The Crochet Dude

VK Live in NYC!

Last weekend I went to the Big Apple to attend Vogue Knitting Live! It's an amazing event with lots of classes, and a market that is so big it has to be on two floors!  



I had a booth that included all my products for sale and what a hoot to be able to be there and talk to everyone that stopped by! 

*all images clickable*


The dude on the left looks spookily like my brother, and I had to make him take a photo. The entire weekend I would look up and jump because I kept thinking my big bro was there! The next photo is from the Where Women Create booth where they had the pages from my eight page spread displayed. That issue is still on the newstand and you can also get it here. Then there is the woman who showed up wearing her original vintage Isaac Mizrahi crocheted sweater. It was so beautifully designed and constructed. The goofy dude on the right, well, you know who that is.

Shopping!

One day I was able to get out of the market and go to the fashion district with my friend Brett Bara. So much fun! 



And in case you are one of the few people who don't watch Project Runway, that last photo is taken inside Mood, the fabric store that they use on the t.v. show. It's huge, and amazing, and I wanted to move my studio into the back corner permanently. But Brett wouldn't let me even ask! Can you believe that?

Fun!

Then of course there is an infinite number of ways to have fun in New York City. If I were 23 I would do whatever I could to live right in the middle of it all. It's a great city to explore!!


Yes, yes I did eat my way across Manhattan...


I was also able to hand out lots of postcards that I created just for the event...just saying.
Bermuda postcard
I kinda wish the cruise were this weekend! I could use some pink sand beaches and turquoise water right about now!!

Posted by -drew emborsky- at 1/20/2012 11:29 AM | View Comments (9) | Add Comment

Bermuda Crochet Cruise!

I am so excited to announce that I will be taking a 6-day crochet cruise vacation with you this year! 


I cannot wait to board the Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas on May 25th and head to Bermuda! We will be crocheting the days at sea away, then exploring the amazing island of Bermuda, then more crocheting at sea on the way home! Sounds like the perfect vacation to me! Plus while you are in class with me doing what you love,  your travel partner can lay on deck, go to the spa, hit all the buffets, do whatever it is THEY love to do on vacation! It's a win-win for everyone!!



I've not been to Bermuda but have heard that it's the most beautiful and probably happiest place on earth. Can't wait to find out for myself!!  I have been on the Enchantment of the Seas before and it's a wonderful ship. For more information, please visit the website of the nice people that are arranging it all for us:


While you are there be sure to check out all their other craft cruises! They have some pretty amazing itineraries and excellent instructors!!

Posted by -drew emborsky- at 1/6/2012 9:11 AM | View Comments (5) | Add Comment

Yarn review: Heritage Silk

Just before the holidays I was sent some yarn that I had never worked with before. It's from Cascade Yarns out of Seattle Washington.  You may have worked with Cascade 220 before, it's an amazing worsted weight wool that comes in array of colors. It's truly hard to beat the color selection.

The yarn I've been working with is called Heritage Silk:

Cascade Heritage Silk

Turns out that this is a wonderful lightweight yarn. The 85% superwash wool is soft and easy to crochet with, and the 15% mulberry silk gives it a very pretty sheen and I believe adds to the lovely drape. This yarn is produced in Peru.

I'm very happy with the stitch definition too. I've found that sometimes 100% wool will obscure the stitches and that can be great, but for this swatch I was doing shells and post stitches and really wanted to see the texture.

  

Heritage Silk also comes in 48 colors! I was just over at their website looking at the color selection, and it's amazing! Check it out here. I'm using color #5603 for my swatch.

Cascade is sold at yarn shops, so if you want to find one close to you they have provided a store finder on their website. 

Here are the yarn details:



I would definitely commit to an entire project from this yarn. It's just so nice to work with (I blame the silk) and the results are amazing. This is a must-have yarn for sure.

Posted by -drew emborsky- at 1/4/2012 9:28 AM | View Comments (4) | Add Comment

So Close!

For Christmas jolly ole St. Nicholas brought me a new lens for my Nikon. It's an AF-S Micro Nikkor 85mm which is really just a fancy way of saying that it takes photos up close. Last year I felt like The Crochet Dude needed an upgrade from a point and shoot camera to an entry level SLR. Costco had the Nikon D5000 for a great price and I snapped (ha ha) it up.

When I used my little point and shoot up until last year it had a built in 'macro' setting and took amazing photos like this one:

Cleo says "click me"

When I tried to get my new fancy Nikon to take up close pictures they never came out, even with the little dial on the top of the camera set on the picture of a flower. Can you tell I'm a professional photographer? (not) If you get lost I apologize in advance. (I wish there were a font called "sarcastica" so that when I typed using it you'd know I was being, well, sarcastic.)

Anywho...

It only took a quick Google search to find out that when one upgrades to an SLR one is committing oneself to buying multiple lenses for one's camera. I'm speaking posh because lenses are expensive, it only seems fitting.

Yesterday in the spirt of the "new" year, I thought I would try out my new lens and see what it could do. Here are some of the photos that I took with the new lens:

* all images clickable*


I was happy with the results for a first try. Like anything new I need to practice more. Thank goodness it's all digital now. I used to fret over whether or not a subject was "photo worthy" counting down how many shots the roll of film had. Now I can keep on shooting and cull the photos later! 

Posted by -drew emborsky- at 1/3/2012 8:38 AM | View Comments (4) | Add Comment

2012 Why You So Scary?

Last year on New Year's Day I was so busy working on Hug It Out that I didn't have time to blog, or take a shower or anything like that. I didn't get a chance to even think about resolutions or goals for the year.  I had my reasons, but nonetheless, I am happy that I am just sitting in my little studio with Miss Chandler staring at me this year.

As I sit here thinking about what resolutions to make (sometimes they help!) or what quality to develop (every party needs a theme!) I just wish I were more efficient. I wish the little things didn't take so much effort, and indeed I don't think they should.

So that's it then, I'm declaring 2012 the year of being....efficient!

It's like the difference between practicing your golf swing (or your post stitch) and doing it over and over and over and making some progress - or to be efficient and having a pro show you a few tweaks and making huge progress.

I know I can do this too. When I was an administrative assistant at a university a few years ago I took a program that was a mess, not only cleaned it up, but put procedures into place that made it silky smooth. My desk was cleaned off every night before I left because I had the time to do it. I had the mindset of being efficient. Each effort maximized the results.

I see now that if I were to approach my work and home with the same work ethic then not even I know what could be accomplished!! 

Now about that end of the world rumor. Look 2012, if I do get my act together and finally get my studio working efficiently you'd better not usher in Armageddon. I'm just saying is all.

St. Thomas, USVI

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

Posted by -drew emborsky- at 1/1/2012 9:55 AM | View Comments (3) | Add Comment

Silver and Gold

Each year I fuss about how I'm going to wrap the Christmas gifts. It all started when I felt inspired to wrap the gifts in such a way that I didn't have to add a "from" tag - I thought if done properly then the recipient would KNOW who they came from!

Here are some of the past themes that I've done.  It's hard to choose a favorite but I think the paint cans really are fun! (photos clickable):



  

2010 Santa Claus - 2009 Black & White - 2008 Blue Christmas - 2007 Green & Purple - 
2006 Snowballs - 2005 Paint Cans - 2004 Red & Green Velvet
(one of these days I'll find the photos of the gold, raffia, snowmen, & silver years)

Christmas 2011

This year I was inspired by the Burl Ives carol "Silver and Gold". I knew that if I wrapped all the gifts in either silver or gold, then tied ribbons of the opposite color, then the visual impact would be stunning. I'm very please with how the gifts look this year and it couldn't have been any easier! Tie a glittery ornament to each one and the recipient has a bonus to hang on their tree each year too!




Now to scurry off to UPS to be sure they arrive on time! Ho ho ho!!


Posted by -drew emborsky- at 12/19/2011 10:03 AM | View Comments (4) | Add Comment

We Have a Winder, I mean Winner!

A huge congratulations to Jamie K. from Wisconsin for winning the Electric Yarn Ball Winder from Boye Needle Company! I don't have a picture of Jamie but I imagine this is what she looked like when she found out the news:

I'm the winner I'm the winner!

And this is what Jamie had to say about winning:

Excellent!  Just last night my husband asked me if I wanted Santa to bring me an electric yarn ball winder.  I guess he was tiring of holding my yarn while I winded by hand

And if you didn't win but want to stuff your own stocking, you can get your own ball winder here! Merry ho ho!

xoxo
Santa Dude

Posted by -drew emborsky- at 12/16/2011 12:44 PM | View Comments (3) | Add Comment

Easy Wreath!

Super fast and easy wreath I made for my front porch. 

Christmas Wreath

Open up a wire coat hanger and shape it round, then slide Christmas tree ornaments over the wire (I used shatterproof plastic ones) - then take some faux poinsettias (with bendable stems) and wrap them around the coat hanger near the top. Took me all of 15 minutes from start to finish! 

Posted by -drew emborsky- at 12/14/2011 10:30 AM | View Comments (10) | Add Comment

Two-week Reboot

I finally managed to take a vacation. A real one where I didn't work the entire time (I crocheted at a funeral last February - that's hard core y'all) - and I even managed to disconnect from the Internet machine. I feel like I rebooted my brain.

I cruised from Ft. Lauderdale to the Southern Caribbean and back (stopping in Aruba, Bonnaire, Grenada, Dominica, St. Thomas, & Bahamas). I did a lot of exercise, ate too much, got in the water a few times, petted a monkey and slept. A lot. 

All images are *clickable*


Home Again

Now that I'm home again and have all my laundry caught up and the cats have decided that if they don't sit on me 24/7 then I probably won't be leaving again anytime soon, I am back in the studio with a to-do list the size of Cleocatra.

I'm not fat, I'm just big boned!

Posted by -drew emborsky- at 12/13/2011 8:19 AM | View Comments (2) | Add Comment

EYBW Giveaway!

My friends over at Simplicity (you know, the ones that make the patterns that pretty much everyone uses for sewing?) (and who also manufacture and distribute my line of products?) are having a giveaway for an electric yarn ball winder! Just in time for the holidays - what a great gift for yourself if you win!!



The day I got my EYBW it changed my life! No more cranking and cranking and cranking! Load up your hank on any swift (or the nearest lucky family member) and then just thread the yarn onto the ball winder, much like a very simple sewing machine, and use the on/off dial to adjust the speed! Before you know it the hank of yarn has transformed into a yarn cake with a center pull - how cool is that?!

For complete rules for entering to win please visit the Simplicity website by clicking:


Deadline to enter is December 15, 2011, so do it now before you forget. I hope you're the one that wins! You've always been my favorite!

PS: comments closed on this blog post so that no one accidentally thinks that they enter here.

Posted by -drew emborsky- at 11/21/2011 9:05 AM
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