I’ve updated the following:

1. Double Crochet
2. Half Double Crochet

And I’ve uploaded these new videos:

1. Tunisian Crochet - Cast On and Simple Stitch
2. Tunisian Crochet - Purl Stitch
3. Tunisian Crochet - Knit Stitch

Make sure you leave a comment and rate the videos! It let’s me know what you’d like more of.

There are more videos to come, but these are the ones I’ve got up so far! For those of you who haven’t Tunisian crocheted before, or who want to brush up on their skills, check out the Tunisian video tutorials. :)

Look who’s going to be broke soon!

Guess who just did a bunch of work so that you wouldn’t have to?

Click the link, read the steps.

The calculators are not crochet or knit specific. It’s all about yarn, baby.

Greetings!

Your materials for the winter 2008 Crochet magazine have arrived safely at Interweave.
Thank you for sending them and have a wonderful day.

Cheers,

Bonnie
Customer Support

HIP-HIP-HOORAY!

Thank you, Bonnie, for making my breathing a little easier. Now, let’s see if I can forget about all of this for a little while.

Scout, of Scout’s Swag, has this set of 4 cards, with a crochet diva. It’s a little expensive at $12 (usd), but aren’t they fantastic? It would be a nice gift for friends, if you (or I) come up short on ideas.

A 3.5mm stereo plug to dual RCA male adapter.

A small part, cheaply purchased ($5 USD), and now I have the last piece to complete my cassette-to-computer conversion of audio.

That piece connects to a previously purchased ($3-6 USD) male RCA to 3.5mm stereo y-adapter:

Put the male RCA y-adapter, stereo jack side, into the mini-cassette player, plug the male RCA side of it into the female RCA adapter (first image), and then plug the 3.5mm adapter side of the female RCA to the line-in jack of your computer. After that, set your computer audio to allow recording from the line-in, and tell your favorite audio editor to use the line-in as a playback/recording option. From there, it is all VOILA and happiness!

(sound confusing? it’s really not.)

What this means for me is that I can record on my handheld cassette recorder and then transfer it to the computer in order to convert it for the podcast! No more having to wait for people to be asleep. No more restrictions to recording only at the computer. No more delays between episodes because I’ve thrown my back out, or I’m too busy to sit still at the computer long enough. Good news all around.

SO. EXCITING.

Here’s the test clip:

Cassette To Computer Test

I’m thinking about maxing out a credit card I can’t afford to max out on a digital handheld camcorder. The camera I borrow from my mother has a video feature, which is what I’ve been using, but it’s not great by any means, and I think that’s partly why the video I’ve taken so far has suffered.

Rationality will get the better of me and keep me from finding my credit card or wallet, but still…it could be nice to have.

Anyway, here are the guides:

Half-Double Crochet

Herringbone Half-Double Crochet

Double Crochet

It’s like a friggin’ Choose-Your-Own-Adventure of yarn.

You are a brilliant young designer. You realize that the yarn in your stash, or even that in the stores you’ve visited, are not suitable for this design. Your Google-Fu and Mapquest skills direct you to a land where strands of fibers await your touch, your care, your genius.

Upon arriving, you open the door and find yourself facing three paths. You…

(A) veer left toward cones of varying wools in brilliant shades and delicious texture.

(B) continue straight ahead toward tables full of inspiring, pre-wound cones, and consigned crochet and knit pieces.

(C) veer right toward the aisles of alternative fibers, roving.

(D) make a full lap around, fall into a chair before you pass out from the awesomeness, and cry like a child on Christmas who has just received the pony they’ve asked Santa for the last three years.

Ep 8, Part Two of Laurie Wheeler discussion:

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In this episode of the Crochet Side podcast, I discuss the Crochet Liberation front with its founder, Laurie Wheeler. We also discuss a number of other things, all products of tangents. I would like to admit that this was supposed to be an interview, but I suck at those, and, therefore, am going to force everyone to refer to it as a discussion. We talked. We chatted. We discussed. Discussion.

Before that I wax on about my editing disaster, give congratulations again to the Bloggy Giveaway winner, Tracy, and give you a list of apologies.

As it was in the podcast, without furder ado…

Here is more or less what Laurie and I discussed:

01. We find out more about Laurie Wheeler
02. her business, Camanomade Handspun Yarn
03. Thoughts on “Not your Momma’s/Grandma’s Crochet”
04. Freeform and learning technique
05. Swatching and Scrumbling
06. Forget about the rules
07. CLF Book and Submissions
08. Crochet Liberation Front (this is pretty much all throughout)
09. There’s mention of a 2010 Crochet Retreat (CLF Retreat) in a Washington State Park
10. Uhh, other stuff. Come on! Over an hour of good stuff, and I have to remember it all?

Links:
Crochet Liberation Front blog
Laurie Wheeler’s website
Ravelry
CLF Ravelry group

Music:
01. Intro Credit music by DJOC - “Francis Thomé - Sous la Feuillée - Under the Leaves”
02. End Credit music by A.B.E. (Anthems of a Bygone Era) -
“String Groove”
03. No other music considering this podcast is over an hour long. Geez!

As of this post, you only have 5-ish hours left to enter. Remember, duplicate entries will be disqualified and deleted, but if you haven’t entered, do so now!

I’m drawing the winner tonight at 11:59 EST, and announcing the winner via the podcast on Sunday. Or, who knows, I may put it up earlier than that. So keep checking here, or download the podcast via your favorite podcast software/website. (I will, later on in the day after the podcast is released, update the show-notes with the winner’s name, as well as e-mail them to inform them of their winning. You don’t actually HAVE to listen to the podcast for the winner, but it would be nice if you did, found me delightful, and then stuck around. HAHA. Okay, I’m only slightly joking, but still…)

I mentioned a giveaway on the podcast. This is not the one I meant. (These are not the droids you are looking for.) This is a spontaneous decision to giveaway a pattern via the Bloggy Giveaways.

Between January 30th (Wednesday) and February 1st (Friday, until 11:59pm EST), I am offering one winner one free pattern of their choice. To enter for this giveaway you must leave a comment to this entry. To announce who wins, I will post a short podcast episode on February 3rd (Sunday), as well as e-mailing them.

Click on the link above that says “Patterns” to look at the available patterns you can choose from. From there, feel free to click on the associated links on that page to find out more information regarding the pattern.

Here’s a sneak peak:

The Details

• On Saturday, February 2nd at 11:59 PM EST, comments will close and I will select a winner using a random number generator (eg: someone that is still awake in the house).
• The winner will be posted on Sunday, February 3rd, in the form of a podcast episode, as well as in the show notes posted here.
• Please note that duplicate comments will be deleted.
• This giveaway is open to bloggers and non bloggers alike.
• The winner will be notified on Sunday, February 3rd via email.
• The winner will have 4 days to respond with the pattern of their choice. Please check your Spam/Bulk folders. If I don’t receive an e-mail from the winner within the time frame, another winner will be chosen by random number and that winner will have the same timeframe.

If you don’t win this giveaway, keep in mind I will have another in the near future.

What do you think? If I were to put small collections into hard-copy, would you be interested enough to purchase any? Were they to be good quality (and I wouldn’t put them out if they weren’t), would you be willing to, for lack of a better phrase, pimp them to others?

What say you?

Also, what kind of designs would you want to see? What would interest you the most?

I’m open to all ideas.

Just wanted to pop by and tell you that there is now a group on Ravelry for the podcast.

Check it out here: The Crochet Side podcast group.

(more…)

I finally applied the cute "Crochet Geek" decal from Vinyl Wall Art, an etsy seller who sells these sort of decals for just about any surface. I thought that The Chad (my car), whom I’ve never let have anything stuck to him, would love to proclaim what a geek I am about crochet. It even has glasses like I do!

So, what do you think? Will you be rushing to buy one for yourself? It looks amazing, and the seller, Holly, has many other colors to choose from. I chose the white so that it would show up really well against the tint of the windows.

As for the price, it was extremely reasonable, and not unaffordable. Holly was a great seller, and her turnaround for shipping was phenomenal. Take a few minutes, look her up, and get your decal on!

I know I cannot WAIT to drive around and display what a geek I am for my yarn and hooks! I may just hop in The Chad and drive aimlessly around.

Coupon for Croshay Design, originally uploaded by Josi Hannon Madera.

A deal that can’t be missed! Two top-notch designers, two coupons, one golden opportunity that is only available until the end of the month.

Josi Hannon Madera (Art of Crochet) and Laura Killoran (Croshay Design) are offering one coupon (code: iwantitALL) for every single hat pattern listed on Croshay Design, topped off with a free copy of Josi’s Bonny Cloche and Scarf set.

In addition, they are offering an additional coupon for Josi’s Bonny Cloche and Scarf set, free, after purchasing two of Laura’s patterns (code: ArtOfCroshay).

To be honest, there is simply no beating that. True design, pure vision, and excellent artistry.

They’re uploaded to YouTube, but available here on this website via the “Video Tutorials” link above. If you’re a fan of YouTube, you can subscribe to The Crochet Side’s account for future video updates.

I’m a huge fan of Vickie’s, and though I am primarily a crocheter, I watch her on Knitty Gritty for the excellent tips and techniques, as well as her kick-ass (I can say it–the chick is bad-ass) personality.

Check out her show, check out her blog, and prepare yourself for the November 1st launch of her podcast. It’s sure to rock.

Also, I just finished sending a paypal payment for a new headset mic for future podcasts. Are you excited? I know I am!