Qualcomm Arts & Crafts Festival 2015

Here we go again for the fourth time! Qualcomm’s annual Arts and Crafts Festival has moved to Friday, December 4th, from 11 am until 1:30 pm.  This year my visit with Krista’s family in San Diego will extend into the holidays. No cold and snow for me on Christmas!

I’ll again be selling many of my usual knit and crochet scarves, but I’ll be including lots of gifties and stocking stuffers for the upcoming holidays.

I have added a few new designs to my scarf collection, some knit, some crochet, even a few new yarn styles. I haven’t photographed all of them, but here are a few new designs I’ve tried out.

After making several simple designs over and over, I decided to go back to a technique my mother used many years ago, called hairpin lace crochet. First I made straight scarves which resemble braids.  Long strips of double-sided looped crochet are joined by crisscrossing the loops between strips.

Two tone braid Solid purple braid Purple blended braid Turqoise braid

I also used the same technique to make infinity scarves which loop around the neck twice. The type of yarn used has so much to do with the final look – the second scarf has already sold and another request has been made.

Olive boucle braided loop Homespun braided loop

Some of the above scarves use a boucle yarn, which led me try it on my mobius scarves.  They are super soft, and they only weigh just over one ounce!

Gold boucle mobius Turqoise mobius

I found another way to use this boucle yarn: lacy hairpin lace wraps.  This method uses a different technique for joining the loopy strips. The loops are joined in small bunches and then the strips are joined with a kind of grid-work. The result is a long, very lacy, feminine wrap, perfect for a cool evening walk.

Other yarns are used in that same mobius style: two mohair designs and scarves that use two strands crocheted together to create a bulkier look.

Another new style I’ve enjoyed putting together is the “bulky braid.” I use a bulky yarn to crochet three wide strips and then braid them together.  Every color combination evoked a totally different look!

Chunky Braid

 

I had the opportunity to visit a humungous yarn store last year and couldn’t resist picking up this beautiful Peruvian wool and Tencel blend yarn. This crochet pattern I found seemed to fit the yarn perfectly. Its appeal is not just mine – it’s already spoken for!

Peruvian wool

I can’t seem to get away from knitting these “messy” scarves!  I have so many yarn ends from all my projects, and when a lot of any color family reaches epic proportions, I have to incorporate them into these fun scarves!

Besides these new designs, I also have added more colors in my usual basic double loop knit infinity scarves.

There are other ways to keep your neck warm!  If you ski or snowboard, or just like to hike in the cold, these fleece neckwarmers might just fit the bill!  I made these for my Buffalo friends (it gets mighty cold here!) and they  found them to be quite toasty! I made them in some fun solids and even a few funky patterns.

Yellow neck warmer Neckwarmer colors Dark Neckwarmers

I inherited a box of felted wool that had been hand dyed – I simply couldn’t resist making these wool flower brooches.  I think they look great pinned to a winter coat or scarf.

Wool flower brooches

Other flowers that are pretty popular are the crochet roses brooches. While in the winter mode, another pretty accessory is a crochet collar, inspired by an anthropologie product.

Collars and flowers

Whenever I have smaller amounts of yarn left over from a large project, I try to find smaller items to use it up.  Scanning Pinterest, I’ve found some pretty cute coin purses to use up those little balls.

Coin purses

Another kind of little organizer I like to make is a cell phone pouch. Krista uses it as a purse insert that she can pull out when taking a quick run.  A friend of mine carries it when she walks her dog. There are both wristlets and crossover styles.

Cell phone pouches

And if you need another kind of bag to put your wine into when popping in at a friend’s during the holiday, you can find it here!  Also, there are little gift bags and gift card holders, and tissue holders.

Winebags etc.

And if you have a tooth to leave for the tooth fairy, maybe a monster pocket will be the best delivery vehicle! Maybe you can even use these guys to deliver a gift card to a fun-loving friend!

Monster pockets

In the past, I’ve made ribbon and pearl necklaces to perk up a casual outfit.  These were inspired by Lands End necklaces they featured two years ago.

Necklaces

And finally, the tiniest additions can add a little femininity to your everyday outfits – either bobby pins or hair clips with a flirty look.

Hair pins

Whatever your holiday plans, I’m sure you will find something that will fit into those plans when you visit our table at the Arts and Crafts Festival!

Comments? Questions?