Petal Leaf Collar and Cuffs

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/petal-leaf-collar-and-cuffs
Leaf, Flame, Petal, is what this stitch evokes for me.
These are fast and lovely projects, a bit yarn intensive, but their sculptural effect is well worth it.

Jewelry meets warmth in this neck adornment.
Leaves cluster and frame your neck.
This pattern is adaptable and offers options
for reconfiguration as well as matching cuffs.

I created and tested this last year and spent the year sending the set to yarn companies and publishers. While it didn't seem to fit their requirements, it
still thrills me. So I've self published this on my Ravelry site.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/petal-leaf-collar-and-cuffs

Tools and Materials
I/ 5.5 Crochet hook, Yarn needle
G/4.5 mm for button optional
2.5 - 3 oz /70.9 - 80g worsted weight yarn
(0.5 oz/14.2 g for cuffs)
Pattern Level: Intermediate
20 - 23” L x 3- 4.5” T
50.8 cm- 58.4cm x 7.6cm- 11.4cm
Cuffs 10-12”L x 2-3”T
25.4cm -30.5cm x 5 - 7.6 cm
Gauge: (ww) 7 rows/11dc = 4”/10.2cm

Ferris Wheel in Noro Kujaku

I used to dream about yarn like this. Wish my mother could see this yarn --- just the sheer exuberance and over the top-ness of the multicolor bands of colored threads on the yarn itself.....

I was gifted this gorgeous yarn by a stranger-- a painter in NYC (yay, home town!) I could not have afforded it and would not have had the opportunity to design with it, otherwise.

This just makes the Ferris Wheel Design pop!

SunRays Neckwarmer

Another season spanning adornment.
Neck decor achieved in one skein!Frames your face as petals frame a flower.
I hook/ 5.5 mm
Shown in Boku 95% wool 5% silk color13
Approximately 2 oz dk/light worsted weight
and Noro Kujaku Color 18
8” x 22” pattern includes suggestions for enlarging
Intermediate, approximately 2 hours to make

Ferris Wheel Cowl/Crown

A new stitch design derived from two forbears (that leads me to another), gets its debut in this small garment.

The Ferris Wheel Cowl is the first in a series for this stitch pattern.
Lightweight neck decor, a great season spanner,
for the cool nights that follow hot days at the State Fair, a layer that you can carry in your bag to ward off chills.
It makes a cute crown/open top hat, too.

I'm very grateful to the Free Pattern Testers group and Ravelry for being there, creating a place where people from around the world assist each other in this beautiful way.

Size: 7h"x 21"c

After testing, 50% of this pattern's sales will be sent to UNHCFR and Doctors Without Borders for Pakistani flood victims.

Leaves, Flowers

OOO! Soooo busy that I feared talking about what I was doing would replace doing it.
So first let me chat about leaves. I hope to entice more people to buy my wonderful leaf patterns, especially as
crocheting seems generally leaf challenged, when the manufacturers of yarn post the yechiest free patterns
of mishapen bloboids and people praise them!

But yes, since it's free, I guess it's good== it sure helped me refine and define my leaf esthetic, although to be sure, seeing more refined, and easy options presented for knitters, made me want to add my two centimes to the conversation, so to speak.

Anyway, those who sell the most patterns seem to sell objects more than motifs. I'm a motif maven, myself and
I guess that why I'm drawn to freeform. big hunks of repetition bore me, but if I develop a leaf hat pattern or a
scarflette/neckwarmer, that may attract more folks to my leaves.

Anyway, I've made several necklaces and a leaf lariat for sale. Hopefully, someone will find these compelling and purchase them.

Silver Wave Collar in Two Treasuries!

My new Silver Wave Collar is featured in two treasuries!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=42602
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=38234

So exciting as it is a combination of two previous original designs -- the guys neckwarmers and the ladies neckwarmers created for Christmas gifts. And the merino-- I had some left over, but not quite enough
then Voila! one last skein was up for say on eBay-- form the same cone. I really love the near roving
thick and thin of this grey merino and it just flew through my fingers and wooden L Hook. It was a
delight to make. I would love to do it again in purple, but I'vwe beenloving my purple
merino into bookmarks to gift for Valentine's Day... now if only something would sell so I could buy more
nice yarn...

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves

Ahhhh. Leaves are my delight, especially as lariat/neckwarmer adornments. And I am proud to have developed
a wonderful maple leaf, and to have improved my gingko leaf.


Yet I needed more for the garland/lariat/neckwarmer and as I'm not a fan of repeats, more is indeed, more for me.
I thought about an old leaf spray and didn't remember the souce. I searched for it on the web and couldn't find it.
Digging through my samples, I found it! The green leaf spray was my sample.. and it feels good, right, well done...
but how to do it?

My patterns are an unreachable floor away and I have, unsuccessfully sent someone to find my crochet flower pattern books.... so I trieed to decode the stitches and I remembered on thing about the construction, that the first (closest) leaf is the last one to be made. The white one is the reproduction, I think I came close.



I am very inspired by Roberta Wong's peerless book on crocheted lei. In it she has a tiny leaf, Rereading it as I set about designing my Fall Leaf adornments, I found what I was missing: a small leaf, created in what seems a totally different way. It unlocked a whole series of thoughts. Her leaf was created to accompany buds and flowers, to be twisted in a bundle. As mine is more a singular entity, I needed a plumper,fuller representation. And this was easily accomplished,

What a refreshing antidote to the stolid march of stitches and stitch heights along a chain!


Then I did find a leaf spray, this white one, a new one to me. Very gestural, the leaves look sketched and
I think this would be fab fab fab if I had white wool, so I could felt it, and make the small leaves firm....

Well this leaf spray had a similarity of approach in the leaf creation to the larger spray, in that it wasn't about
the march of stitches and stitch heights along a chain. Each is shaped. And it is easy to make each one
different and still stay true to, well remember, LOL! the pattern.


So I'm almost ready to do a leaf pattern collection. I thought I was before, but now that I have several approaches
to leaf making, I think the collection is more robust.