Nice! And there's also a knitting version. I'd still like to figure out crochet, I seem to do better with two needles.

Here is a link that might be useful: Knitting

Cool, Kent, thanks. I'm a knitter, not a crocheter. Though I am crochety at times.

:-)Lorna

LOL ~ Lorna ~ I'm also crochety at times.

I have visited that site many times. Have made some patterns from there also. Although, a LOT if not most of them won't allow you to use their patterns for items you sell, just for personal use. I've been crocheting up small pieces, embellishments for a quilt I want to make. (My first and maybe only quilt, possibly.)

I also knit, but haven't knit anything in quite some time. Maybe this winter (ha what winter) I'll take up the needles again.

Kent ~ I think you would enjoy crocheting. Grab a hook and give it a try. You just might get 'hooked'. ;-)

FlowerLady

Yeah - that site is a great site - lots of links to lots of great free patterns.

Lorna is right though - most of them will not let you use their patterns for items you sell.

If you want to use the patterns to sell what you make, you should look for patterns that are in the public domain (the copyright has expired). You can easily find them by Googling 'antique crochet patterns' or 'vintage crochet patterns'.

Have fun crocheting!

Here is a link that might be useful: Free Antique and Vintage Crochet Patterns

I haven't knitted or crocheted in years. I guess I just took to quilting more. Rainy, I'd love to hear about the quilt you are planning, it sounds very interesting. I've been collecting vintage embroidered items that I plan to piece together crazy quilt fashion. Then I want to add more embroidery to the seams and then quilt the open spaces. When I get it finished it will be for me. I have given away every other quilt I've ever made!

I planned to start crocheting when I retired. I have yarn and thread, I have hooks. I have not yet begun.

Nell

Winter seems to be the only time I knit or crochet, my hands are too rough the rest of the year. I do mostly afghans and scarfs for the family now but use to do socks and sweaters. This last afghan I did for myself, not displayed to it's best advantage, it's not fancy, but it is colorful, kind of chased the winter blues away doing it :o).

{{gwi:611639}}

Annette

I used to love to crochet. I have tonnes of cotton and other cords, and probably every size of hook. I need to get back into the habit - it kept my hands from grabbing bad things when I watched TV. lol.

Nancy.

That's beautiful, Annette. Looks like a stained glass window. Love the detail each square.

Kent, has the kitting funk passed?

I haven't knitted or crocheted in years. I have bags full of projects I never finished.

Your afghan is beautiful, Annette. I agree with Edna that it has a stained glass effect.

Here is a hat I knitted last fall with wool yarn from my Samoyed dog. The wool is naturally white color. I told the spinner I don't look good in white, so she added a little bit of black sheep wool to create a heather grey color.

[IMG]http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj91/lorna-organic/P1010001-3.jpg[/IMG]

Oh, lovely afghan! I so badly want to crochet granny squares. I want an all orange afghan for the bed (our bedroom is monochrome orange. Which sounds horrible but I love it), and more green and purple ones (and pillow covers). I purchased two green and purple afghans to go outside on the porch and I'd like more in other areas or to actually make cushions and pillows with for outside. I love the look of granny squares.

I also really want to make some dresses vests a la the late 60s.

Oh, maybe. But I fear taking up too many hobbies which take me out of the garden...

How come my photo did not post?

Lions brand yard has a lot of free knitting patterns on their Web site. I looked through hat patterns last fall to get an idea of what I wanted to make. I was able to create a hat free form from having read through instructions for two hats which I kind of liked.

http://www.lionbrand.com/content-knittingPatternIndex.html

Edna, my knitting funk passed. I was knitting a shawl in unspun Icelandic wool and the yarn broke in a very inopportune place. I didn't actually weep or throw the mess across the room, but I did swear profoundly. I haven't even had the heart to get my knitting bag out of the closet. I may just burn it. Sigh... To rip it out and then cast on nearly 400 hundred $%#& stitches, plus placing markers again...I don't think I have the fortitude. But, I did start an emergency get-my-butt-out-of-a-funk scarf. I'm knitting a long tube in Cascade eco-wool in random stripes. I bought a MASSIVE amount when a local shop offered it at half off. It's actually softer knitted up than I thought it would be.

I still have not attempted to crochet again.

Lorna, will it be cold enough to wear the hat? I've read dog hair blends are especially warm.

kent

Kent, can you weave the broken yarn into your knitting with a crochet hook? Yes, you are correct, dog yarn is very warm. It is recommended for outdoor wear or blankets.

Possibly. It actually can almost just be pressed together, since it's just finger roving. Unfortunately, a stitch on the left needle broke, so there wasn't much to work with. Then, while attempting to fix it, I somehow got it connected to a row below. Technically, the shawl won't unravel but the pattern won't recover without major reworking. It's just a mess. But, not the end of the world.

Also, I really didn't appreciate how "hairy" the yarn would look knitted up. It truly looks like I left it about and all 3 of our cats slept on it. I know it sounds like sour grapes, and maybe it is, but thinking about finishing the shawl and then giving some poor soul a big hairy thing to wear makes me cringe a little bit. It doesn't have the nice "halo" effect mohair does.

That is a shame, Kent. Maybe you can felt what you have knitted and sew it up as a bag! The Sam wool has a terrific halo. :)

Kent, don't give up the ship, I can't tell you the amount of times I've just dumped something and started over, my kitties have appreciated my rejects on several occasions. And do give crocheting a go. Wool and a larger hook worked for me, being left handed didn't hinder me, I still can't crochet with a fine hook and crochet cotton but I can do a mean afghan in wool if I have too.

Annette

Annette, I am left handed too, so all the pictures in the 'learn how' books just confused me and so I struck out on my own.

I am crocheting again for the first time in a very long time...making two of the grandkids Peruvian Ear Flap hats. I finally gave up on the slanted design after ripping it out 4 times...now I have a random pattern. I swear I think I was following the directions but............ .

The second one I abandoned the pattern and just did contrasting stripes around the cap.

I hope they like them.

I am enjoying it again!

Glenda I know what you mean, the first pair of socks I knit after mastering knitting with 4 needles I learned to turn a heel by standing behind my MIL looking over her shoulder.
I think I finally found a book with basic left hand crochet instructions but today for us lefties there's Google :o). I just did simple granny squares until I got the tension right. I guess right handed instruction books held up to a mirror would work in a pinch.
The squares in the afghan were made up as I went along, the center wheel I took from a pattern book but the rest I made up, you know crochet a round, pull it out try again LOL.
Now I keep a book with a sample square, my instructions (well I understand them even if nobody else can) for all my my made up stuff just in case I want to do it again. Saves a lot of head scratching. The nice thing about crocheting with wool it works up fast.

Then there's the sweater I was knitting with wool I bought on sale, my dear, sweet, gentle, well behaved Breeze's eyes used to glaze over when she spotted a ball of wool, you can see where this is going. I should have known better leaving knitting out in plain view of her ladyship. I came home one day to find my dear, sweet, gentle, well behaved kitty lying exhausted on the floor, my last ball of wool was completely unwound and tangled through two rooms of furniture, and I mean tangled, up, down, through everything. Her little eyes met mine, they seemed to say, I did good didn't I mom, I need a treat. I unravelled the sweater since I didn't have enough wool to finish it, crocheted a shawl instead, such is life.

Annette