1/13/13: More Knitterly Plans + Videos

The 2012-2013 winter shall go down in history as the "Winter of Knitting" for that is exactly what I've been doing since the temperature dropped. I've been knitting up a storm since the beginning of December and it doesn't look like it will stop anytime soon.

Finished objects (FO's) so far this season have been the Crenellated Hat for my nephew, the St. Germain Hat for my neice, and this crocheted amigurumi doll for my brother. The knitting that is still in the works are the Sweet Pea Coat for myself, Holi Mitts for myself (started last spring!), the crocheted afghan that uses the African Flower motif (started in May last year), and finally, a design I've been coming up myself. I also have yarn all set for two other projects: the Coesite Hat and these socks.

Whew! I knew there was a lot going on but after writing all of this down I'm thinking I must be crazy. Yeah, really crazy. I'm OK with it, though. This is how I craft and I typically get things to the finish line, especially when the yarn is working well with the pattern. And everything is so far so good!

Crocheting has been particularly enticing as of late. Catherine has been taking "crocheting classes" from yours truly and she's kind of smitten with this whole crochet thing. It is so exciting! It is wonderful to have someone to crochet along with, I tell you, but I am worried about her. Crochet can be one addictive pastime! :)

My Crochet Today magazine came in the mail a couple weeks ago and Kristen Omdahl's Ruby Sweater was featured. It is one striking sweater and Catherine is going to take it on! So we both got onto Knitpicks.com to order Brava Sport for the Ruby Sweater, more yarn for my Sweet Pea Coat, and a few different yarns for a scarf she can practice on. Would you want to see it all? We put together a yarn haul video all about this knitpicks order.

See the Yarn Haul Video - Part 1, here.

[ yarn that will be made into the Ruby Sweater ]

Speaking of yarn, I went to the New Ewe yarn shop on my birthday again this year. I bought yarn for the socks I mentioned before and I bought yarn for Catherine so she can make a scarf for me and a cowl for Bernadette. Catherine blogged all about her upcoming projects here.

We also made a yarn haul video about the yarn shop visit.

See the Yarn Haul Video - Part 2, here.

[ yarn I bought at the shop ]

I really want to talk about the Sweet Pea Coat I am working on so I will be posting about that later this week. I'm also going to reopen the wild world of jean making this week so wish me luck with that! And last but not least, a royal blue A-Line might see its beginning stages soon. It's going to be one crafty January!

So have you finished any knitting project as of late? I would love to hear all about it!

2/3/11: Crochet Today in Review

Putting together my 2010 in Review post was a lot of fun so after receiving the latest issue of Crochet Today in the mail yesterday, I thought of another list. This time it will be the top ten designs from Crochet Today magazine, in my humble opinion. I own almost every issue (I'm missing only two!), so I will visit Ravelry.com to see the designs I don't own. And I will also write down the reasons why I chose them for my top ten list. So let's start with number ten. . .

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8/23/10: My New Crocheted Baby Jacket and Giveaway Project Update

Mini Jean Jacket designed by Cal Patch

Don't you worry, I am still planning on sharing with you the process of making the giveaway prize. I will be showing you the supplies, sources, and techniques I use to make rosaries and I may even show you a quick tutorial on how to make a small rosary bag for storing a rosary in a purse. Very handy! I just need to find some free time with a camera; not something that's always easy for me. :D

In the meantime, I wanted to show you my latest creation. I just finished crocheting a baby cardigan using the Mini Jean Jacket pattern designed by Cal Patch. It was featured in the Sept/Oct 2007 issue of Crochet Today. I am selling this piece in the Arts and Crafts room at Magicland Farms now. Read more »

7/28/10 : Sweater Musings

The September/October 2010 issue of Crochet Today is out now (yay!) and I have spent the last two evenings reading it from cover-to-cover. There were a lot of patterns I liked right away--not something that happens often for me! I typically need to go back to the issue after a month to really appreciate the designs, but Robyn Chachula and Mari Lynn Patrick's sweaters really caught my eye.
Read more »

7/3/10: I Have Reached the Finish Line

Let me just get straight to the point: I am finished with my Sunny Spread afghan!

Yes, it has been months since I started it and now I have weaved in every last loose end, all 150 of them.
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6/26/10: Crochet Still Works

Do you remember that Sunny Spread afghan I posted about? You might have thought it fell off the face of the earth or was unmercifully ripped apart again and again.
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5/8/10: Crochet Works

On the 17th of April I began working on an afghan that I will sell (perhaps via Artfire.com), and I am finished with 46 of the 64 squares. The pattern, Sunny Spread, was designed by Read more »

4/12/10: Crocheted Earrings

I just recently finished crocheting a pair of earrings for my sister. I used the Lacy Leaf Earrings pattern from the May/June 2008 issue of Crochet Today--one of my favorite issues by the way! :D I used size 30 Knit-Cro-Sheen cotton crochet thread and a size 13/14 steel crochet hook.

So on to some Q and A:

How was the crocheting process? It took about a month for me to make these but that is solely due to the fact that I put this project behind other projects. However, they did take much longer than I expected. This is probably so because I was having trouble working the adjustable ring (first time for me to use this technique), and stuffing the berries with 12” of crochet thread.

Did I alter the pattern in any way? No, I followed it exactly. Size 30 thread. Check. Size 14 steel crochet hook. Check.

Would I do anything different next time? Yes. Since I had an incredibly hard time filling each berry with the called for 12” strand of crochet thread, I decided to find an easier method. I tried using a small bead and such but nothing worked. Nevertheless, I did eventually come up with a little trick. In the pattern where it says to decrease 6 sc (right before the berry stuffing), decrease only 3 sc; this allows a larger opening on top. It did the trick, they were 10x easier to stuff. Too bad I discovered this trick on my last berry!

For those who are on Ravelry, you can see this pattern's project page by clicking here.

Stitch Switch

I subscribe to Crochet Today magazine and even though I read each issue cover-to-cover the first day I receive it, I like to reread my issues again and again. Just to satisfy my eye candy cravings and to gain some inspiration. This habit of mine came in handy when I set out to crochet a placemat for my brother. I knew I wanted to do something really different and try out a difficult crochet stitch pattern for this placemat--just to keep things interesting. I quickly remembered a cable pattern from the Jan/Feb 2009 issue of CT and went with it. I never did cables in crochet before so I delved into the unknown. . .

I took the stitch pattern from the Layering Cardi pattern:

And made it into a placemat:

Psst! Want to try out the yummy empanada that's being served on my placemat? Read about my empanada kitchen episode on my cooking blog, Sabbath Supper.

Here are some pattern notes:

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Coffee, about 6 ounces
Hook: Size F.
Stitch Patterns: Cable and Puff and Diagonal Pattern found in the Jan/Feb 2009 issue of CT.