new project: granny stripe

September 4, 2012 by 6 Comments

I know I have quite a few projects to work on right now, but for most of them I am out of yarn.  The realization just hit me that my lack of yarn money is probably the main contributor to my lull in crafting recently (although I’m sure my apathy has played it’s part).  Since I do not have any money for yarn right now, I decided to make something with what I’ve got.  I realized that I have quite a stash of Caron Simply Soft (not my favorite yarn, but cheap):

The colors are a bit off, but you get the idea.  So I thought I’d try my hand at something I’ve not done before: a granny stripe blanket, particularly the one made famous by Lucy of Attic24.  I know the pattern is simple, but that’s OK with me because it looks so good!  Since some of these colors are basically scraps, however, I decided to change colors whenever I run out of the working one instead of changing them at the ends of the rows, thinking that it would produce a rag-rug type effect and produce a bigger blanket in the end.

I have run into two problems so far, though.  The first is that my foundation chain was so long that, while my blanket will definitely cover a double bed and maybe a queen, I might run out of yarn before I get there, even though that box is full of skeins.  The whole point of this was to not have to go buy more yarn, but I’ve already worked on the blanket enough that I don’t want to rip it out and start over.  The second problem is that some bands of color are significantly wider than others, and while I thought this would add charm, so far it just looks bleh:

In any case I plan to continue, because who knows, it might turn out great after all, and I might have enough yarn!  We’ll just have to see.  Honestly I don’t care that much, I’m just glad to be hooking again after that long hiatus.  If it doesn’t turn out good, maybe by that time I’ll have money to buy some yarn that I really want for something even more exciting.

As always, thanks for stopping by!  I’m headed off to work on it and watch a movie.  (I’m caught up on homework, hurray!)

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yarn journal

August 15, 2012 by 5 Comments

Firstly, I want to say a big thank you to Hannah Ackroyd, who introduced me to this.  Thanks Hannah!

The Kathryn Ivy blog/site  provides free PDF pages for your printable organization needs.  You can make a binder (with dividers, perhaps) to organize your knitting/crocheting projects, your yarn stash, your needle/hook stash, your yarn wish list, your queue, notes, sketch pages, and graph paper of different sizes!  How cool would it be to be so organized, to be able to show off your finished projects with ease, and to be able to express your own yarny creativity all in one place?  Check out this screenshot of the crochet project sheet:

It’s a little small but you can see there’s space for a photo, all your yarn specs, notes, and at the bottom you can tape/paste your yarn label and a little snippet of yarn!  I can just picture a lovely neat binder full of these completed sheets!  So are you interested in making your own project journal?  Then please go to the site with all those lovely pages:

click here.

I do apologize if this is something everybody already knows about — it was new to me and I just had to share!  Thanks again to Hannah for enlightening me.  Now I just need to go out and buy a hole puncher and a nice pretty binder and I’ll be ready to start getting organized!  I’m so excited — it’s like Ravelry in physical form!

As always, thanks for stopping by!  I’ll be on a short vacay in Charleston with my mom starting tomorrow so I might not update for a few days, but I’ve left such a condensed wad of posts that it makes me feel like it somehow all equals out. 🙂

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reviewing yarn

August 14, 2012 by 5 Comments

I’ve begun working on an alphabetical list of yarns I’ve tried or that have been recommended to me by trusted sources (some of which are you lovely commenters).  Here’s the page that has it all so far.  I’ll be adding to this page as I find and try new yarns.  I hope it’s helpful, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

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ta-da!

August 6, 2012 by 10 Comments

I finished my mom’s shawl for our England trip this Christmas!  The free pattern is found here, and you might recognize it from my first one that was made for myself.  Here it is:

 

I’m excited about the result!  I think I’m going to suggest to my mom that she wash it and block it to stretch the ends a little more, like I’m planning to do with mine.  This shawl does not have the tassels on the ends that are included in the pattern — Mom preferred hers without them, and I think it looks just as good.  I also love the creamy colors!

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now, but I’m going to try and post a little more than I have been lately — I know I’ve been really slack about it.  Anyway, thanks for stopping by!

 

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old & new

July 2, 2012 by 2 Comments

I got something that is both old and new!  It’s technically old but it’s new to me!  I got a new crochet hook, and I found it over on crochetime.  Anyway, it came in today:

It’s made of bone, and it’s actually very small, as you can see by the last pic with it in my hand.  It says size 4 but I haven’t used my little metal sizer thing because I can’t find it…  Anyway, just wanted to show ya’ll this new item!

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