Sometimes I feel as if I find inspiration in the oddest of places. I found a copy of the 1979 Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Needlework in a thrift store two weeks ago.

It’s also the best $1.99+tax I’ve ever spent.

It’s gorgeous, hard cover, full colour photographs. Many of the knitting and crochet designs are incredibly dated (and no, those designs have not made a comeback yet). It has a huge section of embroidery, some information on quilting and rug-making (latch hook and punch needle). There’s information on making lace (there’s more than just tatting [!], which I never knew before). There’s some great stitch patterns that I have never seen before in any of the other stitch dictionaries that I own, so I was really excited to be able to find this.

Surrounding my new-old book is some new yarn. All of the Regia is sock yarn, the four closest to the bottom are going to be knitted into socks. The other two are marked for dolly-related knitting. But the three at the top? Oh, I only wish you could all see how beautiful it is. It’s Rowan’s Cotton Braid and I just got it today. It’s a discontinued (boo!) line of yarn from Rowan and it’s in this gorgeous rainbow of colours (goes from pinks to oranges to greens to blues to violets). It is a novelty-type yarn (which kinda surprises me that I even bought it because I generally don’t really like working with novelty yarns), but it’s gorgeous and made primarily of natural materials (68% cotton, 22% rayon, 10% linen). I can definitely see a nice summery scarf made from it!

Hi everyone!

The new Pattern Store here isn’t done yet but I do have news about the free patterns that are already available! I’ve taken the time to change the formatting on the PDF files of the three downloadable patterns that I have currently available on Chelle-Chelle.com and the changes reflect the new format for free patterns that I will have in the future.

And in case you’re wondering what free patterns I have, they are:

• Crochet Ribbed Cowl
• Ruse – A Cloche-Inspired Hat
• Blythe Monster Hat (was not updated)
• A Little Filet Crochet Scarf
  

Hello everyone! I have some big news for Chelle-Chelle.com!

I am working on opening an online pattern store for Chelle-Chelle.com – after evaluating the pros and cons of sites like Etsy and Artfire, I’ve decided to self-host the shop here on Chelle-Chelle.com. I’ve been spending the last few days tweaking and playing around with coding, so I’m hoping to get it up and ready by mid-March. Patterns will be downloadable – once payment clears, you’ll get an email with a unique code to access the purchased pattern(s)!

There will be new free patterns coming up soon – I’m just finishing up some pattern testing. The two new patterns that will be going soon in March will be my Sampler Crochet Stitch scarf (free pattern) and a mini crochet pouch (also a free pattern – name hasn’t been decided on yet!).

Even with opening up a pattern store, I will still be producing free patterns. The first pattern that will be going up in my shop will be my cupcake hat pattern (in 3 sizes) and a robot amigurumi pattern. The focus of my pattern store will be primarily on Wearables and Amigurumi and the sections in the shop will reflect that.

I just wanted to share the exciting news! Pattern testing takes quite a bit of time, seeing as how I juggle a few other projects (and school!) at the same time.

Filet crochet is all about having filled spaces and empty spaces. You accomplish this with double crochet stitches and chains. You can ‘draw’ with your empty and filled spaces, a lot like piecing together tiles of different colours – only you use yarn and your imagination.

A Little Filet Crochet Scarf is a scarf that I designed and made for my friend’s birthday gift. I had the yarn, I had the time and I had a hook. All I needed was an idea. So while I was flipping through a stitch dictionary that I have, I came across filet crochet. I’ve done a few small projects with filet crochet and love it. It’s easy to get the hang of, once you understand the concept, and it can go by pretty quickly (if time is an issue), plus it’s fun to make a pattern with your squares.

The pattern is written up as a one-size-only scarf, but you can easily add on more repeats to lengthen the scarf to your liking.

Want to make your own scarf? Click to download a PDF copy of the A Little Filet Crochet Scarf pattern.

Difficulty Level: Easy

Hello everyone!

I may have disappeared for a little while. After September started, I was busy with school and time for crafting had (very unfortunately) fell to the wayside. I am looking forward for the beginning of 2011 though, I do have a few patterns that I’m going to be posting up on the site for:

• The cupcake hat (finally!)
• A filet-crochet mesh scarf
• Blythe-sized hats

The patterns will go up in January and February. I am starting up school again January, but given how my schedule looks, it’s going to allow myself for a little bit more time with the crafting overall, which I think is a total win!

I also have a few more reference articles, mostly on amigurumi and crochet techniques that I’m really looking forward to getting up soon. All I really need to do is finalize the editing and then take the photos to illustrate the points and for examples.

I hope everyone’s been doing well, and if you’re looking for some fun, beginner-friendly crochet projects, be sure to check out my patterns page.