Schicke Häkelei : Crochet Chic

New Patter: The Unbiased Llama

2011-11-12T08:23:00.001-08:00

My first knitted pattern! I'm very excited to offer to you "The Unbiased Llama"! This pattern is unbiased in it’s love between simplicity and complexity (it’s knit diagonally on the bias but it’s look is simple), between lace and texture (a simple garter and yarn-over ribbing), and for which piece you’ll get more compliments on (the cowl/snood or the mitts)!

I designed this Cowl/Snood and Mitt set specifically for three skeins of pure Llama fiber that I handspun. But this pattern works well for any weight of yarn!! A perfect pattern for an advanced beginner and anyone else looking for a fast but beautiful project.

You can visit my Ravelry shop or just click the link to the right to download! Happy knitting!

Ending Summer with the Chiton Pullover

2011-09-18T16:53:00.000-07:00

Summer has come and gone, my friends. I haven't been posting on this blog very well and I've neglected putting my own designs and patterns up here. But times have been busy and I can barely find enough of it to think of any original patterns as is! But I have plans on designing my own cardigan for some hand spun yarn I have in the works.

To close up the summer I finished a little selfish knit project that I had my eye on since the KnitScene Winter/Spring 2011 magazine came out. Melissa Wehrle's "Chiton Pullover". It has been my desire all year to knit this top and I've finally done it! Originally I was going to knit it with some hand spun yarn that I've been working on since February, but the spinning has taken forever because of all the aforementioned babies, etc., that I had to knit for. My mom and dad came for a visit Labor Day weekend and we naturally stopped by a yarn shop where my mom gifted me four skeins of Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima.

It's a super soft 100% pima cotton yarn. What I love about this yarn is that it does not feel like your typical cotton yarn. It has a wonderful silky sheen and feel. The drape was great for this project and I'm hoping that I would get any pilling. I love this yarn! It's going on my yummy list!

As for the pattern: LOVED it. It was very simple and easy to follow. I loved how there were a total of four seams the entire piece, since seaming is not my strong suit. I wonder if there isn't a way to close up shoulder seams with a kitchener stitch... something to experiment with... My pick ups around the belt weren't very pretty either but it worked. The smallest size given was for a 35 1/4" bust. I am nowhere near that (closer to a 32"). When I went to check my gauge I saw that with a US 5 needle I was getting 6 stitches per inch where the pattern wanted 5.5. I decided to go ahead with the gauge I was getting instead of going up a size needle and reworking the math/stitches/etc. It was so much simpler and I'm glad I went that route. I kept the stitch counts, increase and bind offs all the same and it fits perfectly!! All around a great pattern, perfect for the advanced beginner!

Slip Stitch Ridges Socks : Silvery Fern

2011-09-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

Remember this yarn from earlier this year? The green one? Well, it's finally been made into something! I couldn't be more proud of how they turned out!

The Hubs is pretty happy with them too. They're a little big even though I used US 2 dpns instead of the US 1 recommended in the pattern because I was right on with gauge with them. The pattern is from "Teach Yourself Visually: Sock Knitting" and is called Slip Stitch Ridges Socks. It is a very easy, simple pattern to follow. Great for sock beginners. There is an error in the pattern though. When it comes time to turn the heel it should read for Row 4: sl 1, p to 1 st before gap, p2tog, p1, turn.

The yarn itself was fabulous! I can't believe I knit a pair of socks with yarn that I spun myself! It's one thing to knit up something made from bulky yarn that I spun, like the Eggplant at Sunset Mitts, but knitting something from a yarn that needs to be fine enough for socks is such an accomplishment in my book! I'm not completely sold on the huge blocks of color, but I'm getting over it because of the mixing bands where two colors come together. My favorite combo is the silver and neon green. Maybe next time I'll do smaller color repeats!

Sexy Vesty

2011-09-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

The season of having to knit/crochet baby things has passed!! I completed my last baby gift of the season! To my knowledge no one else is knocked up that I have to make anything for! Which means I've had more time to either finish projects I've had to put on hold (like the Old Man Sweater for the Hubs), and to start a selfish knitting project. Selfish knitting does not have a bad connotation, by any means. The purpose of having any talent which produces something in the end is to share it with someone else. So I have been more than happy to make things for others' little ones. But I think I deserve a little something now. So I finished a little vest:

Forgive the poor pictures quality, I did take it with my phone. It turned out more of a little cap sleeve top and I would never really wear it with the shirt shown, but I just needed to take a picture of it quick so I could post it on Ravelry and here. This is the vest I was working on in the Nauvoo pictures. I really like the way it turned out. The only unfortunate thing is I don't have much that I can wear it with. I have two button up blouses the Hubs thinks would work well, but one is a long sleeved top and I get really warm at work...so it may be a little while before I can fashionably wear it. So now it's back to knitting and crocheting for others. I have a million socks to knit for the Hubs and one baby gift I completely forgot about....

The Kick Spindle

2011-07-28T08:29:00.000-07:00

While sitting in my brother's apartment waiting for things to start I dinked around on the internet seeing what was new. I found my way to my favorite spinning website Woolery and came across something I had never seen before: Mother Maggie's Kick Spindle (I've also seen it called Mother Marion's, not sure which is the correct title). I was intrigued when I saw this and after watching the video, I'm completely convinced that I want one. It has the portability of a drop spindle, the space saving capabilities of a drop spindle, but it seems it has some of the ease and possible speediness of a spinning wheel.

Yeah, I think I'll have it!

The Old Man Sweater

2011-07-18T14:32:00.000-07:00

So for a long time I promised The Hubs a sweater... way back in February... Well, I've finally finished it!! Lots of people were having babies and then I just got bored with the pattern and unfortunately his sweater got left by the wayside. But I persevered and overcame my C/KPADD and gave him what I promised!

For this project I used the pattern from Lion Brand "Forever Classic Heirloom Cables Adult Cardigan". It's a mouthful of a title and a mouthful of a pattern! The cable repeats become pretty memorable after a little while and over all the cardigan doesn't look that bad. I do wish that it had been written in a "no seaming" form, like raglan, etc., because stitching this together was really a pain. The fabric was heavy and the cables made the pieces cinch terribly (it probably/might have helped if I had blocked the pieces, but at that point in time I just wanted to get the darn thing done with!). Having to knit and sew on the collar band at the same time was tedious and not something I am ever anxious to do again.

The yarn I used was Fisherman's Wool of the same company. Not a bad wool overall. The Hubs picked it out himself because it was scratchy and a tweed kind of color. All trademarks necessary to make the quintessential old man's sweater. As a fiber to work with it wasn't too bad. It did rub on my fingers some, but it didn't pill and is easy to rip back with no troubles. But it is really scratchy. So while I probably would never choose it again for a garment that is to be worn next to the skin, for a project such as this, a cardigan to be worn in the winter over longer sleeved shirts, I say it fit the bill.

The Hubs is happy with his old man sweater and I am glad to be moving on!!

Little Pink Riding Jacket Accessories

2011-06-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

Yet another baby coming our way!! This baby shower kind of snuck up on me and I only had a week to prepare something. Because of lack of time, and because of all the baby stuff I've been having to make, I just didn't have it in me to go the extra extra mile and make something really grand (sorry dear friend). Not to mention I'm also running out of yarn and money to purchase new yarn!! So this poor friend of mine only got a knitted hat and mittens set for her baby boy. I used the left overs from the little jacket from the previous post.

The patterns for the hat and mitts also come from "Chic Knits for Stylish Babies" and is in the same pattern run as the little jacket from the previous post. I really like this set and hope that some day I might be able to make it for my own child.

The pattern is pretty simple, though I wish specific points for decreases, etc., would have been given. Especially since my gauge was a tad larger and I had to fudge around with the numbers again. It would have been nice to figure out a ratio for decreases in comparison to where they were in the pattern. But overall I think the hat and mitts turned out pretty good and had a great reception with the mother.

But now I'm taking a break from baby things and finishing up a cardigan I promised my husband and started way back in February. Once it's finished he won't be able to wear it for several months!! Poor guy.

Striped Riding Hood Jacket

2011-06-17T03:30:00.000-07:00

I hav recently finished a little sweater to end all sweaters. It was an IOU baby shower gift for a mother whom I didn't have enough time to make something for since it was during our illustrious move from our ghetto apartment to a basement to our fantastic new place. Both parents are very tall and I asked to our closest very tall friends what size they thought I should make for their son come winter time with the prospect that he's probably going to be larger than your average bear. So I made the 12 month size:

You'll have to forgive the poor quality of this picture as I took it with my cell phone. It was a very simple hooded jacket made with bulky weight yarn so it only took my about a week. It's the "Little Pink Riding Hood" pattern from Chic Knits for Stylish Babies, a fun and exciting pattern book gifted to me by some very dear and kind friends. I've been aching to make stuff from the book and am glad that I finally had a reason to.

I did some pattern changes though, since I wasn't using the recommended yarn. I used Lion Brand Yarn Jiffy solid yarn. It's a bulky weight and with US 7 needles I got a gauge of 4 sts and 8 rows to 1 inch; which was slightly larger than given in pattern (I didn't want to go down in size for the needles and have a dense fabric so I changed my cast on numbers). My CO stitches for the back were 53, front pieces were 30, sleeves were 27 and the hood was I believe 66 (you can find the exact stitches on my Ravelry project page (TheHue)). Because of this I generally decreased or bound off one less stitch than given in pattern except for when it came to the armhole shaping. For the instructions that require an increase or decrease every x number of rows I did every 16 or 8 (again see my Ravelry project page).

Overall the pattern was very easy to read, follow and understand. I do wish that measurements would have been given for all pieces when laying flat and not sewn together, especially since I had to change so much. It's a great pattern for beginner knitters who want to move beyond the scarves and dishcloths, haven't learned stockinette, but want to make something substantial. Overall a pretty great pattern!

Photography Prop Baby Hats

2011-06-01T14:29:00.000-07:00

So I've been knitting an old man sweater for the Hubs since about February. Needless to say, the sweater is starting to grate on me. I'm finding it hard to want to press on with the darn thing. I've decided that it was necessary to give myself little intermittent projects to kind of clean out my "darn this fliberty sweater"-ness and reboot myself to continue on with the task. My most recent "taking a break" project was this:

This baby hat was made with Hometown USA yarn (a super bulky weight),
crocheted through the back loop only and then sewn on sparkling white
buttons in the layout of a flower.

This baby hat was made with a combination of white aran weight yarn with
stripes of bulky thick and thin hand spun purple/weight/lime green/tencel
yarn.

A very simple yellow two by two ribbed baby hat.

This hat is my absolute favorite! I got the idea from the Spring issue of
Spin-Off magazine's "Tricera Tops Hat" by Meghan Croson. It was knit from
left-over hand spun yarn that I used on my "Little Shells en Plaine Aire" shawl.

All of these baby hats that I've made are photography "prop" hats to be used for newborn photo sessions. I've decided that as something to kind of set myself apart from other newborn photographers, I'm going to give one of the hats used in the session as a free gift for the parents to cherish and continue to use if they like. What do you think?

Patterns may be to follow depending on interest (except for the "Tricera Tops hat", I strongly suggest you find a copy of Spin-Off magazine and refer to that for pattern details since it was Meghan Croson that gave me the idea in the first place; I give her complete and full credit for the baby hat I made).

Waynesburg 5th Annual Sheep and Fiber Festival

2011-05-23T15:20:00.000-07:00

I have moved into the realm of fiber nerd. That's right. I am a fiber nerd. So much so that I made my husband take me to the Waynesburg 5th Annual Sheep and Fiber Festival. I came across the advertisement in my copy of Spin-Off magazine and the moment I saw it I made the Hubs promise to take me...believe it or not he had fun too!

Rather than just droll on about what was there and what we did, I'm going to try and let the pictures do all of the talking.

Llama

Angora Rabbit

Alpaca

This sheep didn't like me too much...

The little lams were so adorable! It was hard to get a good shot of them, the mothers were so protective!

I got to try my hand at spinning on a wheel. This is the Kromski Minstrel,

I've decided it's the wheel I want whenever I can have one. The gentleman

who was instructing me said I did very well.

There was also a sheep dog demonstration that also included duck corralling...

it never really went very well.

Here we have a succession of photographs of me feeding the alpacas.

My most beautiful of faces... In my defense hand feeding alpacas is a strange

sensation, as they only have teeth on their bottom jaw, which means they

grab at the food with their huge upper lip.

They were such lovable little creatures.

Only the coolest and most unique bottom whorl drop spindle ever!

We bought it from the epitome of the back woods wood worker, complete

with grizzly grey/black/white long hair, beard and missing teeth.

He was awesome! I only wish I had gotten his picture.

One of the things we really wanted to see was the sheep shearing demonstration. We were both curious as to the process, since we plan on having sheep of our own whenever our ship comes in and we can get a huge piece of land and grow all sorts of plants and raise all sorts of livestock. It was such a unique and rather beautiful process that I've decided to add just about every single picture I took of the gentleman and his ewe.

Believe it or not, she is actually quite

comfortable or else she wouldn't even be letting

him do this.

I love this picture. We learned that this gentleman

bottle fed and raised this ewe from a lamb. They

have a very deep and loving relationship.

The ewe's winter coat is now up for being turned into yarn!

Then it was time for sheep herding:

The unsuspecting...

The sheep herding went a lot faster and was far more successful than the

duck herding.

My treasures!

All rather fitting!

I'm sorry, I just can't get enough of the beauty of this spindle!!

I had so much fun at the festival. I'm really glad that the Hubs got to spend all day with me. It was a great day of firsts (feeding alpacas, spinning on a wheel, watching sheep herding, stopping at CiCi's for lunch)! I am proud to call myself a fiber nerd!

Some Yarn

2011-04-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

I've really been in a spinning kick. I can't get enough of it! There is something satisfying in spinning your own yarn for your own projects! It's a fantastic feeling.

I recently finished some sock yarn. (I have yet to gauge which category it actually falls within, but my guess is its probably a sport weight.) It's going to be made into some fun socks for the Hubs.

The fiber is called Posy Toes Sock Fiber that I bought from a LYS called Natural Stitches here in Pittsburgh. It's overall a great blend of wool and nylon, which should make for excellent socks!

Now I'm working on a fingering weight merino and tussah silk blend yarn. I bought some fabulous top whorl spindles from The Woolery. They are the KySpindles Foal model. The spin beautifully and are well balanced. I'm using Tammy Rizzo's Navajo Ply on the Fly technique (search her on YouTube) and I'm totally in love with it! It's a great way to ply your yarn while spinning especially if you don't have more than one spindle or if you want to keep colors intact.

I've been looking more and more into spinning and possibly at some point in time, purchasing a wheel. But for right now I'm thoroughly enjoying my spindles. What I've been having my eye on now is "Respect the Spindle" by Abby Franquemont. She has some great tips and techniques for spinning on spindles that I could only ever have imagined. I'm very eager to learn what she has in store!

Coming up (hopefully): washing, carding, dyeing my own fleece!

Canundrum

2011-03-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

Is that how you spell it? Anyway.

A lot has been going on here. Some not good and some really not good. But we won't go into that. I used to have this problem which I dubbed CPADD (crochet project attention deficit disorder), where I couldn't get through one project before I started another and always had two or three going at once. It made it difficult to get any projects done. For a while I was actually doing really good. I only had one project going at any given time and I seemed to be getting through them in a timely manner...

Then it happened....

Everyone started commissioning me for different projects!! I currently have a pair of socks, a cardigan, a crocheted monkey and a fingering weight yarn I'm spinning!! I have way too much on my plate.

I yearn for the days when I was only working on one project!! Oh where did you go??

Luckily I'm almost done with the monkey and can get back to the other things at hand. I wish I had more time in general for all of my projects, especially since I would like to get back into designing some things.

If only I could get paid for doing the things I love...

Little Shells En Plein Aire

2011-02-19T11:07:00.000-08:00

After my long and arduous encounter with a yellow sweater and moving on to a sweater for the Hubs, I felt it necessary to mix it up a little with a short little project to work one during my lunch break at work. After working on nothing but large pieces it's nice to break things up a bit.

I've been on a big knitting kick right now. I haven't crocheted since I made a little headband for a friend's baby's 1st birthday...it was pretty cute.... Anyway!

Back in December I decided to continue my trek through the spinning world and move my way up to finer and more exotic fibers for spinning. I found a wonderful colorway from Spring Tree Road, a fabulous shop on Etsy. When I first saw the roving I knew I had to have it. I toyed around with actually purchasing it though until I decided I couldn't pass up the opportunity. No one else was going to spin that fiber other than me!!

It's a beautiful 100% Bluefaced Leicester wool with shades of yellow, brown, mint and aqua. It spun like a charm! It's a worsted weight single with 13 wpi (not incredibly accurate, I need to get one of those little wooden wrap meter things).

The only thing was finding the right project to showcase this beautiful yarn. I decided on a shawl. Something not too lacy since the yarn and its colors needed to be the focus instead of the stitches.

I found the perfect match in "Little Shells", a pattern by Holly and Ella Knits which you can find for free on Ravelry. It's a great pattern if you've never knit a shawl before.

I've really been enjoying spinning the yarn for projects I want to make instead of going out and buying it. It's such a great gratification and sense of accomplishment knowing that I have the skills to literally start from the ground up.

People are always telling me how talented I am and how they could never do the things they see me make. While the compliments are always nice it hurts a little that they think they can't do this either. Because just a year ago I had no idea how to knit, and only five months ago I had no idea how to spin yarn. Anyone can be self-sufficient and talented if they want to be. All it takes is time, motivation and patience.

Yellow Deep V-Neck Sweater

2011-02-12T13:09:00.000-08:00

This sweater took three tries and a pattern change to finish. The yarn is Lana Grossa Mondo, a great cotton yarn. The pattern is from their Cotone Ausgabe 2 booklet Modell 15. It was originally a striped sweater and much longer and a much deeper V. I shortened it because I'm tiny and made the V less pronounced because...well, I have personal modesty standards. Overall I'm pleased with the sweater and I'm glad it's finally done! The pattern I had originally chosen was much more complex with all sorts of cables and it was just taking forever. After letting it hibernate for almost a year I frogged it all and started over with this much simpler design and managed to finish it within a month! I'm so glad I did that and won't have to wait until next winter to wear it!!

Eggplant at Sunset

2011-02-04T13:36:00.000-08:00

I've continued to refine my spinning skills and am slowly working my way up to finer fibers and thinner yarns (as of right now I'm trying to spin my first sock weight yarn...needless to say, it's not going very well). I've "recently" completed a skein of yarn I like to call "Eggplant at Sunset". It's a bulky weight yarn plied from a superwash merino from Abstract Fibers colorway "Sunset" and a wool from Mauchy Chunky colorway "Eggplant". I thought my naming of the final product was suitable.

I've decided I like plying instead of spinning singles. Unfortunately you have to do one to get the other... I love the way the yarn turned out. The final final product was a set of matching mittens and earmuff:

The headband was from a pattern on Ravelry called something along the lines of "leaf headband"... the mittens were originally supposed to be convertible but I decided to just leave them a solid closed mitten but added a rope to string them through my jacket. Sorry the photography isn't more imaginative.

I had some of "Sunset" left over and got to try my hands at the Andean bracelet technique in order to ply the leftovers on itself. It was a lot of fun and I loved the way "Sunset" looked.

This small hanks was gifted to a dear friend who inspired me to learn spinning. I don't know that anything has become of this yarn, but something should I hope she shares!

A Handspun Story

2010-11-25T17:37:00.000-08:00

I finally got through my entire batt of orange spinning fiber. It actually didn't take me too long to go through the entire thing. When I first started I had a feeling I would be going through it quickly so I bought a second batt of fiber to start when I got around to hanging the first. So if you watched my little video the picture at right is that of the yarn I was spinning.

Spinning has become an enjoyable past time for me. I enjoy that I can just put fiber in my hand and turn it into something without having any specific end project or person in mind for which I am working the fiber. I can just let the fiber turn into whatever it wants to be.

This particular yarn decided it wanted to be ugly and crinkly. But I can't say it turned out too bad for my first yarn. It was difficult to keep the yarn consistent. There are a lot of thick and thin chunks, but that is to be expected from a first time spinner; though I can't say that I particularly enjoy knitting/crocheting with a thick and thin yarn. Not to mention this yarn was particularly difficult to hang afterwards to set the twist and get all of the kinks out. I've decided I don't like the hanging off a door handle with a weighted spray bottle technique.

So while I let the orange yarn hang I started working on my second yarn. This time I went with yellow. I figured yellow, being as it's my favorite color, would give me more spinning luck. Sure enough it did! Now that I had the basic feel for what was needed of a spinner by the yarn, I got a more consistent yarn. It was still thicker than what I wanted, but that was due to the pre-drafting I had done. But there were absolutely no kinks in this yarn at all!

I got a lot more yardage out of this second yarn and at first tried to hang it from the door handle but decided there was just too much for the spray bottle to weigh it all down effectively. So I unraveled the skein and worked around a towel rack in our bathroom to set the twist and let the yarn dry. I found it vastly more effective and think that I might use this technique from now on. Though, after watching a YouTube video from another spinner I might try her technique of hanging the skein from a coat hanger and then hanging subsequent coat hangers from the yarn skein to get the necessary weight. We'll see.

After the orange yarn was done drying it was necessary to put it into some workable form. I had decided on what I wanted to use the yarn for, but now it was time to move it out of a what I am going to call a "loop" skein (because it's all just wound in a big loop) which has a tendency to just get tangled up on itself even though you have it looped around your two feet... Anyway, I learned from the aforementioned YouTube videographer how to roll my yarn into a center-pull ball by hand! I was so excited to find this because those ball winders you can get at Joann's and other yarn retailers can be and most often are expensive!! So learning how to do yet another thing by hand was just awesome and I'm so glad I came across it. It really just makes the whole "handmade" experience from start to finish that much better. Unfortunately, winding the orange yarn into a center-pull ball still didn't make it look any better. What an ugly yarn it is...

Oh, but my second yellow yarn is sooooo beautiful!! And soft! I couldn't believe how soft it got after I washed and dried it! If you've touched a soft single ply (technically not correct phrasing) yarn of merino wool you'll have an idea of almost how soft this yarn is. I was so proud of myself.

This yarn definitely worked up into a center-pull yarn much easier. And it just looks so nice. You'll notice the absence of kinks and how much more consistent the yarn looks. I was still having trouble getting my pre-drafts to stay connected so I do have some spots of thread-thin bits in comparison to other nicer areas.

But now it was time to finally work the yarn into something... But what?

Well, I knew it was going to be for the Hubs. He doesn't have a whole lot of handmade things from me other than a few pairs of socks and a set of mittens (which he doesn't wear). I knew that it couldn't be anything to extravagant, what with the yarns being grossly dissimilar in size, and I knew that I had much less of the orange in terms of yardage than the yellow. So it would need to be very simple.

I used my grandmother's wooden needles that I inherited from her after she passed. They made working with the thick yarns very enjoyable.

So my husband got a scarf. He likes it. It's not very long. I ran out of the orange a lot sooner than I had expected. But at least the scarf isn't so long that it gets caught up in between your legs like I hate which is why I wear cowls and neck warmers. But he likes scarves. So I made a scarf. And I actually really like how it turned out.

It was really fun to make a project that I started from the ground up - spinning the yarn, preparing the yarn, and knitting the yarn. That's the way it should be!

(P.S. I've already started my third spinning project in which I will be attempting to make a two-ply yarn!!)

Baby Socks

2010-11-11T14:10:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've really written about my fiber exploits. My photography has taken the majority of my time as has my day job. Sadly that has left little for starting and finishing projects. I had begun a drapey swing cardigan only to have it fudged in my face not once but twice. It has promptly been frogged and now sits in my large box of stash until I am willing to give it a third go.

To give myself a break from these projects that seem to take forever, I have gone back to my first knitting love: socks. A large group of my friends have recently found themselves with child, and rather than try and pump out fifty crocheted baby blankets with beanies to match, I have decided to get rid of all my left over sock yarn by making them baby socks. Not booties. Socks. (Plus "Sockens for Little Feet" has also been greatly neglected.)

I have decided I'm not a big fan of the bootie. It's chunky, you can't wear them with shoes, unless they're the bootie kind that is meant to be worn as a shoe... Either way, little feet, as I've said before, deserve to be warm and in a fashionable way. All of my sock books have the smallest foot size at about 5". So I scoured the internet trying to locate baby foot sizes and came up with 3 1/2" in length and around 4 1/2" in circumference. So I cast on.

Upon first making these socks I realized that my math was way off. I hadn't cast on nearly enough stitches (I did these toe-up because of my limited yarn length) and the increase to the necessary circumference ended right when I needed to start my heel. Needless to say they were really weird looking socks. So I started over and finally got the ratio down right. These final socks were made using an Eastern Cast On of 12 stitches, increasing to 48 total stitches, constructing a short row heel and a 2x2 ribbed cuff. You can see that I ran out of like yarn and the socks don't quite match colorwise...or length wise...one is definitely longer than the other... These will probably never be given as gifts.

I decided to do some more research into baby socks to see if there was anything else out there other than booties. And sure enough there was! I found Ann Budd's "Better than Booties Baby Socks" on the Knitting Daily website. You can check it out there by becoming a member if you aren't already. I read over the construction of her socks and found it intriguing. So I cast on to try it out. She has a different way of working a short row heel which I have found I like much more than having to work wraps. It's a technique I will be employing in my socks from now on!

What I also found interesting and rather enjoyed was that she used this short row heel technique on the toe construction as well and then had the toe grafted to the instep. It's a pretty neat construction and I enjoyed it immensely. Her pattern called for a zig-zag bind off, which I didn't really like the look of, so I did a kitchener stitch to graft the instep and toe together for a more seamless look. Looking at the socks though I can tell that I work my instep a little too tight. That's something I need to work on.

All in all I found Budd's "Better than Booties Baby Socks" to be an all around excellent pattern. A definite "check this one out".

Leafy Knee High Socks

2010-09-28T13:04:00.000-07:00

I worked these up in about two weeks...possibly more, I'm not quite sure. But I love how they turned out!! I haven't decided if I'm going to make the pattern public if only because it was a kind of "figure it out as I go" so my pattern notes are kind of all over the place. Plus I'm a little worried about writing my first sock pattern. Perhaps if there is enough interest in the socks I might take the time to figure out a readable pattern for the masses. But for now I'm supper happy with how they turned out!!

NEW Free Pattern: Solomon's Shawl

2010-09-07T17:01:00.000-07:00

A light crocheted summer shawl!! It took my a while to finish if only because of my crochet project attention deficit disorder. But it's finally finished and I'm proud to make it available for the rest of you to enjoy as well! It's a fingering-weight shawl that can be worn in several different ways thanks to a keyhole design - wear it as a shawl, scarf, hood, wrap, you name it!! The pattern includes symbol charts as well as written instruction. It does require that you know how the Solomon's Knot/Lover's Knot stitch (I will be posting a video tutorial soon about how to construct it). Please enjoy the pattern (you can download it here on the blog via Ravelry or look the pattern up on Ravelry yourself!)!!

As always this pattern is for personal non-commercial use only. Do not sell this pattern. Do not sell any items made from this pattern. Do give items made from it as gifts! I would appreciate if you would refer friends, family and fellow cro-hookers back to my site to have them download the pattern.

Weekly Dishcloth: Faux Plaid Dishcloth

2010-07-26T14:17:00.000-07:00

This dishcloth uses combinations of slip stitches, purls and knits to create a textured plaid look.

Faux Plaid Dishcloth

Abbreviations
k - knit
p - purl
sl - slip stitch (always with yarn in back)

Materials
4mm knitting needles
100% cotton worsted weight yarn

The Pattern
Cast on 41 stitches
Row 1, 3, 5, and 7: knit
Row 2, 4, 6: purl
Row 8: p 5, sl, 1, *k 5, sl 1, k 1, sl 1, repeat from * 2 more times, k 5, sl 1, p 5
Row 9: k 5, p 31, k 5
Row 10: same as Row 8
Row 11: same as Row 9
Row 12: same as Row 8
Row 13: k 5, p 1, k 5, * p 1, k 7, repeat from * 3 more times, p 1, k 5
Row 14: same as Row 8
Row 15: same as Row 9
Row 16: p 5, sl 1, p 5, * sl 1, p 7, repeat from * 3 more times, sl 1, p 5
Row 17: same as Row 9

Repeat rows 8-17 four more times and 8-12 once more.
Repeat rows 1-7 once more.
Bind off in pattern.

The borders will curl over. If you want a straight flat edge it is necessary to block. Otherwise just use! Please leave comments or questions about the pattern!

Weekly Dishcloth: Flying Blocks Dishcloth

2010-07-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

It's time for this week's dishcloth? Are you ask excited as I am? This week's dishcloth is a little fancier than your run of the mill dishcloth. That's because it uses a "lace" pattern as it's main component! Who says dishcloths can't be pretty as well as functional?

Flying Blocks Dishcloth

Materials
4mm knitting needles
100% cotton worsted weight yarn

Abbreviations
CO- cast on
k - knit
p - purl
ssk - slip, slip, knit
k#tog - knit specified number of stitches together
yo - yarn over

The Pattern
CO 41
Row 1- 6: knit all stitches.
Row 7 (and all odd rows): k5, p31 , k5
Row 8: k7, *k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k4, rep from * once, k6
Row 10: k6, *k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k4, rep from * once, k7
Row 12: k5, k2tog, yo, *k5, yo, sl1, k2tog, pass slipped stitch over, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, rep from * once, k6
Row 14: k7, *yo, ssk, k4, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k1, rep from * once, k6

Row 16: k8, *yo, ssk, k4, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k3, rep from * once, k5

Row 18: k9, *yo, ssk, k4, yo, k3tog, yo, k5, rep from * once, k4

Repeat rows 7-18 three more times.

Repeat rows 1-6 once more.

Bind off in pattern.

Some More Finished Projects

2010-07-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

Life just keeps happening and it seems that all the happening keeps me from keeping up on posting all of my fiber creations! So here are some links for you to check out on my Ravelry pages!

Tsunami Socks
Chunky Cell Phone Cozy
Elegant Cell Phone Cozy

Enjoy and check back soon for next weeks free dishcloth pattern!

The Weekly Dishcloth: Simple Slip Stitch Dishcloth

2010-07-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

My friends... it has been entirely too long. There is no excuse. I have been neglectful. Work has taken over my life and has left me with no time do that which I love to do on down time - crochet or knit. But the ladies at work have given me a new drive to get fibers in my hands and make special knots with them. They told me a dirty little secret - they love hand knitted and crochet dishcloths!! He, he, he, and guess who knows how to make those!!

Moi!!

It is now my purpose in life (well, not THE purpose of my life, but one that I can make room for) to come up with lovely dishcloth designs to give to my fellow lady co-workers. And with all this designing I've decided that I'm going to try to feature these new dishcloth designs every week (or at least every time I come up with one) for you to make and enjoy yourself! These will all be free!

So to start of the new tradition we have this dishcloth that is super simple but was necessary to get my juices flowing:

The Simple Slip Stitch Dishcloth

Materials
4mm knitting needles
100% worsted weight cotton yarn

The Pattern
Cast on 47 stitches.
Row 1-5: purl 1, knit 1 across, ending with purl as last stitch.
Row 6: (purl 1, knit 1) twice, purl 1, (knit 1, slip 1) 18 times, knit 1, (purl 1, knit 1) twice, purl 1.
Row 7: (purl 1, knit 1) twice, purl 39, (knit 1, purl 1) twice.
Repeat rows 6-7 twenty-five more times.
Repeat rows 1-5.
Bind off in pattern.
Weave ends.

Samurai!!

2010-05-21T03:45:00.000-07:00

These have been done for a good while. I've gotten really sloppy with keeping up to date on the blog and Facebook. I'm terrible. When I have a real job that I have to leave the house for in order to do I tend to lose all my time-managing skills. I've decided to try the Ravelry linky thingy again for you to check out project details. This featured project is called Samurai from Judy Sumners book "Knitted Socks East and West". I picked up this book and knew I had to have it. Why? Because it's not your typical sock book. Why? In most sock books what does the focus end up being? The color of the yarn and how the designer managed to manipulate the yarn into looking cool. The designs provided in Ms. Sumner's book are more or less opposite from that. The focus of the book relies more on texture. And I love texture over pretty color work any day of the week!

The designs do prove a little difficult to manipulate themselves as the pattern repeats tend to be large; but that can be overcome by needle size and yarn weight. I love how diverse her patterns are. There's a little bit of something for everyone, including the men (which we all know is really hard to find)!

I've already started my second pair from this book!

St. James

2010-05-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

I am horrible. I have not visited this blog for quite some time. Please forgive my inattentiveness!

In the world of fiber crafts my practice has taken a change of direction. Fear not I am still creating! Though the time that I have to create has been truncated due to the fact that I had to get a new job. But yay for making money!...Right?

Of course.

That isn't to say that I haven't been creating. No, no. Just not at my usual speed.

Ravelry.com has this new sharing feature that I've decided I wanted to try. I find that I update my Ravelry page far more often than this one; especially when it comes to projects that I have finished.

Lately, my practice has been in knitting. I must say that I have done far more knitting than I have crochet. Unfortunately, the custom requested from a friend to make puppets didn't really pan out, and really that was all my fault. I just couldn't get those darn things to turn out the way I wanted!!! I really big Ugh right there!

Anyway.

My most recent accomplished knitting project that I am very proud of is also my first knitted garment! The pattern is called St. James and is available for free. Rather than re-write my thoughts on the pattern I figured I would link you to my Ravelry project page for you to check it out there. However, because I do like the top so much, I'm still going to post a picture. Enjoy!

First Outside Contribution to Sockens for Little Feet

2010-04-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

We just received our first outside contribution to Sockens for Little Feet! These cute socks were knitted by my mother. She said she enjoyed it so much she'll continue to make sockens for little feet!

We are still very much in the formulation stages (we are looking for a group of little feet to donate the socks to), but if you want to get started on helping out please contact me!!

To Have or Not To Have

2010-04-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

At work today I brought my current sock project to work on during my lunch break. Everyone was interested in the sock and that I even knew how to knit socks. They asked me what else I've made and such. They then went on to say

you should sell your stuff.

I kind of laughed to myself because, well, I've tried selling my stuff. Etsy didn't really pan out all that well and it just was a major headache for me and didn't put me in the right frame of mind creatively. They then talked about how I should get a booth for farmers' markets and the like. I just don't know if I really want to go through the hassle of making sure I have enough stock or if anyone would even like the stock that I made. I'm not a business person.

I find that mixing business with creativity, at least on my part, really hinders the creative process. I like making things for people. But I don't like making things for people to buy. I don't know if there really is a difference, but forced creativity just isn't my style.

But the fact that several people said I should sell my crafts made think/reconsider my choice to close up shop. Should I have or not have an Etsy shoppe? At what point do I want to restrict my creativity for the sake of money? The fact is that I don't. I just want to be free to make the things that I like, because that is really what it is all about.

Striped Quickie Socks

2010-04-04T07:34:00.000-07:00

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and this weekend was General Conference (a large gathering for members across the globe to listen to messages from our church leaders). I decided it was necessary to start and finish a project during General Conference weekend. There is a fantastic pattern in this book of knitted socks "The Joy of Sox" called Quickie Socks. I bought this book specifically for this pattern (among several others). I just fell in love with it. It is a worsted weight sock that doesn't feel like a worsted weight sock.

I began the socks on Friday and finished them yesterday. So I got them done before General Conference even finished and now I have all day Sunday to enjoy and wear them!

The pattern is simple and easy to memorize. But that doesn't make it a boring pair of socks to make. It's an alternating rib pattern set off by a row of garter stitch. The heel is a fusion of a heel flap and a short row heel. It was the simplest heel I have ever made. The pattern does have a few mistakes in the printed version, but if you look on Ravelry for the pattern page there errata is given. This sock pattern is perfect if you don't have a lot of time but need to make a lot of socks as gifts! It's also a great pattern if you are just starting out on your sock knitting adventure. Greenies and seasoned sock knitters alike will get great joy from making these socks.

For these socks I used NaturallyCaron.com yarn. The yarn itself is soft on my feet, but as for knitting with it, I ran into some difficulties - that mostly being the plys liked to separate and I would sometimes only get half of the yarn onto a needle, especially when working decreases. The pattern doesn't give the socks as striped, but I had only one skein of the coral colored yarn and couldn't find the same colorway anywhere, so it was necessary to make them striped. I'm so glad I did!! I love them more striped than solid! I also added one pattern repeat to the leg of the sock. I felt the original pattern length was a little awkward.

It's safe to say that these socks are currently my most favorite socks!

First "Sockens" Socks

2010-03-24T10:09:00.000-07:00

I have completed the first official pair of socks for "Sockens for Little Feet"!!

(Just so you can get an idea of their actual size next to a woman's medium sock.)

Some Finished Projects

2010-03-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

I have recently finished quite a few projects, and I feel I should talk a little about them. Me being the kind who usually has several projects going at once, it is quite the accomplishment when you can get a whole slew of them done around the same time.

The first on my list is my Wispy Super Long Cowl that I started last year I believe (first picture). It is based off of the Knitty.com pattern called Wisp. It is a super easy pattern for beginning knitters but doesn't give the appearance that it is super easy. It is a simple fishbone lace and garter stitch alternating pattern that gives it elegance and stability. I highly recommend the pattern as it will teach beginning knitters how to knit two stitches together (decrease) and to yarn over (increase).

My second project is my Autumn Leaves Cowl/Capelet/Shawl. It is very much an all in one piece. I ripped my Autumn Leaves Chunky Cowls and instead made a super chunky long cowl/capelet/shawl. I call it all three because it can be worn all three ways, and sometimes all three ways at once. The picture in the middle shows it being worn as a cowl and capelet. It can be taken off the shoulder and worn merely as a cowl, or you can unwind it and drape it over your shoulders as a shawl. The Trabajos del Peru yarn is soft and keeps your neck and arms incredibly warm. It is the perfect cowl/capelet/shawl for when you aren't necessarily freezing but just have a slight chill. It is constructed from a simple alternating double crochet mesh. I folded the ends over each other and slip stitched them together to give the fabric a natural twist. I love this piece. It has become one of my favorites.

My final project is Robyn Chachula's Courtney Corset Top from her book Blueprint Crochet. This one took a good long time as well, but only because of doing quite a few rows in single crochet with a 3.75mm hook. And it only took so incredibly long because I had to rip the entire bodice (corset) out because the prescribed 50scs in the pattern was not long enough for me. I should have realized that when I first started on the bodice but thought that I might be ok. I was sorely mistaken. Being so frustrated with my inattentiveness and not listening to my first impression I had to take a break from the project and work on my yellow knitted sweater (which is also getting my goat!!) for a little bit. But the top is now complete. I love the color and the fit, though I did have to sew the front panels together a little bit as one panel was puckering in a less than desirable fashion instead of hugging closer to the body like the other. All in all I'd say Robyn Chachula's Courtney Corset Top is a wonderful pattern. The pattern is given in diagram and written making it easy to follow. It's light and feminine and sure makes you feel pretty.

Now I really need to get to steppin' on these personal requests from my friends!!

Patterns Now Available for Download and Other News

2010-03-10T08:56:00.000-08:00

I have finally made some PDF patterns available for download from the blog! Huzzah!! Now if you don't have a Ravelry account but want to get one of my patterns you can buy/download them straight from the right sidebar!

In other news, I'm still trying to design a crocheted sock, but unfortunately the lovely Alpaca Sox yarn wasn't working well for having to be ripped out time and time again (it has a tendency to get wrapped around itself). But fear not, I have found some simple sock yarn that I think will do much better! I do have several projects that I need to finish though before I can continue with my designing endeavors, which include some personal requests from friends. I'm really excited to post pictures of those whenever I get to finally getting them done as well!

I'm having so much more fun designing than I ever did making finished projects for selling. This allows, what I feel, for more creative inspiration and flexibility! I'm very much excited for how this will all come together.

The sock charity is still being formulated. My husband and I are working on logos and such so I can make it more official and my mother and a dear friend have both volunteered to knit up socks! This will be such a great help and I am so grateful to those who are so willing to lend their talents to the mission! If you would also like to get involved please contact me so we can discuss your contribution! (Just click on "Contact Me" in the navigation bar!)

I am also teaching two friends how to crochet two Thursdays every month. It has been a blast getting more people hooked and realizing they can learn a skill and be talented as well with a little practice.

I feel a renewed sense of purpose and feel that I am truly fulfilling the measure of talents with these steps that I am taking in design, Sockens for Little Feet and in teaching. Yay!!

Reattempting Design

2010-03-05T07:45:00.000-08:00

I've taken up hook and yarn again and am reattempting my hand at designing. This time I am attempting

Socks.

That's right! I am starting my endeavor of designing beautiful crocheted socks (possibly even knitted socks when I feel more confident in my knitting skills) patterns to sell for my charity. I picked out some wonderful sock yarn by Classic Elite Yarns called Alpaca Socks. It is an absolutely yummy yarn and I can't wait to see how it will work up into this first of hopefully many sock designs.

I am back on the horse, rejuvenated and will hopefully come out of this fruitful and anxious to get on to the next!

A Change in the Wind

2010-03-03T06:15:00.001-08:00

I have come to an important decision, and the decision is the following:

I am closing up shop.

But not completely. Rather, I am reprioritizing. The facts are these: I realized that I wasn't having any fun watching my items sit in the shop not really doing anything. And the stress of constantly having to make something new and then worry about whether or not I could afford the materials to make something new and then worry about whether or not this thing that I had to scrimp and save to make would even sell. I just don't want to deal with it anymore.

I do want to deal with my charity that I'm determined to get off it's feet (ha ha ha). I'm going to leave the Etsy shoppe open, but I won't be selling finished items or made to order items. Rather, I'll be using it to sell my original sock patterns and use the proceeds to go towards acquiring supplies to make more socks for kids in need. But I've also considered scrapping the entire Etsy shoppe all together as I have just recently been hooked up as a designer on Ravelry and now have free as well as purchasable patterns available there, so I may just get rid of the Etsy shoppe all together.

I have been in something of a creative stump for the past several weeks and it hasn't been until I have decided to close up shop that my thoughts have been able to flow again! It's such a wonderful feeling to be uninhibited! I have ideas for lacy crocheted socks (are you as excited for those as I am!?) and a beautiful babushka shawl like thing (trust me it's a lot prettier than it sounds).

I have also been contacted by two friends for special requests, one of which is a slew of hand puppets for her daughter's first birthday. I'm really excited for that! I feel really good about the direction I have decided to take. I love designing more than selling and really want to focus on that as well as get my charity going. Plus, my photography has really taken a back seat and let's face it - I'm a photographer at heart.

Solving the Name Debate

2010-02-22T11:44:00.000-08:00

I believe I have solved the great charity name debate -- well, not so much a debate as a "gee, I really wish I could decide". Both names really intrigued me and I felt that I had to go with one or the other, in order to keep the charity name short. I wanted something short, unique, "snappy", memorable. Mulling it over and reading different opinions from different people I learned something: "Sockens" was unique, short, memorable; "Little Feet" (as suggested by my dear friend Staci) indicated more who the charity was for, short, memorable. You can see where my dilemma lay. But it hit me this afternoon and I drew up a logo mock-up (which is still to be debated on whether or not I like it and if something can draw it up for me in pixels):

What do you think?

What's In a Name for a Charity?

2010-02-17T06:29:00.000-08:00

I was going to wait until I had things more figured out to let you all know about this very special project of mine, but I find that I can't decide for myself and the Hubs is being less than helpful on the matter. And the matter is this: I can't decide on a name.

A name for what?

My charity. I have decided to start a charity. It's nothing huge. I'm not fighting AIDS or making sure that residents of third world countries have clean drinking water. But I have been given the prompting more and more lately that I need to use my talents for the betterment of the world. And thus I decided to start my charity.

But what is your charity?! you ask.

Terribly sorry, let me tell you. I have been knitting and crocheting up a storm, as you all well know. Now it is time to use that knitting and crochet for good. To use knitting and crochet in the form of socks for children in need. That's right. I want to collect and donate handmade knitted and crocheted socks for children, made by various artisans in the area or across the country that would like to participate, to orphanages and shelters abroad as well as here within the U.S. But I have other donations ideas, such as donated left over or full skeins of sock yarn to be made into socks, donating completed socks, cash donations for yarn to be made into socks, sock patterns for purchase where proceeds go towards yarn to be made into socks, etc etc. I'm very excited for the project and am determined to get it off the ground.

I'm on my way as to getting in contact with possible orphanages in Eastern Europe through some old friends. I already have plans to talk to my yarn shops about getting some of their customers involved and placing donation bins in their shops. But I can't for the life of me decide on a name for this charity.

So I leave it to you, my friends and family, to help me decide! I've narrowed it down to two, can't decide between the two and neither will the Hubs (they are both incredibly good names he says). Which do you like more?

Sockens

(a little play on the German plural for socks)

Little Feet

(from a conversation I had with one of my contacts)

A Sad Day for Personal Design

2010-02-11T13:02:00.000-08:00

Aaaaahhhh! Today has been a sad day for designing. All last night I thought of ways to make closures for bracelets that a friend suggested I try. So I quickly crocheted up a swatch, blocked it and worked on bringing the sketches to fruition....

They didn't work.

Frustrated I decided to work on a top that I am also designing from the ground up. The pattern just isn't working.

It's been frogged.

Thus it's been a sad day for designing. Perhaps I'll try again some time soon.

My Qualms About Knitting

2010-02-09T07:27:00.001-08:00

The facts are these - knitting is great. Crochet is awesome. Here is why.

Knitting takes for freakin' ever!

Knitting can inevitably lead to dropped stitches that you didn't realize you dropped until ten inches into your work!

Knitting requires specific length of needles (especially for circular) for projects and you're pretty much screwed if you don't have them!

Crochet takes half the time! Instant gratification baby!

It's virtually impossible to drop a stitch. You can accidentally pull out a stitch but it won't affect the fifteen rows below it!

You never have to worry about how long your hook has to be (unless your doing Tunisian but that is a different story altogether)!

There are of course advantages to knitting over crochet: that being knitting works up a much softer and more pliable fabric which is great for wearables. But then I think about all of the awesome lace patterns and "granny" square patterns that you can get with crochet that is a little harder to finangle with knitting....

But I've learned to knit. And while finishing off this sweater that my mother started with me is being a beast, and while I'm absolutely frustrated with this knitted top that requires a 24" circular needle and all I have is a 29" and the cast on is just a smidge too short, I'm glad I learned because really all I want to do is knit socks!

Mastering Knitting One Stitch at a Time: DPN Top Down Socks

2010-02-09T07:18:00.000-08:00

Using the Basic Top Down Sock Pattern in my wonderful Teach Yourself Visually book I have constructed two similar and very comfy socks! Using DPNs!!! Have you any idea how darn proud I am of myself?

I had to frog the first sock three times as I just couldn't get it large enough to fit over my heel. It was decided that I just needed to get larger needles. I guess I knit very tightly. I used the stitch numbers for the women's large but the measurements for the women's medium (since that is what my foot really is). I had so much fun knitting these socks and have decided that I am a sock knitter. I have already started a second pair, this time toe up, for my husband!

What really made these socks though was the yarn. Absolutely fabulous yarn! It's Regia Sockenwolle. My mom brought it back for me from her latest venture to visit family in Germany. The variegation of colors is really subtle which I like (I'm not into the really weird and sometimes distastefully obvious color changes in a yarn) so the sock still has some texture and interest. The yarn is supersoft for a superwash wool. In my book a grade A yarn! It's being added to the list!

Original Project Contest: Red Heart and Joann's Team Up

2010-01-29T17:41:00.000-08:00

I just recently learned of an opportunity while walking through my nearest Joann's store that they and Red Heart yarns have teamed up for a contest! If you are prone to making up your own designs and maybe want to reap a little cha-ching from what you sew (or should that be purl?) check out the rules and regulations at their website! Good luck to all!

Egyptian Hieroglyph Hunger Place Mats

2010-01-25T08:36:00.000-08:00

The newest item in the shoppe! I am very excited to make these available. These place mats are made of 100% cotton crochet thread and read "hunger" in Egyptian hieroglyphs. I thought "hunger" would be fitting for kitchen table place mats.

I have always been fascinated with Egyptian hieroglyphs and am actually teaching myself how to read them (another daunting project of mine!). I have been looking for a project in which to incorporate hieroglyphs but had yet to find anything that would be classy and interesting. It didn't hit me until my husband and I bought our own kitchen table that a light turned on (and it literally was like a light turning on) in my head and I thought "place mats". I set right to work.

It took me a couple tries and designs before I decided to go with this simple design rather than over crowd the place mat with a whole bunch of Egyptian inspired borders and what-not. It is a place mat that is classy enough for the most intricate of table settings and simple enough for those of us who just like to have a place to sit when we eat. Check it out here in my Etsy shoppe!

Mastering Knitting One Stitch at a Time: Socks on DPNs

2010-01-25T07:51:00.000-08:00

I have been very neglectful of my Etsy shoppe and this blog. For that I am terribly sorry! But allotted time I have for each day can only be split so many ways and I find myself very much engaged in the learning of new arts as of late! - and as such, my crochet, blog and shoppe are taking a hit. Please, my dear friends, forgive me!

But I neglect for a wonderful purpose - knitting socks. And knitting socks in the right way: with double pointed needles. My entire desire to learn knitting was for the sole purpose of making socks. I feel I have learned quite a bit and am ready for sock knitting. But to help myself out I purchased a "learn to knit socks book" with birthday money (a very good investment I would say). The book I chose was "Teach Yourself Visually Sock Knitting". It's a wonderful teaching book as it not only gives written descriptions of what you are supposed to do, but it of course as the title describes, gives you pictures as well so you can visually see if you are doing it right.

Knitting on dpns is rather daunting at first. I had the hardest time making sure my work didn't twist on itself and the needles were always getting in my way. But I think I've figured it out now and just need to concentrate on not knitting too tight so that I can actually fit the socks over my feet! I think I'm doing pretty good thus far!

So now I have about five/six projects started: a knitted whispy like cowl/scarf, a knitted sweater, knitted socks, crocheted top, crocheted beard, and a bobbin lace bookmark. I did however recently finish up a project that I have been wanting to do for the longest time! See the blog post above.

Hand Crafted Stitch Markers and Row Counter Bracelets for the Knitting and Crochet Obsessed : Crimson Orchid

2010-01-13T05:52:00.003-08:00

I have a new toy. And it is a pretty toy. I justified it because it is a necessary piece of equipment for my crochet and knitting. Especially knitting because I still can't visually figure out how many rows I just worked! I purchased a row counter!

But not just any row counter; no, no! An abacus! Far more interesting and beautiful than the plastic twist-the-wheels-on-the-side-to-show-the-next-number kind. It's a more stylish way to count your rows.

Where can you get yourself one, you ask? Why from Crimson Orchid - small family owned business of Debbie and Jenny Waddington based in Alberta, Canada. Quoting from their website they "specialize in hand crafted stitch markers and row counter bracelets for the knitting and crochet obsessed." If you fall into either of those - you need to check out their shop!

Looking through their beautiful designs how could you not pass up grabbing yourself a set of stitch markers while you're at it. I couldn't! And I found a set to match! Which is really easy to do. Debbie and Jenny can customize any bracelet and stitch marker set - which means that you can get a whole slew of bracelets, markers, droplets, and pattern markers that match any personality or decor!

The hanging stitch markers, though some have complained tangle in the fabric, have actually worked quite well for me. Being an almost aggressive crocheter, my fabric gets pulled and tossed every which way. I have yet to see one of these stitch markers come flying off! They stay in place and make a wonderful little tinkling sound whenever they move!

The row counter bracelet is in a word divine! There is something of a "learning curve" as you get used to trying to slide a bead through the elastic holder with one hand and a couple fingers. The crystal beads are a little tough to get through, but after a while of passing beads through the elastic, it eventually loosens up some and the beads pass through much easier. Now I just have to worry about my being too vigorous and snapping the elastic in half!! The design of the bracelet enables it to fit any wrist, including ridiculously skinny ones like mine! It will make a wonderful gift for any knitter/crocheter.

You can check out their website for product descriptions and to catch a glimpse at the beautiful materials they use, or go straight to their Etsy shoppe and find an abacus bracelet of your own! It'll make a great conversation piece at your next knitting/crochet group! "What a lovely bracelet!" Margaret will say. "This isn't just any bracelet!" you'll reply, "This is an ABACUS!"

Once a Fiber Artist - Always a Fiber Artist

2010-01-03T06:58:00.000-08:00

It is undeniable that I like making things with yarn and thread. My fingers cannot get enough of it. But I feel bad that I haven't crocheted anything new for you to swoon over in a very long time! I feel that I need to justify myself for this terrible monstrosity:

Firstly, my mother sent me practically two flat rate priority boxes full of yarn that she, my Oma, and my aunt purchased for me while she was in Germany not too long ago, so that I could learn to knit real socks, etc. So in my spare time, rather than trying out some new design, I have been practicing my knitting. You see that huge pile of yarn in front of me? Yeah, yarn heaven!

Secondly, if you look closely in the picture you will see a bobbin lace kit. Yes. I am learning bobbin lace. My husband said I should try it out as he thinks it would really feed my need for order and organization. He was right. It is another fiber art that uses knots and braiding to make beautiful lace fabrics. So in my other spare time, when I'm not knitting or working up a new design, I'm teaching myself bobbin lace.

So you see, dearies, there is a legitimate explanation for my lack of production - I'm expanding my repertoire!

You should know though that I have been working on a special request from my husband: he's been wanting me to crochet him a beard. ... I know, silly, right? But it's actually been quite fun. If it turns out right we'll see about writing down the pattern. I've also recently received a free skein of yarn from Caron and their naturallycaron.com line. They recently had a free yarn giveaway (I'm not sure if it is still going, you can always check out their website) that I couldn't pass up (who in their right mind would pass up free yarn?), so now I have another yarn I have to try out and work up into something. I have an idea that I think will be quite pretty.

I do believe that is all for now, dearies! Hopefully soon I will have something a little more interesting to share with you. Until then - Happy New Year!

Moving On

2009-12-28T07:49:00.000-08:00

The New Year is almost here. That means Christmas is past. Which means that I feel comfortable moving on and posting new items on Etsy. Today will be spent getting up the last of the plush toys for baby and NEW ITEMS that I worked up over the holiday. What are they? You'll just have to check out the store to find out!

CPADD: Crocheted Cotton Soap Dish

2009-12-17T08:19:00.000-08:00

So I know it seems kind of silly. Probably really silly. A crocheted soap dish right? It's kind of one of those things that should be on the "things not to crochet list" and I wouldn't be surprised if it is already on there or will soon be.

But when you are laden with CPADD (crochet project attention deficit disorder), you just need something a little off the wall to take a break from whatever long laborious project you've been working on.

For me: it was a soap dish. Monday was my day to clean the entire apartment. We don't have a soap dish, so the many usings of the soap left rings and some not so pleasant left overs on our sink (which lovingly needed to be scrubbed away by yours truly). Being absolutely tired of scrubbing I decided then and there that when I was done cleaning, I would take a break from those darn Adventkalendar pouches to make a soap dish so I would never have to deal with the scrubbing ever again!

And of course I chose colors that would match our bathroom colors and the spiral scrubbies that I made myself.

If you don't think my soap dish is too silly, or if you're looking for a CPADD project yourself here's the pattern, which is in fact more like a guideline anyway, it works up really, really fast and can be done in about an hour:

Crocheted Cotton Soap Dish

Materials:

G hook

Cotton yarn (not a whole lot, you can make this out of scraps from other projects)

Pattern:

1. Make a starting chain a little shorter than the length of your soap

2. Ch 1 extra and sc in second ch from hook

3. Sc across, 5 scs in last ch, sc back across ch, 4 scs in first ch, sl st to beginning sc

4. Ch 1, sc in each sc across, when you come to the cluster of 5 scs make a 2 sc increase in the second and fourth sc of the cluster, sc in each sc across, when you come to the cluster of 4 scs make a 2 sc increase in the second and fourth sc, sl st to beginning sc

5. Continue making increase rows (with increases in the same spots) until your soap dish bottom is about the same size as your soap.

6. To build up the dish sides just sc in each stitch around until it is as high as you like. To get nice crisp corners just pinch the sides together.

7. Feel free to make this soap dish your own by adding stripes or making all sorts of different color combos!

The cotton soap dish is nice because you can just throw it in the washing machine with your towels and such. Please leave comments if something doesn't make sense! Have fun!

As always my patterns are for personal non-commercial use only. Do not sell this pattern. Do not sell any item made from this pattern. You may give any items made from this pattern as a gift. You may share this pattern with others for their own personal non-commercial use.

Childhood Memory Saved

2009-12-17T07:43:00.000-08:00

It's taken me what felt like forever, but I've finally finished all of the pouches for my Adventkalendar! I've had this Adventkalendar since I was two, I think, and have used it every year since, even as an adult. Unfortunately the little boxes that it originally came with went in to disrepair, so it was necessary to make something to use instead.

Thus, the little pouches.

I've sworn that next time though, I'm not doing any designs. The pouches will be straight up one color!! But for now, it's fun and I hope that one of my kids will come to love it as much as I do.

New Items for Baby

2009-12-11T07:19:00.000-08:00

I don't have kids but have been get the creative urge to make things for babies and young children. I don't know why. But after having finished Christmas presents for certain young people I decided that I really did enjoy making things that I thought children might enjoy. I also know that if parents are going to buy something handmade for their kids it has to be something pretty special.

So I came up with a few plush blocks and balls that are personalized with the child's name embroidered by hand and feature a rattle made from plastic film canisters or acrylic paint bottles filled with either pellets or beans.

The last picture is of a little set I've had put together since earlier this summer but just recently redid the pictures for. Just as a little side-note and a big "hurrah" for myself - the embroidery was all done by eye, meaning I did not trace or draw out the lettering first, I just went with it. Pretty good, no?...Well, I was was proud of myself, anyways.

I'm hoping to get a lot more items for children and babies in my shoppe along with all of my other designs for big people that I still need to make up as well. I really want to design a baby blessing dress and pant suit to match a baby blessing blanket. Unfortunately I don't know much about sizings for babies. But I'm sure I'll figure it out somehow. Ahh, creativity!! I just have so much I want to create but so little supply!!

These items will be added to the shoppe shortly. Be sure to check back often!

FINAL STRETCH TO CHRISTMAS SALE

2009-12-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

I'm holding a sale from now through December 20th! On all of my one of a kind ready to ship items you will get free shipping!!! Visit the shop to see which wonderful items this applies to!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Of My Own Design: Empire Wrap Sweater

2009-12-04T06:39:00.000-08:00

I've done it. I made a sweater on my own. That's right. I designed it. No pattern for me! It was a rather daunting task.

I honestly had no idea what I was doing.

Having never taken any classes on garment construction, I basically just studied the pieces you get when you buy a pre-made sewing pattern for shapes. I definitely learned that going off of a sewing pattern for shape doesn't always translate well into a crocheted garment. But it does give you a good jumping off point.

I call this the Empire Wrap Sweater, for obvious reasons; it has an empire waist line, it is a wrap and a sweater. Voila. For a proto-type and my first attempt at designing and constructing my own sweater its not too bad. There are definitely things that I would change for next time. For starters I didn't give the bodice panels enough flare in order to keep them laying straight when pulled closed, but my husband says that the angled look is actually pretty nice. Secondly, for next time, rather than have an inlaid armhole, I'm just going to keep the bodice panels straight and begin the sleeves with a cap sleeve that then form a longer sleeve.

I used Paton's Beehive Baby Sport yarn and an I-hook for this project. The buttons were bought at Knit One in Pittsburgh.

Crochet Slippers

2009-11-26T17:30:00.001-08:00

I love winter for the following reasons: slipper socks. There is nothing better than keeping your feet toasty warm with handmade wool slippers/socks! I have many a pair of handknitted socks from my Oma that I lovingly wear over my regular socks, or sometimes just on their own.

I have yet to learn to make real socks in the round with double pointed needles, and wanting to make some warm footwear that was neither awkward nor lumpy nor huge (see here), I was on the hunt for either a pair of crocheted socks or a pair of slippers. Luckily I found both. But one required sock weight yarn - the other let me use whatever yarn I wanted.

So I made the slippers. If you are a Ravelry member you can find the slippers by searching for the pattern "Crocheted Slippers KAF patterns". It is a great pattern. Well, it should be noted that it is not so much a pattern as it is guidelines for making your own slipper with any weight yarn, hook size and foot size you desire! Because the "pattern" gives estimations and the like you will probably have to unravel your work several times before you figure out the ratio of your stitch size to your foot to get the right fit. But do not be discouraged! The "pattern" is great because you can make the slipper completely your own!
I made my slippers with the left over yarn from the Photographer's Glittens. The Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash was an excellent yarn for this project. It holds up well, keeping a stable shape to the slipper but also being flexible enough to slip the slipper (ha! ha!) on and off with ease. I used a G hook.

It should be noted that the weight of yarn and the hook size you use in relation to your foot may not give you the perfect square edge from the sole of to the top of the slipper like is shown in the pattern photographs. This was a problem I ran into: my dcs were a little too short to where adding another row would have made the slippers too big, but leaving them without that extra row meant that I would loose the nice square edge. It is a great "jumping off" pattern, but if you want an absolutely perfect fit with a nice square edge you will probably have to experiment a lot to get the ratio right!

Of My Own Design: The Photographer's Glittens

2009-11-24T05:50:00.000-08:00

I love photography. So naturally I call myself a photographer. As a photographer who does not really have any lighting equipment allowing her to take pictures of various subjects inside, most of my repertoire is in natural light photography - which means I take pictures outside in really cold weather sometimes. Having to hold up a camera in freezing biting temperatures can be a daunting and exhausting task. Your fingers freeze and become numb which makes it harder to adjust the shutter and aperture among other things. Plain old gloves just didn't cut it for me. The fabric was too slippery and didn't give me enough traction to adjust dials or hold my camera without worrying about it slipping out of my hands.

So I designed a glitten! The ultimate photographer's glove/mitten.

It is fashioned out of several concepts - slit fingers, hobo fingers and the flip down mitt (as I like to call it). The slit fingers are placed on those fingers that are utilized the most in photography, namely the thumb and index finger. I made sure the slit came up as far as I could without hindering proper motion of the digits so as to keep the fingers as warm as possible. The other fingers are covered by the flip down mitt, leaving them toasty warm while I use the two most important.

However, should the time arise where I need all of my fingers the mitt of course can be flipped over, exposing them all - hence the hobo fingers on the other three.

You may be asking "why didn't you just put slits on all fingers, wouldn't that just have made more sense?" I brought up this question to my husband when designing these glittens to which he replied "but the mitt is so much cooler." I have to agree with him. But if you are a looking for a more practical reason it is this - Foresight might suggest that slits would have made more sense, but as a photographer my foresight suggests the following "having all of the fingers be slits would require too much time to expose them all. If the time ever came where you would need all four fingers you can just rip open the mitt in one motion instead of taking the time to expose each finger individually." And thus my legitimate reasoning for designing a slit-hobo-drop-mitt glitten.

I constructed the glitten in rounds from the cuff up using hdcs a G (4.25mm) hook and Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash. The superwash wool is nice in that the texture of the hdcs gives the gloves extra traction so I don't have to worry about dropping my lovely and very expensive camera.

I am working on possibly getting them in other sizes and making the pattern available online or even sets already made for purchase in my Etsy shoppe.

Mastering Knitting One Stitch at a Time: Socks

2009-11-20T07:10:00.000-08:00

I can't say that I like them. Because really I don't. For my first socks they are what is to be expected - huge, lumpy and awkward. But I can be proud of the fact that I made a pair of socks!!

The pattern is from Knitty.com and is called Cinderella. It is a sock pattern that requires two straight needles (which is great if you are just starting to learn knitting and don't have a set of double pointed needles, as most beginners just get a pair of straights to start). It is a little more involved than your straight knit 3 purl 5 pattern as it requires you to pay extra attention to whether you are on the wrong or right side of the fabric. If you are a visual crafter this pattern is great as it has a diagram pattern to follow as well. The pattern teaches you how to selvedge, wrap and turn for shortening and shaping without loosing stitches, twist stitches, and joining. As it is more involved it does take a while to work up. After having to do five repeats of the stockinette pattern I had to take a break from the project and focus on something else for a little while before I decided to jump back in to start and finish the second sock.

My only problem with this pattern was the construction of the toe and heel. I understand that getting a round toe with only two needles may be impossible as they create a flat piece. And it didn't help that I didn't have the right gauge in needle or yarn, so I can't blame that on the pattern.

I would recommend this pattern if you are learning to knit but are a little apprehensive about jumping right in to double pointed needle patterns (I haven't tried one of those yet either). You'll learn some interesting techniques and if you use the right sized needle and yarn to gauge you'll probably come away with a pair of socks you'll be proud of and will actually be able to wear.

The Creativity Stump

2009-11-10T06:37:00.000-08:00

The creative process can be rather daunting. And it can be rather scary when you have a day where you don't feel like creating.

What??!!

Not want to create! Am I broken?

Being creative is a full time job. And the expectation to come up with new things on a regular basis can cause the artist a lot of stress, especially if the artist is trying to make even a meager living off their work.

I find one of the most frustrating things in the creative process is at the end of a huge project that you've been working on for months you've lost all creative feeling and need something of a hiatus. I've recently finished some gifts of which I can't go into great detail as some of these gifts are for people who read this blog, and as such I must keep the identity of the gifts secret - which is also hindering my creative process because I only feel that I can really move on to another project once I have been able to blab about the last! So now this project is going to sit on my brain until after Christmas when these gifts will finally have been given and opened and I can then blog about them and move one!!

Aaarrrgghh!

I know it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Just move on right? But I wish I knew to where! It's hard to determine where to move on to when you can't really determine any feedback from the products you do have as to whether you need to move in a different direction. It's difficult. I've been blessed to have a friend who very much likes the headbands I've created and has just recently bought them all up. (Yay!) But what about my other items? With no real nibbles it's hard to say. Oh, the life of an artist.

They say you should just make what you like, what interests you, what you think would be fabulous. But then after a while you start to worry that you are and would be the only person who would like what you make. But I suppose it's a patience game. Right?

A New Favorite Yarn: Opus 1

2009-11-06T15:59:00.000-08:00

I went in to Knit One today to find a nice yummy yarn to make something for my sister-in-law for Christmas. Having done all of the Christmas presents thus far and my husband doing really nothing, I made him come along so as to pick out the fiber and color.

I went to my usuals to see if anything new was available as I made him walk around to find something that she would like.

Turns out I like it too. And by "like" I mean "love" and by "love" I mean "I would wrap myself from head to toe in this stuff".

It's wonderfully soft 100% merino wool. It's called Opus 1. It's made in Germany. =) You can't tell, but I'm grinning from ear to ear. Being German myself, it's easy to say, and I openly admit, that I am biased to all things Deutsch. I mean, Germany just makes good quality stuff! And this yarn is most definitely one of them. And its infused with aloe vera and jojoba!! Holy crap! I LOVE this yarn. It works up great, as merino wool tends to do, it has made my fingers feel as if they are in heaven and it remains soft to the touch when crocheted into a fabric. I will definitely keep this yarn in my list of "keep in my private stash".

Unfortunately, I was so anxious to use this yarn that rolled it into a ball before I took pictures so you could see that wonderful colors. Can you blame me?

New Shoppe Items

2009-11-02T07:22:00.000-08:00

Not having any more fantastically yummy yarns with which to make stuff has really bummed me out! With so many ideas going through my head just itching to actually be made my fingers seem to be going through withdrawal! To appease them I've been working on mock ups and prototypes from less than favorable acrylic yarns, if only to just keep them busy. In the process I found some left over crochet thread and beads and decided to make some more glorious, dainty and feminine headbands.

My favorite would have to be the one in the middle. Unfortunately I still have plenty of crochet thread, but now I've run out of beads. =( Ah, the vicious cycle. As of right now the first one is up in the shoppe and the two are to follow later. I'm trying to spread out adding new items since I haven't sold anything in a while and have run out of materials.

I've found a lot of wonderful lace patterns at MyPicot. Every single headband I have made has been inspired by lace and openwork patterns available on their site. They also have a wonderful catalog of different stitches for any number of projects from blankets to motifs to 3d objects the majority of which are free. It is a wonderful resource for projects you are designing from the ground up.

Creativity Woes and Possible Bright Horizons

2009-10-26T05:42:00.000-07:00

When your fingers are constantly wanting to be on the move not having the materials to satiate such an itch can really get you down!! Probably the worst thing to happen to an artist is to run out of the materials they need in order to keep on being creative! And probably the worst thing after that is to not have any more greens to purchase more materials to keep being creative... It's difficult when you're trying to run a creative business relying on its purchase power for materials coming from sales and unfortunately not making many sales...

Ah, 'tis a vicious cycle. But there is still always hope!!

On a happier note, I am one sleeve away from a new sweater design completely original by moi! As soon as I can buy one more skein of the yarn I need and five buttons...I will be able to unveil the new sweater to end all sweaters!...Until I make another one...

My First Knitted Project - Melinda Mittens from Berroco

2009-10-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

I have completed my first knitted project ever!! I have been messing around with straight needles just practicing the knit stitch and purling and I wanted to move on and actually make something! So I did. I made mittens. I made them for the Hubs. Because the Hubs likes mittens.

<----------- See?

It was a really easy pattern (find it here on the Berroco website) that called for straight needles (which is all I have right now) and then just to sew up the sides of the mittens. The pattern was for a woman's medium hand and with needles three and a half sizes larger than the ones I had. The pattern called for two No. 10 1/2 straight needles and I think a heavier yarn. I used No. 7 needles and a worsted weight yarn that I just had left over from some other project years ago.

But I thought I would mess around with it anyway, and luckily enough, the Hubs has bitty man hands so these fit him pretty well, although he says that he would have liked a little more room across the palm. I told him I would make him another pair with nicer yarn and with the requested modifications. But I can now check off knitting as one of the things I really want to learn!

If you are just learning to knit yourself, after having only done crochet for 10+ years, and you want a project that isn't overwhelming but also isn't just row after row of knits and purls, I would highly recommend this project. It does require a little finesse when placing stitches on stitch holders and then trying to put them back on the needles for the thumb and palm separation, but it's great practice in learning all the different things that knitting will require you to do.

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING

2009-10-15T08:19:00.001-07:00

Good news for all! I'm going to the post office today to weigh all of my items for international shipping! I'm excited to make this feature available on my Etsy shoppe. I'm still really worried about the process as international shipping can be really expensive. We'll see how it goes!!

New PHOTO Updates

2009-10-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

I've recently updated the photos in my shoppe in hopes of getting people reinterested in my items. I've still got the wonderful shots of Morgan and Kelly as an added bonus so that viewers can get a feel for what the items look like. But for now, we'll see how the more artistic pictures fair.

Do check out my shoppe! I have a new headband available!

A Penny For Your Thoughts

2009-10-09T12:38:00.000-07:00

I'm coming up with some new designs. I'm really excited for them. They are for sweaters, wraps, cowls and even a snazzy laptop slipcase which I am super excited for. But I want to know what you would like to see. Tell me your thoughts! Is it something I don't already have, a certain color perhaps? Let me know what you think! I want to hear from you all!!!

NEW RELEASES IN MY ETSY SHOPPE

2009-10-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

A special thanks to my friends Kelly and Morgan for being so willing to model these for me!

More Sneak Peeks for October 1 Release!

2009-09-24T10:13:00.000-07:00

Some more sneak peeks at what's coming up in my shoppe October 1!! I'm very, very, very excited for this new line!

Save the date for October 1!

I'm Doing This?

2009-09-22T07:31:00.000-07:00

It's a little hard to imagine that I've taken up crochet to the point where I'm at right now.

Never in all of my younger years did I think I would be doing crochet part-time and trying to make something of it. Never did I think growing up: I want to be a crochet-er.

It's kind of weird.

But incredibly enthralling as well!!

I'm loving every single weird moment of it.

I'm loving how I'm learning as I go. Discovering new patterns and finding ways to incorporate them into things that I would want.

I still haven't figured out how to turn some patterns/stitches into garments, because that is really what I want to do. It may have to do with my inexperience with garment construction, well, it probably has all to do with that. But working on other very talented designers' pieces I'm slowly learning little by little how it all comes together.

I'm very happy doing what I'm doing.

It's an odd thing to say.

I crochet for a living. (Well, not quite yet.)

Sneak Peeks at Upcoming Items

2009-09-12T15:27:00.001-07:00

Here are a few sneak peeks at some upcoming items that will be featured in my Etsy shoppe and patterns for which I may also post here in the near future. I hope they make your mouth water, because they are, well, mouth-watering great

Textured "lace" pattern and buttons made from 100% recycled plastic (!!!)

Green yarn for a very "green" product

Sunbeam Sunday School Bag

2009-09-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

I teach sunday school to three year olds at church. Their group is call the Sunbeams. I needed a bag that would carry around all the lesson books, crayons, paper and various other things that I needed to take with me. It had to be fun, something that I would enjoy having on my shoulder as well as something fun for the kids, hopefully, and would be able to stand up to the weight of all the stuff I "needed". So I came up with what you see below.

And I am super happy with how it came out. It's perfect, fits everything I need and withstands to the weight of it all! I love it, love it, love it!!
It's made out of 100% cotton from Lilly Sugar'n Cream, crocheted completely with single crochet and a size F crochet hook. I wanted something strong with not a lot of give and this does exactly that.
It's made out of four separate panels crocheted together at the seams (the strap is divided in half by the two side panels). The flowers are just six pointed appliques. I have the pattern for this all hand written up as well and will hopefully have the pattern for it available soon as well.

Spiral Facial Scrubbies and Washcloth

2009-09-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

I've always been intrigued by the two color spiral. I saw an old show on television one day with that spiraling hypnotizing thing and thought I just have to use a spiral in something. So I made face scrubbies from the leftover cotton Lily Sugar'n Cream yarn I had from my Sunbeam Sunday School Bag (shown in above post).

It's a really simple pattern. I worked these up in a day to sell in my Etsy shoppe as a set. And loved them so much I had to make some for myself.
I found a spiral pattern from a book by Melody Griffiths, I can't remember the title anymore, that helped me get started and I made modifications from there.
I have the pattern all written up and will hopefully be getting it posted shortly.

Etsy Labor Day Weekend Sale

2009-09-03T15:10:00.001-07:00

I am having a Labor Day Weekend Sale starting now through Monday. Everything in my shoppe is 20% off! Take a look!

Why I Do What I Do

2009-09-03T15:08:00.001-07:00

THIS is what makes me the most happy about what I do. I'm so glad when I can makes things that people truly enjoy. Thanks, Sofia, for being a supporter of my art. You are the best!

Sofia

2009-08-30T12:45:00.001-07:00

This is the second sweater I made based off of Doris Chan's Sambuca Jacket. It came out a lot better than the first and I'm very proud of it. A dear friend is buying this from me, and in honor of her wonderful support of the fiber arts I've named this design after her.

I again, did not worry about making the gauge as given in Chan's pattern. I just kept checking for fit off of someone with the same measurements as my friend. And rather than blocking for measurements I continued the sweater by adding the ribbing (with a little different pattern than that of my own) and being sure to include increases so that it fits better to the female figure. I also decided to add one more row of the shell pattern to the sleeves rather than leaving them as a sort of cap sleeve. I also improved the placement of the button holes and made the collar more sturdy.

It was a wonderful project and I really enjoy making things when I have someone in mind. And I just love the original pattern by Doris Chan. For this sweater I used Sublime Yarn Cashmere Silk Merino DK and a K hook.

Green "Lace" Sweater

2009-08-24T04:15:00.000-07:00

You see this sweater? I made this sweater! All by myself! It's my first crocheted wearable ever. I'm pretty darn proud of it. I actually completed it more than two weeks ago but just haven't gotten around to posting about it because I wanted a picture of me wearing it to go along with the post.

How it turned out was a complete accident. I wasn't getting the correct gauge from the start. So using the largest hook I had I just went at it anyway. The lace pattern was supposed to extend all the way down to about the hip with just the rows that you see in the picture. But it didn't reach that far. And rather than continue with the lace pattern, I decided to take my own little twist and add ribbing to the bottom and make more of a little cropped shirt sweater. The sleeves were also supposed to continue down to the wrist with the lace pattern but I kept them short and finished them with the same ribbing.

The original pattern came from Doris Chan's book "Amazing Crochet Lace" and the pattern is the Sambuca Jacket. I used Bernat Satin yarn in sage and a J hook. The buttons I bought from Joann's.

I really like my sweater. I call it my beautiful accident. I still don't have a picture of me wearing it but thought I should post it anyway. The Hubs says I need to make one to sell since it got such great reviews at the Relief Society talent get-together. So I think I will. It's going to be made of some really sweet and luxurious all natural fiber yarn, which will hopefully pull in a pretty penny. Keep an eye out for it if you're interested!!

Circles 'n Stripes Scarf

2009-08-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

I had a blast making this scarf and I'm proud to say that I made the pattern all on my own. It went lickity split but still looks really regal and modern. The scarf is made from a lamb/acrylic blend and an alpaca/acrylic blend yarn. The stripes were designed to give the scarf some texture and dimension, the circles to add a softer line to the piece.

I have the pattern all written up in a pdf and unfortunately I'm not sure how to link it from my computer to this post. It is written completely in crochet symbols with an assembly diagram. So if you want the pattern drop me an email (please see the comments for my email address) or leave a comment and I'll send it to you!

The pattern is for personal use only. Do not sell this pattern. Do not sell any item made from this pattern. You may pass this pattern along to others for their personal use.

Snow is a Comin' Scarf

2009-08-12T17:14:00.000-07:00

This scarf was made from another stitch pattern given in Jan Eaton's stitches for baby blankets book. The stitch makes for a great stable but not overly stuffy or claustrophobic scarf. It works up really easy and you could do it while watching your favorite TV show or while gabbing it up with friends.

I'm also super happy with the color combo! I think even the blue is neutral enough to where you can wear it with just about anything.

Again, if I weren't worried about copyright I would post the pattern for the stitch, but I don't really feel like getting sued. Instead, I would recommend you check out her book at your local library or help Ms. Eaton out and purchase the book.

The scarf was made from Bernat Alpaca Chunky Natural and Caron Simply Soft Berry Blue yarns. Super soft, super simple and super elegant!

The Miracle of the Adjustable Ring

2009-07-29T10:44:00.000-07:00

What always bugged me about about circular projects in crochet was the hole that was left when you chained however many and slip stitched the chain together to make a ring. Then I found the adjustable ring and it's made such a difference!! I love the adjustable ring! If you don't know about the adjustable ring here's the basic gist (tutorial shown using size I hook and Bernat Baby Coordinates yarn):

1. make a loop with the yarn (almost as you would to start a chain on your hook)

2. stick hook through the middle of the loop, grab yarn and pull through, do not tighten the loop

3. Chain 1
4. Through the center of the loop yarn over and pull through to make first sc

5. sc in the loop as many as you need but make sure you don't crochet completely over the loose end (shown with six scs)

6. pull loose end to close loop

7. sl st in the first sc to finish

You can now proceed to crochet your heart away and make perfect circles!

Ribbed Newborn Beanie

2009-07-29T06:47:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a matching beanie for the lacework baby blanket I finished before. I did this on my own working as I saw it, no pattern. I'm pretty proud of myself. I didn't write down the pattern again, sorry. I'll have to get around to doing that so you all can share in it.

Open Lacework Baby Blanket

2009-07-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

Having finished my other various projects and running out of a yarn needed for a very special X-Mas project which I can't divulge to much information on because I don't want it to be given away (it's a surprise and some of my readers will be recipients of those surprises) I took out some more of my left over yarn and decided to try a stitch that I liked from the book 200 Stitch Patterns for Baby Blankets by Jan Eaton.

It turned into this. And I quite like it. The Bernat Baby Coordinates yarn with this pattern gave it some automatic ruffling around the edges so I didn't feel the need to give it a fancier edging other than a simple dc around the entire edge.

It's a very light blanket and with the larger sized hook that I used it went very quickly. If there's one thing that bugged me about the way the pattern was written was this: normally in a pattern they say whether or not the turning stitch counts as the first whatever stitch. This pattern failed to say anything along those lines. So when it came to the next row and it said to skip first dc, because it didn't say that the turning stitch was the first, I figured they meant the next dc. When I got to the end of the row and realized that it wasn't adding up right, I realized that the first dc was the turning stitch or whatever from the previous row. So if you decide to tackle this pattern (which I would recommend because it's a lot of fun), just keep that in mind. Maybe something like that is common in patterns and I'm too stupid to know it, but just keeping you informed.
Because I got the pattern from a book I hesitate to rewrite it on my blog for obvious copyright reasons. But check your local library (that's where I found my copy) and see if they have it. There are many a great pattern in there!

Tischläufer (Table Runner) Dedicated to My Oma

2009-07-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

My Oma has been crocheting for a very long time. After I learned to crochet in the fifth grade she helped to continue my liking of the craft by giving me all sorts of yarns and such. I've always wanted to make doilies and table runners and several years ago she gave me a kit with a pattern and four balls of cotton thread. Now that I've had time to actually do something I enjoy, I finally took it out, started it and finished it.

The fun thing about this project is that the pattern was given in diagram form. I've never followed a diagram pattern before but after doing this one, I must say that I've been converted. I love following diagram patterns. (It's just too bad I can't draw them up myself very well).

I dedicate this finished project to my Oma.
While I would love to share this pattern with everyone, because it did come from a kit that needed to be purchased, I worry about copyright of the originally company and do not want to get in trouble nor hinder the company from reaping the benefits due them from sales of this kit.

Market Bag Version 1.0

2009-07-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to make a reusable market bag for a long time. I've found patterns and such online, but I really wanted to try my hand at making my own pattern. So I sat down and I did.

It turned out alright. A little too poofy and not tall enough. But that's what happens when you're working with left overs.
It should work nicely for produce and the farmer's market though. I'm working on a Version 2.0. And if I get that looking the way I want it to, I'll post the pattern for that one. Keep checking back, it may happen sooner than you think!

Spiral Hexagon Pattern

2009-07-05T18:25:00.000-07:00

I finally found a diagram pattern and written pattern that I'm okay with sharing. This is the hexagon pattern I used for my Hexagonally Modern Baby Blanket which is in a previous post. As a forewarning, it's not perfect and I'm not sure if it makes any sense. I made it on my own in a way that made sense to me. If you see any problems please let me know. I want to make sure that the pattern is clear enough for anyone to use.

Also as a quick disclaimer, if any other designers out there see this pattern and they say "Hey, that's exactly like my pattern!" let me say now that your pattern may have been one that I studied from. I looked through lots of different patterns noting similar tendencies from all. Unfortunately I can't remember all that I studied, so if you are one of those designers just know that I give full credit and if you leave a comment saying that this is similar to your pattern I will write a new post giving credit to you all.

Now for the pattern. Because it may seem confusing I am giving the written and diagram so that you can use both at the same time (which I would recommend).

Spiral Hexagon Pattern

Abbreviations

ch = chain

sl st = slip stitch

sc = single crochet

hdc = half double crochet

-ch = previous ch

st = stitch

Materials Needed

Hook of your desired size (I used a J hook for my hexagon baby blanket which this pattern was made for)

Yarn of your desired weight

Row marker (can be something as simple as a paper clip, which is what I used, to mark the end of the round to make sure I had counted correctly)

Pattern (pattern is worked in rounds, do not turn work)

Round 1: Ch 5, sl st to form ring

Round 2: Ch 3, *sc and ch1*, repeat from * to * five times, sl st in 2nd ch of first ch3

Round 3: Ch 1, 2sc in -ch3 space, ch 3, *2sc in -ch sp, ch 3*, repeat from * to * 5 times

Round 4: sc in 2nd sc from beginning of round 3, ch 3, *sc at end of -ch sp, 2 sc, ch 3*, repeat six times (place row marker in final sc if you want to keep track of where the round ends)

Round 5: *sc at end of -ch sp, 3 sc, ch 3*, repeat from * to * six times (place row marker in final sc)

Round 6: *2 sc at end of -ch sp (these will cover the first sc so skip it), 3 sc, ch 3*, repeat six times

Round 7: *2 sc at tend of -ch sp (these will cover the first sc so skip it), 3 sc, 1 hdc, ch 3*, repeat from * to * six times

Round 8: *2 sc at end of -ch sp, 1 sc in that first sc you've been skipping before, 3 sc, 1 hdc (should be back one st compared to the previous rows, see diagrams), ch 3*, repeat from * to * six times

Round 9: *2 sc at ten dof -ch sp (these will cover the first sc so skip it), 5 sc, 1 hdc, ch 3*, repeat from * to * six times

Round 10: *2 sc at end of - ch sp (these will cover the first sc so skip it), 6 sc, 1 hdc, ch 3*, repeat from * to * six times

Round 11: *2 sc at end of - ch sp, 1 sc in first sc we've been skipping, 6 sc, 1 hdc, ch 3*, repeat six times (round will again be one st back compared to other rows, see diagrams)

Round 12: *2 sc at end of - ch sp, 1 sc in first sc we've been skipping, 7 sc, 1 hdc, ch 3*, repeat from * to * six times

Finishing: sl st in 1st sc of neighboring pattern phrase, fasten off.

One side will look like the above. The other five will look like the one below
I've tried for three days to give a complete diagram of the entire hexagon. I just ended up confusing myself and not being able to fit all the stitches in to where you would be able to see them in a useful way. I hope this works for you. It's not perfect and probably very confusing. Please let me know if there is anything I can explain easier.

This pattern is for personal use only. Do no redistribute this pattern or the diagrams. Do not sell this pattern. If you are going to use this pattern and if you plan on sharing it, please do not repost this pattern and any of the pictures. Rather, place a link so other can refer back here.

Neapolitan Hexagonally Modern Baby Blanket

2009-07-02T17:04:00.000-07:00

This blanket has been a desired project for a long time. I had the idea for it about a month ago and finally had the gumshoo to get the materials and put it together.

First, I had to find a hexagon pattern that I liked. There were a few, but none that gave the little punch I wanted it to have. I wanted it to be sleek, modern, almost whimsical (it was supposed to be a baby blanket for a girl). All of the patterns that I liked required a handing over of money, which I didn't have any and I wasn't going to fork over when all I wanted was a hexagon. So I studied a bunch of pictures and came up with my own that did exactly what I wanted. Eventually I will get around to writing down the pattern and posting it so that all can enjoy! Stay tuned for that!

I'm glad with how it turned out. It came out bigger (44" x 55 1/2") than what I was planning, but now I'm just going to sell it as a crib blanket that will grow with the child into an afghan or throw.

The pink is from Caron 1 Pound (soft pink), the brown is from Caron 1 Pound (espress0), and the white is Bernat Chunky Alpaca (natural). I decided to add a different fiber to the blanket to add another dimension. I like the little spots of extra softness the alpaca hexagons gives.
I know there is a way to do a half hexagon to fill in the huge notches the shape makes, but I rather liked the edginess it gave to the swirly project.

Overall, I am very pleased with how this blanket turned out!
You can feel free to copy my layout, color scheme and motif placement. I do ask that any item you make from this pattern be for personal use or given as a gift only. Please do not sell any item made from this pattern.

Sunburst Patch Quilt

2009-06-29T15:02:00.000-07:00

After working on this project for somewhere close to five to eight years I've finally finished it. It's not that it was a hard project, I just fell into CPADD many a time during this project's lifetime. Unfortunately, making a ton of little granny squares just isn't that much fun after a while.

But I brought it out of hibernation once and for all to finally get it all together and finished. As I was doing so I fell into the usual, but decided that it was necessary to finish it.

So I revamped the design.

I turned it into this.

Originally I was planing on having a sort of "plaid" layout for the little granny squares. Once I got tired of doing all the little granny squares I started making a few bigger ones to set against them.

Then I ran out of the necessary colors and after looking around for matching yarns, I had almost given up hope of ever finishing this blanket. But luckily! I did find the necessary yarns.

You can see what I originally intending the blanket to somewhat come out to. But I got tired of making all the granny squares and came up with the pattern shown before. I think it came out even better than the original plan.

You can feel free to copy my layout design for this blanket (colors and everything). I do ask though that you do not sell the design or sell any items you make from this design. I'm not going to write out a pattern for this as it is all made out of simple granny squares sown together through the back loops. But I will give the following: The small granny squares are made of four rounds alternating one of the four colors on each round. The larger granny squares are made up of seventeen rounds, alternating the four colors every four rounds (the last color will be used for five rounds).

Baby Blessing Blanket

2009-06-27T06:58:00.000-07:00

Years and years ago when I first started crocheting I went to my local library in search of some books that would give me ideas for blankets, etc. that I could make. Rather than coming across and actual blanket pattern I came across a stitch that I absolutely fell in love with:

Broomstick Lace

I loved the texture and almost simple look of the stitch. I didn't take the book home or make copies, I had engrained the stitch into my brain. I made my first baby blanket from the stitch for a church youth leader of mine and decided that this stitch was absolutely perfect for baby blankets.

I was ecstatic when I learned that my best friend since we were ten was going to have her first baby. I knew that I would have to make a baby blanket for her. I was going to be an "aunt" and had to make my presence known to Little "H" (which is what I am going to call her from now on, Staci if you are reading this, you'll just have to be okay with that!). This blanket took a long while as I knew it would but was hoping it wouldn't as I knew I had a deadline. Luckily I got it done with six months to spare!

If I were to do this project over again though, I would use a different yarn. I used Bernat Baby Coordinates which is a fine yarn, don't get me wrong, I just had a lot of problems with fibers getting tangled on my hook and what not. It's just too bad that I really like the texture and sheen of this yarn for this particular stitch.

If you don't already know this stitch this is the basic know how:

Materials

Hook of your desired size for how you want the blanket to turn out

Large knitting needle or broomstick

Yarn of your choice depending on how large or small your desired blanket will be

Pattern

Starting chain in multiples of 5 + 2 (however long you would like the blanket to be)

Rnd 1: Sc in second ch from hook, Sc in each chain to end, do not turn.

Rnd 2: Using large knitting needle or broomstick (with hook still in) loop working st over needle/broomstick loosing or tightening loop depending on how big you want it, insert hook into next sc yo and draw through work loop onto needle/broomstick, continue through to end, do not turn.

Rnd 3: Leaving knitting needle/boomstick in place grab five loops with hook, sl st around the loops to connect them together, ch 1, work 5 sc into the loops, *grab five more loops with the hook, work 5 sc into the loops*, repeat * to * to the end, do not turn.

Repeat Rnd 2 and 3 until desired length is acheived.

I'm not really good at writing out patterns so if this is too confusing or you see anything wrong with it just let me know! Enjoy!

Phannie Sunburst Beret

2009-06-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

In trying to find things that I thought would be an automatic draw to the modern populous as far as things they would be interested in purchasing goes, I found this cute pattern for what looked like a slouchy beret. I started my first hat as directed by the pattern, with hooks and yarn etc, etc. And the thing didn't come out slouchy at all as you can see below.

Even though the pattern name is "Phannie Sunburst BERET" the picture they advertised with it looks more like a slouchy beret. So I was a little upset and disappointed when mine came out more like a real beret, even though I crocheted more loosely than I normally do.

But I still really liked the pattern so I decided since I still had a lot of yarn left over I would give it a second go. But this time I went with a size larger hook and made the stitches even more loose so that it would move more freely. I got closer to what I want. I think if I'm going to use this pattern again I'm going to go even looser and maybe another hook size larger.

One thing that bothered me about the pattern though was the last round that was supposed to be slip stitches around the edge. No matter what I tried, no matter how loose I made the stitches or how large of a hook I used, adding that round of slip stitches made it impossible to get the hat over my head. So I've decided to leave that last round off even though it is supposed to add to the stability and help keep the edging from becoming too loose and out of shape. But if you can't get the thing on your head then it really doesn't matter. So I'm just not going to worry about it.

All in all I really like the pattern and I was able to get both of these done in one day. If you would like to get the pattern yourself just click here.

Interesting Vintage Pattern - Shaker Bonnet

2009-06-16T06:31:00.000-07:00

I was just moosying around the world wide web looking for patterns that I thought would be fun to try. While I don't wear hats, I know that there is a wide populous that do, so I figured I would try some for future sell-ables. I don't think the pattern of the Shaker Bonnet I saw would be something that would sell right off (maybe you disagree with me) as I don't know many who would wear it, it is an interesting little piece of crochet history! Even though it's a Shaker Bonnet it looks actually quite pretty. You can check it out here if you are interested!

Red Five Hole Windowpane Baby Blanket

2009-06-11T06:18:00.001-07:00

I found this pattern linked in the Free Pattern Directory on the Crochet Pattern Central website and thought it was really cute and fun. I had some left over red yarn that a friend gave me so I figured I would use that as I had no other plans for it. I ran out of it before I had even made the blanket a reasonable size. After many unsuccessful attempts to find a matching yarn I decided to just unravel the entire thing and start from scratch.

It's a very simple pattern and I was able to get this, now baby sized, blanket done in two days once I had the opportunity to just sit down with it and work on nothing else. I'm please with it over all. It has a really interesting texture and keeps from getting too warm underneath which I like.

I did add my own border instead of that suggested in the pattern. I wanted to add a little geometric depth to a very boxy blanket and thought a simply shell stitch would look nice. And I think it compliments well (and makes it look more like a baby blanket). I'm not sure if it was my stupidity in reading the pattern, but there may be an error when you got to change from a solid square row to the window pane row. The math doesn't quite work out, so I kind of just did my own thing when it came time for that switch. After a little research the original designer of the pattern said that there was no error, so maybe I just didn't understand.

But the blanket came out great and I'm very pleased with it! Another one to add to the for-sale bin!
This pattern is available for all free. Click here to get it!

Crochet Hook/Needle Caddy Roll

2009-06-09T06:32:00.000-07:00

Since getting back into crochet really heavy, I decided I needed a place to keep all of my hooks together. And I needed a place where I could keep adding hooks to. Because my husband and I are a little low on funds right now, and because crocheters are all about making homemade things anyway, I thought what better opportunity to use up some left over yarn and make my own hook caddy?

After looking at other's projects on Ravelry, and looking at others elsewhere on the world wide web, I decided to just make my own pattern. Because I had a set of circular hooks that were rather long I needed something long enough for them. But because they are so long and the rest of my hooks are the normal length I didn't want all of this wasted space in the caddy. So a pocket of sorts was kind of out of the question. Instead I decided to fashion it so that I would have a possibility of three rows in which to hold the hooks.

This was the finished project. I'm pretty satisfied with it! It works exactly as I want it to with a lot of growing possibilities for more hooks.

I'm not really good at writing patterns, but if you want to make my Caddy Roll, it's pretty much along the following lines (it's super easy, you can probably get it done in one day):

Crochet Hook/Needle Caddy Roll

Abbreviations:

ch - chain

sc - single chain

yo - yarn over

sts - stitches

sk - skip

Materials:

less than 1 skein main color yarn

less than 1 skein contrast color yarn

crochet hook (use whatever size needed to get the effect you want, I used a G hook)

Pattern

Body:

Beg - starting ch should be as long as your longest needle you want to include, in my case I had a starting ch of 48

Rnd 1 - ch 1, sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in remaining ch to end, ch 1 turn

Rnd 2 - sc in front loop only to end, ch 1 turn

Repeat Rnd 2 until you have reached desired length. Fasten off.

Border:

Starting in any corner, attach contrast color and ch 1, in starting corner 2 sc, *sc in each sc until you reach next corner, 3 sc in corner, when working down the edge of the body work 1 sc into each row (upper and lower row) until you reach next corner*, 3 sc in corner, repeat from * to * one more time, 1 sc in beginning corner and fasten off.

Row Holders:

Depending on how many rows you would like for your caddy will depend on how many times you do this, and where you place it. Because that is all subjective I will leave you to determine number of times and placement and will just give the method for making the holder.

1. hold the yarn at the back of the body (be sure to hold on to the end of the yarn) with the stitches of the body perpendicular to the direction you will be working

2. work the hook from the front to the back

3. work the hook through the front of the body, yo and pull through (the essence is to create an attached starting chain to the body of the caddy)

4. working from the front to the back again, work the hook through a new "hole/loop", yo and pull through

Repeat step 4 varying the tension of the sts to accommodate for different size hooks. For the larger hooks leave lots of room in the st and sk two "holes" before working a new ch. Once you've reached the end of the body, fasten off. Repeat 1-4 as many times as needed depending on how many rows you you want.

Closure Ties:

I would recommend placing all of your hooks in the caddy so you will know how large it will roll up, and thus determining where and how long you will need to make your closure ties. Once you figure that out attach contrast color in the body on the outside and ch however long you need. Fasten off. Repeat 3 more times. I would recommend counting how many stitches and rows you are in from the edge of the body so that the other ties are located in the same place.

If you see any problems with this pattern, or if it just doesn't make any sense what-so-ever, please let me know!!

Blueberry Andalusia Throw

2009-06-07T05:30:00.000-07:00

I've been a crocheter since the fifth grade. In the fifth grade I was taught the basics in a sort of after-school arts and crafts program. How to start a chain, how to turn a row, what a double crochet stitch was. That was about it. After that I was left on my own.

And I've been pretty happy there. I've come up with my own afghan patterns. I've come up with my own beenie/skull cap pattern. I've been doing pretty good on my own. But I decided it was high time I learned how to crochet from someone else's pattern.

(sigh) I can't say that I like it. First off, having never read from a pattern before I didn't know what all the abbreviations meant. So I had to find a glossary of sorts and memorize. Yuck. Secondly, even after I learned what it all the abbreviations were, I still couldn't infer what the darn designer meant!

But as you can see, I figured it out and got a pretty darn good looking afghan out of it. I think it may be smaller than what the pattern originally called for because I didn't have the recommended size hook. But TJ climbed under it for me and I think it would work quite well as a throw.

It was definitely a fun project and one that I plan on making again (this time with the correct size hook). After about the second square I had the pattern memorized and was able to push those puppies along likkity split.

And I think I may still try to sell this one too. Anyone interested?

You can find the pattern here for free! I used Caron Simply Soft yarn in Berry Blue (about 4 1/2 skeins) and an aluminum H hook. There may be a mistake in the pattern on round 3 or 4 I believe after you've made the second go around of the 3dectog. The pattern says to chain one and stitch 3sc in the beginning loop. It's kind of hard to do this because, well, the initial stitch is at the very left end of the loop. It doesn't say to turn, but I would. It will make your life a lot easier.