FO & pattern release: Thai Crochet Cowl!

January 25, 2016 by 26 Comments

Thai Crochet Cowl from Not Your Average Crochet

This awesome floral cowl is made of a bunch of crocheted puffs, all interlinked in a specific way.  It’s super cozy and warm, too!  And of course I’m releasing the pattern for free!  Read on for details:

difficulty level:

Advanced

finished size:

60″ (168 cm) circumference, 9″ (23 cm) wide

materials:

  • 7 balls of Garnstudio DROPS Alpaca in 4010 Light Grey Purple, or 1271 yds (1162 m) of your preferred sport weight yarn
  • US E/4 (3.5 mm) hook
  • Measuring tape

Thai Crochet Cowl from Not Your Average Crochet

This was a fun project to make because it offered a bit of a challenge, it used up a lot of yarn in my stash, and it took some time (that’s what happens when it’s made of puffs, and I’m glad of that because sometimes I just whiz through crochet projects too quickly!).

If you want to make this pattern, you can always find it in the menu of this site, or:

click here to download the free PDF pattern!

You can keep track of your progress on Ravelry, I’ve added it there.  Click here for that.

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a new book and… yarn

January 14, 2016 by 7 Comments

*shame face* I broke my resolution to not buy yarn already.  Well, sort of; I said I wouldn’t buy any unless I was commissioned, which I was, but I still feel bad.  Gonna do a 5th Chunky Circle Scarf for a coworker, and she wants a giant one!  It’s gonna be fun.  Got some Berroco Vintage in Smoke for it.

And I never said anything about not getting books, so I don’t feel so bad about this:

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There are lots of cute things in here and it really sparks the imagination.  Can’t wait to do some pixel crochet!  Chris will love video game themed items.

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giganto blanket: begin!

January 12, 2016 by 4 Comments

So far I’m keeping to my resolutions: I haven’t bought any more yarn, I’ve been working on those crochet patterns, and I’ve got a few projects going.  I’d like to share one in particular with you, my ASPEN Blanket by Go-Girl Knitting (which I’m affectionately calling The Blanket Everyone Wants, because ecru/cream colored chunky-knit cabled blankets are EVERYWHERE right now, everyone really does seem to want one)!  Here’s what I’ve got so far:

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It’s probably going to be about 60″ wide (hard to tell yet) and I’ve got 17 balls of Garnstudio DROPS Andes in 0100 Ecru (Super Bulky, 65% wool, 35% alpaca) so I’ll keep going until I run out!

I’m loving my progress so far and I know I’ll love the blanket when I’m done, but I’ve got a couple of qualms.  Let me make you a list!

  • The pattern is $6 but it turns out to be a really simple pattern that repeats, and it all fits on a plain 1 pg PDF.  A little expensive for what you get, methinks, especially considering the next 2 points…
  • The pattern calls for US 50 needles but many of the projects already made on Ravelry used US 35/36 needles because the 50s made the blanket too loose (even though the yarn is held double throughout).  I therefore started with my US 36 needles but it was STILL too loose, so I frogged and went down to a US 19.
  • Because of the needle size changes I made, I also had to adjust the pattern to keep the width of the blanket about the same, so I added 2 of the pattern repeats, making the CO jump from 72 to 106.

On the positive side, it’s working up fairly quickly and it’s still soft and plushy!  I used the long-tailed cast-on for a neat-looking but stretchy bottom edge, I’m slipping the 1st st of each row purl-wise for neater side edges, and I think I’m going to try to make the yarn joins as invisible as possible by “spit-splicing,” which I learned about via YouTube video (yes, it is what it sounds like it is).

So far I’m really enjoying it, and I’ll probably update with photos on Instagram in between updates here, if you’re interested in finding me there!

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

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first FO of 2016 & some yarny resolutions!

January 4, 2016 by 14 Comments

Happy happy new year!  I hope you all had a great holiday season and are off to a great start in 2016!

The FO:

It took less than a month to complete this (but still longer than I thought).  It’s Purl Soho’s No-Purl Ribbed Scarf, which was really fun to make, and as you can guess by the title there are no purl stitches!  I used 3 whole skeins of Malabrigo Rios (worsted, 100% merino) in the 850 Archangel colorway:

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The scarf is over 6″ long and SUPER cushy, thanks to the luxurious yarn in combination with the textured stitch.

Question though.  This looks like brioche knitting, which I haven’t tried before.  I know it’s not, but how can you tell the difference just by looking?

The yarny resolutions:

  • I will try REALLY really hard not to buy more yarn until I basically run out (or unless someone asks me to make something specific for them that I don’t already have yarn for); my stash is ridiculously huge and there’s more yarn on the way from online post-Christmas sales.  Chris is concerned that I’ll need another piece of furniture to hold it all, and I’m already taking up a small desk and the bottom of a small hutch.  Maybe I should resolve to find a cheap large secondhand dresser or armoire…  Anyone know of a good place to look?  Maybe Ikea…
  • I’m going to create & write up some crochet patterns (ideas include a convertible hat, more zippered clutches, 3 different kinds of cowls, a pillow in the shape of a beloved anime character, and one idea that nobody’s ever made before as far as I know; I can’t wait to share with you)!
  • I want to make more FOs this year than my 24 of 2015, even if it’s just by 1!
  • This year I’ll make Christmas projects GALORE.  For realizes, all my family & friends will be getting some cool crocheted items, and I’m gonna start as early as seems reasonable… maybe August?  Ugh, that already seems to early…

Did you make any crafty resolutions?  What are yours?

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon!

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a look back on 2015

December 31, 2015 by 7 Comments

2015 was a much more productive year for me than 2014 was, so that’s already awesome!  Here’s a recap of the [finished] projects from this year!

And there are a couple items I forgot to post about. I knitted a Fuego hat with some spare Berroco Vintage:

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And then there’s a secret project that I made as a Christmas gift for someone, but they might see it here so I’ve left it out and I haven’t been able to give it to them yet, so a photo will have to come later!

All in all that’s 13 crocheted projects (counting the Christmas gift) and 11 knitted projects.  Well now that I’ve totaled it up it doesn’t seem like so much, but it’s still better than 2014.

2 of those projects were my own patterns that I released, and I guess I’ve got the bug because there are SO many ideas I’ve got all of a sudden — there are definitely going to be more pattern releases in 2016!  I’ve already got the yarn and everything for almost all of my ideas, and can’t wait to get started!

Also of course there were some big life events this year!  I started working on my LPC licensure (to be a super-fancy licensed counselor) and, best of all, I got married!

I hope that 2015 was a good year for you, too, and of course I wish you the happiest of New Years and a great 2016!

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon!

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