Croshame

She’s a “Maniac” Maniac

Back when the world was still open and indoor movie theaters were a thing, I had the pleasure of hosting a variety of films at the San Francisco Alamo Drafthouse theater for their Terror Tuesday and Weird Wednesday horror and cult cinema specialty nights. Over the years the Alamo has welcomed a very special visiting guest: producer, director and distributor William Lustig, maker of such titles as Vigilante, Uncle Sam, Relentless, and the Maniac Cop series.

The first time I “met” Mr. Lustig was during the rerelease of his seminal 1980 classic Maniac, starring the late Joe Spinell — one of my all time favorite horror films!

Even though he was appearing via Skype, we hit it off and became fast chums.

Tiny me interviewing William Lustig via Skype about his horror masterpiece Maniac.

We continued gabbing about cinema when Lustig made his way back to the Bay Area several more times to promote other films released through his distribution company , Blue Underground (http://www.blue-underground.com).

William Lustig and I after talking onstage about Lucio Fulci ‘s New York Ripper.

On his last visit promoting the Lucio Fulci film rerelease House By the Cemetery, I made him a present of appreciation: a little Joe Spinell figure from Maniac, Croshamed in all of his yarny, gory glory.

He warned you not to go out tonight!

One day soon I hope to reunite with this splatter movie maestro, but in the meantime I’m so proud that my little maniac has a good home with his friend Bill Lustig!

❤️🩸❤️


Currently Crocheting

Late last year I was delighted to be contacted by David Tibet (http://davidtibet.com) of the band Current 93, who wrote to tell me he was an admirer of my work and asked me to make an Exorcist Playset and a couple of Anton Crochet devil hats for him and his partner — another gifted artist named Ania Goszczyńska (http://goszczynska.com). Not only is David a fan of the Exorcist, but he also studies the ancient Akkadian languages of Babylonian and Assyrian and their ancient dieties, including Pazūzu (the demon who possessed Regan in the book and movie) — a character David had portrayed in several artworks for his most recent show at Cal State Fullerton’s Bergovich Gallery, Invocation Of Almost.

We worked out an art exchange, but before he had even sent me my part of the trade, David graciously mailed me a beautiful package of appreciation featuring albums, prints, postcards, and some beautiful work from his series The Light is Leaving Us All.

David’s generosity was so astounding I wanted to include a little something extra in my package to him, so I crocheted him a miniature Noddy figure to keep his Regan doll company.

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My package made it over the pond safely, and now my Exorcist Playset has the distinction of being amongst David and Ania’s amazing collection of vintage artifacts, collectibles and tchotchkes — and their custom Anton Crochet hats fit perfectly!

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I also received a gorgeous painting by David, which I framed and put up in my bedroom for inspiration.

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Sometimes the world and fate works in mysterious ways. I feel so blessed to have had our “Currents” collide and to have befriended these very talented artists, whom I look forward to working with again in the future.


Staying and Crocheting in Place

Due to the intensifying circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 situation in San Francisco and the state of California, I’m following the “shelter in place” order effective for at least three weeks, if not longer. Like much of California and the rest of the world, that means I have no regular outside employment until early April — but it also means I have plenty of time to crochet! Although I definitely understand that my crocheted objects are not an “essential need,” I still want to let people know I’m keeping my Croshame Etsy shop open, handling and making everything with masks and gloves, and mailing orders out as normal — although now with a delayed delivery date of April 7th.

I’m also offering affordable, non-crocheted digital drawing caricature portrait commissions (see sample gallery below), available in my Etsy store for $15 for black and white, available here, and $20 for color, available here.

I understand not everyone has the financial means to spend on art right now, and many others are also sheltered in place — so to pass the time, hopefully you’ll have some fun with the free Croshame patterns featured below!

Welcome to the Martyr-Dome (free pattern) | Croshame

Digging Your Own Grave: A Free Pattern | Croshame

Rashes are Red, Violence is Blue, Here’s A Free Gory Pattern Just For You! | Croshame

The Bunny Ring: A pattern and tutorial! | Croshame

Wishing you a Very Logical New Year | Croshame

Thanks for all your support through the years. Hopefully we’ll all get through this strange and trying time by sticking together… and staying six feet apart. Be safe, everyone!


The Filthiest Holiday Alive

Every year I have the privilege of attending cult director John Waters’ annual Christmas show, and afterwards I usually get to chat with and give him a Croshame ornament.

In years past I’ve made him a little Divine as Francine Fishpaw from Female Trouble

The next year I made him some Mink Stole and David Lochary as Connie and Raymond Marble ornaments from Pink Flamingos

The Christmas after I made him a little replication of one of his favorite movie scenes: the little baby Rogey after setting himself on fire from Susan Slade

And last year I made him the Tingler, which I just recently posted about here.

So this year I decided to make him a little electric chair ornament, complete with attached throw switch!

Not only did John love his present enough to take it home with him, but he also told me he puts all my past pieces up every year!

I only found out after I had made this year’s ornament that John decorates his prop electric chair from Female Trouble for Christmas – so now he’ll have a tiny handmade chair to hang on his life-size handmade chair.


2019 Croshame Digest!

Well, hi there.

I’m back on this dang blog after taking almost a year off from my crocheting work due to some physical ailments (thank you very much, burgeoning tendonitis), so I thought I’d catch you up to speed on a few things that I’ve neglected to post on the blog in the last year — all wrapped up in one nice little package!

2019 Holiday orders!

I am ready to start taking limited orders again for the holidays. Please feel free to peruse my Etsy site and see what’s available. Please note that I will only be making TWO Exorcist Playsets and TWO Krampus sets, so please get them while you can. (If you don’t see them in the listings it means they’re sold!) Orders for Christmas delivery with the United States will end on December 5th. I will not be doing personal commissions, just whatever is listed. Another important note: this is the last time I will be offering my work at these listed prices! 2020 will mark the 10th anniversary of Croshame, and in that time I have not once raised the price of my work. Due to the complexity, demand and time involved, pieces will see a price increase — so be sure to scoop up things where they are still available at these stupidly low 2010 prices! ETSY SHOP LINK CLICK HERE

(And no, I am still NOT currently selling patterns — maybe in the future.)

Halloween 2019: Bridle Sweet

Scold’s Bridles, AKA schandmaskes, were a medieval torture device used to silence women and their various “hysterias,” particularly during witchcraft trials.

They were also popularized by 20th century artists Irving Klaw and John Willie in their work and became a popular modern fetish item.

After learning about these amazing artifacts about two days prior Halloween this year, I hurriedly crocheted myself a Scold’s Bridle in about 9 hours.

I ended up wearing it to the Halloween celebrations at the San Francisco Eagle, a historic gay leather bar, so it was a perfect match!

Hope everyone had a happy Halloween and made some cool costumes for themselves!

Croshame on Instagram!

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I meant to post about this a long time ago, but Croshame is now on Instagram! Feel free to give a follow over at @croshameofficial where you’ll get to see all kinds of silly stuff that I won’t post on the blog — particularly great if you care about pretend holidays that the internet invented and celebrities’ birthdays!

Croshame in VANITY FAIR

John Waters Vanity Fair

This May my crochet work was included in a Vanity Fair magazine page dedicated to a few of cult director John Waters’ favorite things. Right in the middle of the array of wondrous objects — ranging from an actual prop skull from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to designer pills that turn your feces into gold — was my crocheted Tingler (#3 on the list) that I made him for Christmas last year.

Here’s John and the Tingler piece when he received it last November. Usually he has me send his Christmas gifts to Atomic Books in Baltimore but that year he took it home with him after the show.

I saw John again in May for his latest book reading/Q&A/meet and greet, I brought my copy of the article with me.

When I asked him to sign it, his face brightened. “Oh, yes! I was hoping you’d see that! You know that’s not the way my house really looks,” John told me, “That desk setup is fake; I just put a bunch of my favorite things out and they came over and took pictures.” He repeated how very glad he was that I came across the magazine, and told me he keeps his Croshame Tingler “proudly displayed” in his home with his other life-size plastic Tingler movie replica from his collection.


Well folks, that’s it for this post. I hope to be doing some interesting stuff with Croshame in 2020, but hopefully it won’t take me quite as long to post about it here in the future!

Ta-ta for now,

Shove AKA Croshame


Idol Worship (NSFW crochet ahead)

For about two decades now, I have been a fervent follower of performance artist, underground actress and musician Kembra Pfahler, best known as the lead singer in the band The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black.  After seeing her performance at San Francisco Oasis a couple of years ago I got the opportunity to meet her and show her my artwork, specifically a Kembra doll based off of her performance piece “Sewing Circle,” which I had made in 2016 for the annual Stitch Fetish show at The Hive Gallery in Los Angeles.

Kembra fullKembra faceKembra crucifixKembra sewing

Kembra was really excited about her crocheted likeness and very kindly invited me to be in her upcoming show in London at the Emalin Gallery, where she was displaying collaborations and portraits by artists such as Richard Kern, Mike Diana, Scott Ewalt, Katrina Del Mar and many others, as well as her own sculptures, drawings and performance pieces. I made an additional figure just for the show at Kembra’s request, a red version of the Voluptuous Horror Kembra that was a little more interactive and could be made to do several of her known performance pieces.

You_Doodle_2016-11-21T22_44_15ZYou_Doodle_2016-11-21T23_00_03ZYou_Doodle_2016-11-21T23_04_36ZIMG_7857

 

Although I didn’t get to attend in person, what I saw online of the London show was fabulous. Both my pieces made it across the pond safely and ended up being displayed among other great artists’ work in homage to Kembra — however, they’ve continued to sustain a life after the exhibit too: over the past year, the dolls have made their way around the world and into her various performances and appearances; most recently one made its way into the latest issue of Dizzy magazine!

 

I’m glad to announce I will be showing three new figures this month for the upcoming Stitch Fetish 6 show at the Hive Gallery, made with the collaboration and endorsement of the muse who inspired them:

“I love and support the works of Croshame and her visual generousity and extreme attention to detail. I encourage the collection of these dolls and I hope to include Croshame in shows I’m having in London next year.”

—Kembra Pfahler, 2018

I made a blue Kembra with bowling balls “taped” to her feet:unnamed-2unnamedunnamed-1

There’s a yellow Kembra with Peeps® in her hair and a pentagram, which can be used as a shield or held in her fingers:

unnamed-7unnamed-6unnamed-5And a red Kembra doing her “Abracadaver” performance piece:red Kembra fullred Kembra arm ribbonsRed Kembra HairRed Kembra pantsAll figures come with their own black doll stands and black painted crucifixes.

The Stitch Fetish 6 show runs from February 3rd through the end of the month at Hive Gallery in downtown Los Angeles (www.hivegallery.com).!

Stitch Fetish 6
unnamed-6


Christmas/Holiday 2017 orders

Hi guys! I know I have been woefully neglectful of updating this blog and I apologize about that. I’ve got a lot of new content and fun stuff to show so it’s definitely something I hope to remedy in the new year! 🙂

Braindeer

Just a reminder that if you would like your Croshame Etsy orders to be delivered by Christmas, please get them in by DECEMBER 10th! Orders placed after December 10 are NOT guaranteed to arrive before 12/25. (I will also be closing the shop down temporarily from December 20, 2017- January 20, 2018 to get other projects completed.)

Also, the full Krampus set has been pretty popular this year. I will list it in the Etsy shop as it becomes available; I will probably be able to fit in another one or two before the holiday ordering period ends. (The set takes at least a week to complete so please bear that in mind!)

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http://etsy.com/shop/croshame


Celebrating Love Day with Sir Loves-A-Lot

Being a huge fan of cartoons my entire existence, I have always wanted to bring one to life. This Valentines Day I was inspired by The Simpsons episode “Trash of the Titans,” wherein Homer receives a present from Marge for the newly-concocted corporate holiday “Love Day.”

His name is Sir Loves-A-Lot, “the bear who loves to love.”

Enamored with this little guy, I decided to make one myself. (more…)


Stitch Fetish 5 (NSFW)

I’m proud to announce I will have a piece in the upcoming Stitch Fetish 5 group show at Hive Gallery in Los Angeles, opening February 4th.

I was honored to be asked to participate again this year by the show’s curator, Ellen Schinderman. My piece is based off of a combination of two historical art themes: The Venus of Willendorf and the Virgo Lactans (or the nursing madonna).

The Venus of Willendorf, 28,000-25,000 BCE

Maria Lactans by Lucas Cranach, c.1500

The work I made from these two inspirations is called, naturally, Venus Lactans.She stands a little over 2′ tall, has felt features and wire and beaded “lactating” details. This lovely milking maiden will be available for sale at the gallery until February 25th.

I hope some of you will get the opportunity to see her and the other wonderful pieces featured in the show!


Happy Horrordays To You!

Just a quick post to advise folks to get their orders into the Croshame Etsy store for the holidays! (It should be taken into consideration that some custom pieces can take up to two weeks, sometimes three, depending on the order.)

I also have new pieces available for sale this year!

Feeling like you need some Krampus in your life… but just a little bit? Like, maybe a decapitated head’s-worth, just to cheer up the atmosphere?

Well, there’s the Krampus Door Hanger!

Krampus Door Knocker

He comes with wire strung into the back of his head, making him perfect for hanging on the door, on the wall, or if you prefer, directly over the baby’s crib.

Available here!

And who wouldn’t want celebrate the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun by presenting their loved ones with the gift of androgynous eternal life? Well now you can, with that totes adorbs lil’ rapscallion…

Baphometsy Wetsy!

Baphomet with Candles fullIddin’t he kewt? Gods bless us, every one!

Available here!

And let us not forget our olden holiday friends from times past. Like silver and gold, they are!

There’s good old Santa Clawed:

Santa Clawed, 2013

 Available here!

And that poor unfortunate Braindeer:

Braindeer

Available here!


Croshameless self promotion

Hey everyone! The Croshame Etsy store is now back up and running for all your misanthropic crochet and antigurumi needs.

Throughout the month of September and October use the coupon code “GGWHIZZ” at checkout for 10% off your purchase!

Etsy Banner

 


Croshame Summer Sale!

After going through one of the most grueling winters of my existence, I’m anxious to celebrate summer — even if it’s not technically starting until the 21st.

You know what that means…

Summer Sale

 That’s right, Mr. Sun! A sale!

During the month of June, anyone who uses the coupon code “SUMMERSALE” at checkout in the Croshame Etsy Store will receive 20% off ANYTHING in the whole dang shop (commission work excluded)! The sale ends on June 30th and the store will be temporarily closing for at least a few weeks shortly thereafter , so make sure to take advantage of these sweaty, hot deals during this month only!


Welcome to the Martyr-Dome (free pattern)

If you follow my work, you’ll probably know I enjoy watching movies. And for me, nothing provides the perfect escape from reality like a hefty movie marathon – unless, of course, it’s a hefty movie marathon steeped in even heftier religious plot lines! Last month, that’s just what I did: over the course of a few weeks, I undertook the arduous task of watching an array of distinguished religious epics such as The Passion of Joan of Arc, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Devils, King of Kings and The Last Temptation of Christ, among others.

I was on or around the fourth movie in five days, sitting in my recliner crocheting and watching a crucified Willem Dafoe blink back Karo syrup blood tears, when a thought occurred to me. For as uncomfortable as they look, and as fake as they might seem, there is one essential religious costume prop that is actually pretty attractive, fashionable, and — dare I say it — sexy:

The crown of thorns.

Dafoe

Willem Dafoe lookin’ bloody good in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

passion de jeanne

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) — beautiful, yes, but you don’t have to cry about it

Kanye

Leave it to Rolling Stone magazine to make a messiah out of a molehill

King of Kings’ spring bling ring: Stephane Rolland runway show

King of Kings’ couture bling ring: Stephane Rolland runway show.

The fabulous Peaches Christ, rockin' it as usual.

Fab cinephile tranny Peaches Christ gets thorny with it.

See? Sexy.

So instead of wondering, “Oh death, where are thy thorns?” I threw up my hands and said, “Breezy lies the head that wears a crown,” and set about making a new pattern, which I share with you all here today.

Ladles and Gentlebugs, I present the fully crocheted, D.I.Y. Crown of Thorns!

Thorn glow

Let’s face it: some days are better than others. For those times when the sins of the world hang heavy on your shoulders, simply whip up this torturously simple project and feel a sting of pride from your handmade crowning achievement.

D.I.Y. CROWN OF THORNS

Pattern: ©2014 Shove Mink / Photos: ©2014 Chuck McNary

Please, for the love of all that’s good and slightly holy, don’t distribute or sell this pattern, or sell finished products made from this pattern — because after all, I don’t come into YOUR temple and knock over YOUR money changing tables, do I?

Thorn 1

Thorn 2 MATERIALS

  • “F” and “B” crochet hooks
  • Worsted weight yarn in light brown
  • DK weight yarn in dark brown and dark red
  • 6 – 10 red plastic beads or small crystals
  • Wire
  • Yarn needle
  • Fabric glue

PATTERN

Branches (make 2)

With light brown worsted and “F” hook:

Sc 6 in magic ring (or ch 2, sc 6 in 2nd ch from hook).

Rounds 1 – 135. sc 6 (or repeat to reach required length needed to wrap around head comfortably.)

Bind off and leave tail.

Insert length of wire to fit fully into both branches. Weave the two branches together around each other as shown below. Pattern Thorns alone Form into a circle, fitting around scalp and flattening front to sit on forehead “comfortably.” Wrap ends tightly around each other and sew the beginning closed end to branches along the open end. Pattern Back crown Thorns (make 24-30)

With dark brown DK and “B” hook:

Sc 4 in magic ring (or ch 2, sc 4 in 2nd ch from hook).

Rounds 1 – 2. sc 4

Round 3. [Inc, sc 1] twice – 6

Bind off and leave tail.

Sew each thorn to branches as shown in the photos, or however randomly you’d like.

Blood streams (make 3-5)

With dark red DK and “B” hook:

Leaving a long tail at the beginning, ch 9, 12, or 16.

Row 1. Hdc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 1, sl st, sc in next 5 (8, 12).

Bind off and weave in end tail.

Using fabric glue, attach red crystals or beads to either side of “drop” (on the hdc). Pattern blood gem Use beginning tail to attach to inside of bottom thorn and branch, as shown below. Pattern attaching blood to thorn Once completed, fix that cushy coronet atop your glowing pate and go about your day, fielding all those sharp-tongued compliments from enthused passersby that are sure to be flung your way like arrows! This would also make a great last-minute bonnet replacement for an Easter egg hunt, the perfect addition to your Sunday best, or a stunning accoutrement for the upcoming junior or senior prom.

Make one just for yourself, or a whole bunch for the family — the more, the martyr-ier! Thorn whoopsy

And remember, even when life hands you lemons…


Croshame Mega-Sale!

That’s right, you heard it here first, folks (or, if you were directed here from another source, you may have heard it here second). For a limited time throughout the month, four of my Croshame Etsy pieces are on mega-sale!

(*puts on best used car salesman voice*)

The Exorcist Playset has been blasphemously lowered from $250 to $150!

That’s a nauseatingly huge savings of $100!! Get that yarn vomit while it’s steamin’ hot!

Exorcist Playset, 2010

Crochetin’ In Blood has been GOUGED from $90 to $70!

Yeee-OWCH! That’s gotta hurt!

Crochetin' in Blood, 2012

The  Who Killed Nancy-gurumi set has been SLASHED from $95 to $75!

Whaaat?!!! These prices are killing me!

 And Hogtied has been SLICED from $90 to $70!

That’s one chunky slab of savings!Hogtied, 2010

Sale prices and supplies are limited, so if you ever felt like owning these pieces but were an Andrew Jackson or two short, now is your opportunity to scoop them up!


Waiter, There’s a Fly in My Blog

Question: What you get the entomology student who has everything?

Answer: A Croshame figure of the creature from the 1958 version of The Fly!

The Fly full with table 2

Knowing that this commissioned piece was going to a movie-loving bug enthusiast (a friend of a friend), I wanted to make it somewhat accurate in the insect’s details while simultaneously capturing the weird cheesiness of the film’s main character.

The Fly closeup

The creature’s head only shows up for about 3 minutes during the entire film (if that), so getting a clear picture of what he really looked like was tough. I kind of made it a cross between the original Fly and the one from its 1959 sequel, Return of the Fly. (Move along, Cronenberg; you’re not needed here.)

The Fly - face closeup

His head (which was VERY difficult to photograph accurately, by the way) was made of a crazy, fuzzy-bumpy novelty yarn I bought ages ago on a trip to Portland, OR.

The Fly - close closeup

The facial features were made from a pipe cleaner wrapped with eyelash yarn and needle-felted “mouth” details. (Check out those maxillary palps!)

The Fly - Fly hand

The creature in the film has one normal human hand and one deformed, hairy fly claw — which, again, I needle-felted with love.

The Fly with head covering

Naturally I had to include the blanket that the good doctor drapes over his face whenever dear ol’ wifey comes traipsing through his household laboratory. And the handy pocket on his lab coat is perfect for concealing that hideous fly-claw!

The fly wide closeup

After all that hard scientific work, I’d say the experiment was a rousing success!*

*Unless you count that whole grisly “assisted suicide via crushing with a mechanical press”  part of the movie. Then probably not so much.


As Above, “Sew” Below

Baphomet was a symbolic representation of a deity supposedly worshipped by the secretive order of the Knights Templar during the 11th century, and more recently adopted by the Church of Satan in their religious iconography. When I received a commission for a “cutesy-fied” crocheted Baphomet figure, I knew I’d seen other “Baby-Baph” type plushies by various artists before and wanted mine to be different than the others with some added Croshame flair and detail.

So based off of this 1856 illustration from Eliphas Levi…

baphomet…I came up with a drawing of this little guy.

Baphometsy drawing

It was then I set about conjuring my tiny being into this world. After donning a fetching black robe, playing around with a bit of yarn,  and ending with a loud  “Shemhamforash!”, there came forth from my hands the new horned God I dubbed

Baphometsy-Wetsy.”

Baphomet with Candles full

His arms, pointing both towards the sky and the ground, read “Solve” and “Coagula” (needle-felted into the crochet).

Baphomet arm Solve

This literally translates into “dissolve” and “create,” but is also interpreted to signify the path of all knowledge:

“As above, so below.”

Baphomet arm Coagula

From his head, between the horns of virility, emerges a flaming torch (crafted from tufted yarn strands) — the magical light of universal equilibrium, natch.

Baphometsy flame closeup

Baphomet’s wings represent the flight of the liberated soul. (Of course you already gathered that from the hand-sewn felt, yes?)

Baphometsy back closeup

Baphomet, ever the amazing androgyne, bears both crocheted female breasts and a needle-felted phallus, shown as a wingless caduceus representing eternal life.

Baphometsy boob closeup

His hoofed goat legs have wire inside so he can sit, cross-legged, or stand — as ritual dictates.

Baphomet rod detail

Baphomet is the light bearer clothed in the disguise of evil.

Baphomet face closeup

Evil and unbelievable cuteness!


New & cuddly Croshame Christmas characters

I’m proud to introduce two new members of my Croshame family, each accompanied by their own irritating Christmas poem!

Braindeer

Braindeer

One reindeer too many. Oh, what to do?

Bring him round back and grab the shotgun, too.

Braindeer brain detailHe’s too pretty to eat, so no venison this year.

Instead let’s stuff and mount him, our little Braindeer.

Braindeer closeup tongueA holiday decoration bringing smiles left and right,

But they’ll be no visions of sugarplums for this guy tonight.

Braindeer with mantle 2

Over the mantle with care, in silence he’ll hang

Keeping watch over Christmas and bringing in 2014 with a bang.

(AVAILABLE AT THE ETSY STORE HERE)

Santa Clawed

Santa Clawed fully fullThis year St. Nick got quite a nasty surprise

When a flock of wild fowl went after his eyes.

Santa Clawed closeup long faceBirds circled his head as fast as a rocket

and tore his orbs out, each one plucked from its socket.

Santa Clawed face close upwardBlood-curdling screams came from his belly,

and his eyeholes, they glistened like cranberry jelly.

Santa Clawed backSo watch in the skies and mark my words:

Goodwill towards man is NOT for the birds.

(AVAILABLE IN THE ETSY STORE HERE)


Week long holiday sale on select Croshame items!

All this week get 10-20% off select items at the Croshame Etsy store! Just look under the shop section “SEASONAL ANXIETY SALE” for marked down pieces. (Sale will end next Monday, December 9th.)

Addam full 480

 


Honed for the Horror-days

Looking for the perfect way to avoid that big-box shopper stampede while giving a unique gift and supporting handmade art? Well, just in time for this year’s Christmas consumerism feeding frenzy, the Croshame Etsy store is being stocked for the holidays!

Stock Shelf 2

Most of the Croshame “classics” are either presently in stock or can be custom ordered and made especially for you and yours this season! I’m currently working on a couple of new Christmas-themed pieces that I will unveil shortly, as well as preparing to set up a week-long holiday sale closer to December.

I’m also accepting commissions this year, but keep in mind that special order requests can take some time to complete, so please try to get your orders in early to ensure they arrive in time for your particular celebratory occasion. Thanks everyone!

Etsy Banner

(Click the sassy new banner above to visit the store!)


Movie Still Monday: Famous Afghans

Socialite Patricia Hearst is most famously known for being kidnapped by the radical guerilla group The Symbionese Liberation Army in the mid 1970s, held captive for several months against her will, and brainwashed into becoming a tool for their violently militant, left-wing cause.

Patty Hearst 1974

After myriad misadventures, crime sprees and rabble-rousing, Hearst was captured and imprisoned for over a year in a California correctional facility, during which time she was evaluated, analyzed and “deprogrammed.” During her time served, she suffered from malnutrition, a collapsed lung and much public ridicule and resentment.

Patty Hearst 1976

But through all her ordeals, Patti kept herself sane. How, you ask?

The power of crochet.

Patty Hearst


To Boldly Go Where No Hook Has Gone Before

Exciting news, everyone! My Spock Ears pattern is featured in the newly released book The Star Trek Craft Book: Make it So! now available through Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.

Star Trek Craft Book

You can buy it on AmazonBarnes and Noble, or preferably, through your local brick and mortar book store. Trust me, they need your support!

Although I haven’t gotten a chance to flip through a physical copy yet, I can guarantee it will be a treat for both Trekkies and crafters alike — particularly crafting Trekkies! They really get to experience the Best of Both Worlds, if you know what I mean…

Thanks, everyone!


Yes, I’m still alive.

Hi everyone. I’m sorry for the dearth of posts lately; you can blame my hectic schedule, lack of motivation, and need for an actual social life. Because things have been pretty busy for me lately, I will be taking a short vacation from making Croshame figures for about a month or so and have put the Etsy store on Vacation mode temporarily.

I will try to post more next month; I do have some exciting news which I will be sharing tomorrow, so stay tuned!


DIY at DIA

Last week I traveled back to my hometown of San Francisco, flying out of and back into the Denver International Airport (DIA). Before my departing flight, as I was on my way to the TSA checkpoint alongside one of those people-mover treadmill thingys, I came across a large display of work from local Colorado craftspeople.

DIA Handmade ColoradoThe start of the exhibit had a piece done by Denver’s very own Ladies’ Fancywork Society, whose needlecraft work I have seen and admired all over the city since I first arrived back in August.

DIA handmade sign

Needless to say, I was both excited and intrigued as I made my way past the various cases filled with examples of knitting, crochet, sewing, felting and other crafts.

DIA Crochet DisplayThen, somewhere in the middle of the long line of cases, I discovered a little cubicle set up for passengers and visitors to make their own contribution to the display.

Oh happy day, what a little paradise!

DIA DIY stopover craftsThe space provided seating, knitting needles (huge ones!) and a crochet hook, with little cans of yarn and hooks on which to hang the finished work. Several people had already made and hung their donations.

DIA DIY displaySo you KNOW I had to make something and hang it! I didn’t know how much time I would have to wait in the TSA line, so I whipped out  quick little tiny something in a couple of minutes.

DIA DIY Croshame 1st contribut'nSo that was satisfying and all, but on my trip back I decided I really wanted to show my appreciation to the Denver Airport and the Ladies Fancywork Society for giving the public a crafty respite, so on my plane ride back from San Francisco I made a pretty straightforward crocheted “Thank You” card.

DIA Croshame closestAfter touching down and collecting my baggage, I traveled back to the exhibit and put the ol’ girl up.

DIA Croshame <3

Going to SF was like a big chocolate cake, being back in Denver was the yummy icing, but putting my piece up in DIA was the big red cherry on top!


New segment: Hookin’ at the Movies

Wherein I share stills from (oftentimes unwatchable) movies, miniseries and TV shows displaying hilarious, dubious or questionable crochet tendencies.

From A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song :

Another Cinderella Story

Ooooh… no thanks. Socks crocheted by Lucy Hale sound about as appetizing as a macrame bra made by Selena Gomez.