a finished project and a new one

Hello everyone! I hope you’re all staying cool this summer (if it’s summer where you are) — the temperatures here are in the 100s and I’m staying inside as much as possible.

In an effort to be more comfortable in the heat, I made a new linen shift using the historical method that includes only squares and triangles. I used this method on my brown one last year, but this one is entirely machine sewn to save time and I also gave this one short sleeves instead of long ones.

It hits just above my knees and is pretty comfy. I may use it as part of a ren faire costume if I decide to do something other than the swamp witch this year, although I think I may just do the same thing as last year and maybe just make a better skirt.

Anyway, I’m also in a redecorating mood, and I’ve recently bought some new household items to fit the dark cottagecore theme I’m going for in my bedroom (think lots of dark greens and teals and browns, with a few lighter accents here and there). It’s a good theme for me because I’ve already got a ton of old dark wood furniture, and I like the cozy, sleepy atmosphere.

I decided I need a new throw blanket for the bed, though, and I already have a ton of Paintbox Yarns Simply Aran in the shade Vintage Pink so I decided to use that for a crocheted blanket (yes, it matches the shift, and that was completely unintentional but kinda cool). I think it’s a good accent color with everything else, and I chose the Fenya Blanket pattern to use. It costs money and is very similar to the free Popcorn Blanket pattern, but I was willing to pay the small price to get the chart, which I often find easier to follow than patterns that are written out. Here’s my first square:

It’s only got 11 rounds but it’s larger than I expected it to be. Not that I’m complaining — that means fewer ends to weave in and fewer squares to connect at the end! I do wish the yarn wasn’t completely acrylic because acrylic blankets make me sweat at night, but I’m probably just gonna keep this at the foot of the bed for decor, and because of that I might not even need to make the recommended 16 squares — I bet I can get away with a smaller size blanket just fine.

I’m also working on sewing a cute linen summer dress with a strawberry and floral print, but I’m incredibly frustrated with it at the moment — I picked my size so carefully and even combined areas from 2 sizes to make it fit me perfectly, and the whole thing turned out too big. I’ve got to undo a ton of work and trim some of the pieces, but I’m worried it’ll look weird so I’m just kinda staring at the half-finished dress sitting on my sewing machine, not wanting to mess with it. I need to finish it though — the fabric was ridiculously expensive.

Sorry if this was a kind of boring post — I just wanted to share my projects and there’s not really anything else going on in my life to talk about right now. I hope you’re all doing well and staying safe and healthy, and I’ll try and come back soon with something more interesting!

a bazillion wips

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!

blanket and baskets done!

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!

new project & things to share!

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! 🙂

progress: chevron blanket

It’s been hard to do much crafting lately.  I’ve been really busy with other important life stuff.  Some progress has been made on the king size chevron blanket though:

IMG_1494

I know it’s not much, but it’s better than nothing.

IMG_1497

Don’t know why I’m in such a crafting slump.  I just don’t feel like doing anything.  I’ll think ‘oh, it would be nice to work on that blanket or that shawl,’ but then I just… don’t.

Bleh.  Do you get in really long phases like this too?