Shhh... it's a secret!

Look what I found in a box on my front steps, the day after we came back from vacation. The yarn is Lily Chin's Chelsea - a wool, cotton, acrylic blend in this beautiful shade of dusty light blue (which I just don't seem to be able to capture correctly tonight). It's paler than this, and oh so pretty and soft. The yarn came from Robyn along with a swatch (that's carefully draped so you can't really see it!) I'm so excited to be crocheting another piece for her new book. She's definitely one of my favorite designers. You can see I've already grabbed my Brittany hook and started crocheting!

You'll have to wait until 2008 for this book, but she has a bunch of designs shown here that are in the new Crochet Me book due out in just about 6 more weeks!

FO: Drops 88-20 Girl's Tank

I never posted progress on this project because I started it just before we left for vacation and finished it, all except for those blasted ends, before I returned. The ends are now woven in, so here's the finished product instead, being modeled by my adorable sweetie!

Project details:
Pattern: Drops 88-20 Safran Tank
Size: Girls 7/8
Yarn: Katia Mississippi 3 - fingering - 60% cotton, 40% acrylic - 430 yds
Colorway: Lilac
Hook: Addi 4.0mm F hook
Gauge: 18 dc x 11 rows= 4" x 4" (dead on!)
Pattern Changes: (Barely ONE)
I actually followed this pattern to the letter. Seriously. The only thing I did was incorporate the Peter Franzi method of removing the hole at the beginning of a row of dc: Ch 3, do not skip the first stitch, but do a dcdec in the first 2 stitches.

FO: Twyla

Two weeks ago I was all ready to post another project update for the Twyla Cardigan by Berroco. Really, I even had this photo taken July 31st. See? I was going to say that I had finished the first sleeve (modified to be tapered) and that I was starting the second one. Well life erupted with several family emergencies and frankly I'm not sure I knew what end was up for the last 2 weeks. Life has "settled" and now I'm left with just my own kids both sick with strep! So now that I can finally get online long enough to post (honest, I haven't even edited over at ravelry for the past week !!!!) I get to make an FO post instead of a WIP post!!

When I first looked at this pattern, I fell in love with the textured stitch pattern. I noted way back when that I would probably taper the sleeves. Of course I forgot this detail and crocheted about 14 rows of the sleeve before realizing I didn't want a 14" sleeve at the cuff. So I frogged that, whipped out my trusty graph paper and designed a tapered sleeve. When I got to the first increase, I realized that the body of this sweater has decreases but not increases and I also had to create a method to increase without disrupting the stitch pattern.

Project details:
Pattern: Twyla Cardigan by Berroco
Size: medium
Yarn: Reynolds Gypsy, 1577 yds (19 hanks)
Colorway: 'Ocean Blue' (my name for it)
Hook: Brittany 5.0mm H hook
My Gauge: 7.5 clusters x 13 rows= 4" x 4"
Pattern Changes: (just a few)

1. Stated gauge was 8 clusters x 9 rows in 4"x4". I used the stitch counts for a medium (giving me slightly wider panels) but altered the row counts and crocheted the length of the pieces to the schematic measurements.
2. Increases in stitch pattern:
   -To increase 1st half cluster at beginning of row: Ch 3 after completing cluster at end of previous row, turn, hdc in 3rd ch from hook.
   -To increase 1st half cluster at end of row: hdc into turning chain of previous row.
   -To increase 2nd half cluster at beginning of row: Ch 3 after hdc at end of previous row, turn, crochet cluster into 3rd ch from hook and hdc.
   -To increase 2nd half cluster at end of row: crochet cluster in hdc and top of turning chain of previous row.
3. In order to taper the sleeve (and lengthen it as well):
   -ch 38, rep row 1 of back (37 sc)
   -Rows 2-5: Follow pattern from back row 2-3 (18 clusters)
   -Increase 1/2 cluster at each end of rows 6, 10, 15, 20, 25, 31, 37, 47 (26 clusters)
   -Rows 48-60: Work even (26 clusters)
4. Sleeve cap was modified slightly to accommodate my row gauge:
   -Row 61: Sl st over 3 clusters at beg of row, leave 3 clusters unworked at end of row (20 clusters).
   -Row 62: work even (20 clusters)
   -Row 63-68: Decrease 1/2 cluster at each end of row (14 clusters)
   -Row 69: work even (14 clusters)
   -Row 70-75: Decrease 1/2 cluster at each end of row (8 clusters)
   -Row 76: work even (8 clusters)
5. Edging on the body of the sweater was as written except:
   -I added an extra round before the button hole round
   -I made 4 button holes, each 2 sc long, separated by 10 sc
   -I added an extra round after the button hole round, except at the neckline where I replaced the sc with sl st.
6. Sleeve edging - only 3 rows of sc (I guess I made the sleeves a tad too long!)

Ravelry, oh ravelry...

I've promised an explanation of my absence... and I promise I will still blog, but my online time is definitely being sucked by Ravelry right now. Have you been there? Do you have your invite? Go, run, sign up for an invite and then go about your life and have patience. Many, many people are waiting for invites, but rest assured, ravelry is well worth the wait. Can you imagine fiber nirvana? Then you've imagined ravelry. It is a truly amazing knitting and crocheting community. (Yes both together and Look Ma, we're NOT fighting!)

This is the place where you can have a notebook with all of your projects - WIPS & FOs, with photos (from flickr) and details (yarn, pattern, pattern modifications) and links to all of these details either within ravelry or for someone like me, links to blog posts detailing pattern modifications. A place where you can have all of your stash yarn listed with photos and details (yes, details of fiber, manufacturer, yardage, weight, how many skeins you have). A place to list a queue of pending projects and yes with details of these projects and link to the pattern and the yarn from your stash. So for an organizing nut like me, I can still blog about yarn purchases and think about what I might make with the yarn like I did here and here, but then instead of having to search for those posts and read through them to see what projects I was thinking about I can just go to my Queue on Ravelry. Oh and one of my favorite things about ravelry... searching! You can search to see what other ravelry members have made with a certain yarn OR you can search to see what yarns others have used to made a certain pattern. Isn't this just the coolest fiber-related invention ever? Can you tell I'm head over heels in love with ravelry? Here's an awesome sneak peek that explains it all better than I could and a link to Unraveled, the ravelry blog, if you want to read even more

Oh I almost forgot to tell you. With ravelry in beta testing now, Jess & Casey (the amazingly talented creators of Ravelry - who I met at in NH at the Knit & Crochet Show) need feedback on bugs etc and they need help editing the pattern and yarn info being entered by members. They allow us fiber enthusiasts to assist them in the creation of this amazing site. So I've been editing the patterns of Interweave Crochet, Drops Designs, Crochet Me and many of the books that I own in order to get ravelry ready for the big launch out for beta testing.

So, now do you understand where I've been?

CGOA Chain Link conference

I was thrilled when I heard that Chain Link was going to be in Manchester, NH this summer as I'm less than 40 minutes away! With the kids summer schedules and my dh's job demands, I wasn't able to go everyday, but I enjoyed every minute I was there. (With this years experience under my belt though, I'm already making plans to be able to go every day next year!)

I have so much to say I can't even think straight. I arrived on Friday afternoon with time to spare to browse the market place before my 2pm class. When I checked in at registration they informed me that I was among the lucky fiber enthusiasts to get a goody bag from Coats & Clark with 6 skeins of yarn. TLC Sparlke Soft ~ Mint, Moda Dea Washable Wool ~ Aqua, Red Heart Hula ~ Lemon Fizz, Red Heart Easy Tweed ~ Blue, Moda Dea Fashionista ~ Olive, and Red Heart Tweedle Dee ~ Fireside. I didn't take a group picture, just individuals, because of ravelry....ah, ravelry (that's another post to come). Of course, I only have one skein of each... I guess I need to go buy a book with one skein patterns.

At the market place, the vendors had an amazing amount of fiber everywhere you looked. Similar to many other crocheters, I was a bit disappointed by the scarcity of crochet supplies, books, pattern leaflets and crochet samples. I was looking more for pattern booklets than for yarn (due to the warehouse sales in my recent past). I was hoping to see some of the yarn companies bring their crochet booklets the LYS don't usually carry. Like the ones online at Tahki, NY Yarns, Nashua, and Rowan. I really wanted to thumb through them, but I couldn't find them. Knitting was omnipresent at the market. The attendees were largely crocheters and I'm afraid we ended up with a bit of a catch-22. Many crocheters were so angry about the lack of materials that they spoke with their wallets by not purchasing anything. Some vendors felt their belief that crocheters won't buy good yarn was proven at the show and have vowed not to return next year. The WEBS blog tells the story of their disappointment with sales. One vendor I really enjoyed was The Elegant Ewe, a shop located a little more than a hour from me in Concord, NH. They had brought their entire collection of crochet books (after all this was the National Crochet conference!). I didn't spend much time in their booth as it was packed and I figured I can always make a day trip to their shop! I did however buy the Doris Chan's book Amazing Lace from them. (Doris was on hand signing books when I was there and while she was signing mine she told me she has a new book of crocheted tops coming out in September called, Everyday Crochet . The preview looks wonderful. Before heading to class I stopped by the Creative Partners booth and introduced myself to Jean Leinhauser & Rita Weiss. They, too, were signing books and since I already owned what they were selling one said, "Well too bad you didn't bring them with you". Little did they know I was going home nightly so sure enough, I returned the next day with my books for them to sign.

Finally I headed for my Friday class, "Crochet Lite" with Karen Klemp (Almost Amy Designs). It was a cool class discussing what some of us at Yahoo CAL do all the time - reworking patterns for thinner yarns. She showed a cabled sweater from Glorious Crocheted Sweaters made in a worsted weight yarn and then another one this time made in a fingering weight yarn.... wow! Karen recommends going to thinner yarns with as big a hook as possible (while maintaining stitch definition) to increase drape. The results she showed were absolutely stunning. I was reminded of the Art of Crochet online seminar on Yarn: gauge, drape & substitutions from this past Spring.

After another spin through the marketplace, I attended the CGOA annual meeting. It was fun to see the "bigwigs" of CGOA and I won a door prize! Omega thread. I'm a yarnie not a threadie...I'm stumped. Any suggestions?

On Saturday, I took an all day class "Customizing Existing Patterns" with Lily Chin. It was a lot like her book Couture Crochet which I own, but it went a bit further with examples and explanations on each idea. Another participant said it was like the class filled in the missing pages at the end of each chapter, answering all the questions you had while reading. Lily is a hoot, truly making class entertaining and enjoyable as well as educational. She emphasizes crocheting to your shape, not the standard sizes provided in a pattern. Now, of course, I have to crochet only for the kids until I lose 20 lbs. Then, I'll take those measurements and crochet for myself!

Before I left I made one last tour through the market place. My stash is huge because of the JCA & Westminster warehouse sales but I wanted to support the show and I was looking for something that just struck me. Finally I found the shop, Just Our Yarns, whose yarns grabbed my attention. I spent the final 15 minutes, as the closing announcements rang out, choosing from the gorgeous selection and left with this beautiful 525yd skein of 5/2 100% Tencel yarn called Aziza.

OK, long enough post. Someday I'll have to tell you guys about Ravelry. Have you been there yet? Go. Run. Ask for an invite. When it comes you'll be in fiber heaven.

Twyla - WIP report

I feel like I've been neglecting poor Twlya . An awesome textured stitch design first drew me to the Twyla Cardigan by Berroco. Lot of other distractions both fiber-related and non-fiber related have kept me away, but lately she's had all my fiber-attention. One reason it's been hard to find time to crochet Twyla is that I was at the point on the front panels where there is shaping on both sides, and this requires a bit of attention. This weekend at CGOA I had one of those (DUH!) moments. Lily Chin was teaching us some details about adding shaping to existing patterns and we were using gauged graph paper. She mentioned in passing that sometimes it helps to chart out a written pattern when there's shaping on both sides (DUH!). I have used graph paper a zillion time when reworking patterns - the Caprice dress for Abby, the Drops Top sleeves, the Autumn Spice challenge, but I never thought about using it to just make life easier in a pattern without a problem. Since I graphed out the front panel my hooks have been flying.

Now I can really show off my blocking board!

Birthday goodies..

I mentioned on Yahoo crochet-a-long that my dh took my not so subtle hint (I left this website, with the best price I could find, open on the computer several days in a row) and bought me this large Sew-EZ blocking board for my birthday.

There's more info at this site (after all this is their awesome picture, so I should link to them too!) Honestly, only later did I remember that I had told him that going to and taking classes at CGOA Chain Link could be my present... ooops!

Anyway this board is amazing. Someday I'll show you the picture of Robyn's awesome piece blocking, but for now you'll just have to be patient (I'll show you Twlya blocking in a post coming to you soon!). The gridlines on the board make blocking to schematics a snap. In minutes you can have a sweater pinned and blocking.

Following tradition, my dh also took the kids shopping at the mall. He steered them away from the candle and jewery stores and they came home instead with an assortment of Godiva white chocolates (my fav) and the kids' choices in scents from Bath & Beauty including pomegranete bubble bath, pomegranete shower gel and "stress-reducing" mint hair conditioner (it actually says"breathe deeply for best results" on the bottle!).

Secret Project...

Where have I been? The absent blogger returns! So many distractions, but I'll focus on the ones relevant to fiber arts! For this post... my secret project. I've been wary to post, as I was afraid I would reveal too much, that and frankly I was just too busy!

So back in the end of April I got this e-mail from Robyn, asking me (yes, little ol' me) if I would be interested in crocheting a sample of one her designs for her new book. You can bet I was interested. I've never done contract crochet work before, but I loved the idea, was honored that she thought of me and answered a resounding "YES"! In early May, I received the pattern (of which we may not speak) and the yarn (of which we may speak) - SWTC Oasis. This yarn, 100% soysilk, is amazingly soft and creates a fabric with awesome drape. It kind of funny in that it crunches up when you crochet it, but after blocking it is a totally different creature. The resulting fabric is soft, smooth and incredibly drapey (Is that a word?... If not, it should be!)

The day after the yarn arrived by dh became severely ill with chicken pox (not fun in a 44yo), so with that mess added on my plate as well as end of school year activities for 2 kids I was glad to know the project didn't need to be completed until the end of July. Nonetheless, I started working on it in bits and pieces while finishing up the cardigan, the pillows for Abby & Alex as well as the last teacher gift, a pair of mitten I forgot to photograph! After that it became my primary at home project (I was too afraid to take it out where prying eyes may see too much) while working on poor neglected Twlya (more on her later) away from home.

As the CGOA Chain link conference was approaching I doubled up my effort to finish this so I could send it off to Robyn and still have time to do my homework before my classes at the conference. I sent this off to her last week. The yarn was a joy to work with. The finished garment is amazing. I wish I could have shown it off to friends and family before I sent it. Robyn should be proud of her awesome design. I'm proud of my work on the finished piece. Here's a tiny sneak peak. When her book comes out, run and buy it. Then look for a bolero in Oasis and crochet it!

ETA: Robyn just posted a sneak preview! Go take a look!

FO: A L E X pillows

As I explained in my ABBY post, I started making letter pillows from the patterns by Kimberly at Woven~n~spun to spell out my kids' names way back in 2005, put the project on hold and came back to it this past month. Kimberly has now just about completed the alphabet and I was thrilled to test both Y and X patterns, and thereby complete my kids' pillow sets. Without further ado... here's the finished set for my son, and the most recently completed letter, 'X'.


Project details:
Pattern: Woven~n~spun alphabet pillows - A - L - E - X
Yarn: Red Heart SS 'Blueberry Pie, Soft Navy
Hook: Brittany 5.5mm I hook
Pattern Changes: NONE!! (can you believe it??!!)

FO: A B B Y pillows

Sometimes finishing an old WIP is impossible for reasons beyond your control. I started making letter pillows from the patterns by Kimberly at Woven~n~spun way back in 2005. My plan was to spell out each of my kids names (short versions!) for their beds. The letter A was available so first they each got their A.





Shortly thereafter, as the patterns became available, I added 2 Bs for my dd and an L and an E for my ds. This is where these two projects remained for over a year. Kimberly lost her Mom. I can imagine her grief was overwhelming (I've lost both of my parents) and understandably healing took time. Her project of designing alphabet pillows was put aside. While my kids have wondered wbout their missing letter, we took it as an opportunity to learn empathy and to understand that what is happening in others lives may be more important than what we want.

Well the remaining alphabet letter pillows are being designed as I write this and I was thrilled to test the latest letter out for Kimberly and thereby complete my daughter's pillow set.


Project details:
Pattern: Woven~n~spun alphabet pillows - A - B - Y
Yarn: Caron Perfect Match White, Pink & Red
Hook: Brittany 5.5mm I hook
Pattern Changes: NONE!! (can you believe it??!!)

FO: Vintage Motif Cardigan

This sweater began as a CAL at both Yahoo crochet-a-long and Crochetville inspired by Artemis who was inspired by Roli, not once, but twice! My version of the Vintage Motif cardigan is finally finished, and with not a yard of yarn to spare as I desperately tried to lengthen the sleeves. I actually unraveled 2 extra squares (I nixed the gussets) and frogged the swatches I had done a year ago when I was deciding what sweater pattern to make with this yarn. There's nothing left, I even had to save the longest ends after weaving in for future repairs. Earlier stories in the saga of the motif sweater can be found here and here.

Project details:
Pattern: Crocheted cardigan aka Vintage motif cardi
Size: medium (with a slightly larger motif)
Yarn: KnitPicks Wool of the Andes in 'Mulled Wine', 1540 yds
Hook: Brittany 5.0mm H hook
Pattern Changes: (just a few)

1. Motif - I added an extra round on the motif (total of 8) to make it just under 4.25" instead of 4.0". The back panel is 5 motifs across, this should give me the 1.0-1.25" extra width I desire.


2. I blocked the squares before assembly and blocked the panels after assembly. Assembly was done by whipstitching across rows and down columns of the panels.


3. I decided not to use the gusset squares as with them the sweater was just too bulky on me (see here).


4. Sleeves: I added 4 motifs (a 3rd row) to each sleeve.
5. Sleeve cuff/edging. I did not use motif cuff as written (where they ease 4 motifs to 2 to make a cuff). I just didn't like the look of it. Instead, after adding the extra row of 4 motifs, I joined between 2 squares on the underarm seam and began the edging of BLO sc and tapered it as follows:

• row 1 - BLO sc in every stitch around
• row 2 - BLO sc in every stitch with a BLO scdec at the square junctures (4 dec per round)
• rows 3-5 - repeat row 2
• row 6 - repeat row 1
• row 7 - repeat row 2
• rows 8-11 - alternate rows 1-2
• rows 12-13 - repeat 1
• row 14 - repeat row 2
• rows 15-18 - repeat row 1

FO: Girls' Simple Openwork Shrug

We were in NC this past weekend for my niece's wedding. Abby wanted to wear her Caprice Sundress to the brunch the next morning, but she thought her shoulders might be a bit cold. Of course she could have worn her wedding sweater, but she wanted to run and play with her cousins and thought a shrug would be better (and yes, my almost 5 yo dd really voiced all these opinions on her own!). So, this Simple Openwork Shrug was born.

Girl's Simple Openwork Shrug

Project details:

Hook: Brittany 4.5mm hook
Yarn: Classic Elite Flash 'Pink Tweed'
Size: This fits my 5 yo who wears mostly sizes 5-6. It was 22 inches x 10 inches before sewing.

Pattern: My own - designed to match stitch pattern of NY Yarns Caprice Sundress.

Ch 90 , must be a multiple of 4 + 6.

Row 1: Dc in 4th chain from hook, (dc in next ch) twice, *ch 1, skip one ch, (dc in next ch) 3 times, repeat from * across.

Row 2: Ch 4 (counts as dc, ch 1), *3 dc in ch-1 space, ch 1, repeat from * across, dc in top of turning ch.

Row 3: Ch 3, 2 dc in ch-1 space, ch 1, *3 dc in ch-1 space, ch 1, repeat from * across, dc in 3rd ch of turning ch.

Repeat rows 2-3, ending with row 2, for a total of 20 rows, or as wide as you need shrug to be.

Fold in half, bringing the top of final row to the foundation chain.

Holding right sides together, sew 20 stitches in from each end to form sleeves. Weave in ends.

WIP: Twyla

I fell in love with the Twyla Cardigan by Berroco immediately because of the stitch pattern. It's different and textured and just "spoke to me". Finding the right yarn was a different story until I hit the JCA sale last fall. I saw this Reynolds 'Gypsy' - 100% cotton, 82yds/50g, 5st/inch which I bought in 3 colorways. The 'ocean blue' was calling to me across the sale floor, "Twyla, Twyla, Twyla". Well being sick and tired of assembling the motif cardi was just the impetus I needed to start this cardi. I've done a fair amount of frogging on this one as it requires more attention than I've been giving it - I think once I settle down and give it some uninterrupted time it will go fairly quickly. I have about 11 inches done on the back panel. The blue yarn is really pretty. It has 3 different shades of blue plied together.

WIP: Vintage Motif Cardi

Vintage Motif cardigan - a CAL at both Yahoo crochet-a-long and Crochetville using KnitPicks Wool of the Andes in Mulled Wine and my Brittany 5.0mm H hook. Progress has picked up, but I haven't had a chance to blog about it. Let's see if I can piece together (ugh, no pun intended) what has happened since my last report.

I posted at Crochetville on April 16th that I had finished making all the squares, and had begun weaving in ends and assembling sections (front panels, back, sleeves) and blocking the sections after assembly. In this photo I had assembled the front two panels - the one on the left was blocked the previous night and was dry. The one on the right was wet, just blocked. Also in the photo are 16 of the 25 panels for the back pinned on my board (where I put them back in February - they were the first 16 squares done) surrounded by the other 9 for the back and the remaining giant pile of squares!!

As of the 18th, I had assembled and blocked the first sleeve, and was beginning to worry that even with a 3rd row of 4 squares, the sleeves are so, so short. On the 2oth the 2nd sleeve was assembled and blocked and I had started weaving in ends of the back panel squares.

As of the 23rd, my concerns grew to include the huge gussets! Here is a photo of the sweater laid out with one sleeve all sewn in. I was thinking about making a smaller gusset, maybe 4 rounds instead of 8.
In the end I sewed the 2nd sleeve in without a gusset and this is where I stand now. I have to remove that first gusset and possibly use these 2 squares towards longer arms - maybe that easing 4 squares to 2 squares as the pattern suggests. I guess I could try that on one arm and see. At this point, I figure I'll do the body edging first and then see how much yarn I have. I'll probably end up just edging cuffs until I run out of yarn...

I was sidetracked from this by the need to pack for my niece's wedding, by my desire to hook instead of sew (hence I started Twyla), by my dd's desire to have a matching shrug for her sundress (for the post wedding brunch).

FO: Splatter Stitch Scarf

Second prescool teacher done! Here's the scarf I ended up making for Mrs. G. I call it the Splatter Stitch scarf as that is the stitch they use and I don't put on the pom poms! I made it once before, so it went really fast. I really like the texture created with this stitch pattern. I also love how it turned out with this rich burgundy color. Hopefully Mrs. G. will like it as well.

Project details:
Pattern: Caron's Pom Pom Scarf
Yarn: Red Heart SS 'Burgundy', worsted weight acrylic, ~100-150 yds
Hook: 5.5mm I hook
Pattern Changes: (really minor, for once!!) I left off the pom-poms.

FO: Scallop Wrap

One preschool teacher down, two to go! Mrs. P.'s shawl is complete! This was a pretty quick project that I whipped off in just a few hours. I think it might work better in a Super Bulky yarn as recommended. Nonetheless, I still like it.

Project details:
Pattern: Moda Dea Scallop Wrap
Yarn: Caron Perfect Match 'Cape Cod Blue' worsted weight acrylic, double stranded, ~600 yds
Hook: 11.5mm P hook
Pattern Changes: (as always)

1. Hook size was increased to meet gauge.
2. I wanted the shawl to be a bit longer down the back, and the scallops just seemed like they needed a bit more bulk to them at the bottom. So, at the end of row 13, do not finish off, turn.
3. Row 14: ch3, dc in first ch-3 space, 2 dc in next ch-3 space, *3 dc in next ch-3 space (8 times)**, 1 dc in next ch-3 space (3 times), repeat from * across, ending at ** with 2 ch-3 spaces remaining, 2 dc in next ch-3 space, 1 dc in last ch-3 space, 1 dc in 3rd ch of ch-5, turn.
4. Row 15: ch5, dc in the space after first 2dc group, ch 2, dc in the space after 2nd 2dc group, [(ch 1, dc in 2nd dc of 3dc group, ch1, dc in space between 3dc groups) 7 times, ch 1, dc in 2nd dc of 3dc group, (ch1, skip next dc, dc in next dc) twice] 5 times, [(ch 1, dc in 2nd dc of 3dc group, ch1, dc in space between 3dc groups) 7 times, ch 1, dc in 2nd dc of 3dc group, ch1, skip next dc, space before next 2dc group, ch 2, dc in the space after next 2dc group, ch2, dc in 3rd ch of ch-5. Finish off, weave in all ends.

Teacher Appreciation Week

is the first full week in May (according to PTA site). Or, if you prefer, the NEA says that National Teacher Day is the Tuesday of the first full week in May - this year May 8, 2007. In either case I need to get hooking. I recently completed the Sweet Pea shawl for my son's 1st grade teacher (I made his kindergarten teacher the Seraphina shawl) and realized that I have never crocheted gifts for the preschool teachers (other than some small bookmarks one Christmas). Well my dd will be 'graduating' from the Sunshine School this June and heading off to join her big brother at the public elementary school in the fall. For four years these 3 wonderful teachers have been guiding and teaching my little ones, I think it's time I hook them something nice. I let the kids have a LOT of input on this and we've been pattern hunting and yarn hunting through the stash all weekend. (I'm determined these will be stash busting projects). The kids amazed me with the insights they had to their teachers personalities, colors and even styles.

This Moda Dea Scallop Wrap was posted on Yahoo crochet-a-long the other day. Both kids said it looked like Mrs. P., but it needed to be blue. I didn't have any super bulky blue yarn so we doubled up on some worsted weight yarn and made a shawl. Here's a close-up photo.

Now, on to Mrs. G. "She's not a shawl person", says my ds. "She wears scarves", adds my dd, "even inside." Colors, they decide, have to be rich, earthy, not pretty pink and purples. They liked Robyn Chachula's appropriately titled scarf pattern at Crochet me "Zen and the art of stash diving" and they really wanted me to use RH painted desert. They are dead on about the colors for this teacher, but I wasn't sure about the yarn/pattern combination, but I said I'd give it a whirl. I started, but after they were asleep I decided my gut was right and I hit the stash again and tried the same pattern with some Colinette Mohair 'Mist' leftover from the lapghan kit (shown with 'Mist' on hook here). I think a non-variegated mohair might be a better choice for the pattern. This yarn is working OK, but not for Mrs G. (too much pink and purples and I think the mohair might be too "hairy" or itchy for her).

I started again this time using a basic acrylic in Burgundy and Caron's PomPom scarf pattern that I've used before. It uses a really pretty splatter stitch pattern and I leave off the pom-poms!Last, but not least is Mrs. F, a teacher and director of the school. The kids chose mittens for her "because her hands are always always cold". They are right. She does like to have mittens in her pockets, even in summer, just in case. Most likely I'll use Sue's crocheted mittens and some simply soft in some springy colors... we still have to check the stash for this.

FO: Spring Flower Cardigan

I thought I was on schedule to finish this for my niece's 4/28 wedding, then Abby asked last weekend if she could wear it on Easter Sunday! Well, it's finished with days to spare!! This is my version of Tammy Hildebrand's Spring Flowers Cardigan. The original pattern is in Crochet! May 2006. After swatching many patterns, I had decided on this pattern even though it is written for size 3 thread. The pattern had a few glitches, I even sent an e-mail to Crochet! magazine one evening. Get this... they called me back the very next morning!! Of course, I had found a glitch their editors had missed, or at least that's how I interpreted our telephone conversation. Nonetheless, I was impressed by the prompt reply. In the end I made my own modifications as usual.

Final result - Abby's happy, and that's what matters! (Photo taken by her 7yo big brother Alex!)

Project details:
Pattern: Tammy Hildebrand's Spring Flowers Cardigan, Crochet! May 2006.
Yarn: Gedifra 'Wellness', a worsted weight cotton/acrylic blend (~780 yds)
Hook: Brittany 4.5mm hook
Pattern Changes: (as always)

1. I used ww yarn instead of thread. I determined that my gauge (7hdc = 2in, 6 rows in pattern = 2.25 inches) together with the pattern as written for size 2 would match the measurements of the size 6 (determined by the published thread gauge).
   
2. Body was completed as written, except that I added another 3 row pattern repeat to match the size 6 length of 12.5" (I realized later this is really long, by the way).
   
3. Front panel tops were completed as written except that the pattern contains an error in the neck shaping area of the fronts. As written the shaping occurs every third row such that the shaping would be at both the neck opening and the armhole opening. I assumed this was an error and proceeded with shaping every third row, only at the neck edge.
   
4. Back top was completed as written.
   
5. Sleeves presented another problem. Sleeves were crocheted in the round on the sweater after the shoulder seams were joined. The number of stitches the pattern called for (size 2 or 6) was way too few to fit around a 12 inch circumference armhole (correct for size 6). I just crocheted an even number, matching my gauge and ended up with 42 hdc around. The original pattern calls for no tapering, just a gathering at the wrist with a row of scdec. Of course I changed this as well. I followed the 2 row pattern as written, but added tapering with a hdcdec under the arm and at the top of the sleeve on rows 9, 15, 21, 25 and 29. So my stitch count ended up as follows: rows 1-8 (42 st), rows 9-14 (40st), rows 15-20 (38st), rows 21-24 (36st), rows 25-28 (34st), rows 29-30 (32st). Because I added the tapering, I changes the first cuff row from scdec around to (scdec, sc) around. I did the final edging row of the cuff as written.
   
6. Buttonhole band was done mostly as written. Row 1 - I needed 48 sc to span my right front edge. Rows 2-3 as written. Row 4 - I evenly spaced 6 buttonholes (7hdc in between each) using only ch1, sk1 (not ch2, sk2) as buttonhole as I have small buttons. Row 5 - as written except I didn't fasten off (you reattach in this same space to do the neck edging).
   
7. Button band - as written except 48st with a new skein attached at the side of the last row of the left front panel. Again, I didn't fasten off (you reattach in this same space to do the neck edging).
   
8. Neck edging - Row 1 - using yarn left hanging on the buttonhole band, sc evenly around the neck shaping, placing scdec as needed to smooth out the steps, sc across the back and around, placing a matching number of sc and scdec on opposite side neck shaping. Row 2 - I did a second row of sc - sc evenly around the neck opening, again placing scdec as needed to smooth out the steps. Row 3 - picot edging around as written.
9. Bottom edging - as written except using yarn left hanging on the button band.

FO: Sweet Pea Shawl

Finished! I just love saying that. I love love love completing projects - it's such a great feeling. This one is Amie Hirtes' Sweet Pea Shawl - a CAL at Crochetville! that I joined on a whim. The pattern is available online at her site NexStitch.com as well as in the book "Stitch'n'Bitch: Happy Hooker". I have to say that I am so very happy to report that this pattern (unlike so many other recent patterns) isn't so riddled with errors that you have to rewrite it 10 time along the way! There's one small error, that's corrected in their published errata, and the stitch diagram was correct all along.

Project details:
Yarn: Reynolds Saucy Swirl, in dark pink, light pink, gray and white; ~925 yds, including fringe.
Hook: Brittany 5.5mm I hook
Pattern changes: (minor). I thought the intended recipient would appreciate a slightly wider/longer shawl so I increased the starting chain by 30 chains in order to add 3 shells (about 9 inches) to the starting width.

Active WIPs...

So, the currently active WIPs include:
1. Vintage Motif cardigan - a CAL at both Yahoo crochet-a-long and Crochetville! Progress seemed to have slowed since my last report (too much project jumping lately), but there are a few more squares in this photo. I've completed one more since this photo was taken so I'm up to 32 out of 75. I'm using KnitPicks Wool of the Andes in Mulled Wine and my Brittany 5.0mm H hook.

2. Bob's Fall into Fall Vest from Kimane Designs. I'm using Cascade 220 wool in a dark teal colorway and my Brittany 5.5mm I and 5.0mm H hooks. Since this earlier post, I've finished crocheting the second front panel, assembled the vest and completed the edging on one armhole. Due to its size, it's an "at home" project now. I'm a bit worried about the width of this vest. My husband has a favorite pullover knit vest, size 50-52. I had measured it and decided on doing the 2X based on this vest. After completing the 2X back, I decided to make the 3X front panels (only differ in width at the bottom - not in length or shoulder width) to gain a little extra breathing room. Well, as is the vest will be tight on dh. Why? Because knit sweaters stretch... a lot. He took off his pullover vest the other day and I re-measured it (stretched from being worn all day). I was a full 2 inches wider than it was un-stretched. That's 4 inches total in circumference. Houston, we have a problem. If it were just an inch, I could hope to gain a bit of room by making wider buttonhole bands (and I still may do this). I could dissemble the side seams and try to create some sort of gusset. Or, I could hope that the 15lbs he has lost since December is a sign of things to come and that he will lose a few inches in girth before next fall.

3. Sweet Pea Shawl - a CAL at Crochetville! that I joined on a whim. The pattern is by Amie Hirtes (NexStitch.com) and is available online or in "Stitch'n'Bitch: Happy Hooker". I had some yarn in my stash (Reynolds Saucy Swirl) that I thought would work, and I had an idea for a recipient (to be named later), so I grabbed my Brittany 5.5mm I hook and I was off. I added 3 shells (30 ch) to the beginning width for a total of 23 shells. I completed another row of shells of last night, finishing the 2nd 100g skeins. That makes 140 shells out of 276; I'm more than halfway there!

4. Spring Flowers Cardigan - by Tammy Hildebrand's in Crochet! May 2006. This is for Abby for a wedding this Spring. After swatching with my new Brittany 4.5mm hook and Gedifra 'Wellness' yarn, which I think is able to carry off the pattern stitch quite nicely, I decided on this pattern even though it is written for size 3 thread. My gauge together with the pattern as written for size 2 will give me the size 6 I need. Here's the body of the sweater (made in one piece) at about row 10 - one skein crocheted.