It's About Time!

I've been a little sluggish with my crocheting lately (and my posts!). I needed to take some pics too, and of course "sunny" California decided to be grey and drizzly for the past few days. However - TA DA - I have a few new things to show you. One item isn't totally new, but I've finally completed it and have the pattern available now in my store, which you can find here. This is the afghan I mentioned in an earlier post, and I've named it Aqua Dreams. The Caron Simply Soft yarn is so pretty and the sheen is really nice. I was very angry at myself for making my traditional mistake of crocheting the beginning rows loose and tightening my tension as I go along - yes, I did it again - but I was able to work it all out with the single crochet/crab stitch border, so everything is fine now. And I am very proud of myself for using up an additional 10+ skeins of my stash!

Aqua Dreams Afghan

 I was so happy with the way the Caron yarn looked that I decided to make another item with it - a long cowl with a lacy edging that you can double loop for added warmth. That's still on the blocking mat, so you'll get to see it in my next post.  I've also finished my version of the Metro Kerchief by Yuliya Tkacheva. I didn't design these two items, so they'll be going in my store as 'products for sale', a new category I'll be adding shortly. I've also designed a scarf/shawlette, I'm working on a summer cowl, and I've finished my mom's Mother's Day present, but I'll have more on those later. By George, i think I'm out of my slump!

My version of the Metro Kerchief

     Till next time, happy crocheting!                                

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!

Blueberry Hill Cowl

As I mentioned in a previous post (here), I was very busy during and right after the visit with my Mom. My sister-in-law informed me that she had accidentally lost a cowl I had made for her a few years back and she wanted me to make her another (complete with taking me to a yarn store!). It was with a very heavy heart that I had to decline her generous offer, but I was in the process of crocheting a wrap for her daughter and wouldn't have time to do both on my visit.

After I returned, however, was another matter. My S-I-L requested purple to go with her purple winter coat, and I recalled two purple and two blue skeins of acrylic chenille I bought from Herrschner's a while back - I have decided to work down some of my stash, after all. So, voila, the Blueberry Hill Cowl was born! I realize that the chenille yarn I used has been long discontinued, but I believe any #4 weight yarn could be substituted.

I wanted to make the cowl thick enough so that it could work her warm in those cold Chicago winters, but I did discover that making a more solid fabric made it resistant to folding. So I kept a space between the "berries" and just hope they don't let in too much cold air.

 When my S-I-L received the cowl, she said it coordinated well with her coat and she was sure it would be nice and warm. Success! If you would like to get the free pattern, it is available in my store on Bonanza, here.

Crochet a Father's Day

I Love Daddy! Pattern at  http://www.amigurumipatterns.net/shop/Little-Bamboo-Handmade/I-Love-Dad/

I certainly can't speak for anyone else, but Father's Day gifts were always a problem for me. My two siblings and I did the best we could, but I'm sure my father inwardly groaned at some of the presents we gave him! Anyway, I decided to check out what wonderful crochet gifts the creative people on Pinterest (and others around the net) might be suggesting for our hard-working dads.

A sports-themed afghan could be perfect for many fathers! Manly Sports Lapghan by Crystal Porter from iyarny.wordpress.com; pattern found at https://www.allfreecrochetafghanpatterns.com/Lapghan-Patterns/Manly-Sports-Lapghan/ct/1

Every coffee-lovin' man deserves a great cozy, and Sharon of Table Top Jewels has a very nice variety available in her shop - https://www.etsy.com/listing/180433786/crochet-coffee-cozy-cup-sleeve-a-kelly?ref=shop_home_active_6 I could imagine other appliques to personalize the cozy even more (tool, fish, gardener, computer, etc)

What better to go with sports but a beer bottle cozy? A free pattern from Evermine Occasions - https://www.evermine.com/blog/fathers-day-beer-and-crochet-cozy-pattern/

And let's not forget the golfers out there! Beautiful club covers by Sarah of Repeat Crafter Me - http://www.repeatcrafterme.com/2013/05/crochet-golf-club-cover-pattern.html?m=1

So comfy Modern Men's Loafers by Lisa van Klaveren. Pattern available at https://www.lovecrochet.com/us/modern-mens-loafers-crochet-pattern-by-lisa-van-klaveren

For the periodic-table-inclined/"nerd" fathers, Megan of Left in Knots designed this clever "Dad, 24/7 365 days a year" tribute - http://www.leftinknots.com/home/2016/6/5/dad-247-365. This could also be cute done with crocheted versions of Scrabble letters.

And now for the Star Wars fans (you know who you are!) - their very own adult sized Darth Vader crocheted mask! Pattern sold by My Little Chapina on Craftsy - https://www.craftsy.com/crocheting/patterns/darth-vader-crochet-hat-for-adults/275710

Last but not least, for the dad who has everything, the Viking or Dwarven Beard by Melissa Campbell - free pattern with link to helmet at http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/viking-or-dwarven-beard.

There was another crocheted item for dad that I decided not to list because I rather enjoy the "G" rating for my blog. Besides, that item would be much more appropriate for Mom to give Dad!

Mother's Day Flop

About a month ago I found a beautiful Ice yarn, Air Baby Alpaca. It's a mix of alpaca, extrafine merino wool, viscose, and polyamide, and it's so soft. It has been made into a chain, and since I've enjoyed working with other chained yarns, I decided to try it. Plus it came in a very pretty shell pink (pink with an undertone of peach) that would look really good on my mom. 

I wanted to make a shawlette for my mom - just a little something to go over her shoulders without being cumbersome or heavy. I found the Dawn in the Woods Shawl by Elaine Phillips (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/dawn-in-the-woods-shawl) which was perfect because the length.can be adjusted. I was set!

While I was working on the last third of the shawlette I realized that it wasn't going to be symmetrical. This bothered my sense of design balance (possibly a little OCD?) but my real problem was that when I tried it on it really looked "old lady-ish". My mom's style is more like Olivia's in 'Scandal', not the Victorian lacy look, so I came to the realization this would be all wrong for her. I have come up with a Plan B, but this will have to be for her birthday because I ran out of time for Mother's Day! Amazingly (or maybe not), the shawl ended up looking MUCH better on the dress form - 

So instead of this shawlette, I decided to fall back on an old standby - pigs. My mom has a wonderful collection, mostly figurines, and told the family years ago to not give her any more pigs. I have chosen to completely ignore this directive. Hence, behold the sweet little piggy bookmark (pattern from Ashlea Konecny at http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/pig-bookmark) - 

                                                         

    

 I also found a very unique present at Faerie Magazine that I thought my mom would like - Flying Prayer/Wish Paper (https://www.faeriemag.com/products/flying-wish-paper-mini-wishing-kit-dandelion-prayer). You write your wish on the paper, roll it up, put it on the platform card, and light it on fire. At the last moment "your wish magically lifts off the platform and rises to the heavens!". How cool is that!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom - And to all of those wonderful mothers out there! We deserve it!