FO: Shades of Blue Round Ripple

This was done as part of the Round Ripple CAL at Yahoo crochet-a-long. I chose Lyn's Round Ripple pattern I did for a neighbor 2 years ago (pre-blog). This one will be for my sister's grandson (due in May).

Project details:

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft - light worsted weight - acrylic - ~1000yds

Colorway: White, Light Country Blue, Country Blue, Navy Blue

Hook: Brittany H (5.0mm) hook

Pattern: Lyn's Round Ripple

Size: Approximately 40" in diameter

Pattern changes: None! I ended with the hdc edging suggested in the pattern.

A new fiber artist is born...

I had so much fun on Sunday afternoon. While the wind howled and a snow squall blew through our town, my 5 yo dd curled up on the couch with me in front of a roaring fire and asked me to teach her to crochet. We started with finger crochet, and progressed to a large hook. She decided that using that hook was hard but finger crocheting was fun! So we stuck with finger crocheting for now. Many chained belts, headbands and necklaces were made that afternoon.

Round Ripple CAL

Well, this past Monday we officially started the Round Ripple CAL at Yahoo crochet-a-long. People are free to choose their own RR pattern. I decided to stick with Lyn's Round Ripple pattern I did for a neighbor 2 years ago (pre-blog). I am making this for my niece's baby boy (due in May). I am using some Simply Soft I had in stash. I started with white, then Light country blue, and then country blue. After a few more rounds I plan on adding navy and then a final border row of white.

I have a lot of Simply Soft in navy, so I'm hoping to do a baby sweater for them as well. And I bought the cutest baseball buttons today for it!

Secret Project #3 is finished

But that's about all I can say...


I mailed secret project #3 off to Robyn 2 days ago. You can read about her thoughts behind this project here. So, hopefully she'll receive it today, put on the final touches and post a sneak peek by early next week. As always, it was a joy to crochet something designed by Robyn. The pattern was clear, well written and the final garment was fantastic. We are all in for a great treat when this booklet of crochet by faye patterns for the "yet to be disclosed" yarn company is available. I, for one, can't wait!

Motif - Pattern identification

I hope someone out there can help me. My neighbor & her Mom have discovered an unfinished family heirloom. It's a crocheted tablecloth that my neighbor's grandmother was working on before her death, many years ago. They even have the thread she was planning on using to finish the project. We are trying to identify the pattern for these motifs so that they will be able to commission someone to complete the project. It appears to be a collection of larger circular motifs that are joined with a smaller circular motif.
So... anyone have any ideas??

I Love this Case!!

I can't believe I lived so long without a hook case. And more to the point I can't believe I waited so long to order this hook case after I discovered CrippenWorks. OK - I'll back up. I needed a case for my crochet hooks. I kept thinking I was going to crochet one like this, or make this Felted Hook Case (it was actually on my WIM list in August 2006) or even this Berroco one. But as my hook collection grew, I realized that all of those would be too bulky to carry all my hooks and I just couldn't seem to leave home without all my hooks! Then I saw the story "Going Custom" in Crochet Me about handmade crochet hook cases designed by Katharyn Crippen Shapiro of CrippenWorks. I was in love! The article explained how you can buy a standard crochet hook case (or knitting needle case) or you can work with her to design the case that's right for you. Following the suggestions in the article at Crochet Me, I prepared. I counted my hooks... there were 29. I measured their lengths, I grouped them into sets based on circumference. Finally I sent Kathy a note last summer, detailing my hook collection and all their measurements. She sent me back a note within 2 days explaining my options. She recommended I make two cases with 20 slots each so I have room to grow. She also said she was happy to make just one case, a longer roll, if I preferred. Well the ball was in my court and I was stumped. I couldn't decide. I pondered and then I procrastinated.
Well in the chaos of late December I managed to lose not one, but two of my beloved Brittany hooks. Enough was enough. I waited until after the holidays (well sort of) and sent Kathy an e-mail in the midst of New Years weekend! I received an e-mail back on a Sunday morning promising me a price and delivery date later that week. On Wednesday, that arrived. I paid by credit card at her website, and on Monday the case was in my mailbox! Now here's the funny part... we had 14 inches of snow on Monday, so I never made it down to my mailbox that day. So finally on Tuesday, as I waited for the school bus with my kids I picked up the mail, and started cheering. So here it is filled with my hooks! It is everything I wanted and more. It is beautiful, expertly made in my choice of fabric and I know it will protect my cherished hooks for years to come!

Random thoughts of current and future projects

1. I finished crocheting the parts to Robyn's Sweater . Now comes assembly, edging and weaving in those blasted ends.
2. Purple Haze sweater is currently one-armed. I hope to jump into that sleeve as soon as #1 is in the mail. I'll update this with another photo soon...
3. Baby items... I need them soon. Friend is due 2/23 and my niece is due in early May.
4. A Sock CAL is starting 2/1 at Yahoo Crochet Socks (still voting on the pattern - will be an online freebie).
5. Another Sock CAL is starting 3/1 at Yahoo CGOA (still voting on the pattern - will be from Crocheted Socks book).
6. Next sweater for me will be Drops 97-1 using Reynolds Lopi .
7. I have some bulky yarn in a pretty purple, Royal Classic Yarn Soft Tweed (bottom photo) that I want to use for a sweater for Abby. I was thinking of making her another popcorn pullover (in bulky as it calls for this time). She's really outgrown her first one (made with ww yarn). But, I'm not sure.... I might decide to upsize this hoodie pattern for her instead.

So what are you all hooking or thinking about hooking??