While Rick was walking Billy around, he shows him an old Steinway spinet in the boneyard. What does he do? He starts to play like it's nothing. Amazing!

Like many, I took piano lessons when I was younger. I liked it, but it wasn't what I had hoped for. I didn't mind learning classical, but I wanted to learn how to improv. I wanted to learn the concepts of sight reading. It never happened.

Most of my time in high school was spent in the music department. Band, chorus, orchestra, marching band - you name it, I was involved in it. My schedule was developed around those classes. Even though I loved spending time in the music department, I knew early on that I just didn't have what it would take to go to the next level.Still, it gave me wonderful experiences and most of all, it led me to my wonderful husband - a band director.

So why am I telling you all this you might wonder? Watching Billy Joel just play a tune on the Steinway like it was nothing made me think of the first time I attempted to do free form crochet and my experience playing piano.

Um, what? I'm sure you are wondering where this is going. Welcome to my thought process...

Growing up, we are all taught to follow the directions. Color inside the lines. For me, I learned how to read notes on a page of music, but I never learned how to interpret music. I never learned how to lift the notes off the page. My crochet experience was similar. I learned how to follow directions in a pattern, but that was it. I wanted to play. I wanted to sing!

Easier said than done.

Well, luckily, I had some wonderful guidance from four specific free form artists: Prudence Mapstone, Myra Wood, Margaret Hubert, and Melanie Gill. They taught me an important lesson which was the basis for all my creativity. Give yourself permission.

What might that mean you ask?

That means to give yourself permission to NOT color inside the lines. Lift the music off the page! Don't think about what you are doing, just do! And most of all, don't worry about how your work will be judged.

While these may sound like straightforward concepts, they have been very hard lessons for me to learn - in my fiber arts as well as in life.

It may take time to unlearn the early lessons of childhood in order to unlock your creativity, but don't give up.  I haven't.

Dee's cousin's house before the tornado and after.

This week were all watched in stunned amazement at the destruction from the tornadoes in Oklahoma. I simply can't imagine what it was like to live through that nightmare or lose a family member or friend. We all want to do our part to help get them back to normal living.

One person who has a direct connection to that devastation is crochet designer and fiber artist Dee Stanziano. Her cousin's house was destroyed in Oklahoma so she is doing her part to help her cousin by giving her all the money she makes from her pattern sales this weekend. Dee has some beautiful patterns available and is an incredibly gifted designer. If you have been thinking about picking up a new few patterns, I encourage you to check out her designs and make a few purchases so your crochet can help one family in Oklahoma get back on their feet! Please consider spreading the word to other crocheters in your circle. Thanks all very much!

This week F+W Media, the company that owns Interweave, announced a new online video subscription service called Craft Daily. Similar to a Hulu or Netflix, Craft Daily offers streaming video subscriptions for a variety of craft topics - spinning, crochet, knitting, weaving, beading, and more. The subscription cost will vary depending on how much content you would like to access and start at $11.99 per month. You can watch the videos on your computer, iPad, Kindle Fire, or even if you have Apple TV. Right now there are more than 100 videos available for viewing.

I am going to be checking out the videos this month and will give a review in a few weeks. If you decide to check it out, please let me know your thoughts!

We all love a sale and Craftsy just announced one for the Mother's Day weekend! If you purchase a Craftsy online class on May 11th or May 12th you will automatically get 50% off! I have taken a few of their classes and am working on their basic weaving class (stay tuned for a review) and I highly recommend them! I hope you check their huge class offerings out.

If you are in the northern New Jersey area today and looking for something to do and enjoy this beautiful weather, there is a wonderful event going on I highly recommend you attend. The Peters Valley School of Crafts is hosting Annual Open House & Historic Bevans Day Celebration. This is a great event that I have attended several times in the past.

There are tours of all the different studios, which include blacksmithing, ceramics, fiber, fine metals, photography, weaving, and woodworking. At each studio visitors will be treated to an artist demonstration of that media! Additionally, there will be artist demonstrations scattered throughout campus and professional artists selling their wearables, jewelry, ceramics, sculpture, and more! The Peters Valley Store & Exhibition Gallery features fine craft from over 300 artisans.

There are hands-on activities for the kids include making paper and weaving on a loom. For the adults, there will be an exhibition of roughly 12 different artists selling their work.

You can learn more about historic Bevans from the Walpack Historical Society. Bevans was the town formerly on the grounds where Peters Valley is now located and many of the builds of Peters Valley are original to Bevans.

The event runs from noon to 5:00 p.m. today. For more information, check out the Peters Valley website. I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

I am very excited to announce the publishing of Crochet One-Skein Wonders: 101 Projects from Crocheters around the World! Why am I so excited about this book you might ask? First, I have two patterns in this book! Second, I LOVE one-skein projects. I mean, let's be honest; how many of us have bought one skein of yarn just because we loved it but have no idea what we are going to do with it? I'm raising my hand on this one.

This book has a great variety of different patterns for all skill levels. There are patterns in here from people I greatly admire, including Myra Wood, Yvonne Cherry, and Ellen Gormley, to name a few. The editors behind this book are Judith Durant & Edie Eckman. I am incredibly proud to be a part of this project! I hope you will check it out.

So in the spirit of sites like Facebook and Pinterest, I thought I would start my own "best of" list for all things fiber art.

Lily Chin's Latest Release is The Crocheter's Toolbox. This is definitely on my "want" list. Lily Chin's books are always great, so I certainly look forward to picking this up!

We all love Malabrigo yarn. Well, I came across this awesome looking scarf  using their Merino Worsted yarn. I think it is just great! I keep looking at it to see if there is a way to make this into a crochet pattern.

You may not know this, but I love owls. I came across this little owl magnet on Etsy. The colors are just great and it just looks perfect to me!

The last link and photo I want to share for March's "best of" is of a yarn bombing by the Ladies Fancywork Society. Now for those of you who are new to the concept, yarn bombing is an artsy form of graffiti using crocheted and knitted pieces as opposed to using paint. In recent years, yarn bombing has really taken off. This project -The Flower Garden Fence - is a fence in the Downtown Denver Union Station neighborhood. Just awesome!

I hope you liked this first list. Do you have a link you would like me to include? Email it to me at: andrea@alvbfiberart.com. I would love to hear from you!

As I mentioned in a post in February, Crochetville's Amy Shelton organized a great blog tour. Each day one (and in some cases two) crochet artists, designers, and enthusiasts do a post specifically to celebrate crochet. I decided to share a free pattern with all of you - a kitchen scrubbie.

Crochet Kitchen Scrubbie

Anyone who does dishes by hand knows that a little texture to go along with elbow grease goes a long way! Well, this kitchen scrubbie will certainly help get your dishes clean.

Yarn: Lily Sugar & Cream
Hook: Size “H” hook (5.00mm)

Foundation: Ch 10, join with sl st to form a ring.
Round 1: *Ch 5, sc in ring,* rep from * to * 35 times total.
Round 2: *Sc in next ch 5 loop, ch 3 (counts as first dc), 7 dc in same ch 5 loop (for a total of 8 dc), rep from * to * around all ch 5 loops, join with sl st to base of original ch 3.
Finishing: Ch 12, sl st at base to form a ring as a hanger, weave in ends.

Abbreviations:
ch: chain
sl st: slip stitch
rep: repeat
sc: single crochet
dc: double crochet

I know many people who also use these as shower puffs. The best part is that you can just throw them in the washing machine to bring them back to life.

I hope you enjoy this pattern as well as reading all the other posts! Tomorrow is Joy Prescott and Donna Childs. I hope you will also consider signing up to receive my newsletter that is sent out once or twice a month. Finally, if you love crochet as much as those of us participating in the blog tour do, please consider joining the Crochet Guild of America. It is a wonderful organization!

The following is an announcement from Interweave/F+W Media...

LOVELAND, CO – February 22, 2013 – John Bolton, SVP and Publisher for Interweave/F+W Media today announced the promotion of Knitscene editor Lisa Shroyer to editor of Interweave Knits and Knit. Wear. Over the past five years, Shroyer has developed Knitscene magazine from a once-a-year special edition to one of the fastest-growing quarterly knitting magazines on the market. Her fresh approach to style in Knitscene has resonated with contemporary knitters, and in 2013 the magazine will move from special issue status to a full subscription magazine.

Shroyer is excited to bring this same energy to Interweave Knits, and explore the signature style that has made the magazine well-loved in knitting circles. Interweave yarn group editorial director Karin Storm was thrilled to offer the promotion, stating, “Lisa has built a reputation as a creative editor with a great sense of style and deep knowledge of the knitting industry. Interweave Knits and Knit. Wear. will continue to grow and thrive under her leadership.”

Interweave will commence with a search for a new editor for Knitscene magazine. Former Interweave Knits editor Eunny Jang will be leaving Interweave in early March to pursue other opportunities.

Interweave is the leading publisher of yarn-related enthusiast media, with category-defining magazines, like Interweave Knits, Interweave Crochet, Knitscene, Knit. Wear., and Jane Austin Knits. Interweave’s knitting books, such as Knitter’s Companion, Handy Book of Sweaters, and Weekend Hats, are perennial top-sellers in the craft market, and the company has experienced explosive growth in the video learning category through dozens of workshop videos with the hottest names in knitting. KnittingDaily.com, with more than 1.1 million members, is among the largest online communities of knitters, and Interweave’s PBS television show “Knitting Daily TV” reaches millions of homes nationwide.

F+W Media, Inc. is a community-focused, content creator and marketer of products and services for enthusiasts offering a diversified portfolio of ecommerce, books, ebooks, magazines, events, competitions, educational services, online and streaming video, and more. F+W Media is parent company to such leading brands as Digital Book World, Writer’s Digest, and Interweave and is considered the authoritative, trusted voice guiding enthusiasts to achieve success, profit from their passion, or find inspiration. www.FWMedia.com

The following is an announcement from Interweave/F+W Media...

LOVELAND, CO – February 22, 2013 – John Bolton, SVP and Publisher for Interweave/F+W Media today announced the promotion of Knitscene editor Lisa Shroyer to editor of Interweave Knits and Knit. Wear. Over the past five years, Shroyer has developed Knitscene magazine from a once-a-year special edition to one of the fastest-growing quarterly knitting magazines on the market. Her fresh approach to style in Knitscene has resonated with contemporary knitters, and in 2013 the magazine will move from special issue status to a full subscription magazine.

Shroyer is excited to bring this same energy to Interweave Knits, and explore the signature style that has made the magazine well-loved in knitting circles. Interweave yarn group editorial director Karin Storm was thrilled to offer the promotion, stating, “Lisa has built a reputation as a creative editor with a great sense of style and deep knowledge of the knitting industry. Interweave Knits and Knit. Wear. will continue to grow and thrive under her leadership.”

Interweave will commence with a search for a new editor for Knitscene magazine. Former Interweave Knits editor Eunny Jang will be leaving Interweave in early March to pursue other opportunities.

Interweave is the leading publisher of yarn-related enthusiast media, with category-defining magazines, like Interweave Knits, Interweave Crochet, Knitscene, Knit. Wear., and Jane Austin Knits. Interweave’s knitting books, such as Knitter’s Companion, Handy Book of Sweaters, and Weekend Hats, are perennial top-sellers in the craft market, and the company has experienced explosive growth in the video learning category through dozens of workshop videos with the hottest names in knitting. KnittingDaily.com, with more than 1.1 million members, is among the largest online communities of knitters, and Interweave’s PBS television show “Knitting Daily TV” reaches millions of homes nationwide.

F+W Media, Inc. is a community-focused, content creator and marketer of products and services for enthusiasts offering a diversified portfolio of ecommerce, books, ebooks, magazines, events, competitions, educational services, online and streaming video, and more. F+W Media is parent company to such leading brands as Digital Book World, Writer’s Digest, and Interweave and is considered the authoritative, trusted voice guiding enthusiasts to achieve success, profit from their passion, or find inspiration. www.FWMedia.com