Squares on Sunday

One square finished for my grandma's blanket, and four that were just photographed.

Like all squares for this afghan, they were made with an I hook, Lion Brand One Pound in Lavender, Red Heart Soft Baby in Rocking Horse, and Caron Simply Soft in White and Soft Green. All patterns are from 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton. You can see the whole set on my Flickr HERE.

#69: Fudge

#157: Boxed Square

#42: Lacy Wheel

#117: Granny in the Middle

#19: Lacy Cross

A Square

Another square for my grandmother's blanket! I figured out the other day if I knit one 6 inch block every night I'll finish those in a week. Well, then I decided to cast on for my Noro scarf, then frogged it because the bottom wasn't straight, and didn't cast on any more. The Noro scarf is going to be my "at school" project, for Wednesdays. I have a break from 1.15 until 4.30, and on days like today, when I have a migraine but only have ibuprofen and I'm waiting to hear that classes are cancelled, I'm not too thrilled with hanging around for those hours. It probably wouldn't be as bad, but I have to read, and my head... ouch. 

The Noro scarf was looking good yesterday, but I was slipping one stitch purlwise at the ends like Mr. Jared Flood instructed, and it got all tight and weird and started flaring out, and it pissed me off, and if I have expensive yarn to make an expensive scarf, I'm not going to make something that I'm not too thrilled with. So it'll wait until tomorrow. (Snow day, hopefully!) 

I was also able to do my swatch for my Effortless Cardigan, and I measured it after a few rows and it was fine, so I'm looking forward to that. I just want to measure myself to make sure I'm a size small.

My ear infection has drastically gone down; this is the best I've been able to hear for the past two weeks. I'll continue on my medicines though; it's still a little muted. 

Information on the finished square: it's the Lacy Wheel square from Jan Eaton's 200 Crochet Blocks

I used an H hook and the usual yarns for it. I couldn't find my I hook, and even though they're only a mm apart in size (circumference? width?) I had to add a few extra rows. It came out ok, though.

Hopefully I can finish at least the 6 inch squares by the time February 1st rolls around, and I start my Effortless Cardigan. Oh, and the mosaic from Monday about doilies had a point, but I will get to that probably tomorrow. I need help with my little doily! 

And as far as classes are going, they're good. I'm taking English and my astronomy lab and lecture, two classes I need to graduate, and three art histories: the Silk Road, arts of India, and one entitled Transatlantic Encounters, which is the sharing of arts and ideas between Spain and the New World, or so the description blurb has led me to believe. That's the class I have tonight.

ETA: Speaking of Noro, since it was like $14 a skein or so, that completes #44 on my 101 in 1,001 list: splurge on expensive yarn!

Part A: Finished Objects

Part A of the three part post session starts with my most recent finished objects: a square for my grandma's blanket, and an apple in a suit!

The 4 Pointed Star Square.  Remember?  It's been fixed and is finished!

Yarn: CSS in Soft Green; Lion Brand Pound of Love in Lavender; Red Heart Soft Baby Multi in Rocking Horse

Hook: I (5 mm)

Date started: 5 July

Date ended [finally]: 3 August

Well, it's finally finished, along with the corrections and everything.  I'm still not completely satisfied with it, as it's not all square but eh, it'll work.  It'll get better after it's been attached all together.

Apple in a Suit! by the lovely Sarah Hearn

Yarn: Knit Picks' Shine Sport in River and Green Apple (version 2)

Hook: E (3.5 mm)

Date started: 22 July (starting version 1)

Date ended: 3 August (ending completely with version 2, leaving version 1 out to dry)  

Remember version 1?

I searched the stashed for some lighter weight yarn and started again, this time with much better results.  As far as the pattern, it's awesome.  I had to adjust it for my weird needs, because I think I put the eyes too far apart, but other than that it came out great!  We took some more glamor shots:

I'm pretty pleased with him, though he kinda looks like a ninja. But how will he compare to Sarah's? Stay tuned!

So I'm off to watch Dawn of the Ocean on National Geographic.  Hopefully I'll be blogging more often, as I have things to show and my body's getting used to working more.  And just for you, here's a gratuitous shot of me and my work badge:

The Goal of the Weekend

Alright, so the goal this weekend is to finish the WIPs and clean since my boyfriend is out of town and I have all this spare time. Not sure how well that will work, since I have a migraine and ran out of the really good medicine, but migraine medicine has caffeine in it so I'm wired and am blogging like a maniac. There's three, maybe four projects that I really want to finish. They are as follows:

1. The 4-Pointed Star Square

 Remember this, the ruffly thing? I frogged it today. At first I was going to flip the yarns and use the Red Heart baby yarn for the main block and the LB Pound of Love for the points, but I think it might curl inwards. I think I might use either (a) Caron Simply Soft for the main part and the LB lavender for the points, or (b) CSS and RH since they're both a lighter weight.

Just so we know what I'm talking about: Red Heart Soft Baby in Rocking Horse, the variegated (RH); Lion Brand POUND OF LOVE in Lavender; and Caron Simply Soft in White and Soft Green, not pictured. (CSS)

2. The Bag for my Boyfriend

He needs a little change purse type thing to carry certain things around in. I've cut the fabric, gotten the zipper and supplies and even sewed on a pocket, but haven't gotten around to doing the actual sewing. It's not even that difficult, I've just been uber lazy, but he seriously needs it.

3. The Bow Tie, at least for Arwen

Arwen's 7th birthday is tomorrow. Actually today! For some reason I always make them wearables, but I found THIS pattern and decided she needs to be fancy. I think she'll either get a red or purple one. I want to make myself one, too, to wear in my hair, and then since Arwen and I will match, Susie needs to match, too. Awh, we'll be so cute. I'm such a crazy cat lady.

And I want to start/make progress on:

4. The Irish Hiking Hat

My boyfriend asked for a hat. I bought some wool (after realized I had wool in my stash, d'oh! But he doesn't like green, so it's all good.) and did four rounds of *K2 P2* ribbing, only to get to the first pattern row, which read *P2, K2, P2, K6.* O_O This messes everything up! After a long Facebook discussion, Jeanette/myklia suggested I do K2, P2, K6, P2 instead of frogging, so I think that's what I'm going to do.

5. EXFOLIATE! EXFOLIATE! aka The Dalek Washcloth

Last year I started knitting a Dalek (Dr. Who, people) dishcloth for my mom's birthday at the end of June. I was off by one stitch and it looked insane, so I frogged it and it sat at the bottom of the WIP/Frogged drawer for ages. Her birthday this year came around, and it still wasn't done. Now her birthday's come and gone and it STILL isn't done. She needs this, seriously, and it's also part of the "DO the UFOs That I Have Around the House" Project

I know this sounds like a lot, and it is a lot, but I know I can do it! As long as this migraine goes away.

P.S. Read my stream of conscious about this migraine and other adventures with pain and crazy medicines HERE at my migraine blog.

I wrote this last night and am now migraine free!  I CO and did a few rows for Arwen's bow tie, and after I publish this, I'm going to work on my boyfriend's bag.  Please click on the picture to take you to the designer's Flickr page.

To Frog or Not to Frog.

I'm doing the 4-Pointed Star Square by undisthreadness.blogspot.com for my Grandma's 80th birthday afghan.  This is what it's supposed to look like: 

Really cool, right?  I like it.  I'm on the 6th round and this is what mine looks like:

O_O  

Yeah, what?  It's all ruffly and 3D and I have no idea how that happened.  Here's another shot:

Woa, looking at it here it looks really crappy.  

So, what I'm asking for is your opinion.   

Do I frog it and redo to make it lay flat, or keep going and let it be unique like a snowflake? 

Thanks! :]

No, not about hexagons...

Even though I do have a whole post planned about hexagon shaped foods, I'll give ya'als a break... FOR NOW.  (Cue evil laughter.)

I've been working on some blocks for my grandma's afghan, and figured I'd share with my lovely readers.

First,  you can't have a crocheted afghan for your grandmother without a granny square.  That's blasphemous.

And the June square from the 2010 200 Crochet Blocks CAL, #76: Granny Stripes:

Hook: I (5.5 mm)

Yarn: CSS in White and Soft Green; Lion Brand Pound of Love in Lavender; Red Heart Soft Baby Multi in Rocking Horse

And since last month was June, I was able to do the Halfway Through! Picture:

It's coming along nicely, though I have 4 more of the 12 inchers, which are a bugger. Oh well. I need to get working so I can give it to her in December!

ETA: Check out our new brown carpets!  Arwen will no longer be a black ink spot kitteh, now she kinda blends.

Circles Squared

I might just have to buy the summer 2010 issue of Interweave Crochet for this block:

One of the first five blocks featured for the Chain Reaction Afghan Project (I have no idea what that is...) by Kathy Merrick. 

ETA:  OMG, this too, THIS TOO:

The Lodestar Tunic by Natasha Robarge.

Like I even have yarn to make it... but it's so gorgeous, ah!

Squares on Sunday IV and V of April, plus I of May

Whew, I haven't posted a SoS since the 18th! Since then, I've completely finished my Inga's bag, but it needs a lining. On the 18th I did a square for my little Microspun project and took the 19th off. I wanted to start socks, and I wanted to start hexagons with my wool, but I wanted to focus on the socks. I still had some days left so I said the hell with it and started the hexagons:

I only did three squares because I refound my acrylic stash and really wanted to start busting it. So using the same pattern I've been doing two colored hexagons and joining them as I go with white. Here it is a few days ago lookin' like an amoeba:

And a semi good picture after today's 4 hex binge:

With a cactus in the background for good measure!

So that's what's been up for SoS. I've been working on the afghan. I'm not too thrilled with the socks anymore. I've gotten 4 inches into the 1x1 ribbing which is a snoozefest. It's supposed to be 8. O_O No way. I want to start the heel, but the book recommends sitting somewhere silent to really understand it, and I usually knit while I watch TV. Ah, I should just go on ahead and dive in. If I make a mistake I can always frog, right? Plus this afghan is taking up all my time. I made 4 hexes (ha) today and I've been joining them as I go. You should see the back, it's a nightmare. DO NOT WANT to weave in those ends!

I also need to get crafty things organized, because I just found a cross-stitch kit I forgot I had. I never have to buy any craft materials ever again. I always forget what I have. That and we're getting new carpet so everything has to be moved out of my room and the craft room. Ug.

Squares on Sunday III

 

Top left: I finished my Inga's bag! All it needs is a good dunk in the tub to straighten things out and for the straps to be sewn on. I don't know how to put a lining in there, so I don't think it's going to get one. Oh well.
Top right: Easter Day Square, the March choice from the 2010 12" BAM CAL. It took me a while; I hate 12" squares, but I only need 4 more for the afghan. 6" only take a few hours. The big ones get so tedious when I have to add 5 extra rounds, and it takes a few more days.
Bottom left: 161: Daisy Chain from Jan Eaton's 200 Crochet Blocks, the February block in the 2010 200 Crochet Blocks CAL.
Bottom right: 78: Briar Rose from the same book, the April block from the same CAL.

 Oh yeah, I started knitting a pair of socks!!

Squares on Sunday II

Sunday round up! I've been working like a maniac, enough that I had a few days to spare, but even though I had messed up my medicines and had vertigo for two days I still managed to get them finished. For Inga's bag, I only need 1 yellow and 3 blue, the majority of might get finished tonight! I'm going to buy some red yarn tomorrow to join, and will hopefully have it done by the weekend. The two small ones in the bottom right corner are from a scarf I started a while ago but I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with the squares. Mind as well get them all done. I'm itching to start on my hexagon pillow. I might see if I can find a bolster pillow form.

I also finished an orca!

So cute! I love all marine animals, and I love orcas especially. My mom said it looked like a samurai with that dorsal fin. >.<

Killer Whale Amigurumi by Charissa Gascho/AwkwardSoul on Etsy
Yarn: Caron Natura in black and white
Hook: ergonomic E (3.5 mm)
Modifications: None, though I know I didn't do the tail right. I'm not too sure what happens, but it looks ok.
Would I crochet this again? Yes, she needs a momma!

Squares on Sunday I

I finished my first round of squares for the April daily CAL:

All four for Inga's Bag. Spring Green, Yellow, Royal Blue and Peruvian Print. That blue one almost didn't get finished due to migraines, but I persevered!

In honor of Squares on Sunday, and the fact I have all this free time, I set out all my 9 patch quilt blocks from the quilt-a-long started by crazymomquilts a looong time ago, back in August. Remember?  Here are my finished squares:

I have 18 sewn and 23 cut and waiting to be sewn, giving me a total of 41. Now all I need is 29 more to reach the required 70 and we can get to piecing! Exciting!

My 2009 scrapghan from last year's BAM CALs on Craftster and Ravelry has been sitting in a bag waiting to be finished. I was going to crochet it so it would almost cover my bed, but 12 inch blocks are a PITA, and it was too colorful, it started getting on my OCD/matching nerves. So in the closet it sat. I pulled it out the other day and I have enough blocks to just join it and be done, so that's what I'm going to do. I sewed in all the ends and arranged it how I'm going to join them, like so:

I'm going to use the flat braid joining and some pale blue to join, then put a granny-esque 3dc cluster border in the pale blue and some worsted purple I have. Exciting!

Oh, and happy Easter!

Wagon Wheel Granny Square

I saw Attic24’s post on stashbusting where she talked about Granny Square Favorites by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss. In it, there’s a crazy granny square Hostess Apron, but Lucy (Attic24) liked the square, the Wagon Wheel Square they used and crocheted up her own. This is hers:

I loved it so much I decided to crochet up my own to add to my grandma's afghan.  As I went, I wrote a pattern and got it tested and have decided to post it here for your crocheting goodness.  Now, I can't completely claim it as my own since it's from a book, and I used hers as a guide, but please don't claim the pattern as yours, or distribute it without crediting me.  This is how I did it, and I felt it'd be nice to share, so please don't go abusing the offer.  Please don't repost on your site, and if you do make it, please let me know, either via email or on Ravelry.  Enjoy!

WAGON WHEEL GRANNY SQUARE

MATERIALS
I used an I – 9 crochet hook; use whatever you need to get 6 inches.
Tapestry needle.
Stitch markers (optional; you’ll be switching yarn every round, so it’s not that necessary, but if you choose to do a single color or different color scheme, it may help.)

YARN
Any worsted weight yarn will do in three colors. I used:
C1: Lion Brand’s Pound of Love in Lavender
C2: Caron Simply Soft in White
C3: Caron Simply Soft in Soft Green

STITCHES USED
ch: chain
sc: single crochet
dc: double crochet
tr: treble crochet
sl st: slip stitch

DIRECTIONS
With C1, chain 4, join in a ring.

ROUND 1: Ch 4 (counts as first dc and ch1) *dc, ch1* 11 times. Sl st to 3rd ch of starting ch4. Finish off C1. (12 ch1 spaces; 12 dcs)

ROUND 2: Join C2 with slip stitch into any ch1 space. Ch6 (counts as first tr and ch2 space), *tr in next ch1 space, ch2* around. Sl st to 4th chain of ch6. Finish off C2. (12 trs; 12 ch2 spaces)

ROUND 3: Join C3 in any ch2 space. Ch3, (counts as first dc) 2dc, ch1 in same space. *3dc, ch1* in each space around. Sl sl to ch3. Finish off C3. (12 ch1 spaces; 12 ch3 clusters; 36 dcs in total)

ROUND 4: Join C1 with sc in any ch1 space. Ch6, sc in next ch1 space (Corner made.) #*ch3, sc in next ch1 sp* twice. Ch6, sc in next ch1 sp# Repeat between # 3 more times ending with a sl st in starting sc. Finish off C1. (4 ch6 corners; 8 ch3 spaces; 12 sc)

ROUND 5: Join C2 with sl st in a ch6 corner space. Ch3, (counts as first dc) 2dc, ch3, 3dc in corner. Corner made. *ch1, 3dc* in each ch3 space around. When you reach the corner ch6 space, # ch 1, 3dc, ch3, 3dc# Repeat between * 3 more times, and between # when you reach the corner. Ch1 then sl st into 3rd ch of starting ch3. Finish off C2. (4 3dc clusters per side)

ROUND 6: Join C3 in corner space with sl st. Ch3, (counts as first dc) 2dc, ch3, 3dc. Corner made. Dc in each dc and ch1 space around. When you reach the corner *3dc, ch3, 3dc*. Repeat around square. Finish off C3. (21 dcs per side)

ROUND 7: Optional. Join C1 in corner space with sl st. Repeat round 6 substituting sc for dc, or any stitch
necessary to give you a 6 inch square.

~

My awesome, amazing tester craftADDchick tested it, and here is her take:

I love the colors, and how different a darker more wintery palette looks.  She used a Bernat worsted, Red Heart Super Saver, and Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice and left off round 7.

Good luck and happy crocheting!

Squares on Sunday!

Woa what? Did she just... is that... OMFG, really?
Yes really, yes. I have squares for Sunday! Only three. These were already cut and Tuesday I just sat around sewing so these were just waiting to be finished.

Nota bene: They haven't been ironed or clipped down, so excuse their "roughness."

 St. Jude's clouds and yellow.

This is some weird upholstery fabric I got at Hancock's "$10 for this trash bag of remnants" and pink check. It's off center, so it might not be put in the big thing.

Clouds and blue.

No idea what my total count is, but I'll get to it.

~*~

Isn't this yarn just divine?!

 

Line up something in ROY G BIV fashion, and I'm hooked. It's from the Purl Bee's Holiday Gifts for Knitters post.

Description from the site: 1 to 8 skeins of Lobster Pot's Worsted Hand Dyed Cashmere, 100% cashmere. These colors, from the top, are Salt Rose, Boiled Lobster, Lobster Bisque, Drawn Butter, Sea Lettuce, Hydrangea, Cape Sky, and Shoreline Heather.

I wish! I need to get rid of this acrylic. Mm, yummy cashmere. And I wish I had money to afford $46 a skein. Maybe we'll stick with unraveling thrift store sweaters, or even Lion Brand's LB Collection $14 cashmere.

Speaking of yarn and prices,

Lion Brand's LB Collection (aka fancy schmany non acrylic fibers) now has Baby Alpaca for $5! WIN. I hope it's good, and not splitty and blah. I might need to stock up.

P.S. NaNoWho?

P.P.S. Poor craft blog. I am crafting! Furiously working on Christmas gifts. 

Vera's Spike Stitch Daisy Rounds 1 - 9 Tutorial

Some people have been having difficulties with the Vera's Spike Stitch Daisy Square, and jojo99 over on Ravelry posted her tutorial with some changes, so I figured I'd do a tutorial of my own with my directions. Hopefully this will help a ton of folks, and give some people the extra push to try it. It'll also be written in plain English, with no crochet abbreviations, so it does get a bit wordy, but hopefully it'll be clearer.

For this tutorial, I'm using scrap yarn, so the colors are different. I've listed the color changes below, and in the directions. If you want the colors I used in the original, please see the actual pattern post HERE. Thanks. :]

COLORS
Round: original pattern = tutorial
R1: brown = brown
R2: green = purple
R3: yellow = green (Complicated, I know, but I didn't have enough green.)
R4: orange = blue variegated
R5
R6: green = purple
R7: pink = pink variegated
R8
R9: brown = purple

Round 1: With brown, using the adjustable loop/magic ring method, single crochet 12. Join with slip stitch to first single crochet. Fasten off brown. (12 single crochets)

This is what you have:

Round 2: Join purple with slip stitch into any single crochet. Single crochet 12, slip stitch into first single crochet. Fasten off purple. (12 single crochets.)

Now you have:


Round 3: Join green with slip stitch into any single crochet. Chain 3 (counts as first double crochet.), double crochet into same stitch, 2 double crochets in each single crochet around. Fasten off green. (24 double crochets.)

And we have:

Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Now the fun (and the meat of the tutorial) begins.

Round 4: Join blue variegated with a slip stitch to a space between double crochet pair.

The red circle shows where you will be spike stitching into. You will be splitting the two double crochets of round 3 in half; you're working right over them.

*Spike stitch into single crochet in round 2, between each pair of double crochets in round 3, ch 2.* Repeat between * until end. (12 spike stitches and 12 chain 2 spaces).

Here is my almost finished spike stitch, with the slip stitch where I joined. (Here I just joined into a single crochet of round three; it really doesn't matter as much where you join as long as you're spike stitching into the right space.)

Fully completed spike stitch:

This is what round 4 should start to look like after you've done a few spike stitches.

This is what will be on your hook after you've yarn overed, and stuck your hook into the single crochet of round 3. After this, complete the spike stitch like a regular double crochet, yarn over and pull through two loops, yarn over and pull through two remaining loops.

My completed round 4 with all spike stitches:

Round 5: Slip stitch to first chain 2 space. [Chain 3, 2 double crochet] in chain 2 space, slip stitch in top of spike stitch.

Here's my first part:
*3 double crochet in each chain 2 space, slip stitch in top of spike stitch.* Repeat between * until end. Fasten off blue variegated. (12 "petals)

Here I'm showing you the difference in the petals. The red circles are where I have slip stitched to close the petal off; you can see there's more of a definite arc there, versus the yellow circle, where I did a single crochet into the spike stitch.

My finished round 5:

Round 6: Join purple with slip stitch into any slip stitch from round 5.

*double crochet, treble crochet, double crochet, slip stitch* Repeat between * until end. Fasten off purple. (12 "petals")

Here is my first purple petal:

The additional instructions for this round read: Between the * you will be crocheting: a double crochet into the double crochet [of the previous round], a treble crochet into the double crochet, another double crochet into the double crochet, and slip stitching into the slip stitch.

All petals finished. See how it ruffles? That's ok. In the next rounds it'll get even more ruffly, but once you add round 9 to make it into a square it'll flatten out.

Rounds 1 through 6 complete:

Round 7: Join pink with slip stitch in any slip stitch from round 6.
Single crochet in same stitch as joining. *double crochet, treble crochet, double crochet, slip stitch* Repeat between * until end.

3 more completed petals:
Additional instructions for this round read: You will be crocheting a double crochet in the double crochet [of the previous round], a treble crochet in the treble crochet, a double crochet in the double crochet, and slip stitching into the slip stitch.

Round 8: Slip stitch for first single crochet. *double crochet, treble crochet, double crochet, sl st.* Repeat between * until end. Fasten off pink. (12 "petals)

Yes, it should be quite curly at this point.

Round 9: Put a stitch marker in a slip stitch every three petals

See the stitch markers! And there's three petals inbetween them all. Make sure your marker is in a slip stitch between the petals.

Remove one stitch marker and join purple in its space. [Chain 4, treble crochet, chain 2, 2 treble crochet] Then #3 double crochet in next 3 stitches, dc in slip stitch.# Follow between # until you reach marker. Remove marker and *2 treble, chain 2, 2 treble* (Corner made.) Repeat between # until you reach marker, and then between * in marked stitch. Slip stitch to 4th ch of beginning ch 4.

Here is half of round 4. You can see how it's flattened out a little, and where I haven't worked round 9 it's still curly.
Whew, that was a tad tedious. I hope it helps! Let me know if you need anything clarified.