Classic Cowl: begin!

February 5, 2016 by 5 Comments

Couldn’t resist the urge to start something new, and I’ve been eyeing Purl Soho’s Classic Cowl pattern for some time now.  There were already 4 skeins of the required yarn in my stash (Purl Soho Worsted Twist in Otter Brown), so I got started on Monday.

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I don’t know much about brioche knitting but the texture of this “fluffy brioche stitch” is awesome; I think it will be super warm and cushy!  The yarn is really soft, too, and enjoyable to use.  Here’s a closeup of the stitches (although it’s still hard to really see the texture as clearly as you can in real life):

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For some reason my ribbing is slightly slanted, but that should be fixed with a light blocking.  I might not use all 4 balls of yarn, though — it would be cool to save some for another project and I think even just 2 balls would make a very adequate cowl.

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

***Edit: and somebody asked to see the whole mandala ottoman cover from my last post, so here it is:

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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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FO: Lutz Jump hat

January 30, 2016 by Leave a Comment

First I want to say thanks for all the kind comments and shares of my recent Thai Crochet Cowl pattern release, I’m super happy people like it!

In another recent post I mentioned my current WIPs; well, I finished one!  It’s the knitted Lutz Jump hat by Monika Sirna, and it comes in an e-book of 3 very similar hat patterns for $6.50 (US).  It’s quick to make (when you don’t take long breaks in the middle of projects like I do), it’s easy but interesting, and it’s comfy.

Lutz Jump knit hat - Not Your Average Crochet

It used slightly over half a skein of KnitPicks Brava (100% acrylic) in the Fig colorway, minus the recommended pom-pom.  I know pom-poms are popular right now, particularly fur-looking ones, but I might give this as a gift next Christmas (not sure to whom yet) so I’ll just hold off on that.  If I make one it’ll be in another color.  I have a spare brown pom-pom that was originally for my Fuego hat (which I didn’t really like as much as I’d hoped), maybe I’ll use that.

Lutz Jump knit hat - Not Your Average Crochet

This is #6 of my project goal of 25 for this year.  I’m whizzing along!  Hope that doesn’t lead to burnout later, but the important part is just enjoying it, which I am!  Part of that I think is not worrying so much about a schedule for my posts or taking perfect pictures of my FOs against pristine white backgrounds, like I tried to do last year (I’ll try to do those things still this year but I won’t be so strict about it).  I’ve still got a blog/project calendar but it really just helps me keep track of what I’ve posted or what I need to be working on, etc.

Well, that’s all for today!  I’ll keep working on my 7 WIPs & maybe start some more, and I’ll see you soon.  😉  Thanks for stopping by!

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FO: chunky circle scarf #5!

January 28, 2016 by 8 Comments

Yep, my 5th one is done! (Pattern here.)  This one’s for a coworker who wanted a large grey one, so I made it extra wide (11″ unstretched) and extra long (78″ unstretched), so it’ll wrap around three times.  Granted there’s not much ease, but with some mild stretching — not even blocking — it should give enough.

Not Your Average Crochet's Chunky Circle Scarf

That’s it.  Folded in half.  The whole thing wouldn’t lay flat in a picture.  I used 5.24 skeins of Berroco Vintage in Smoke (you hold 2 strands together at the same time), so I only needed to buy 6 after all, not 8, but I won’t charge my coworker for the unused 2.  I really do love Berroco Vintage even after years of using it so I’m sure I’ll find a good use for it.

Here’s a closeup, although the color is too light — the first photo is accurate:

Not Your Average Crochet's Chunky Circle Scarf

I also clearly really love this pattern, to make 5, and as I mentioned in my last post there’s a 6th in the works; another coworker wants one and she’s picked the yarn but I haven’t ordered it yet.

It makes me really happy that people ask me to make them things (#4 was requested, as well).  Makes me feel like I do a good job, that I make stylish things, and that it’s all worth the price I have to ask for for the yarn.  I do charge for labor, too… sometimes…  If I kinda owe someone a favor I’ll just ask for the yarn cost, like the intern who received #4.  She helped me so much during her time at my job that I wanted to thank her, and that’s how I did it.  Can’t keep doing that for everyone, though, even though I don’t necessarily mind — my wallet minds.  The coworker #5 is for reminded me that my time has value, too, and of course she’s right (although I think if I charged retail price for items nobody would ever ask me to make them anything again).  Someone also recently asked me through e-mail if she could pay me to make her an as-we-go stripes blanket, but I haven’t responded yet. I have so many things I want to make and while I don’t mind making quick projects for coworkers I’m not sure I want to start selling larger items to the general public, at least I’m not sure if I want to do that now; maybe in the future if I have more time at some point that could be an option (but if kids come along that’ll be a bazillion years).

So according to my New Year’s resolution to make 25 items this year, I’m doing really well already — this was #5 to be completed (although I haven’t shared two of them here yet because they’re for a pattern I’m releasing and I want to do that at the same time).  Hopefully I can keep this up…

Thanks so much for stopping by, see you soon!

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WIP update

January 27, 2016 by 21 Comments

Soooooooo many WIPs!  Please tell me you do this too.

I’ve frogged the Sugarfrost scarf:

Sugarfrost scarf begin

I got about 5x farther but it was still so slow…

Too much tiny knitting and it would take WAY too long for my patience (which gets tried plenty at work).  Not sure what to make with the yarn, though.  Still working slowly but surely on the Fino cowl:

stockinette cowl

I’ve gotten about 60% done now though

 

Also started a cool looking cabled hat but it called for small needles and chunky yarn and just hurt my hands too much so I frogged it, too; maybe I’ll start over in a worsted weight yarn instead.  My Harry Potter knit scarves are still the same, kinda hibernating, but whenever I get to it I’ll post the pattern.  I’ve just resigned myself to laziness for this:

Harry Potter knit scarf

My Citrus Stripe Blanket is also hibernating, although it’s looking pretty cool:

citrus stripe blanket

Dunno if I ever even got around to sharing my Wolf River sweater I started a few months ago.  It’s cool but the yarn I ordered was the yarn the pattern called for and it’s not near as soft as I would like.  Stalled out on my Lutz Jump hat, too.  And the Venetian Carnival cowl I didn’t share because it was originally gonna be a Christmas gift got replaced with another knitted gift and is now sitting around, almost done, waiting for me to put buttons on it and block it (it was a cool make but it would’ve been cooler if I’d doubled the length so it could be wrapped around twice, but then I wouldn’t have had the yarn to start the Fino cowl mentioned above).  A couple of other things are hibernating, too (my Paulie cardigan & my Weasley sweater)…

I’m also working on two versions of two individual patterns I’m writing (4 items total), which I’ve super been into as evidenced by the Anthropologie Inspired Hat, the Not Your Granny’s Granny Square Clutch, and the Thai Crochet Cowl, all of which are pretty recent releases.  The new patterns are also crocheted cowls (cowls are THE BEST) but that’s all I’ll say for now.  I’ve got ideas for more patterns to write, too, after those, so it should be a fun year.

The things I’m actually working on actively now are the Aspen blanket and my Chunky Circle Scarf #5:

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Heaping them on my ottoman keeps them in view so I’m constantly reminded to work on them, but they’re super fun so it’s not like it’s a chore.  I’m gonna start a Chunky Circle Scarf #6 soon, too — both 5 and 6 are for coworkers who’ve requested them (so I’m still not really breaking my resolutions because they’re paying for the yarn).

Whew!  That was a bit of an eye opener, just typing that all up.  How many WIPs do you have going right now?

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