Tag: crochet

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Things Going On

I have some things going on. Knit things and crochet things. Blanket things, hat things. Gift things and order things. Even a heartbreak. There are things going on.

So, in the lower right is the wedding afghan. Square no. 4. It’s a little cable, a little lace and a little popcorn stitch. It’s going to take a minute because there is a 24 row repeat. I was on row 14 when I messed it up and had to frog back to row 8. It’ll take more than a minute.

In the upper right corner is the blanket for Lucas. I’m glad for the photo because it shows the purple. It doesn’t look purple when I look at it and I’m also loving the gray. He’s off to Loras College and their colors are Loras Gold, Loras Purple and Loras Gray. My colors are gold, purple and medium gray. Sentiment will make up the rest, I hope.

The lower left is another version of my Rasta Slouch – this is black tweed and the upper left is the beginning of a pair of fingerless mints that are part of an order. So, you see – busy.

Even though the wedding afghan and the Lucas Loras afgan will be given away, they will still be in the shop. They will be customizable for whatever color scheme someone needs: weddings, sororities, schools. For anything you wish, really.

There are deadlines on three of these projects so work is going on most of the time. These are the things I love to do. I am digging on the afghans. I will need until October to finish the wedding one. Good thing the wedding is the last week in October. I have about 3 months to get it done. The mittens and the long sleeves I need to knit have to be out in a few weeks and the Lucas blanket has to be done in another week or so.

I’ve been know to fall asleep knitting and can knit with my eyes closed. This skill might come in handy.

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Learn Something New

I decided to learn something new today. It’s already bigger than what’s in the photo. This is the 3D Petal Granny Square. (I’ve linked to the video here.)

I purchased this yarn just because I liked the color. I don’t usually do RHSS. It’s rough. Though I’ve heard it softens a lot once it’s washed. But the colors spoke to me and I had a coupon so it came home. Then I was back at the store and I saw just three lonely skeins of it on the shelf and decided the family should stay together. So, I had 1928 yards of a yarn I had no idea what to do with. That blows the year of yarning dangerously all to heck.

There was the thought it would make a great beanie – and it would. But then the 3D square popped up on the feed from my phone and I thought: ‘Pretty square. Won’t have to change colors. Let the yarn do the work.’ Cue the video. Video was easy. Square looked fun. Could sell the afghan. Everybody wins. And here we are.

I also have a bandana on the needles. Haven’t taken a photo yet. I am frogging the Hooded Turtleneck Cowl I was making. I didn’t like it in the end. The problem could be I followed the pattern and you know that never ends well for me. This is part of what happens when I learn something new. One of the new things is I will change the pattern.

There are no plans to redo it right now. But should the urge hit me, I will definitely rework to my taste. The Bandana Cowl is a Purl Soho free pattern and will look pretty in Autumn I Love This Yarn stripes.

I also started Robin’s poncho over. There isn’t a needle long enough to hold all the stitches. It’s being made in two pieces and will be joined at the seams and then the neck picked up.

I’m off to take a selfie and to get dinner in the oven. Today is Thursday and that’s leftover night. I have a Bible Study at 7 so dinner is at 6 or so. Mr. Honey is having spaghetti and I am having leftovers from our date night last night from Famous Dave’s.

Good night all around.

 

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Life Isn’t Fair

Life isn’t fair. But that doesn’t mean I can’t be. Last post I shared a spot where you can learn how to knit. Well, here is a resource for crochet tutorials. 

The resource is called Lovecrafts and it has some step by step instructions with photos to talk you through casting on (chaining), and the stitches: single, half double, double and treble. It even has one on front post double crochet. I checked out a couple of them and the only real problem I had is the instructor in the basic lesson said to hold the crochet hook like a pencil. That is not the only option. I will do that upon occasion but the overhand grip is natural for me. Just saying.

If you find yourself really getting into crochet swing, there is a tutorial on making a baby blanket with stars that will take just a few hours. (Though time in relative and subjective in the knit and crochet universe. One person’s few hours is another person’s week.)

In the craft groups I’m end, more crocheters say they want to learn to knit than knitters say they want to crochet. I find it’s easier to teach a knitter how to crochet than the other way around. Knitters are used to at least two needles in the hand and can go up to five. Handling a single hook can be somewhat relaxing. For the crocheter, they have to learn how to use both hands – there isn’t a free hand and it can be tricky.

But now, we have resources for both. So for those who are new – welcome to the craft. For those who are looking over the fence, welcome to the other side. 

 

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On Hooks and Needles: The Bae Bag

Sometimes when I design something, I get a twofer – an item to sell and a pattern to make it. On hooks and needles this go around is a twofer. The Bae Bag. Both the item and the pattern have been in the shop for a bit and I really don’t know why it’s not selling off the shelves.
It’s a pretty straight forward knit. A feather and fan stitch that can knit up fairly quickly.

If you want to by one ready made go here.  Wanna make it yourself, go here.

The bag is made from cotton – though it can be made of another fiber. It can also be lined and the handles changed to make it more of a purse than a grocery or farmer’s market tote.  I believe I used Big Twist cotton. There’s a review. 

This would also make a nice project bag. It can hold an insane amount of yarn and the pattern or pattern book. It looks smallish but it has a great deal of stretch. An afghan project would fit with no problems. You might want to make sure the needles and hooks are secure. There are openungs in the pattern and a loose hook or needle might be able to slip through.

If you’re looking to make useful gifts or you want a fun easy knit for yourself. The Bae bag is just the thing.

 

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Doing Good

Doing good around Christmas isn’t that hard a lift for most folk – that’s a guess on my part. I get there by thinking there’s honor among thieves so when they steal something, they’re trying to steal something really nice for someone they love.

At the best of times, it’s probably not a good idea to compare the deeds things with any crafter. A crafter sniffs out the holiday season sometime in May. Plans are made and executed.

During the holidays, there is always a call for donations of items crafters create. Among them are hats, scarves and gloves for children in foster homes to adults in assisted living centers. Yarn sales start at the beginning of fall and great deals can be had all the way to Valentine’s Day. But for some especially crafty people, they get more than just fiber when they fill up at the local craft or yarn store.

They get plastic bags. Those bags are turned into plarn – plastic yarn. Plarn gets turned into sleeping mats. The West Orange News has such a story about those mats.  Mats are made from the plastic bags gotten from grocery stores, craft shops and just about any place that sells anything. They save the bags from the landfills and the oceans and create a useful item to be used by someone who needs it. This project has been around for years. If you want to see a video on how to make sleeping mats, check out Knitsville U.

The need for these items don’t begin and end with Christmas. This is a idea for a year long project a craft group can handle. StitchCraft doesn’t currently do it but there is no reason not to bring it up as something we can do several times a year.

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The Name Game

The Name Game in creating patterns can be a stressful thing. One never really knows what to call a pattern. Could I actually get away with hat pattern No. 43 as a name as opposed to this?

It became so bad I had to create a work around so I wouldn’t get stressed out. My solution: name patterns in alphabetical order. Boy, girl, gender neutral; didn’t matter. I picked the letter and started reading the meaning of the names and if one struck me with what I wanted that pattern to convey, then that was the name.

Even if I am using an established pattern, if it doesn’t have a name, I will rename it on my design board and give the item that name when I sell it. The original pattern is given full credit when I do write about it publicly. Ain’t stealing nobody’s work.

I suppose I could go through the dictionary and find a word that works for a name. I might try that the next time and see what I come up with. Right now, the next item will begin with N. Instead of going to the baby name sites, I will open the dictionary and just start reading until something clicks with me. It would be funny if the next item was called the Nomenclature.

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This Crochet Thing

This crochet thing has gotten a rebirth. It was helped along by the pandemic and also the Olympics because knitting and crochet were in the hands of Olympians.

Oddly, one thing that has caught fashion fire is the granny square, I suppose it has moved from being old fashioned to be retro or what I call retro fresh. Even in my shop, a hat that hasn’t sold much is selling again. It is a hat with a granny square vibe. Another hat, that is granny squares, has also sold after a long time being dormant.

I’m not knocking the trend; I’m glad I don’t have to chase it. There are already granny square items in the shop. I wouldn’t have placed them there to keep up. Trends are fickle things; chase them and to run to hide; leaving behing something useless that everyone wanted just a few hours before.

My respect for crcohet continues to grow. I find I am happy when someone orders something crocheted instead of knit. Usually,, that item will take less time to make and so it will be out the door that much faster. I can relax just a little more with crochet because there’s just the hook. Though I cannot watch a screen as easily as I can with knitting.

Don’t get me wrong, knitting is still my preference. Crochet compliments it nicely and is carving out its own space in my psyche. Nothing wrong with that. It’s kinda like a hobby that I don’t pursue but glad I have it. If I could just learn how to do it and watch a screen.

 

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Crochet Snobbery

I am going to confess to some crochet snobbery. I founded a knitting group that used to have more than 400 members.crocheted afghan in fall colors from beverlybochenek.com When i moved it off a paying site to Facebook, I culled the group down to about 40 -50 or so and of those, there is a small cadre of regulars. Here’s the thing: hardly any of them knit. Yes, I have a knitting group where many of the members don’t. Knit, that is.

A few of us do both. And our most accomplished knitter/crocheter prefers crochet over knit.

I do not. I still prefer knitting.

See this afghan? It’s stunning. I love the colors; I love the look of it. The techique of putting it together is a great tool in my tool box. This is crochet. But in my mind, this is more of the exception of what crochet looks like more than the rule.

Granny Squares May be the Culprit

This afghan and the Kravitz scarf I make, along with a host of hats, all explode the myth of crochet being junky and boxy. This afghan has beautiful drape and the yarn color flows to paint a lovely tapestry. I did none of the color work. I am a firm believer in letting yarn do the work it was designed to do.

But I also know there are other granny squares that make me want to cringe. Mostly it has to do with color choices but it makes the work look dated – not vintage type dated – old and dated.

As I write this, I have a pattern for a granny square scarf in mind. I have pulled the yarn – Red Heart Super Saver Ombre in Green Apple – and I will be using the black handled Susan Bates 5.5mm hook. I imagine three rows of granny squares and some fringe. It will be boho but not vintage. It will be lovely; worked with join as you go.

I am working at getting over my crochet snobbery. It will take some work but it’s worth doing. There is a great deal of beauty in crochet stitches (though an endless double crochet strains my artistic sensability.) I appreciate the artistry my club members display and I like what I create. 

This will require an attitude adjustment. I think I’m ready to make it. Knitting will probably always be my first love – but there’s enough to go around for crochet.

 

 

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Hook and Needles: Double Knit Wash Cloth

So, what’s on the hook and needles? At the moment, I have one thing going. Double knit wash cloths. Dish cloths are still popular on Etsy. I have some in my shop. But these new ones are a little different.

  1. They are going to be select your own color. The exising cloths are sold as a set but these will be one offered at a time and buyers can choose what color is available.
  2. . These are double knit. Durable and soft for both skin and for household use.

As you can see, the yarn is Premier  Home. It’s 85% cotton and 15% polyester. I will do a yarn review and it will be generally a good one but this is quite splitty.  Be that as it may, it’s also very pretty and the double knit makes for a squishy cloth that will feel good in the hand even if it’s just used on dishes.

Just one project going…for now. I have some design time on the books for tomorrow and I’m thinking of adapting a pattern for a bag into a cowl and then maybe do the bag and have a potential matching set. Thinking about it; it would look great as a cowl.

 

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First Crochet Project

I don’t remember what my first crochet project was. I didn’t have yarn; I had a spool of thread I would crochet and then unwind. When I did get a bunch of yarn, it came with knitting needles so I moved towards knitting and didn’t crochet.

Crochet didn’t come back to me for decades until after I was married. My mother-in-law knit and crochet but was leaning towards crochet because it was easier on her hands and her eyes. Wanting to impress her, I purchased a ton of needles and hooks, some yarn and a book with knit and crochet afghans and I decided to do a granny square.

Except, it was more of a granny cup. I wasn’t getting the hang of what I was doing wrong. Though I started a knit group; most of the women crocheted. I asked one of them to show me where I was going wrong. I learned about increases and making corners. saved my crochet life and opened up to new possibilities. It wasn’t long after,

I sold a granny square afghan.

What is a good first crochet project? Dishcloths seem to be the popular first thing to learn. It’s shorter than a scarf, at least. Know what’s even shorter than a dishcloth? A coffee cup cozy. There’s tutorial in Knitsville U from Winding Road Crochet to talk you through them. It’s an easy to understand video and each pattern uses only single crochet. Get some pretty yarn and these simple projects carry a big impact.

I said before I am gaining a healthy respect for crochet. When I want to unwind, I will go to a project project because it’s easier and tactile. Don’t get me wrong; I love my knitting but crochet has earned a spot. I truly enjoy it.