gravitate towards anything purple. Dangle a purple skein of yarn in front of me and I will happily watch it for hours. Give me a hook to go with that skein and I will turn that yarn into something beautiful!

Gotta love purple! Left: Porcupine Peak Vest. Middle Bottom: Clematis Shawl. Middle Top: Wish Upon a Star Cushion. Right; Freeform Vest . Click on each name for a link to go to the pattern available on Lovecrafts.

If you haven't had a go at crochet then get to it, especially if one of your children decides to take up a dangerous pursuit!!!!! And if anyone questions why you need that extra ten skeins of yarn, just tell them it is therapy yarn..

Not an Original Idea in Their Heads!!!

I was sent a screenshot recently by a designer friend. It was of a post in a Facebook Crochet Group. The person who posted this was basically looking for affirmation, and for people to say that her actions are okay.

What had this person done? They had seen a lovely crochet item, painstakingly designed by someone with creativity. The designer had gone to the bother of publishing this works and taking some fabulous photos of the design to promote it. It is a slow process from idea to pattern, filled with testing calls and hours of editing, photography, along with producing the item itself.

Along comes the person who posted the question and sees this incredible work. They want one. They enlarge the photo and lo and behold they can see each and every stitch. Did they buy this pattern from this creative designer? Nope!! They decided that they could reproduce it from the stitches in the picture and did so. Now they want others to tell them , sure it's okay, you go ahead and do this.

The majority of comments on this question posed, were others claiming loudly that, sure it's okay, everyone does it. Why would you bother to buy the pattern? Many people congratulated the person for having the ability to copy a designers work, claiming that if they are of a standard to be able to copy then it is more than fine for them to do so. The catch phrase of 'Everyone Does it' was ringing loudly.

One person exclaimed that if a designer is silly enough to publish a pattern that an intermediate crocheter could copy then it is their own fault, and why would they bother to publish an easy pattern anyway? This person also exclaimed that they just use the pictures to inspire them and anyway, the finished item won't be exact stitch for stitch, so therefore its really alright to do it.

Several designers and group members tried to explain just how morally wrong it is to do what was done, but most of those posting really didn't care!!!

Who cares that patterns have to go through the ideas stage, on to the make stage, then the test stage and finally publishing? Who cares that a design can be months in the making and producing? Hey, if you can just copy it and steal someones idea, then why bother to pay a couple of dollars for the pattern?

I know where I stand on this!!!

Just because you can copy a designers work does not mean it is right!

So if you are thinking about making one of my designs by enlarging a promotion photo of it, and reproducing it that way, please think again. It is wrong!!!! If you want to wing something, then by all means do so and don't cheat by stealing someone elses intellectual property.

And I applaude those few who stood tall and told the many that they support designers and their work. Thank you to them!!!

This is my opinion and if you don't like it please move along!!! Or enjoy the read, it's all RELATIVE!!!!

The main photo on this post is of my wonderful testers completed Fishing for Luck Shawls. The work they do is very much appreciated.

For a link to the pattern on Ravelry (CLICK HERE)

Crochet Anywhere!

Crochet can be a very useful item in so many ways when travelling!!!

I recently had the need to travel interstate to Far North Queensland.

Only going for a few days, I wanted to pack lightly. This, of course did not apply to my crochet. Crochet falls into the 'Must Have' category when travelling. Who cares if I wear the same clothes for three days? As long as the crochet fits in the suitcase, all is good!

I packed my smallish suitcase with my usual care (everything got thrown in at the last minute, except for the carefully selected 3 crochet WIPS (work in progress)). I often send a photograph of my extremely bad packing to my daughter to irritate her. She packs with a neatness that most certainly did not come from me, and often asks if I am really her mother.

I headed to the airport with magic wand (hook) in hand.

The airport was a nightmare! Crowded with people enjoying school holidays. Check-in took way longer than the length of my patience. I was glad when I could find a quiet corner (well as quiet as a busy airport will allow.) and wait for my plane.

Out came the crochet, and I sat working away on my latest design 'Flight of the Dragonflies'. I find crochet can often be a topic of interest for those waiting around you, and conversation often begins with people interested in what I am working on.

Pattern availabe soon. Flight of the Dragonflies. Made from Scheepjes Whirl and Whirlette.

Finally boarding time and I get to my seat. A father and his teenage son were already in my seating row. The teenager must have disliked his allocated seat (which was middle, row) and decided that my allocated window seat was nicer. I certainly was not sitting in the middle between his father and him, so I politely chucked him out of my seat. Just as well he moved over or I most certainly would have stuck him a few times with my crochet hook to get his attention. He was rather lucky I was feeling in a good mood and had my crochet to immerse myself in, once seated.

I had a couple of hours waiting in Cairns for my husband to arrive as he was on another flight, so again out with the crochet. More conversation with interested people, often oohing and ahhing over the blanket I am making.

Then came the short road trip to Port Douglas. Hubby drove so I could crochet.

Crochet while road tripping. Dragonflies squares that I am in the design stage of. Made using Bendigo Woollen Mill Cotton in 8ply

We had several pleasant days in Port Douglas with my middle child, who had been working in the area this year. One of our days away was spent Tree Surfing in the Daintree Rainforest. This involves zip lining in the tree tops, at times more than 17 metres up. I happened to be last in the group to go down the zip-line each time.

My watch

So there I was with the male guide on the platform and he spots my watch. It has a crochet look band and face to it. He exclaims 'is that a crochet watch?' So I told him about my watch and about designing crochet. While he was re-clipping my harness ready to go on the next length of zip-line, he was asking me all about my crochet. His mother and sister were avid hookers and so he wanted information to pass on to them.

At the end of the trip, this guide comes up to me with pen and paper in hand, wanting me to write down my online information for his mother and sister. Who knows, if they did follow up, they may even be reading this. If so, all I can say is that you have a very lovely son/brother. He made our zip-lining very enjoyable.

And it just goes to show, crochet can be a topic of interest anywhere in the world!!

Even when you are hanging around upside-down, 17 metres in the air, in the middle of a rain forest!!!

Me just hanging around in the Daintree. Figured I may as well have a go at the zip-line upside-down. Was a real buzz!!!

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