Tugharia Drawstring Hat/Cowl Combo

A new year...a new design. I'm hoping to keep creating a few more designs this year. More than I did last year. Could a crochet book be in the future? Possibly. That's the ultimate goal with the patterns at this point. I created this to enter it in a crochet contest. I'm realizing more, it's not really about the pattern, it's more about the finished product and how creative you interpretation is on really ANY pattern, it doesn't even have to be your own.

Anyways, back to the Tugharia (Too-har-ee-a) which is Igbo for "Change position". Which is exactly what this garment does. It can be worn as a hat or a cowl...very comfortable and snuggly either way. The stitch pattern creates almost chunky knit quality...like a warm thich sweater. I don't know whether I like it cinched at the top neatly or with a "sack" closure. I'm working on the fingerless gloves to match. Actually, last night I finished a mitten with the convertible thumb so that you can still navigate on your touch screen devices without taking the mitten off. I liked it alright, but I think I like the fingerless gloves better.

Bottletree Craft Bazaar

Okay, so I may not be the most dedicated blogger…but I’m going to work on it this decade. I will say that I have been very busy stitching lately. The Kelechi hat seems to be my best seller at the moment along with the Ziela cowl. I sold quite a few at the Bottletree Craft Bazaar on December 5th. This was a great event, and I liked it better than the Butterbean Festival which was my first time setting up a booth. I think this decision weighs greatly on the fact that this event was indoors. It was also freezing that day…it had actually snowed the night before. I was only able to set up one table, but it was worth the $10 to do so. I’m already looking at doing a few more next fall/winter since I have had a little bit of experience with it now and I’m pretty much ready to set up.



I’m planning on entering the Vanna White crochet contest as well. The deadline is next month and I have no idea what I’m going to enter. The rules say that I can enter a pattern that has already been written, so I’m considering that as a last resort. I’d like to come up with something new though…although filling order right now eats up most of my crocheting time. I’m setting aside the spring/summer months to try to develop a few new patterns since I’m sure the demand will decrease at that time.