So ...

Yeah, I've been AWOL for a few months. My life is just not that exciting. Oh, I have lots of opinions I could share, but aren't there enough screaming heads blogging out there just now? Most of them aren't even literate let alone articulate, and that's just the people on my side of the aisle.

But my blog's been vacant too long, so here's some stuff ...

Finished crocheting this sweater about a month ago. It's made with Simply Shetland's Silk & Lambswool, a big favorite of mine. It's called Stepping Stones, by Kristin Omdahl, and can be found in the Fall, 2008 edition of Interweave Crochet, if you are interested. A slightly complicated start, but the top-down style means no seams to sew which makes it a lot easier than it looks.

Let's see ... Christmas was this past weekend. We got into a discussion of movies on Christmas Eve and boy is my cousin, we'll call him J, ever down on True Grit. I never knew J was such a fan of John Wayne, but he's taking the remake as an affront to the Duke's honor. It was pretty funny. Ordinarily I share his opinion of remakes ... why? Why remake something that's already a classic? Let's face it, they usually ruin them. However, they've done something right with this one, I think, in that they cast Jeff Bridges, who is not one of the new pretty boys. He's got acting chops, having been around for something like 30 years, so he just might do it justice.

I also made a few scarves as gifts, but due to the last minute crunch to get them finished (They were finished a while ago, okay? I just, er, forgot ... yes, that's right, I forgot to weave in ends and do the blocking and other boring stuff until the day before Christmas Eve.) they weren't camera ready until it was too late and I was too tired. But I do still have this scarf and mitten set, mostly because I made it for myself, heh. Oh, I did get a picture of this collar thingie I made for my niece. It's intended to dress up a tshirt or tank top.

What else? Well, I decided how to best make use of my new Kindle, with which I was gifted. Since I love to read, it was never a question of whether I'd use it. However, as nifty as e-books are, unless they are public domain, i.e., the author has been dead a long time, they still cost you something to buy, which is why I get a lot of books from the library; and since I know I'll still need to purchase hard copies of my usual keepers, I wasn't sure where e-reading would fit in. I got to thinking about the kinds of things I'm interested in reading, but don't usually want to buy. Magazines and nonfiction books top that list, so I went hunting and came up with The Scientific American Day in the Life of Your Brain, because I like science stuff. And I have it say, it's a winner. The folks at Scientific American have been doing this kind of thing for a very long time so they know how to make science stuff accessible to us non-scientist types without dumbing it down, all the while showing you how relevant science is to your life. It touches on things like Alzheimer's and autism, but it also discusses why men don't like to consult maps while women navigate best via landmarks; why you'll know your car keys when you seem them, even if they aren't where you expected them to be; why so many of us aren't morning people; why a word might be at the tip of your tongue but not at the top of your brain; and a whole slew of other interesting questions. If you enjoy learning something new, I can recommend this one. With or without the Kindle.

And that'll have to keep you until the next time ...

Someday

My first exposure to crochet was watching my mom crochet covers to protect our couch and chair arms from the kind of wear and tear that happens. She used heavy thread, I think #3, and did her own pattern of chains and doubles to create a version of what is called 'filet crochet'. That's when a pattern includes closed and open spaces and, if carefully planned and charted, it's possible to create simple pictures and text that way. Think "Victorian sampler." Usually that's done in a much finer thread.

Thread is rated according to a number system that goes up as the thread gets finer. A #3 is roughly equivalent to string. It's very sturdy and often used to create things like dishtowels and facecloths because it will wash and wear very well. #10 is what you usually see used for doilies and such. #30 is extremely fine; more like sewing thread. And I think it's possible to get thread even finer than that, although you probably can't find it at your local hobby store. If you are looking for fancy lace trim on your wedding or ball gown, that's the stuff you want. The finer it is, the more drape the fabric will have. Makes sense, right?

Mostly it's made of cotton. In recent years, a blend of cotton and bamboo has become trendy. Bamboo is incredibly soft, but also terribly stretchy with no elasticity, so blending it with something else is a good idea. But it's lovely stuff for wearables. 100% cotton thread tends to feel a bit stiff when you are first working with it; but it loosens up considerably as it is worked and more so with blocking, the way an old favorite t-shirt will soften over time. I've also heard of silk thread, although I've never seen it in a store.

When I was a kid, people used doilies and lace tablecloths a lot to protect a finish and show off their whatnots. Today, you don't see it so much. I think the current trend is for less clutter and to show off the beauty of wood furniture. We've gotten away from using doilies, table scarves and so forth. I think, though, that it's going to come back around again eventually. Most things do.

The above projects, in case you were wondering, were done with #10 thread. I did the bookmark first for a small project. It was a way of getting my feet wet with thread. The second is a beaded scarf, still in progress. The beads are about the same color as the thread, but I think you can just make out their glint at the edges and at the motif centers. In the third photo, I've included the two crochet hooks I'm using. One to work the thread, and one to work the beads. Yes, there are hooks on the ends of them. One hook is 2.25 mm, and the other is 1.3 mm. The pen is by way of comparison.

These tiny thread hooks are made of steel. In theory, you can make a crochet hook out of nearly anything that's rigid. Most hooks used for yarn work are aluminum. I have a set of bamboo hooks, too. But thread hooks are inevitably made from steel because the heads are so very fine, and yet need to stay rigid. Aluminum hooks that tiny would bend. Other materials, if you could carve them to such thinness, would be fragile and probably break.

And that's your lesson on thread crochet.

Here's something else to look at. It's a baby afghan I'm almost finished with. I'm using yarn, not thread, so I can use my bamboo hooks. In this case, it's 6.5 mm. I'm using the Tunisian stitch in a technique called entrelac, which makes it look like woven strips to get the diamond pattern. I think I talked about Tunisian before. It's a cross between crochet and knitting, neither one nor the other but incorporating elements of both. You use a hook - that's the crochet element. But you cast on a series of loops, which is more like knitting.

And that's your refresher on Tunisian.

No Idle Hands Here

That's so not my problem. It didn't used to be this way. I was happy with the occasional afghan or baby blanket, secure in the knowledge that I could drop this habit anytime I wanted to.

I can't say that anymore. Thanks to the Internet, I'm discovering new designs and new yarns everyday that make my hands itch. Sometimes it's the challenge; sometimes it's the novelty. Whichever, my meager discretionary funds are more meager than ever.

Take those winter gloves, for example. I have very small hands, and finding gloves that fit is a never ending problem. Especially since I'm prone to losing them. And then one day I stumbled across the answer to my problem when I discovered a pattern for crocheted gloves. And when I spotted the Mini Mochi sock weight yarn, it was love at first sight.

My latest longer-term project is this tunic in last fall's issue of Interweave Crochet. I've got all the pieces done ... I just have to do some tweaking and get it all pinned and sewed together. I'm using a really lovely yarn from Cascade called Venezia Worsted. It's a blend of Merino wool and silk that feels soft and drapey in the hand, especially after a brief soaking. I don't know why, but you can never really know what a yarn will do until after you have washed it. It was nice before, but the stitches loosened up so beautifully that the fabric just flows now.

All the putting together steps take time (I'm hoping it will be ready to wear before it gets too warm out!) though, and I get impatient. Which is why I like to have a smaller, quicker project, such as these socks. For these I used Karabella's Superfine Cashmere. Yeah, cashmere socks.

Ain't that a kick?

Time, Please

The main problem with life is all this other stuff you have to get out of the way in order to get to the stuff you really want to do. Take jobs, for example, which are just about paying bills, really. And the bills are just a by-product of the jobs other people are doing in order to get the money to pay their bills that somebody else sent them! It's a big vicious circle, is what it is.

And what now what I really want to be doing is reading and crocheting. I'm collecting books and patterns like crazy, and if I live long enough to collect enough money to pay the bills without the job (gotta pay the bills, so the next guy can collect his money and pay his bills, and so on) I am going to be so set. I've also been buying yarn. Not as devotedly as with the patterns and books, because the yarn thing can really add up to a lot of money; but when I come across something particularly luscious, I can't stop myself from getting it. If I ever have the time to just sit and play around with yarn and pattern and techniques, I'm going to have a blast.

And books. I read all the time. I'm either reading a hardcopy book or listening to an audio book. This is great because then I can crochet and read at the same time! I read books from the library and buy books from stores. I collect and reread books. And it's never enough. Some I have to devour right away. Some I set aside, allowing anticipation to build and plotting ways to carve out big blocks of time so I can sit and just read without interruption. It's hard to do at home because people know I'm there and will insist on trying to get in touch with me. Tell people you are going to spend a few quiet hours just reading and you'd think they were on a suicide watch the way they line up to talk to you.

Don't tell me I can just read them later. I know that technically books won't go bad if I can't get to them right away. It's not like there's an expiration date ... well, okay, there is on a library book, sort of. And the lady at the yarn store assures me that yarn doesn't go bad, either. In theory, both will wait patiently until I can get to them.

But I don't want to wait. I want to do all this stuff NOW. So here's my plan. If everyone just stops doing this work thing, if we do this all together, then there won't be anyone to send out bills. And if there aren't any bills, we won't need the money, so we won't need the jobs. And I can stay home and read and crochet. With my phone off the hook.

Are you in?

'Tis the Season

I've been busy whipping up Christmas gifts. And wouldn't you know that just when I had decided to make some of this year's gifts, and committed myself to it by purchasing the yarn, my favorite magazine, Interweave Crochet, has at least three projects I'm drooling over for myself. Well, if nothing else it was incentive to get the other things done. A reward, of sorts. Because I'm worth it. Here are three of the things I've made so far.

First up is the sweater for my niece. I need to finish blocking and make some small adjustments for fit, but it's basically done. When worn, the buttons are supposed to be at the bust, with the skirt section falling from that in a cut-away style. It's made with Cascade Yarns 220 Wool.





This next piece is a special request from my older nephew. He had this old earflap-style hat, bought years ago, and wanted something to replace it.

No, that isn't my nephew. He's much taller. And blonde.



And one more hat for my other nephew, also a special request, both the length and the colors. Yes, he does march to his own drummer. I like that about him. When his brother requested the earflap hat, he said he wanted a stocking cap, one of those long ones, "in orange. With a little purple."

That's not my nephew, either.

Both of the hats are done in Cascade wool, too. I deliberately went with the wool because it's naturally water resistant, handy for damp winter days.

And what am I planning to make for myself? My first project is going to be this tunic, from the above mentioned magazine. I've got some really nice Merino/silk blend yarn, Cascade brand again, that I think will feel really cozy. And if I get cracking on this, there's a slim chance I might finish it before warm weather hits.

It's Like a Blanket?

I had friends over a few weekends ago. They all knew, vaguely, that I crocheted and while they were there I mentioned I was working on an afghan for my cousin's wedding. Only one of them knows anything about crochet so I dragged out what I had done so far so they could see what I was talking about when I mentioned strips and braiding. We were chattering blithely on when I caught the eye of my Chinese friend who asked "what's an afghan?" She's very Americanized in many ways (a right proper little Capitalist) but there are still things she's unfamiliar with that most of us take for granted. Which goes to show that you should never take for granted that everyone knows what you are talking about. Lesson learned.


Here it is, done at last. It's huge being nearly 6 feet long and approximately 5 feet wide. The afghan is made up of strips which are themselves composed of 3 separate strips braided together and held in place by 2 rounds of stitches. The main strips are stitched together with what's called a reverse single crochet, which makes a pretty, braided edging.

And a closer up view.

Tonight I'll double check for loose ends that need to be woven in, and make sure I got all the markers out. Then it will get washed and blocked. It's an acrylic yarn so it should wash up nicely.

String Theories

Oh, relax, this has nothing to do with math.

I've been crocheting for many years, although I got obsessive about it only a few years ago. Still, there continue to be new things to learn. This pattern, in a book of afghan's called Vanna's Afghans All Through The House, was my first experience with the afghan stitch, also known as Tunisian crochet. Yes, Vanna. Yes, her. FYI, she's an avid crocheter, has put out a few pattern books, and even has her own line of yarn. I haven't checked the etymology, but I'm presuming (rightly or wrongly) some kind of association with Tunisia (the stitch, not Vanna), probably in the same way that the word afghan has anything to do with Afghanistan, which is to say only vaguely if at all. But I digress. Go read this earlier post if you are curious.

And now I'm learning something again. This photo shows the first few rows of a new sweater I'm working on which uses a stitch called broomstick or peacock lace. You should be able to click on the photo to get a better idea. In case you are curious. Just saying. The effect does look a lot like bristles on an upside down broom, or the "eye" on the end of a peacock feather. This is the first time I've worked with this stitch, and like the Tunisian crochet, it combines elements of both crochet and knitting. Working backwards along the chain, you use a crochet hook to pull up loops of yarn which are cast onto a fat knitting needle as you go. (In case you are wondering, it's a #19, 15mm wooden needle.)
The broomstick effect is created after you slide the needle out from the loops (this required a great leap of faith for me) and then gather clusters of loops with a series of double crochets. I have no idea what might have inspired anyone to do this, who did it first, or when or where. It's like wondering who first considered putting cinnamon and apples together. Or chocolate and peanut butter. How do people come up with this stuff?

~~~~~~~~~~~
sneaking this one in here so as not to scare BCB. I finished it about two weeks ago. I love it. Doesn't fit as snuggly as I thought it might. Next time, if there is one, I think I'll try using a smaller hook. It might be a little tricky, but smaller hook will = smaller stitches, which in turn = smaller size.

Enablers

Well, the economy is in the tank, and everyone is watching their pennies, cutting back where they can, making choices about just what is really necessary in their lives.

Apparently, I've decided that anything which feeds my yarn addiction is a necessity. Thus did I, in recent months, purchase two back issues of Interweave Crochet, a set of bamboo crochet hooks (because I can't afford the rosewood hooks, that's why), and yet more yarn.

The scarf in the photo over there on your right is the result of two of those purchases. The pattern is called La Mer and was designed by Cheryl Means. I spotted a picture of it while browsing patterns and decided that I had to make it. The pattern was printed in the Summer 2008 issue of Interweave Crochet so, of course, I had to buy the back issue to get the pattern. Then I had to find just the right yarn to show off the pattern and came home from a trip to my local yarn store with a few skeins of Jojoland™ Melody Superwash. And since the pattern indicated a beaded fringe, I made a stop the next day at Michaels for some gorgeous glass beads to go with the yarn. But ultimately it was worth it, I think, because I love the final product. It's going to be a belated birthday gift for my niece.

I had also done another scarf, pictured on the left, with some left over Simply Shetland Silk & Lambswool. No extra cost there, but two scarves in a row left me feeling a little itchy for a new challenge.

I've had this pattern for a sweater using the broomstick stitch which I got about a year ago - uh, the pattern, not the stitch. But I had not done this stitch before and the pattern emphasized that a really well draping yarn was required to get the look of the garment just right so I've been holding off on it. I think it's time. I found the right yarn, but it didn't come cheap. However, as the owner of my local yarn store says "yarn doesn't go bad"; and if the sweater is a bust, I figure I can always make another, really, REALLY nice scarf ... or three or four.

Okay, clearly I have a yarn addiction. But it's keeping me out of pool halls and away from the evils of drink. Sort of.

Two Things

Okay, here are some pictures. The sweater on the left isn't nearly as bulky as the picture makes it look. In fact, it has a really nice drape to it. It's a pattern from Doris Chan's book Everyday Crochet called Haru. I have no idea what that means. I made the sleeves a little longer than those pictured in the book, and didn't include the side slits at the hip. Well, I would have included them, but by the time I had worked the appropriate number of rows the sweater was already long on me. I could have taken out some rows and reworked them to include the slits, but why? I liked it just fine as it was. The yarn, Simply Shetland's Silk and Lambswool, is just as wonderful as I thought it would be. It's a light weight yarn, but still warm and cozy to wear. I'm very happy with it.


So happy, in fact, that I used some left over in this "waffle weave" scarf where the laciness of the yarn shows up much better. Probably this will go to my sister for her birthday in a few months. Probably.

I like doing scarfs. You can't beat them for perfectly portable projects, and gauge isn't important. Gauge is all about sizing, how many stitches you work per inch. This is important when you are working on clothing because you are usually trying for a particular size, and your sweater, or whatever, isn't going to be the same at, say, 5 stitches psi as it would if you are getting 10 psi or even 2 psi. Too many stitches per inch and your piece is going to run small. Too few per inch and it's going to work up a lot bigger than what you want.

So how do you know? Look at the pattern. A pattern is a set of instructions that tells you more than just what stitches to make. It will also have yarn weight and hook size recommendations, and information on gauge. The hook size is just a suggestion. Here's the thing about handmade as opposed to machine made: stitch size is harder to regulate. Two people can use the exact same yarn and hook, and yet not make their stitches exactly the same size. Back to the original question, how do you know? You make a swatch. A swatch is exactly what you think - a sample. Your pattern will say, for example, '5.5 per inch in pattern.' So you work a few rows using the pattern stitch (double crochets or shells, for instance) to maybe 4" square and then you measure how many stitches and rows you have per inch. If you come out with too many stitches per inch, try again with a larger hook. Too few per inch, try going down one or two sizes in the next swatch. When you get it right, you have your gauge; and when you have your gauge, it's easier to work a garment to the size you want.

When I started the sweater, I think I did three 4" swatches before I got it right. Is it a pain having to possibly work a few swatches before you can really get started? Yes. Which is why something like a scarf or afghan is nice sometimes; no gauge worries. If it's a few inches short or a few inches too wide, who cares? And if I don't tell my sister that the scarf is the wrong size, she'll never know. Nya!

I'm In Love

Okay, I did finish the wrap thing except I have to find some matching thread to sew on the pockets with. Probably I could have tried harder this past weekend, but I was pretty much looking for an excuse to dive into my new yarn.

This is it. And I'm already fighting the temptation to buy more, to horde the stuff against some blah, bleary day when I need a yarn fix. This stuff is WONDERFUL. Really, all caps and italics, too. I feel like crying out "where have you been all my life?!" It's like the dark chocolate of yarn, the good 75% organic cocoa content stuff, the beans harvested by Juan Valdez's distant cousin and hand carried to a delightfully wizened, old-school confection genius in the Swiss Alps who created the world's first truffle. Get it?

It's not just that it's soft. I've handled softer. It's not just that it's pretty, although it is. It's the entire experience of the yarn. The folks at Simply Shetland have created a fiber blend that is the best of both the silk and wool worlds. I know it doesn't look like much to the naked eye; but trust me, this stuff is good. I'm spoiled for all other yarns. I'm giddy. Maybe it's the honeymoon phase, but I'm into the second skein now so I'm feeling pretty confident.

I'm savouring here.

A Good Yarn

In case you were wondering, yes I did finish the raspberry colored shrug from an earlier post. And made a few raspberry colored noises. I didn't like it. I tried to figure out how it could be fixed, but I think the problem was in the yarn. When I sewed up the seams and tried it on there was too much bulk under my arms, very uncomfortable. So I've stashed that away to possibly frog some day (to frog in yarn circles means to pull out or unravel a project). I wasn't that crazy about the yarn so I'm not in much of a hurry to get that done. Some day I may try that pattern again in a lighter weight yarn and see if it makes a difference.

In the meantime, I started and am nearly finished working on a wrap-type thing with pockets. I like the idea of the pockets. I'm working with a very yummy yarn by Rowan called Cashsoft DK that is 57% extra fine merino, 33% acrylic microfibre and 10% cashmere. Very soft and cozy which makes it perfect for a wrap. DK is short for double knit ... I know, you just had a flash back to those ugly polyester pants your Aunt Edna used to wear, didn't you? Take heart. In this instance double knit describes the thickness of the yarn and has nothing to do with the fiber content. DK is somewhere between worsted (think afghan yarn) and sport or baby weight (think, uh, baby sweaters). The Cashsoft has a nice hand, very smooth as it spools through my fingers and very little splitting. Also, no nasty kinks from over-twisting of the yarn, which plagued me while I was working on the above mentioned shrug. Yeah, I should have taken that as a sign.

The merino should keep it from stretching out of shape and cashmere is just always nice to have next to your skin. The microfiber content isn't even noticeable but ought to provide duribility. The yarn is a deep blue gray that the Rown people call Kingfisher, if that gives you any idea, and not the pictured lime green. Really, who looks good in lime green? Nobody. It's supposed to be 62" long. I'm trying to decide if that is too long. Sure, it looks good on the model, but how tall is she? I mean, if it hangs down below the hips when worn, then wouldn't the pockets be a little inconvenient? I'm at roughly 54" now so I need to drap this on someone taller than me and see what they think about the length.

My next project after this one will be this long sweater thing (well, what would you call it?). The pattern is called Haru (I have no idea what that means) by Doris Chan who does a lot of crochet designs. This one is from her book Everyday Crochet. Even better, I didn't have to buy this book. Please don't tell Doris. Our county has a terrific interlibrary loan system, and in some cases I can even get books on loan from other counties in the state, which is how I got my hands on this pattern.

I have a very nice yarn I want to try out for this. Not the stuff pictured, but some lovely fingering weight yarn (slightly finer than the DK) by Simply Shetland called Silk & Lambswool. It's 41% Shetland lambswool and 59% silk. It feels lovely in the skein. And it's actually spun in the actual Scotland so I can have fantasies about Men In Kilts while I work with it! That's my plan, anyway. What did I say that wrap was now, 54 inches? That's long enough don't you think? Heh.

Yarn Tails

I've got a few things I'm working on. Over the long weekend I tackled the sleeveless top I had worked on in June. It was supposed to be finished, but I was never really happy with the edging aroung the armholes. And I had no excuse for ignoring it because I had spare yarn and I knew the edging would be easy enough to unravel without harming the the rest of the garment. I don't know why it took me this long to fix it, because it's only a few rows around. Anyway, it's done. The original edging had an odd flair to it that was unintentional and seemed to get more obvious as the fabric softened. I don't know what went wrong. This time I added slight decreases with each round and I'm much happier.

Nearly finished with the t-shirt. Into the home stretch, anyway. The back side is completely done and I'm into the sleeve portion of the front (working bottom to top) so this should be done in a few weeks, tops. I'm debating giving the pieces a soak in hot water to tighten the stitches. Probably I should experiment on the swatch first. Here is a picture of the work in progress. Note that I still need to work in the neckline, in addition to to finishing the sleeves.

Oh, and I've been fooling around with knitting! I learned as a child, same as I did crochet. I took to crochet more readily but I've encountered so many tempting knit patterns recently that I'm thinking I want to try it again. I picked up one of those "teach yourself" kits and tried out a few stitches one afternoon. Just knit and purl, and getting the hang of binding off to finish a piece. I need to work with more techniques but I think this might work out. The kit included two sizes of needles and a booklet with decent illustrations. We'll see, but I'm feeling inspired.

Playing With String

I'm still crocheting, and how. I finished the sweater for Mom, which she loves, and then started another project, a tank top thing that is supposed to be part of a two-piece sweater set but won't be. It won't be because (1) I don't have enough yarn for both pieces and (2) I only want the tank top. I'm not really a twin set kind of gal, not that there is anything wrong with that. They just never look the way they are supposed to when I'm wearing them. Anyway, I finished that and in fact wore it to Portland so a few people have seen it already. For the rest of you, if you are at all interested, I'll try to get a picture up soon. It is worked in a linen blend yarn called Rowan Damask. It was a bit like working with twine, if you can picture that, but the linen softened up tremendously the more I worked with it and should continue to do so with wear which will make it a very comfy piece. I'm not entirely satisfied with the way the armholes turned out. Well, it's all a learning process.

Next up is this t-shirt which I'm doing in FibraNatura Equisite Bamboo, a bamboo/Merino wool blend in a blue/green shade they call "Winter Sky." I know, bamboo doesn't sound much like something you want in a t-shirt. Well, they don't spin it up into yarn straight from the branch but rather put it through a process that breaks down the fiber. What you get at the end is an incredibly soft yarn that feels something like cashmere. No, really; I've handled some pure bamboo yarn and it's fabulous. In addition to its softness, bamboo is also a fiber that has excellent drape and "breathes," much like cotton. Since they are both cellulose (plant) fibers, that makes sense. The downside is that it doesn't contain much elasticity and can stretch out of shape over time. That's where blends come in handy, combining the attributes of different fibers. In this case, the cool softness of bamboo and the soft elasticity of Merino wool. If you are thinking of wool as that hot, scratchy stuff, then you haven't given Merino wool a try.

It turns out that wool can vary in texture much the way hair does among people. Human hair, when viewed through a microscope, is composed of layers, like scales. The number and size of the scales decides whether your hair is frizzy, curly or straight. It's all a matter of genetics. The same is true with wool; it varies depending on what breed of sheep it comes from. Merino is a very soft, smooth fiber that still retains the best characteristics of wool, i.e. durable and elastic.

To get back to the project at hand, I'm very pleased with how the Exquisite Bamboo handles. Although it's nice and soft, the yarn is not "fuzzy" so the stitches have good definition. Initially the yarn had a tendency to split as I worked with it, my hook catching some of the fiber strands but missing others. Now that I've done several rows of it, however, I'm encountering less of that. My fingers seem to have made the necessary adjustment. I would tell someone who is working with any new yarn for the first time to be patient and give it a chance. Eventually you get used to working with it. As you can see by this swatch, the Winter Sky is a variegated (multi-colored) yarn. In some yarns the dyeing process for variegated results in a too rigid patterning. In this case, I think it just adds some interest. I like the shading of blues and I think they named it perfectly.

For Mom

I came across this pattern which I thought looked pretty cool. It's a combination of a cardigan and wrap and I thought it looked nice and cozy. I also thought it would make a nice gift so I decided to make it for Mother's Day. I just finished it this past weekend; what do you think?


I still need to finish weaving in stray yarn ends and do a little blocking for shape. I don't think it will need much, but I'm thinking about using a little steam on the front panels to bring out the stitch detail a little more. I'm really pleased with it. I love the way it drapes and I think it will be cozy without being too heavy. And hopefully there will be a little time for her to enjoy it before the weather gets too warm

Another One Wrapped Up

Ta da! Here's another project, hot off the hook. Please ignore the wrinkled t-shirt. This one is a cropped jacket from a Moda Dea pattern I downloaded for free. Not bad for free, huh? Okay, the yarn I had to pay for. I actually used Cascade Sierra for this one, as I think I mentioned before. I know, in the photo it looks more like a melon color, but it's actually a bright magenta in real time. Despite the open work design, the jacket is actually pretty warm which makes it just about perfect for spring/fall. Also, the yarn is mostly cotton with a little Merino wool for elasticity which means the fabric should breath well and be comfortable at a variety of temperatures.

I was really pleased at how quickly it worked up, and how well the pieces fit together. A sign of a good pattern, I think, when it all goes the way it's supposed to. The only thing that I did differently from the pattern was at the back of the neck, which you can't see here. I believe I mentioned in an earlier post that I had been reading up on techniques to create crochet garments that don't look homemade. The book is Couture Crochet by Lily Chin and I highly recommend it. One of the things she mentions in the book is the difference that a properly fitted neckline can make in the way a garment hangs. Go to your closet or dresser and pull out a shirt, any shirt. If you lay it flat and examine the back, you'll see that the neck area is cut about 1/2 inch shorter than the shoulders. This is because the back of your neck slopes slightly before it meets your collar bone. If the upper back is cut straight across, the garment will have a tendency to hang heavier in the back requiring the wearer to constantly jerk at the front to keep the garment hanging correctly. By cutting out the center, about 5 inches wide and only 1/2 inch deep, you clear the collar bone and the back hangs properly. Learning about this was a real eye-opener for me. It's not something I've seen mentioned in crochet patterns, and it wasn't written into the pattern for this jacket, but I figured out that I could accomplish the same idea if I switched to a slip stitch for those middle 5 inches of the last row. And it worked beautifully; the jacket hangs almost flawlessly. I'm so pleased with how it turned out that I might do another one before long, maybe as a gift.

But while I was finishing up the jacket, I was simultaneously working on this cardigan for my mother. Since I intend it to be a surprise for Mother's Day I've had to sneak working on it during lunch hours, sometimes working a row or two at night. This pattern is from a book called Style For You! from the folks at Leisure Arts and uses Caron Simply Soft yarn. Soft and inexpensive, it's been very nice to work with. I have the back and sleeves done, and have started one of the front sides. The interesting things about this pattern is that you don't work the pieces separately and then sew together. Instead, each section is worked out from the last. For example, when I finished at the upper back I continued on, creating what became the collar and sleeve. Once I figured it out, I really liked the idea because I hate stitching pieces together. I'm crossing my fingers, but I think the fronts should work up fairly quickly as it's all double crochet and chain spaces.

A Good Yarn

As I'm getting more involved in crochet projects I've been trying to learn more about yarn. This is turning out to be more complicated that I thought it would be. One of the reasons I've really dived back into crochet is the greater variety of yarns now available. In the old days yarn was yarn. You had acrylic yarns and you had wool. You had yarns of a weight suitable for afghans and you had the thinner pastel yarns suitable only for baby blankets and sweaters. The issue for crocheters is that a crochet stitch uses a bit more yarn than a similar knit stitch, which meant that crocheted fabric had a tendency to be bulkier and so were less likely to be turned into garments (except for those ugly granny square vests of the 1970s ... don't get me started on granny squares).

But fiber arts (that's what they call it now) have exploded in popularity in recent years and along with the interest (like the chicken and the egg, I'm not sure which came first) we're seeing yarns in an amazing array of fibers and thickness, although not necessarily at my local Michaels or WalMart which, contrary to the trends, have been stocking less yarn than ever. I can't figure that one out, but never mind. These newer yarns use fibers and spinning techniques that work up into fabrics with much better weight and drape than ever before which has been a boon to all the fiber arts, but most particularly to crocheters. With yarns spun finer and with more elastic fibers, the extra bulk in a crochet stitch is negligible. And as the variety of yarns has increased and improved, patterns have been written to take advantage.

All of this is fabulous for the craft, of course, and great fun when it comes to shopping for yarn. Let me loose in a yarn store and I'm like a kid running wild in a toy store. But more choices mean having to choose what yarn will work best for each particular project and that means learning more about the characteristics of fibers and yarn weights. There's a little information out there, but you have to really look for it. I have not, so far, found one inclusive source on the subject. I'm thinking that I might actually have to start compiling what information I find and create my own resource file. Daunting. Especially as I'd much rather being working with the yarn than researching it.

Oooh, Shiny!

I gots new toys. Well one is new but it works with the other toy so nicely it's practically like having two. And they're interactive, and I get to channel my inner child and say "whee!" while I crank it. Wanna see?


This is my yarn ball winder, which is not my newest toy, but still pretty neat. It allows me to wind up loose yarn into center pull skeins ... no more tangles! Now when I have a half-used skein, I can wind it up, nice and neat, and save for future use.


And here is a picture of my brand new yarn swift. Isn't it cool? Oh, come on, you know it is. And what, you might ask, does a yarn swift do? Well, I can take a long hank of yarn - which is yarn that is not wound into a ball or skein - and fit it around the extensions,
attach a loose end to the yarn baller, and then start cranking on the baller. With each wobbly revolution it pulls yarn from the swift, which in turn spins as the yarn hank unwinds. That's where the "whee!" factor comes into it: I can make this baby hum!


And thus another nice, neat skein of yarn is wound, ready for use or for storage in a compact, tangle free little package.

Admit it; it's really cool, isn't it? Feel free to come by any time and I'll let you play with it too. But you'll have to bring your own yarn because I used up all my loose stuff playing last night.

Inspiration

I'm still crocheting. What with the holidays and just trying to keep on top of day to day stuff I was having trouble finding blocks of time, but the need and desire were there. I did work on some pillows, just simple 14inch throw pillows. Picked up the pillow forms a while back, and bought tons of yarn. But even though this was a fairly small project it was a while before I could block out time for working on it. I made some mistakes with the first one because I tried to be creative instead of just following the pattern. Bad McB. The second turned out much better. I'll try to remember to post pics later.

Another project that I started, but had to take a break from, is a scarf to go with Mare's hat which Jenny Crusie made and which I won in a contest she, Eileen Dreyer and Anne Stuart were running to promote their collaborative novel The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes. Here's the hat ... Isn't it gorgeous? So of course I decided that I needed a scarf to go with it. I emailed Jenny Crusie, asking what yarns she had used and she very graciously replied with brands and weights and colors which I was able to order. Got the yarns and started on the scarf and it was coming along quite nicely until I goofed. I thought I could just unravel my goof but it got tricky because of the kind of yarn. It's beautiful stuff, incredibly soft and perfect for a warm winter scarf; but it's a two-ply yarn, partly ribbon-like and partly similar to fun fur. Anyway it became very tangled up and I decided I neeeded to put it aside before I ruined the whole thing with my frustrated attempts. I'll come back to it when I'm in a better frame of mind for it.

Along the way I've been reading this great book I picked up at a local yarn store. The book, Couture Crochet Workshop by Lily Chen, has some wonderful tips and tricks for making homemade fit and look like made-to-order designer fashions. It also includes some wonderful patterns and charts that are very inspiring. I'm not sure I'm quite ready to tackle them but I want to, very much. So I've got some incentive to keep practicing, keep improving.

And in the meantime I've switched over to working on this cropped jacket in hopes of having it ready for spring. Don't tell the Moda Dea people, but I'm using their pattern with somebody else's yarn. Specifically a fabulous pima cotton/merino wool blend called Cascade Sierra in a gorgeous fusia. I did a swatch (something I learned in the above mentioned book) to check the yarn's fingering (how smoothly it works up) and drape. The book advised putting the swatch to the test so I balled it up and stuck it in my jeans pocket for an afternoon, steamed it, let it dry, soaked it and let it dry again. The idea being to find out how well the yarn will hold up in an actual garment. If it stretches too easy, pills up (you know how some sweaters will do?) or develops other problems, better to know before you've spent all those hours on a project. It seems to have passed the test so I dived right in.

This pattern is rated at intermediate skill level. Intermediate means that they give you some of the instructions, but not all of them; they leave out bits here and there for you to figure out on your own. It's a lot like working a sudoku puzzle in that respect. And like a sudoku puzzle, you don't know if you are doing it right until you get a ways in and it all starts going wrong. Huh. But I think I've got that part figured out now.

Something To Look Forward To

The year is only a week old. This means the 51 weeks to come are still a clean slate. That's the thing with beginnings; the possibilities are still out there. I'm not one for resolutions, but I like the idea of a fresh start. I don't have a list of things to attempt, I have no specific goals. Instead I'm going to focus on simplifying, decluttering, streamlining. Life got overwhelming and I am so ready to ditch all that stress. This, I hope, will be the year of finding some peace of mind, some inner peach.

I'm going to put some of what I've learned from Fly Lady to good use. I'm going to try to declutter my life, get rid of stuff that's just taking up space and making my life more complicated. I'll hopefully get some drawers and closets cleared out, and maybe do something more useful with the finished basement. Um, that last one might be overly ambitious.

I'm going to bring more color and texture into my life and I started this past weekend with a visit to a local yarn shop, WoolWinders. I was very wary of visiting this store because I know how dangerous it can be. This is not yarn you find at your local craft store or Walmart. To be fair, it wasn't all exotic stuff either. But there was a wealth of color and texture that just made my fingers itch for my hook. Imagine for a moment that you have just come upon a conference table covered in one long sheet of pristine white paper. And in the center of that table is a brand, spanking new box Crayolas, the big 64 colors box. You can't resist, you just have to draw something. That's what it felt like when I walked into this store. Overall I behaved, indulging in just one skein of a lovely cotton/wool blend in eye-popping magenta. Gorgeous. It's just one skein because I have two more projects lined up before I get to this stuff, and I figure in the meantime I can play with it a little and figure out what the possibilities might be. It's nearly 200 yards, so I can have a lot of fun with it before I get down to a serious project.

I'm taking my youngest nephew to Disney World. His older sister and brother have already been, and now it's his turn. It will be just me and him and the exciting thing about this is that for a few days I'll be living in his 10yo world. Hey you, over there, sitting in your corner and scoffing at the idea. You don't know what you are missing. I've been to Disney World numerous times, but not for a few years now, and I can tell you that it doesn't matter what your age is, there truly is something there for everyone; and if you come away from a visit still jaded, there's clearly no hope for you. And maybe I'm alone in this, but I rather enjoy an excuse for acting like a kid again.

There's been talk of a biggish CB meet this summer. There's also been some debate over exotic locales to hold it in. The issue is Moot, really because we tend to spend so much time talking we probably wouldn't get around to seeing or doing anything other than eating, drinking, talking and buying books. My people. :sniff: I love my people. :~) Wherever we end up, I really hope we can make this work. Where there are CBs there is love and laughter.

So, no goals or lists. But maybe some good times, some small pleasures, some fun. Something to look forward to.

Itchy Fingers

I've been keeping my crochet hook busy. My latest finished project has taken me several months, and is my most ambitious project by far. I've never made a garment before, other than the odd baby sweater. And they don't count because babies don't really care if a sleeve isn't perfect or a seam is a bit off. But I had run out of people to make afghans for and my fingers were itching to start something new so I poked around on-line at various websites devoted to yarns and patterns. Most of the best patterns are for knitters, and someday I'll have to brush up on my needlework and try a few. It's been a lot of years and I never did feel as comfortable with knitting needles as I do a crochet hook. That was then and this is now, as the saying goes, and maybe I'll feel differently now.

I did find this one pattern for a bolero which looked simple enough. Ha. The stitches themselves were simple, just a lot of double crochets. My problem was two-fold: first, with a garment you must pay attention to gauge (stitches/rows per inch) and you must get it right otherwise the pieces won't match up when it comes time to stitch them together. Second, I used a different kind of yarn for the very first time and until I adjusted it was very tricky to work with.

I know, this isn't what you think of when you hear the word "yarn." It's really more of a ribbon, and more specifically what they call a "ladder" or "trellis" ribbon. It's a bit like stitching together cobwebs, but is also amazingly strong and has a beautiful drape. I really shouldn't have done my first major project with this, but how could I pass up those colors? And I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Well worth all the tearing out and restitching.

My next project should be much simpler, but I'm still pretty excited about it. I have new furniture in solid colors and it needs some jazzing up with pillows. So I found this pattern:

I liked the way the stripes reverse, and I liked that the pattern calls for different textures of yarn. To me texture is even more important than color in the things I crochet because they are meant to be felt, whether it's an afghan or anything else. It's all about how it feels. In this case it's all done in Homespun (a nubby yarn) and chenille. I'm planning to use a combo of the chenille in a few different jewel tones and some faux suede yarn with just a little Homespun for accent. It should result in a nice, soft pillow. We'll see.