Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Crafty Little Day of the Dead Needle Case

Crafty Little Needle Case - Knit Version


OPEN, SESAME!

 Here is my latest little pattern - the Crafty Little Needle Case.  It will hold a lot of yarn needles and pins.  This one is knit, and I chose a Day of the Dead theme for embellishing.  It lends itself to lots of embellishing, I'll warn you.  Available here on Ravelry.com FOR FREE!  Enjoy!

Plain little needle case

Getting an applied I-cord makeover

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

My Ships & Seaside - Finally done!

Done, done, done! Well, I finished a few days ago, but this is the first time I've goten a chance to write about it since then.

As you see, the stripes go all the way around. It began with a provisional cast-on, and ended with a mega-session of Kitchener stitch. The pattern is Tiny Owl Knits - ships & seaside.

I love it. No, wait, I adore it, I worship it, I am thrilled to sit by it's little feet. The pattern, that is. I am similarly entranced by my version. Darker, moodier, stormier.

I made it for a summer KAL in the Tiny Owl Knits group on Ravelry. I also made a prize for the raffle for those finishing by September 1. (Next time, sweethearts, lots of pics.)

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Video blog madness...

I've been spending my time making longer and longer and more and more involved video blogs for one of the yarn stores where I teach. Here's the latest:




You can check more out at the oceanofstitches channel on YouTube: here.

Busy, busy me! I've been teaching my tushie off to make ends meet and I love it, but I get super tired! Mind you - it is a good tired.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Progress progresses

I promised you updates on my ships & seaside cowl. Well, here's all I've gotten done so far - but I've been working on other things at the same time. And here are my lovely colors - in lovely Malabrigo. Clockwise from the top left we have Bobby Blue, Emerald, Azul Profundo, and Vaa. The latter has some of those lovely olive colors that I referenced from the Turner painting, Fishermen at Sea (below). And some of the deep inky blues. You can see the stripes from the bottom two are working out well. The light green is just the crochet thread that I used for the provisional cast-on. No one will ever know it was there (except you, if you are reading this.) I chose the lighter emerald green and the light green-blue to be the brief contrast to the dark colors, as Turner did with the foam and reflections on the waves.
I have altered the original colors of the pattern, as well as reversing the dark and light tones. Because I can't leave well enough alone.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Ships & Seaside

I am starting on a lovely cowl as part of the Tiny Owl Knits group Summer 2011 KAL on Ravelry. The ship & seaside cowl. I chose colors based on this J.M.W. Turner painting - stormy, dark, and mysterious. I'll post photos as I work on it!



Thursday, May 19, 2011

Baby Luchadora

This is Rose, in a skull mask, looking like a miniature Mexican wrestler. I crocheted a skull from this pattern, crocheted around it, and my daughter put it on. An idea was born - baby luchadora. I put ties on it and she decided she must wear it to dinner, AND that we should go to dinner at Torchy's - a great taco place here in Austin, Texas. So, being a mother that encourages flights of fancy, we did.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Tying up loose ends...


This is what I spent the last 7 weeks on. Actually, I spent the last 7 weeks making 2 of these. And there is no final picture - because I am a dork and forgot until after I had already delivered them.

The project was to reproduce 2 copies of an existing Christmas stocking that was more than 40 years old, from a pattern that is more than 50 years old. I was given a stocking, a photocopy of an old pattern, and asked if I could make 2 new close copies, with new names for new family members. They were knit flat for part (the leg and instep), in the round for part (the toe) intarsia for part (twin scary Santas,) stranded for part (names on both sides, and weird crossed candy canes,) stripes (the toe again,) and 3 jingle bells each. There was a back seam, seams on both of the heel gussets, a braid in 3 colors covering the back seam, and toes that had to conform to the original stocking, not the original pattern.

The part above is the section of intarsia where I was using 9 bobbins, butterflies, and balls of yarn for something less than 1 foot wide. It would have been 11, but I chose to add the 2 pairs of single stitch eyes in duplicate stitch.

The colors of the original were hard to match, but the person that commissioned them was quite pleased, thankfully. They are odd, but vintage. Interesting to make, but the finishing took about 10 hours - each.

I am trying this month to design 2 more crocheted bodice dresses, but I also am working on restoring an old crocheted afghan (I'm guessing from the early 1950s.) I WILL photograph the process, and I can tell it will be a very interesting challenge. Starting with loom-made daisies, I will be re-making parts of it, and I will then be repairing other parts. I was given lovely wool to match colors with, and I am so excited. Last month, I also worked on repairing another old crocheted afghan. I love repairs. It makes me want even more to go back to school to do textile conservation. We shall see...

In other news, I spent a couple of lovely evenings with a crowd of crochet folk. I was asked if I would be interested in starting up a local crochet guild, and I said yes. If you are in the Austin area, The Knitting Nest on South Congress will be hosting a gathering of people interested, and we will form a local chapter of the Crochet Guild of America. Save the date: Sunday, June 12, at 2pm. There will be food! Call Stacy at (512) 291-8866 to sign up, so we know how many to expect.

I had to cancel the Countdown to Harry Potter classes that I had designed - next to no response. I suspect Voldemort at work here.

I actually got on Twitter (@oceanofstitches) and I find that all of my postings are almost in Haiku form. My brain does not thrive perhaps on the 140 character limit. Or is it less?

I have asked my husband to keep an eye on my facebook and twitter accounts. I need to post more, and it seems easier to tell him what to post than sitting here assuming anyone is reading what I say. Right now, I am doing that but I might have him post soon. This space is mine, however. I may have him put up some photos for quick posts, but probably not.

I am trying to come up with classes to teach at both shops for the rest of the year. I am also trying to come up with whole series of knit and crochet courses. Occasionally, I sleep.

So there are my loose ends for the month. Let's hope I will be free enough to post more often!

Friday, April 8, 2011

In the meantime...


While everything else has been going on, I have managed to design a little sundress with a crocheted top and a fabric bottom - children's sizes 2-8 (US). The pattern includes a full, photo-rich written tutorial on how to measure for and attach the fabric skirt to the crocheted top. This little mannequin is sitting in front of The Knitting Nest in Austin, Texas - looking all calm, cool and collected in the already hot weather here.

You can purchase the pattern from Ravelry for $5: .

I will be teaching a class on making this dress this Sunday, April 10th, also at The Knitting Nest. If you are interested, call Stacy at (512) 291-8866 to reserve your spot.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Just when I thought...

Just when I thought my kids had been through enough, something else gets tossed our way. Today, I got news that my sweet baby, Rose, has scoliosis (not a big deal) caused by a rare congenital spinal defect (quite a big deal.) Butterfly vertebra - never heard of it? Me neither, until today. Sounds pretty, but it is not. Not a stranger to rare spinal defects (a different one runs in my family) this one has floored me all day. We get to see a battery of doctors next week to see what can be done and when. As she is only 2-and-a-half, she might be too little still to do much yet. I am so upset I don't know what to do.

All I have ever wished for my kids is that they have a safe and happy life, and never to have to experience the chronic pain issues and debilitating movement problems that spinal problems can cause. I don't get to give that to her, and it breaks my heart.

I have been super busy crafting away trying to provide for my family. I will be even busier, I have a feeling. I plan to keep blogging away - if only to vent a little bit.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Crocheted goodness



I finished weaving all of the ends of this square yesterday, and it turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself. The pattern is Granny Nenufar (Waterflower Granny) by Bigu Osuna and I made it for the March Afghan Square as part of the 2011 Afghan Square Crochet-Along at The Knitting Nest here in Austin. I just loved it so much that I had to share it with you. I will be teaching a class on making this square on March 9th at The Knitting Nest and I can't wait!

Is it weird to get this worked up over a 3D flower square?

Friday, February 25, 2011

I delve into Tunisian Crochet


I am undecided about Tunisian crochet (also called afghan crochet.) It is easy, satisfying in it's simplicity, and has a squishy, dense texture. It is also FAST. Sounds great, right? My reservation is in the fact that it is repetitive. Forward row, return row - again and again. But it's speed makes up for that. And it's density makes it ideal for bags - and in this case, an iPad case. Mind you, the fact that I used lovely alpaca/wool yarn in this project helps a BUNCH. In the pattern I have included instructions for creating an iPad case, a large Kindle case, and a small clutch purse.

Get your copy of the pattern for $2: (Ravelry PDF download)

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Owls Two Ways (free pattern)


I just popped in to post up a duet of free patterns - more owls. I created a pair of universal patterns for simple one-piece owls, one knitted and one crocheted. These 2 patterns are together in one PDF for FREE DOWNLOAD HERE! (Ravelry.com PDF download.)

Yay! More Owls!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

New Post!


Whew! It has been a whirlwind of a month! First of all - Happy Day After Valentine's Day! I made these little crochet hearts for my family yesterday as my gift. But we celebrate for a few days, as love is important every day. I hope you are having a break in the cold (or hot) weather wherever you are. It has been crazy here! I live in central Texas, and while it gets a little cold here in the winter, it doesn't normally get below freezing for days and days! I know the weather has been horrid so far this year, but I hope it has given you a chance to snuggle up and craft.



I have been BUSY sample making for both of the yarn shops where I teach. I just found out yesterday (by randomly checking the schedule) that I will be teaching an extra class at the end of the month. So I whipped up an amigurumi cupcake (and a pattern) just for that. I might even be tempted to post it up.

In other news, I have been writing a blog post for a locally-based garment company - Emilime. I hope to write more of those soon, as well as getting a chance to blog here more.

Also, I have jumped into writing knitting patterns with charts using a bit of computer software. I will post soon to review the software I got last week.

Back to sample making - the set I am doing now is for a 5 month series - Countdown to Harry Potter - 8 Harry Potter-themed projects that are a mixture of knitted projects and crocheted projects. (Including 3 designs from me!) Check back soon for a full list of patterns!

Happy crafting!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Granny's Valentine Bag Pattern

I crocheted this bag to demonstrate 4 different granny styles of crochet. It is in 4 colors of Cascade Yarns Luna - lovely, soft cotton yarn that was a dream to crochet. It made me think of my own granny - these were her favorite colors, and she loved hearts (see heart side of the bag below.) The parts of the bag were inspired by Granny Mandala by Crochet with Raymond, the Granny Stripe Blanket by Lucy of Attic24, the Center Heart Square by Ginger Badger. The other side is a basic granny square, for which there are many patterns. I give detailed instructions on crocheting each piece and on the assembly of the bag in my FREE pattern.

Here is the lovely Granny Mandala bottom.

The traditional Granny Square side.

And last, the lovely Center Heart side.

I do give options for creating two regular granny square, or heart square sides. You can see the granny stripe strap in most of the photos.

Download it HERE on Ravelry.


Creative Commons License
Granny's Valentine Bag by Ana Clerc is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at oceanofstitches.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://oceanofstitches.blogspot.com/2011/01/grannys-valentine-bag-pattern.html.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Bubo Owl Pattern

I have just finished with ANOTHER crochet pattern (I know!) It is for a Snowy Owl, or any of the owls in the Bubo genus. It is just a nice owl-shaped owl, and I originally made it for my son, Badger. I took notes the whole time I was stitching, and it turned out so well that I want to make the pattern available.


Errata: I found 3 errors in the pattern and these have been corrected. Any new download will have the corrected version, and all those who have bought a copy have been sent a new version.

In the directions to the body of the owl: Line 29: stitch count should read (30). Line 30: count is (24). Line 31: Count is (18). Line 32: Count is (12). Added Line 33: sc2tog to the end of the round (6)

In the directions to the wings: Line 5: repeat bracketed instructions twice. Line 8: sc 6 instead of 7.
You can download it here for $5:

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Snow Arches Pattern


I just finished writing up the pattern for his afghan block that I designed for the January installment of the afghan block crochet-along at The Knitting Nest in Austin, TX. I have never done a design for an afghan block, other than a granny square - so I was surprised that it worked so well. Pretty, no?

Download it for $3, HERE: