Title: Coastal Crochet
Author: Karen Whooley
MSRP: $24.95 USD

Book review by Pia Thadani - Stitches n Scraps

Disclaimer: A free review copy of Coastal Crochet was provided to me by Karen Whooley. Although I accept free products for review, I do not guarantee a positive review.  My reviews are based entirely on my honest opinions. 

All images of copyrighted material are used with permission. Photographer: Anne Podlesak

There's nothing quite as relaxing as a sunny, beach vacation. Warm sand, cool water, and blue skies. That's the feeling captured by the beautiful designs in Karen Whooley's new book, Coastal Crochet.

The book includes 12 stunning projects made in lightweight yarns. The lace and fingering weight yarns drape beautifully, giving these projects an airy feel. If lightweight yarns just aren't your thing, that's ok too. The book includes hints on how to adjust the projects to work with heavier yarns!

The sweater on the cover is called Storm, and it seems like it would be the perfect, every-day tank top. I think it would layer well with the uniquely shaped, openwork shawl called, Deep Blue Sea.

Unlike a lot of beach inspired collections, this one is not all light and summery items. The seamless Beachcomber sweater is a cozy cover up for chillier weather.

There's also a cooler weather hat, and a cowl and fingerless mitts set. From blazing summer sun to chilly autumn evenings, Coastal Crochet has you covered!

All the designs are easy to make, but each has an interesting twist, whether it's unique shaping, creative construction, or fabulous texture. They all include charts as well. 

Those of you who know me know that I definitely prefer to work from charts than from written instructions. If you're new to charts, there's a section at the beginning of the book that walks you through how to read them. 

You can enter to win your own digital (ebook) copy of Coastal Crochet. This prize is generously provided by the author, Karen Whooley. To be eligible, you must be 18 years of age or older, with a valid email address. The winner will be contacted by email, and must reply to that email within 1 week in order to receive the prize. If the winner does not reply within 1 week, a new winner will be selected. See entry form for full terms. 

The giveaway ends at 11:59pm US central time on August 6th. Hurry and enter below! 

This giveaway is powered by Rafflecopter, and they may ask for some log-in information if you are not already logged in. See the Rafflecopter privacy policy for more information. 

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Layers of Texture Infinity Scarf CAL Part 6: Dots and Dashes Stitch; Assembly and Finishing; Giveaway!

Welcome back to the Layers of Texture Infinity Scarf Crochet-a-Long! You can get all the information about the CAL, including a complete schedule and links to previous posts, here.

You can get the stitch pattern for Part 6: Dots and Dashes Stitch; Assembly and Finishing on Underground Crafter here.

Part 6: Dots and Dashes Stitch.

Or, watch the video below.

Join in the crochet-a-long and share your progress with other crocheters.

• Get more information about this crochet-a-long here.
• Stop by our Ravelry group or Facebook group to chat or ask questions. We can’t wait to see what you come up with! 
• Ravelry members can also add the pattern to your Ravelry queue or favorites.
• Share your progress on social media with hashtag #cgoasummercal.

Enter the giveaway below by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, August 28, 2016 by sharing a completed project picture for your chance to win a great prize! 

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Book Review & Giveaway ~Twinkie Chan's Crocheted Abode A La Mode: 20 Yummy Crochet Projects for Your Home~

Hi, everyone!  I'm going off schedule to bust in here and offer up something really special to you!   I am fairly certain you have already heard of Twinkie Chan, but if not, get ready!  She is a fun and inspiring crochet designer, and you're going to have a chance to win a copy of her latest book not only here, but on two other crochet blogs!  

All images in this post are property of Twinkie Chan and are used with permission.

For the uninitiated, Twinkie Chan is a creative mogul with plenty of crochet activities - including a popular blog and YouTube channel, two books, a series on Creative Bug, and collaborations with some of our favorite publications and companies!  Recently, I've seen her lemon stress ball pattern prominently featured to help us weather tax season.  The free pattern was a result of a collab with the Craft Yarn Council. Without a doubt, Twinkie Chan is a crochet powerhouse, and I've been fangirling over her since 2010. 

As I wrote on Crochet Spot, "Twinkie Chan’s Crocheted Abode A La Mode ~ 20 Yummy Crochet Projects for Your Home  is chock-full of joyful, exuberant, delicious, crochet fun."  Paging through the book is like shopping at your favorite, specialty supermarket for all of the best things to eat.  My enthusiasm for this book is BIG, and we're lucky that the publisher is allowing me to give away not one, but three copies!  I'm giving one away here on CGOA Now, and two on other blogs. Read to the bottom for full giveaway details.

If you are like me, you'll want to crochet everything in the book.  The only problem is where to start.  This book will inspire you to dress your home in new and interesting ways using crochet.  I decided to begin with the Allsorts Licorice Afghan.  It's not because I love that candy.  In fact, I don't really like licorice.  It's because I loved the simple, bold, graphic design.  Instead of dropping everything and driving directly to the craft store, I tempered my enthusiasm and shopped my stash.  As is often the case with stash-busting projects, I will need to buy just a few balls of supplemental yarn to round it out, but it has been BIG FUN doing this.  It feels great to crochet Twinkie Chan patterns!

After the afghan is done, I'll do the Cherry Zipper Pulls, followed by the Cherry Pie Seat Cushion & the Carnival Pen Covers to jazz up my office space!  Since a lot of Twinkie's projects use colorwork or don't require much yarn, they are a great way to use up oddments. You can browse all the patterns in the book on Ravelry.

The best way to experience this book is in person, so please enter to win not only here on CGOA Now, but also on Art, Like Bread and Crochet Spot.

I am running each giveaway until May 30 so that there is plenty of time to enter. To enter here, please use the giveaway widget. To enter elsewhere, visit the blog, search "Twinkie Chan" and follow instructions on the correct post.

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If you want to get started crocheting your fun foodstuffs now and simply can not wait, just visit Twinkie's website for any of her scrumptious free patterns. Other Twinkie linkies are: Her active Ravelry group, her blog, her YouTube channel, and her clothing line.

To enter the giveaway, please use the Rafflecopter widget above. 

This crochet is full of flavor, so let's keep the conversation going.  Have you ever crocheted food-themed items?  Which patterns make your mouth water?  Please leave a comment here on the blog, and let's connect on social media!  I can be found on facebook, twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, Google+,  and YouTube.  Join my monthly newsletter about crafts, crochet, and education. 

Book Review - Mandalas to Crochet

Title: Mandalas to Crochet - 30 Great Patterns
Author: Haafner Linssen
MSRP: $21.99 USD

Book review by Pia Thadani - Stitches'N'Scraps



Mandalas have been really popular recently, and this book has some gorgeous ones! From easy, solid circles to intricate, lacy designs, there's something here for everyone.

The book starts out with a full 25 pages of detailed, valuable, introductory information. It includes an introduction by the author, some interesting background on the history of mandalas, and tips on selecting yarns and colors. There are also instructions on reading the charts, some great technique hints, and diagrams/tutorials of all the basic stitches.

Next is the mandala selector section, with pictures of all the mandalas in the book. The one called "Confetti Time," which is made up of lots of little circles, is my favorite. It's so unique!

Each mandala pattern includes written instructions and a large, easy to read chart. I love charted instructions because you can really see how the stitches come together. The last section of the book contains several beautiful patterns created with these mandala designs. There's a bag, a scarf, a rug, a blanket, and more!

I know you'll love this book as much as I do, so I'm excited to tell you that you can win your own free copy! This prize is generously provided by the publisher, St Martin's Griffin. To be eligible, you must be 18 years of age or older, with a valid, US or Canada shipping address. The winner will be contacted by email, and must reply to that email and provide the shipping address within 1 week in order to receive the prize. If the winner does not reply within 1 week, a new winner will be selected.

The giveaway ends on April 29th, 2016 (at 11:59pm, central time). Hurry and enter below! 

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Disclaimer: A free review copy of Mandalas to Crochet was provided by St Martin's Griffin. Although I accept free products for review, I do not accept additional compensation, nor do I guarantee a positive review. My reviews are based entirely on my honest opinions. All images of copyrighted material are used with permission.

Celebrating National Crochet Month 2014

Welcome to the next stop on the Crochetville blog tour in celebration of National Crochet Month. We'd like to thank Amy Shelton and Donna Hulka for putting this event together again this year. I hope you are enjoying all of the stops and you can find the complete list here in case you missed any of them.

Please join us in supporting Halos of Hope as we collect handmade hats for cancer patients. You can find all of the details here including where to ship your hats and many hat patterns you can use.

For those of you who don't know me, I am Tammy Hildebrand and I currently serve as the Vice President of CGOA. It is an exciting time as our board of directors are working on many new ideas to bring as much value to your membership as possible.

If you haven't visited our Facebook page yet, please stop by. This is where we post our announcements making it the perfect place for you to hear our latest news. We wouldn't want you to miss out on anything!

In celebration of National Crochet Month as well as the fact that our Facebook page is approaching 30,000 fans, we would like to offer you the opportunity to win a prize! We value each and every one of you and hope you will consider joining CGOA if you are not already a member. You can read the top 25 reasons to join on our website but there are just too many benefits to list them all.

To enter for your chance to win a copy of Rustic Modern Crochet, simply leave a comment on this blog telling us why you love the Crochet Guild of America! You can also earn another entry by "liking" our Facebook page if you aren't already a fan. Please share the crochet love by sharing our page and let others know about CGOA! We will also select 5 additional entries to win the pattern of their choice (up to $9.99) from Crochetvile! Good luck everyone! We will announce our winners next Monday, March 24.

Tammy Hildebrand

http://hotlavacrochet.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hot-Lava-Crochet/260649393965228

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