Archives

Big Craftsy Mother’s Day Sale!

May11

Craftsy

 

Starting May 11th through May 12th, a select number of Craftsy classes are up to 50% off. Click on the link above to get the deal.

Craftsy offers:

  • A wide selection of online crafting classes from the best instructors from around the world.
  • Watch your classes from anywhere, from any device with an internet connection.
  • Take them anytime you want, as many times as you want. Your access never expires.

Find your perfect class:

You can also try one of Craftsy’s free mini classes!

I bought the Curvy Crochet: Plus Size Techniques class by Marlybird. I haven’t finished it yet but so far, Marly is fun to watch.

P.S. – Craftsy classes make the perfect last minute Mother’s Day gift!

Click on the banner below to get your 50% off select classes

Craftsy
 

 

About these ads

The Somerset Shrug – A New Pattern

Oct2

Image

Image

Here is another Yarn Yogi Shrug Creation – The Somerset Shrug. A very easy pattern for beginner crocheters and experts alike. The model shown is the smallest size and I show you how to make it as big as you like. I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Wheat for the shrug in the pictures.

This shrug would be perfect for fall and looks good over long or short sleeves. Great for chilly offices and folds up nicely into a backpack or carry-on for traveling. Looks good on all body types and sizes!

I provide FREE customer support for all my patterns!

Materials Needed: Worsted Weight Yarn 800-1000 yds, Crochet Hooks H and I, Stitch Markers.
Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate Easy

Buy this pattern at the following websites:

Craftsy, Etsy and Ravelry

SMALL PRINT: This pattern may be used to make items for your own personal use, for gifts, or for charitable donations. You may make copies of the pattern for your own personal use. You may not distribute the pattern in any hard copy or electronic format. You may sell the finished item, I just ask that you reference “Deanna Young, Designer, http://www.TheYarnYogi.com” .

Crochet Blog Fail – What I Am Doing About It

Aug6

This is NOT ME at this time
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

Right now I am the exact opposite of the happy, carefree shopper above. She is wearing a cute, knitted shrug though!

I never made through the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  I am so stressed right now I can’t even described what I am stressed about. Let’s just say its about me, husband, Mom and Dad.

I am having problems writing this post! So, look at the stock photo above and imagine the opposite and that’s what this post is all about.

Going to do some of The Work right now…

I Need Some Cuteness Therapy. How About You?

Jul15

Yesterday, on Crochet Concupiscence’s Tweet site,  there were links to some cute, Japanese Amigurumi sites. I especially liked this Japanese commercial. I love looking at Amigurumi and other kinds of crochet and handmade dolls, but I don’t like actually making them. The tight crocheting hurts my hands and I don’t enjoy sewing the pieces together.

Here is some cuteness to balance out the heaviness from yesterday’s blog post.  I tried to make the pictures click to the websites but it didn’t work. I will try again later:

Toadstool, yeah!

Tiny Sock Monkey

Doll from CrochetMe. Click on pic and keep scrolling down. Loads of cuteness!

Hello Kitty makes me happy! Pattern book on Etsy

Here’s some Mochimochi:

Stackable Cats

Teeny, Tiny, Candy Corn. Click and scroll down but don’t forget to look at the other stuff on the page!

Look here for more knitted cuteness: Mochimochi Land

Get Thee Over To Craftsy!

Jul11

I just joined Craftsy about 3 months ago and its already one of my favorite new websites!  Here’s an excerpt: from the home page:

Welcome to Craftsy!

We’re a community of people who love to make things – learning from, inspiring and helping one another.

A list of what this website offers:

  • Online video courses, ranging from 0$ to 39$, in Cake Decorating, Food Craft, Gardening, Crocheting, Knitting, Holiday, Jewelry, Paper Crafts, Quillting, Sewing, Spinning, and Weaving.
  • “Craftsy Workshops are tutorials from amazing designers that include the pattern, instructions, and step-by-step photos. And, the BEST part: you’ll never get stuck…just ask the pattern designer for help!”, $11.99 to $15.99.
  • Patterns, free and for sale.  This is my favorite part of the website.  The listings are very clear, the pics are big, and your purchased pattern is downloaded from their servers. If you want to list your patterns, this place is way better than Etsy and Ravelry because there are no fees, listing is fast and easy, and THERE ARE NO FEES! Craftsy is where I sell the most patterns.
  • Project listings, just like on Ravelry.
  • A Blog
  • A Page called, “Deals”, with listings for yarn, fabric and assorted supplies. I haven’t explored this yet.

The entire website is clean and easy to read and navigate. Lots of stuff but not too busy!  Check it out! Comment below if you find anything cool  over there I need to know about.

Crochet Fashion Pattern Inspiration

Jul3

For years I wanted to design crochet fashion but fear kept me from doing it.  First of all, I have no knowledge of fashion design. Second of all, I always thought of myself as not being original or creative. And then, something changed inside me – whether it was menopause, age and experience, or that extra cup of coffee everyday – I suddenly felt more assertive, more willing to take chances, more willing to fail! Around the same time, I had a minor epiphany: how many people in this world are truely original? All artists derive inspiration from somewhere, and I don’t have to reinvent the wheel. That worry I had about not being original was keeping me from realizing my potential originality! Finally free to be the derivitive artiste I was meant to be, I started looking at fashion not as, “Why didn’t I think of that”, but as, “I can copy/crochet that”!

Now, every knitting pattern I come across is a potential crochet pattern. All my favorite shirts, sweaters, blouses in my closet are potential crochet patterns. That cute, oversized sweater at Kohl’s Department Store? A crochet pattern. Here are some things that are inspiring me right now. Some are closer to becoming a crochet pattern than others:

Knitting Patterns

 

From Pinterest “The Yarn Yogi Inspiration” Board

 

Shrug FAQ’s

Jul2

Elegant Sparkle Shrug Pattern. Model is my daughter who is a little taller and thinner than me.

The number one question I get about my shrugs is, “How do you put it on?”  I remember my first shrug. It was a free vintage pattern for a bedjacket shrug from the ’50′s or ’40;s.  I followed the pattern, completed it and said, “Whaaaat?” It was just a folded rectangle of crochet! How can this be worn?  This is the reply I have been sending to my buyers who have asked:

After the shrug has been completed, hold it so the fold is on top and the open ends are on the bottom. Open the bottom, slide your arms in the armholes and, Ta Daaaa! It magically transforms into a cardigan that looks like a shawl with sleeves!  Once its on, you can adjust it by folding the collar back and moving the shrug across your shoulders so that its even.

Crochet X-Stitch Shrug Pattern $5.00. Model is my daughter.

Shrugs are very customizable.  I always design a pattern to fit me (I’m short with boobage) so here is how you can easily customize any of my shrug patterns to fit your size:

  • Before you seam the sides, pin the sides up to the armholes. I like using those little claw hair clips. Try the shrug on. If it doesn’t seem to hang right, like it does in my photos, crochet some more rows and try it on again.
  • You can also see how it looks folded with the crochet pattern horizontal or vertical.
  • You can easily make the armholes smaller or larger by seaming up the sides higher or lower.
  • You can add as many rows for the sleeves as you want. Or, don’t put any rows of stitches on the armholes at all!

Hot Blue Shrug FREE Pattern. This model is very tiny! Big gals will need to add more rows.

I hope this helps clarify some things.  I love getting questions and feedback on my patterns so keep it coming!

Crafting Is My Therapy

Jul1

My first stock photo! http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

When I was a little girl (ok, I’m still little), I wanted to be a Go Go Dancer when I grew up.

Stolen from psychofthesouth.com

I wanted to wear the boots and hot pants and dance next to the lip-syncing band on American Bandstand. Dancing was something I was naturally good at. It involved me totally, brain and body, and I could loose myself and forget I was a shy, ADD, black girl. Actually, I was a tan, Italian-American but the kids in my very white, suburban, Orange County, CA neighborhood couldn’t tell the difference so I was “that black girl”.   Dancing got me through the night.  It was the reason I wasn’t a teen mom.  I studied dance, marched and danced in Junior High Drill Team, was the Vice-President of High School Dance Club, then grew up, and realized there were not many professional dancing jobs for 5 foot tall women so my dreams were crushed. Besides, go go dancing went out of style.

But I still danced – in dance classes here and there, aerobics classes, in front of the TV, in clubs, at weddings.  I even just recently reached what I feel is the pinnacle of my amatuer dancing career – I taught myself how to shuffle so that I can embarass my teenage son in front of his friends.  I did it and it worked! But dancing hurts now, literally, my hips are useless after trying to force ballet turnout as a teen, trying to force 2 babies through my wee hips as an adult, and trying to kick tall people in the head in tae kwon do (which is rough because EVERYBODY is taller than me).  Dancing has stopped being my therapy and now just makes me hurt and dizzy.

About 15 years ago I thought, “What, besides dancing, did I love doing as a child. What gave me joy?” And I remembered that it was crafting. Coloring books, macrame, finger painting, cross stitch, those craft kits for kids you could buy at the toy store. I even dabbled in crochet and knitting as a child. So I just followed my intuition and started doing crafts that interested me. I ended up sticking with crochet and knitting. I get the same joyful experience that I did with dance – total body/mind involvement – especially with complex patterns. And to top it all off, I always ended up with something beautiful and artful when I was done!  And I could give it away and give other people joy!  Yea!!

And now I discover that I can design my own crochet patterns, and they kind of make enough sense that other people can follow them and make their own beautiful stuff!  And people will actually buy them and not ask for their money back!  Who would of thought I could do that?

 

 

Which FINALLY brings me to whole point of this post: My husband of 24 years, whom I have known since we were 11 years old, was just diagnosed with ALS. He may have 2 years, he may have 20…but I know what is ahead of us. Watching him slowly become so completely paralized that he will eventually only be able to move his eyes, trapped in his body, his mind perfectly fine. This is my future, it can be predicted with certainty unless one of us dies in an accident before then. But I have my family, my friends, and my crochet. And a little bit of dance…

Crochet Wrap Bracelet Inspiration

Jun26

I have been dreaming of making up a free pattern for a crochet bracelet for a couple of weeks now. Beading jewelry was my first crafting love. Now I see those wrap, hippy, bohoey bracelets for sale and I just have the urge to create one. I don’t want to copy anybody, but the following bracelets are giving me inspiration!

My new, free, crochet bracelet pattern will be here soon!