Lacy Crochet Market Bag, designed exclusively for Red Heart Yarns
Keep this roomy bag handy for shopping or when travelling. Crochet it in a bright color as shown, or any color you wish. This is a great gift and a simple way to encourage ecology. 

Lacy Knit Market Bag, designed exclusively for Red Heart Yarns
Keep this roomy bag handy for shopping or when travelling. Knit it in a bright color as shown, or any color you wish. This is a great gift idea and a simple way to encourage ecology. 

I am a proud of my Norwegian heritage and enjoy joking with my fellow Scandinavian friends and family about our tough, Viking prowess. One particular firend and I joke about who has the better sense of direction due to our internal Norse Celestial Navigation systems. 

A portion of each sale will be donated to Halos of Hope, a beautiful hat charity run by an amazing woman whom I call my friend, Pam Haschke. Follow the link to Halos of Hope for more information about this beautiful charity. You can order the instant download pattern HERE: Celestial Navigation Crochet Hat Pattern $3.99

Watch the YouTube Tutorial Video teaching you how to make the post stitches required for the 8-point star HERE:

The pattern is written for women's size, approx 20" circumference. It is really easy to modify for men's and children's sizes, as well.  The easiest way to design a hat's circumference is to use a little geometry when you are working on the crown. Basically, if you multiply the diameter of your crown (side to side of the circle) by 3.14 (or pi) your answer is the circumference of the circle (or the circumference of your hat) if you stop increasing at that point. Easy, right? Here is a list of different diameters and their respective circumferences for your reference:

If your circle diameter is: Then, your circumference is:

5" 15.7"

5.5" 17.27"

6" 18.84"

6.5" 20.41"

7" 21.98"

7.5" 23.5"

8" 25.12" 

For the crochters out there, one of the stitches used in the collection of Crochet Barefoot Sandals Pattern is a 2-treble cluster crochet stitch. I made a tutorial video for cluster stitches and uploaded it to YouTube. You can watch it HERE:

If you want information about the instant download pattern for the Crochet Barefoot Sandals Pattern, click HERE: Kristin's Crochet Barefoot Sandals Instand Download Pattern

If you want to see the Crochet Barefoot Sandals Preview Video, watch it HERE:

Also, I made a new tutorial video this week teaching foundation stitches. You can watch it HERE:

And now for the contest! Leave a comment on one of these three videos, requesting what YOU want me to demonstrate on an upcoming video! Knitting, crochet or what? I will randomly choose winners for prizes throughout next week! Thanks for sharing with me!

Pattern is available for immediate download for $3.99 HERE: Fer Sure Legwarmers Crochet Pattern 

Pattern features Drew Emborsky's The Crochet Dude Sarcastic Yarn

Video tutorial features Rosewood Crochet Hooks by Lantern Moon

It is a super easy and quick pattern that uses foundation stitches. Here is my YouTube tutorial video on how to make a foundation single crochet and foundation double crochet:

Well, now Kristin is selling her handmade, crochet barefoot sandals already finished! Each pair is designed and handmade by Kristin Omdahl. Order your own pair of crochet Barefoot Sandals HERE for $24.99. Each pair includes a single pod of Wrapture, all natural delicate wash infused with essential oil of night blooming jasmine.

Want to see a preview of the sandals you are considering buying for yourself or a gift? Here is a YouTube video preview of all styles currently available: 

The Mermaid Shawlette knitting pattern is a simple project that only uses yarnovers and the knit stitch, yet incorporates 3 yarns and by manipulating the direction of each row, you create a striped textured pattern without purling! I used 3 different yarns with beautiful variations in texture but within the same color family. The sequins and sparkle are so pretty. The edging is simple to create with large eyelet holes and the added volume creates a pretty ruffled border. One yarn is a sparkly ribbon, one is a sparkly brushed mohair, and one is pre-strung with tiny sequins. So pretty together!!

The Barefoot Sandals crochet pattern is one of my favorite patterns in a while. Despite how simple and frivolous they may seem, make one pair and try them on. Seriously, I feel so girly and feminine in them. They are so much fun!! Plus, you can make them in no time flat for gifts, too! In this pattern, you will receive 5 patterns to make 5 different styles! Each one incorporates different stitch patterns and uses a variety of yarns in different colors.

And to celebrate the debut of these new patterns, please use coupon code NEW25 in my Ravelry Knit & Crochet Pattern Store to receive 25% off your patterns! Enjoy!!

Fiber Type:  50% Extrafine Merino, 33.5% Baby Alpaca, 16.5% Donegal Tweed
Needle  Size: 9
Gauge:  16 sts x 24 rows=4"
Yardage:  195
Weight:  100 g.
Care:   Hand wash cold, Lay flat to dry

For the Bubbly Shawlette, originally I designed it to be knit up on a laceweight yarn with US6 knitting needles. This produced a blocked shawl that measures 48" wide x 14" long and has a simple scalloped edging. For the Bubbly Renegade Shawlette, I used Renegade and US8 knitting needles, plus added a simple ruffle to the edge as follows: knit into the front and back of each stitch to double your stitch count. The next 16 rows: (k5, p5) across. Fasten off loosely. Weave in loose ends. Block with your favorite delicate wash to finished measurements and enjoy! The updated version measures 60" wide x 20" long after blocking.

You can order the 3 skeins of Renegade by Fiesta Yarn here: Renegade by Fiesta Yarn

And you can order the Bubbly Shawlette Knit Lace Pattern HERE:

For the ENTIRE WEEKEND, type in coupon code RENEGADE to receive 50% the price of this pattern!

Today's selections are:

The Aloha Crochet Scarf with Flower Pattern

I adore wearing this flower decorated lace scarf. It is bubbly and cheerful and the mood definitely rubs off on me when I wear it! The placement of the flower reminds me of something a greeter would wear when you descent the airplane onto a beautiful Hawaiian island. The scarf utilizes a fun alternative to a simple shell stitch pattern and the ends are joined to make the scarf a tube. The flower is crocheted separately and sewn onto the scarf at the end. Either can be worn alone or together.

AND

Barefoot Beach Knit Shawl Pattern

I knit the sample shawl at the quiet and reclusive Barefoot Beach in SW Florida and thought it appropriate to name the project after the inspiring knitting location. The rolling surf softly crashes onto a beach filled with seashells of many varieties, shapes and sizes.

Rebecca and I met at a conference in Manchester, NH several years ago when I gave a speech to aspiring designers. It was a wonderful experience and so much sweeter for meeting Rebecca and making a new friend :)

Follow the link for the entire collection. You can purchase the entire collection for $13.00, or purchase kits, or order the patterns, a la carte. Below is a sampling of some of the exquisite designs in Quince & Co.'s luxury yarns. Leave a comment below and I'll pick a random winner to receive a FREE copy of the booklet next week!

I made a photo and video tutorial to show you how to make the cables and just as importantly, how to work the row after the cables are made. And, I have a few notes, tips & tricks to share along the way. Each of the thumbnail photos can be clicked on for larger sized images, and the video is embedded from my Kristin Omdahl YouTube Channel.

First, we begin with the chain, then a row of double crochet. Post stitches can't be worked directly into a chain, so a set up row of double crochet is required first. Then, we crochet a row of back post double crochet, then a row of front post double crochet. Here is the glossary description of a front post double crochet: Wrap the yarn around the hook, insert the hook from in front and from right to left around the stem of the appropriate stitch. Complete the dc stitch normally. Here is the gloassary description of a back post double crochet: Wrap the yarn around the hook, insert the hook from behind and from right to left around the stem of the appropriate stitch. Complete the dc stitch normally. Then crochet one more row of back post double crochet.

Next, we crochet our first cable pattern row (row 4). Ch3 (counts as first dc), skip the next 4 stitches, fptc (front post treble crochet) around the post of the 5th st, then fptc around the post of the 6th st. Working behind on the 4 sts we skipped, dc in the 3rd st, and dc in the fourth st. Working in front of the stitches made, and working in the first and second sts skipped, fptc around the post of the 1st st, and fptc aroudn the post of the 2nd st. Note: ALL 6 sts have been used. Fpdc in ea of the next 2 sts. Repeat across entire row and this is what it will look like: NOTE: notics how the cables don't exactly look right yet. It takes the following row of back post double crochet to really firm up the fabric and allow the cables to pop.

When working row 5: ch3 (counts as dc), bpdc in ea st across, make sure you work each stitch in the correct order. Because of the twisted nature of the last row, it is difficult to see the stitches yet alone figure out which is the next stitch to crochet. I like to peel the top of the fabric toward me so I can peek and see the stitches on the wrong side, while stretching them out at the same time. As long as you work them in the correct order, after the next row it will look like this:

And here is a photo tutorial of what the fabric will look like at the end of each row left in the repeat.

Row 6:

Row 7:

Row 8:

Row 9:

Repeat rows 1 - 8 (row 9 photo is actually the first repeat of row 1).

And, here is a video tutorial explaining rows 4 and 5, the crochet post stitch cables using front post treble stitch, front post double crochet stitch and double crochet stitch (Row 4) and back post double crochet stitch (row 5). If you have any additional questions, please leave them in the comments below!