GO CROCHET! DO IT NOW! by Brittany Tyler

When Team Tangled was interviewed by Mary Beth Temple a few weeks ago, she asked us if we had a favorite project to crochet.  Tracy and I agreed that we both liked a good crocheted afghan.  Though I’ve never really noticed it before, I pretty consistently have a blanket project on a hook almost always, no matter what other projects I am working on (or not working on… or should be working on).  Crocheted afghans are just so satisfying.  The repetitive nature of crocheted patterns keeps a project like a blanket second-natured enough to work on it while watching a movie, talking with a friend, or snuggling with needy schnauzers – you would be surprised by what I can do with a pair of  schnauzers in my lap.  Crocheted afghans, too, work up much more quickly than knitted blankets and don’t have to fit your body in any way. Does this afghan make my butt look big? 

I recently got a copy of Ellen Gormley’s Go Crochet! Afghan Design Workbook … as if I needed more projects to add to my list.  My crafting queue has long exceeded my life expectancy and I’m only 25.  My science-minded boyfriend assures me, however, that humankind is on the brink of near immortality.  In the excited heat of trying to describe to me inevitabilities like medical nanobots (Google it), I can see the annoyance in his eyes when I interrupt him with quips like, “You mean I might have time to knit through my entire stash?!?!?  Clearly I should buy more yarn!”  But I digress…

Go Crochet! (I love the imperativeness of the title.) is an excellent reference for your crafting library with 50 motif instructions and 10 blanket patterns.  There are other books out there with more crocheted motif patterns in them, but Go Crochet! Afghan Design Workbook provides excellent instruction on how to join the motifs together and has an expansive beginning section that illustrates all of the techniques required to make the subsequent panels and blankets – great for beginners.  The photography is not only attractive, but is also very thoughtfully done.  Crocheters will really appreciate the relatively large, color photographs of each motif in addition to written instructions and a clear chart (thank you Krause Publications).  Additionally, the spiral binding is a nice touch and ensures the book will lay flat while you follow the instructions.  It’s difficult enough to crochet a blanket while two schnauzers fight for the limited space provided by my lap and I try to understand what new technological breakthrough my nerdy boyfriend is attempting in vain to explain to me – I appreciate any little thing that helps streamline the process between that initial slip knot and a finished project.  On that note, I thinks it’s great that Ellen took great care to ensure that all of the motifs have the same number of stitches on each side (with the exception of the long sides of the triangle panels), so they will fit together nicely no matter how you mix and match them and many are easy to join-as-you-go.  This combinability is most evident in the “All Call” pattern which utilizes every motif in the book at least once!  How cool!

Go Crochet Afghan Design Workbook is available through Krause Publications.

Check out these Tangled patterns by Ellen Gormley:

FINALLY SPRING IN MONTANA by Team Tangled

Spring in Montana isn’t like spring in the rest of the country.  The snow has finally (almost) melted, the grass is beginning to turn green, flowers are braving the still-chilly nights and beginning to show their colors, and the humans who live here are beginning to wear shorts with their parkas as they begin to work in their gardens.  When to plant one’s garden is a major topic of conversation this time of year.  It’s nearly impossible to predict if and when we’ll experience one last cold snap before the transition into summer is complete and meteorological speculation dominates nearly every friendly conversation.  Did you hear so-and-so has ALREADY planted her tomatoes?!  Ahh, springtime in the Northern Rockies.

The unruly climate this time of year generated one unique challenge for Team Tangled.  Photographing spring samples in spring-like scenarios in some cases proved to be a difficult task.  Despite her cheery expression, Taylor, who is shown modeling Ellen Gormley’s Primrose shawl, was wearing the piece over a short-sleeved top in the midst of a snow storm!  Yay for a the magic of Photoshop.

Besides being excited about the change in climate, we are also very happy to be releasing our Spring Issue, which is bursting with fresh new seasonal designs.  As we were finalizing the layout and seeing the big picture of this issue, it was great to see how many crochet designs we have this time. We usually try to maintain a well balanced diet of both knit and crochet patterns in every issue, but this time we are serving up  a few more projects that require a hook rather than needles.  Crochet and spring weather just seem to go together; the open airiness of the stitches used in many of these designs make for the perfect balance between keeping the last bit of chill away before the transition into summer.  Besides, our next issue, which is dedicated to Sock Summit and all thinks sockish, will lean a bit more towards knitted designs – just like no matter when you choose to plant your garden, it all seems to work out in the end.

One of our favorite components of Tangled  are the Cross-Threaded segments.  We love the challenge of converting a knit pattern to crochet and visa versa and the overwhelming response to the cross-threaded patterns only makes us wanna do it that much more.  This issue we debated three possible Cross-Threaded combinations and ultimately we’ve decided to leave the decision up to you.  Through the month of June you can vote for the design you’d like to see Cross-Threadified and our design team will have the new pattern hot out of the oven later this summer.

We are offering three designs for your consideration: Sweet Tart, by Marina Orry, is a delicious little knit bolero, perfect for layering. Dahlia, by Tracy St. John, is a flirty, feminine corset-style crochet vest which would be a breeze to knit. Blue Thistle, by Avril Lang, is a great all-seasons knit hoodie with an interesting mosaic stitch that would be fun to crochet too. We can’t wait for you to put us to work.

Click Here To Vote  <———————–