Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Crocheted Hat of the Month

The first crochet Hat of the Month is fashioned after an African wedding hat - and is the first of many crocheted hats to come from Stitch Therapy. I learned to crochet in shop class at Nathanial Horthorne JHS 74 in Bayside, Queens when I was in the sixth grade. This was about two years before they allowed girls to take wood shop and the boys had to learn how to cook and sew.

This hat is an any gauge any yarn hat - I have given the formula to this hat to many crocheters over the past four years, and have added a few stitch embellishments to make it entertaining. This pattern is in single crochet, but it can also be made with half double or double crochet stitching. Download the pattern in the sidebar.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

THE BARTER SYSTEM

I have always said that "people buy your expertise" so in an effort to endure the economic condition of 2009 I have entered into barter arrangements and lent out my hands for services rendered.

In all I have committed to custom knit four or five items: one pair of purple tweed cashmere cable knit fingerless gloves; one tan alpaca lace beret; one aubergene alpaca lace shrug with a slite belle sleeve; a luxurious pair of long southwestern colored fingerless gloves made from alpaca, merino and silk; cable knit sleeves in Joker purple and green; and possibly one pair of socks.

The other day I started my third item "the lizzy" -- a spring/fall staple at the shop that has evolved into a stylish knit since its incarnation three summers ago - the neckdown shrug knit in the old faggoted lace rib is an effortless four row repeat and easily doubles as a scarf on a cool day.
I'm doing the knitting and in exchange received: a suitcase full of yarn from abroad; professional financial services; design and editing services; a Super Bowl poem, and time. The barter system in lieu of cash makes the exchange a priceless value between friends.