Sunday, April 26, 2015

Knitting in public is fine, but crochet?! Oh my!!

We were talking about somehow knitting outside Uniquities and my mom said it would be an impromptu Knit In Public Day. Then I pointed out that we were knitting in public since we were sitting in the eating area of Wegmans. Then Tammy pointed out that she was crocheting in public. That lead to "Crocheting in public?! Oh my!!"
 
Here is a picture of the brim of the hat I am working on and my treat for the afternoon.

I have also volunteered to test out a shrug/bolero pattern.  The Free Pattern Testers forum on Ravelry can be dangerous.  I know I want to try too many of the patterns I see on there.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

I have definitly heard of time management.

I have no time management skills or scheduling skills at all.  I really don't.  I will work on blog posts while the sun is out and then wonder why my pictures of other things are super dark later. 
 
 I did finish the play mat though!  I finished it last Sunday night.  I made-up the pattern, but it is quite easy.  If you know how to crochet a granny square, you will be able to make this.  My segments are two single crochets with a single chain between, and two segments with two chains between at the corners.
 
 This shows the color a lot better.  There is also a US nickel for scale, I couldn't find a penny.  Everyone was super impressed by the thing.  It did take seven skeins of yarn to make this.

I also finished the knitted portion of another Skywalker done, but it has been added to the to-be-blocked pile, so no nice pictures.  I made another because the first one, that was made to gauge, felt too small.  I like this new one a lot better.

Today I got to finally teach the crochet jar cozy class.  They are growing on me.  When I made the first sample (shown above) I didn't even like the idea enough to fully read the pattern.  It wasn't supposed to look like this.

 This is the pattern and how it was supposed to look.  This is the one I made during the class.  Though the funny thing is that my student liked the accidental "variation" I did before.  Though since they were so easy and since my student was so excited to make them, I am starting to like them more.

This is the small version.  The pattern came with two sizes with two stitch patterns.  The small one fit the super cute Dairy jars the look like vintage milk bottles.

This is my dedicated student.  She brought a variegated purple yarn to work with.  A lady after my own heart.

This is her large cover.  She started making it the way the pattern said and then wanted to make it the way I had done it on the first sample I had made.  Now I have visions of making this to go over jars and then put LED candles in them for my dining room table. 

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Happy Easter, but don't get too close.

Bill has been super nice and shared his germs with me.  I felt myself going downhill last night and woke-up with a super sore throat today.  I'm hopped up on Vitamin C so I'm going to keep it simple this post.
We went over to my parents' house for an Easter lunch and Mary and I went wondering around in the woods I grew up playing in.  She found a few different plants she liked and wanted to take home.  Food was good and so was hanging out.

I have been working on something for someone at the Mon knit-night who had a baby.  I thought I was making a baby blanket, but it turns out I am making a play mat.  Silly yarn wanting to be something different than I thought of.
Another Skywalker shawl is in the works too.  I'm already at the edging.  I remember the pattern taking longer, but I seem to be flying through it.  Changes at the one wavy stitch have still been made, but I made different choices than last time.  Making this has made me want to design another shawl. 
Maybe I will get one of these patterns I keep making testing and out to the public...maybe.

As I was looking for the perfect border for the shawl I have in my head I found a few other things that are pretty awesome.
  This super awesome/adorable dragon is to die for.  I love it and want to snuggle it.
  The design page by Lucy Hague is just filled with such pretty things.
  This Grape Vine Shawl also caught my eye.  There is a link to the pattern right on the page.
  The bottom most picture on this blog post caught my eye.  I was hoping it would give some insight on how to use a straight edging and turn a corner with it.  From what I can tell there is no link to the pattern.  It is really fancy looking though.

I thought I had more to say....but I can't remember it now.  So here is another link to a Back to School Style Blazer Recon by ThreadBanger that I really want to try.