Victoria Shawl: begin!

March 21, 2016 by 10 Comments

Like I didn’t have enough WIPs already.  🙂  I couldn’t resist purchasing the new Victoria Shawl pattern.  The perfect yarn was already sitting in my stash: KnitPicks Stroll Tonal Sock Yarn in Seashell.

Victoria Shawl

The pattern is easy to memorize and not difficult to do; so far it’s just been chains, double crochet stitches, treble crochet stitches (at the top edge), and puff stitches.  It’s working up at a decent rate, too.

Victoria Shawl

The stitch pattern kind of looks like flowers to me, and the colors in the yarn remind me of Japanese cherry blossoms.  Maybe I’ll nickname mine the “sakura shawl.”  Really pretty for spring, if your spring isn’t already hitting the 85 degree mark.  It’s been a little toasty this past week, and I’m envious of all the places that are still getting snow and wintry weather!  The only thing “snowing” here is the pollen — my red car looks brown from the the added layer of yellow-green.

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for today.  See you soon, and thanks for stopping by!

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free pattern release: the Snapdragon Stitch Cowl!

March 14, 2016 by 14 Comments

Hello everyone!  I know I’ve been quiet lately but I haven’t had much progress on my projects to share.  I finally finished writing this pattern up, though, and I hope you love it!
Snapdragon Stitch Cowl - Not Your Average Crochet

About

This pattern employs the snapdragon stitch as well as yarns the color of blooming snapdragons (although it would look great in any color)!  This cowl is worked in the round and is written in US terms.  There are two versions to choose from, a worsted weight version and a sock weight version.  Feel free to sell what you make with this pattern!  Also, you can find it on Ravelry here (I’d love to see your photos and progress)!

Specifics

Finished size: Worsted version: 55″ circumference, 9.5″ tall; Sock weight version: 59″ circumference, 7.5″ tall

Materials: Worsted version: US I/9 (5.5mm) hook, 2 skeins of KnitPicks Brava Worsted in Paprika (or 438 yds of any worsted yarn); Sock weight version: US 3/D (3.25mm) hook, 1 hank of Miss Babs Keira in Blooming Pansies (or 560 yds of any sock weight yarn)

Download free Snapdragon Stitch Cowl pattern (PDF)

Snapdragon Stitch Cowl - Not Your Average Crochet

Snapdragon Stitch Cowl - Not Your Average Crochet

Snapdragon Stitch Cowl - Not Your Average Crochet

Snapdragon Stitch Cowl - Not Your Average Crochet

I hope you enjoy the pattern!  If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to contact me using the contact tab in the menu bar.

Thanks so much for stopping by, see you soon!

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Double Wrap Infinity Scarf: ta-da!

March 1, 2016 by 4 Comments

First, thanks for your kind comments after my last post.  I appreciate your encouraging and kind words!  I feel a bit better, although things are still somewhat up and down, but it’s good that things are evening out a bit (I think).

This cowl took just a few hours, and although I didn’t have quite the required amount of yarn I still got 6″ of height.  This cowl (free pattern here) would make a good gift because it’s pretty, plush, and fast.  Note that the requirements on Ravelry are not the same as the pattern itself — it was updated to a larger hook size (I) and the foundation ch # changed, too.  Anyway, here’s mine folded in half (circumference is about 57-58″:

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I’d definitely make another one.  This one used the leftover yarn from my Classic Cowl, Purl Soho Worsted Twist in 3030 Otter Brown.  I really like this yarn, and wouldn’t mind getting it again when it’s on sale (that’s why I ventured to try this, it was discounted).  I’d love to get some other colors, too.

Here’s a closeup:

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The cowl is pretty simple, using rows of dc, hdc, & sc in a certain order, but it’s not boring to make since it’s so quick and the stitch does change every row.

Well, that’s all for today, thanks for stopping by, see you soon!

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Chunky Circle Scarf #6?!

February 7, 2016 by 1 Comment

Yep, my 6th one, although this one was  not joined in the end to make a circle but was made slightly longer for a regular scarf instead of a cowl.  This was made for another coworker of mine who saw the one I made for my first coworker and loved it.

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This one used about 240g of yarn.  The yarn is Cascade Yarns Eco Alpaca in Charcoal Twist, and let me tell you this yarn is some of the softest I’ve ever used, ever.  So soft that it’s hard to tie off because the fibers are so slippery.  And made into a pattern like this, it’s certainly cushy and feels very luxurious!

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That is it folded into 4 layers.

The only thing I don’t like is that I think it’s too short.  I almost hate to give it to my coworker since she’s even paying for the yarn but I don’t think I can face undoing the whole thing and starting all over.  Hopefully it will stretch some.

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The Catherine wheel pattern is visible with this yarn but looks slightly less distinguishable than it does in completely solid yarn. I hope that’s OK with my coworker, too, but she wanted shades of grey so I think it’s what she wanted.

Well, that’s all for today, see you soon!

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FO: mandala ottoman cover

January 31, 2016 by 10 Comments

Crochet and mandalas just go hand in hand, so I decided to try my hand at making a mandala pattern of my own!  Made up as I worked, this nicely covers the lid of a new storage ottoman we got for our wedding (that way we can actually put our feet on it without worrying about getting it dirty).

Mandala ottoman cover from Not Your Average Crochet

I used a variety of stitches and the yarn is KnitPicks Comfy Worsted (leftovers from the embroidered rose hat) and Bernat Handicrafter Cotton DeLux.  Used a US H/8 hook.

Mandala ottoman cover from Not Your Average Crochet

The sides are just granny rounds and some sc rows to stabilize everything.  It’s held on the ottoman with a strand of yarn run through the next-to-last round and cinched around the edge:

Mandala ottoman cover from Not Your Average Crochet

This way the cover can be easily removed & washed, and since it’s a storage ottoman with a lid I didn’t have to do more than cover the lid itself.

This was fun to make and just took 1 weekend, so I got the pleasure of starting a new project as well as not really adding to my current list of WIPs.  I think this is my 6th completed project of the year, so my goal of making 26 projects definitely seems attainable now!  The only problem is that now I want to start another new project, but I really should work on all those WIPs…

Hope you guys had a great weekend!  Thanks for stopping by, see you soon!

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