Lovely loopy flowers

Red Loopy Flower with leaves added as a hair accessory.

Yahoo's LoomClass Group is just finishing up a class that features my Patriot Pin from last year and I thought I would share with you a pattern that sort of evolved from that pattern called the Loopy Flower pattern. I made a couple of these for my husband's mother and aunt for Mother's Day brooches in white Homespun and lavender worsted weight.

Loopy Flowers as Mother's Day brooches

Then I got carried away experimenting with different techniques, yarns and alternate color combinations. Originally, I called this particular style of flowers "Hawaiian Star Flowers" because of the pretty color combinations and shape.

Hawaiian Starflowers

I was going to include the instructions in this blog post, but I decided to write it up as Loopy Flower PDF. That way I can actually find it when I get ready to make more.

Now, go out and loom a yarny garden! 

Pink & White Loopy Flower

Granny-on-the-loom

Last June, I started exploring translating concentric crochet techniques on the knitting looms which resulted in several different coaster designs. The first attempt was Patriotic Coasters, followed by Watermelon Coasters, Sunflower Coasters, August Sun Coaster and finally Hexagonal Granny. All of these designs just mimicked crochet stitches, but each one took me a little closer to what I was trying to achieve - to translate actual crochet stitches on the knitting looms. At the time I had so many things going on that I didn't have time to just sit down and physically experiment with the looms, so I did a lot of mental knitting. It's a wonder that I didn't have a wreck, because I knitted in my mind while driving, in doctor's waiting rooms, in lines, at government buildings, on long weekend drives and laying in the bed at night. All this resulted in the Granny's Rose square and a new technique I fondly call "loomchet" was born.

When I first completed the Granny's Rose, which produced actual crochet stitches on the knitting looms, I had hoped the tutorial would be ready by last September. However, I'm a champion procrastinator and extremely absent-minded which is a recipe for disaster. It would probably be lost and forgotten had it not been for Kelly Jones from Kelly Knits, who stayed after me to complete the tutorial for the loomed granny squares. She also test knitted and proofread the tutorial for me. This is Kelly's granny square scarf she made for her husband's grandmother. (BTW - The loomed granny square scarf was Kelly's first experience with crochet of any kind.)

The Granny-on-the-Loom Tutorial is listed under Loom Knitting Techniques in the right sidebar. As stated in the tutorial:

This tutorial will show you how to make a simple granny square by incorporating two pegs on the Knifty Knitter Looms to produce crochet stitches. This technique is presented to you as an alternative way of crocheting for those who either never learned how to crochet or for those who experience pain when crocheting using conventional methods. It is also a handy technique for quick embellishments when loom knitting. Word of warning, like any new technique, the two peg stitch technique is a bit fiddly, but the results are well worth the effort.

For best results, gather your supplies and find a quiet spot, then work through it as you read the tutorial. It is not a difficult technique, but it does require a hands on approach. Hopefully, there will be a video demo before too long. In the meantime, be good to your granny!

Granny's rose

The recent Hexed Granny Motif was such a hit that the loom knitted granny square tutorial is in the works. This post is a quick glimpse of the upcoming tutorial. In an effort to keep the tutorial as simple as possible I thought it best to start with a basic generic granny square instead of the more complex hexagonal granny. While unable to physically knit over the past week, I've been mentally knitting the loomy granny motif. Today, I finally had a chance to sit down (if you don't count jumping up every three minutes to extract my granddaughter from countless "no-no's") and test knit the tutorial square. The result is the Granny Rose Square pictured above.

Colors: When selecting colors for these squares I've found that nature provides the best color combinations. The color scheme on the square above reminds me of a rose bud pattern woven into a beautiful bedspread that my Grandmother used on special days when I was a child - thus the name, Granny's Rose. By substituting a different floral color (coral, violet, yellow, blue), the square acquires a new look. By the way, my initial impression of granny squares was not a good one, mainly due to the hideous color combination in outlandish projects of the seventies (example). While this is a good stash buster project, please think before you randomly pick up the lavender, chartreuse and florescent orange yarn. For a visual treat in color planning, visit Attic24 and click on the Crochet Category in the left sidebar.

Size: Basic granny squares are typically six inch crocheted squares with five concentric rows. For the loom knitted version, I decided on a smaller three row square utilizing a super bulky weight yarn which resulted in a four & one-half inch square when knitted on the large gauge Knifty Knitter Looms. However, by using the basic granny square formula, it would be very easy to add two more rows if you want a larger square.

Yarn: By using the super bulky Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick only one strand of yarn was necessary to produce the desired look of the motif. You could substitute two strands of regular worsted weight yarn, but this technique requires picking up & placing stitches back on the pegs which makes it easier in the beginning if you are working with just one strand.

Looms: The red center of the motif above was made on the Knifty Knitter 12-peg Flower Loom. The remainder of the motif was knit using two pegs of a Hobby Lobby version of the Knifty Knitter 24-peg Round Loom. The Flower Loom could have been used for the entire project, but as the motif gets larger it is cumbersome to work through the small center of the Flower Loom. Since you are only using two pegs, any of the large gauge looms can be used for everything but the center.

Every time I use the crochet techniques on the loom, I make new discoveries and correct previous errors. Hopefully, this will make it better for others who decide to attempt this slightly fiddly technique. The two five & three year old grandchildren that live with us start to school Monday, so the tutorial should be ready in a few days.