SMP Craft

Mother-daughter team Bert Rachel Freed and Dana Elizabeth Freed signing books and demonstrating from their book at the Kinokuniya book store

For those of you who missed it, the Kinokuniya book store in New York City hosted a wonderful event for our talented Bead Crochet Jewelry authors Bert and Dana Freed this past Saturday,  April 20 Bert and Rachel were on hand to sign copies of their book,teach the techniques to create their delightful array of projects, and of course, show off their beautiful handiwork!

It was a great turnout and we hope everyone who was able to attend was inspired by our super talented authors and their gorgeous jewelry designs! Keep checking our blog to see when one of our authors is at a store near you so you can stop by, say hello, and maybe pick up a new skill!

Sunflowers from 50 Sunflowers to Knit, Crochet & Felt by Kristin Nicholas

It’s springtime in New York and I couldn’t help but be inspired by the budding flowers outside, so I created a Pinterest page featuring some the beautiful blooms from our books. Oh, you didn’t know that we have a treasure trove of gorgeous floral craft books? Well, now you do. Ever since we published 100 Flowers to Knit & Crochet back in March 2009, which was a smash success, we couldn’t stop giving crafters what they were looking for: flowers and flowers and some cute critters galore! Check out the Pinterest to page to see all the different varieties of flowers, blossoms, vines, leaves, and fruits that you can make from our books.

And speaking of making flowers, Creativebug is currently hosting a giveaway for the book 50 Sunflowers to Knit, Crochet & Felt by Kristin Nicholas on their website. Click on the link to enter to win a copy of the book, 3 skeins of Kristin’s Classic Elite Color by Kristin yarn, and a 3-month subscription to Creativebug. Bonus: You can check out a lovely video of Kristin’s farm and animals, plus her beautifully colorful home. Good luck! And keep checking back on our blog for some free floral knitting patterns in the coming weeks to celebrate the season!

(click cover to buy)

Today we have an excellent guest blog post from author Leonie Morgan. Her new book 100 Colorful Granny Squares to Crochet: Dozens of Mix and Match Combos and Fabulous Projects is filled with cheery granny squares in bright, eye-popping colors. Below she shows you how nature inspires her color choices when she crochets and for crafters who are a little intimidated by color, gives advice for how to construct a bold palette. Leonie also includes a link to a Pinterest board she created that displays a collection of wonderful crochet projects that provide color inspiration for her.

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We are surrounded by color every waking moment. There is so much inspiration around us! I take inspiration from absolutely anything and everything.

Here’s a holiday photograph I took in Norway.

I love the colors in the picture, the contrast of blues and reds with touches of yellow and white. Using some of the colors in the photograph, I have planned the color combination of my next crochet project.

The colors are beautiful and so wonderfully evocative of my holiday!

I love choosing color combinations for new projects – I get giddy with excitement. There are so many colors to choose from, so where do you start?  Here are some things to keep in mind:

A mixture of light and dark colors provides plenty of interest. Too many dark colors can look flat and too many light colors can look faded. Mixing light and dark colors will boost the contrast of your color palette, adding punch and interest. Don’t forget neutrals, such as, gray, cream, black, and white. I tend to choose palettes with a light, a dark, and a middle shade. Even though the three colors may be completely different or shades of the same color, the light or dark value is as important as the color. As an example, picture a beautiful tree decked in green leaves. It may seem that the leaves are all just green, but when you look closer, you can see a whole range of greens from the very palest tint of green, to deep, dark, shady greens. Our eye is drawn to contrasts so it’s good to keep in mind that a mixture of lights and darks will look the most stunning.

There are handy tools online for picking color combinations. Browse the Pantone website for current color trends, try a color theme generator, or browse through photographs on Flickr and Pinterest. Here is a Pinterest board I created of other people’s crochet work that I absolutely love!

Ultimately, color is a hugely personal thing. One person’s favorite color can be someone else’s most hated color! The truth to color choice is that there is no right or wrong, it’s all relative and my best advice is to just go for it! Mix colors you love to your heart’s content and see what you come up with. You can always make a test square to doublecheck your choices. Remember: Rules are meant to be broken!

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Like what you see? We’re giving away a copy of Leonie’s fabulous book, plus two skeins of Vanna’s Choice yarn to two lucky winners. To enter to win, please leave a comment below telling us your go-to color combo (also we’d love you to sign up for our newsletter at the top-right of this page). Please only one comment per person and, sorry, but this contest is for U.S. and Canadian citizens only. This giveaway will run from April 1 — April 11 and two winners will be chosen at random using random.org on Friday, April 12. Good luck!

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Winners!

Congratulations to Sarah H. and Patty, the winners of our book and yarn giveaway!

Thank you to everyone who entered and for the overwhelming response! Check back again soon for more giveaways!

Come one, come all! Bead Crochet Jewelry authors Bert Freed and Dana Freed will be at the Kinokuniya store next month signing copies of their book and demonstrating how to bead crochet. Having taken a bead crochet class with them before, I highly recommend checking it out if you’re in the NY area. Hope to see you there!

Happy Spring! Despite it being in the low-40s here in New York, the flowers are just starting to poke out of the ground, which gives me hope that warmer temperatures and spring dresses are just around the corner! To celebrate the season we’re having a giveaway for our fabulous new book 50 Sunflowers to Knit & Crochet by Kristin Nicholas along with some Lion Brand Kitchen Cotton yarn.

We are so excited about this book. The sunflower patterns are bright and cheery and come in all shapes and sizes. Plus, there are patterns for leaves and stems, butterflies, ladybugs, and bumblebees to add to the collection. Looking through this book just puts you in a good mood. It radiates springtime and sunshine. And there’s no one better to translate a field of sunflowers into knit and crochet patterns than author Kristin Nicholas. Kristin lives on Leyden Glen Farm, a working sheep farm in western Massachusetts with her husband and daughter (Oh, and not to mention, 400 sheep, 3 border collies, 2 Great Pyrenees guard dogs, 10 cats, 30 chickens, 1 guard donkey, and 1 guard llama). In the summer, her family grows a field of sunflowers that was the inspiration for this book. Check out the video below to see Kristin working on the farm and to hear how she incorporates color beautifully into her work and life.

If you’d like to enter win a copy of 50 Sunflowers to Knit & Crochet along with two skeins of Lion Brand’s Kitchen Cotton yarn, then leave a comment below (and while you’re at it, feel free to sign up for our newsletter at the top-right of this page). Please only one comment per person and, sorry, but this contest is for U.S. and Canadian citizens only. This giveaway will run from March 21 — March 28  and two winners will be chosen at random using random.org on Friday, March 29. Good luck!

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Winners!

Congratulations to Sylvia Buonanni and Christine Newpower, the winners of our book and Kitchen Cotton yarn giveaway!

Thank you to everyone who entered and for the overwhelming response! Check back again soon for more giveaways!

Did you make it to Vogue Knitting Live last weekend? I had the pleasure of winding up and down the aisles, stopping at all the different stalls to fawn over the gorgeous designs, and touched loads and loads of delicious yarn! Several of our authors were on hand to share their skills and sign books. All in all, it was a wonderfully inspiring weekend. Here are some highlights of things we saw, felt, and loved.

Yarn, yarn, yarn!

I think I could have gone home in a cab stuffed to the gills with yarn and still wouldn’t have been satisfied! There are so many beautiful kinds scattered throughout VK Live, it’s impossible not to go there and spend 90% of your time just petting yarn. Here are a few of my favorites that I spotted:

I love the color combinations in these multicolor yarns

Yarn spun with strips of money

There was a yarn bar for sampling how different kinds of yarns knit up

Hooks and needles

I also spotted these oversized knitting needles and crochet hooks from Loopy Mango that I’m just enamored with! I want some, obviously so I can make giant knit and crochet items with them, but also because I think they would make awesome conversation pieces for the home!

They look a little daunting to wield, but because of their size, I imagine projects knit/crochet up fairly quickly using these tools. A simple scarf or a cozy vest, like the gentleman below is wearing, probably only takes one episode of Downton Abbey to complete, right?

And, I found this sweet woman working on her crochet most encouraging. If she can handle that big hook, so can I!

If you went to VK Live, I hope you enjoyed yourself and were able to snag some great finds. If not, I highly recommend checking it out when it comes to your area. There’s so much to be seen, and you definitely get inspired to take your knitting to the next level by trying out some new yarns, stitches, and tricks that you spot in the stalls and on the runway.

Now, who wants to buy me some of these goodies?

‘Tis the season for holiday crafts! Here at St. Martin’s Press, we got into the spirit of things and booked a conference room for some good, old-fashioned lunch-hour crafting. We used old galleys and magazines to create some festive gift bows and ornaments, and even crocheted some snowflakes from Caitlin Sainio’s 100 Snowflakes to Crochet.

It’s pretty amazing what you can make with a little glitter, some office supplies, and some leftover paper—which we have PLENTY of!

Papercrafting snowflakes, stars, and flowers!

And at the other end of the conference table we had some crocheters trying their hand at snowflake making:

The results of a lunch hour spent crafting and laughing with coworkers? Some festive office decorations!

Glitter paper snowflake

Paper stars, snowflakes, and bows, oh my!

Here’s hoping you’re inspired to craft something special! Happy holidays!

75 Floral Blocks to Crochet (click on cover to buy)
Beautiful Patterns to Mix and Match for Afghans, Throws, Baby Blankets, and More
by Betty Barnden
$21.99/$24.99 Can.
144 pages, trade paperback

Bring the beauty of the garden indoors with our upcoming book 75 Floral Blocks to Crochet by Betty Barnden. Due out September 18, 2012, we’re giving our blog readers an exclusive sneak-peek at some of the gorgeous floral block designs that are featured in the book.

Blocks of all shapes and sizes abound: squares, triangles, circles, diamonds, hexagons, and more—all containing beautiful, eye-catching floral themes. Pair traditional blanket squares decorated with petals and rosebud accents with colorful, three-dimensional blocks featuring flowers and leaves that pop, creating interesting textures and details. There’s something here to inspire every crochet fan and is perfect for crocheters on the go. The book also includes written patterns and color charts, a crochet refresher course of basic techniques, and a creative projects section.

View and enjoy our sneak preview below!

Bead Crochet Jewelry (click on cover to buy)
An Inspired Journey through 27 Designs
by Bert Rachel Freed and Dana Elizabeth Freed
$22.99/$26.50 Can.
144 pages, trade paperback with French flaps

Bert and Dana Freed are a mother-daughter design team and the authors of our new book Bead Crochet Jewelry, which features a stunning range of 27 designs, showcasing a dazzling use of color and texture for jewelry that looks elegant and intricate. The projects range from simple single-crocheted strands of beads to impressive rope-like circular crocheted pieces.

Here are four different designs for the Bang-for-Your Buck Necklace, using alternating beads and single crochet stitch.

Bert and Dana stopped by our office recently to conduct SMP’s first-ever Lunch & Learn. Armed with a trunk full of spools of cord, beads galore, and their handy Confetti Chain Stitch Necklace kits (sold here) they showed us just how easy it is to create your own beautiful beaded creations.

Circular crochet is used to make up the necklace and chain links in the
Linked-Together Necklace

I have to admit that when I was first working on the book, I thought that the projects might be too difficult for me since I’m just a novice crocheter. The idea of pairing my mediocre crocheting skills with beadwork (something I’ve never done before) sounded intimidating and overwhelming. I’m happy to say that I was proven wrong.

At the Lunch & Learn, Bert and Dana passed out crochet hooks, strands of cord, and little packets of beads in an assortment of colors, shapes, and types. The first step was to figure out in what order to strand the beads on to the cord. This was the most challenging and fun part of the lesson. With the beads spilled out in front of me, the possibilities were endless! In the book, Bert and Dana extensively cover how to work color into your bead crochet projects, and really encourage you to play and experiment with the color combinations of cords and beads. They explain how different-colored cords produce a variety of results when paired with different beads. Below are two examples of the same color of beads being used with three different color threads, but look at how different the results are:

After divvying up my beads into families of colors and stranding them, I was ready to start crocheting. Bert and Dana went around the room and guided everyone through the easy steps of making a single crochet stitch, then moving the beads one-by-one up the cord after each stitch. So easy! Even the complete beginners in the room got the hang of it! I was so excited by how simple it was to make this necklace, I couldn’t wait to get home finish what I started. End result?

The finished product!

I love my new necklace and I’ve been getting tons of compliments every time I wear it out. Who knew that all it would take was one night of single crocheting in front of the tv? It really went that quickly! I love the combination of the beads and how each one is different from it’s neighbor.

Now my next project is to tackle circular crochet, so I can make one of the fabulous rope-like pieces in the book. I’d like to start with the Center of the Universe bracelet. I love the look of the spiraling colors and the central focal bead.

Center of the Universe Bracelet

A close up step-by-step photo of how to do circular crochet

I started practicing the circular crochet technique after I finished my necklace. The step-by-step photos in the book really make it easy to follow all the steps. The photos clearly reflect the placement of beads on the cord, and what your hook should be doing at each interval. It makes it impossible to get lost in the process.

Now that I’ve got this new technique under my belt, I can’t wait to start playing with bead combinations and making up brand-new pieces of jewelry that I know will garner more compliments from friends. I think I’d better start clearing out another corner of my craft closet to make way for my new obsession!

Leaves and Daggers and Drops, Oh My! Lariat

The Dana Bangle

Luster-and-Cluster Necklace

Forget-Me-Knot Bracelet

75 Seashells, Fish, Coral & Colorful Marine Life to Knit and Crochet (click on the cover to buy)
by Jessica Polka
$21.99/$24.99 Can.
128 pages, trade paperback

A captivating collection of knit and crochet patterns taken from the shoreline and the deep!

Dive into a beautiful collection of aquatic wonders to knit and crochet—from lovely shells, lush seaweed, and eerie anglerfish, to elaborate and colorful coral reefs.
Each creature is beautifully presented in the directory at the front of the book; here they are shown living in their different habitats, including the beach, the tidepool, and the open ocean. Each is cross-referenced to the instructions chapter, where an easy-to-follow pattern, complete assembly and finishing instructions, yarn requirements, and charts for crochet designs can be found.
The book also includes a host of inspiring ideas for how to use your creations in a wide range of settings—elegant jewelry and accessories, unusual home accents, and large display arrangements.

View & download a sample project by clicking below!