Crochet Christy

Storm-, er, Sandtrooper

2011-12-29T11:37:00.000-08:00

And now for a post about something *I* actually crocheted! I haven't hooked much this summer and fall--too busy with work. But I wanted to make my brother a Sandtrooper for Christmas. So I dug out my hooks, and after two evenings, I had this little guy ready to be wrapped up and put under the tree. :)

I used LucyRavenscar's Stormtrooper pattern.

2011-12-27T12:34:00.000-08:00

I signed up for Pinterest a few months ago, but I haven’t poked around on it much since signing up. Are you on Pinterest? How do you use it--inspiration, storage area for projects you like or want to try, clipboard of beautiful things you want to share with others? What do you like most--and least--about it? And are you addicted? :)

If you’re on Pinterest, leave me your info so I can follow you. I’m here, but as you can see, my board is bare!

Crochet funnies

2011-12-22T08:20:00.000-08:00

I found this on Crochet Me Crazy, of the crochet blogs I enjoy reading, and adapted it a bit.

You know you’ve been crocheting too long when ...

You need to a separate room just to house your yarn, patterns, etc.

LYS, WIP, UFO, BLO, and other acronyms all make perfect sense to you.

You have lost the family cat—more than once—among the boxes, bags, and stacks of yarn in your yarn room.

Hobby Lobby, JoAnn’s, Herrshner’s, and Yarn.com send you personalized birthday and Christmas cards as a favorite customer ... and a friend.

You keep a crochet hook and crochet project in your car for long stoplights.

Family, friends, and even strangers send you yarn and unfinished projects without asking first.

Your family has learned not to speak aloud phone numbers, account numbers, times, dates, TV station numbers, prices, etc. while you’re counting lest you use count of your stitches.

Your cat has seen so much yarn flying around, she’s lost interest and doesn’t even chase it anymore.

Your computer’s memory is maxed due to the number of crochet patterns you’ve saved to your Crochet folder.

Your email inbox is full of more crochet-related email than personal or business email.

The IRS and state tax authorities allow you to declare your yarn, pattern, hooks, etc. as dependents on your tax returns.

You have a separate bookcase dedicated to (and overflowing with) crochet books, magazines, and printed patterns.

You have had to explain the difference between crochet and knitting more times than you can count.

You crochet in bed.

You once found a crochet hook you’d stuck in your hair earlier for safekeeping ... and wondered how long it’d been there.

You call yourself—and your sister-in-law—“hooker” ... with pride.

You count among your friends editors of crochet magazines and authors of amigurumi books.

The employees of your LYS cheer your name, à la Norm at Cheers, when you walk in the door.

Instead of counting sheep to fall sleep, you count stitches.

Your family has learned to decipher the unspoken language you use to respond to them when you’re counting stitches.

You have crochet and yarn apps on your iPhone.

You look at everything—wire, packaging twine, dental floss, weeds, tinsel, etc.—as a potential crochet medium.

You find a cool scarf, hat, sweater, bag, set of handwarmers, etc. in a store or online and immediately start mentally figuring out a crochet pattern for it.

You have a crochet playlist on your iPod. Maybe two. Okay, six.

You silently chastise people who call a crochet hook a “needle.”

You crochet during staff meetings, movies, dental appointments, sporting events, ....

You nearly broke up with your significant other when he slipped and said you “knit.”

You have a WIP in each room of the house.

You win the lottery and spend the whole payout on Lion Brand Yarns’ stock, a sheep farm, and spinning lessons.

You read the title of this list and thought “Too long? There’s no such thing!”

Alicia Paulson

2011-11-21T09:58:00.000-08:00

I read lots of crochet and crafty blogs, and although I've actually met or conversed with next to none of the bloggers, their daily or weekly posts, inviting me into their craft rooms, their homes, and in small part their lives, makes me feel like I know them a little. That's especially true with Alicia Paulson, of Posie Gets Cozy. Her crochet initially drew me in years ago, and her sweet little dog Clover Meadow won my heart at first glance. So when I read this, my heart broke for Alicia, Andy, and their sweet family.

Weaving in ends

2011-06-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

Haven't been doing a lot of crocheting lately due to big work projects, but I did recently finish a ripple for my very best friend in the world's baby.

I finished weaving in the ends the day of the baby shower. :)

Angry Birds, pig version

2011-03-14T15:15:00.000-07:00

I'm slowly working my way through The Itsy Bitsy Spider's Angry Birds patterns. I finished the Angry Cardinal recently, and finished the pig Sunday.

K seemed to like it. :)

Edited to add: Karla has said, "I wish I could offer the patterns for free, but I'm afraid I'd still be in violation," and I don't want to be any part of getting her in trouble, so I'm not going to share the copies I have. I'm sorry, and I wish I could, but I don't want to risk anyone coming after her.

Angry Birds

2011-02-14T13:20:00.000-08:00

Keith has an iPhone (I do not), and sometimes he'll let me play a game he has on it called Angry Birds. You launch birds--angry birds--and try to knock down structures protecting green pigs, who have stolen the birds' eggs. Imagine my delight when I saw this free! Angry Cardinal pattern over on Karla's blog, The Itsy Bitsy Spider. I couldn't download it fast enough, thinking I'd make it for Keith. I'm really pleased with the results. I'm giving it to him tonight for Valentine's Day. :)

But then Karla had to go and make patterns for an angry pig, angry goldfinch, and the bluebird of angryness. Looks like I'll be busy crocheting for quite a while! Thanks, Karla! Please go check out more of her yummy work in her Etsy shop.

Edited to add (if you don't read the comments below): Karla has said, "I wish I could offer the patterns for free, but I'm afraid I'd still be in violation," and I don't want to be any part of getting her in trouble, so I'm not going to share the copies I have. I'm sorry, and I wish I could, but I don't want to risk anyone coming after her.

Crochet a Yoda you will

2011-02-03T06:58:00.000-08:00

Keith asked me to crochet a Yoda to go with his Wookie. How could I say no to a request like that? (Not that I'd ever say no to him asking me to crochet something for him!)

So I found and showed him a few patterns, and he picked the fabulous Ms. Lucy Ravenscar's, who also wrote the pattern for his Wookie. I finished it yesterday for his birthday.

Edited to add: Yoda and Wookie seem to be getting along--on Keith's desk at work, where he keeps them ... and sometimes gets requests for me to crochet his coworkers things, too. Aw!

International Crochet Day

2010-09-12T08:27:00.000-07:00

Today is International Crochet Day!

To celebrate today, since I finished the ripple baby blanket I was working on yesterday (sitting around not feeling 100% gives you lots of time to crochet!), today I'm going to try to figure out how to make a rattle to go along with the blanket. I should have bought Mamachee's birdy rattle pattern when it was available.

While I'm excited at the thought of figuring it out myself, I wonder what I should use for the rattle. A plastic Easter egg inside the bird's body with beads inside it? Hmm. I wonder where I can find a single small plastic Easter egg in September .... Some Google searches will tell me what to use, I'm sure.

Anyway, happy International Crochet Day! How are you going to celebrate it?

Martha Stewart Pets

2010-09-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing I get out of the house every once in a while to hear about things like Martha Stewart Pets, Martha's new line of toys, beds, bowls, clothes, carriers, etc. for dogs for PetSmart. (Why not cats, Martha? Why?)

The crochet critter and foodie toys are pretty adorable.

Crocheting dog toys for Martha Stewart sounds like a pretty good gig.

(Thanks to Regina for telling me about these!)

New books!

2010-08-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

I found these on my desk this morning when I got to work.

Knitters, if you haven't checked out Becca Smith or BagSmith yet, go! Do it now! Crocheters, she's got something for you, too! And oh my goodness--I'm a huge fan of June Gilbank, creator of PlanetJune and author of the amigurumi book. I highly recommend both of these books. They're full of step-by-step instructions, photos and illustrations showing you how to move your needles/hook and yarn, easy-to-follow patterns, and so much more.

I could gush about both of these books for several more paragraphs, but I'll restrain myself. Go check them out!

Is that really necessary?

2010-08-27T12:49:00.000-07:00

I've never understood the competition aspect of crocheting versus knitting. I crochet; you knit. Let's find our common ground in the yummy yarns or the whole organic creative process or the lovely finished pieces we each create. Let's not look down our noses at the other or insult each other because we don't use the same pointy stick(s) to work with that yarn or create the pieces. That seems common sense to me.

This is a recent Facebook conversation. Blue, a knitter and crochet dabbler, was joking; she's a beautiful, intelligent, thoughtful, earthy and environmental person, who cares for lots of stuff, including, I'm pretty sure, the Barrier Reef. Pink was also joking. Green might not have been joking, but that's okay. I was joking. Orange, a knitter and a usually very lovely person, might have been joking, too, but it didn't come across that way to me today.

Of course I've been mulling this over since I saw it, and it made me remember a conversation in a yarn boutique in Chicago several years ago. As a remembrance of the trip, I wanted to buy some yarn to crochet my great-aunt a scarf for her birthday. Then I could tell her I bought it on the trip, share stories about my visit, etc.--make it a little more special for both of us. My sister-in-law and brother took me to a yarn shop, and I found a few balls of a very soft off-white wool blend. The saleswoman asked me what I was making and seemed interested in helping me until--and maybe this is just my imagination--somehow it came out that I was going to crochet the scarf, not knit it. "Oh. Well. That's okay, too." she said. Yes, I know it's okay. I don't have a problem with it. It's sad that you do, I thought but didn't say. She didn't seem as helpful after that.

Have any of you ever encountered anything like this? Or am I being overly sensitive?

You!

2010-08-13T16:53:00.001-07:00

When I started this blog, I didn't tell anyone about it, I didn't make it searchable in Google, and I kept it hidden for the most part. Not that I was ashamed or bashful about it; I just wanted to see if I had anything to say before I "went public" with it. Since I have, my dorky little blog has had nearly 5,000 hits, I get smile-inducing comments in my inbox all the time, and I have nearly 50 followers!

You all don't know how happy all that makes me--how happy you all make me! Thank you so much for stopping by, hanging out a little while, leaving a note, and following me. Y'all make a girl feel good!

Mini Weasley sweater

2010-08-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

My coworker Megan is a *big* Harry Potter fan. She's said before she wished she could knit so she could make her and her friends Weasley sweaters. When I saw this tutorial, which is so clever and easy to follow, I knew what I had to do.

Make her a mini Weasley sweater for her birthday! I put a pinback on it so she could pin it to her carry-all bag.

She seemed to like it. :)

"Land and Sky" blanket

2010-08-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

If you've been sticking with me a while here, you might remember the "Land and Sky" blanket I made for my very good friend Leah's nephew.

Thought you'd like to see it in use! I love this photo of Memphis. He's a very sweet baby. And so adorable!

Crochet scrubbing bubble

2010-07-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

Isn't this cute?

Doesn't make me any more enthusiastic about cleaning my bathrooms, but it is sort of adorable!

Wee equines

2010-07-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

I saw these cute little guys on a We Love Amigurumi and maybe squee'd a little bit.

Aren't they cute?

The pattern includes all three critters. I already know who I'm making the unicorn for.

Oooooooh! Ooooh!

2010-07-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

For over a year, I've been looking for a silver-y, circle-y shawl pin to wear with my grey shawl. The ones I found on Etsy were lovely but very pricey. Today I stumbled upon this.

Oooooooh! It's silver-y. It's circle-y. And it's mine. :)

Miscellaneous bits

2010-07-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

While looking at my cell phone’s photo album recently, I found a bunch of shots of crochety things, usually with Maggie in them, inspecting my work. So here’s a collection of slightly out-of-focus shots of some of my past and current hooky work:

The first bootie for my cousin’s adorable baby.

Maggie doing quality control on the “land and sky” blanket.

Maggie supervising my work with the snowflakes. (I love when she drops her head straight down like that!)

Maggie checking out the cuddliness of Katie’s afghan (link to the afghan I made for her sister). It seemed to pass her stringent approval process.

Maggie testing out my work on a granny afghan I made for one of Grandma Wagner’s friends.

Mega doily rug

2010-06-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

Whoa.

That's one large doily! She used rope. Can you imagine what size hook she used? (I suspect she used her hands rather than a large, unwieldy hook.) I don't know where I'd put it, but I so want to make one of these!

If you're not up to making your own, you can purchase one from Ladies & Gentlemen's Etsy shop.

What do you crochet for a chemist?

2010-06-13T17:52:00.000-07:00

One of these, perhaps?

My boyfriend's sister is a chemistry major (and an education double major! smart girl!), and for her birthday (in, ahem, March), I wanted to hook her something. When I saw this, I thought it a perfect fit.

Months later, and two start-overs, it's finished. I redid the white part after these photos were taken because I didn't like how it flared out. (I left out the incs on the do-over.) I hope she likes it!

Crochet mysteries

2010-06-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

Betty Hechtman has a new crochet mystery!

I'm ordering this on Monday!

Lovely. Just lovely.

2010-05-09T11:57:00.000-07:00

Countless times I've swooned over Sosorosey's posts. I'm amazed by what she can do with a crochet hook and a sheet or piece of fabric. Check out her upcycled pieces in her Etsy shop. This I'm especially drooling over (and wondering if some of my cousins and aunts would like bowls like this made from Grandma Wagner's sheets ...):

But today I'm loving this:

After seeing and receiving so many "eh" wedding favors, I think this is such an awesome idea. The crochet heart is one thing, but pairing it with the beads and the quote makes it so thoughtful and lovely.

Grandma and grannies

2010-05-01T06:48:00.000-07:00

I've probably mentioned that the granny square was one of the first things Grandma Wagner taught me to crochet. It's been my staple for years, something I always go back to. Maybe because Grandma taught it to me, it's a soothing thing for me to hook. The crochet version of comfort food. I thought I'd done the granny in just about every way I could, but I never thought of this.

Isn't this lovely? Picture it in black or dark grey thread. And I lovelovelove the vintage button idea. Makes me want to look through Grandma Wagner's buttons to see if I could find one to sew on this bracelet. Right now, I need that little piece of her with me.

Thank you to Michelle of craftydill for the idea.

Leona Carrie Lustig Wagner

2010-04-12T05:38:00.001-07:00

My dear Grandma Wagner passed away this morning.

She taught me to crochet, among so very many other things, so none of this would be here without her.

Happy (early) Pi Day!

2010-03-13T10:47:00.001-08:00

Happy (early) Pi Day! (March 14, or 3/14, or 3.14159265 ...)

I made this little guy last year with this pattern. (Alicia Kachmar has some of the cutest patterns! Check out her blog and her Etsy shop.) I love how his left "leg" curls up!

Tie-backs

2010-02-27T11:06:00.000-08:00

Aren't these lovely? I think they're the perfect thing for my guest bedroom curtains. And the pattern is free, thanks to the equally lovely Sandra Paul! Find it here! Thank you Sandra!

Hooking for Grandma

2010-02-24T08:42:00.000-08:00

Another ripple!

This is my third--and largest--ripple to date. I'm so glad I found Lucy's pattern. I don't know when I've enjoyed working with a single pattern so much before. The granny square Grandma Wagner taught me when I was young is the only thing that halfway compares. Grandma Wagner made lots of ripples in her crocheting career, so I hope she's pleased with how this one turned out.

Last year, my cousin's youngest daughter, Katie, got married, and Grandma asked if I'd crochet an afghan for her to give Katie and Daniel as a wedding present. Yeah, I will! I did that one in hdc blues, Katie's favorite color. This summer, her sister, Jennifer, is getting married, so I'm hooking for Grandma again. (I sort of want to put that on a T-shirt!) Jennifer's favorite color is, you guessed it!, purple, so that's what I used.

I hope everyone involved likes it!

Crochet paper chain

2010-01-31T12:46:00.000-08:00

I'm usually pretty monochromatic. You'll find me most often wearing black, grey, and white. Sometimes pink or red. That's about it. But sometimes, a rainbow of colors jumps out at me and makes me smile.

That's exactly what this did. Isn't this so lift-your-heart pretty? I'm sitting here, trying to think of who I could make one of these for--or where I could hang it in my house if I kept it for myself! This is definitely an image I'm going to keep in my mind to help hurry up spring.

Edited to add: Steph has posted a pattern for her crochet paper chain! Check it out here. Yay!!

Keep calm and carry yarn

2010-01-28T20:31:00.000-08:00

I've seen the Keep Calm and Carry On prints and several variations on the theme (Keep Calm and Rock On comes to mind), but this one is the first one that I seriously considered buying. I can't wait until JennieGee adds more prints to her Etsy shop!

The perfect pear, er, pair

2010-01-12T17:04:00.000-08:00

If you haven't checked out Rose Langlitz's Tasty Crochet, what are you waiting for? There are so many adorable foodie patterns in this book, I absolutely love it.

It was the pears that got me, though.

Some friends recently got hitched. She's an artist, graphic designer, crafty maven, etc., and if anyone would appreciate crochet pears, I thought she would. (Her husband would like the cash in the card.) So off to my LYS to look for pear-colored yarn. I chose a soft green wool. It's my first foray with this fiber, and it's stretchier than I thought. And it's forgiving. I stuffed one pear too full and the stitches were stretched out a bit, and all I had to do was pull out some stuffing through a stretched-out stitch, massage it a little, and it was back in shape. I could get used to that!

Maggie needed to check out the photo shoot (with a crumb of food in her whisker!).

Wait, is that a bird outside?

Nyah. Now, back to these ... things ....

The crafty bride seemed to like them, by the way.

New year's resolutions

2010-01-04T08:06:00.000-08:00

It's a few days in to the new year, and I'm finally able to sit down and relax for a bit after several months of being busier than I ever remember being in my nearly 15-year professional career. Add to that the outside projects that didn't let up while I was busy with work, the holidays, and the gatherings, and I'm ready for a break!

Like so many others around this time of year, I've been reflecting on 2009 and planning how I'll do 2010 differently. I don't normally do resolutions, but this year, I have made a list of a few. In addition to learning to play the mountain dulcimer my great-uncle made me, 2010 has "Crochet a pair of socks" and "Comment on crafty blogs more; foster those online relationships" on the to-do list.

I have a couple of crochet sock instruction books, and I've drooled over sock yarn more than once, but that's as far as I've gone. Intimidation has stopped me there. Not this year! I'm going to do it. I am going to crochet a pair of socks. And I'm going to keep them for myself! I love giving away the majority of my hooky projects I make, but the socks are all mine.

The socks might be a challenge, but the second resolution will be easy. I do so very much love when people comment on my blog posts, few and far between as my posts are. I get such a thrill that someone not only found my ramblings, but took the time to read something and then leave me a note. That simple little gesture puts a smile on my face many times over. I'm sure not everyone has the same reaction, especially if they've been blogging a while, but you never know what a kind word will do for someone. So expect to see more comments from me on others' crafty and crochety blogs. Hopefully I can bring a smile or two to someone else's face like some of you have brought to mine.

Happy new year! I'll post sock pics as soon as I get started. :)

A bed for Daisy

2009-12-05T08:02:00.000-08:00

Daisy is my folks’ girl cat. She just appeared on their deck one summer afternoon a few years ago and never left. Dad grumbled, of course. “We don’t need a cat around here.” But softie that he is, despite the sometimes-gruff exterior, he let her stay--and good thing, because she soon had kittens! So now Mom and Dad have two cats (Buddy is Daisy’s only surviving kitten). Two mostly indoors cats now! There was grumbling about that at first, too, but guess who now gets up in the middle of the night to let the cats in and out?

Daisy is a sweet, gentle, quiet cat whose favorite things are sleeping and being petted. She usually sleeps somewhere out of the way, mostly on the floor. Mom wondered recently if Daisy would sleep in a bed, something more comfortable than the floor. “I could crochet something for her if you wanted.” “Sure!” So off to Hobby Lobby we went to pick out yarn.

I had a vague idea of what I wanted Daisy’s bed to look like, but I couldn’t find any pattern that matched my idea, so I made my own. I started with a large dc circle for the bottom, stitched hdc “walls” for the rollover cuff, and made another, slightly larger dc circle for the top. I attached 8 or so single-ply tassels around the top of the wall/cuff and also around the edges of the top circle. These I would later feed down through the bottom and tie together so it could all be taken apart and washed easily.

To assemble, I rolled a long strip of fiberfill into a doughnut shape, placed that inside the bed, rolled the wall/cuff down over the fiberfill doughnut, and fed the tassels through the bottom. Then I stuffed the bed part with the rest of the fiberfill, set the top circle on top, and again feed the tassels through the bottom. I tied the wall/cuff tassels to the top circle tassels so it would all stay together.

Daisy wasn’t sure it was hers at first, but after a few hours of picking her up and putting her in it, giving her treats in it, and brushing her in it, she got the idea.

Aww.

Big dreams

2009-11-29T17:49:00.000-08:00

I made this little acorn for my very good friend Leah.

I love the look of single crochets in cotton yarn. They're so pretty!

Ewok

2009-11-29T17:47:00.001-08:00

I made my brother an Ewok for Christmas last year after he'd found a pattern online. I didn't do it very well, but he seemed to like it, and his friend Scott did, too.

And since then, Scott has seemed to have a one-track mind: Ewok, Ewok, Ewok.

So I finally made him one, this time doing it correctly. This one turned out much better, right down to its Ewok butt (which, unfortunately, lost some of its definition when I stuffed it).

He liked it.

Another ripple

2009-11-29T17:31:00.000-08:00

Ripple, ripple, ripple. I've officially caught the bug. I recently finished my second ripple for a friend's upcoming nephew (very soon now!).

My cousin called it "Land and Sky." I like that.

How cozy!

2009-09-24T16:02:00.001-07:00

I found a pattern for a cup cozy somewhere, sometime (I forgot to note the source) and finally got around to making it using some of the leftover cotton from my first ripple afghan. I'm pleased how it turned out, right down to the row of hdc near the top.

Edited to add: Here's the pattern. I found it again.

Oh! Oh! Oh!

2009-09-23T17:03:00.000-07:00

Isn’t this gorgeous?!

I lovelovelove it, and I can’t wait to get my November/December Crochet Today! so I can drool all over the pattern pages. It’s got an “experienced” skill level, but I’m ignoring that and the fact that it will be my first try at an experienced pattern. I’m going to make it in a comfy little-bit-larger size. I’m thinking either soft black or heather grey.

Oh, I can’t wait!

New beginnings

2009-09-12T07:02:00.000-07:00

Today is International Crochet Day! To celebrate, I’m going to spend most of the day crocheting a new ripple baby blanket I started last night.

There’s something so Christmas-morning-like starting a new project. Deciding on the pattern and color layout. Getting the yarn. Eyeing the patiently waiting yarn while getting other chores out of the way and then finally sitting down with all that yarny goodness and getting it on a hook. Those first few stitches and then seeing the pattern take shape. It’s very exciting and satisfying for me.

It's not a crochet project ...

2009-09-12T06:58:00.001-07:00

... until there’s a cat butt on it. (Cat butt courtesy of Maggie.)

Ripple baby blanket

2009-07-23T16:18:00.000-07:00

I finished the ripple baby blanket for my cousin!

I so enjoyed this whole project, from finding a ripple pattern I could actually figure out—you have to check out Lucy’s pattern; I’ve tried others and given up on them (“There must be a mistake in this pattern!”), but Lucy’s pattern and photos were so clear and the results are just what I was looking for; to shopping for the yarn—I wanted organic cotton but all I could find was hand wash only, and I didn’t want my cousin cussing me every time she hand washed it with a newborn possibly crying in the background; to deciding on the colors—I made a collage of the registry items, saved the file on my phone, and went to my LYS; to actually crocheting it—much of which was done with cat eyes trained very intently on the yarn.

This was the first time I’d worked with cotton yarn, not acrylic—I’ve so been missing out! I carried all those happy-color Lily Sugar ’n Cream balls in a big Longaberger basket and loved rooting through them all to find the next color. I wanted the color stripes to be random, never repeating in the same order, but about halfway through, I realized I couldn’t really do that (okay, the math of it was hurting my thinking thingy) so I started over with the first color. So they repeat, but it’s a planned random repeat. Or something like that.

Tracy seemed to like the blanket, and others “Oooh!”ed and “Aaaah!”ed over it as she held it up. I got several compliments on the colors and a few “Did you make that?!”s and even a couple “You could make me one if you wanted ....” Those kind of comments always make me feel so good!

This was one project I really enjoyed working on, to repeat myself. As much as I love Tracy and wanted to make it for her and her upcoming kiddo, I admit I was a little sad to give it away and leave the baby shower without it. I did give it one last, fleeting glance, sitting there on the gift table, as I walked through the door.

I hope Tracy and her baby love it as much as I do!

Taunting

2009-06-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

I’ve had a time- and brain-power-consuming project at work lately that has taken me twice the time it should have and so I’ve not wanted to spend my time working on it. So in an attempt to motivate myself to finish it, I told myself I couldn’t do anything fun, namely start the ripple baby afghan I’ve been mentally drooling over, until I finished the project.

The yarn has been sitting in my living room, taunting me, wanting me to work with it.

Maggie wants me to work with it, too, so she can play with it.

Join-as-you-go granny squares

2009-06-06T07:25:00.001-07:00

Grannies are one of the first things I remember crocheting, and I come back to them often. But sewing them together is not something I look forward to. (I have more than one basket of granny squares done and just waiting to be sewn together.) I’d heard about join-as-you-go granny squares, but it wasn’t until I watched this tutorial slide show that I understood how it worked. Looks pretty easy--and much faster than whip-stitching all those blocks together! The seam isn’t 100% solid, but it definitely looks easier!

Crochet hooks

2009-06-04T18:58:00.000-07:00

My hook case contains only one brand of crochet hooks: Boye. Most of them are aluminum, save one little steel one I use to make snowflakes.

I had believed my loyalty to Boye came about because it was the brand Grandma Wagner, my paternal grandmother who taught me to crochet, used. But while looking through her hooks recently, I found mostly Susan Bates hooks. I know tons of people love Susan Bates hooks, and I have nothing at all against them. But for the way I crochet, they just don’t work well for me; I can't get comfortable with them. I think it’s because of the space between the underside of the hook and the neck. Boye hooks seem roomier there. More room means more space to catch the yarn, which means I can crochet faster.

So I’m not sure where I picked up my first Boye, a turquoise size H if I remember correctly, but it was the first of many Boye hooks—aluminum, steel, and plastic—that now live klinkily together in my hook case.

Do you have a favorite brand of crochet hooks?

Random stripes

2009-06-04T17:50:00.001-07:00

I like order, organization, everything in its place. That applies to crochet, too. I write down color combinations when I’ve decided on them; take notes on hook sizes, yarn colors and item numbers; etc.

But for the stripped ripple baby blanket I’m making for my cousin’s baby (see Lucy’s awesome pattern), I’m thinking random stripes would be nice (especially considering my cousin is an artist and I’d worry that my stripes weren’t artsy enough—yes, I worry about silly things). So my next thought was Okay, now let’s come up with a good random pattern.

Wait. Random pattern? Doesn’t that go against the whole point? Yes. Yes it does. So that’s where the random stripe generator (RSG) comes in. I’ve read about RSGs, but I’ve never tried one. Until today. Hoo boy, I like it.

I’m using Biscuit and Jam’s. I think this is my favorite so far:

And here are the yarns I’m using—not pictured: hot orange:

Based on my cousin’s baby registry item colors:

I’ve never used Lily Sugar’n Cream cotton before, but I wanted cotton for this blanket. Actually, I wanted organic cotton, but shoot! that stuff’s expensive, and it’s mostly hand-wash from what I could find—not ideal for a baby blanket that will probably be washed weekly, if not more frequently.

Field of (crochet) flowers

2009-05-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

I’m currently drooling over this ...

... which I spotted here. How pretty is that? Yes, it would be difficult to walk on it (I can already see traffic patterns detouring around it and cats being encouraged not to sleep on it), but I really like the idea of it. Maybe it would be better hanging on a wall or made into a tote bag instead.

If you haven’t checked out Sarah London’s blog, please do so. (She even posted a quick tutorial of her version of the flowers used in the field here.) Her crochet posts alone are worth it, but so much more loveliness can be found there. Like this for example!

Corny

2008-10-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

I found this candy corn pattern, made it, and didn’t like how the instructions said to finish it. So I improvised and finished it another way, my way. (I am the Rogue Crocheter, after all.) It was more round than I thought it should be, so I didn’t do much more with it. Then Mom suggested I stand it on end, and that worked for me. Now I like it.

I tried to get Maggie to pose with it, but she would have nothing to do with it.

“What candy corn? I see nothing. Was that a bird outside? The squirrel? I think I should go investigate. ...”

Prayer shawl

2008-10-22T16:53:00.000-07:00

I’m working on a prayer shawl. This is my first.

My aunt has been a member of her church’s group for several years, and I’ve often considered contributing to her group, so I was excited when I heard our church was starting a group. The meetings are held Tuesday afternoons when I can’t attend, so I’m a long-distance member. I received information about my first recipient on Saturday along with the prayer concerns leading to the need for a prayer shawl. As I crochet, I pray for the person who will receive the shawl. I think the finished shawls will be prayed over at church before they’re delivered.

I knew of the Prayer Shawl Ministry book, but I haven’t read it or checked out the Prayer Shawl Ministries website. After reading through the packet of information I received from the group organizer, and poking around on the Prayer Shawl Ministries site, I realized that I didn’t know very much about prayer shawls, their construction, or some of the ideas behind them. I thought you just made a shawl while you prayed for the recipient, said a prayer over the finished shawl, and sent it on its way. But I didn’t know about the idea of using three stitches to represent the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Ghost) or that different yarn colors mean different things:

Blue is stability, trust, loyalty, faith, truth, tranquility.
Brown is stability, masculinity.
Gold is illumination, wisdom.
Green is healing, harmony, safety, hope, protection, peace.
Orange is happiness, success, encouragement, endurance.
Pink is joy, friendship, femininity.
Purple is wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery.
Red is energy, strength, power, determination, love, courage.
White is goodness, purity, innocence, faith, safety, light.
Yellow is cheerfulness, energy, joy, confidence.

(This info was in the packet I received; it might be from the Prayer Shawl Ministries website, but I’m not sure.)

My first shawl is a celery green (Red Heart Frosty Green), and it’s basically a granny square cut on the diagonal. The sets of three double crochets represent the Trinity, and the green stands for healing, harmony, safety, hope, protection, and peace. I hope it brings all those things to the recipient.

Snow ... snow ... snow ... snow ...!

2008-10-17T10:33:00.000-07:00

Bing Crosby and White Christmas are a few of my favorite things around Christmas, especially the “Snow” song Bing, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye, and Vera Ellen’s character (it was actually Trudy Stevens who sang most of Vera’s parts) sing in the dining car on the train to Vermont. “Snow ... it won’t be long before we’ll all be there with snow ... snow ... snow ....” I sing along every time I watch (much to the dismay of anyone watching with me, I’m sure) and also with the first snow of the season.

So imagine my glee when I saw the Let It Snow Doilies in the November/December issue of Crochet Today! magazine—and saw that they were labeled “Easy”! I can do easy! The first few were tricky, especially holding the tiny crochet thread (compared to 4-ply Red Heart yarn), getting the tension correct, and following the details of the pattern. But I did it!

And then I did it several more times.

I’m in the process of starching the 9 I have finished. Boy, that’s been an adventure. Spray, iron, cuss, wash, spray again, iron again, cuss again (but less this time). But I think I’ve it figured out. They’re not super stiff, but I think they’re close enough to be Christmas tree ornaments. Can’t wait to give them to the recipients!

All boxed up and ready to go

2008-10-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

The red scarves are finished, labeled, boxed, and nearly on the way to the post office, and with 2 weeks to spare!

I made labels with simple clip art and a note that says “Here’s hoping this hand-crocheted scarf keeps you warm and helps you remember someone is thinking of you!” I made a “hand-knitted” version for Aunt Susie’s knitted scarves. I hope she won’t mind.

I almost didn’t put the 5-chain mesh scarf in the box—I wanted to keep it for myself! But I have more yarn, and I can make one for myself later. I hope whoever gets it loves it as much as I do—and I hope it goes to a girl, not a boy!

Now I have a few more pumpkins to make to send to my people (I learned I was decreasing stitches wrong, learned the correct way, and am back on track) and then I can get back to other projects.

I love crocheting. If I could get paid to spend my days reading and crocheting, I’d be a happy girl.

Red scarves

2008-09-29T14:58:00.000-07:00

Realizing the submission deadline is fast approaching (October 31), I’ve been working on scarves for Red Scarf Project. One’s a simple half double crochet in Red Heart’s Cherry Red.

The other is the five-chain mesh stitch I like so much, also in Cherry Red. This one might not make it into the box to the Orphan Foundation ....

I made them longer and skinnier than the Orphan Foundation specs called for. Initially it was on accident. Oops. But after talking to some people, I feel okay with longer and skinner scarves. More people, especially younger people, would like longer and skinnier scarves than shorter and fatter ones.

I’m working on a third and final scarf using some red slightly furry yarn my aunt gave me. (I think it was left over from one of the scarves she made; she knitted 3 or maybe 4 scarves.) I intended to make it half double crochet like the first one, but after working on all the amigurumi pumpkins, which were single crochet, my brain and fingers decided that’s what this scarf would be, too.

Punkins!

2008-09-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

Last week I made 18 amigurumi pumpkins! Thanks to PlanetJune’s magic ring tutorial (which was so clear and helpful!) and a little trial and error, I think they turned out really well.

I didn’t have any fiberfill stuffing so I used plastic grocery bags. I recycled 2 bags per pumpkin, which meant I saved 36 bags from the trash. I used the brown bags so they wouldn’t show through the orange yarn as much. I had to use one white bag in one of the last pumpkins because I was out of brown ones, and it did show through in a few spots on the bottom. That one will have to be a cat toy (even if I didn’t put any catnip in it). I put a few whole cloves near the top of the pumpkin so they’d have a little scent. (I looked for pumpkin-scented potpourri in a couple stores but couldn’t find any.)

I was pleasantly surprised how quickly they come together. I could crochet 3 or 4 pumpkins in an evening. All 18 came from 1 skein of Red Heart Carrot yarn. I still have some yarn left and could probably get at least 2 more pumpkins from the skein.

Maggie seems to like them, too, even if they were catnip free.

Finished baby blanket

2008-09-16T16:14:00.001-07:00

I’ve written before about the never-ending baby blanket I started a few years ago (okay, it hasn’t been that long, although sometimes it seems like it) for my cousin’s baby. I’m happy to report that as of last Saturday morning, it’s done! It’s done, it’s done, it’s done! And it doesn’t look too bad.

We’ll see how all those little ends I wove in stand up to washing and drying. The baby yarn I used is so soft and, therefore, so slippery, and I’m dreading that all those little ends will work their way back out.

But for now, I’m happy it’s done. I hope my cousin and her daughter like it!

Good day

2008-09-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

Happy International Crochet Day! So far I've celebrated by buying orange yarn for to make amigurumi pumpkins/cat toys and more red yarn for Project Red Scarf.

Then I found the crochet pattern I'm going to use to crochet a shopping bag with all the recycled Target-bag plarn (plastic bag yarn) my family and I have been saving. As if that wasn't enough to make me happy dance around my cube (yes, I was doing this at work--hey, it was Friday), on her blog today the designer offered a 30% off coupon.

And--yes, another and--with my order, I got another 25% off coupon good until 2010.

Good day. Very good day.

This many!

2008-09-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

Remember when “this many” was an acceptable answer?

“How old are you?”

“I’m this many!” usually accompanied by any number of tiny little fingers held up, probably on one hand.

That was a while ago, for me, but the “this many!” thought came in my head this afternoon when I noticed how many more circles I have to sew on the never-ending baby blanket. Only this many:

Only eight more! It’s been a lot of sewing, but I think the blanket is turning out to be pretty. I am concerned that the ends will all pop out, especially if it’s washed a lot, as baby items often are. I’ll wash it when I’m finished and see how the pop-outs are then. If they’re bad, I’ll have to decide whether to send it to my cousin or send her a baby-themed Target gift card instead and give Maggie her very own dots cat blanket.

Magic rings

2008-09-11T09:47:00.000-07:00

The instructions for the amigurumi pumpkins I mentioned earlier call for a magic ring to start. I know of the magic ring, but like so many other things I do, I usually go with my rogue way instead. (My T-shirt says “I am the Rogue Crocheter.”)

Well, maybe it’s time I learn the mystery of the magic ring. While looking for online tutorials, I found a couple. First up is PlanetJune’s. I read June’s blog and enjoy her work, so I trust her instructions. Crochet Me also has one. I’ve read several crochet blogs about the magic ring and how it’s all they use now. I guess if they can do it, I can, too, so I’m going to give it a shot. Wish me luck!

Crochet mysteries

2008-09-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

This summer I read, among a few other books, Betty Hechtman’s Hooked on Murder. It’s a crochet mystery! Sure, I know of several knitting- or quilting-themed novels and even series, but the number of crochet-related novels is lacking, in my book-reading, crochet-loving opinion. So I was excited when Penguin’s Berkley imprint published Hooked on Murder--and even more so when I read the “first in a new series” blurb!

It was a fun read, and a few of my crochet-y friends and family read it, too.

Yesterday, while looking around on Penguin’s website, I noticed Hechtman is writing another book for the series!

Dead Men Don’t Crochet pubs December 2, 2008--just in time for Christmas! It’s already on my wish list. I’ve been good.

Thinking about fall

2008-09-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

When September rolls around, I start to get excited. After all, we're that much closer to October, and October means my birthday! And then Thanksgiving is right around the corner, followed too soon by Christmas. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Fall.

Fall means pumpkins, scarecrows, changing leaf colors, the nearing of Thanksgiving. Mom likes fall, and I'm growing more and more fond of it, too. It's hard not to be awed by the glow of the late-afternoon September sun hitting a tree of brilliant yellow leaves. And more than once I've thought Good work there, God when I see the range of leaf colors popping in a woods or stand of trees. And I can't help but smile when I see a lot full of pumpkins around this time of year. My paternal grandfather grew pumpkins for several years. I can still see the barnyard full of all-size and -shape pumpkins and remember hunting for just the right ones to bring home and carve for jack-o-lanterns. And I probably won't ever forget the photo of Dad and me (maybe Brother was there, too) carving pumpkins on the back patio--and it's for other reasons than Dad's perm!

What's this all have to do with crochet? This:

Aren't these cute? Inspired by Pepperberry Crochet's recent post, that, alas, did not include a pattern, I set out on my own search for a pattern. I originally found this pattern but looks like it originally came from here. (Thank goodness for so many crafty people online!)

I can't wait to try these. I can already see a basket of them sitting on Mom and Dad's coffee table.

(Would it be a wee bit evil to fill one or two with catnip--without telling Mom and Dad--and see how long it takes Daisy and Buddy, Mom and Dad's cats, to find them? They look like they'd be just the right size and shape to be cat toys.)

Grey shawl

2008-09-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to photographing the grey shawl I mentioned earlier. (It’s the one I made to wear at work to ward off some of the AC.) I’m very pleased how it turned out. I love the color, and because it’s baby yarn, it’s super soft.

And I really like the 5-chain mesh. It’s almost girly, but not too much. Can’t have too much girly!

The never-ending baby blanket

2008-09-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

My youngest cousin recently had a sweet baby girl, so I thought I'd crochet her a baby blanket. Easy enough, right? That decision was made in early June or even late May. It's now early September, and this blanket still isn't finished. I like to get things started and progressed and finished as quickly and efficiently as possible ... lest I become antagonistic toward the WIP and consciously do not work on it. That's what's happened with this baby blanket.

It started okay. I knew what colors and what yarn I wanted to use. I found a pattern I thought I liked, but when I started working with it, I decided I wasn't happy with it. Okay, so now what? I perused tons of stitches and baby blanket designs and couldn't find just the right combination. I finally decided to wing it and make up my own pattern.

I'd recently played with crochet in the round with some simple round coasters and thought I could expand those and use all the colors, filling in with smaller circles in between the larger circles (not all the little circles are pictured below--they were still in progress!). Dots! How cute!

Eventually it will be a good little blanket. Too bad she'll be driving and dating and applying to colleges before I get it finished!

Go ahead, Maggie, someone might as well get some use out of it.

International Crochet Day

2008-09-02T18:54:00.000-07:00

While reading the CLF (Crochet Liberation Front) blog, I discovered that International Crochet Day is coming up on September 12! And I didn't have it on my calendar. Tsk, tsk. Anyway, here's the info.

It's a Friday. Maybe I'll crochet at lunch. Maybe I'll teach someone to crochet. What are you going to do?

Crochet scarf projects

2008-08-18T19:45:00.000-07:00

On my crochet hook right now, I've got 1 WIP (work in progress), 1 OD (on deck), and probably 6 IIP (ideas in progress). But those are mostly larger or more complicated projects that take time to finish. They're not like scarves, which are pretty quick and easy to do in a few evenings (depending on the stitch--and the week!). And sometimes it just feels good to do a fast project so I can have a FO (finished object)! So when I saw these charity-related scarf projects, I bumped them to the top of my OD list:

Coats and Clark, maker of Red Heart yarn, is sponsoring a project to give athletes and others involved with the Special Olympics blue and white scarves for the 2009 event. Read more here.

Project Red Scarf sends red scarves to college students coming out of the foster system. These kids often don't have family to send them Valentine's Day cards or care packages, so the Orphan Foundation of America does. Although the website says knitted scarves, crochet ones are accepted, too. Read more here.

Quick projects that can make you and someone else feel good.

Finished shawl

2008-08-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I finished a shawl I'd been working on for myself. I found a photo of a 5-chain mesh and loved it, even in the pink-and-orange yarn it was shown in. I picked a soft, charcoal grey-colored baby yarn, used 3 1/2 skeins (at 40% off each, thanks to Hobby Lobby's weekly coupons!), and just kind of experimented with it. I'd finished the mesh months ago but couldn't decide what to do to finish it. I put a few rows of half-double crochet along the top edge to define it, and I think I like it.

I thought about somehow putting beads along the bottom edge to finish that off, but I can't picture in my head how that would work, so until I do, it remains beadless. I'm taking it to work tomorrow to take the chill off in the super-AC'd office building I work in. Will post a photo soon.

Currently ...

2008-07-26T05:22:00.001-07:00

Watching Caddyshack. (It's not as funny as I remember it being.)

Talking to Maggie, who is sitting on the coffee table next to me.

Drinking raspberry ice tea.

Watching the birds outside at the feeders.

Mentally making a flower wish list (tall daisies, prairie phlox, russian sage, brown-eyed susans, lavender, cone flowers, lilac bush, snowball bush, ...).

Thinking I should be crocheting instead of all that.