Pamela Veller Crochet Blog

April 1st, does it get any prettier? Flowers galore, I adore it when the trees are in full bloom, a gentle wind comes along and the blossoms just flutter around. Gorgeous! Enjoy the Spring air, get out and walk, do some gardening whatever strikes your fancy...get those shoes a moving! Check out my latest 2 Treasuries: Kiss of Yellow and Why Knot their sure to please your eye, leave a note for me too if you want. Bless you and have a super sunny month and that's no April Fool!

March is "National Crochet Month", I never knew this until I joined this lovely community of Crocheters on Ravelry. And in keeping with the world of acronyms I will remember this one for sure! So many artists have entered this medium that was once reserved for the retired and our Grandmother's making new things for the home and their new grandchildren. We've gone from layettes of blankets, bibs, booties, runners, doilies and dolls to gorgeous clothing and something called Amigurumi; a fun crochet project making little things and whimsical animals, that aside the saying "You've come a long way Baby" couldn't be more appropriate for the Yarn industry. Thank you to whom ever created NATCROMO and long may you wave!

You crochet.  You can't remember a time when you didn't.  You were taught by a mentor; Mom, Grandmother, Friend, Aunt, somewhere along the way, or you picked up a book and taught yourself.  Now, your inspired by all the exciting new fibers and design ideas are popping inside your head, your dreaming about new stitches, different ways to connect them, every waking thought is about CROCHET!  You might be or could be a designer. Before embarking on this huge step take stock of what you know about your craft, your supplies, your pattern books, your research library, your tools, your time!  Most of all analyze yourself.  That's right, analyze you.  Your skills, your craft knowledge, computer software knowledge, your ability to fail time and time again.  Do you get frustrated and determined or do you despair and quit.  This is an important analysis of your traits and what will work for you or against you. Some of the skills a designer needs i...

What a wonderful comprehensive conference, I'm still recovering. Took lots of classes; Bullion Stitch, Aran Crochet, Hairpin Lace, Double Hook, Tunisian Crochet by the end of the conference I was creating new stitches because everything started to mush together! Met lots of wonderful women, both professionals and hobbyists and shared everything under the sun about this craft we call Knit and Crochet.  I plan to call many of them friends and mentors for a long time. Join CGOA and come play in Reno in 2012!

A big thank you to Margret Willson for this great pattern.  Being a newbie at this craft I was thrilled and proud of me when I finished this lovely bookmark.  I will make again because I see where I interpreted her instructions differently and can correct on my second one.  Quick and easy and fun!  Looks like I'll be adding a "Hairpin Lace" folder to my library!

Learning a new skill which takes some of the pressure off my fingers for awhile!  I used to cringe when I saw pics of Hairpin Lace but to be honest it's not that difficult.  My lovely man whipped up a loom for me yesterday and by the end of the night I had 4-70 loop strips! All this is homework for my Beginning Hairpin Lace class at the 2011 Knit & Crochet Conference the end of this month....can't wait!  Their going to teach us different ways to assemble these strips and I will have a lovely little purse when we're done. After reading more detailed instructions found on Wee Folk Art website, I do have to go back and count BOTH sides of each strip to make sure I have the correct number of stitches and then I read to roll them up so they don't twist for when I'm ready to assemble them so off I go!

Never made a portfolio before and it's kicking my butt!  Lots of design time and printing but I think it's coming along ok.  Really need to have this done before I leave for Greensboro, NC to the CGOA Conference.  You never know who you might meet and I'm on the hunt for Editors :)