A Guest Post by Debbie Mac Millan.

I have to admit, when I first saw a pattern for a round baby blanket, I thought to myself, WHY??? A round baby blanket?? That is different. Well, I was right!!! They are different, and in an awesome way!!! 

Round baby afghans are the perfect size and style to cover a car seat or an infant carrier. They are also easier for the baby to snuggle with. As an added treat, they are amazing for taking baby photos. The round afghan drapes under the baby in a perfect shape to compliment the picture.
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I fell in love with sheep, spinning and crochet at a very young age. Every year my parents and I made it a goal to attend a fiber festival that gloried in all things handmade and homespun. With these cherished experiences in my young memory I came to treasure craft skills just like heirlooms worthy of great value.

It became my goal to raise my own sheep, spin the yarn and crochet this handspun fiber into a finished project. Years later I have my own small flock of shetland sheep, the wool is waiting to be cleaned and processed and I now know how to spin. I can’t wait to get my crochet projects going this winter with yarn that found its start in my own backyard.

Do you enjoy crocheting with natural fiber? Do you have your own flock? Please share!

If you’re like me, you’re passionate about shopping for all things crochet! Although I’ve never seen a bumper sticker, “I brake for yarn stores!” I think I could easily apply that one to my car. I love shopping at fiber arts shops and just absorbing the whole creative atmosphere. I especially love the privately owned storefront shops. Their owners are always quite passionate about the topics I am and are especially helpful with any questions I might have. It’s like finding a long lost friend! Walking in a creative oasis provides a sensory overload of patterns and skeins of glorious yarn!

I have a favorite store in Petaluma, CA called The Knittery that I always look forward to visiting during my winter vacation. Housed in a turn of the century building and tastefully decorated it is an inspiration and a breath of fresh air!

Do you have a favorite yarn shopping destination?

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, collecting vintage crochet patterns, I also love to find the finished heirlooms. It simply amazes me at how cheap you can purchase a hand-crocheted doily, let alone an ornate tablecloth at flea markets and antique stores! People who do not crochet have no idea the value of these tirelessly crafted pieces of our history! However, I suppose that saves my budget as I snatch up these beauties during my flea market hops.

I’ve often wanted to make patterns from my finds! One of my favorites is a set of potholders crocheted to look like doll dresses. Remember those darling things from the 40s-50s? I have them hanging in my craft room for inspiration.

Do you collect crocheted antiques? Have you ever created your own pattern from them?

I remember as a young child watching my grandmother crochet. I was simply in awe how she could turn a ball of yarn into a toy, scarf or other creation in no time flat! I remember receiving crocheted gifts from her and my mother. Even as a young child I knew this was one skill I had to learn; a tradition to continue in my family.

In my teens, I joined 4-H and my mother became the crochet teacher of our small group. My first project was a washcloth. At first I couldn’t figure out how Mom made it look so easy. My washcloth was a sorry representation compared to her’s! Yet, because of her patient encouragement I finally was able to create something I could be proud of. It took me several years to put it to use. I grew so attached to my first project dirty dishwater seemed to be an injustice!

What was your first crochet project?

I take several road trips a year and when I say road trips I mean cross-country, 4 days in a car with husband and toddler road trips. It can be an adventure to put it mildly, but we all have a good time.

Every since I was quite young I have always taken embroidery projects with me in the car to pass the long hours on the road. However, after getting married and taking the front seat I had to change. After all, needles for embroidery getting lost in car seats and coming at my beloved driver was not a good mix. Rather distracting to the driver, not to mention occasionally painful! So, much to my husband’s relief, I decided crochet was the solution to my road trip craft cravings. I learned something else new, skeins of yarn can double as a neck pillows!

How about you? Do you crochet while on road trips?

Is it greedy for designers to charge for their work? Is it unreasonable to charge $4 or $5 for a pattern? Is it shameful for people to try and make a living doing what they love?

Recently, I came across a blog post that really got my insides stirring. It discussed how crochet and knit patterns should be free, or should be sold at an extremely low price. What disgusted me the most was the disrespect and ignorance the writer had for designers and their work. Being a designer myself it was hard not to take it personally. Designers aren’t trying to take advantage of people. We aren’t trying to “get rich quick” by selling over priced patterns. In fact, most if not all crochet pattern designers I know spend lots of time creating their work and helping customers with questions. In my opinion, they deserve what they charge. If you would like to read the blog post that I discuss, click here.

If you’ve been visiting Crochet Spot for a while, you’ll notice there are both free crochet patterns and for sale crochet patterns. Trust me, I like freebies as much as the next person, but should someone be expected to work for free all the time?

What do you think? Should all crochet patterns be free?

I have a secret love for vintage patterns. I can spot them aisles away in flea markets and antique stores. Their creased covers and penciled in notations from years ago give them such a sweet, homey appeal. I not only love the patterns, some of which are elegant and others rather funky, but also the fun illustrations throughout.

I can spend hours flipping through their dogeared pages laughing at the crocheted bikinis and cooing over the sweet baby layettes. It just goes to prove that crochet has kept the hands of women busy for many years turning a skein of yarn into innovative pieces of functional art, and at times funny finished projects.

Do you collect vintage patterns? If so, what is the most absurd or elegant pattern you’ve found?

While hanging out with a bunch of crochet folks I realized that there are many ways that people pronounce the word “skein”. Perhaps it’s due to the region we’re from or the crochet influences that we’ve been around. The most common pronunciations that I’ve heard are “skane”, “skeen”, and “skine”. According the dictionary (yes, I looked it up), the proper way is to pronounce it as “skane”. Personally, I say it as “skeen” and any other way just sounds funny!

So which way do you pronounce “skein”? Skane, skeen, skine, or maybe just ball?

A Guest Post by Dannee Wood.

Wow, you’ve just finished your latest or even your first crochet project and you’re anxious to start something else…but what? If you’re like most crafters you might have an ever-growing list of “to-do” projects or projects saved to your Ravelry account. Maybe you have a binder or two full of projects, organized by categories/colors/yarn weights, etc. Perhaps you have them downloaded to your computer or a thumb drive. Or maybe you only work on one project at a time not concerned about the next project…not! Sometimes, you may want a simple or small project after tackling a large or complex project. How do you go about choosing your next project? It may seem over-whelming to select a new project; there are a lot of good resources out there. read more »