Bloglovin, google reader, etsy and so forth

Hello! I have been largely ignoring the web furor regarding the axing of Google Reader from 1 July 2013. That is, until this morning, when I took a hike through Bloglovin land, coffee in left hand, Baktus WIP on lap and reading glasses resting on my nose. I love Bloglovin, it is a friendly, modern space and I realised that this was where I prefer finding new blogs and content to feed my hooky interests.

Bloglovin is currently referring to a few articles advising readers on how to Keep your Google Reader Subscribers.  Well, it took me less than a minute to import all my readers into Bloglovin land.  It really is easy as pie - Click this button and follow the prompts.  It took me all of 60 seconds to  update Bloglovin with the blogs I follow via Google Reader.  MissDriftedSnowhite penned a great article about Bloglovin as Google Friend Connect Replacement.

Did you know that the African Flower was not designed by two South Africa ladies as so many hookers assume after the pattern was published in Afrikaans in a local magazine?  I too was under the impression that this is a unique South African design but during a conversation with Lauren Fraser of the fabulous Etsy shop 2ndlookvintage in April this year (I am nuts over her vintage handbag designs and posted about the patterns a year ago), she pointed out that it was known as the Paperweight motif and was created by Dorothy Neidhardt. 

The motif originally appeared on the cover and in an article titled "Gorgeous Granny Square Afghans" in the September 1986 issue of Woman's Day magazine published in the US. Lauren told me her mother owned a needle shop in California from 1962-1992 and she inherited a very worn copy of the magazine in which the pattern was printed from her.

Thank you for the info and conversation Lauren, I hope to be hooking your bags sooner rather than later.  Your shop is fabulous!

Pigtails Crochet Mag now available on Flipboard!

Pigtails Crochet Mag is now available on Flipboard (Download Flipboard for free - iPad, iPhone, Android, Kindle Fire & NOOK). Catch up on the latest news re all matter hooky, discover amazing things from around the world and stay connected with the craft!

Oh I love where social media & technology is takings us - uhm not that it is always that easy to stay on top of all the latest developments, but at least us bloggers try. I decided to try my hand at a mini magazine on Flipboard 'cause I don't like Twitter, can't be bother with Tumblr and Facebook Fatigue is setting in worldwide. If you have access to Flipboard, feel free to join my space.

Copyright is a territory that is becoming increasingly difficult to manage - please let me know if you see any of your postings flipped and would like me to remove the content.

Have a wonderful week, I see my friends in the Northern Hemisphere are enjoying beautiful sunny days. It is sunny here too, but cool, winter, brrr. Cheers!

Mind the Gap!

Hah!  Anyone in need of a new set of chompers? 

Don't despair, in South Africa they sell these on the street corner of your nearest town! What on earth is the story behind this picture? (Apologies for the poor quality of the snapshot, sun shining from front etc and I snapped him after a split second decision)

Well, in South Africa there are peoples who prefer pulling their teeth to create an errrr  so called "passion gap"!!  Maybe this man from another ethnic group was taking advantage of the situation by selling teeth to those who decided they'd rather close said gap ;-)

Oh, you have to read these two articles, it is a fascinating culture and who knows what the truth really is all about, all we know is that there are a substantial number of peoples roaming the streets sporting selected toothless grins in South Africa!

Mind the Gap

Cape Town's Passion Gap

The pics below are to show you what parts of South Africa look like. Many of these were shot through the windscreen during a roadtrip

 

 

Skinny Crochet Baktus Scarf

This is a sneak peek of my own version of the Baktus Scarf which is normally knitted and increased every 4 rows.  I am trying my hand at a skinny version and am increasing only every 8 rows (always on the same side so that one side is straight whilst the other increase and then decrease to form a triangle) 

Yarn:

Vinnis Bambi in Clouds

Vinnis Nikkim in Lime

Hook Size: 4,5

Stitch: single crochet

I will most definitely be blocking the scarf in order to achieve sharp sides. I am working in two different yarns, hence the slight unevenness at the moment. Hmmm I think it will be lovely and very wearable once finished. I promise to hook the next project in anything but green, in fact I am thinking of Raspberry pink for a change! 

A big hello also to all my new members, it is always great to connect with new hookers and crafters and I appreciate your interest. Thank you!

Joining Squares with Dc2Tog

What will a hooker be if she is not able to learn and display a variety of techniques? Without a career interesting crochet work that is for sure!

This hooker loves the creative process in joining squares as much as hooking the squares in the first place. There are so many different joining techniques to choose from - from flatter to decorative to textured joins - most which I still need to master. At first I thought that the flat braid would be a perfect choice for the raw rustic cotton bamboo throw, but I soon realised that this method is not suitable to the textured Bambi yarn I was using.  The Vinnis Bambi yarn called for a simple joining method in order to add structure to the project as well as showcase the yarn the best. I soon identified the Dc2Tog stitch as the perfect choice and what a pleasure hooking this method turned out to be!

Tanis Galik put a great video together demonstrating two different joining methods - the DC2Tog is explained from time 1,33 min - 3,12 min. The DC2Tog joining also added quite substantially to the size of the throw - hmmmm what's not to like about that!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=osXCLrZqpFo

 Lastly for all my friends living in the Netherlands - Vinnis Bambi is available to you via Scaapi! 

Photo: Scaapi

I used this specific Silver Green colour for my Little Woollie scarf (photo below) - it is a gorgeous colour. Happy shopping, it is the perfect yarn to work with during the European summer!