$1.25 Tree

   I got both of these from Dollar Tree.  I was impressed when I found some Premier yarn there.  I know I don't need more yarn, but I wanted to try and make some worms out of them.  I'm also curious if you can get this yarn anywhere else and if the smaller skeins for $1.25 (plus tax) is a good deal or not.

Pattern: based off Crochet Showtime Hat by The Crochet Crowd - Yarn: Sportjarré Neveda in 7053 6559 - Hook: 6.5mm

  I got the cowl done that I started on the way to NYC.  I had expected to have more time to work on it but since we had to smoosh so much each time, I couldn't work on it during taxi rides.  I might be hooked on the pattern again.  Get it?

Pattern: based off Crochet Showtime Hat by The Crochet Crowd - Yarn: unknown - Hook: 4mm

  I got this idea in my head on Wednesday and just had to try it.  It's a top down version of the Showtime Crochet Hat.  I have what I did written down and I'm thinking of putting it out on here, but I might also make it a free Ravelry pattern.  It's a very loose pattern, so it would be more like a recipe style pattern.

Pattern: based off Crochet Showtime Hat by The Crochet Crowd - Yarn: Sportjarré Neveda in 7053 6559 - Hook: 6.5mm

  When I first saw the yarn I missed the fact that it was purple with blue, yellow, and pink pieces.  I'm not sure what they are, but they are just short bits of extra color.  The picture of the other cowl is closer to the correct color.

  For this one the drop downs are climbing in the other direction because I did a number divisible by 5 plus 4.  I was pretty sure it was going to work. but I wasn't totally sure.  I can see how it mentally makes sense for the pattern to work with a number divisible by 5, but that only works when you work in rows and not in a spiral.

  The reason for this is that if you have a number divisible by 5 your rows look like this for the first three:

    1: sc 4, drop stitch

    2: sc 3, drop stitch, 1 sc

    3: sc 2, drop stitch, 2 sc

  If you were working in rows, you would get that last single crochet before you end the row which would be the fourth one you need.  But if you are working in a spiral you don't get that last one in for that row, it counts towards the next row.  So with the last single crochet from your second row with the two from the beginning of row 3, you only have 3 between drops and not the four you need.  The extra stitch offsets that first loss, so you don't notice it at all and you just need to keep working *sc 4, drop stitch* until the piece is as long as you want it to be.

In a New York (Long Weekend) Minute

 Friday:

 

  Our gate (J26) wasn't announced until 1:04pm when the train was scheduled to leave at 1:15pm.  There were just a bunch of people waiting by the monitors until it was announced and then all moved at once, like a large flock of birds.  I thought we had assigned seats, but you just find one you like in the Coach area.

  We rode the Northeast Regional Amtrak for a fairly quick three hour and forty minute trip.  I got the turkey and Gouda sandwich, it was pretty good.  There was a really good squirrel mural near Baltimore, it had a purple background and showed the squirrel eating from a bird feeder.  I didn't manage to get a picture or find one online of it.

  Steven managed to get a seat-mate that liked Star Wars.  He told him about the 501st Legion.  The new guy's lady-person also liked Star Wars and she had a Darth Vader suitcase.  The lady behind me from Delaware was blown away when her seat-mate from New York told her about Cat Cafes.

  On our walk from the train to the hotel we saw a bunch of very fashionable people.  One girl had a horizontal slit peek-a-boo t-shirt cut super short and it looked really edgy with a blazer on top.

  Our Homewood Suites room looked like an apartment.  I like how there are so many space-efficient pieces of furniture exist now.  In our room the couch folded out to be another bed.

  Tony's Pizza sounded good for dinner before the show.  I got the veggie, Bill got the pepperoni and bacon, and Steven got one BBQ and one bacon.  They were thin and just the right amount of floppy while not being too greasy.

  Since we got to the venue for Stomp early, we did some people watching while we waited for the doors to open.  We did get to hear someone warming up for the show when we picked up our tickets.

  The stage and seating area had a bunch of city things all over.  There were street signs, a crossing signal, hub caps, a traffic signal, and so many other bits and bobs.

  The show was amazing.  I love how many characters there were, like the one who wants to be the center of attention, the chill guy, the cool girl, the tough girl, and the awkward guy.  The awkward guy was my favorite.

  The scene transitions were super fast.  Even when it took longer to get set up they had something for you to watch.  One scene even looked like stop motion animation.  I recommend going to see it, I know I wouldn't mind seeing it again.

Saturday:

  I had wanted to go to The Bagel Store to get the original rainbow bagel, but they were temporarily closed.  I then found Liberty Bagels Midtown who also have a rainbow bagel.

  I got the rainbow bagel with spinach and artichoke, Bill got the rainbow bagel with strawberry, Steven got the sausage egg and cheese on sesame.  It was good enough that we talked about going back again before the trip was over.

  I was really hoping to see Swatch since he is starting to look a bit old when they show him on Project Runway.  I wondered around but didn't see him.  The employee said that the best time to see Swatch is around summer because that's when they film Project Runway.  It was a bit weird that he also told me twice that Swatch was still alive, just at home.  Since walking all three floors I'm so confused how the Project Runway contestants manage to find what they need in so little time.  The store is organized so well, but there are just so many fabric options.

  The Ghost Busters Headquarters.  It's a working fire station, so the gift shop isn't always open.  It was fun to stop by and see.

  We went to frenchette for lunch, it was just a short walk down the road from the fire station.  I got the duck haché with Chiara Vigo to drink, Bill got the poulet roti, and Steven got the tartare frites.  Everything was a bit pricey, but so good and worth it.  I even had some leftovers to take back to the hotel.  When you get a box for extra food, they give you a playing card to turn in before you leave.

  Everyone else took a nap, but I went out to get a Geocache.  This one was a bit hard to pull out of the hiding spot because of how strong the magnet on the container was.  It was a nice walk and helped me to digest all the food I had eaten.

  On way to the show, we saw a guy pulling his food cart and just walking with the traffic.  He even got a Taxi to back up for him because he had to get through that spot.

  We wanted to see one show on Broadway and Beetlejuice won.  The show was really good and now I want to learn all the stage magic.  I also got a bit emotional when everyone gave them a standing ovation because everyone's hard work came together to make a great show.  There was a mic issue at the beginning, but that didn't ruin the show at all.

  For a midnight snack we got some more pizza.  2Bros Pizza had a line out the door, but they were working quickly.  The cheese pizza slices were only $1 and very good.  I would go there all the time for a late-night bite if I lived nearby.

Sunday:

  While waiting in the line to check our bags at the train station the guy at the front of the line was having problems with his credit card and then the other people didn't have their tickets available to scan easily.  The poor employees were trying to get through the line as quickly as possible.

  We then went to the The Fans Strike Back Exhibition.  I took a million pictures of everything.  Steven and I did the VR experience.  I really like flying in space, but I probably would have made a few different flight path choices.  It was also really cool to be able to see some of the costumes up close and see what they were made out of.

  Osteria 57 won for lunch.  We got the Truffle Ricotta Toast for the table and sparkling water.  I got the Poached Egg and the Body Language drink, Bill got the Papperdelle and the Perfect Darkness, and Steven got the Spaghetti and the Vodka Lemon.  I really liked the little outdoor building they made for seating.  A bunch of restaurants had them and though it meant that there was less street parking, it was really cool.

  Steven had been requesting that we get ice cream at some point.  Bill did a quick search, and I knew I wanted to come here.  He showed me one picture of the ice cream flower and I wanted one.  Amorino is where you should go if you want to get your own ice cream flower.  They also have cups for ice cream.  I saw that they just get tiny slivers and press them on the outside to make the flower, so it isn't too hard, but it is fiddley and would take practice.  I got mango, mascarpone & fig, and banana with a pistachio macaroon.  She forgot to put it on top, so I just got it on the side.

  We were trying to think of things to do, so I suggested sitting in a park and people watching.  The nearest park was Washington Square Park.  I wondered around to see if I could get another Geocache and while trying to find it there were suddenly a ton of people on bicycles riding through the middle.  After a bit I saw a different group go down one of the streets next to the park with three LAPD officers on scooters behind them, it was really cool.

  Steven had been to the Museum of Sex the last time he was in NYC but said he wouldn't mind going again with Bill and me.  It was both educational and amusing.  I would go again some time and try and win a prize.  The girl in front of us won one and I was jealous of her.

  We still had some time to kill and were feeling a bit hungry.  We had planned to stop by a roadside stand but kept having meals that were too big or they were all closed for the day when we wanted a late-night snack.  This was the last chance we were going to have before the trip was over.  It was so good and I was glad we were finally able to get one.

  While waiting for the train I saw someone with an MTA Homeless Outreach bright orange jacket that had Magikarps embroidered onto the cuffs of her pants.

  Shane hooked us up with some business seating upgrades.  We got in just a bit too late to take the Metro back home, so we waited in line for a taxi.  The one we got was a bit small, but we had been managing to get all three of us in the back of the NYC taxis, so we did one more New York Squish.  This taxi driver ran a red light soon after leaving the station and was not comfortable driving on winding back roads at all, but he was really nice.

  It was a really good trip overall.  I will have to remember to pack some Band-Aids or something for a next trip because the sides of my little toes got rubbed raw.  We got all the things we really wanted to get done in and had some time for a few more things.  We even have something we want to try and do the next time we are in town.

For another time:

  The NYCRHPS show for that weekend was on Saturday, but it was happening at 9pm which was only an hour after Beetlejuice was supposed to start.  We would have tried to go if it had been a midnight showing.

  Houndstooth Pub was near our hotel, and we kept meaning to try it, but the timing was never right.  We were either too full or arriving too close to closing time.

  We had also planned to try and find somewhere where we could buy some of the Rogue River Blue cheese by Rogue Creamery.  We had found a few shops that carried that brand of cheeses but ran out of time to stop by one of them.

Going Keppi Crazy

Pattern: Jazzy Knit Hat by Lion Brand (older version) - Yarn: Lion Brand Keppi Sparkle in Rainbow Cupcake - Needle: US 6

   From some of the other project pages on Ravelry, either other people didn't have their skein start with the novelty yarn, they started from the other end, or they just cut off the first bit of novelty yarn.  Not everyone added notes about their projects, so I have no way of knowing.

Pattern:  Jazzy Knit Hat by Lion Brand (top changed) - Yarn: Lion Brand Keppi in Taffy - Needle: US 8

  Overall, it is a really fun idea and I think it had promise.  The fact that one skein made a small hat is good.  Different sections having different colors and/or different textures is also a pretty fun idea.  Having each section of yarn be a different weight isn't ideal.  Lashing or glueing the different types of yarn together also isn't the best way to go about things.  Having the skein begin on a yarn that is tricky to work with would make it very daunting to quite a few people.

Pattern:  Jazzy Knit Hat by Lion Brand (top changed) - Yarn: Lion Brand Keppi in Little Boy Blue - Needle: US 8

  This is how I like the crowns of my hats to look.  Nice and smooth and not too gathered.  I'm sure there are people out there who like the look of the gathered top.  I didn't like how the largest size of the pattern left a huge hole because you are trying to gather over 40 stitches together.

Pattern: HDC Hat - Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in 300208 - Hook: 5.5mm

  I'm now really falling behind on patterns I want to write.  I was messing around and trying to get the hat to look like the Jazzy Crochet hat.  This is what I was able to come up with and I really like it.  I am thinking of writing it up and making it into a real pattern.  I think it will work better as a top down hat however.

Good News!

  On Monday I got a call from my mom.  She had any appointment to see if she was able to get the body brace off.  While there they took a bunch of x-rays of all over and told her that she was able to ditch both the body brace and the neck brace.  The bones aren't fully healed, but they are enough to start supporting weight and movement.  She was making sure to make no sudden movements to not upset anything.  She wasn't sure if she was allowed to drive or not yet.

  She let me know on Wednesday that she went through her first round of PT.  There were some leg things like bridges, shoulder blade squeezes, and my mom was told to try and keep her head back more in general.

  Everything is going well so far, and we can all knock on wood and keep fingers crossed that it keeps going in that direction.

Hat Problems

 

  I have found a mistake in the pattern.  The second to largest size tells you to cast on 94 stitches, but you won't have the right number to work the 3x3 ribbing.  The rest of the numbers 67, 78, 84, 90, and 96 work for the ribbing.

  I'm also questioning the gauge on the band.  The ball band says I should be getting 19.5 stitches per 4 inches with size 8 needles.  In the colored yarn sections I am getting only 17 stitches and I'm up to 18.5 in the plain white section.  I have no idea what I'm getting in the sparkle yarn sections.

  It's always fun to match your nails to your project.  The hat is mostly finished, and it is a hat.  I'm not the happiest with how it came out.  I didn't stick to the pattern because when I tried to, I ended up with a one-inch gap at the top.  I took out one more plain row and did a row of k2togs and then a plain row.  I repeated that until I was almost out of yarn and used my small tail to cinch it closed.  I'll get a picture of it once it is done blocking and has the pom-pom on top.

  I started the crochet pattern and ran into problems straight away.  We will ignore that I won't like how gathered the top is.

  This one started with the novelty yarn too, even though the picture showed me otherwise.  I chained around a knitting needle so I could find the chains and I had hoped that the single crochets would stand out enough for me to see them.  They did not, all I see is a fluffy strip.  I think all three of these will have to be knitted since I do not have the skill to crochet them.  I have seen pictures of other people's projects where they did it in crochet, so it can be done.

  The pattern tells me to work in half double crochets after the brim and I wanted to see if people just worked into the top in the front two strands, or something else.  I did find a link to the pattern, and it seems they have a newer version out.  They took off the largest size but didn't change the gauge.  From the pictures on the website it looks like I'm either working with too tight of a gauge or there is a chain one that they didn't include in the pattern.

  The knitted hat was similar in that the newer version knocked off the largest size, but they also have a new gauge listed and changed a bunch of the cast on numbers.  Both still have the super gathered crown I don't like.  The changes don't account for the yarn variations, so I don't know if I will even be able to get the new gauge on the thicker ones.

• Jazzy Knit Hat Pattern (PDF)

• Jazzy Crochet Hat Pattern (PDF)

  While it's nice to know that I'm not the only one having problems, I feel like they should have had it all tested more to avoid having to keep changing the pattern.  Right now they are on version four of each craft.

Getting Through Some Yarn

Pattern: plain top down - Yarn: Red Heart Unforgettable in Gossamer - Needle: US 8

  You might recognize the Wegman's table.  We haven't seen that in a while.  I took a short break from going on Saturdays to hang out with Bill instead.

  I can never get the length right when doing a sewn bind off.  I did three times around and ended up with one and a half go arounds left.  I swear that I tried to do two times the circumference and that ended up being too little, but then I keep being left with so much the other times I try more.  The hat is pretty plain and worked from the top down.  I wanted to see how the colors would look with 1x1 brioche ribbing and that is pretty fun too.  I have quite a few skeins of this yarn left, but I think I'm going to save them for a bit.

  I really like how the worms turned out with different colors on their faces.  I saw some yarn at JoAnn Fabric and Crafts that I think would make some really good worms.  They will possibly look tie dyed.  I just have to wonder if I am really going to buy a skein of yarn to dedicate just to Worry Worms.  There is a good chance I will once a good coupon comes out.

  I was asked what I'm doing with all these worms.  I said that I wasn't totally sure yet.  I would normally give them to Claire to take to T.A.P.S. but she isn't traveling into the area this year.  I mentioned that if we ever went back, we could just be a table with things to hand out and not have to have anyone teaching again.  That sounded more plausible to the group to do without Claire.

  I'm having fun seeing the yarn combinations that happen with scraps.  The Red Heart Unforgettable was a bit thinner than the other yarns I used, but I think it works okay.  For the other three I had some fun playing with stitches again.  The leftmost was made with extended single crochets for the body.  The center was made as normal and the one on the right used the twisted single crochet again.

  During the Hatathon Tammy remembered she had a few of these.  I remembered seeing them at JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts but didn't get any at the time.  They were really cute, and I liked the idea of the ball being a kit to make one hat and it come with a topper.

  I did remember that my friend Ariel gave me these a long time ago.  She was trying to downsize her stash and just hadn't felt inspired by them.  When I first got them, I wasn't sure if I was going to try and follow the pattern on the ball band, but I think I will.  They are two different patterns, and it should keep it interesting.

  I went with the needle size suggested on the ball band.  Size 8s are too big, even for me.  I tend to be a tight knitter and usually have to go up a needle size or two.  I wish it didn't start at the novelty yarn because it makes it harder to count the cast on stitches.  I was thinking I could do it top down, but I don't think the novelty yarn would hold the pompom very well, though I also don't know what the other end looks like, so it might not matter in the end.

  They are all different thicknesses, though the ball bands claim they are all the same.  This is one of the reasons I don't like the generic yarn size numbers and generic bands.

  I can understand why they have the crown decreases to be so abrupt, it makes it easier to write out the pattern.  You don't have to worry about different lengths of yarn for the different sizes and different numbers of rows to get down to the same number.  You just have everyone decrease by half in one row and then feed the tail through the end.  The problem is that I don't like the look of the super gathered hat.  We will have to wait and see if I follow the pattern or not because I know there are people out there that aren't as particular about the crown of the hat as I am.

It's All About Worry Worms

  Since I've been making so many and have changed the pattern, I figured I could make a post dedicated to just Worry Worms.  I will try and keep this updated when I find hook and yarn combinations I like.

 Pattern: (US terms)

• Chain 30

• 2sc in second chain from the hook

• 3sc in third chain from the hook

• 4sc into the next 26 chains

• Chain 1 before working the head: 2dc, bead stitch, 4dc, bead stitch, 2dc into the last chain

• Chain 2, slip stitch into the same chain

• Tie the ends together and weave them into the head stitches

 Special Notes:

• The chain will be much longer than the finished worm will be

• Yarn can be changed by tying them together very close to the base and then weaving the ends into the base of the single crochets

• If making a keychain, chain 32 stitches and slide key ring onto chain and close to hook before working into the 4th chain from the hook

• Some yarns work for more than one hook size and are marked with a °

• A second, smaller hook can help get the yarn through the beads and also help to weave in ends

• Different size or shaped beads can be used in a mix and match kind of way to make a kookier looking worm

Yarn and Hook Combos:

3.25 mm

Mini Pony Bead (for now)

Works Better as a Keychain

• Red Heart Heart & Sole

4 mm

Mini Pony Bead

• Bernat Baby Sport°

• Kraemer Yarns Tatamy Tweed DK

4.5 mm

Regular Pony Bead or Regular Pony Bead

• Bernat Baby Sport° (more wiggly)

5mm

Regular Pony Bead

• Bernat Berella So Soft

• Big Twist Classic Yarn

• Caron Cakes

• Caron Dawn Sayelle

• Caron Perfect Match°

• Caron Simply Soft

• Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran

• Lion Brand Vanna's Choice° (older)

• Red Heart Eco-Ways°

• Red Heart Soft

• Yarn Bee Soft Secret

5.5mm

Regular Pony Bead

• Big Twist Living°

• Caron Perfect Match°

• I Love This Yarn Super Soft Ombre

• Lion Brand Vanna's Choice° (older)

• Premier Yarn Just Yarn

• Red Heart Eco-Ways°

• Red Heart Super Saver Pooling°

• Red Heart Super Saver Stripes°

6mm

Regular Pony Bead

• Big Twist Living°

• Caron One Pound°

• Caron Sayelle

• Lion Brand Vanna's Choice (newer)

• Loops & Threads Impeccable°

• Premier Just Chenille

• Red Heart Super Saver Multi Color

• Red Heart Super Saver Pooling°

• Red Heart Super Saver Stripes°

• Red Heart TLC

6.5mm

Regular Pony Bead or 9x12mm Beads

• Caron One Pound°

• Lion Brand Jiffy

• Loops & Threads Impeccable°

• Red Heart Super Saver Solids

• Red Heart With Love

8mm

9x12mm Beads

• Bernat Softee Chunky

• Lion Brand Hometown USA

 How To Add Beads: 

Double Crochet:

• Thread the bead into the yarn creating a loop

• Use the bead as the space that would usually be used in the yarn over the hook

• Insert the hook into the loop/stitch as usual, pulling a loop of yarn through it

• Yarn over the hook and pull another loop through the one made when anchoring the stitch

• Feed that loop back up through the bead and pull the working yarn through

• Loop that stitch around the yarn coming out from the top of the bead, acts like pulling it through the yarn over normally on the hook, it will be a little tight

• Slip the loop coming from the top of the bead into the hook

• Put the yarn over the hook and finish the double crochet as per usual

Double Crochet for Specialty Beads:

    - Work all rows for yarn on 5mm hook or smaller

    - Add the chain before the first bead and after the second bead for 5.5-6mm hook

    - Just bead double crochet like normal for 6mm and bigger

• Chain 1

• Add the bead to the yarn and work a double crochet like regular pony beads

• Chain 1

Cyclops:

• Add the bead (9mm x 12mm in picture) on 5th double crochet of the head

• Work the 6th double crochet of the head into the bead as well

• Finish the head as normal

 Adding Other Extras:

- "Ears":

• Chain 4 after the first eye stitch (3rd double crochet) and slip stitch into the top of the last double crochet and the loop directly under it.

• Chain 4 after the 4th double crochet of the head (7th double crochet) and slip stitch into the top of the last double crochet and the loop directly under it.

They can also be added anywhere on the head for a fun addition.

- "Hair":

• Chain 4 and slip stitch it to the back loop of the first chain.

- Booty Bead:

• Work first single crochet as normal.

• Elongate the lop on the hook and slide the bead onto it and adjust to have only a very small loop left, I use a very small crochet hook to hold it.

• Using your usual hook, pull another loop through the stitch you put your first single crochet in.

• Pull another loop through that and then use the small crochet hook to finish your second single crochet.

• Continue as you normally would.

Make sure to have fun and link back to my post if you use and like my version of the pattern.