And you may have seen this on Ravelry already, but I'm officially talking about it here now. The Sunset Ruana (Ravelry link for queuing purposes ;D)...
It's a really big comfy ruana using Tunisian Entrelac. That's right, it's CROCHETED!!!!! Why should knitters have all the fun? LOL I've always loved the look of knitted entrelac, but haven't quite figured that out yet, so I wanted to do something in crochet. Most of the patterns I found using Tunisian Entrelac were for pillows, afghans or bags. But I wanted to do something more like the knitted projects I'd been drooling over on Ravelry since joining.
I submitted the original idea to Interweave Crochet way back in February and waited with baited breath to find out if my first attempt at submitting to a major publication (and only second ever piece submitted anywhere!) would be accepted. I was elated and lost my voice from screaming with joy when I got the e-mail that it had been accepted...with a few little changes (more about that later). Of course, I had no problems with the change and was excited at the possibilities. It was so hard not to talk about it though!
Then Christmas came early, in the form of a box of super soft Limerick yarn from Wisdom Yarns (distributed by Universal Yarns). I hadn't known what color they would send for the sample piece. The colorway reminded me of fall leaves and I was so excited to get started! It took me about a week to work out some of the immediate changes that we made to the design before I could really get started working on the piece. I then spent the entire month of July working on the piece or the pattern every single chance I could. I had stupid injuries that occurred during that time as well that took some time away and I was down to the wire in getting the finished sample to them in time. But it was well worth it!
I was so excited just to be in the magazine. I mean, a pattern of mine, published in a magazine with all those other amazing designers that I admire so much (like Doris Chan, Danielle Kassner, Julia Vaconsin, Marlaina Bird, Ellen Gormley and Kim Guzman...just to name a few)! WOW! You couldn't wipe the smile off my face all summer long!
Then I got the most amazing, very best birthday present EVER!...albeit a day late. ;) Someone on Ravelry posted a link to the pre-order website for the Winter issue. Imagine the shock and amount of screaming and jumping that occurred when the link pulled up a picture of the cover with my piece on it! The kids were convinced I'd absolutely lost my mind and I couldn't calm down long enough to tell them. Jitterfrog (my 8yo son) came over to look at the screen to find out what was going on. And finally I screamed, "I'm on the cover!!!!" HOLY COW!!!!! And yes, I lost my voice again. LOL
I don't even know what to say! Never in my wildest dreams (well, OK, maybe my wildest dreams) would I have thought that would happen! It is unreal!
Now I guess I'd better get off my butt and go design some more! LOL In the meantime, go get a copy of the Winter 2009 Interweave Crochet...order on-line or find it on stands December 29th!!!!
Happy Crafting! :D
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Hi, Share. I bought my Crochet yesterday, because of your Ruana! It's GORGEOUS! I'm a big fan of ARNie and Kim, but haven't done any Tunisian in a while. I need some help, with this, though. Do you have a row before the actual triangles? I found a video of the M1, so got that one figured out, but don't understand "insert hook in next ch". Do you go all the way down to the foundation chain? I want to do this in 2 colors, so what do I need to do, to accomplish this? Maybe I should be asking this on Rav. If so, I'm sorry. This is so gorgeous I can't wait, and can certainly understand your excitement. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Linda! And I agree...ARNie and Kim are amazing! :D
ReplyDeleteFor the base triangles, you are starting off with the Ch 80. All of the base triangles will be worked into those chains. So for the first row of the base triangles, you work into the 2nd ch from the hook. For the 2nd row, you will work into what would have been the 3rd ch from hook before you did the first row. Make sense?
And you are welcome to ask me either here or on Ravelry. I'm always happy to help! :D
Thanks, Share. That's the way I would have done it, but for some reason, I read it wrong, I guess. I'll play some more tonight. It's one of about 4 things I'm working on at the same time. I've got to look up that yarn, but I know I can't afford any more. I've got an apt full of coned yarns for my knitting machines.
ReplyDeleteGood luck. You do beautiful work. I'm going to add your blog to MY blog.
Only 4 things at a time? What restraint! LOL I can't wait to see what you do with it! It's an addictive technique though, I warn you. ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks! :D
CONGRATS!! It is beautiful! Saw it on Ravelry and came here from the blog link. So neat to hear the story behind getting it published! :D (lvg4him)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Paula! :D
ReplyDeleteI love your Ruana! The cover is fantastic and the colors of the yarn are my ever most favorite. CONGRATULATIONS!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteAnd I LOVE that Noro Iro you just got! Such a beautiful color! Can't wait to see what you do with it! :D
Hello, I am really new to this BLOGging, but I received my Winter 2009 Interweave Crochet just a few weeks ago and fell in love with the Sunset Ruana, problem is I am not experienced with the Tunisian crochet method and the instructions didn't come with pictures ;-), is there somewhere I can go to get a little help understanding the instructions. I really would love to make this ruana but am clueless right now. thanks Karen
ReplyDeleteHi Karen! And thanks! :D For starting in Tunisian, there are some great videos available at Nexstitch (http://www.nexstitch.com/v_basic.html). There are also videos available on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Tunisian+crochet&search_type=). Hopefully, that will be enough to get you started. If you're on Ravelry, there is a Tunisian Crochet group (http://www.ravelry.com/groups/tunisian-crochet) that can also be a great source of help. Hope one of these sources will have what you need to get started. :D
ReplyDeleteHi! I absolutely LOVE the Ruan, and I want to make one...but I'm not real sure how to go about the Tunisian Crochet thing. Do I need a double ended hook, or do I need one of those hooks with the longggggg attachment or what? Please help! I see you've already posted videos, which I am going to go watch, but if you could provide a little more guidance that would be great! Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteCaitlin
Hi Caitlin! Thank you! :D
ReplyDeleteFor this project, you're only working with 6 stitches at a time, so a regular crochet hook without a thumb grip works great. I used Addi wooden hooks. Addi also has some plastic hooks without the thumb grip. HTH!
Hi, I love the ruana and just received the Limerick yarn. I'm having a problem getting anywhere near the 48" width on the back, and I'm a pretty loose crocheter. I'm coming up with around 38" on the 13 triangles, yet my guage on the 2-1/4" entrelac square is right on. Any pointers or is the 48" back a typo? Thanks for the lovely pattern! Linda
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Linda! :D The final width is after blocking and the gauge square is pre-blocking. If it looks like your base chain won't stretch that far for blocking purposes, try using a larger hook just for the chain. HTH!
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful, I've been dying to make it since I got the magazine, and have finally started! I'm confused and hope you can help. On row three of the back, it says to make one between the last vertical bar and the selvedge edge of the last row. I can't seem to figure out where exactly that is! Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Robin!
ReplyDeleteOK, let's see if this will help...you are working on the base triangles, yes? So for row 3 of the base triangles, to make the increase, you will insert the hook in the space between the last vertical bar of the previous row and the base chain (or selvedge edge). If it still doesn't make sense, let me know and I'll see if I can post a photo.