PROJECT: Happy New Year!

We had a great crochet year and enjoyed your lovely company. We hope the new year will be just as good or even better! Happy 2015 to you and yours!

MsWeaver's Christmas Granny Placemat

CROCHET MODE: Summer in Montenegro

Breeze and Coral Travel T featuring Pond Ripples crochet top pattern by Lena Fedotova

CROCHET-A-LONG: Stage 1 (Choosing the Project)

Come and join our fun new Crochet-A-Long in the Cup of Stitches group on Ravelry!

Temperature CAL means that each day you crochet one row of your chosen project in a color which is assigned to that day's temperature. Depending on temperature fluctuations in your area, you can choose smaller or larger ranges and pick a colour for each range.

Another option (great for those who love shades of blue!) is to use the yarn which matches the color of the sky each day.

At the end of the year (or your project, because you can stop whenever you reach your desired size) you will get a masterpiece created by both you and nature.

The following is a list of eligible patterns from the Cup of Stitches partnership:

1. Happy Day Bracelets (easy Slip-Stitching)
2. Color Therapy (easy Tunisian crochet)
3. Tunisian Shell Blanket (Tunisian crochet, but regular hook!)

4. Purple Gold Scarf (fairly easy Tunisian crochet) 

5. Jazzy Patchwork Blanket (more advanced Tunisian crochet)
6. Sea Wave Afghan (regular crochet, free pattern)

If you don't have these patterns yet, you can buy them from Lena's or Yuliya's stores (as applicable) and get 25% off the price with temperatureCAL coupon code (valid through December 16, 2014 - January 6, 2015).

The CAL will officially start on 1 January, 2015, for those who want to have a whole year's temperature representation in their project. Depending on the pattern you choose, you can also go month by month (with smaller projects), or season by season, or any other meaningful to you period of time.

In the meantime, join our friendly company, share your ideas, plans, yarn and color choices with us! 

Temperature CAL topic on Ravelry

PATTERN RELEASE: ZigZag Blues Cowl

by Yuliya Tkacheva MsWeaver

It is probably no secret to some of you that I am not a monogamous crocheter. I can't stick to the same crochet technique for too long and I am rather promiscuous when it comes to crochet methods. Well, let me introduce you to my new passion: post-stitch crochet!

I doubt it really is considered a separate crochet technique as such, but I do think it should be, since the fabric crocheted working around stitch posts, rather than in their tops, looks and feels completely different to regular crochet and has a different structure. It has this unique woven look and, if you work in the round with the right side always facing, it is also perfectly balanced and symmetrical. No diagonal biasing or alternate “wrong side" rows!

After working a few rounds you feel like crocheting around the posts is the only natural way to crochet. Why would anyone even consider such nonsense as crocheting in the tops of the stitches?! (Only joking!) Having said that, you do need to be careful with your yarn choice, since the resultant fabric can be very bulky when crocheted with thicker yarn. 

The cowl pictured is my new design, ZigZag Blues, which uses this method. Alternating front post stitches with back post stitches creates a wonderfully subtle, yet gorgeous texture.

The pattern is both written out and charted. You can easily adjust the size to your liking by changing the number of horizontal and vertical repeats.

And if you are a Cup of Stitches Ravelry group member, there is a special offer (valid until 11 December, 2014) exclusively for you in the announcement thread!