two new stitch tutorials!

May 1, 2013 by 1 Comment

There are two new stitch tutorials up!  First:

the mirrored chevron

chev22

This is NOT the same chevron stitch that appears in our inspirational CAL blanket.  I’ve altered it so it will lie completely flat.  Next up:

surface chains

surf6

 

I’ve seen this recently online but I first found it in an old Better Homes and Gardens book called “Complete Book of Knitting, Crochet & Embroidery.”  It’s a neat stitch that you do after you’ve worked the main fabric and would be a great addition to all sorts of projects!

As you may have guessed, both of these stitches work with our other CAL stitches, and I’m definitely going to use both!  So, to recap, here are the “fancy” stitches that will work for our CAL so far (excluding regular dc and hdc):

To reiterate, if you’re participating in the CAL it is up to you which stitches to use for your blanket — you can always replace what you don’t like with regular dcs!  I will be posting exactly what I will be doing next, however, for those of you who want more direction.  I’m honestly not sure about the woven DCs — they look so cool but to be most effective they should be done in one color, and I’m not sure that I want such a thick stripe of one color in my blanket.  You are free to use it if you like, but I think I might pass.  I will have to use it for something else though — it would make a fabulous cushion or perhaps a bag!

So, has anyone been trying out these stitches in preparation for the CAL?  Some of those stitches are tricky.  I’ve practiced lots myself, making all these tutorials!  I hope you guys are as excited as I am — I can’t wait to get started!  My yarn should be in soon.  If you’ve bought some yarn already, you can share it on the Ravelry group page in a discussion thread so we can all see and admire!

OK, I’m done for the night.  Those tutorials and this post have taken a long time!  If you try the new tutorials and find that something doesn’t make sense or I could have done something better, please let me know!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

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changes & additions

April 27, 2013 by 15 Comments

Hi everyone! You may have noticed some appearance changes around here — you know me, I love to change it up!  This look was inspired by this beautiful blog, although I’m trying to change little things so it doesn’t look exactly the same.  As always, the content of this blog/site remains the same. Except, that is, when I add more stuff! Let me introduce to you a new stitch tutorial:

woven double crochets!

This was introduced to me by Carina over at Häkelmonster (thank you Carina)!  She suggested it as an addition to our CAL stitches, and the math totally works out.  Here’s what it looks like:

woven7It looks neater the more you go.  I love the texture!  My light is again poor due to the cave I live in and the fact that I’ve been mostly nocturnal for the past few days just because I can.  For those of you participating in the CAL, I’ll let you decide whether or not to throw this stitch in your blanket.  It does look best in one color, I think, and it takes at least 5 rows to start seeing the pattern take shape, so if you’re wanting smaller stripes of color you might want to pass this one up.  However, this is the only stitch we have so far other than the bobble that has dimension, so that’s a plus!  Here’s what it looks like in multiple colors, just so you can see:

woven10You can still see the textural pattern but it’s a little more difficult.  (And no, my couch isn’t stained, it’s just hard to get the light and color balance right on my phone camera in my living room, haha).  If you test out the pattern either for CAL use or something else, let me know if there are any problems in the pattern.  It’s got some funky stitches that aren’t used too often, and I tried to demonstrate them as clearly as possible, but if you need assistance or something needs to be changed, please let me know!

I hope you enjoy the pattern, and I hope you like the new look!  I tried to find some cute bunting to use instead of the bubbles at the top, but I couldn’t find anything for free and my Photoshop skills aren’t nearly up to snuff.   You may continue to see some edits though.  Anyway, thanks for stopping by today!  Love you guys!

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testing out the stitches

April 25, 2013 by 16 Comments

I bought my CAL yarn!  I got the Stylecraft Special DK in these shades (which I mentioned in my last post):

I bought two of each color except the pale rose, in which I only purchased one because the only thing I’m using it for is the border.  That’s 21 skeins, which will be more than plenty, I believe, to make a full sized blanket, although I may only choose to make a large throw so that I can make a second throw another time.  I do love throws…

Anyway, with some scrap wool I had lying around, I tested out some stitches I’m hoping we can use, and they all worked.  I have a picture for you but I must say that it looks a poor due to the nonexistent lighting in my apartment and the fact that the yarn colors themselves were mostly dark ones…

testing3

Labeled for your convenience!  There are some rows of plain old dc and hdc (US terms) in there as well just to space out the fancy rows.

Whatcha think?  I think I would like to figure out something else that would fit with the stitch count I’ve got going (I’ve been doing so much math — I had to look up a least common multiple calculator online and it knocked many of my stitch ideas off the board).  I’ve already found this granny spike pattern that should work, and the wave and chevron stitch from the inspirational blanket  would also work.  I do hesitate to do consecutive rows of sc just because it make such a tight, stiff fabric that would be at odds with the other stitches, but a couple of rows here and there would be fine.

Not seeing your favorite stitch pattern?  If there is a stitch you would like to add, see if it fits this count (or see if you can alter it to fit):

The total of stitches across can be any multiple of 24, and then add 1 more stitch.  i.e. 25, 49, 73, etc.  (This is the number of STITCHES across, NOT the number of chains we start out with, due to the fact that we add extra chains to count as our first stitch.  Make sense?)  This means that any pattern repeat that evenly divides into 24 will work (2, 3, 4, 6, 8), so long as you can stick on that extra 1 stitch at the end, which most of the time isn’t a problem.  If your stitch pattern works, share it and someone else might want to use it!  The Ravelry group page would be a good place for that because you can add pictures of a swatch.

If you’re a new crocheter, I’d recommend practicing the “fancy” stitches beforehand.  Here are some tutorials for what we’ve got lined up now:

catharine wheels

bobbles  (I know this is my tutorial but I ended up adding an extra stitch in the bobble itself for added poof)

full star stitch

granny stripe

You know, as eager as I was at the onset of this idea to get going ASAP, I’m now glad that we don’t start for another month.  Gives us all time to get our yarn together, practice any difficult stitches, and add more stitch patterns if we want to.  I finished my last assignment of grad school today (HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!), so I should have more time on my hands unless I magically get a job and have to move or something.  Magically is about how it would have to happen — none of my fellow students are having any luck finding a job either.

Anyway, please let us know if you’ve got a stitch idea, and I’ll be looking, too!  Thanks for stopping by!

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charts vs. written out

April 19, 2013 by 15 Comments

Hello everyone!  Sorry it’s been so long — 10 days is a long time not to post (for me, at least).  I’ve been very busy with end-of-school assignments and preparing for the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification, which I take early tomorrow morning.  Job searching has also kept me busy for hours and hours on end, and I haven’t found anything yet, despite sending out over 70 copies of my resume.  Everyone loves my resume but nobody’s hiring, although I am doing a phone interview this Sunday with a private practitioner in the state.  I’d have to move if I got that job, but I don’t care — I just want something counseling related!

Despite all that, I really wanted to make this post, which I’ve been wanting to do for a while.  It’s about reading crochet charts vs. reading a standard written pattern.

bookchart

I really like charts!  Aside from looking cool, I think they’re easier to read (at least once you get the symbols down, but they’re pretty easy).  I can follow along easily and can see what my work is supposed to look like, ensuring that I do it correctly.

bookwritten

Regular written instructions are fine, too.  I’ve been used to all the abbreviations and repetitions for a long time now, so that’s not a problem.  Without a visual representation, however, often times I find myself in the middle of a round looking at the instructions and trying to figure out where I am.  It’s easier for me to get lost.

Those pictures are for the same motif and can be found in the book 201 Crochet Motifs, Blocks, Projects, and Ideas.  I like that the book most of the time provides both chart and written instructions — it’s very handy!

So which do you prefer, and why?  I’m curious to see how many people prefer each one.

I might not post again for a bit — I’ve got LOTS to do between now and Thursday and maybe by then I’ll know if I have a job and need to move.  The possibility of having to move is one reason I was happy to schedule the CAL for June — hopefully I’ll be settled in by that time.

Anyway, wish me luck for my exam tomorrow, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

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favorite stuff & online shopping

March 31, 2013 by 12 Comments

For both crocheting and knitting, I have come to regard some particular items as special favorites.  I want to share with you in case you may be looking for something similar!  I’ll start off with basic tools:

toolsMy lavender lotion bar is AMAZING in both smell and feel.  Check out the Lavishea website!  I mean, you need to take care of your hands that do so much work to make such lovely things!  Also, my Westcott sewing scissors that were given to me by my mom are the best — they’ve stayed sharp since I started crocheting all those years ago and the handles are nice and comfy.  The Cath Kidston tape measure I’ve shown you before, I know, but it bears looking at it again because it’s so darn cute!  Can’t get it on the US website though — you have to go to England!

susan bates hooksThese are my favorite metal hooks, and ironically they were gifted me by my horrible ex’s mother.  They’re old Susan Bates hooks, I believe (although they don’t actually have a brand name on them), sizes H-8 (5mm) and J-10 (6mm).  I use the H hook for everything possible.  Now I actually have some hook sets that my great grandmother owned, and those of course are my real favorites, but I don’t use those much because I’m scared of losing them.  There’s a regular set and a tiny steel hook set, and they mean a lot to me.

brittany hooksThese Brittany wooden hooks are my favorite wooden ones because of the actual hook shape and the fancy ends!  Pictured are D-3 (3.25mm) and J-10 (6mm).  I haven’t found these in the States either, and I only recently found them available online at Deramores.  I think I’ll be getting more of these soon!

newhook1This older, square, discolored picture shows a lovely antique hook made of bone.  It’s size E-4 (3.5mm).  Small but gorgeous!

knitting toolsThese are my favorite knitting tools — Brittany knitting needles and cable needles are available in the US, and I love these cable needles.  This is also the only pretty handmade stitch marker I’ve got, so I love it!

straightsEven though I don’t use straight needles too much since I’ve got a lovely circular set that does the job, I do love these cute ChiaoGoo ones!  Yes, they’re bamboo, but they’ve held up pretty well so far.  I don’t even like cats that much (I mean they’re great, but they make me sneeze) but these are so cute!

I got a couple of extras, like extra cables, ID tags, and cable joins.And of course my favorite circular knitting needles are my KnitPicks Sunstruck interchangeable needles!  These are the same as the KnitPro Harmony needles, for those of you in Europe.  These are awesome because, as I’ve said many times before, they have such nice sharp points and they don’t split on me like the bamboo circulars do.

And as far as DPNs, I just ordered the KnitPicks Sunstruck 6″ DPN Set — I know already that they’ll be my favorite!  I know I’m short on cash and I should probably have waited for these, but these will be worth it.  I’m going to use them for some Christmas ornaments that I’m going to give as Christmas gifts this year!  Of course that means I also bought the Christmas book by Arne & Carlos from KnitPicks as well, so I can get started.  (After my dad bought me the Easter Knits book by them, I’ve been astounded that I hadn’t heard of them before and I’m really excited about their stuff!)  I still need the yarn for the Christmas ornaments, but it will be cheap yarn, and overall it will save us A LOT of money on gifts this year!  I’ll just have to wait a bit longer on the yarn…

In my KnitPicks order I also tossed in two balls of Dishie Multi Yarn in Cottage (25849), just because it’s absolutely gorgeous and cheerful and it’ll make some great washcloths or dishcloths that I can also use as gifts!  It’s not the softest cotton but that’s why it’s designed for things that get wet all the time and take a lot of wear.  Here’s the colorway:

I spent a good bit, but at least I qualified for free shipping… It was a bit of an impulse buy…  I’m sorry, Mom.  😦  As hard as it is to believe, I actually am getting better… Ugh, now I feel all guilty!  I really do shop smart, though — the DPN set saves money when compared to buying them all separately, and getting the book from a US distributor saved me money there, too!  And the yarn’s not really expensive, either.  Look at me, trying to justify my shopping.  I guess I should have just waited until I had more money to spend, even though they’re all great buys.  *sigh*

Anyway, I feel like I’m starting to ramble, so I’ll sign off for now.  I know I said I’d hold off on the posts but I’ve still got 7 more topics to post about, not counting any projects I’m working on.  Thanks for stopping by!  I’m sure I’ll break down and post again within the next few days, so check back soon!

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