Marly Bird's Blog, page 198

Maria Bittner, Pattern Paradise

Maria Bittner, Pattern Paradise called from New York as part of the Yarn Thing Podcast by Marly Bird’s focus on crochet bloggers.

Maria remembers when she was very young always wanting to craft, playing with a friend who’s aunt brought home scraps from her job in the garment industry and dressing their Barbies. A friend of her mother’s often came to chat and always brought her handwork. When she noticed Maria trying to imitate her, she taught her a few stitches, and later Maria would borrow books from the library or purchase when she could from the local Five & Dime store.

She knew she wanted a business of her own but never found the right fit. Maria’s tradition was always to welcome new babies in the community around her with a blanket and other goodies. A woman who owned a vintage linen shop asked her to create products for sale in her shop. Later, with her son’s encouragement, she sold items online in an Etsy Shop. She was often approached for the patterns to her products and that evolved into her website: http://pattern-paradise.com/

One of the things that Maria’s challenged herself to do with her website was to create a series for her community to participate in. Last year she created the Chameleon Hat and with it she changed the style every month to fit the seasons. This year she is working on a series of patterns using X-stitches.

Maria patterns include tips and tricks, rather than strictly ‘publisher’ written. She finds for herself that she needs a little variety in her written directions.

If you missed hearing the podcast live, it’s archived at it’s original location: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthing/2015/03/03/maria-bittner-pattern-paradise or in iTunes.

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Celina Lane of Simply Collectible Crochet

Celina Lane of Simply Collectible Crochet was our guest on the Yarn Thing podcast with Marly Bird. Her website is www.simplycollectiblecrochet.com

Celina remembers visiting her grandmother, who had a basket of yarn next to her chair. Instead of doing nothing, she made a chain that stretch across the house, then take it apart and do it again. Later, with a toddler and going out her mind, she got to the point where need YouTube and needed something to keep her hands busy. She purchased a crochet hook and a skein of yarn. Learning from YouTube she became a visual learner and had to adjust to read patterns.

Her first pattern, Love Baby, was a joy for her to create and she began to try to figure out how to explain it to someone else for them created. She posted the pattern and sold three copies the first week and was elated. This was 2010, at that time, for her it was a learning experience. She recommends starting where someone else has built on before rather than starting from the ground up. 

When people come to the website, she’s hoping people see simplicity, with beautiful pictures, round-ups of patterns, giveaways and community. She hopes they walk away from it with knowledge and creativity, with joy. Her website contains about 60 to 70 patterns currently, including the new Coraline wrap.

Simply Collectible Crochet can be found on Facebook. Her page is popular and she shares not just her projects but other things she finds around her, too! She also has a Ravelry Designer page.

If you missed getting to hear the program live, you can still listen at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthing/2015/02/26/celina-lane-of-simply-collectible-crochet or iTunes.

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Stacy Rhoads of Too Yarn Cute

Stacy Rhoads of Too Yarn Cute is the latest of the crochet bloggers appearing on the Yarn Thing podcast with Marly Bird. Her website is www.tooyarncute.com

Stacy Rhoads is a self-taught crocheter. Her grandmother and great-grandmother were both crocheters, but she thought she she was ‘too cool’ to ask to learn from them. (Now that her grandmother has passed away, she wishes she had learned from her but she feels her presence when she crochets.) Stacy was determined to crochet, and felt important to carry it on. She is a visual crocheter, which becomes hard,when learning to read patterns. When she writes patterns, she sometimes finds that she has created stitches that she can’t find names for elsewhere and has to name them herself, then figure out how to describe how they’re done.

Two years ago, in preparation for a Christmas Craft show, she wanted to create a Rudolph hat. Tara from Triffles and Treasures saw that she was struggling with the creation of the eyes and lent her a hand and once the pattern was created, really encouraged her to publish that pattern, her first one on Ravelry.

Her website was begun about a year ago as a way to share with others after she had been posting things on Facebook. Stacy is visually and hearing impaired and wanted an income not based on her disability. When she got into the blogger and designer world, she realized that she wanted to encourage others the way she had been treated. She lists patterns that she feels are simple as available for no charge, which she realizes brings traffic to her website, and more challenging patterns have different levels of pricing.

Stacy’s designs originate from a desire to meet her needs. A friend, or a relative will ask for something, or her kids will ask her to match their toys. For instance, two years ago the houndstooth color patterning seemed to be popular, she created a collection that uses it. (Really, her Rudolph patterns still are the most popular. They are very cute!) You can check out her patterns that are listed in Ravelry at THIS LINK.

Eventually she evolved her work into an e-magazine, and is working toward a directory of patterns, to save us time from scrolling between Ravelry and other pattern resources.

If you missed listening live, you can listen to the archive where it aired: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthin... or in iTunes.

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How to PJ Party with Marly Bird at Stitches West

Friday Night at the Stitches events, way after dark. we like to Pajama Party as only we, the mild mannered crocheters and knitters know how.  Here are a few tips:

1. Bring a friend, knitter crocheter, spinner, we like everyone so, no matter the craft.

In fact, bring your bridesmades.

Just bring your whole team.

2. Costumes are great. Kitties too.

2. Willingness to participate is always essential, especially when you’ve knitted your pantaloons.

4. Poems or songs that are rehearsed really impress the judges.

Just show the judge that your his ‘fan-girl’!

5. Always bring your winning spirit, because you are a winner, baby!

Even if it’s just because you’ve completed a design by the judge.

6. Always put your best shark, I mean, foot forward.

7. We love to dance, we hopy you’ll join us, but we don’t ask for the hokey pokey. Very often.

Lastly, there really are not many rules. Even your dead rabbits are fine by us.

Our Thanks to everyone who came, Marly’s awesome crew including Lindsey, Kirsten, Pam, Marian and Jeannie. Kristi who made sure we had what we needed. We had great special guest Judges, Stephen West and Lorna Misner! Thank you and our gratitude to all the vendors in the marketplace who donated prizes. It is your generosity that makes for fun to be had by everyone.

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Yarn Thing Podcast with Marly Bird

Yarn Thing Podcast with Marly Bird was the subject of today’s program. 

That’s a little unusual, we know. The guest that was scheduled e-mailed us that she was sick, hoping she gets well soon. We had to cancel the last episode because of Marly’s computer issues and there won’t be an episode at Stitches West, Marly will be teaching a class on cables right about then.

We are so excited about upcoming events. When Pam from Wisconsin called in we asked if she was close enough to get over to the Minnesota Knitting Guild for the Yarnover event, April 25th. Marly will be teaching cables there, too, coincidentally!

In between these two events, we mentioned but didn’t get to talk about it much is in March at Crafty Hands in Bowling Green, KY. This is a 3-day event, Marly will be teaching on Friday and Saturday.

Marly opened the phones up for questions and one of them was about this lovely cardigan, the popular duster length with great swing and drape. Marly added two items to her to-do list for after Stitches West, to get that posted and video of Crocheted I-chord!

There was some banging going on in the background, Marly is upgrading a large area of her basement, to make a video studio space and office area for podcasting. That is very exciting, but hope construction noise wasn’t too distracting.

If you missed getting to hear the program it is still available as an archive at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthing/2015/02/17/yarn-thing-with-marly-bird or in iTunes

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Teacher, Designer, ‘Knitting Enabler’ Lorilee Beltman

Teacher, Designer, ‘Knitting Enabler’ Lorilee Beltman was the Guest on the Yarn Thing Podcast with Marly Bird, today, which is also a reunion of two great friends, room-mates from the events they’ve taught at.

Lorilee Beltman says she learn to knit, taught by her mom, as a kid with two-color knitting at about age 8, but it didn’t stick. She remembers crewel (embroidery) was more enjoyable. Later as an adult with a child in tow, she relearned from a neighbor.

Lorilee actually fell in love with knitting after she opened a yarn shop in 2005, in Grand Rapids, Michigan where she fell down the rabbit hole! Part of that process for her was creating a business plan and determining that the shop would be viable in that location. She also found people who knew a lot,  were willing to learn and she could learn from them, too. Outside of the shop, she taught for the very first time at Sock Summit 2009. That led to other opportunities, working and teaching with Interweave.

There is a video posted of Lorilee teaching Continental Knitting that has had over a million views. This first video began a journey that has led to the newest project:A Craftsy Class! One of her popular classes is the two color-stranding. She describes it as a ‘mutant form of intarsia’ which makes for a easy method of creating vertical stripes, that can also be found on a DVD from Interweave.

Lorilee Beltman has become known for the Bold Move skirt pattern. The pattern was inspired by waves on the beaches of Washington State, the original was knit with yarn from The Plucky Knitter, in a special colorway created for Lorilee’s move from Michigan to Seattle, ‘Seattle or Bust’.

Another pattern has become a signature piece, her Sinkmates pattern. It began with a blog post about her brother, that Lorilee was inspired to offer her design of a mitered square knitted dishcloth with a bold color finish to use in our kitchens, the proceeds went to Special Olympics. As of December 2014, she was able to send a check of $3,700!

She has a pattern coming out in Vogue Knitting, Spring 2015, a sock pattern in colorwork, a Purl design, she says it looks like little caterpillars.

Designs as listed in Ravelry. Lorilee’s Website. You can find Lorilee at Stitches West next week and Green Mountain Spinnery for the Sugar Season retreat in March. (Check it out, both XRX, host of the Stitches Events, and Green Mountain Spinnery are Yarn Thing Sponsor!)

If you missed hearing Lorilee Beltman on the Yarn Thing Podcast Live you will find it at this link, archived where it aired originally:http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthing/2015/02/10/teacher-designer-knitting-enabler-lorilee-beltman

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Kristin Omdahl of Styled by Kristin and Wrapture, Yarn Thing SPONSOR

Kristin Omdahl of Styled by Kristin and Wrapture, Yarn Thing Sponsor makes her a Superhero and why we love every visit with her on the podcast with Marly Bird.

Kristin Omdahl’s latest venture is another book (she says it’s #10) is Crochet so Lovely (Available as a Kindle book! It will ship in Paperback on March 11th).  Her great sense of style makes for patterns. She tries to imagine what she would wear if she was asked out by Duane ”The Rock” Johnson (even though he’s off the market, you’d want to be dressy!) whether it’s a beach date or a night on the town. She says it’s a book of crochet garments that uses various techniques like motifs and hairpin lace, or BOTH.

One of the pieces she loves was inspired by designer bags you might see at the mall, of laser cutwork. Kristin created a bag that is lacework in creation and then felted for a near perfect match!

It is a lesson for the rest of us that not every idea is a failure because it doesn’t succeed the first time. Kristin says that some initial attempts do end up in the garbage and she resorts to experimentation. This means she comes up with an idea, gives it a try, questions herself, but doesn’t give up. Sometimes spotting what others have done gives her the inspiration to give it another go.

Just for fun, let’s also mention that Crochet So Fine, a book with 20 designs came out about two years ago. Both of these book feature Kristin’s love of feminine, figure flattering designs created with beautiful yarns.

Her yarn lines continue to grow. Bamboo So Fine has now become the original finer gauge Be So Fine, 650 yards fingering weight, and Be So Sporty, 325 yards sport weight, both 100% bamboo silk, which creates beautiful, shiny fabric with luxury drape. When you receive the skeins, they come in a bag for extra protectiveness, a trial size of Kristin’s soak brand, Wrapture and a collection of patterns to knit or crochet, created by Kristin with the qualities of the yarn in mind.

Kristin is not only creative with Crochet and Knitting patterns. She has been drawing in the Zentangle style, and some of her drawings are have become the perfect fabric designs to be used with Erin.Lane bags. At Stitches East, last October, Kristin was there with 3 of her drawings on many different bags created by Lindsey. They will have a new fabric bag available at Stitches West, and there are a few in the Erin.Lane etsy shop.

You can also see recipes from Kristin on her website where she focuses on healthy-on-a-budget meals, which probably works well with the new focus on nutritional cleanse she’s doing. She is also making all-natural body-care products and has become a Jamberry consultant.

In addition to Kristin’s website, you can follow her on Facebook, and in Ravelry.

Here are links in iTunes to previous visits with Kristin. (I’m finding iTunes is easier to listen if you are often interrupted, or need to count stitches….) Here is July 1, 2014. November 2012, May 2012, February 2012, March 2011, March 2009,

Also, Kristin is offering $2 off all yarn through the weekend, with code word MARLY

If you missed hearing this live, you can still find it archived here:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthing/2015/02/05/kristin-omdahl-of-styled-by-kristin-and-wrapture-yarn-thing-sponsor or in iTunes.

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Yi-An “E” Lee of The Crochet Lounge

Yi-An “E” Lee of The Crochet Lounge met up with us at the Yarn Thing Podcast with Marly Bird.

Yi-An (sounds like E-Ann, so usually she uses the moniker “E”) Lee is a ‘Designer, Choreographer of Hooks & Strings at The Crochet Lounge’, a Mom of four, ‘playing with home-schooling’, loves social media especially Facebook with her growth from 10,000 to almost 80,000 on The Crochet Lounge Facebook page in the last year. This has inspired her to starte a second arm to her business, the Lulu Lounge, more about that later, but both created for busy moms who need look professional and put together as well as comfy.

“E”‘s mom and grandmother both crocheted. She watched them and they were FAST, so it was about at about 8 or 9 that she attempted. In college she got out her crochet hook and made scarves, just whipped them out. When pregnant with her firstborn, she was inspired again.

The Crochet Lounge started as a group on Facebook, grew into a blog and website. She has a computer-science and IT background. She uses these different platforms like Word-Press to blog with to learn, because she’s heard many successful businesses use them. She started in a few groups within Facebook and early on became administrator of a large group. She began her own group in 2012, as a more hands-off gathering, where everyone talks about everything.

Right now, she has a pay-it-forward program that she is very excited about. She is about 50% through a beanie drive to help an area in California where so many people were displaced by fires. (This link is to a group, please asked to be included, if you’re interested.) Much of “E”‘s mission currently is to encourage others to take the first step their heart’s desire, to not be afraid of failure but to Fail Hard, not to wonder if you could share what inspires you and never try.

She started another company, which can be found as a group on Facebook also, call Lula Lounge. This group is for everyone to have clothing they like, is fresh and inspiring. She doesn’t consider herself a designer but her website and posts in Facebook. is chock full of interesting pieces. People must love her patterns because of that growth mentioned earlier, either the design itself or the modifications they could make to it for themselves.

If you didn’t get to listen LIVE: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthing/2015/02/03/yi-an-e-lee-of-the-crochet-lounge or at iTunes

 

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Benjamin Levisay CEO XRX Books, Stitches Events and Yarn Thing Sponsor

Benjamin Levisay, CEO XRX Books, Stitches Events and Yarn Thing SPONSOR joined Marly on the Yarn Thing Podcast to share what’s new for 2015 from Knitting Magazine, XRX, STITCHES West (in February, just four weeks away), STITCHES South in April, Stitches Midwest in August and the ALL-NEW STITCHES Texas. Benjamin sent this bio in advance of this episode:

Benjamin Levisay is a second-generation partner in this 29-year-old company originally started by his uncle, Alexis Xenakis, his father, David Xenakis, and their partner Elaine Rowley. Benjamin has been a part of the fiber industry since his family opened a yarn shop in Sioux Falls, SD when he was a small boy, an enterprise that later evolved into XRX. After a career in the software industry, Benjamin rejoined the company nine years ago as CEO and Director of Marketing & Sales. He is more commonly known as one of the hosts of STITCHES and board member of Halos of Hope. It is his intention to carry on the legacy of passion and commitment that characterized his family’s contributions to the fiber world.

The really interesting thing about having Benjamin as a guest (and others that have been in the fiber industry for some time) is to hear how things have changed in just a few short years, with the advent of digital publishing and internet. Listening to him explain how books are put together by a company that is not focused on books but purely for encouraging the love of fiber makes for the appreciation that everyone has who happens to hear it.

During the show, he shared the books that have recently been published by XRX. Laura Bryant’s Artful Color Mindful Knits, Myra Woods Knit in New Directions, Judith Shangold’s Weave Knit Wear, and gave a teaser of a book by Anna Zillbourg that will be presented at Stitches West, happening in Santa Clara, California, February 19-22.

Speaking of the STITCHES Events, Benjamin always credit the hard work of the team, beginning with Mavis Smith, who is the beloved whirling dervish that really ensures that things get done: not only that they are planned to flow smoothly, but in a way that puts the best that can be offered together in a way that’s a gift to the attendees, vendors and teachers. The upcoming STITCHES West is the biggest of all the shows, this year featuring 320 vendor booths in the market floor. Last year the expected attendance was 12,000 and this year promises to be HUGE as well! Special events include options like the Fashion Show, the Student Fashion Show, Opening Day presentation with a Meet-the-Teachers Luncheon. And Don’t Forget the Pajama Party hosted by our lovely Marly Bird!

Brand-new this year is STITCHES Texas! happening in September. Benjamin shared the considerations taken into account to add a whole-new event to the system that’s been established: the event space, adequate lodging, the audience and vendor participation. He’s told me in the past, one of the biggest things to look at is having a usable loading dock area for the XRX crew and the vendors, which for many locations that we might imagine would be awesome could be completely undoable.

One event that was mentioned but not explained is Camp STITCHES which is a retreat atmosphere opportunity to learn with many of the teachers that are found in the STITCHES Events roster. Camp STITCHES used to happen regularly and were put off for a few years so the last one in November felt like the first one and next fall will be at the same location in New Mexico.

Benjamin hosted is own podcast for a couple of years that has recently come to an end, Fiber Hooligans. This was a wonderful opportunity to share with folks ‘the core of who the guests were’ he says, in a quality way. The time he spent with each show, when he really has his hands full with family, the work he does with XRX, Halos of Hope and Hopscotch Web (a company of his own founding, creating great websites with simplified drag-and-drop ease) he felt affected his ability to continue to present each guest in the way they deserve. He mentioned in the last episode of Fiber Hooligan as well as during this visit, that Sponsoring the Yarn Thing podcast with Marly Bird has been a great way to present positive vibes in the fiber industry, so he will continue to support that and come back to share what’s new with XRX and Stitches!

The best of this episode for me was hearing the story of how they first met, in the way-back seat of the airport shuttle bus. Clearly it was the perfect foundation for a great foundation, and for those of us included as onlookers, it was a meaningful and beautiful beginning.

Follow the website for Knitting Universe, each of the events has it’s own Ravelry Group, so look for STITCHES West (there’s been a lot of chatter about who we are excited to see, meet and learn in that group so if you’re going check it out!) also all over social media so Facebook, Twitter, and if you can’t make an event, I would highly recommend the Rebel Mouse Feed, as it’s where you can literally watch the fun from home. (I know, it’s my favorite thing to do when I don’t get to be there.)

If you missed hearing the show live, you can catch it where it originally aired: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthing/2015/01/29/benjamin-levisay-ceo-xrx-books-stitches-events-and-yarn-thing-sponsor or at iTunes

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Reading Crochet Chart Symbols: Basics, Tips and Tricks

Crochet charts make crocheting so much easier. No longer get lost in the words or confused what a stitch is or if you are supposed to put all those stitches in that one stitch.

With crochet charts you can “see” what the stitch is and where it goes. I teach you how to read crochet chart symbols and give you some of my tips and tricks for how to recognize a stitch symbol that you’ve never seen before! This free video scratches the surface of crochet charts and crochet chart symbols but it is a good place to start.

“Using crochet charts has enabled me to take my crocheting from simple stitches to more complex stitches and construction because I am able to actually see how a stitch or pattern is supposed to look where as with words I struggle to visualize it.” –Marly Bird 

*Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links*

 

Crochet Chart Basics

The video is really more of a 16 min lecture to teach you how to read the crochet chart symbols and crochet charts. Use the links below to follow along with the instructions I use to show you the symbols.

Links

Hand drawn chart used in the video, the edging chart and key (note: this is NOT the full pattern): https://www.dropbox.com/sh/pr5d7v0425ra0jp/AADL2aaCvXnFRno9npk4bv4wa?dl=0

  Garden Party Sweater Pattern:  http://www.marlybird.com/garden-party-sweater/ 

For more instructions on crochet charts take a look at this great Craftsy class taught by Charles Voth: http://www.craftsy.com/ext/MarlyBird_4843_CP

 

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