When it just ain’t working…

…then it’s time to frog and start over.

I ripped out my progress on the Cappuccino Cardigan and switched to the Veronica Sweater.  The Veronica has a much more structured look, plus it calls for a hook that is two sizes larger.  While that still doesn’t get me the right gauge, I’ve decided to stick with the hook size and continue to crochet a smaller size in order to get the correct size garment.  This gets me a much softer look and feel out of the yarn than going down a hook size would, and I think getting the right feel in the fabric is more important than having spot-on gauge.

Besides, since it is a top-down pattern, I can check the size as I go, making sure that it isn’t ending up way too large or too long.  So far, I almost have the yoke done, and it’s looking pretty good.

January 18, 2010  Tags: ,   Posted in: Knitting  No Comments

Busy Little Bee

Don’t let the lack of posting fool you…I’ve been pretty busy knitting and crocheting this month.

My Sólás Caomh blanket is just about finished.  I just need to weave in the ends.  It turned out beautifully–just as I’d imagined.

I started another baby blanket for yet another friend that is expecting.  I’ve got a bit of a tight deadline with this one, so of course I’d choose to knit it.  Yikes!  This will take me forever, but it is going to be so darling, while still looking simple and boy-ish.

And finally, I’ve taken on a commission (sort of).  I’m acquainted with the owner of a LYS near my mom’s office.  Last year she asked me to crochet a sample for her to display at her booth at Stitches West.  The sweater was a huge success, and I enjoyed making something that wasn’t just for myself, so I offered my services again this year.

I just got the yarn yesterday, so I got started this afternoon.  While the yarn is very beautiful (the owner of the store does wonderful dying), it’s been a bit frustrating to work with.  The twist runs very thick and thin, which gives the fabric a wonderful texture, but makes the stitches difficult to see.  I’m also not crazy about how thick and stiff the fabric is turning out.  It would probably be better if I went up a couple of hook sizes, but then the gauge would be WAY off.  It’s already off enough that I’m crocheting two sizes down from my desired size and I’m eliminating some rows.

So, I’m not sure what to do at this point.  I’ve gotten about half the back done and am just really worried about how it will fit and look once it’s done.  Like I said, it’s a great yarn, but would be much better suited to something structured.

January 16, 2010  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

New pictures for a new year

I’ve continued to make quite a bit of progress on my projects this week.  Plus, I’ve got a few pictures uploaded, so I get to make this post colorful!

First off, I’ve gotten my first Ambrosia sock finished:

DSC04270

I didn’t have quite enough yarn to make it long enough to get past the largest part of my calf, so I may need to get a bit of elastic to put in the top to keep the sock up.  Other than that, the fit is pretty good.  Again, I really do feel like I’m starting to get the hang of socks.

On the crocheting front, I’m almost finished with the Sólás Caomh baby blanket.  I found out that my friend is expecting a girl just in time to make the trim color pink.  I don’t have a picture of it with the trim yet, but here is one that shows the body pattern in progress:

DSC04267

The flash washed out the color a bit.  It’s a much brighter yellow.  Hopefully, the mistakes early on in the center knot pattern are only noticeable to me.  The pattern had a very lovely chart to follow, so after getting started with the written directions, I went straight to the chart.  Unfortunately, the chart was not entirely accurate in showing which stitches were supposed to cross over and which behind.  I managed to find and correct the mistake, but not before I’d gotten far enough that I didn’t want to rip back.

Once I get the blanket finished, I plan on starting on the second Ambrosia Sock and maybe getting back to working on my Spanish Moss Coat.

January 1, 2010  Tags: ,   Posted in: Crochet, Knitting  No Comments

The Alluring Call of Tunisian Crochet

The new issue of Interweave Crochet arrived in my mail box on Christmas Eve…what a fantastic Christmas present!  On the first pass through the issue, however, I was a bit apathetic.  Nothing really jumped out at me.  Lucky for me, that’s sort of how my brain works; things need to grow on me sometimes.

And I must say, the Sunset Ruana is definitely growing on me.  I tend to not be immediately drawn to shapeless garments; I’m just too curvy for them to be flattering.  But then I started thinking of all the mornings that I’d wished I had something I could just wrap around me for the quick trip in to work.  I have several crocheted sweaters that I absolutely love, but the sleeves are too bulky to wear under any of my warm coats.  (My rain jacket is the one exception, but it isn’t heavy enough for me when there is frost on my car windows!)  I’m starting to think that the Sunset Ruana would be the perfect solution.  Well, maybe not “sunset”, more like twilight or dusk for my skin tone.

So, now I’m in the position of needing to learn Tunisian crochet.  (Of course, that is if I can afford the yarn for this project in the next few months.)  I’m kind of hoping that I can swatch it with crochet hooks I already have, especially since my gauge is always off and I don’t want to start spending money on a lot of Tunisian crochet hooks if I’m not going to do much of it.

However, if I am going to stick with it, maybe I should just invest in one of those interchangeable crochet hook sets.   It’s a bit of money, but there are some other projects I’d like to make someday…like the Spice Market Tunic in the previous issue of Interweave Crochet.

December 29, 2009  Tags: ,   Posted in: Tunisian Crochet  No Comments

Carrying It All

December is a pretty busy month for my family.  My father-in-law and I both have birthdays at the beginning of the month, and my husband and I have a close friend with a birthday at the end of the month.  Our wedding anniversary is just two days before Christmas, then we have several family gatherings to attend.  By the time we get to New Year’s Eve, we’re pretty much partied out.

Of course, the nice thing about being a teacher is that I get two weeks off of work this time of year.  So, even though we are really busy, I always find time for my hobbies.  As I mentioned in my last post, I spent the better part of our vacation knitting and crocheting.  I’ve slowed down a bit since we got home, but there have always been a few moments of down time to pull out a project.

One of the best gifts I got this year was a sturdy velveteen project bag that my mother made for me.  It’s big enough to carry around even my largest projects, though I tend not to work on anything larger than a baby blanket these days.  in fact, just yesterday, when we went to my in-laws to celebrate Christmas, I put the Sólás Caomh blanket in my new project bag.  I only had time to crochet a couple of rows, but babies take awhile to arrive, so a few rows at a time should still get this blanket done with time to spare.

When space is an issue, I also have a little cloth purse that I can throw my smaller projects into.  (Another bag that my mother made for me made of two layers of cotton/linen.)   The tightly woven cloth means that I can put my double point needles in there without worrying that they will work their way out through the fabric.  I’ve currently got my first Ambrosia sock in that bag.

The added benefit of keeping my projects in these bags is that my yarn tend to avoid getting tangled.  No matter how careful I try to be, when my skein is sitting right next to me, out in the open, the end of it always wants to tangle up.  When the skein is in a bag, the fabric shelters the skein and keeps the yarn from shifting as it loosens up from that perfectly formed ball, which means I can knit or crochet to the very end of the skein without having to stop to untangle a knot.

If you don’t sew, and don’t know anyone who does who could make you your own project back, fabric shopping bags work just as well.  I’ve developed quite a collection of canvas bags as well as those other lightweight bags that stores are now selling as a substitute for fabric bags.  (Most places I’ve seen sell them for just a $1–a much better price than the prices on official “project bags”.)

Every one of my projects gets its own bag.  (See, I told you I had quite a collection!)  Then, when I’m on my way out the door, I can just grab what I feel like working on.  I know that everything I need is already in the bag…hooks, needles, yarn, pattern instructions, stitch markers, and a small pair of scissors (the kid ones that you can buy by the dozen that have a blunt nose so that they don’t puncture the fabric of the bag).  I find that I do a lot more knitting and crocheting when I don’t have to go hunting for everything I need.

December 28, 2009  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Vacation means knitting time!

My vacation has just begun and already I’m enjoying the additional time to knit and crochet.  I finally got the second overlapping leaves sock finished.  They are a little large just about everywhere, but I still have the problem of the leg being a little too snug to slip easily over my heel to get them on.  I’ve decided to make my pair of socks a bit stretchier to fix that issue…but I’m getting ahead of myself here.  First, pictures.

Overlapping Leaves Sock

Overlapping Leaves Sock

I have also finished my Curried Cables Jacket, but that was before vacation started.  I’ve even gotten quite a bit of use out of it, with the recent cool weather.

Curried Cables Jacket

Curried Cables Jacket

So, with those two projects finished and wearable, it was time to start a couple more projects.

My next crochet project is a blanket for my friend Bridget, who is expecting her first baby.  I’m using the pattern Sólás Caomh from Interweave Crochet’s Spring 2009 issue.  Thankfully, I’d already mastered crocheted cables before attempting this pattern, because this one takes a bit more attention than the jacket.  I’ve already switched some around, but that isn’t entirely my fault, since the chart doesn’t match the written directions in a couple of places.

I’ve also decided to do a different edging for the blanket.  While I was reading the pattern and mulling over the edging, my eye came across my Aragon Tunic; I think the edging on the tunic will be perfect for this blanket…a more substantial edging while still being lacey enough that it won’t add too much more weight to an already heavy blanket.

My  next new project is another pair of socks, since I’m totally addicted to making and wearing wool socks.  Of course, the first thing I did when we got to our timeshare was look up an LYS.  I found a couple of different yarns that I thought would make great socks.  As soon as I finished the overlapping leaves socks, I started a pair of Ambrosia Socks.  I’ve already finished the foot and turned the heel.  I’m anticipating that they will be stretchy enough that I can make them a bit longer than the other two pairs I’ve made.

Yep, I’m having a pretty good vacation.

December 22, 2009  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Crochet, Knitting  No Comments

Let’s lose the placket.

I managed to finish the curried cable jacket without using another skein, and I’m pleased with the results!  I took apart the placket like I talked about in my previous post.  With the yarn, I was able to finish seaming the sleeves and set them into the armscye.  Plus, I still had enough yarn to stabilize the center front so that I could sew the zipper in without worrying about any stretchy funny-business.  Now that it’s done, I think it looks just fine without the placket.  I’d actually been a little worried about the placket sticking out oddly because I’m rather well endowed–I really don’t need a wonky placket to draw attention to that area.

Of course, this also brings me to the woulda-coulda-shoulda segment of my post.  I really should have lengthened the jacket between the hem and the armscye shaping.  I remembered to shorten the bust-to-shoulder length, as I’m a little short in that area, but I forgot to compensate by lengthening the lower portion of the jacket.  Oh, well.  The issue may fix itself as I wear the jacket and it hangs-out a bit.  I could also cross my fingers and hope to lose some weight in the next couple of months, like I should. :)

I’ve also been working some on my second overlapping leaves sock.  I had some down time last weekend and was able to knit from the toe up to the gusset increases.  Then, tonight, I got started on those increases.  I may actually get these done before going on vacation.  I think I’ll need another sock project to bring with me, or maybe another baby blanket for a friend.

December 10, 2009  Tags: ,   Posted in: Crochet, Knitting  3 Comments

New Photos!

I don’t really have too much to post about today, but I do have a couple of photos to share of projects that are now finished.

Let’s start with the fun stuff, shall we…

Here is the cabled neckline of my Corona Hoodie.

Here is the cabled neckline of my Corona Hoodie.

An in-progress photo that gives you the general shape before the hood was finished.

An in-progress photo that gives you the general shape before the hood was finished.

This is the baby blanket that I'll be sending off to my friend Haley for her little boy.

This is the baby blanket that I'll be sending off to my friend Haley for her little boy.

As far as actual progress goes, I’ve sort of been piddling around with stuff.  I did manage to finish the first sock of my Overlapping Leaves pair.  Then, I did a bit more work on my Curried Cable jacket.  I got the shoulder and side seams sewn, but I’m really short on yarn at this point.  (Technically, I have plenty of yarn, since I have two more skeins left, but I really don’t want to start a new skein just to do the finishing.)  At this point, I think I’m going to take apart the placket, finish all the rest of the seams, attach the zipper, and then see if I want to open up another skein in order to make the placket.

December 3, 2009  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Crochet, Knitting  No Comments

Sock Distractions

I think I’ve decided that one of the ultimate indulgences in life is a pair of wool socks.  Okay, yeah, so I’ve only ever knit one pair, but now that the cold weather is here, let me tell ya, they are the bomb!  My tootsies stay all nice and toasty, even though my husband and I refuse to turn on the heat until our lips turn blue.

So, while my Curried Cables Jacket sits in pieces until I purchase a zipper and get up the motivation to finish the seams, I’ve started on another pair of socks.  I made sure to choose a toe-up pattern this time so that I could just keep knitting until I ran out of yarn–this Overlapping Leaves pattern, which you can find on Ravelry.  Of course, I had a bit of a false start to begin with, since I’m so bad about checking gauge; the foot ended up too long, so I ripped back a full repeat.  It still seams a bit big, but I’m not going to sweat it.  They are for my feet, after all, and only really for wearing around the house or with boots, so if they are too long it’s no big deal.

Overall, I’m happy with the pattern, though it is not written with a beginning knitter in mind.  I had to do a little legwork to learn how to do this particular heel method (wrap and turn), but I think I have it figured out now.  The design is pretty without being too lacy.  My only complaint is that the pattern is a little too complicated for me to just sit in front of the TV and ignore reading the pattern.  Okay, it’s not really a complaint, I just like to make pretty things but don’t want to put a whole lot of brain power into it.  At any rate, the pattern is simple enough that I haven’t had any problems following the it, unlike the struggle I’ve had with my Vogue stockings.

December 1, 2009  Tags:   Posted in: Knitting  No Comments

Finishing is a bear

My curried cable jacket is so close to being finished I can taste it.  My one spot of annoyance at this point is that I’ve gotten all of the crocheting done and just need to seam everything together, but I don’t think I have enough yarn left on my current skein to do that.  I absolutely HATE the thought of starting a new skein just to sew seams.  Grrrr!

Maybe if I leave off the flap that goes over the zipper.  But will that completely change the look of the jacket?

I guess I should just get started with the little bit of yarn I do have left and then make a decision once I see how much is left to do and how the zipper looks without the flap.

November 26, 2009  Tags:   Posted in: Crochet  No Comments