MAKERS MONDAY

I love celebrating those who make!  Take part of your Cyber Monday to support an American artisan today!  And for all of you who make stuff yourself, take 20% off knit and crochet patterns on Etsy and Ravelry.  Read below for coupon code!  Happy stitching!  Happy holidays!

Read more at http://www.makersmonday.com/

Lace at the Avenir ...and how crochet saved lives...

Hi all!  Hope you had a fantastic weekend!  I sure did!  (Check out my instagram for pics of the Maroon Bells up in Aspen - I really love my homestate!!!)

I keep talking about this fun DIY I want to share - but it involves black leggings - and with temps in the 90's here - I just haven't been able to force myself to put them on and take pictures of them.  If it ever cools down - it will be coming - till then, if you have an extra pair of black leggings lying around (or any other color), get them ready for a cool crochet DIY!

So one of the coolest things about the grad program I'm in (Design and Merchandising and Colorado State University) is that we have our own museum - WHAT?  Pretty cool, huh?  The Avenir is our own little textile museum that exhibits darn cool historical and cultural textiles.  Last year they had a ton of really cool Peruvian weaving and THIS YEAR historic lace!!!

HISTORIC LACE!!!  That means there are some wicked cool historical crochet pieces in there right now.  Fun fact learned at the lecture last week - selling Irish crochet lace helped keep families alive during the Irish potato famine.  It literally saved lives.  (I'm 1/4 Irish - and my family members lived through the potato famine - maybe they were crocheters - I'll have to check into it!)  Anyway - I love stuff like that!

If you can make it to the museum here in Fort Collins - you should.  If not, I've included some of my favorite crochet pictures down below.  Enjoy.  Happy stitching!

SPUN

Hey stitchers!  ANYONE near Denver, Colorado needs to make their way on over to the Denver Art Museum and check out the SPUN exhibit.  (Going on now through Sept. 22.)

If you are even remotely interested in textiles and fibers, this is the place for you.  I went a couple weeks ago and it was amazing.  Some of my faves?  ...the room with the batik and ikat (WOW)  ...the silk scarf hand painted by Isadora Duncan's brother, Raymond (do you think it was one of her brother's scarves that made her meet her end in that car all those years ago???)...  and of course the crochet coral reef.

CROCHET CORAL REEF, GUYS!  It's a community project, so here is your chance to make something and have it displayed in an ART MUSEUM!  Pretty cool. 

Make something and send it to ...

Rose Eason
Denver Art Museum Offices
414 14th Street
Denver, CO 80202

ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE SEALED IN A PLASTIC BAG.
Send questions to reason@denverartmuseum.org

Check out the pictures I took and this cool video about the crochet coral reef!

Happy 4th!!

Happy Birthday, America!

Hope you all are doing fun and exciting things to celebrate.  Me, I will be studying.  With beer.  (I have to remind myself it's a holiday somehow, right?)  3 more days of class and one final exam until MY summer vacation starts... so much stitching and pattern writing to do, and I can't freakin wait!!!

In the mean time... this is what I'm wearing today.  I liked the crochet edging from the LBD DIY so much, I find myself adding it to just about anything!    Here I added it to some men's underpants I bought at Target.  Cheap and comfy, I'll be a happy beer drinking studier today!

Happy holiday, all!  Happy stitching!

TRENDING!!!

Holy Cow!  My email exploded yesterday!  Pineapple Robe started trending on Craftsy!  What a treat!  Thank you so much everybody!  Can you tell by all my exclamation marks how excited I am???!!!

I hope there will also be a lot of new followers for this blog!  We have a lot of fun on here!  Thanks for stopping by and reading!

IF you are a new reader, and you are working on the Pineapple Robe,  you might want to check out THIS POST that helps with the side panel section and THIS POST that gives you a way to alter the pattern to save a little time and yarn! Also THIS POST about working with cotton!

HOPE ALL NEW BUYERS HAVE A FANTASTIC STITCHING WEEKEND!  Thanks so much for brightening mine!!!

Mother's Day SALE!

Most of us learned to craft from our mothers and grandmothers.  Let's celebrate how awesome these women are and take 15% off all pattern purchases on the day we devote to loving them extra lots.  Enter LOVEMOM at checkout on Etsy and Ravelry to get your discount.

Happy Stitching to you and your mother dear!

Inspired Crochet

Hey y'all!

Big news this week!  I'm on the cover of Inspired Crochet's May issue!  WHAT???  Never thought I'd hear myself say that.  Best part?  They are going to give an issue away FOR FREE to one of my lucky fans!  YEAH!  How do you enter?  Become a fan of Sans Limites Crochet on facebook and leave a comment on THIS POST.  I'll pick a winner at 4pm mountain time on Tuesday April 30!

WOO HOOOOOOO!

Still working on a swimsuit pattern, and getting caught up on some other awesome cotton pieces.  It's 75 and sunny here in Colorado... let's get ready for summer!!!  YES!

One Crazy Week Made a Whole Lot Better

Hi All!

If you have been following me on Facebook, you may have been eagerly anticipating the photos from the Sans Limites/ One OAK photo shoot... I was too.  But one crazy week started out with one crazy wind storm making our photo shoot impossible.  So... continue eagerly anticipating... they will come soon!

Other things that made this week crazy?  A blizzard.  Timed perfectly with the arrival of the amazing Liz Jones as she and her friend Sarah came to visit us in Colorado.  At least we were trapped indoors with fantastic company.

But the CRAZIEST part of the week... was watching all that happened in Boston.  As many of you know, my sister lives in Boston, along with some good friends from high school and family friends and relatives and probably a lot of people that mean a whole lot to all of you.  So as yarn enthusiasts, you can go to yarn.com and buy a whole lotta great yarn from WEBS - America's Yarn Store and they will donate 5% to The One Fund Boston.  Never been a better excuse to buy some yarn.  Boston Strong.

I love Cotton Fleece by Brown Sheep based out of Nebraska.  A great American based yarn company if you are feeling especially patriotic this week.  

New patterns in the works... including a swimsuit I worked on during the blizzard.
Happy stitching.

Stuff that is happening...

Wow... school has been crazy.  Well first it was really crazy, and then it was spring break, so I snowboarded and sat on my bum, and shared a new pillow case DIY with you, but that was all...

I have a small DIY to share with you this week (super easy, very cozy - you'll like it!) but then that's it!  BECAUSE... I've been working on something else...

in 2 and a half weeks, a photoshoot with the amazing Kelsey White of One O.A.K. Photography, Freeravin Designs, and some beautiful models and a hair and makeup artist too!  Words cannot contain my excitement!

So there is a slow in patterns for the next couple weeks as I try to get things finished for photographing, and then patterns will come soon after...  GET PUMPED!!!

Check out this beautiful pic Kelsey took with Freeraven a little while back...

How pretty is that picture?  How lovely is that jewelry?  How lucky am I to work with these guys?  VERY!

KKI's Spring Collection

Have you been shopping Krochet Kids International's Spring Collection?  Better get on it!  The boys were on TV in Los Angeles today and the collection got some great time on TV!  The owl hat and headband with a bow were projects I worked on last year!  And catch a glimpse of the Crochet Flower DIY too!

Shop now at krochetkids.org

3 Valentine Things

I have THREE things to share with you this lovely Valentine's Day!

1.  Last day to use discount code VALENTINE for 10% off everything in the Etsy shop!  What?  Such a lovely deal!  Get on that!

2.  There are some kind of awesome Valentine appropriate DIY's from last year for you to enjoy!  Find The Heart Sweater and the Heart Elbow Patch DIY and get your stitching on.

3. It is V-day!  The day where One Billion (are) Rising!

Taken from their website:

ONE IN THREE WOMEN ON THE PLANET WILL BE RAPED OR BEATEN IN HER LIFETIME.*
ONE BILLION WOMEN VIOLATED IS AN ATROCITY
ONE BILLION WOMEN DANCING IS A REVOLUTION
On V-Day’s 15th Anniversary, 14 February 2013, we are inviting ONE BILLION women and those who love them to WALK OUT, DANCE, RISE UP, and DEMAND an end to this violence. ONE BILLION RISING will move the earth, activating women and men across every country. V-Day wants the world to see our collective strength, our numbers, our solidarity across borders.
What does ONE BILLION look like? On 14 February 2013, it will look like a REVOLUTION.
ONE BILLION RISING IS:
A global strike
An invitation to dance
A call to men and women to refuse to participate in the status quo until rape and rape culture ends
An act of solidarity, demonstrating to women the commonality of their struggles and their power in numbers
A refusal to accept violence against women and girls as a given
A new time and a new way of being

So head on over to onebillionrising.org to watch live videos throughout the day and see ONE BILLION PEOPLE DANCING!  Already videos from India, Indonesia, Taiwan, Sudan, the Congo, New Zealand, Australia... it is pretty damn AWESOME! And put your stitching down for little to go get your dance on.

Mardi Gras

Happy Fat Tuesday, all!

Make yourself a King Cake like we did and laissez les bons temps rouler (let the good times roll)!

Throw DIY

This is a variation of the massive Blanket DIY that I made for my mom for her birthday!

It's so much quicker to work up, and still helps keep you warm... YAY!

So...
the variations...
Use a hook 2 sizes larger than you would use for the blanket.
Make 16 of the squares... leave the last 3 rows of sc off of these squares.
Join in a row of 4 using the same technique for joining that you used for the blanket, going back and forth making 3 dc stitches in each of the ch-3 spaces.  Join 4 rows of 4 together so you make one large square.

Just large enough to be used as a throw at the end of your bed, or for cuddling up on the couch!

YAY!  Have fun with it!  Happy stitching!

Birthday!

Today is my sweet Mother Dear's birthday!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

I learned to knit my first pair of mittens right after my mom learned (cause I wanted to be like her).  We took our first crochet class together when I was in 4th grade, and she helped me figure out how to turn a tote bag pattern into a backpack... my very first start at designing crochet and I couldn't have done it without her!  Thanks for everything, Mom!

The New Year Hat

It's official!  The first new pattern of the new year!  And it's a knit one... sorry crocheters (there's a cool crochet one coming soon- promise).  It's perfect to wear to any fancy get together... and hey... next year you can wear it to your New Year's party!  WOO HOO!

As always find it on Craftsy, Etsy, and Ravelry and email me at SansLimitesCrochet@gmail.com with any questions!

Happy stitching, friends!

Spotlight on Skin Cancer

Hi all!  I'm sick on the couch for the 4th day now...  bummer dude.

Luckily the Downton Abbey premiere and an email of this video have brightened my day!

Last year, Meredith bought the Power to the Pom Hat in bright orange so it could be used in this video about skin cancer awareness.  Definitely a topic important to me since many people in my family have had it.  So... stitch happy, get yourself checked, and try to spot the Sans Limites in this video!

Read more from her interview HERE.

Perfect Timing

Other than a few headaches here and there, I made it almost a year without getting sick.  Fingers crossed my sore throat is gone and my voice comes back by the time I make it over to this little event!

Kansas City Kitty

Hey all!  Took this load of awesome turban hats, cowls, bags, and a few headbands over to Kansas City Kitty yesterday!  Sans Limites Crochet will be their featured local vendor for the month of January!  Come kick it off right with a little get together at the shop tomorrow night for the First Friday Art Walk in Old Town!  I'll be there, and I hear there will be cookies!  YUM!

It MIGHT actually rise above freezing in the Fort tomorrow... but you should probably plan on buying a hat just in case!

Home Again, Home Again!!!

Hello all!

Hope you had a lovely week! In the last 11 days, I have spent 6 of them driving, 2 at Renegade, and 1 Christmas shopping when the highway was closed! I have done no crocheting... needless to say, I'm wound a little tightly.

Finally made it back to Fort Collins not even 3 hours ago, then left immediately after that to grab my sister from the airport... who almost got stuck in Chicago until SUNDAY because her flight was canceled. Holy moly, are we glad she hopped on a different one and is here... just in time for the world to END! (At least we'll all be together, haha!)

Now I need to start Christmas shopping/making, do lots and lots of laundry, answer all your Etsy messages, ship some presents and orders and stuff, make some custom orders from Renegade, get my life organized, work on the DIY's I promised you, find a Christmas tree... I don't even know why I'm still sitting here writing this with so much on my to do list...

But for now... a hot bath so my feet will be warm for the first time in 11 days... that was one cold road trip! More fun stuff to come tomorrow!

Clothing Challenge COMPLETE!!!!

Today is my birthday!  That means this clothing addict over here has made it 6 whole months without buying a single piece of NEW clothing!  ... And only a few pieces used and second hand, cause it's fun!  I've found some absolutely amazing things for not much money, and the money I do spend has been going to a great cause like Goodwill, Salvation Army, or Epilepsy Research!  I feel so happy and accomplished!

I think I might buy a few new things this month (like a racerback white tank top... those are really hard to find second hand in good condition and mine has a hole in it... boo)...  but then I might try and go another 6 months...  we'll see!

Has anyone else been trying this clothing challenge?  How's it been going?  Do you feel as awesome as I do when you buy an designer dress second hand?

This "I Love Otters" sweatshirt from the Monterey Aquarium was the last NEW piece of clothing I bought... all the way back in the beginning of June!

Instead, I sooth my need to shop with cool pieces like this from the thrift store... all this under $20 and all that money goes to Goodwill!