Stained Glass Cowl

In my last post I mentioned that I was working on a new cowl - and Ta Da! - the Stained Glass Cowl is now done. It took a while (25 hours + dealing with ends), but I'm really happy with how it turned out.



The cowl was made out of Loops and Threads Woolike in black, red, pumpkin spice, lavender, sage, and denim blue, with an E hook. I can't tell you how much I love this color combination. It's just so yummy! I also like how the stitch makes a bobble-ish type texture; I've always been a big fan of texture stitches. The black sc stitch rows were always worked with the front side facing you. The 7-dc shell stitch rows were alternated between the front and back sides.



I discovered another really neat textured stitch called the Nest stitch and I worked on a wrap (see below) with that stitch on the plane rides to and from my visit with my mom (had a wonderful time, BTW!). Again, this is a heavily textured, squishy stitch and I can easily see why this would be great for a baby blanket. I'm using the Ls & Ts Woolike for this project too, and it looks like it will turn into a really nice lightweight wrap/scarf.








Alas, I must put this aside to work on the Christmas ornaments that I give to my family. They're not crocheted this year. Actually, I'm using a craft project from Martha Stewart that she showcased on one of her shows many, many years ago. You decorate styrofoam balls with lovely fabric, embellished ribbons, and anything else you think would look good. Of course, hers were gorgeous; I can only hope mine come out half as good!

Just Buy the Pattern!

You know, they say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. And sometimes life just makes sure I don't forget it.

I've been crocheting fairly consistently now for about 30 years and I consider myself at an intermediate level, although I've certainly not had much of any experience making clothing. You know, the kind that actually has to fit. So every now and then I'll be perusing Pinterest and I'll find a photo of an item that I fall in love with, but then I find out I'd have to pay for the pattern. Since I have a very small budget, I try to be frugal. And sometimes I'm arrogant (and silly) enough to think that I can just figure out the pattern on my own.

Such was the case of the Metro Kerchief by Yuliya Tkacheva. Even though I am a lace fan at heart, occasionally when I see a beautiful geometric pattern I fall in love. And I fell hard for this one. But since my budget is tight, I thought (after looking very carefully at the scarf) that I could figure it out on my own. HA!

Metro Kerchief by Yuliya Tkacheva

First off, you have to be careful to choose a yarn that has quite a bit of body to it because a soft yarn won't hold the design. That was my first mistake, so I had to start over with another yarn. Next, after you figure out how to do the pattern, you have to figure out the correct increases/decreases, otherwise you will end up with either a VERY long scarf, a very short scarf, or a very lopsided scarf.

I won't bore you will all the details, but this scarf took me almost a month to finally get right (and with a lot of mathematical help from my husband, too). Looking back on this now, that's totally insane. Of course, when I started out I had no idea it would be so difficult for me (that arrogance again!), but at least the experience has taught me a lesson. Unless an item is super-super easy, JUST BUY THE PATTERN!

                    The Urban Kerchief, now available in my Bonanza Shop

I have since completed my version of this scarf, and even though it took me forever, I am very happy with how it turned out. It is currently available for sale at my Bonanza booth - only $21.99 and free shipping! (Christmas is coming faster than you know....)

Happy New Year!

Yes, I know the title isn't exactly that original, but I do want to wish all of you a wondrous new year full of all good things - health, fortune, beautiful yarn, and of course crochet! Arthur wishes you a happy new year also, but he enjoyed much merriment and is now in the process of sleeping it off - as I'm sure a certain portion of America is doing, too!

Since my mom reads my blog - Hi Mom! - I couldn't post her Christmas present till now. When visiting last fall, I noticed that her lapghan had really seen better days and needed replacing. My mom has a TV room with olive-colored recliners and a neutral beige/brown couch, and since this room is where she usually uses the lapghan, I wanted to get colors that would coordinate. After returning, I found myself wandering in the yarn section of Walmart and I discovered Lion Brand's Mandala there, and at a great price too! I chose "Chimera", which is a beautiful blend of brown, teal, olive, yellow-olive, gold, orange, and fuschia. I used two skeins and mirror-imaged them. What I love the most about Mandala is that the colors are nicely hued - there, but not too bright - and it's a DK weight, which is fast becoming my favorite. I do wish that it was a little softer, but I guess we can't have everything. I wanted to make her lapghan out of a no-pill acrylic, but fell in love with the Mandala chimera colors - what can I say?

People have asked me about this stitch and I will be making a video to post to YouTube on how to do this. I need to come up with a name (the ones I thought of had been taken) - I think I'll call it the Diamond X Stitch. It's reversible, a little stretchy, and a little squishy.  Oh, yes - Mom loved the lapghan and she especially liked that it was light-weight - go DK yarn!

Happy Holidays!

To all my wonderful followers and those people who visit one of my social sites throughout the year, I thank you for all your attention to and well-wishes for my efforts. All of you are the reason I'm still plugging along!

I hope you all had a wonderful year and wish you and yours the best that this holiday season can give, and sincerely hope for all good things for you in the year to come.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR from The Crocheted Butterfly.....and Arthur -

Bwaaahh-ha-ha-haa!! Ooh, um, er...cough, cough - I mean Ho! Ho! Ho! and Meeerrry Christmas!!

Not What You'd Expect

Normally I'd have a post with some wonderful photos of inspiration or links to patterns, especially for the holiday season. However, it seems that there is an overload of those types of posts, so I decided to do something a little different.

I have owned a small plastic semi-articulated skeleton for probably going on twenty years. He isn't anything super special, but I like him. (So does my oldest son. At one point we even had an argument because my son said I had given the skeleton to him and I said I didn't. I won.)

Since this skeleton has been a part of my family for so long, naming him only seemed appropriate, and I feel that Arthur suits him. Arthur normally spends most of his time in a ziplock bag in the Halloween decorations box, but somehow since our move to CA (8 years ago), he managed to find his way to the back of the entertainment unit's cabinet. And people talk about the Elf on the Shelf! I've also thought it's only right that a few photographic portraits should be taken.

Arthur is a handsome devil, and always has such a wonderful smile!

 

 

 Arthur normally comes out to decorate the entertainment unit in October, enjoying the company of a clay pumpkin made by my younger son's former high school sweetheart and an amigurumi pumpkin I made. But somehow Arthur always manages to stay out well past Thanksgiving and generally doesn't get back in the cabinet until Christmas is over.

 Arthur with his Halloween friends

 

 One day my younger son's new girlfriend was over and she inquired about having a skeleton for a Christmas decoration. I explained that Arthur enjoyed the holidays, but I felt he should have some Christmas/winter accessories. So she suggested that I crochet something for him. Imagine that! So this year I've given him a little scarf and hat, and maybe next year he'll get a sweater or jacket.

 Arthur sporting his new Christmas duds.

 

Arthur enjoying some Christmas Baubles I made - I think he's holding his favorite!

 As a matter of fact, there really isn't any reason Arthur couldn't stay out a little past Christmas. Wouldn't he be adorable as a Valentine's Day cupid? Or perhaps a new version of the Easter Bunny? By George, I may have caught on to something here, in a slightly twisted way. Oh, The Nightmare Before Christmas, what have you wrought?!!

Bitten by the Bauble Bug

I've had a cold for the past week, so I've been spending quite a bit of time sailing the internet - and oh! those wonderful holiday patterns. Of all the lovelies that are out there, though, I have become totally enchanted with the Christmas Bauble - and what's not to love? You can get very inexpensive ball ornaments from the dollar store (I bought a package of a dozen for $1) plus you use your yarn scraps to crochet over them, then you have a very pretty ornament when finished. Win-win-win!

I looked up patterns for baubles (hoping to not have to reinvent the wheel), but the majority I found used larger balls and heavier weight yarn. So I had no choice but to create the Corded Bauble - and keeping with the Christmas spirit, I am sharing it with you! I know many of you don't use size 10 or 5 crochet thread, but being a lace-lover I do have quite a bit of these in my stash so that's what I used.

Color variations of the Corded Bauble

Materials - 1 7/8" (48mm) plastic ball ornaments (I had red but gold or silver would fine)
Cotton Crochet Thread size 10 in different colors
Bernat Handicrafter Acrylic Thread size 5 in different colors
Size 1.9mm hook, but you could probably use a 2mm or a 1.8mm
Liquid Stitch or equivalent (white glue would work)
Scissors
Stitches -  sp - Space,  st - Stitch,  sl st - Slip Stitch,  ch - Chain,  dc - Double Crochet,  trc - Triple Crochet,  fptrc - Front Post Triple Crochet,  mc - Magic Circle,  v-st - V-Stitch (dc, ch 1, dc), 2-dc group - 2 dc's worked in same stitch,  FO - finish off.
Special Notes - 1. All rounds are worked from the front (right) side. 2. All rounds are finished off to use a new color for the next round. 3. Instead of trying to weave in ends, I took the beginning and ending tails of each row and weave them so they're next to one another, put Liquid Stitch on the base of each, tied an overhand knot and let them dry.

1. With a mc, ch 3 (1st dc) and work 11 dc's in the circle. Sl St in top of ch 3, tighten circle and FO. (12 dcs).

2. Work 2 dc's in between each dc from round 1. FO. (12 2-dc groups made)

3. Work 1 V-st in the middle of each 2-dc group from round 2. FO. (12 V-sts)

4. *Work 2-dc group in V-st from round 3; trc in front of round 3, in between the 2-dc groups from round 2*. Repeat * to * around. FO.

5. Work V-st between each 2-dc group from round 4. FO.

6. *Work V-st in the ch 1 sp of the V-st from round 5; working in front of round 5, fptrc around the trc from round 4*. Repeat * to * around. FO.

7. Work V-st in the ch 1 sp of V-st from round 6. FO.

8. *Work V-st in the ch 1 sp of the V-st from round 7; working in front of round 7, fptrc around the fptrc from round 6*. Repeat * to * around. FO.

9. Work V-st in the ch 1 sp of V-st from round 8. Slip ball into crochet and finish round with ball inside. You'll work crochet rounds over ball from this point on.

10. *Work V-st in the ch 1 sp of the V-st from round 9; working in front of round 9, fptrc around the fptrc from round 8*. Repeat * to * around. FO.

11. Work 2-dc group in ch 1 sp from round 10 around. FO.

12. *Work 1 dc between the 2-dc group from round 11; working in front of round 11, fptrc around the fptrc from round 10*. Repeat * to * around. FO.

13. Work sc in every other st around, FO.

Note - If you use all size 10 crochet thread, you may need to add another round before you complete the bauble with round 13. If so, work 1 front post double crochet in every fptrc from round 12.

A couple other baubles I made. Loved the look of the Fptrc stitch, so I went crazy with it!

The entire dozen baubles completed!

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and it has encouraged you to create a few baubles of your own this season!