Tag Archives: yarn

June 18, 2014 · 10:41 pm

April – Square Seven

April – Square Seven

April’s first square is a daffodil.  To give credit, I got the pattern here on Craftsy, for $3.99 but the pattern actually irritated me quite a bit.

It was very poorly written.  Many of the instructions were incomplete and unprofessional.  For example, when changing colors the instructions failed to indicate to finish off.  This even included the end of the pattern.  This may seem obvious, but most crochet instructions indicate that you should not finish off unless instructed to do so.

Some of the spacing  in attaching the daffodil petals to the green were just wrong in my opinion.  Also, the language used for many crochet instructions was not what is normally used in pattern instructions.  “Sc into ring” is used instead of “sc in ring.”  Into is just not necessary.  “Arches” is used instead of ch-2 space.

I did not like how the block went from circle to square by working 3 dcs in between stitches instead of having made a ch 1 space in the previous row for that purpose as is usual with granny squares.

captured_by_snapseed_28_1The pattern is marked as easy but I strongly disagree with that.  I was able to figure it out and get it to work, however I don’t think that a beginner would have been able to pick it up and get a good result without help.  For example, a picot stitch is used for the tip of the flower petals, however the pattern does not give specific stitch instructions for a picot.  There are two issues with this.  One: A picot is not a beginner stitch, it is a more advanced stitch.  Two:  There can be different ways of doing a picot so stitches like this should never be assumed.  Additionally, 3-d work and shaping are generally not considered beginner level.  I would really consider this more intermediate to advanced.

Finally, the thing that irritated me the most is the trumpet of the daffodil.  The instructions say to work a round of single crochet in the front loop only of round 1.  This would be great except that round 2 was NOT worked only in the back loop of round 1 so it was extremely difficult to work into the front loop of round 1.

All that being said, the square turned out very charming with another 3-d aspect.  But I think I’ll take time tomorrow to rewrite the pattern and make these corrections mentioned and see if it turns out any better.

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June 17, 2014 · 3:33 pm

March – Square Six

March – Square Six

March – Square Six

I’m finally back on the Granny Squares.  This shamrock square turned out really cute.  It’s hard to see in this picture, however the square is crocheted behind the shamrock giving it a 3D quality.

The shamrock is worked first and I used the same shamrock as my St. Patrick’s Day Garland. The rest is worked the same as  January’s Square One again, starting with round 2 joined to the back of the shamrock.  It is really easier than it might seem.

This square, as with all of them really, will look much better after I get it blocked.

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September 24, 2013 · 3:29 pm

Ribbon Cross Christening Afghan (Style A)

Afghan 3The pattern for this afghan is now available for sale on Ravelry!  I’ve set the price for it at $5.00.  I would love to hear from anyone who purchases the pattern and see pictures of your completed afghan!  I may even post your picture on the site here!  Click on the picture to see the Ravelry listing, or just the “buy now” link.  Enjoy!


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September 27, 2011 · 6:56 pm

Project Linus

I have joined a new organization!

Project Linus is an organization that “Provides love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.””

And here is the first afghan I have made to donate!  This baby afghan is a fairly simple pattern.  The pattern stitch is made by alternating a wrong side row of double crochet + slip stitch, with a right side row of straight double crochets.  The combination of the double crochet followed by a slip stitch creates an interesting textured bobble type stitch. 

This stitch gives the simple 12-row repeat before changing colors some pleasant detail without complicating the design.

I continued the simplicity to the edging where I completed one round of single crochets in white, followed by one round of the pattern stitch.

I have added the websites for both the National and Kansas City chapters of Project Linus to the Links menu if you are interested in more information!

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August 25, 2011 · 6:46 pm

Ribbon and Pearls Christening Afghan

As promised, I designed an afghan in honor of my baby girl and I just love how it turned out!  I even submitted this one to Leisure Arts to see if they wanted to publish but they didn’t.  Oh well. 

I think I’ll sell the pattern for this one on Ravelry.  So I won’t post it for free here, but I will get the link added to the item on Ravelry once I get it posted there.

I loved how the ribbon and pearls turned out.  I was initially going to use white pearls but I’m glad I used the pink.  This pattern could be real pretty in reverse colors too with pink yarn and white ribbon and pearls. 

Update:   I have added the pattern for sale to my Ravelry store!

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August 6, 2011 · 9:55 am

Sage Lattice Prayer Shawl

I’ve been working on several different prayer shawls and the patterns for them lately, both because we’re in need of them in the Prayer Shawl group we have at church, and because I’ve got a lot of different yarn left over from other projects that I need to get used up.  I figured this was the perfect way!

Being the middle of summer I wanted to design something that could be used to keep warm in the air conditioning, but still be delicate and light to match the time of year.  This yarn is very light weight and would work perfect for that.  I combined it with the very simple, open lattice-work stitching which is just double crochets and chains, and it turned out very nicely.

To add just a little bit of weight and definition to the piece I did a reverse single crochet, otherwise known as the lobster claw, edging.  It put a nice rolled-hem like finish on the shawl and really defined the edges.  I’ve used the revers single crochet on some dishcloths before, but I’ve never used it on a full sized project and I really like it.

So this shawl is ready to go to our Prayer Shawl Group’s monthly meeting on Thursday to be prayed over and then given to someone in our congregation in need of it.  I can’t wait!

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July 30, 2011 · 10:49 am

Hooded Baby Blanket

So I made this afghan a few weeks ago.  I had been holding off on crocheting anything for the baby for a couple different reasons.  First, I felt so crappy during my first trimester that I didn’t even feel like crocheting anything for two full months after I found out I was pregnant.  And second, I wanted to wait until we found out if we were having a boy or a girl so that I could crochet in appropriate colors.  But fortunately I started feeling better at just under 3 months, and at about a week before my sonogram at 19 weeks I couldn’t stand it anymore and had to crochet something.

A fellow blogger had posted this baby blanket (pictured at right) she had designed on The Blue Brick and a few of us who commented on the post were able to convince her to write out the pattern.  She did so, and graciously shared the pattern!  Click on the picture with the yellow hood to see the pattern.

Since we didn’t yet know the sex of the baby I didn’t want to crochet my traditional Ripple Baby Afghan yet.  So I opted for this great little piece in neutral colors.  It’s very simply done in rounds of double crochets with shell increases at the corners of each round, and was very enjoyable to work on on my bus ride into work a few days that week.  Once I got up to the last round and the hood I decided put the piece down for a few days until after the sonogram and then do it in either peach or blue.  As you can see I did peach.  Yes, we are having a little girl!  I did struggle with the pattern on the hood a little bit and I could not get it to come out quite like the original picture, but it’s a really cute piece and lovely for the first afghan that I have crocheted for my daughter!

This did get me thinking though.  I’ll still do my traditional  Ripple Baby Afghan, but I should probably also design my own baby afghan in honor of my baby girl.  I think I’ll do something in white that we can use for her Baby Blessing – perhaps with some pink ribbon embellishments.  But I can’t decide if I want to do something square or another version of a ripple afghan.  We’ll have to see about that.

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July 29, 2011 · 4:36 pm

Birthday Skirt

I made this skirt as a present for my Niece Abbi’s 4th Birthday this month.  I wanted to make her something fun for summer so I went looking for a pattern on Ravelry.

 

 

The pattern is very simple and easy to make – done in a spiral of single crochet stitches instead of in rounds.  The lack of joining each round and chaining to take the work up to the next row makes the piece seamless all the way around and I really liked how that turned out.  The ruffles are fairly easy, done with shell stitches.  The first, or lower ruffle is just worked around the bottom edge of the skirt before finishing off.  However the second, or upper ruffle is made separately and then sewn on about an inch and a half above the lower one, gathering in as you go.  If I had that part to do again I would have worked it into the skirt initially instead of making it separately.  Joining the separate ruffle was a bit of a pain.

The top hem is folded over about a half inch and sewn in place to make a pocket for a draw-string.  I really liked that to allow me to make it a little bigger so Abbi can hopefully wear the skirt longer.  (Plus she’s so tiny for her age, I was afraid it was going to be too big to begin with.)

You can view the original pattern and pictures by  clicking on this picture.  In spite of how I personally didn’t like how the second ruffle was done, I did very much like this pattern over all.

 

And here are some pictures of Abbi in her skirt!

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March 15, 2011 · 7:09 pm

Baby Booties Pattern

So like I mentioned in the previous post,  I designed these cute little booties.  I looked at several different patterns and just didn’t like them.  So I came up with my own pattern instead using a combination of what I’d seen elsewhere, along with my own changes.  I may even design some more different booties coming up here.

Size: Newborn

Materials:
• Worsted Weight Yarn.
• 3/8” Wide Ribbon
• Size F (3.75mm) Crochet hook
• Yarn Needle

Pattern Stitch:
3 Single Crochet Decrease (3scDec) Uses next 3 sc: insert hook in next st, [draw up a lp] 3 times (4 lps on hook), yo and draw through all 4 lps. (3scDec made.)

Row 1: Ch 26, turn, sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each across (25 sc)

Row 2-4: Ch 1, turn, sc in each sc across.

Row 5: Ch 1, turn, sc in 11 sc, 3scDec, sc in last 11 sc.

Row 6: Ch 1, turn, sc in 10 sc, 3scDec, sc in last 10 sc.

Row 7: Ch 1, turn, sc in 9 sc, 3scDec, sc in last 9 sc.

Note: Rows 8 & 9 are worked in the round along the edge of previous work.

Round 8: Ch 3, turn, [skip next st, hdc in next st, ch 1] across to end of row, hdc in last st, ch 1, 8 sc evenly in end of rows, ch 1, 25 sc across beginning ch along bottom of work, ch 1, 8 sc evenly in end of rows, ch 1, join with sl st to beg ch 3.

Round 9: Ch 1, turn, sc in each sc around to first [hdc, ch 1] space, [ch 3, sc in next ch 1 sp] across row, ch 3, join with sl st to first sc.

Row: 10: Ch 3, turn, sc in first ch 3 sp, [ch 3, sc in next ch 3 sp] across , finish off leaving a 20” tail for sewing.

Finishing: Turn bootie inside out and whip stitch along the heel and sole to toe. Weave ribbon through Round 8 and tie in a bow.  Weave all yarn ends.

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March 13, 2011 · 2:52 pm

Recycled Yarn = Frogging

So I have been corrected.  Recycling yarn is called Frogging.  “Ripp-it, Ripp-it!”

This one is the latest.  This sweater yielded some really great wine-colored chenille yarn which I turned into Berets.  I think I might sell these on Etsy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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