A good day..

is one where I receive yarn, patterns and time to use them. Today!! In truth I did not actually crochet the specific yarn or patterns I received today, but I did have daylight crochet time.

My day (after losing the kids to their schools) began with a trip to the home of a fellow crocheter whom I met on one of my yahoo crochet groups. She offered me some old craft/needlework magazines if I wanted to come get them. Another crafter had given them to her after pulling out the patterns she wanted, in turn my friend Kris had sorted through them, taken some that interested her and was offering me the rest. Thanks Kris! So here's the loot... it will take some time to sort through, but there are definitely some intriguing items. (There are also some decidely 70's and 80's patterns...LOL). I managed to make this 74 mile round trip in the 2 hour window I had between dropping off my dd and being a lunchroom volunteer at ds's school.

I came home to discover a delivery of this gorgeous Sinfonia yarn I had ordered from Crafts etc. I've wanted to try Sinfonia ever since a few online friends began raving about it, but as I am more than 500 miles from Oklahoma (Hobby Lobby's rule about store placement) I hadn't had the chance....until Leah told me about Craft Etc (HL online store) and sent a link for free shipping. Thanks Leah! I fell in love with this lavender colorway and the rest, as they say, is history...

On top of all of this, I had two daytime crochet sessions today during my dd's speech session, and during ds's dentist appointment. All in all, a good yarning day!

WIP progress

I've actually been working on several projects at a time this week so I thought I'd do a WIP progress report.

1. Tennis Socks - sock-a-long at crochetsocks - I was very confused about whether or not this had started. Apparently it had and I just missed it. So, I finally started working on this. This is a top down pattern, so the beginning takes a fair amount of attention for the cuffs and the heel. Now that I have reached the foot I should be able to work on it more often - during my mindless crochet opportunities. The pattern is in Crocheted Socks by Janet Rehfeldt and Mary Jane Wood. I'm using Knit Picks Dancing sock yarn. It's a cotton, wool, nylon & elastic blend. It took a while to get used to crocheting with elastic. I had to drop to a 3.25mm hook to get gauge, but I'm hooking along fine now.

2. Matinee Swing Jacket - I'm making this with the gang at crochet-a-long. I'm using Bernat Soft Boucle in Shades of Blue, and a 6.5mm hook. I've just completed the back panel. After counting out the starting chain AND getting in that first row, this is great for mindless crochet opportunites - especially soccer games because I crochet boucle by feel!

3. Colinette yarns afghan kit - Last night I actually crocheted 4 rows more than this photo shows. My dh has been asking about it. I really want to get it finished soon. It's an easy pattern for TV watching, but not for carrying around as it changes colors almost every row.

4. Floral Fantasy Pullover - a CAL at Crochetville. I can't believe I actually started another CAL. But I just couldn't resist matching this yarn I had in stash with this project. And what better time to do it than when a bunch of people were wanting to do it too. I am using 2 strands of Sirdar Salsa DK - a merino wool/acrylic blend, in place of the super bulky mohair/acrylic blend, with a 7.00mm hook. I'm also joining the motifs as I crochet them. Here's the first two.

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Beth Tank - modifications.

I love the Beth tank, I love the yarn (scroll down, bottom right photo), especially the Nantucket colorway, and I mostly like the way it turned out. What I hate is the way the straps keep falling off my shoulders. So, I made some changes. I tried to create a look that went with the original design. What do you think? Be honest, 'cause I'm not sure. Should the cross straps be wider, should there be more of them? I can't wear it without some sort of change.

Just so I put this down somewhere... let me write out what I did. The straps were easy. I added them after the fact, obviously. I skipped 3 rows above the back top edge, sl st the yarn to the left strap (WS) at the top of the 3rd row, **ch 29, sl st to right strap, sl st up strap edge to the top of the next row, turn. (RS) Ch1, dc in 2nd ch from strap (#28), *ch1, skip ch, dc in next ch*, repeat from * to * across ch 1 skip last ch sl st to top of row on left strap**. Sl st up left strap, skipping 3 rows, to top of 6th row, repeat from ** to **.
Sl st up left strap, skipping 3 rows, to top of 9th row, repeat from ** to **.

Floral Fantasy Pullover

Can you say sidetracked? OK, I really am working on my Tennis Socks, the sock-a-long at crochetsocks, and I started the crochet-a-long garment, the Matinee Swing Jacket (and I'll blog some progress later on today to prove it!) but as I was reading a post at Crochetville I was sucked into another project. Seriously it was like an epiphany! I had to live in the present and allow myself to listen to the crochet voice. This yarn and this pattern needed to be joined. I finally found a home for some yarn I wanted to use.

So I began the Floral Fantasy Pullover. The yarn in the pattern is a super bulky mohair acrylic blend which makes a 7.5" Motif A with a J hook. Well my yarn is Sirdar Salsa DK - a merino wool/acrylic blend in yes DK weight. So I'm trying it with two strands of yarn. I think I can get it to work. The first motif swatch was a tad small just about 6 inches with a 6.0mm J hook. Using a K hook (which actually measures 7.0mm) I was able to get the square to just over 7.25". I think I'll live with that. The medium and the large size use the same number of motifs but the large size has larger side gussets. So, if necessary, I'll do the side gussets of the large! As someone at the 'ville suggested, I'm joining these motifs as I go on the last round - anything to decrease the number of ends is a good thing!

FO: Crystal Lace Bolero

OK, as requested here I am modeling the bolero. My 6.5yo son is the photographer - hence the weird "what are doing?" expression on my face.

Crystal Lace Bolero - Finished!

I finished Robyn Chachula's Crystal Lace Bolero that I was working on with some friends at crochet-a-long. I wanted to use up some stash for this so I went with some basic acrylic in a dusty rose color. I used my Addi 4.5mm G hook (instead of the recommended 5.5mm hook) to get the gauge of a 4" square. The ribbing on the body.collar took forever and I think i may have put too much ribbing on the front - you'll see what I mean when I model if (after I shower & dress!) With out further ado... here she is!

Messenger bag ideas

My friends at Yahoo crochetchallenge want to do a bag CAL. So, instead of working on my own WIPs or cleaning my house or taking care of my poor sick ds (he's sleeping on the couch, I'm not ignoring him, honest) I am googling for bags... here's what i've found in no particular order

1. CrochetMe 'Brown Sugar Bag'
2. Aran sampler Tote - Aran sampler Tote - looks like we could continue one side for a flap to make a messenger bag (MB)
3. Bernat Army bag - we can change the yarn!
4. Cro-Bear's shoulder bag with flap.
5. LB Felted Diaper Bag - we could skip the bottle holders and again continue one side for a flap to make a messenger bag (MB)
6. Felted memo bag - Same designer as the Well traveled bag I made.
7. Aran cable tote - this is cool - although felting would be cool too

OK - my sickie ds woke up, I must go play nurse maid and clean up a bit before dinner.

Magazine conspiracy and Yarn score!!

Something good had to come out of my futile searches for magazines... it was, of course, yarn. I swear the crochet magazine companies are conspiring against me. First it was Crochet Today. I was a good fiber artist - in support of crochet publications, I dutifully, blindly, signed up in July for a subscription to this new magazine. It hit the stores in early August and I patiently waited. Others at Crochetville reported that there was a problem with the mailing labels and we subscribers should have our mag by the end of the month, so still I waited. It seemed this new magazine was in every store I walked into, I browsed, but always put it back. My subscription was coming. Then Interweave Crochet, my favorite crochet mag, was due out September 12th. Others reported buying it on the 8th so I began my hunt. On the 9th, I was at AC Moore, but no Interweave Crochet there. On the 11th, I went to Michael's, Borders, Barnes & Noble & Joann's. Nothing, nada, zilch, zippo. On the 12th, I went to my favorite LYS, "Yes we have some," they said, "they were in... the ones on the rack may have been sold... but there were more in back.... but we can't find them". To make matters worse, at every one of these stores, the premier issue of Crochet Today was there, taunting me.

So instead, I had to shop for yarn.

At AC Moore I bought the yarn for my husband's sweater. I'm making Jacob's sweater, designed by Peter Franzi, with my friends at crochet-a-long. I'll be using Red Heart worsted weight in Medium Spruce. Hopefully 8 skeins will be enough.

At Michael's I found the yarn for another crochet-a-long garment - the Matinee Swing Jacket from Lion Brand. I had a real problem using Homespun for a bolero once, so I decided to try Bernat Soft Boucle, in the Blue Shades colorway. The pattern calls for 5 skeins of homespun (185yds/skein). Four skeins with 255yd/skein should do it!



At Joann's I found nothing that caught my eye, but I more than made up for that when I hit the 25% off sale loft at my LYS, Ewe'll Love It. I grabbed some cotton yarns that I'll save for some summer or spring projects and some wool yarn that I need to make into something, anything...now! I bought 7 hanks of Classic Elite 'Imagine'. It's DK weight, 53% cotton, 47% rayon, with 93 yd/50g. I just love this colorway. Since it's Dry Clean Only (oops) this will have to be for me, not Abby!

Next I found some more Knit One Crochet Too '2nd Time Cotton' in a gorgeous deep red and purple colorway called Borealis. This is a worsted weight yarn, 75% cotton, 25% acrylic, 180yd/100g. I have 5 hanks of this gorgeous yarn. I fell in love with the colors and bought all they had. It is cotton but the color kind of says fall to me... hmm...maybe it's not for next summer...


Last was this scrumptious 'Lana de Oro' yarn from Cascade Yarns. The Tweed version of this yarn is 45% Superfine Alpaca, 45% Peruvuan Highland wool and 10% Donegal (tweed). It's a super soft, luxurious-feeling worsted weight yarn with 110yd/50g. I have 7 skeins of the maroon tweed and one skein of the charcoal tweed. I want to make something for me, with a charcoal edge, but with the limited yardage, it may become a sweater for Abby.

By the way, on the 13th, my magazine luck began to change. Crochet! arrived in the mail, and my LYS called me. They found more Interweave Crochet and they are holding one for me. I'll get it on Friday when my son has piano lessons (next door). Then today, the 14th, I called the publisher of Crochet Today. They have no record of my subscription (even though I have a confirmation e-mail) and will sign me up now at the price being offered now ($3.00 less than the intro price in July) and I should receive it within 2 weeks. I guess I shouldn't have been waiting so patiently!

September WIPs/PIGs/WIMs/UFOs

It's time for the monthly review of all the crochet items on my lists and in my head. What shall I do next? I find it's nice to see it all down in writing so I can reassess each month and decide what to put on my monthly challenge list for Yahoo crochetchallenge. I've decided to add a new category - UFO. UFOs are simply unfinished objects. These differ from WIPs in that I am NOT currently wokring on them. They sit in a basket, in a corner, untouched and unloved. The rest of the acronyms are defined in my April list.

UFOs
1. Navy blue cardigan - progress = 15%
2. Toddler cardigan - progress = 50%
3. "High-Stylin' Pillow" (Crochet calendar)- progress = 10%


WIPs
1. Colinette yarns afghan kit - progress = 25%.
2. Robyn's Crystal Lace Bolero - progress= 85% at crochet-a-long
3. Tennis Socks - sock-a-long at crochetsocks - just begun...
4. Matinee Swing Jacket - Bernat Soft Boucle - just begun... at crochet-a-long


PIGs
1. Drops 68-15 Summer cardigan - swatched, but will wait for next Spring/Summer.
2. "Easy Ripple" Afghan - Sage Mary, spruce green, beige, black
3. 63 squares Afghan - Aran
4. Peter's Jacob sweater at crochet-a-long - RH Med Spruce.
5. Spring Crochet Cardigan - Wool of Andes Dusty Rose
6. 'Oxford Style' socks (Crocheted Socks!)- Bob
8. 'Alpine Meadow' hooded sweater - a fall MUST! Wool-Ease
9. Marble yarn sweater for me - Todays Crochet pattern
10. Twyla Cardigan - swatched in Sirdar flamingo, but still not sure about the yarn choice

WIMs
1. Letter pillows "Y" & "X" from Woven-n-Spun
2. Alex's sweater - Navy, Lt Country Blue & Gray Simply Soft
3. Picot Cropped Cardigan
4. Drops Safran Tank - never found the right yarn, maybe next summer
5. Bob's Vest Teal/black/gray
6. Alex's sweater - Green Simply Soft
7. Abby's sweater - grape chunky
8. Mittens & Hats
9. Abby's sweater - periwinkle RH Kids - Just Right pattern
10. Abby's snow girl cardigan (Crochet! Jan '05)
11. Alex's sweater vest - Green Simply Soft
12. Robyn’s Spider Shrug

I love getting this all written out to look at. OK – for September…I want to whip some WIPs - the Crystal Lace Bolero at at crochet-a-long, the elusive sock-a-long CAL at crochetsocks, and hopefully the swing jacket at crochet-a-long as well. In between all this I'll keep working on the Colinette afghan.

After that it's sweater time... Peter's Jacob sweater is next at CAL. That will take a while. I want to make a vest for Alex, maybe the navy & grey sweater for Alex, a vest for Bob, sweaters for me & Abby too... wah so many things to make and so little time! Time to start hooking!

August challenge report

In August I had hoped to finish the Beth tank for me, work on the Crystal Lace Bolero that I'm moderating at crochet-a-long, start the elusive sock-a-long CAL at crochetsocks and keep working on the Colinette aghan. August was a little insane around here. It can be summed up with this picture - taken in my driveway on August 3rd. Everyone is fine, but doctors, insurance companies etc, took a lot of our time. OK, back to crochet...let's see how I did. I'm a few "days" late in posting this of course, but I'll be honest and report what I did IN August.


1. Beth tank from Berroco - progress= 100%. I made a bit of progress on August 2nd on the drive home from NY after finishing the Drops Top, and in spite of the insanity of August this was completed!!
2. Robyn's Crystal Lace Bolero - progress= 85% I'm moderating this over at crochet-a-long. I actually got quite a bit of this done. As you can see in the progress photo the square motifs are all assembled and I am slowly but surely working on all the ribbing. The wide ribbing around the collar and whole body requires one to pay attention as to whether you are on a straight edge an inside corner like in the neck or outside corners like the center front. It has been frogged more than a few times in September!
3. Socks - the apparently started sock-a-long at crochetsocks. Progress = 5%. This is entirely NOT my fault. Somehow, in spite of being a moderator on this, I missed that the sock-a-long had actually started. I did swatches, helped others work through their swatch issues and waited patiently for the green light. Instead I read a post saying "how come no one is posting on their progress?" So I'm 'fused, again! Anyway, the pattern in 'Tennis Socks' in the Crochet Socks book. I have my yarn - Knit Picks Dancing, I've swatched and I've even done one of the cuffs. It's a bit tricky working with the elastic yarn. Pictures in September.
4. Colinette yarns afghan kit - progress = 25%. This was my birthday surprise from dh. The kit pattern is for a wave-like ripple afghan (3'x4'). I'm using a K hook and the gorgeous yarn hanks shown in my birthday post. I honestly haven't touched this in a month... more on this in September.

A yarn poll!!!

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Mohair.You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with others, doing your share without being too weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely refuse to change your position once it is set, but that's okay since you are good at covering up your mistakes.
Take this quiz!

Crystal Lace Bolero progress

I've been working on Robyn Chachula's Crystal Lace Bolero with some friends at crochet-a-long. Robyn used Berroco Softwist, but I wanted to use up some stash for this so I went with some basic acrylic in a dusty rose color. I'm using my Addi 4.5mm G hook (instead of the recommended 5.5mm hook to get the gauge of a 4" square. I'm horrible about weaving in ends as I crochet - partly because I hate doing it and partly because I'm usually crocheting on the go and stopping to pull out a needle just isn't convenient or safe! So I ended up with a pile of squares with the ends hanging out!

Instead of dealing with the ends, I went right to assembly. Some of the gang at CAL were mentioning having some trouble so I wanted to try the assembly so I could help. Right, nothing to do with avoiding the dreaded needle!

Robyn is an architectual engineer. I like the way her mind works (or at least the way I perceive it to be working when she designs). I'm a math geek too. I love the way this assembly process makes the square motifs just blend in to the final garment. You can see in this picture showing the back partially assembled that the top squares are already "lost" in the garment. I just love it!

I still haven't touched those ends! But here's the bolero with all the motifs assembled and all the other joining loops added. Now all that remains is adding the arm and neck/body cuffs and of course those blasted dreaded ends!

More crochet in a minute - but first some polls

Your Linguistic Profile:

60% Yankee

20% General American English

10% Dixie

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

You Are 88% Happy

It's unlikely that you know anyone happier than you.You know how to be happy, no matter what life throws at you.

How Happy Are You?

Your Stress Level is: 27%

You are slightly prone to stress, but generally you keep it under control. You know how to relax and take things as they come, even when your worlds seems to be falling apart. Occasionally, you do let yourself get stressed out, but you snap out of it pretty quickly.

How Stressed Are You?

You Are 22% Evil

A bit of evil lurks in your heart, but you hide it well. In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil.

How Evil Are You?

You Are Boston

Both modern and old school, you never forget your roots. Well educated and a little snobby, you demand the best. And quite frankly, you think you are the best. Famous people from the Boston area: Conan O'Brien, Ben Affleck, New Kids on the Block

What American City Are You?

Drops Top 60-14 modifications

Somehow in all my postings on this top I never included in my blog the pattern changes I made. So here they are.

Original Pattern: Garnstudio Drops Design Top 60-14; size M
Hook & Yarn info: I used a 3.0mm hook with GGH Bali yarn shown here.

Clarifications/Modifications:

1. "sc into the next ch 5 loop" - we decided it looked cleaner if we actually put the sc into the 3rd ch on the ch5 loop.

2. Making a single bobble - the bobble explanation was definitely missing a step or two as written.
My version was as follows:
"YO, Pull a loop through the sts (see the chart) and make it approx. 1 cm [3/8"] long, YO, pull another loop through the same sts and make it approx. 1 cm [3/8"] long, YO pull st though all but one loop on hook, YO pull through last 2 loops". This sort of tied up the bobble at the top of the stitch.
An alternate method would be:
"Pull a loop through the sts (see the chart) and make it approx. 1 cm [3/8"] long, YO, pull another loop through the same sts and make it approx. 1 cm [3/8"] long, YO, pull st though all loops on hook." It works, but leaves the bobble a bit open & tilted, in my hands.

3. Bobble placement: The way the pattern is written the bobbles that form the flower petals are not centered in one spot. I'm way too anal to live with that... so I changed it as follows..

For the right bobble, say on row 3 (for righties), instead of [sc,ch 4, then do your right bobble into the previous sc, sl st into the top of the next bobble from the row below], I did sc, bobble into the top of the next bobble from the row below (the bottom bobble of the flower), ch 4, sl st into the top of the next bobble from the row below...

For the left bobble.. I did it as written - Ch 4, bobble into the top of the bobble from the row below, sc into the next ch 5 loop.

Then in the next row the top bobble is made into the same space (not the slip stitch) - so that the right, left and top bobbles are all made INTO the bottom bobble.

In the photo the first row is the old way of bobble placement, the 2nd row is the new way.



New




Old




4. Sleeves: I didn't write out the pattern changes I made here. The first sleeve I made just didn't look like it could be "eased" into the armhole. When I tried to pin it in place I would never have been able to lift my arms. I had to make a sleeve to fit the armhole. A woman I know making the XL didn't have this problem.

5. Side seams - Needing a bit more ease, I joined the front and back panels as follows:
I joined yarn to front panel at bottom, ch 7, slip st to back panel bottom ch, turn. Sl st into sc on back panel, sc across the ch 7, sl st into sc on front panel, turn. Ch5, sk 3 sc, sc in sc, ch5, sk 3 sc, sl st into sc on back panel, turn. *Sl st up dc on back panel, ch 3, sc in 3rd ch of ch5-loop, ch 5, sc in 3rd ch of ch5-loop, ch 3, sl st to next row of front panel, turn. Ch 5, sc in 3rd ch of ch5-loop, ch 5, sl st to back panel, turn. * Repeat from* to * all the way to sleeve seam. I slowly decreased the width of this side panel beginning at the armpit so that it was gone by the sleeve edge. Then I repeated this for the other side seam

Unfortunately this created a ridge where I had slip stitched up the panel to get to the next row. I was too tired to fix it, but, what I should have done was this (hind sight is always 20/20):
Join yarn to front panel at bottom, ch 7, slip st to back panel bottom ch, turn. Sl st into sc on back panel, sc across the ch 7, sl st into sc on front panel, turn. Ch5, sk 3 sc, sc in sc, ch 2, sk 3 sc, dc into sc on back panel, dc into top of dc on back panel (next row up), turn. *Ch 5, sc in 3rd ch of ch5-loop, ch 3, sl st to next row of front panel, turn. Ch 5, sc in 3rd ch of ch5-loop, ch 2, dc into dc on back panel, dc into top of dc (next row up) on back panel, turn. * Repeat from* to * all the way to sleeve seam. I slowly decreased the width of this side panel beginning at the armpit so that it was gone by the sleeve edge.

6. Bottom edging: Because of the added side panels the bottom didn't have a smooth edge. I added a row of sc all the way around.

Beth tank top finished...

Here's my version of the Beth tank from Berroco - I'm using a 4.0mm hook with Knit One Crochet Two 2nd time cotton in the Nantucket colorway shown here (scroll down, bottom right photo). I finished it a few days ago and added it into the end-weaving marathon with the Drops Top! Modifications: I increased the body length by an inch. Because my row height gauge wasn't dead on, I did 3 rows instead of 2 of the open top pattern on the front & back and similarly did 3 rows instead of 2 of the open top pattern on the front bodice panel. I like the way it looks and fits. The straps have a tendency to fall down though so I'm considering adding some sort of "cross strap" in the back, done in 2 rows of the open top pattern, or maybe multiple straps to make it look like they're supposed to be there. I'll have to think about this some more....

Drops Top - Photo

OK, the ends are finally all woven in, quite a challenge in a top that is entirely ch-5 loops and bobbles. And, because I modified the side seams to be more ch-5 loops, I didn't have a single seam in which to hide the ends. So, without further ado, here's my version of Garnstudio Drops Design Top 60-14, using a 3.0mm hook with GGH Bali yarn shown here. I'm happy to say the only purple visible is in the top (not bruises on me)!

August WIMs, PIGs, & WIPs

Can you say ROLLOVER?? Looks like a few items on my August challenge list will be unfinished projects from July! But first let's do the monthly review of all the possibilities - I find it's nice to see it all down in writing so I can reassess each month and decide what to put on my monthly challenge list for Yahoo crochetchallenge. In case you're interested, here are the links to my April, May, June and July lists (the April one gives acronym definitions).

WIPs
1. Beth tank from Berroco - - progress = 45%.
2. Colinette yarns afghan kit - progress = 25%.
3. Robyn's Crystal Lace Bolero - progress = 2% (a swatch square!!) at crochet-a-long
4. Drops 68-15 Summer cardigan - progress = swatch.
5. Navy blue cardigan - progress = 15%
6. Toddler cardigan - progress = 50%
7. "High-Stylin' Pillow" (Crochet calendar)- progress = 10%

PIGs
1. Tennis Socks - soon to start sock-a-long at crochetsocks
2. Drops Safran Tank - never found the right yarn, maybe next summer
3. "Easy Ripple" Afghan
4. 63 squares Afghan - Aran
5. Spring Crochet Cardigan
6. 'Oxford Style' socks (Crocheted Socks!)- Bob
7. Felted Hook Case
8. 'Alpine Meadow' hooded sweater - a fall MUST!
9. Marble yarn sweater for me - Todays Crochet pattern
10. Twyla Cardigan - swatched, but still not sure about the yarn choice

WIMs
1. Letter pillows "Y" & "X" from Woven-n-Spun
2. Granny Ripple Baby Afghan
3. Picot Cropped Cardigan
4. Cream Cotton Shrug
5. Bob's sweater Teal/black/gray - maybe a vest, not enough yarn
6. Alex's sweater - Green
7. Abby's sweater - grape chunky
8. Mittens & Hats
9. Abby's sweater - periwinkle
10. Abby's snow girl cardigan (Crochet! Jan '05)
11. Alex's sweater vest
12. Robyn’s Spider Shrug
13. Peter's Jacob sweater at crochet-a-long - hopefully September.

I love getting this all written out to look at. OK – for August…
I want to complete the first WIP - the Beth tank for me.
Then I'm moderating the Crystal Lace Bolero (WIP #2) at at crochet-a-long, so that gets priority too. There's always the elusive sock-a-long CAL at crochetsocks (PIG #1) - rumor has it we're starting any day now...I'll have to keep up with that as I am a moderator there.
In between all this I'll keep working on the Colinette aghan (WIP #3).

Summer projects will take the back seat again for awhile. It's sweater time! Time to start hooking!

July challenge report

OK, this is way over do. But I will report on the progress I actually made back in July. For July… I wanted to complete the Drops Top, hopefully the Beth tank for me and maybe (but most likely not) the Safran tank. Then there was the elusive sock-a-long CAL at crochetsocks that I had figured would start in July. Here's what happened.

1. Drops Design Top - progress = 99.9%. I'm actually moderating this CAL at Yahoo crochet-a-long group. I actually finished it in July. All that was left was weaving in those blasted ends!
2. Caprice Sundress - progress = 100%. This was finished in June. But I finally lined it!
3. Beth tank from Berroco - progress = 45%. I made a bit of progress on the drive home from NY after finishing the Drops Top.
4. Colinette yarns afghan kit - progress = 25%. This was my birthday surprise from dh. The kit pattern is for a wave-like ripple afghan (3'x4'). I'm using a K hook and the gorgeous yarn hanks shown in my birthday post. I've completed 1 1/4 of 4 1/2 pattern repeats. As I suspected I couldn't resist starting this even before the Drops Top was done. Unfortunately, it was way too hot in NY to work on this!
5. Socks - soon to start sock-a-long at crochetsocks. Progress = 0%. This is entirely NOT my fault. We do finally know the pattern. It's Tennis Socks in the Crochet Socks book. I have my yarn - Knit Picks Dancing. We'll still waiting for this to start.

All in all, I did OK. The Drops is finally done! Now I'll let youknow what my plan for August is (or was, since we're half way through already!!)

Colinette Afghan progress - August 2nd

As I admitted in July, I couldn't resist starting this kit. Just touching the yarn is pure bliss! My dh gave me this Colinette yarns afghan kit for my birthday. The kit pattern is for a wave-like ripple afghan (3'x4'). I'm using a K hook and the gorgeous yarn hanks shown in my birthday post. As of then end of July I had completed 1 1/4 of 4 1/2 pattern repeats.

Beth tank top - August 2nd

On hold because of my obsession with finishing the Drops Top was the Beth tank from Berroco - I'm using a 4.0mm hook with Knit One Crochet Two 2nd time cotton in the Nantucket Colorway shown here (scroll down, bottom right photo).

I worked on it a bit in NY and then crocheted a bunch on the way home while my dh drove. Here's the front panel with the first row of the top bodice pattern started. Looks like it a bit more cropped than I realized...hmmm...

NY Caprice Dress: I lined it!! - July 30th

Remember the whole story about the NY Yarns Caprice Sundress? This was quite a project as I ended up frogging, re-designing and re-crocheting the entire body of the dress. I even wrote up the pattern modifications. In the end Abby loved it. But, as it 'hung out" on her while she wore it, the small holes became a bit larger and I thought a dress lining was warranted afterall. Well I finally sewed (scary thought) a lining, and then discovered that yarn stretches and basic lining material does not. So, I re-did the lining, with side slits in the bodice and basted the lining to the bodice across the center front and back only. My Dad would be proud, I "jury-rigged" it !! Here's my princess, one more time, in her lined dress, in front of my hydrangeas.

Drops Top finished - July 30th

Woo Hoo!! I finished crocheting the Garnstudio Drops Design Top using a 3.0mm hook with GGH Bali yarn shown here.
Although I didn't make it in time for the family party on the 29th, it was in the high 90s that day, and the party was outside, so I couldn't have worn it! I finished it up the next night, but just couldn't face ALL those blasted ends to weave in. Here it is on the hanger over a white tank top, with all the ends still hanging. The picture of me wearing it had to wait until the car accident bruises went away - giving me time to weave, and weave, and weave...

Drops Top Progress - July 25th

Garnstudio Drops Design Top using a 3.0mm hook with GGH Bali yarn shown here (scroll down).
I knew the creative side seams had to wait until the sleeves were done so I started working on the sleeves next. I'm still not sure how these sleeves were supposed to fit. If I read the pattern right, and it seems I did, this is what the sleeve looked like. It was supposed to have one or two (I forget) more rows at the top/shoulder edge, but after I placed it in the armhole of the sweater, I stopped crocheting.
How is this supposed to fit??
My solution was to frog the sleeve back to the beginning of the decreases and design a sleeve with decreases to match the shape of the armhole.

Drops Top Progress - July 21st

Drops Design Top - Pattern is from Garnstudio Drops Design. I'm using a 3.0mm hook with GGH Bali yarn shown here (scroll down a bit). Previously I had finished the front panel. I finished the back panel around July 21st. In making the back panel I discovered that the front panel width was narrower that I had intended because my tension was too tight on those blasted bobbles . I was extra careful with the back, but as the picture shows, this would need some creative seaming! I decided to "seam" each side with a "panel" that would be two chain 5 loops wide. Here it is with the shoulder seams in and the side seams held with stitch markers!

Blogging Draught explained

So, I can't believe I haven't blogged in a month. Here are the excuses - just so I get them out of my system...

1. I was desperately trying to finish my Drops Top before family party on 7/29.
2. My dh is finishing up his training to get his instrument pilot license (see his blog) and has been studying online most evenings (forcing me to continue with #1).
3. We went on vacation to what my kids call "NY country" (not NYC) and were offline 7/28-8/2.
4. The day after we got back I was hit head-on by a UPS truck, in my driveway, almost totaling my vehicle. We're all OK, bumps & bruises have healed, but the aftermath is incredibly time-consuming.

OK, that's a pretty good excuse list, if I do say so myself!

Here's my plan. I did take some pictures of the various projects as they have progressed so I'll post those with a few (HA!) comments.

Swatching mania

I'm not sure what came over me last night. I was thinking about possible and probable Garment CALs at Yahoo crochet-a-long - which ones I am doing, which I am skipping, and which I should offer to moderate etc. I had myself so confused, I decided that I needed to figure out what yarn I could use for which patterns... the next thing I now I'm a swatching fool. So here's what I did (these may or may not end up as CALs).

First I started with Twyla - when I saw this stitch detail I fell in love. Even though I knew I'd be changing the pattern a bit to taper the arms and maybe change the edging width (I'm a pattern tweaker, what can I say), I wanted to make this sweater as I loved the texture & pattern of this stitch in the photo. It calls for Berroco Softwist - a rayon & wool blend ww with 100 yds/50g. I have the Wool of the Andes in Mulled Wine that I originally intended for the Spring Crochet Cardigan and thought that would make a great Twyla. So I grabbed my Brittany 5.5mm I hook and did the 8 cluster repeat for 5 rows.... well, it was 5 inches long and just barely 2 inches high (short & fat!!). I frogged that and tried again still using the I hook , but with a pretty tight starting chain and hit the gauge this time. After all this, I realize (once again) that this is a yarn eating stitch pattern and requires 1700 yds ( I have 1540 yds of Mulled Wine). In all honesty, this yarn didn't accentuate the stitch pattern as much as I would like...maybe I will make the Spring Cardigan with this yarn after all!
So next yarn ... Sirdar SalsaDK in Flamingo (this time I checked yardage first - I have over 1900 yds). I grabbed a Brittany 5.0mm H hook this time and worked up a gauge swatch. Even though it's DK insteak of WW, I think it will work fine. The gauge swatch looks nice and I like the pattern in this wild yarn! I hope this will be a September CAL.

Second pattern I swatched was Robyn's Crystal Lace Bolero - likely to be a CAL in August. Robyn also used Berroco Softwist, but I wanted to use up some stash for this so I went with some basic acrylic in a dusty rose color. Once again grabbed the recommended hook size and started hooking. Well, again I was huge! My square was closer to 5.25" than 4". (Hmm, maybe Softwist is more of a light ww). I could go with some Simply Soft I have in stash, but now I like this color, so I tried again using my Addi 4.5mm G hook. This time, crocheting rather tightly, I have a 4" square.

Well, I was on a roll now and it wasn't midnight yet, so I grabbed the third pattern, one I'm now dying to do myself, Drops 68-15 Summer cardigan and the Catania Cotton in Marine from my stash. The width of the repeat is right on gauge, and as best I can tell, the height is okay as well (the clock struck midnight, my dh groaned that my light was still on and I put my crochet down and went to sleep!)

New WIPs on my hook

Shhh... don't tell... but I'm not supposed to have any more WIPs right now. I sort of committed publically, in many places, that I wasn't going to start anything until I finished my Drops Tops. But... my dh bought me that gorgeous afghan kit and the yarn was calling to me..touch me, feel me, wind me, hook me! So while reading stories with my kids the other night, I wound those gorgeous hanks of yarn into cakes. That night while working on my Drops Top, when I reached for the measuring tape I came upon my K hook (it just jumped out of the hook case into my hand, really, it did!). So, to satisfy my curiosity (and my dh's to be honest) I started hooking, just a bit of the Colinette yarn 'ghan. Well the next night, as the yarn winder & swift were still set up, while upstairs reading with the kids again, I wound some hanks of the Beth tank top yarn into cakes. Then, as I'd left my Drops Top in the car, I grabbed an F hook and started the Beth tank while singing to my dd. (I had to be hooking something.) I finished the lower edge of the Beth tank that night. Ever since then, I've been allowing myself a few rows of the lap-ghan and/or a few stitches of Beth each evening (provided I've worked for a bit on the Drops Top that day!)

So here they are. Active WIPs 1,2,& 3:

1. Drops Design Top - Previously I finished the front panel. Now I'm working on the back panel. Pattern is from Garnstudio Drops Design (link above). I'm using a 3.0mm hook with GGH Bali yarn shown here (scroll down a bit).

2. Beth tank from Berroco - I haven't done much (must work on Drops Top first) but I did the lower band just to see the pattern in this yarn. I'm using a 4.0mm hook with Knit One Crochet Two 2nd time cotton in the Nantucket Colorway shown here (scroll down, bottom right photo). I wish the lower photo was the more accurate color, but I think the top one really is (more gray, less blue).

3. Colinette yarns afghan kit - this was my birthday surprise from dh. The kit pattern is for a wave-like ripple afghan (3'x4'). I'm using a K hook and the gorgeous yarn shown unwound in my birthday post and in cakes with the ghan here. I've completed 1 of 4 1/2 pattern repeats.

In the end I'm probably getting as much if not more done on the Drops Tops. I really work much better this way.

July WIPs, PIGs & WIMs

Can you say ROLLOVER?? Looks like a few items on my July challenge list will be unfinished projects from June! But first let's do the monthly review of all the possibilities - I find it's nice to see it all down in writing so I can reassess each month and decide what to put on my monthly challenge list for Yahoo crochetchallenge. In case you're interested, here are the links to my April, May and June lists (the April one gives acronym definitions).

WIPs
1. Drops Design Top - progress = 45%
2. Navy blue cardigan - progress = 15%
3. Toddler cardigan - progress = 50%
4. "High-Stylin' Pillow" (Crochet calendar)- progress = 10%

PIGs
1. Beth tank from Berroco
2. Drops Safran Tank
2. "Easy Ripple" Afghan
3. 63 squares Afghan - Aran
4. Spring Crochet Cardigan
5. 'Oxford Style' socks (Crocheted Socks!)- Bob
6. Felted Hook Case
7. 'Alpine Meadow' hooded sweater
8. Marble yarn sweater for me - Todays Crochet pattern
9. Colinette Afghan kit
10. Twyla Cardigan

WIMs
1. Letter pillows "Y" & "X" from Woven-n-Spun
2. Granny Ripple Baby Afghan
3. Picot Cropped Cardigan
4. Cream Cotton Shrug
5. Bob's sweater Teal/black/gray
6. Alex's sweater - Green
7. Abby's sweater - grape chunky
8. Mittens & Hats
9. Abby's sweater - periwinkle
10. Abby's snow girl cardigan (Crochet! Jan '05)
11. Alex's sweater vest
12. Robyn’s Spider Shrug
13. Socks - soon to start sock-a-long at crochetsocks.

I love getting this all written out to look at. OK – for July… I want to complete the first WIP - the Drops Top we’re doing at Yahoo crochet-a-long. I'd like to also do the Beth tank for me (PIG #1) and maybe (but most likely not) the Safran tank (PIG #2). Then there's the elusive sock-a-long CAL at crochetsocks (WIM #13) - if that starts I'll have to keep up with that as I am a moderator there. On some cool evening, I'll probably dig out and start the afghan kit just to pet the yarns...

(In case anyone noticed, I moved the "X" & "Y" Letter pillows from PIG to WIM since the patterns still haven't been written. I may try to write then myself this fall if Kim hasn't done it. My kids beds look pretty funny with 3/4 of the letters of their names!)

Time to start hooking!

Tank Top ideas...

These are the sleeveless summer tops that I've found (and I like) on the web. I posted this on several forums, but for some reason not here. For my own sake I'm adding in yarn type and yardage needed for the higher possibilities.

1. Adriafil tank - pattern & photo
2. Beth by Berroco - this uses 8 hanks Touche (712yds ww yarn) for the large (39")
3. Crochet Shell (or dress)
4. Drops 88-20 Safran Tank - this uses 5 balls Safran (875 yds DK yarn) for the XL (41")
5. Fitted Scoop Neck Tank - this uses 720 yd Patons Katrina (ww yarn with stretch) for a 39"-41" Long
6. Jessica Tromp tank - photo & diagram
7. Lily Tank Top - pattern & photo - this uses 7 (70g) Sugar & Cream (ww yarn ~1000 yd) for a large (40")
8. Mango Mesh Top
9. Sherbert Tank Top - this uses 8 oz Patons Katrina (~600 yd ww with stretch) for a small...
10. V-stitch sleeveless

In addition there a a few patterns in some publications that I own that I was considering:
11. Sunny Days Tank Top by Denise Black in "24 hour crochet projects" R. Weiss - this uses 16 oz of Luster Sheen (sport/fine) yarn (1340 yd) for the large (38" - 40")
12. Flutter-Sleeve Top in "Fabulous & FLirty Crochet" K.Lee - this uses 6 balls (720 yd) of GGH Mystik (DK) for the large (39")
13. Designer Wannabe Tank Top by Ajda Mesic in "Happy Hooker" D. Stoller - this uses 12 balls (1474 yds) of Catania (sport/fine) for the large (40")
14. Cupcake by L-J. Bernhardson in "Happy Hooker" D. Stoller - this uses 8 balls (920 yds) of Amazon DK Cotton for the large (40.5")

So in trying to match up the cotton yarn I have in stash with some possibilities...

I have a sport/dk cotton - 12 balls (137yd/50g) of Catania - could go fo the Designer Wannabe Tank or the Drops Safran Tank or even the Sunny Days Tank Top

I have worsted weight cotton - Knit One Crochet Two "2nd Time Cotton" (180yd/100g) in 2 multi colorways - I have 4 balls (720yd) of one and 6 balls (900 yds) of the other. This could be used for Beth... Don't think it's stretchy enough to sub for Patons Katrina, but it might be thin enough to sub for a DK weight....

Birthday surprise...

My dh did it again! I love this guy. He took the kids out shopping for birthday presents for me and with a lot of guidance helped them pick out a beautiful necklace (my dd likes to get me jewels), and some chocolates. Then at their favorite place to shop for me, Yankee Candle, dh gave a little guidance for choosing a tea light warmer for scented wax potpourri and then let the kids spend over 30 minutes choosing the wax tart potpourri "flavors" all on their own. They had a great time and I certainly received some beautiful and interestingly scented gifts! He went off to work yesterday, telling me the kids would give me my presents. My ds woke up my dd and off they went to draw me cards (I stayed in bed, half sleeping and half waiting). They arrived (pouncing on top of my bed) at 7 am bearing those great hand drawn cards that you cherish forever and all the loot from their day out with Dad. I was smiling, the kids were smiling, it was terrific. We called dh at work, I thanked the love of my life for my wonderful birthday gifts, and the kids and I went about our day.

I didn't expect dh home until late, as per usual on Wednesdays, but he surprised me walking in at 4 pm. He had canceled his evening plans, bought a birthday cake and had detoured 25 miles on his way home form work to go to my LYS, Ewe'll Love It (but I didn't yet know this). He said he went to a lighting store to get a desk lamp he wanted - so we set that up - and oh yeah, he stopped in to the LYS and grabbed a book for me - a book of knitting patterns of Shetland sweaters - just in case I want to learn to knit - (I guess I can make him a sweater since I've never made his socks!!) Well, he showed no hint that he had purchased anything else at the LYS - he usually has a tell-tale twinkle in his eye - so we went ahead and ate dinner, had cake and then he surprises me - he produces this monster bag of fiber for an afghan kit!! What an amazing assortment of color and texture! Then the eye twinkle appears as he tells me all about choosing these colors and these fibers from amongst the various kits available. He does a great job of choosing colors and putting together items that I would most likely never choose on my own but love when I see them assembled. He has done this in everything from kitchen countertops to clothes to jewelry and now he's doing it with fiber!! So here's the lastest yarn loot. It's all from Colinette yarns of Wales. The kit includes Wigwam cotton tape - lichen colorway - 100% cotton - 143yd/100g; Zanziba - in 2 colorways: Jay & Autumn Leaves - 51% wool, 48% viscose, 1% nylon - 99yd/100g; Fandango chunky cotton - cezanne colorway - 100% cotton - 110 yd/100g; Skye - velvet bilberry colorway - 100% wool -152yd/100g; and finally Mohair - in 3 colorways: Tapis, Mist & Renaissance - 78% mohair, 13% wool, 9% nylon - 193yd/100g. The kit is for a ripple lap afghan (3' x 4') with a hook "not larger than K".
All in all, I'd say I had a fantastic day, but moreover, I am blessed with a fantastic dh and wonderful kids!!

June challenge report

OK, it's time to check in and see how I did in June. So what did I theoretically commit to on my June challenge list for Yahoo crochetchallenge, and what did I actually do? On my list was finishing the Absolutely Precious sweater #2, the Sideways Shell Baby Blanket, and the Drops Top with my CAL. I also wanted to make the Caprice Sundress for my dd and possibly the Beth tank for myself and finally I expected to start a Sock-along as well. Here's what really happened in June. Click on "progress" for a link to the post showing current state of the project.

1. Absolutely Precious Baby sweater #2 - progress = 100%.
2. Sideways Shell Baby Afghan - progress = 100%.
3. Drops Design Top - progress = 45%. I'm actually moderating this CAL at Yahoo crochet-a-long group. I can't believe how little I actually accomplished again this month (I said the same thing in May!!). This time it's because after finishing all those baby items I couldn't resist making the dress for my dd (see #4). I am finally working on this full time now. No other WIPs allowed!
4. Caprice Sundress - progress = 100%. This was quite a project as I ended up frogging, redesigning and re-crocheting the entire body of the dress. I think I will end up lining it as soon as I can get to a fabric store.
5. Beth tank from Berroco. Progress = 0%. I'd love to start this I just haven't allowed myself to get distracted away from the Drops Top. I may need to let it happen to prevent burn out, we'll see in a few weeks...or days! Of course the list of possible tank tops has grown....
6. Socks - soon to start sock-a-long at crochetsocks. Progress = 0%. This is entirely NOT my fault. I don't even have the pattern yet. We'll still waiting for this to start.

All in all, I did OK! I really wanted to do more on the Drops Tops, but redesigning the Caprice Dress took a bit of time!!

WIP: Drops Top

Wow has it been a while since I posted. Believe it or not I'm only working on one WIP right now, and I'm still not finding a lot of time to work on it. Hopefully, now that we're through the Holiday weekend, life should settle down a bit here and I should be able to get a bit more crochet time in!

This is the Drops Design Top I've been working on with my friends at Yahoo crochet-a-long. I'm moderating this CAL so I'm embarassed about how slow my progress has been, but at least I'm still working on it. We had many start it, but few seem to still be working on it. Anyway, I have finished the front panel complete with armhole shaping and neck/shoulder shaping. Now to attack the back panel and then the sleeves. It's shown here over the white tank I will wear under it. The width of the front panel seemed to tighten up a bit on me with this stitch pattern. I'm going to pay close attention to this phenomenon on the back panel otherwise this will have to be passed on to a skinnier sister or niece!

Edited to answer the obvious question...Yarn is GGH 'Bali' (50% cotton, 50% acrylic) in a beautiful lilac color.