Obsessed with Irish Crochet!

Working on Fiddle Head Fern Leaf

I have always been in awe of the craftsmanship of Irish crochet lace when I saw them for the first time after being hooked on Pinterest.

After a long search (yeah, despite Google!) I finally found a video tutorial of a popular Irish crochet motif which is the Fiddle Head Fern Leaf! This piece I'm working on will be part of a reworked crochet headpiece for my good friend Ru. 

If you're obsessed like me ;) I'm sharing you below the resources I found where you can learn Irish crochet lace and also get free patterns of the different motifs:

1. Irish Crochet Lab

Their Youtube channel is where I learned the fiddle head fern leaf. Even though the video was quite long (5 clips for this pattern), it was easy to follow and I quickly learned the pattern. I made that in as little as an hour! #obsessed

2. SheRu

I've been learning 3D crochet flowers from SheRu and it's a great place to start learning complicated crochet patterns. SheRu has an extensive library of free patterns as it seems they upload new patterns everyday. They also have knitting patterns in case you're interested to learn.

3. Issuu-Crochet School

Issuu is a place where publications are shared online by users and I discovered a lot of expensive crochet books shared here for free! Although there are only a few Irish crochet patterns here, there are a lot more you can access and learn without having to buy the book.

Do you have other resources for Irish Crochet Lace? Share it in the comments below!

Update:
Sharing some of my finished works:

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Freeform Crochet Necklace

For my soul sister Arlene's 40th birthday, I wanted to make something quite special for her. As I've recently started an affair with freeform crochet, I decided to make a fabulous statement necklace. 

Arlene's Birthday gift

Close up

It's even more awesome that her favorite color is green since I have just learned how to make a leaf motif :)

If you want to learn freeform crochet, I highly recommend subscribing to Sheruknitting's Youtube channel.

Will be creating more pieces for summer so like my Facebook page and get updated!

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New Products Coming Soon!

My first try on free form crochet

Whew! Haven't been here in awhile... but the new interest in my crochet products has got me my crochet mojo back!

Got inquiries from Pinay wholesalers wanting to sell my goods here and abroad. Only too happy to oblige so dusted off my crochet hooks and took out my huge yarn stash. And of course, I wanted to create something new so went back to my trusty Pinterest board to get some fresh ideas and found really interesting free form crochet. Loved them! Pattern-less and your work seems to take a life of its own. 

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millicentmelissa Handmade Accessories on Rated K... Update!

Finally saw the episode of Rated K where my Grandaunt Auntie Bobie, cousin Kristelle and I were featured for our crochet!

For those who missed it, check it out here:

     

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millicentmelissa Handmade Accessories in Rated K

Wow haven't been here in awhile. Just so busy, busy, busy!

But now I'm back mainly because I've returned to being a full time virtual assistant on oDesk. More importantly, millicentmelissa Handmade Accessories is going to be featured in TV again!

Yes, I got interviewed recently for Rated K with my Grandaunt Auntie Bobbie and cousin Kristel since the show will be doing a feature on generational hobbies and of course, our family has been known for our crochet!  Just wished Mommyla and were there too. Well I'm sure they were!

Watch our family crochet away on Sunday, July 20 at 8:45pm on ABS-CBN!

Being interviewed by Kim (Rated K Producer)

3 generations of Crocheters!

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Crochet Project: Elise Shawl

Just sharing with you my latest project which is probably the biggest one I've done so far: a shawl for Marti's Grandmother (my ex's Mom), for her birthday.

I found this pretty pattern on Ravelry called the Elise Shawl which is free for download! Click here to get your copy.

Unfortunately, I've ran out of yarn! So off I'll go to Carolina's over the weekend and hope to find similar colors because I bought mine from Divisoria.

Keep you posted!

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Crochet Project: Misty's Earrings

Enjoyed making these earrings for a new found friend but an old acquaintance! 

Misty was my highschool batchmate back in St. Paul College of Pasig and through the wonders of Facebook, we were able to reconnect and found out that we shared passions: parenting and accessories!

She sent me several pictures of earrings she wanted me to be inspired by for the crochet pieces she ordered from me and we agreed on these three:

So here are the finished earrings and hope that Misty would love them as much as I do :)

Check out our Facebook page http://facebook.com/millicentmelissa to be updated with our new stuff!

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Crochet Project: Kim Tae-Hee "My Princess" Headband

Got an interesting customized order from our Facebook page before the holidays. Our customer Cy sent us this photo of a pretty headband:

And even though I told her that the item in the photo was knitted and not crocheted, Cy went ahead and ordered the crochet part without the headband.

So I went ahead and researched about the accessory (did you know that you can drag a photo on to Google Images and Google finds the closest information about it? Try it, it's way cool!) and found out it's a hot fashion accessory among Kpop fans. It was worn my Kim Tae Hee in the "My Princess" Korean telenovela. Apparently, it's sold out even on eBay and that's probably why Cy found me :) 

http://www.allkpop.com/2011/01/kim-tae-hees-my-princess-headband-becomes-a-hot-fashion-item
That's Kim Tae Hee on the left wearing the handmade headband

Anyway, had to eye the pattern and make my own version in crochet and hope I did justice somehow! Here are the photos of the work in progress:

Not bad for my first freeform crochet project :) And it's even less expensive than the $20.00 eBay price of the original headband!


Check out our Facebook page for more of our items up for grabs :)

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New Items Available in Our Store

Barefoot Sandals in Orange Gerbera with detachable flower

Holiday? What holiday? 


Well, that's how I felt when I saw it was already the last day of the year and for the first time in my life I was swamped with oDesk work and crochet projects instead of panicking with Christmas shopping for other people. It sounds selfish but it's the best gift I could give to someone who spends the rest of the year taking care of others :) Try it...it's liberating!


Anyway, I also got my sister hooked on crocheting all over again and she made these fabulous crochet bracelets:

Melissa bracelet in Gold with Jade Squares

Melissa bracelet in Gold with Turquoise Squares

Wear 'em stacked!

Here's the detail shot of the Barefoot Sandal in Orange Gerbera (the one on top of this post) and another shot without the detachable flower:

Here are more of my sister's bracelets:

Melissa bracelet in Steel with Gold Orbs and with matching ring

Melissa bracelet in Green Gold with Gold Orbs

Melissa bracelet in Green Gold with Mother-of-Pearl Ovals

Wear 'em stacked!

Check out our online store at facebook.com/millicentmelissa for our latest accessories!

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Busy, Busy as Business Booms!

Wow, it has been an auspicious week for millicentmelissa Handmade Accessories!

After launching our barefoot sandals a week ago, we started getting a lot of inquiries then confirmed orders! The biggest one was probably the fifteen (15) earrings which the customer needed in two days. It was a challenge but a welcome one :) 

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Bedridden with the Flu = New Crochet Items!

Bedridden with the flu since last Saturday hasn't stifled my creative juices from flowing at all :) For us crocheters (well, for me at least), having to stay at home means more time for our crochet and no virus could stop us from picking up our needles and skeins of yarn!

So here are the new items I made during my recuperation:

Leaf Earrings in Jade

Leaf Earrings in Jade (as worn)

Leaf Earrings in Ruby

Leaf Earrings in Ruby (as worn)

Got a request to make barefoot sandals so I made some experiments with designs I haven't seen anywhere else (even on Etsy!) and here are the first two:

Barefoot Sandals in Red Coral

Barefoot Sandals in Starfishes

I'll be coming up with new designs in a few days. You may want to get ready for the summer this early so order your pair now!

All these available now at our Facebook page at facebook.com/millicentmelissa.

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Crochet Inspiration: Chunky Chain Jewelry

Another inspiration! Found these fabulous chunky chain necklaces from Tiffany & Co. and J. Crew:

Source: refinery29.com via Millicent on Pinterest

Naturally, the next move was to create an inspired necklace! And here is the first one:

T&Co Chain Necklace in Amethyst and Ruby. Worn as a choker...

Or as a long necklace.

T&Co Chain necklace now available at millicentmelissa's Facebook Page.

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Crochet Inspiration: Fern Leaves

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenny-pics

Have always been fascinated by the quiet beauty of fern leaves so I thought of making a crochet inspired necklace.






Went through the net to find a free pattern and I did find several like this one of Curious and Crafty Readers' blog but the one I really liked was this one from Wist: 

Source: wists.com via Millicent on Pinterest

Unfortunately, the pattern wasn't for free so I had to eye it and come up with my own. The result was fantastic and here is the necklace I made (modeling credit goes out to my sister Cha, the other half of millicentmelissa Handmade Accessories!):

Crochet Fern Necklace

Loved this so much I'm making more variations!

Crochet Fern Necklace is now available through millicentmelissa's Facebook Page.

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Crochet Inspiration: Alexander McQueen

Was looking for new inspirations for our crochet accessories when I came across this fabulous statement necklace from Alexander  McQueen's Fall 2012 collection: 

Source: socialbliss.com via Millicent on Pinterest

I thought it looked like a form of hyperbolic crochet so that's what I did! Look at the two necklaces I created out of this inspiration:

Am gonna call this AMcQ necklace :) this one in Sunny

At a different angle...this could be adjusted as a choker too

This one is in Mandarin... the shape is a little off but I like the way it came out :)

AmcQ necklaces available through our Facebook page: facebook.com/millicentmelissa 

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