Oh, and Craftsy has just launched their new “indie pattern” feature. Go and have a look at my new pattern store there: I love that I can also sell my sewing and felting patterns there ! :-)

Posts are becoming scarce on this blog. Yet I’ve been crafting quite a lot lately… but some things I couldn’t show before all the gifting was done !

I made tons of potholders. This round pattern is really addictive, so easy to make and memorize (= ideal project for tv evenings), I love to find new color combinations again and again… Plus it’s perfect to bust my large stash of cottons which I never use. I have a plan for an ebook grouping several potholders patterns and a couple tutorials… stay tuned.

I also branched out in (yet) another direction… sewing leather bags ! Ever since I saw those guys on Artisa in early december, I fell in love with the idea of making my own funky leather pouches and bags, bought several pieces of colored leather, and set one of my vintage sturdy sewing machine to work. I made little coin pouches for my daughters, a mini hobo bag for my niece and a big-boy pouch for my picky nephew (he seemed to be really impressed and like it, Phew !). Oh, and the orange thing in the middle is a cosy for my glasses made in super thick leather. Perfect ! And it closes with a plum-colored piece of leather too… What else ? ;-)
One of the next project will be a handbag for me. Funky it will be, I swear :-P

I’ve also been working on my first ever submission to a crochet magazine. Wish me luck !! Either way, accepted or rejected, this is going to be super exciting: could be either a first published-in-the-press design for me, OR a super cool new design in the coming months … I can’t wait :-)

So when Stefanie Japel asked me if I’d be interested in working on a Workshop for one of my patterns, I was thrilled to say the least ! I worked on this for several weeks (family issues preventing me to work at my usual pace), starting a new sample for the tutorial and taking probably 100+ photos detailing each and every detail…

And finally, my brand new workshop for the Roselette top is online !! It’s the ideal occasion to brush up your skills if you’ve never crocheted a garment before.

The Roselette top is very easy and quick to crochet, with hardly any finishing at all, as it’s worked from the top down in one piece. It’s a perfect layering piece, ideal for the little ones… and an ideal pattern for gifts, as you’ll be able to make Roselette for all sizes, from Newborn to child size 10 !!

The workshop is divided in sections, with LOTS of step-by-step photos (over 50!), detailed instructions and close-ups. You can come back to the workshop whenever you want, zoom in on the photos.

You can also ask questions (I’ll be there to reply!) and chat with other people working on the same project. I’m so excited and can’t wait to start interacting with the students, and see your Roselettes ! :-)

Also, let me add that this pattern for the Roselette top is still available in its “normal” format (4 pages pdf, with several in-progress pictures but nowhere as detailed as the workshop), with the new added sizes up to 10 yo. And there’s a french version too ! Yes, lots of news on this little pattern… :-)
Price: $6

In this picture, you can also see my younger daughter’s newest Roselette, and a matryoshka skirt I made her some time ago. Their friend is also wearing a brand new t-shirt-upcycled-into-nightgown we made her with my friend. First sewing lesson… It seems she’s ready to give in and buy a sewing machine now. yeah ! More crafting together :-D

.. Good point though is that my third submission has good chances to make it into the book. :-D

I have now finished the apricot colored Roselette, and nearly done the turquoise one (in size 8). Sizing seems all good for those new added sizes (up to 10 year old) and I should be updating the pattern next week. If you want to buy a copy, do it now before the price rises to $6 ! (and if you bought it previously either from ChezPlum or Ravelry, you should receive an automatic update :-D)

And now, let’s cast on for another Roselette (I had to order more yarn as the plum colored one was too dark for good photos)… for a very exciting project !! :-D

I’m now VERY happy to introduce the long-awaited pattern for my Jehanne cardigan, which as I have just learned, features a “liripipe“, long medieval-looking hood. So glad I learned a new word today, and all the more as the more I look at pictures of liripipes and medieval reanactments, the more I see my Jehanne hooded cardigan and Jehanne capelet (the perfect “Chaperon with liripipe” !!) would fit perfectly in medieval festivals !! That makes me happy as I love those middle-ages costumes… :-D

But let’s get back to the pattern: the Jehanne cardigan is available so far in 4 sizes, going from XS to L.
An XL size will be added asap. ( all those who purchased the pattern via ChezPlum or Ravelry will receive the updated pattern then).
It’s meant to be worn very fitted, with a body-hugging silhouette that’s very feminine and flattering.

As usual, my pattern is very detailed, with lots of step by step pictures so that you will visually see where you’re going and what is the next step. I personally hate to crochet in the blind without “seing” what I’m meant to do, guess I’m a visual person.

Jehanne hooded cardigan – $6 –

One last thing: this pattern is also included in my “Around the granny square” ebook, which now includes TEN patterns for under $20. Quite a deal I’d say, and you’ll have all three liripipe designs: Jehanne capelet, Jehanne hooded cardigan and Ermeline. :-)

“Around the granny square” ebook – $19.95 –

ETA: I have just sent an exclusive coupon code for 20% off this design and my ebook to people already in my Newsletter. If you haven’t signed up for it yet, do it now to be notified when I release new patterns… and get exclusive discounts ! :-)

For all the garments I designed so far, I knitted/crocheted intuitively, designing directly for myself or my kids and followed my intuition for the rest… trying to keep the “math part” to a minimum, as I always felt that however hard I tried, it never translated into something wearable in real life. This un-method kinda worked so far.

Then there was the Jehanne hooded cardigan. I designed it based both on the general shape of the Violaine, but most of all, on my own measurements and fit. BUT this time, there was a glitch and the helpful people testing the larger sizes showed severe sizing issues. I knew I had to alter those sizes, but for some weird reason I had no idea where to start, it seemed so daunting.

So I hired Krysten TenDyke to do some tech-editing for me, hoping she’ll get her magic wand out and hand me out a “perfect pattern”. Magic wand she didn’t have, but her notes, remarks and questions were JUST what I needed. I tell you, hiring an expert can be pricey, but it will be worth it because they’ll point out the important points. :-)

So. What I learned in the process is:
- while it would seem logical to have the front of a sweater larger than the back, it is not the standard used in the knitting/crochet industry, and there are good reasons for that (thanks to Raverly for all the valuable input I received on that question!!)
- an excel spreadsheet IS not as difficult to use as it seemed, and you know what ? It’s even a bit “fun” to see all those numbers coming out of it: sudenly I nearly have all my sizes ready, and all those triple-checks say it should even work !

- last and not least: triple-check gauge. On your swatch, on the finished garment and also after a couple months wearing the garment. Sometimes I keep finding different numbers, wondering if I was sick last time I checked gauge or if somebody changed those numbers during my sleep ;-)

Anyhow. So now I’m redoing all the math for the Roselette: this pattern highly needs a bit of TLC. There’s a couple things I want to edit, and I wasn’t happy with the current 6 yo size. The new version should go up to 10 yo size. How’s that ? I will also take in-progress pictures of the samples I’ll crochet to check those new sizes, and add those pics to the pattern.

This is making me very happy today. :-)

And now it’s back to work (although I did work on several translations and that new baby bolero design while there…). The girls are still on holidays for 2 weeks but I’ll try to focus on the million things I have to do… September is always my favorite month of the year, full of promises and new beginnnings, and this year surely won’t fall short of new beginnings, especially with my first weekly workshops. Both exciting and scary !

How was your summer ? Did you manage to crochet a bit as well ?