Tunisian Crochet Baby Blankets Giveaway!

If you haven't seen Sharon Silverman's new book yet, you're in for a treat! Eight beautiful Tunisian baby blankets including cables, ripples, stripes, bobbles and basket weave. There are four "easy" designs, three "intermediate" and one "intermediate plus". There is truly something for everyone. And what's really great is that there are also online technique videos available to help should you need them. 

The gorgeous afghan pictured on the cover is called "Color Waves". I love how crisp and fresh this one is in a classic, traditional style. What baby wouldn't love this?

Another classic is the "Basket Weave Blocks" using two colors. This would be the perfect gift for any little boy using the blues shown in the photo or equally attractive using two shades of pink or colors to match the baby's nursery.

Don't you just love this chubby baby? I can't help but smile every time I look at this picture. The "Frosted Stitch Stripes" uses clusters and Tunisian Simple Stitch to create this beautifully textured throw. 

While I love all the designs in this book, the "Bright Strands" is my very favorite! If you're looking for an incredibly unique blanket with loads of visual interest, this is the one for you! 

To see the rest of the blankets, please visit Leisure Arts. You can download a copy right away and get busy stitching! The hard copy will be available soon as well. I would also like to invite you to enter our giveaway and you might just win a copy of this great book! Leave a comment on this blog telling me which blanket is your favorite! You can also earn two more entries by visiting and "liking" Sharon's Facebook page and tweeting about the giveaway! Good luck everyone! a Rafflecopter giveaway

A New Beginning!!!

As many of you know, over the past 3 months I have been going through an incredible transformation! So many people have asked what I am doing that I thought it would be easiest to share here. Let me back up a little bit first. In January 2006, my family and I decided to take charge of our health so we embarked on a weight loss program and joined a gym. It was such a wonderful time, feeling that we were finally on the right path, eating in a way we then believed to be healthy, exercising and losing weight as a family. For 6 months we were just enjoying life and then we got sick. Very sick. I was the first to be rushed to the hospital where I was told I'd had a stroke. I was 42 years old. Things just got worse from there. I went through years of "mystery illness", seeing one doctor after another with each one giving me a new diagnosis from MS to Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Parkinsons, Chronic Lyme Disease and just handing me a bunch of pills with the explanation that "these things just happen". As I continued to get sicker, my neurologist referred me to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota in the dead of winter! I could barely walk anymore and it was a very scary, sad time as I gradually lost hope of ever being healthy again. As the years passed I tried many different treatments including mainstream medicine, herbs and supplements and I would sometimes find something that would help a few symptoms. I was thrilled to have some sort of life back but I never experienced true healing nor did I feel I ever would.

July of this year I attended a crochet conference where my roommate and wonderful friend Kimberly was doing a nutritional cleanse. I didn't even ask her a thing about the program, I just wanted what she had! She was full of energy, she felt amazing and she looked incredible. She was healthy and I wanted that too!

I began nutritional cleansing on July 26, 2013. By the end of the third day my symptoms were gone. Every last one of them....gone! I knew from my years of research that this program just made sense! Put the good in, take the bad out! When I had lost the weight in 2006 I didn't know that toxins were stored in fat cells. As I lost weight, I went into toxic overload! This picture reminds me of the insurance commercial that is on television all the time - "It's not complicated".

So tomorrow will be 3 months since I reclaimed my life. I can't even begin to put into words what that feels like! I wake up each morning excited to start the day and I leap out of bed. For years I kept my walker at my bedside in case I couldn't get up without some help. Those days are gone! I even did a cartwheel about a week or so after I started. It has been absolutely incredible and I know I have the key to remain healthy. I am so grateful and I feel so incredibly blessed! Obviously, I have been telling everyone I know about this! Why wouldn't I? It brings me so much joy to pass this on and watch my friends experience the same healing as me! My husband began the program about 2 1/2 months ago. He has been through so much medically and it is absolutely fantastic to watch him heal and be able to do things he couldn't previously do! Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to know more! Nothing makes me happier than to share this with everyone I can! You can message me on Facebook or send me an email THilde5939@aol.com. I would LOVE for you to feel this great too!!!

Elegant, Fashionable, Chic Accessories to Crochet

I am so excited to be kicking off the blog tour for Karen McKenna's beautiful new book Elegant, Fashionable, Chic Accessories to Crochet . If you haven't had a chance to see this book yet, you're going to want to get a copy in your hands as soon as possible!

 

There are six accessory sets including hats, scarves, mittens and so much more! All of the designs are rated "easy" skill level so anybody can make them! They are all made using fingering, sport and worsted weight yarns.

 

 

If I had to pick a favorite - and I'm not, because I can't! I really do love them all but the Purple Mountain Hat and Mitts set is just too cute! Lots of color (I'm a huge fan of color in case you didn't already know that!) and loaded with fun!

 

 

And guess what? There is even a great set for that special man in your life! (The model is not too hard on the eyes either!)

 

 

How would you like to win an autographed copy of this fantastic book? All you have to do is head over to Karen's blog and leave her a comment about something you read in this post or any of the stops on the upcoming tour. Karen has the whole schedule listed on her page. It doesn't get any better than that! What are you waiting for?

 







What's Your Mountain Hat Design Contest!

If you haven't already heard the buzz, you're going to want to get right over to My Mountain's Facebook page and check out the great contest they have going on. All you have to do to enter is design a hat with one of their fabulous yarns! They'll even send you the yarn! It doesn't get any easier than that!

The contest, put together by Westminster, features Schachenmayr yarn which comes in such vibrant, bold colors and styles that you're going to have a tough time choosing. It was impossible for me to choose just one (or two, or even three) so my hat has five of my favorite colors using their wonderful Lumio yarn.

 My life tends to be complicated and a little bit challenging so my personal mountain is to face each day with a positive attitude and try to fill my world with color and fun and so I present my hat design.... "Whirlybird". Willow thinks it's great!  

With a simple change of hook size, minus the "whirly's", we made Mommy a more subdued version but still full of color and fun! So what are you waiting for? Go visit My Mountain!

Wrapping Up National Crochet Month With A Winner!

There are many of us, myself included, that celebrate crochet every day of every month but the official National Crochet Month celebration ends in just a few hours. I hope everyone enjoyed the blog tour put together by Crochetville. Thirty-one days of blog posts from our professional and associate professional members of the Crochet Guild of America. You can find the complete list here in case you missed any of them. If you'd like to learn more about CGOA, please visit our site http://www.crochet.org/

Don't forget to join us in supporting Project Night Night which is an organization that provides homeless children with a new security blanket, an age-appropriate children's book, and a stuffed animal -- all nestled inside of a new canvas tote bag. You can find all the details here.

And now to announce our winner of the yarn giveaway........ the winner is Carrie P. Congratulations! I will get this sent out to you right away and I hope you will share photos with us on my facebook page Hot Lava Crochet of all the wonderful things you create with it!

Crochet Guild of America Professional Development

Please be sure to stop by the CGOA blog tomorrow where I will be talking about some of the many benefits the Crochet Guild has to offer to our professional and aspiring professional members. I'll be wearing my Vice President hat for that post. If I really had one, I'd post a picture of myself wearing it here. Note to self: make Vice President hat! (I'm just jealous of Amy and her crown!)

You'll also want to visit This is Crochet, our other stop on the tour tomorrow. Turquoiz Blue is one of our  professional members. She designs beautiful fashion, accessories and home decor. I love her  Fleurette Scarf, a clever piece done in Tunisian Knit Stitch that I think is so pretty. Tell her I sent you!

Until tomorrow.....

The Next Stop on a "Tour Through Crochet Country" is Hot Lava Crochet!

I'd first like to thank Amy Shelton and Donna Hulka of Crochetville for putting together this "Tour Through Crochet Country". What a great idea and I have enjoyed reading all the blog posts in celebration of National Crochet Month. You can find the whole list here blog tour in case you missed any of them.

There are so many ways to celebrate National Crochet Month but don't we really celebrate the joy every day? I know I do and I can't imagine my life without crochet. It is the one thing that stays constant in an ever changing world.

I first learned to crochet from my second grade teacher, Mrs. Crooks. I can remember it like it was yesterday. After school I would get to pull my chair up to her big, wooden desk as she patiently taught me the stitches to create a floppy, purple "hippie" hat that I still have. Little did she know all those years ago just how big of an impact her act of kindness would have on my life! I am so happy to still be in touch with her and I was thrilled to see a comment she recently left on the CGOA Facebook page saying she was going through my patterns to find one of my designs to make in celebration of National Crochet Month. Thank you Mrs. Crooks!

After that first hat, I've never stopped. I have crocheted everything from garments to dog jackets to baby booties and everything in between. I love to experiment with new techniques and try different things. My crochet goes everywhere I go. I have been spotted stitching at bus stops, on my treadmill, on airplanes, on my riding lawn mower and even floating in my pool! 

And speaking of CGOA, which stands for the Crochet Guild of America, I must also remember them as we celebrate this month. CGOA has been instrumental in helping me pursue a professional path with crochet. They offer a mentoring program, a day long event called PDD - short for professional development day - at each conference, and opportunities to network that wouldn't otherwise be available. Even if you have no desire to become a professional, CGOA has so much to offer. Please visit their site for more information. 

My friend, fellow guild members and former CGOA president, Marty Miller, is also blogging on the tour today. You'll want to stop by and see what she has to say! Marty was the person that took me to my very first ever LYS! You can find her site here at the crochet doctor

Lastly, I want to hear about YOU! Leave me a comment on here or my Facebook page and tell me about how you learned to crochet or the craziest place you've stitched! I went through my stash and pulled a few of my favorite yarns to share with you. One winner will be randomly chosen at midnight on the last day of March. As much as I hate to do this, I have to limit it to US residents only. Shipping prices have skyrocketed     and I just can't ship outside of the US. 

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Happy National Crochet Month!

I'd like to wish everyone a very Happy National Crochet Month! I hope you are doing something special to celebrate and sharing the love by teaching someone how to crochet!

Unfortunately, (hanging head in shame) I also need to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year's, and Happy Valentine's Day. Where on earth does the time go? In my defense, it has been a very busy time. My first little granddaughter, Willow, was born just before Christmas. She has been a blessing and brings much joy to our lives. Since neither of my daughters have any interest in knit or crochet, I have very high hopes for Willow. I had a hook in her hand by the time she was one week old.

And I include her while I stitch so she is exposed to yarn regularly. She may not seem like she is very interested but I could tell she did enjoy it! I am determined that this child WILL crochet!

I have also been keeping busy with work. I became the vice president of CGOA in January. That has been very exciting and fulfilling. I just finished my first book which will be released Summer 2014 and I'm now working on my second book which will be released Fall 2014. I will tell you more about them in my next post. I promise it will be soon and not months from now!