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.

WIP progress... February - early March

Last I blogged a list of WIPs, they included these:
1. Peter's Jacob sweater - a CAL at Yahoo crochet-a-long using RH Medium Spruce for my dh, Bob. A gauge problem has been discovered somewhere between me & the pattern. Most likely, this will be frogged and I will try again with a reworked pattern.
2. 'Oxford Style' socks (Crocheted Socks!) - Originally meant for dh, now for me. Story & progress photo at the sock saga post. WIP turned UFO for now. Status = 40% complete.
3. Mardi Gras Carnival Socks - a crochetsocks CAL. This sock pattern and pattern stitch makes for a pretty tight sock...more info & progress photo at the sock saga. WIP turned UFO for now. Status = 15% complete.
4. Autumn Spice Cropped Cardigan - this diversion from my sock nightmare became a nightmare all of it's own. Eventually I won, even beating those blasted ends. Status = 100% complete.
5. Southbay CGOA sock - Originally seen at the sock saga post, these were completed in time for valentine's day for my dh. Status = 100% complete.

Then I sidetracked and completed these:
1. BICO, hat & booties - Status = 100% complete.
2. Comfortghan squares - Status = 100% complete.

Squares for comfortghans

Many of you know that a fellow crocheter a mom of 2 little girls, lost her dh suddenly last week. I joined with others to make some squares to send to an awesome crocheter who is assembling these squares into comfort-ghans for the mom and her girls. As of yesterday, she had received 103 squares for the mom and 86 squares to split for the girls; six more packages arrived today. I sent in 6 squares - I kept trying to use up little balls of yarn! The bottom two in this panel are Dayna's Four Heart's Granny, top left is Julie's Lady Square Variation and top right is Prescilla's Circle of Friends Square. The last two are mostly random crocheting after staring at more square patterns than you can imagine!!

FO: BICO for a baby

as opposed to my big girl! I made this BICO (and hat and booties) for my son's art teacher. She's having her first baby and well, I crochet things! As with Abby's BICO, I began this Baby It's Cold Outside on a whim as a stashbuster. I found 2 skeins of Peacock Baby Rainbow yarn in a blue/green/yellow colorway in my stash, grabbed a 6.0mm hook and started hooking (with 2 strands)! I edged the set with some bright yellow, Caron Perfect Match 'Lemon' left from Abby's ripple afghan.

For the BICO, I followed the pattern for a 12 month size in order to end up with a 6 mo size with my hook and yarn. The only exceptions to this is that I made the neck hole a tad smaller and I made a change so that the front panels would match better. If you've read the BICO CAL thread at Crochetville, then you might remember that as people made BICOs with a "non-Homespun" yarn, they noticed the rows of hdc didn't match up perfectly in front. When you join the yarn to make the left sleeve and front panel the instructions have you join at the sleeve end and crochet a RS row on top of the previous RS row. Instead, I joined at the neck edge, crocheted a WS row and continued for 3 rows to the neck opening. On the fourth row, when I get to the neck edge, I can't ch8 to add 6 hdc on the next row as that would make the neck hole too big. I needed to add these 6 hdc on to this 4th row, so I did. When I reached the neck edge on the 4th row I added 6 hdc using the chainless hdc foundation row. Then I crocheted row 5 into these added hdc and the rest of row 4, and continued for 2 more rows to complete my sleeve. Now, as I ended at the sleeve edge, I had to slip stitch in the first 19 stitchs and then begin the front panel (the lines of which now perfectly match the right panel!)

For the hat, I wanted to make it using hdc to match the BICO, but all the baby hat patterns I could find were sc. So, I winged it! I based it on the LB velvetspun hat pattern (without the top knot) and I used my daughters 22 inch "big baby" doll to size the hat. I started with 8hdc in a ring - increased so the stitch counts in rows 2-6 were 16, 24, 24, 32, and 40. I worked even rows until long enough to cover the dolls ears! Then I did two rows of yellow to match the BICO edging.

The booties were a variation on Bev's Very Easy Booties. I was using double stranded baby yarn, instead of worsted weight so I basically made them to match her measurements, not her row counts. I replaced the last row with yellow, for an edging.

FO:Autumn Spice, ends woven in!!

I thought I'd post a picture of my version of Autumn Spice, modeled, with all the ends woven in, finally! Details of the trials & tribulations of crocheting this sweater can be found in this earlier blog post. Here are the final details:
Hook: 6.5mm

Yarn: Cascade 'Lana de Oro' Tweed - worsted weight - 45% Superfine Alpaca, 45% Peruvian Highland wool and 10% Donegal (tweed) - 770yd maroon, 110 yd charcoal.

Pattern changes:

• I crocheted the back panel of a medium, almost as written. I began with 9 shells across, for 25 rows (12 shells high). I dropped a shell on each side for the armhole inset. I wanted the back neck opening to wider, but not as deep, so I continued with 7 shells across for 14 rows (7 shells high) and then skipping the center 3 shells, did 2 more rows (1 shell high) on the outer 2 shells for each shoulder.
• I crocheted the front panels of the small, adding in a sleeve inset. I began with a panel 4 shells across, for 25 rows (12 shells high). For the arm hole inset, I dropped 1 shell at the side edge and continued with 3 shells for only 7 more rows (4 shells high) as I wanted a lower neck at the front. Then I dropped a shell at the neck edge and continued for 9 more rows (4 shells high).
• The sleeves were completely re-written as I made tapered sleeves to get a little more length out of my limited (discontinued) yarn yardage. I started with 5 shells across, for 12 rows (6 shells high). On row 13 I added another dc, ch2 on either side of the center shell. On row 14, I replaced the center shell with two partial shells (dc, ch2, 2dc, ch2, dc). Row 15 was worked as if there were 6 full shells below and row 16 has 6 full shells. I crocheted another 21 rows (10 shells) of 6 shells wide (when I ran out of yarn!!).
• I crocheted the edging using the contrasting yarn. I made 4 rounds of sc on the whole piece, including sleeve cuffs.

Crochet Academy

Last night I participated in part one of a three-part online seminar offered by Josi Hannon Madera at her Crochet Academy. This Academy, along with Josi's incredibly innovative designs with her custom pattern generator, is part of her newly launched website, the Art of Crochet. The series is entitled Yarn: Gauge, Drape & Substitutions, and as you can guess, last night we covered gauge.

Our homework was to crochet 3 swatches of a DK weight yarn using 3 different hook sizes - 4.0mm, 5.0mm and 6.0mm. I used Sirdar Salsa DK, left over from my Floral Fantasy Sweater. The yarn label recommends a 4.0mm hook or knitting needle. The knitting gauge listed is 22 st x 28 rows for a 10cm (4") square swatch. So, here are my swatches. Although I ran out of yarn halfway through my 4.0mm swatch, I can extrapolate the results (not the best idea when swatching for real, but it will work for this exercise). Also, while confessing my shortcuts, I should add that I had to photo my swatches side-by-side instead of stacked in a pile because when stacked there was no edge definition with this pink fuzzy yarn.

Our intial assignment was to measure the size of 20st x 20rows inside our swatch. Then we were asked to count how many stitches and rows were contained within a 4" x 4" area. Here's my results.

20 st x 20 rows		4" x 4"
Hook	W x H	Hook	S x R
6.0mm	6.50" x 4.75"	6.0mm	12 x 17
5.0mm	6.00" x 4.50"	5.0mm	13 x 18
4.0mm	5.25" x 4.25"	4.0mm	15 x 19

It was interesting to see the different swatch sizes result. Josi did another variation of this assignment. She made 4 swatches using a 4 mm hook with 4 different yarns DK yarns - 2 Debbie Bliss yarns, 2 KnitPicks yarns. All listed a knitting gauge of 22st/4in. Even within manufacturers the resulting swatches were different!

This class was reaffirming for me. It's no secret that I personally love the math of crochet. I make mostly garments for me & my kids (ok dh gets a few) and I almost ALWAYS swatch, measure and swatch again with mulitiple hooks and multiple yarns. The timing of this class is cool for me too, after my gauge problem with dh's sweater (and yes, for the first time in history I didn't swatch... grrrrr!), and as I've been proofreading and testing patterns for some designers lately and realizing the importance of checking the math of their gauge and final garment measurements.

On a related sidenote, I watched an Uncommon Threads episode on DVR the other day where Lily Chin recommended measuring a "hanging" gauge for garment swatches. Something to think about... I'm looking forward to the the next two classes to learn more about drape.

Felted Clutch Purse

I'm not the gal who collects purses. I use bags and totes to carry my stuff. If I don't want a big bag, I put my license and a credit card in the back pocket of my jeans. But, this time, I need a clutch. My dh has won another award and we are invited to a snazzy dinner at the Boston's Four Season's Hotel with the CEO & Board of Directors for his company. I have my sister and another babysitter lined up. I found a dress - it's a dark navy sleeveless sheath dress with a matching jacket - and minutes ago UPS delivered my shoes. I just needed a purse. So a few days ago I had an idea for a felted clutch. I hunted through my stash in search of dark navy wool, but instead found Cascade 220 Quatro Black/Blue plied yarn. I thought it might be dark enough and set out to just wing it. My goal was a clutch about 8.5-9" x 5". So what do you think?

Felted Envelope Clutch

Hook : K (closer to 7.0mm)
Yarn: Cascade 220 Quatro
Prefelting dimensions:
12" x 19" unfolded,
12" x 11.5" folded, flap open,
12" x 8" clutch
Postfelting dimensions:
8.5" x 9" flap open,
8.5" x 5.5" clutch

Ch 36 (until I had 12 inches)

Row 1: hdc in 2nd ch from hook and each ch across, ch 2, turn. (34 hdc)

Row 2-33: Repeat row 1 until fabric measures 15-16" (or desired length)

Row 34: hdc dec over first 2 stitches, hdc in next 30 st, hdc dec over last 2 stitches, ch 2, turn. (32 hdc)

Rows 35-40: repeat row 34 six more times. Fasten off. (20 hdc).

Fold bag bringing row 1 to row 31 (3 rows before the first decrease row). Whipstitch the side seams. FELT! Embellish with vintage pin. Here I use my dad's college ring given to my mom before he left for WWII and later made into a pin.

Men & Crochet

There's a new CGOA chapter forming in Oakland, CA. The Men Who Crochet Chapter of the Crochet Guild of America will focus on men's involvement in the needle arts, but the membership will be open to both genders. It's being started by Peter Franzi, a great designer I'm privileged to know (you know, "know" in the online sense). Of course I live on the other coast, but if you know of anyone in the Oakland area who might be interested, send them to Peter!

On a more local men & crochet front, dh has his socks, and he loves them (but you wouldn't know that because he hasn't commented on my blog about that! Just kidding dear!!). But I also wanted him to have a sweater and a vest.

The sweater I chose was Jacob's sweater designed by the above-mentioned Peter Franzi. A bunch of us were so thrilled to finally find a great pattern for our guys that we decided to do a CAL at Yahoo crochet-a-long the day Peter first published his worsted weight design online. Several people were interested in a lighter version made with sportweight and Peter accommodated their wishes and began to redesign the sweater sportweight (simply following the ww pattern using sw yarn would be a bit too lacey for most guys). Peter also tried to deal with the requests of annoying people like me who were interested in a V-neck version - with a wide center cable pattern? what was I thinking? Peter's was absolutely right - no V-neck on this sweater. I knew my guy would wear a heavy cabled sweater (and forego the jacket) so I began the ww version using RH Medium Spruce. I made ribbings and started the front panel of the sweater. I'm usually fanatical about swatches and doing the math to figure out if the gauge is right and if the stated gauge will result in the specified size. Of course I didn't this time and I was halfway through the front panel before I realized that it was 10 inches wider than it needed to be. Yes 10 inches! So I stopped and contacted Peter. The bad news is I will be frogging the front panel of the sweater. The good news is Peter's sportweight version has been accepted for publication and Peter is now re-working the kinks out of the ww version. I promise to double check my math and stitch gauge this time before I start crocheting cables like a madwoman!

Meanwhile, I started a vest for my dh and I'm hoping it won't be more than 2 weeks late for his b-day (last Saturday). I'm using the same design I used for my son's vest - the Fall into Fall Vest from Kimane designs. For my husband I'm using Cascade 220 wool in a dark teal colorway. I purchased this yarn for him at my LYS's 2006 Superbowl yarn sale. I've finished the back panel and part of the front panel. I need to go wind some more hanks into cakes so I can keep hooking. Bob picked out his own buttons last Friday. How'd he do?

Spring cardigan swatches

As I posted earlier I need to make a cardigan for Abby for a wedding in April in NC. The yarn I want to use is Gedifra 'Wellness', a worsted weight cotton/acrylic blend (1210 yds). I mentioned these possiblities before, but I think I've ruled them all out for this project (as much as I love several).

Kim's Girl's Jiffy Jacket - I love this pattern, but I decided I really want the stitch pattern to be a little open
Robyn's Belle's Flowers - I will make this, but not for the wedding. With this yarn, the motifs were twice the size as designed, making them way too big for a little girl's sweater.
Drop Design 90-16 - I decided this is too open a stitch pattern - not enough warmth.
Crocheted Garden's Sweet Miss - beautiful, but this yarn wouldn't do the pattern justice.
Back to School - too boring - not open enough stitch pattern .

So did I mention, I really want the stitch pattern to be a little open.

I figured I might have to design the sweater around the pattern stitch, so I went a little swatch crazy last night and today. I tried the Coats & Clark Ruffled Cardigan after I saw this young teen, no-ruffle version at crochetville. It has possibility, it looks fine with this yarn. It seems a little bland, but I could edge it in a pale pink to match the dress, or run a pink ribbon through the edging.

Then I started searching magazines.... I pulled the second swatch stitch pattern out of the Openwork Coat from Family Circle Easy Crochet Spring 2007, a rewrite of a vintage pattern. I like the stitch pattern, and it's fine with this yarn, but I think it's too big a shell for a little girl's sweater, particularly if I decide to crop the cardi.

The last two swatches I have are from patterns written for finer yarns again, but since they are also written for toddlers, I was hoping that I could use my yarn with appropriate hook and end up with a sweater for Abby following a 18-24m pattern.

In Melissa Leapman's "Seasons of Love, Sweaters for the Family", I found Baby's Dainty Cardigan. I like the look in the photo from the book, but I think the yarn might be too thick for the pattern stitch. The shells are not as large as the openwork coat shells, but I'm not loving this swatch.

Finally, I found Tammy Hildebrand's Spring Flowers Cardigan from Crochet! May 2006. I love the look of the cardigan in the magazine photo, and I think the yarn is able to carry off the pattern stitch quite nicely. I don't think I'd add the flowers to the sweater, but maybe some pink flower buttons to match the pink in the dress. I think this is my favorite swatch.

So what do you all think??