The strange obsession with round blankets continues....

It's a pickle, alright.

I can't explain why I like the round blanket. I mean they're not really practical. They always manage to leave some part exposed to an unwanted chill. They’re unwieldy to work on once they get to a certain size as well. But I just can't stop making them. (Again, I refer to my stash in Nevada.) I also have an obsession with the spiral, probably because I'm pagan. Though, I might just like making myself dizzy.

Anyhoo. I found this pattern online and of course decided I'd make it. At Yule Vigil A friend of mine asked me if I was making a doily. I felt kinda bad as I had to tell him no. He looked a little disappointed. One of these days I really am going to make a doily. Probably. Now that I'm done with it, I think it makes a better rug than a blanket. Of course it would look better if I could block it. But I don't have an iron here.

 
 It kind of looks like a strange aquatic creature nesting on my kitchen floor. Maybe if I added some teeth to the medallion in the middle, give it that Krakonesque feel, and just leave it there. Honestly, as I'm by myself I don't mind the company, but I can't manage to stay on my feet when there aren't any obstructions in the way. I can see myself trying to hobble to the loo and ending up taking a ride to the front door on my little acrylic friend. While no doubt entertaining, I'd rather not push my luck...

For this project, I used 2 skeins of Annie's Attic in gray. The trim is Red Heart in pink tones left over from another project. (Oh, those leftovers!). This project cost me about $9.00 all told.

http://www.crochetgeek.com/2010/08/crochet-swirl-afghan.html#!/2010/08/crochet-swirl-afghan.html

Have to say I enjoyed this pattern. It was easy and quick. And though repetitive, I didn't find it too tedious. As always in a round blanket project there's a point when it just doesn't seem to be getting any larger, no matter how fast you crochet. I despise this, but find it spurs me on to new heights of speed. Which, as anyone who's ever seen me crochet, means just a hair faster than the speed of a horny sloth. I shall be making the swirl afghan pattern again. I really do like it, in fact I'm keeping my little friend. I shall love him and squeeze him and name him Jorge.

Happy Holidays!!!

I wasn't raised celebrating holidays so I have a bit of a disconnect when it comes  to them, but I still do my best to get in the spirit of things. The sheer quanity of choice durning this time of year is daunting. I mean, let's face it, most of the other holidays have a clear theme. Valentines day, heart candy. YAY! Easter, or Ostara, chocy rabbits and candy. YAY! Haloween/ Samhain/Día de los Muertos, sugar skulls and candy. YAY! But this time of year there are sweets of many varieties, a dizzying and confusing aray of confectionary. It's enough to send one into a daze. Or is that a sugar coma?

Anyway, in all seriousness, Happy Whatever Flavor of the Season You Choose!!!!!

I found this pattern while surfing on the internet and thought it had an interesting and unique look.  I have all this leftover yarn I’m trying to use up. And, as any crafter knows, the leftovers can be a challenge.

I used Caron one pound in scarlet. This is not my favorite color, it seems too old ladyish for my tastes. But, I bought the skein for a ridiculous $2.00 at a yard sale. I know, I know, It’s not a bargain if you think it’s ugly.  But, come on! Two dollars!! I also used Annie’s attic in vanilla and teal. (Yes, again. leftovers, people!) Given the season I think I shall just simply pretend it’s a great, giant poinsettia.

The pattern called for Jiffy Quick & Easy Mohair Look and  Bernat Softee Chunky Yarn. These are bulky (5) yarns. But I thought it worked up just fine in worsted weight (4) , although  I did have to add extra rows to get it to the size I wanted it.

If you’re going to use the author’s recommendations the cost will be about $16.00 with lots of yardage leftover.

 

 The Poinsetta!

 

Now on to the review:

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977417819

While the pattern is mostly easy to work, I found the instructions for the leaves not particularly easy to follow. They are confusing and, for me, impossible to follow.

I ended up reversing them. Instead of stitching TURN ch-3, sl st in 2^nd dc on right side of valley, dc in next 3 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 3 dc, sl st in 2^nd dc up.

I stitched Sl st in nxt two dc @ end of previous row. Ch 3 then dc in next 3 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 3 dc, sl st in 2^nd dc up.

I did this on each row and it turned out exactly as pictured. Sometimes the way a pattern is written just doesn’t work for the person trying to make it and you have to adjust it to fit your crochet style.

I’d say it’s a good pattern for an advanced beginner if they don’t mind then endless reps. You do have to count your stitches to make sure your flower petals keep their symmetry.  A nice plus is that it’s a pattern you can easily take on the road with you. It doesn’t require much in the way of yarn and a large Ziploc would hold what is needed. Personally, I didn’t care for this. While it was easy and is super cute, it’s also tedious and repetitive. That and the confusing instructions bring my rating for this project to 3 skeins.

Happy Solstice! Gift exchange.

So I went to my Church's Solstice celebration last night. It was hard work but we managed to convince the sun to rise once more. (You're all welcome!) and a good time was had by all. Despite the spectacular tumble down the stairs I took when I got there. ( The earth shook, I swear!) and the fact everyone had to wheel my gimpy butt around to the various events. There are some very excellent storytellers in my bunch, I haven't laughed that loud in a long time! Since Labor day, as a matter of fact.

Anyhoo, there was a nice little gift exchange. I decided to crochet (facepalm!) something with a Wiccan theme so I chose this pillow design. I always get embarrassed at these things. I like the things I make, I think I have skills but I just don't have any faith that other people will like them. Lords above and below, you'd think at 41 years old I'd get over this adolescent poopie!

Unfortunately, half the pics I took of the project got eaten by the interweb spiders, so you just have what's left. I'm planning on making another in the same yarn so I'll post those later. Sorry all!

I didn't really use a pattern. I found the design on the internet using Google image search and copied the design on to graph paper. I was going to do the tapestry stitch, but with the gray being so dark, it just didn't look right so I opted for using different strands for each section. Huge Pain the Butt!. I think I had six balls of yarn all getting tangled with each other. Still, it worked up in about eight hours. Tapestry stitching would have been half that, probably, maybe less. I used a pink broadcloth to line and hold the stuffing. Sometimes the crochet fabric will let the stuffing peek through and I just think it looks sloppy.

The finished project was approx 18 inches long and about 8 inches wide. Smaller than I would have liked it to be, but the instructions for the gift exchange was a 'small handmade gift'. I had it sitting on one of the kitchen chairs and it looked cute. All in all I'm was happy with the result.

The yarn was a left over from other projects, I used Caron's Simply Soft in charcoal and rose garden. The cost on the project is anywhere between 6-20 dollars. Depending on how many of the supplies you already have around the house.

I hope the person who chose my gift likes it or can regift it of not. I'd hate for it not to go to a good home. Btw, the gift I picked is lovely, and will look awesome on the wall of my home!

We're all mad here... Kinda.

I love hats. I really do.

 

I've got lots of them. Mostly ones I've made, because I am fascinated with millinery as well. My hubby always gives me strange looks when I try them on in stores because he knows I don't wear the ones I've got. But that doesn't stop me!

 

Unfortunately, I have a big head. Most hats are made to fit a 20-21 inch head, mine is 22 inches. (no comments from the gallery please...) So it's hard to find cute hats that would actually fit. And, to tell the truth,  I always feel kinda uncomfortable when I wear them. I guess this is a by-product of my childhood. I was bullied until I left school. So if I wore anything nice my classmates would either ruin it, steal it, or beat me up. What can I say? Kids are mean.

 

Anyhow, I also love Alice in Wonderland. I've lustily admired the Mad Hatter's hats for years. So when I came across this pattern I thought why the hell not?

 

I'll never wear it, probably. But who knows?  I might grow brave someday.....

Wonder if I need a feather?

Trim patern from Around the Border Crochet Borders. I like the way it came out.

http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L10592.html

 The review: Super, super easy! I added three rounds to the top to make sure it'd fit my fat old head. I used Red Heart Super Saver in Pink Tones. I used two strands to make up for the thickness as the pattern calls for a chunky yarn. In hindsight using the chunky would have probably gven the hat a better shape. Of course, I don't have an iron or anything here to block mine with, either. Anyway, I kind of like how it looks like somebody sat on it, several times. The total cost was about 7.00. I used a trim pattern for the hat band in Annie’s Attic Teal, which I already had. I may make another one with the recomended yarn, just to see the difference, later.

 

Smooth Fox's Baby Love Blankie Review

Mine

Hers

 

 

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/foxs-baby-love-blanke

 

I made this for a friend of mine who just had a baby girl. It worked up really fast and was pretty easy. The pineapple type stitch in the middle was fun to do and there's an interesting stitch that transitions the color changes. I had some trouble working rows 6-8, but I think that had more to do with my watching reruns of Castle than the directions.

 

@ Row 5

 

 

 

@ Row 14

 

 

Long Double Crochet ( At color changes)
Plus my sexy jammie bottoms :)

 

 

I used Caron's Simply Soft in Rose Garden and Annie's Attic in Teal and Vanilla. The yarn is Worsted Weight (4) 100% Acrylic. Which I thought is a good choice for a baby blanket. The cost of the pattern is $4.95 and it uses approx 410 yards of the two main colors (Rose Garden and Vanilla) and approx 50 of the accent color (Teal). 1470 yards of yarn total. I had leftover stash yarn from other projects and I don't count that kind of yarn in the cost of the project as I've already counted it into the cost of a previous project. But the total cost of the project would be between $25-50.00 depending on the type of yarn you wanted to use and where you bought it.

 

I 'm very happy with the way the project came out. The only thing I would change is using the Annie's Attic yarn, it's just a little too scratchy, in my opinion, for a baby blankie. A few washes should soften it up a bit, though. This would be a really good project for somebody who's a beginner, and wants to try to play with different stitches.

 

I will definitely be making this again.The pattern was well writen, to understand, easy to do and looks just adorable. I give it five skeins.

First Post

Well as I'm stuck sitting around all day with my foot propped up in a splint, (oh the joy!) I've been surfing all the craft sites for interesting patterns and such. I've done a couple of prayer shawls for the church. I'm kind of discouraged regarding that. I dont know, I just wonder if there's really a need for that kind of thing. Maybe I should retire from the charity business and just go and sell my stuff. It's hard without feedback. Or maybe I'm just depressed because I've been cooped up for two weeks with nobody to talk to.

Prayer shawl #1


Anyway, I just bought my first crochet pattern from Ravelry. It's a baby blanket.  A friend of mine just had a baby girl last night. I didn't know what flavor the baby would be so I waited until she was born. I've decided to use my new pattern for a pressie for the baby. We'll have to see how it comes out.  Maybe that shall be my next post.