a bazillion wips

September 14, 2021 by 5 Comments

Howdy, hookers! How have things been going with ya’ll? Surviving 2021 alright?

Things here haven’t changed much, to be honest. I’ve just got about twenty works-in-progress and figured I’d share just a few of them here!

First we’ve got this simple triangle granny shawl that I started just to use up this yarn that I bought years ago for a specific pattern that never panned out. It feels like it’s slow going.

Another item made with yarn I’ve had for years — this scarf, which will probably be way too short unless I buy more yarn or just join something completely different. The yarn itself is nice; it’s a merino/silk blend from Purl Soho.

This is my first attempt at something truly freeform and I must say I’m pleasantly surprised at what I’ve got so far. Trouble is I’m not sure what to do next. ideally it’ll be a shoulder wrap, but I’ve got a long way to go.

And finally, here’s a new piece that I started against my better judgment (I really should finish other projects before starting a new one). Made from sock yarn dyed in various BTS themed colorways by Hawari Bazaar, this will theoretically be a large wrap/throw blanket for my office, or maybe for home. Just basic stripes of sc.

Sorry I don’t have more interesting things to talk about. Ya’ll don’t wanna hear me complain about work, though, I promise, and I’m sure I’ve talked about K-pop enough on this crochet blog to last a few years already. I just wanted to share something with ya’ll so you know I’m still here and crafting. I’ve posted a couple times on my Instagram lately, actually, so find me there if you wanna see more stuff.

Please stay safe and healthy, and thanks so much for reading! See you at some unforseen date in the future!

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blanket and baskets done!

May 9, 2020 by 3 Comments

Hello everyone!  How are ya’ll doing?  Idk about you but I’ve been crafting up a storm since I’m spending more time at home by myself, so I’ve got some stuff to share with you.

Firstly, I finished my Big Beautiful Basket:

big beautiful basket #1

 

I really like it, so I decided to make a second one!  I finished that one, too, although it was a bit more tricky — I thought that to stabilize the bottom of the basket a bit I would crochet around a thin wire, but it kinda made things funky and I had to add some decreases on the sides of the basket, leading to a rather lumpy looking finished product:

big beautiful basket #2

 

I’m using it as a laundry hamper.

And since I still had plenty more of the Lion Brand Mandala yarn I decided to make a third one, but this time I’m using a 9.0mm hook in hopes that a smaller hook will make the fabric a bit more stiff.  Here’s the progress I made before I decided it was too big and ripped back out to take a couple rounds off of the base:

big beautiful basket #3

 

And yep, I’m keeping this WIP and its yarn in my ottoman, hehe.  It’s quite convenient.

Okay, now for the finished project that’s got me most excited: the Kim Taehyung blanket!!!  First, a reminder of my color palette inspiration (read: an excuse for me to post about a BTS member):

Kim Taehyung

 

And now for the finished blanket:

Kim Taehyung blanket

 

The colors are more accurate this time so you can see how they match with the original photos.  I’m really pleased with the yarn (Paintbox Wool Mix Aran), the pattern (the standard Attic24 ripple), and the size!  Above it’s laid out on my king size bed, although it wasn’t made for the bed — this is just so you can see the size — it’s really just a giant throw blanket for the couch.  Now my dog can cuddle under it with me (he likes to get under blankets) and I’ll still have plenty of room!

I haven’t felted it yet — I was trying to decide whether or not to do a border first.  I have the yarn for it, but since this is a decently stretchy blanket I’m not sure I wanna crochet all around the edges, because what if the edging isn’t as stretchy as the rest and it ends up looking weird after a bit of use and a few washes?  I dunno.  What do you guys think I should do?  Border or no?

Please continue to take good care of yourselves — people weren’t that great about preventative measures in my state in the first place, but now that things are starting to open back up I think we might just see a spike in virus cases.  Heh, and speaking of my state, I have this upcoming Monday off for Confederate Memorial Day, which is pretty much the stupidest holiday I’ve ever heard of (sorry, not sorry, it’s really the worst).  I’ll try and get some crocheting done, I guess.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Take care, and see you soon!

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if your majesty doth ask it

April 22, 2020 by 2 Comments

I will tell about the basket!  (Sorry, watched “The Court Jester” recently, couldn’t resist.)  So yeah.  I’m making a basket.  BUT FIRST:

How are ya’ll holding up?  I hope everyone is crafting lots to stay sane at home.  Many of the lovely ladies in the knitting/crochet group at work are meeting via video chat since we can’t meet in person, which I’m super-duper grateful for.

In fact, these group members are the ones who inspired me to make a basket!  It’s made using the YouTube video tutorial from Jayda in Stitches for the Big Beautiful Basket (although I’ve modified it a bit to suit my yarn adjustments and favored techniques).  It’s extremely simple and quick, as you use 3 strands of #4 yarn held together with a 10mm hook (I’m using 4 strands of #3 yarn though, because I have quite a few Lion Brand Mandala cakes):

Big Beautiful Basket

I started this today, and here’s what I’ve got now:

Big Beautiful Basket

It’s slightly over a foot in diameter and is being made to hold my other WIP as I work on it (well, one of many other WIPs, actually, but we don’t talk about that), the Kim Taehyung blanket.

I have a feeling baskets could be addictive.  That’s what the other ladies in the work group are telling me.  I don’t need a ton of them though — I barely have room for 1 (and this will probably find a home underneath a side table, tbh), so if I do more they’ll either be a good bit smaller or they’ll be gifts for others.

So yeah, that’s about it.  Thanks for stopping by, everyone!  See you soon!

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new project & things to share!

April 20, 2020 by 4 Comments

Hi everyone!  How are you all doing?  These past few weeks have been nanners, and I hope you are staying safe and healthy along with your loved ones.  It’s a good chance to get some good crocheting/knitting done!

I’ve been working on a “new” project (read: new as in it’s the first time I’m posting about it here, but it’s actually been on the hook for months) and I’d love to share it with you all!

Kim Taehyung blanket(Turns out neon colors are hard to photograph — the fluorescent yellow is less green in real life than it looks here, and the bright orange is actually more pink-ish.)

It’s yet another rendition of the good ol’ Attic 24 ripple pattern.  I swear, I never get tired of this — it just flows more easily than chevrons, if that makes sense, it’s soothing and doesn’t require that you count higher than 4, and you can kind of mindlessly do this while doing many things, including watching TV (even while reading subtitles, unless they’re really fast).

My first ripple blanket, made back in 2011 (WOW), was done with Berroco Vintage Chunky, and it is one of the few blankets I’ve made that I actually use as more than just display — it has survived through many moves, a careless husband, and two dogs, and it’s still going strong!  Most of that is because of the yarn, since I was able to felt it in the wash just a bit and get it to the point where my dog’s claws don’t snag it, even when he paws at it, but this particular blanket is slightly dissatisfying in that it’s quite skinny.

This time, I’m using another wool blend so I can felt it the same way (but I’m using the slightly cheaper Paintbox Yarns: Wool Blend Aran, which was actually chosen because it has a wider selection of colors and I was trying to match the colors to a certain picture I like — more on that in a sec), but this blanket will be much bigger overall.  It’s already quite large — I’ve got maybe 20-30 rows left and I’ll be ready for the border!

With my classic ability to come up with only non-imaginative names for projects, I have temporarily (?) dubbed this the Kim Taehyung blanket, named after the guy whose picture made me go “ooooo, pretty colors!”

Kim Taehyung
I feel like I need to put some kind of warning or something here… Umm…  “Fangirling Ahead!  Feel Free to Skip (but at the Same Time, Please Don’t)!”  There.

OK.  So.  Kim Taehyung (stage name: V) is a member of the biggest musical group in the world: BTS.  If you don’t already know, BTS is a K-pop (Korean pop) band that stands out from all other artists in that genre thanks in part to their unique entertainment label, which allows them to truly express their versatile talent and brilliance by being their own main content creators and talking about things that other artists rarely tackle, such as societal issues (they even spoke at the UN) and learning to love ourselves (and in fact their entire discography is centered around themes/concepts in Jungian psychology relating to how we can both find ourselves and learn to love what we find, which, of course, as a counselor I absolutely love).  It also doesn’t hurt that they are the most amazing dancers ever, their style cover a wide span of genres, their songs are super catchy, and they’re pretty funny.  Their music, alongside special people in my life such as my wonderfully supportive parents and the amazing friends I’ve found in other ARMY (the fanbase name), has helped me gather and keep the courage to make some difficult life changes (divorce) and to start moving towards being a more authentic me.  I could literally talk about them for days, but I’ll let the links above speak for themselves; if you’re bored during quarantine and curious, I don’t think you’d regret watching and becoming more familiar with them.  I truly believe they have something to offer everybody.

Whew.  Ok.  That was actually minimal fangirling.  Are there any other ARMY in my readers?  I will give you SO MANY LONG DISTANCE AIR HUGS!!  I saw them live last year at MetLife, and will be going again this year in Atlanta whenever they reschedule the dates, so if you’re in the area hit me up!

And as always everyone, thanks for stopping by.  I’d love to hear from everyone in the comments — what are you working on to keep busy during quarantine?  What have you just ben up to in general?  I hope to see you all again soon! 🙂

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i’m back, sort of?

December 12, 2019 by 4 Comments

Hello everyone! It’s been ages. I wanted to come back and do at least a bit of more casual blogging, so here I am. Since I’ve been gone so long I’ll do my best to get to all of the questions and comments that have been left in my absence, so please be patient with me. 🙂

Very quick life update: working as a counselor at a psychiatric hospital, going through the latter stages of divorce, living alone and loving it, found some new things to obsess over (I won’t even tell you here — it’ll all become evident quickly enough), made some friends, still doing kung fu, have a knitting/crochet group at work that I love going to, getting in some self discovery. It is what it is for now, so on to the yarny things!

I’m knitting a hat for someone I work with who is going up to New England over the holidays but doesn’t have a good hat. I’m making up the pattern, but I’m keeping track of what I’m doing so I can share it when it’s complete. Right now it just looks like a mess:

That provisional cast on was one of the easier ones I’ve tried: check it out here.

Yarn is Cascade Yarns Eco Alpaca, which is THE softest yarn I’ve ever tried. Like, it’s hard to keep the first slip knot tight, it’s so smooth. I love it!!

I also just ordered a TON of yarn for 2 (TWO!!!) crochet blankets, so I can’t wait for those to arrive.

Well that’s it for now, hopefully I’ll see you soon! Thanks for stopping by!!

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