Featured Member Crochet: November 19

Good Evening from Starting Chain. Tonight we’d like to feature some bright and energetic works of crochet that have been shared with us by our readers. We hope they give you some ideas about projects you could do, too! The captions are in the creators own words.

from: Teresa Duffett: “I crochet trellis yarn to make funky jewelry. Freestyle original.”

This is so beautiful! And stylish! We found a number of tutorials online about how to make a crocheted trellis necklace, but it is an art that allows for great variation and individual touches. One YouTube video from Creativefiberarts.com is easy to follow. Other sources we found include AllFreeCrochet.com,for a pattern, Ravelry patterns, and Creativebug.com for online instructions. We’re sure there are many other sources, too. We have to say, however, that Teresa’s is the most lovely one we’ve seen! Thanks, Teresa for sharing it with us.

from: Rose Clauson: “I enjoy creative arts using crochet. Self designed mandala with wire rim using single and popcorn stitches. Idea from vintage afghan designs.”

Rose’s crocheted mandala does give that feeling of meditation and balance while being bright at the same time. It’s just optimistic. Mandalas are, of course, spiritual symbols representing the Universe. Mandalas enjoyed an introduction into Western thought thanks to the work of C.G. Jung, the Swiss psycholanalsyst who saw that the circle is a universal motif and its form constitutes our inner self at the time, a spiral that goes up and then returns to the same spot. Ok, that’s a “deep” discussion of mandalas, but we’d just like to say that this one by Rose is bright and clear. It is beautiful.

from Jackie Snead: “Queen sized blanket. Just finished.”

Oh! What it would be like to wake up to this bright and cheerful blanket! It does dispel the coming of winter. Granny squares have such utility and the possiblity for so many variations. If you’ve never made a Granny Square before you can get a tutorial online by DzCrochetCreations or bobwilson (who is a woman) thanks to YouTube.

from: Amy Lee: “I am a beginner at crochet, I have made a few lap blankets but these were my first attempt at “clothes” 😉 these are our three Jack Russell terriers all of them are rescues. The one in the grey and pink “Miss Harper” was our first foster. (That we soon adopted!) The cute guy in the middle, “Monty”, is blind. The one in the red sweater is our foster, “Miss Sweet Sally”, she will be ready for adoption after she completes her heart worm treatments.”

Thank you so much, Amy, for sharing this great photo with us! It’s one of the most darling we’ve ever had on Starting Chain! We’re not sure how you got the group to be so “good” for the photo, showing off their “clothes”. Your work is wonderful and brings a great joy! Amy writes: “I followed a pattern out of Crochet Today nonmember/December issue. After I made the first one following the pattern exactly (the burgundy one) I made adjustments and added a few different things to the others.“

There are also a number of patterns available commercially for crocheted dog sweaters. We did a simple Google search and found some delightful ones.