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Irish Crochet Cushion Cover - Part 3

I'm back! Progress on my cushion cover has been slower than I anticipated, but that's really not because the crocheting itself is slow. Working the clones knot background is actually fairly quick, and had I omitted the clone's knots to work a plain netting, this would have been an even quicker project. Even though it is relatively quick, the clones knots really do take the bulk of the time in making this and they also eat up yarn. Keep that in mind if you choose to use them but are concerned that you may not have enough yarn to finish the project. I just think that the clones knots are so pretty and I love the dimension they add to...

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Irish Crochet Cushion Cover - Part 2

I haven't progressed as much as I anticipated on this project in the last week. Mostly because I just haven't put in the time. First, I dropped tea on my project. Half a cup of hot, steaming tea. After drenching the affected area with cold water, I hung it for a day to air dry.  I'm happy I chose a colored yarn (Lucci Hemp in Brick). Although my background has a little discoloration - that's just a temporary backing.  I'm not sure a white crochet thread would have fared so well. As the years go by, I find that the quality of light in my knit and crochet working area is crucial. Not being able to see my work well is...

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Irish Crochet Cushion Cover - Part 1

I've just moved from California to Florida. It's a new city, a new state and most significantly for this post, a new house.  My nesting instinct is in overdrive as we settle in to our new home and nearly all my free time right now is house-related.  One of my projects is updating our sofa cushions, and I was dreaming about a pillow in Irish Crochet.   It's a project that I'm making just for me, but I decided to share my progress on the blog because this technique is just  so mysterious for so many people.  Although I teach a Craftsy class on crochet lace and even devote an entire lesson to Irish Crochet, we really only had time to present...

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3-Color-Tunisian Cowls (or What to do with little bits of yarn)

In my preparations for moving the studio, I recently came upon a little treasure trove of yarn samples.  Most were upper end yarns but none of the yarn quantities were enough to make more than a swatch.  What simple, fast project could I make that would combine them to result in a celebration of different colors and textures? My go-to technique for this kind of thing is 3-Color Tunisian Crochet as epitomized by the Stashbuster Blanket design I did several years ago.  No need to rethink things, I thought, so this time I just used the technique on a much smaller scale with a smaller hook and smaller quantities of yarn.   I wanted to make something small that would use about...

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Summerfest Bracelet with Lucet

Here’s a fun little lucet project that I’ve just whipped up. You could use any kind of lucet cording (Basic, No Turn Method, or with a Single Gimp), but I made this project to showcase a cord I made for a new tutorial: How to make Lucet Cord with 2 Gimps. Take a look at the technique below: The technique is simple, and I think an armful of these in different colors would be an absolutely beautiful accessory for summer.   Here are the steps: What you will need: Yarn(s) - one or more depending on whether you will be making a simple lucet cord with one yarn or a lucet cord with A Single Gimp or with 2 Gimps.  Note that I used 1...

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