Life is a sticky wicket without crochet

I'm still here and stitching!

I'm currently finishing a baby afghan for a friend's 2nd baby. I have tons of projects started and in my queue, as usual.

I went on vacation and found a pleasant LYS and a delicious yarn. It feels like sin!:

Valley Yarns Deerfield

I splurged and bought 7 skeins in Periwinkle.

I plan on making it into this shawl, which is from Knit Along with Debbie Macomber: Friendship Shawls.

I've also had a really strange desire to do embroidery. I've been quite good at it and I learned how to do it very early on from my Aunt. I got to a point where  I wasn't interested in doing it anymore. I ended up buying this Dragonfly Happiness leaflet yesterday because of the renewed desire to do some form of embroidery and it will go well with the bathroom decor. We will see how soon I can get to this project. Heh!

I also bought a fabric panel with Cicely Mary Barker's Hawthorne fairy and the companion material for a nursery. I'll either make a baby quilt or a wall hanging, or both.

Here are my three latest knitting projects http://community.livejournal.com/52_crafts/125022.html#cutid1

This is a good idea. I probably would have made it in several colors to attract more attention. The goal was to bring attention to the needs of the homeless. Might as well be bold about it. Then again they might have had the yarn donated and didn't have a choice about the color. Either way it was for a good cause.

I just posted my remaining projects over at 52_crafts.

23-32 from 2008

It's the People Cozy!

 

I did not reach the goal of 52 crafts for 2008. The tally seems to be at 32. I knew I would not reach 52 but I did give it a good try. I have a very, very intensive insane schedule so 32 is still a notable amount. Although, I still have lots of projects to accomplish from my leftover holiday knitting that will help me in my endeavor to hopefully accomplish 52 crafts in 2009. In fact I have 19 projects to complete on my project list alone, plus all the projects friends and family have requested that I haven't counted yet.

I promise to provide pictures soon, except one scarf that I forgot to photograph it before I gave it away. Until then you can see more pics & details on my ravelry.com project page: LadyHookington


Happy crafting in the New Year!

X-posted to 52_crafts 

I've been meaning to post pictures for a while. I played hookie from some paperwork this morning to update pictures on my ravelry.com page and my craft count for 52_crafts 

Here's the latest FOs: 13-22

 Yes, I know... no new patterns until I finish what I've started. Well, I am in need of a few items and I did just finish one of the projects I started, which was another baby bib. My aunt just made 4 of them for me from scraps of cotton. She and my mother make a lot of knitted dishclothes. I plan on purchasing some bulk bags of remnant cotton for them too. Who cares if your dishclothes are factory ends? Not me, especially since I repurpose my dishclothes into cleaning rags when they start looking shoddy. Same will be done with the bibs at some point as well.

Anyway on to the real purpose of this post. I've been needing some shrugs for my wardrobe. I have one, storebought, that I love but it hardly matches anything I own. It is a bright turquoise and it was a sale item. It fit perfectly and was super cheap. Now I've decided to make some of my own. I started to make the Maui shrug but I got to really hate the instructions. I am usually fairly good at reading directions, especially if I take my time. I ended up trying this pattern out numerous times. What they need to add to crochetme is an illustration of the motifs. Most crochet books & magazines provide them. Sometimes a picture says so much more than what words are able to convey. It is what the pattern writer doesn't say in these instructions that I find confusing. Maybe at some point I'll try it again. If you try it out let me know how it goes. For now I just want a shrug with little frustration.

I opted instead to craft my own shrug using the stitch combination from this afghan:

http://home.att.net/~susanBinKC/patterns/avshell2.html

Ch 136

I'm basically making a rectangle and then sewing the arms together for a really simple shrug. I'm using TLC Cotton Plus in cream. Hopefully the shape will turn out like this bamboozled shrug. I might actually use this pattern in the future. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bamboozled-shrug

Another piece I want to make is a knitted cropped sweater using TLC Cotton Plus in black. I'm considering either making the bamboozled shrug or the cropped raglan sweater from Lion Brand. Now ravelry.com & the Lion Brand site both require memberships so you might not be able to view them unless you sign up. I'm giving both links in case anyone is interested. I really recommend signing up for both.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cropped-raglan-sweater

or 

http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/70111.html

I don't know how it washes up yet but so far I totally love the feel of the TLC Cotton Plus yarn. It is really easy to work with. I wanted a cotton acrylic blend for easy care and would make a good summer fabric.

 

I'm issuing a moratorium on starting any new projects. I have loads already started and I need to finish what I have started. I have a bad habit of seeing all these patterns I love; I start them but then I am spreading myself too thin and it takes me longer to finish some projects than it should. So I have to finish a significant number of them before I am allowing myself to start anything new. I'm not designating a specific number for the moment. I don't always get this bad anymore because I know I get too many irons in the fire.

How many of you do this too?

Some of you are aware that the Tree of Life has a strong spiritual significance for me. I just found out that the Tree of Life afghan is now available because they are doing a KAL. I'm not interested in the KAL but the pattern is lovely. Maybe someday I'll have time for it.

If you can't open a pdf file here is the direct link: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/70122AD.html?noImages=0

Lion Brand requires a free membership for their free patterns.

On my profile page I have added a new link courtesy of rain_oubliette.

http://www.myhq.com/public/c/r/crochetpoet/

I found a standard tote pattern that would work really well to replace the market bags that disintegrated this year. I might make a striped scrap tote from left over cotton at some point too.

Nothing is better than walking around the LRCS (Local Retail Craft Store - I just made that up) and making a few odd purchases. I've finally decided to purchase some ginormous hooks. I purchased an S-hook and a Q-hook. I plan on making the 5 1/2 Hour Throw in Lion Brand Suede, which I have renamed the 

Normally I take frogging or partially frogging a project in stride but not tonight. Nothing is worse that figuring out how much you need to finish a project only to realize you are one section short. So now I am taking a break and rethinking it. I was almost finished a Pineapple Rows afghan. I had one row of pineapples left and I was very happy with how it looked. This is an afghan I have ripped out and worked on a few times now.  I've decided to put it down for the night. Maybe I'll feel better about it tomorrow. I'm not at all upset with the quality of my work only the lack of a certain favorite yarn, which has been discontinued. Unfortunately this afghan takes a lot of yarn.

I'll post my ravelry.com link once it is back up. They are doing some maintenance now.

Edit: I wrote the whole saga on ravelry.com so far:

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/LadyHookington/pastel-pineapples-for-baby

Here is my latest post to 52_crafts

My goal for this year was to limit yarn purchases because my stash is huge. I have purchased yarn but I don't feel guilty at all. In fact I have mostly been purchasing cotton. I have seen some excellent deals on cotton but I'm waiting for a color(s) I like because they are the 1 lb factory end bags. I purchase a bag of unbleached cotton and I used a few skeins for the bathmat.

I've decided that since I sometimes lack the equipment to do certain patterns, which would facilitate me using my stash more effectively, I've switched to purchasing the various knitting needles that are not in my collection. Right now I am focusing on DPN. I have bought all Takumi bamboo DPN because I don't like metal for DPNs; they are too slippery.  So far I am up to size 4. I'm not really all that interested in making socks but it is helpful to have these for making hats, sleeves, gloves/mittens - fingerless or otherwise, baby booties, or anything that has a diameter smaller than a circular needle allows.

Speaking of which, once I am through purchasing my DPN set I will take stock of the various circular needles and complete that set as well. I am fairly set for regular knitting needles because my aunt weeded out her substantial collection and passed down an almost complete set of metal needles. I actually prefer the Lion Brand knitting needles, probably because my first set as a kid were plastic. I have no idea whatever happened to that set. I know I didn't throw them away. I'll ask my mom and aunt next time if they have seen them. I'm not surprised they got scattered given all the moving I did when I recall having them.

I have successfully made a buttonhole on my own after seeking several on-line resources. I had the concept but I was having difficulty executing it. They are seriously easy but the instructions I found on-line sucked by making it a lot harder than necessary. Even though I successfully did one on my own I didn't like the finished look. I had, at my request, a buttonhole making lesson last weekend from the aunt who taught me how to knit. Even though I am a very visual learner, I wanted to record it here so I have written instructions, in case I forget. I've made a few excellent buttonholes since my hands-on tutorial.

This is the two row buttonhole (horizontal) method:

• Knit/Purl to point where buttonhole is desired.
• BO 2-3 stitches (whatever number you desire to fit your button).
• Knit/purl following pattern.
• Next row knit/purl following pattern and when you reach the section of the previous row's BO turn your knitting entirely around. You will be holding the back of the knitting to you.
  
• Cast on (I knit on to cast on) the number of stitches you BO in the previous row.
• Turn knitting back around to your original position.
• Knit/purl following pattern.
• The next row you will continue with the pattern and the buttonhole will be complete.

Does this make sense to you? Feel free to help me edit. I want this to be clear for anyone who stumbles on to this LJ.

If you are a ravelry. com member you should check your library. :-D

I finally finished the cotton bath mat that I posted about here. I'm really happy with the result even though the pictures make it look a bit wonky.

I should have #10 done soon, which is the Baby Bib O' Love from Mason-Dixon Knitting. I don't have any pictures to share of mine but I will. It is a very simple pattern but why would you want a fancy bib for everyday baby spit-up?

Knitting with homespun was no problem but it unravels easily and I've found in the last few months since making the prayer shawl that it does not wear well. I've been accused of being a yarn purist before (worsted yarns v. novelty yarns) but I think there is something to be said for having your crafts last through wear and tear. I'll stick to more durable yarns for the future shawls/wraps that I make. I know I won't purchase any more of the LB Homespun yarn. One thing to the good is that it is quite warm. I'll use what I have left to make a throw, which just has to keep me warm.

I'm doing fairly well with the 52_crafts quota. I've completed 8 crafts in 9 weeks. Yay!

Here is #8