Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings

I am participating with 9 other bloggers in the Blog Tour to promote Alla Koval's 2 new books: Imagical Seasons Volumes 1 and 2. See my review here on the blog at 8:00 AM (CST) on July 15, 2015. To join in the blog tour and see other reviews, interviews and give-aways, see the schedule below. Alla Koval with Pixie CrochetQueen: Your kids fashions are charming and unique. What inspires you? Alla: Thank you so much, Gwen! Sometimes, the idea for a design just comes into my head and I don't know from where. I just visualize it clearly and then somehow turn the mental images into something real. Other times, I find inspiration in paintings and photographs—Pinterest is an amazing source of inspiration and eye-candy. I look at things and try to understand if I can see something special that has to be noticed.  Many times I start by looking for unusual stitch patterns, and start building my ideas from them. It’s so interesting to see how a stitch pattern evolves w...

Tuesday, April 1, 2014 I have assembled an amazing group of bloggers and I am honored that they are willing to read my book, The Fine Art of Crochet, and share their educated opinions with my readers. If you are enjoying the Blog Tour, leave a comment and sign up to follow with your email. The Fine Art of Crochet by Gwen Blakley Kinsler Day 1, April 1: Marie Segares, The Underground Crafter Day 2, April 2: Selena K, Crochet Kitten Day 3, April 3: Karen McKenna, I Hook Design Day 4, April 4:   Dee Stanziano ,  Crocheting with Dee Day 5, April 5:   J. D. Wolfe ,  Craft Gossip Day 6, April 7:  Andrea Lyn Van Benschoten Day 7, April 8:  Elsa Mora, Art is a Way    Day 8, April 9: Paula Moliver, Hartford Examiner Day 9, April 10: Margaret Hubert, My Hooks and Needle Day 10, April 12: Vashti Braha,   Designing Vashti Day 11, April 14: Denise LaVoie, Voie de Vie Day 12, April 15: Sharon Silverman, Sharon Silverman Croch...

March 2014 Do you love to crochet? Can’t get enough? Do you say, “Just one more row” even though your eyes are bleary and it’s way past your bedtime? Shout about your love of crochet from the rooftops all this month during the annual National Crochet Month celebration of crochet! I have much to celebrate and I'm proud to let you know about my new book, The Fine Art of Crochet .  "The artists have clearly been selected for innovation. The variety of techniques and materials used forces the reader to question any pre-conceived ideas about this particular craft; the results are a real eye-opener. From elegant jewellery and wearable art to bold and striking sculptures and installations; the range covered is breathtaking ." Textileartist.org You can win a copy of my book! Just sign up with your email to "follow" my blog (at the right of this blog), and let me know in the comments section that you have done so. You will then be entered into a drawing to wi...

Tuesday, January 21, 2014 As Founder of the Crochet Guild of America, I have been privileged over the last twenty years to meet talented and inspiring crocheters and designers like Tammy Hildebrand. I am honored to be a part of her blog tour and I heartily recommend her new book! Please enjoy exploring around my blog and at the many books I've reviewed. While you're at it take a look at my new book, The Fine Art of Crochet. . Crochet Wraps Every Which Way by Tammy Hildebrand Tammy’s new addition to her long list of design accomplishments is so much more that the eighteen shawl patterns within this book. She encourages every crocheter to be the best they can be in a supportive way that gives us all courage to try anything, even the scariest of techniques we thought we could never master! When reading the introduction, one feels that Tammy is sitting nearby, cheering us on to success! Her down-to-earth approach in the Tips and Hints section is like having a crochet fri...

Thursday, October 24, 2013 Welcome to my Kweendom and I am so happy to be a part of Kristi Simpson's Blog Tour. I know you'll love her book and I wish you luck in winning a copy in my give-away. For details on winning, see below... Sweet & Simple Baby Crochet By Kristi Simpson If there were nothing else in this book besides adorable photographs of babies, it would be well worth the price. But lucky for you there is much much more: a bonus of thirty-five adorable and unique pattern designs for baby-wear! Large, colorful photographs of the projects worn by precious children add to the allure of the book, but in addition, concise step-by-step photos throughout are ideal for beginners. Throughout the book a wide range of readily available yarns are used in the designs. This is another great way for beginners to learn about yarns as they learn to crochet.  These are not your run of the mill baby patterns. Because Kristi uses fun colors and mixes different ...

Sunday, March 31, 2013 Blessings to those of you who observe Easter and Passover! Do you love to crochet? Can’t get enough? Do you say, “Just one more row?” even though your eyes are bleary and it’s way past your bedtime? I hope you have shouted about your love of crochet from the rooftops this month during the annual National Crochet Month.   I am the founder of The Crochet Guild of America (CGOA) www.crochet.org , a Past President and a Professional member. I have just celebrated five years of blogging and am delighted to have been invited by Amy & Donna over at Crochetville www.crochetville.com to participate in this blog tour to celebrate!   CGOA started National Crochet Week back in 1998 as a promotional effort to celebrate our beloved craft and to let others know about the guild.  Its popularity has grown exponentially. It is now a whole month long and we call it National Crochet Month . Now many other associated groups ...

Tuesday, March 5, 2012 Every other Thursday I walk with dear friends, Debbie and Rita, in the Forest Preserve. Yes, I live in Chicagoland but we are privileged to have acreage set aside for recreation and land preservation with wonderful walk/bike paths.  Here we are last week between snow storms. The paths were not plowed because they leave them for the snow shoe/skiers. It was rough walking and great exercise for the legs! As we started we saw a larger herd of elk than usual. They are so interesting As predicted, we are enjoying a huge snow storm with 6 to 10 inches expected. Is it the last storm of March, or knowing Chicago, just the next. I love a snow day; it's like a freeby from responsibility and it brings thoughts of a warm fire crackling, a pot of soup on the stove and warm slippers. I'm spending today enjoying what I have to get done and  not feeling pressured. Speaking of soup, one of the projects I've been working on is my new display fo...