Happy National Crochet Month 2016!

Welcome to my stop on The Crochet Express! I am so happy you are here! Big thank you to Crochetville for once again putting together this incredible blog tour in celebration of National Crochet Month. I'm sure you are just like me and celebrate crochet EVERY month but March is exceptionally special and it's so much fun to celebrate in a much bigger way!

I developed a new appreciation for things we often take for granted after I reclaimed my health almost 3 years ago and there are many things I never thought I would experience that I now celebrate. I had been sick for over 7 years and I am so thankful that I had my crochet with me but once I found healing, I just wanted to get up and MOVE all the time. The problem that presented would be less crochet time! Or would it?  I love to get creative and blend the various aspects of my life together for the best efficiency. So I didn't see any reason why I couldn't get up and get moving and take my crocheting with me! 

Just because I'm working on my legs doesn't mean there is any reason I can't still be using my hands to crochet, right? 

And so I challenge you to incorporate your crochet into all areas of your life! Especially something that gets your body moving and improves your health! We already know that crocheting is good for your health, now let's step it up to the next level! I know sometimes it can be hard to get and stay motivated so find a friend to keep you accountable and you do the same for them! And if you can't find a friend, make your own! (remember...no excuses!) and so I give you "Workout Wendy" to motivate and inspire you. Plus, she is just really cute and I love making doll clothes. Please click on the link below to get the pattern which will be free for a limited time as a thank you for celebrating crochet with me! If you are ready to take charge of your life and you are ready to improve your health, lose some weight, gain a whole bunch of energy or if you are just ready to look and feel amazing, please send me a message THilde5939@aol.com! I would love to help you! You can also visit me at https://www.facebook.com/Healthybeginswithyou/

Work Out Wendy Set

  

Fair Isle Crochet by Brenda Bourg

What a thrill and an honor it is to be reviewing this wonderful book which is Brenda's very first! It is a spectacular book that has set the bar pretty high and will be a hard act to follow with any future books but if anyone can do it, Brenda can!

Before I tell you about all the fantastic things this book has to offer, let me give you a little background on how Brenda and I came to know each other. Brenda and I met online about 8 years ago when she contacted me on Ravelry about a design of mine that she had made. We got to chatting and a friendship was born. Brenda was just getting started in the industry as a professional and as a CGOA member she wanted to take advantage of our mentoring program. She asked me if I would be willing to be her mentor. Initially, I said "no". Not because I didn't want to but I had a lot going on and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to devote the necessary time. However, as I thought more about it, being a firm believer that people don't come into our lives by accident and God places them in our path for a reason, I told her on second thought I would love to be her mentor. The official mentoring program lasts 2 years and here we are 8 years later! We have both learned an awful lot more than we knew way back then and I have learned every bit as much from her as she has from me. It has gone far beyond mentoring to a truly wonderful friendship that I treasure.

So on to the book. It is incredible and I know you are going to love it! Brenda is extremely thorough and covers everything you could think of so even a beginner could create these projects. There are step-by-step photos for all the stitches which I found enormously helpful. I'm a very visual person so this was great!

Brenda includes sections with tips and hints, seaming, blocking, tension, changing colors and all that entails as well as helpful tools and choosing your own colors! She has provided everything you need to know to sit down and get started right away. The only thing that you are going to find extremely difficult is which project you would like to start with first!

My personal favorite is the Cora Sweater. This design just speaks to me! I love the colors and the complexity. I love the shape and the ribbing. I just really love everything about it!

I also adore the Annabel Bag! Is this not absolutely gorgeous?! 

There are lots of little projects if you're someone that likes instant gratification. Fingerless mitts, cowls, headbands and boot cuffs to name a few. 

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Fair Isle Tunisian Crochet, please enter our giveaway! And if you don't win, no problem...you can order a copy right here! Enjoy! I NEED THIS BOOK NOW!

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Happy National Crochet Month 2015!

Wow! I can hardly believe it is this time of year again already! I hope everyone has a lot of fun events and activities planned to celebrate National Crochet Month! I would first like to thank Amy Shelton and Donna Hulka, owners of Crochetville for once again hosting this incredible blog tour! I love to read all of the wonderful entries and this year there will be more free patterns and prizes than ever before! Thank you to Red Heart Yarns for sponsoring the great giveaways! You can find the complete list of participants right here!

One great way to celebrate National Crochet Month is by joining the Crochet Guild of America! There are so many benefits to being a member of CGOA; you can find just a few of the top reasons here. The picture below is from our Summer conference last year in Manchester, New Hampshire! Pictured is Jenny King, Amy Shelton, myself and Marcy Smith. We have so much fun and I have learned so much with incredible volunteer opportunities. I am currently serving my second term as Vice President of this wonderful organization. Find out how you too can become involved.

Another great way to celebrate is to pay it forward and share your gift of crochet by bringing love and comfort to someone in need. We will once again be supporting Halos of Hope which is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization committed to providing volunteer-crafted hats to cancer centers across the country. Founder and executive director, Pam Haschke, is a cancer survivor and you can find all the details of their program on their site. I am offering a free hat pattern in celebration of National Crochet Month and I ask that you make a hat or two (or as many as you are able) and send to Halos of Hope! There are also many knit and crochet patterns offered on their site and they also accept donations to help cover the expenses of shipping the hats!

Whatever you do to celebrate, just be sure you ARE celebrating and sharing the love of crochet! Teach someone to crochet, gift your projects, send some yarn and patterns in a random act of kindness to someone in need, just celebrate!

And be sure to stop by and visit me on my Facebook Hot Lava Crochet page, my Craftsy pattern store, my Ravelry page, and lastly, if you are looking to improve your health, lose weight, increase your energy or even create an additional stream of income, I invite you to visit my Facebook Healthy Begins With You nutritional cleansing page. I have lost 53 pounds and I feel absolutely amazing!!! 

And now on to the free pattern! A very special "thank you" to Bendy Carter with her help 

testing the pattern! 

Enjoy!!!

Celebration 2015 Hat

  

Designed by Tammy Hildebrand.

RED HEART® Super Saver: 100% Acrylic; 7 oz. (198g), 364 yd (333m) skein; 1 skein each: Shocking Pink #718 (A); Jade #3862 (B); Lavender #358 (C).

Crochet Hook: 5.5mm [US I-9]. Yarn needle.

GAUGE:

Finished Size:

Special Stitches Sc2tog (single crochet two stitches together)

Notes Ch 3 at beginning of rounds counts as first double crochet. To change color, yarn over with new color when working final slip st to join round. Drop unused color to back of work until needed again and loosely carry up.

Instructions With A, ch 4, join with sl st to form ring. Rnd 1 (RS): Ch 3, 11 dc in ring, join with sl st in top of beg-ch changing to B. 12 dc. Rnd 2: With B, ch 1, sc in first st, ch 3, skip next st, *sc in next st, ch 3, skip next st; rep from * around, join with sl st in beg sc changing to C. 6 sc, 6 ch-3 sps. Rnd 3: With C, working all sts in skipped sts of 2 rnds previous and behind ch sts of previous rnd, sl st in first skipped st, ch 3, 2 dc in same st, ch 1, *3 dc in next skipped st, ch 1; rep from * around, join with sl st in top of beg ch-3 changing to A. 18 dc, 6 ch-1 sps. Rnd 4: With A, ch 1, * sc in first st of 3-dc group, working in ch-3 sp of 2 rnds previous and next st at same time, sc in next st, sc in next st, sc in next ch-1 sp,; rep from * around, join with sl st in beg sc changing to B. 24 sc. Rnds 5 – 7: Rep Rnds 2 – 4. 48 sc. Rnd 8: Rep Rnd 2. 24 sc, 24 ch-3 sps. Rnd 9: With C, working all sts in skipped sts of 2 rnds previous and behind ch sts of previous rnd, sl st in first skipped st, ch 3, 2 dc in same st, *3 dc in next skipped st; rep from * around, join with sl st in top of beg ch-3 changing to A. 72 dc. Rnd 10: With A, ch 1, * sc in first st of 3-dc group, working in ch-3 sp of 2 rnds previous and next st at same time, sc in next st, sc in next st, rep from * around, join with sl st in beg sc changing to B. 72 sc. Rnd 11: With B, ch 1, sc in first st, sc2tog, *sc in next st, sc2tog; rep from * around, join with sl st in beg sc changing to C. 48 sc. Rnd 12: With C, sc in each st around, join with sl st in beg sc changing to A. Rnd 13: With A, sc in each st around, join with sl st in beg sc changing to B. Rnd 14: With B, sc in each st around, join with sl st in beg sc changing to C. Rnds 15 – 23: Rep Rnds 12 – 14 three times. Rnd 24: Rep Rnd 12. Rnd 25: Working in front loops only, rep rnd 13. Rnd 26 - 28: Rep Rnds 8 – 10 (do not change to B in last rnd). Fasten off after last rnd.

Finishing With yarn needle, weave in ends.

ABBREVIATIONS: ch = chain; dc = double crochet; sc = single crochet; sl st = slip st; sp(s) space(es); st(s) = stitch(es); * = repeat whatever follows the * as indicated.

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?

 







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!

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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Red Heart Yarn Giveaway!

As we enter the holidays and prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, we realize we have so much to be thankful for. Take yarn for example. Who isn't thankful for yarn? Who loves trying all the great new products from Red Heart Yarns? Who needs more yarn? Thanks to Red Heart's generosity, one lucky winner is going to get a whole bag full of yarn to try out!

It's easy to enter! Simply leave me a comment! Tell me your favorite fiber story. Something funny, something sweet, a gift you gave or received, how you learned, whatever! If you'd like to earn a couple extra entries (totally optional), you can "like" my Facebook page Hot Lava Crochet, follow me on Twitter or Tweet about this contest with something like "YARN #giveaway knitting/crocheting @RedHeartYarns&@HotLavaCrochet http://tinyurl.com/bxtdcft Comment to Enter #win RT"

Contest ends November 30th at midnight! Good Luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway