Crocheting Chemist

New pattern

2010-04-21T15:24:00.000-07:00

I know this blog has been quiet for quite awhile. I am happy to announce that my new pattern has been published in Interweave Crochet Spring 2010- Forest Petals Shawl.

I am excited that it is finally out and I can share this. I wanted to create visual interest in Tunisian entrelac, so the alternate rows are negative space. I love that it is all done in one continuous piece so that there are only two ends to weave in. Enjoy.

Birthday Bolero

2009-05-04T10:52:00.000-07:00

I received Blueprint Crochet by Robin Chachula. I have been busy making two of the projects in there. The first is the "Katie Bolero" I used some Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, which I purchased from an awesome online yarn shop Sonny and Shear. After hearing wonders about blocking wires, and the suggestion that coated floral wire could be used as a substitute, I decided to give it a try. I used 16 gauge wire, it came in a pack of 12 at JoAnn's. Now the tips had some burrs on them, but they were easily sanded down by rubbing on the grout on our floor. The scratches are hardly noticeable, and the grout was a lot more convenient than the sidewalk. Using the wires made it so much easier to block. It was very easy to adjust to the correct size, only having to move a few pins instead of hundreds. Plus, I got straight edges where I wanted straight lines.

The project itself went quite smoothly. I tried it on after all the motifs were joined together. The fit looked good. I proceeded to follow the directions to change to a larger hook to do the edging. I did this, and then was disappointed with the fit. The larger hook made the edging too big for my body and gave it a sagging fit.

I let it sit for a couple of weeks and then on Saturday, I pulled it all out and redid the edging using the same size hook as the squares were made in, as well as reducing the number of chains from 6 to 5, and stitches in them from 5 to 4. These changes gave me a much closer fit, and I am very pleased with how it has turned out. I haven't purchased buttons yet, but I left a decent length of yarn on the inside panel for sewing them on. It is loosely woven in on the underside. In the meantime, I am closing it with a pin. When I followed the instructions as written I needed 3.1 skeins of yarn. After adjusting the band, I used less than 3, about 2.95 skeins.

The only other thing I would change on this if I were to do it again, is to turn at the beginning of round 6 and put the seam on the inside instead of on the outside. I realized this after I had already joined most of the motifs. You can't really tell on the last round because it is all sc, and I'd rather have had the ridge from the joined motifs inside instead of outstide.

The second project I am working on is the "Courtney Corset" using two strands of Misti Alpaca Lace held together. I hope to have the project done by the end of the month, so as to enter it in the County Fair. Right now I have the three top portions done, and I am trying to decide if I need to alter the sleeve, and how I would do that. Just a photo of the swatch.

March is National Crochet Month

2009-03-16T09:33:00.001-07:00

I figured I better have at least one post during National Crochet Month. It will be a hodge podge with lots of updates on the projects that have been keeping me busy the last few months. First off is a belated post about the Christmas gift I received from my dear friend Amy, who currently lives in Australia. Two cute Christmas ornaments and a skein of beautifully dyed silk-merino yarn, and a hand carved wooden handled hook. The yarn is so soft, and so fun to touch, I have a couple of ideas on how to use it. The hook has been great for thread work. I finished up some other projects using yarn, so now I have been able to work on some of my thread projects. This hook has made the crocheting so quickly- I am getting spoiled. Here is the hook with my latest tapestry crochet project- a Jerusalem cross.

In this flat tapestry crochet, I am working in the back loop only on one row and then front loop only on the following row. This is my first tapestry crochet project using three colors at once, and it is going pretty well.

I finally finished my "Chevron Lace Cardigan" it is made with the llama yarn I received last year for my birthday. I decided on a slightly cropped length and 3/4 length sleeves based on hearing how llama yarn will stretch over time. I made a simple closure for the cardigan-two balls on a short chain, and a floppy five-petal flower in the center. It works by just pushing the balls through two holes in the stitches. This way I can have some flexibility in how I wear the cardigan- closed at the neck, or under the bust.I have also been working on and off on some socks using the "Origami Turkish Socks" pattern by Deb Burger in the CLF book. I am working on them simultaneously, doing 6 rows on one then six rows on the other.

I was recently able to get a photo of a washcloth I made last fall, adapted from a pattern in Crochtet! magazine. The background was crocheted first, and the cat done separately and then stitched on.

A new year

2009-01-29T14:00:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I haven't posted too much recently. I can't believe it has been more than 2 months. Part of the reason is because I have worked on some sweaters for the kids- I designed the pattern, and have figured out how to size it. I am trying to decide what to do with it, so I can't show you any pictures of those yet.

A recap of completed crocheted projects from 2008-

Hats- Very Versatile Vertical x2

baby hats- too many to count

Driftwood cap from Interweave crochet 2008 x2

Basic dc beanies x 4

Child's hat

Santa baby hat

Scarves x2 (Driftwood cap and scarf)

Sweaters- Butterscotch cardigan for me (IC Spring 2008)

Eagle Pullover for DH (IC Winter 2007)

Sweaters for kids x4

Baby Bamboo sweater and pants

Tapestry Tortilla warmer for us

Infinity runner (IC Winter 2007)

Shell of Shells for me (Lily Chin Couture Crochet Workshop)

Too many baby washcloths (I don't know for sure but I'd say over 10)

Felted purses x4

Filet crochet market bag

Crochet doll

What's on the list for 2009? This month I've already completed a pair of socks- and a baby outfit for a friend. Troubador socks from IC spring 2008.

I am also working on a cardigan using the llama yarn I received as a birthday gift last year. I think I finally found a pattern that will work with it. I've tried a couple others so far, and while I love those patterns, they weren't right for that amount of yarn. More hats, sweaters, bags and socks are also on the agenda.

Oh, and my sister in law showed me how to make a center pull ball when hand winding. I absolutely love it!

CLF First Ever Book

2008-11-10T08:51:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I submitted my pattern for the Very Versatile Vertical Stripe Beanie to be published in the Crochet Liberation Front's First Ever Book. The book is out now and my pattern is on page 54. I received my copy of the book over the weekend and I have been enjoying reading and browsing through this book. All of the patterns in the book were designed by other CLF group members on Ravelry. There are wonderful patterns for socks, hats, bags, toys, tops, scarves and many other items. It will be hard to decide what to work on first. I also love the little articles that people submitted. You can follow this link to find out more about the book or purchase your copy of the book.

In a related note, my hat has been awarded the Hookalicious Award from the group's leader. You can read about it here. It has been exciting to see people use my pattern and make hats of their own. I look forward to seeing more of people's projects as they post them on ravelry. Thanks also for all of the compliments.

Updates galor

2008-10-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for awhile, but I have been busy crocheting. We had a nice visit to Minnesota. My kids got to meet their new cousin. Here he is in the outfit I crocheted for him. It was fun to see him in the outfit. If I had to guess what size it is, it probably turned out to be 2-6 mo. I know the standard sizing is 0-3 and 3-6, but it is a little big for a newborn, so I don't want to say 0-6 months. He was 1 month old and about 12 lbs in this photo. The sweater should fit for quite awhile yet, and I think there is still plenty of room in the pants.

For my daughter's birthday I crocheted a small doll for her, and then my mom helped me make a cake to match the doll. She likes her doll, and loved her cake. One nice thing about frosting a crocheted cake, is that you don't need a steady hand, because you want it to have lots of texture to mimic the stitches.

One of the projects I worked on while in MN, was this sweater for my husband. The pattern is by Robyn Chachula and is from the winter 2007 Interweave Crochet magazine. He chose Lily Chin Park Avenue- 50 % wool, 50 % alpaca yarn for his sweater. Size medium took 13 balls of black and 2 balls of brown. It was a pretty straight-forward pattern to follow. Although, after trying it on, he commented that he'd prefer the neckline to not be so open and square, so I have to take out the collar ribbing, add some stitches in and then redo the collar. I have enough yarn left over to make a scarf and hat.

Now that we've been back for awhile, I've been able to really put my tapestry tortilla warmer to the test. I am very pleased with how it turned out. It keeps them nice and warm, and I don't have to go through lots of towels each time I make tortillas, and I put a little loop on the edge so that I can hang it on the oven, when it is not in use.

Tapestry Tortilla Warmer

2008-09-03T14:33:00.000-07:00

We eat a lot of tortillas in my house. We buy the uncooked kind, and cook them on the tortilla pan. I like to keep them warm, and usually use a towel to do so. I wanted to have something dedicated for tortillas, but I didn't really want to go buy a plastic container. I had several small amounts of yarn left, so I decided to make a tapestry crocheted felted tortilla warmer. I didn't have a set pattern in mind, but I kept going seeing where the yarn took me. The two sides are different. I used leftovers from 3 different balls of yarn from 3 different sources, they were all worsted weight, and luckily they all felted ok together. It was about 14" before felting and about 11" after felting. I'm still trying to decide if I'll need to line it or not, but I am pleased with how it turned out. The above photos are the prefelted shots. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but the kids think it makes a cool helmet.

Wash cloth for Baby

2008-08-13T08:59:00.000-07:00

I know a lot of people that have had or are having babies this year- like over 20. I have been busy making baby gifts for them. Here is a simple pattern for a washcloth or burpcloth for baby. A wash cloth will get a bit more use than a hat, and it is distinctive from the other washcloths, so it can be easily recognized as Baby's cloth.

I used mercerized cotton, Butterfly Super 10, about 1/2 of a ball.
Size G hook.
Gauge: 18 st/ 4" and 17 rows/ 4"
Finished size about 9" square.

Chain 41
Row 1: in second ch from hook make dc, sc in next, *dc in next chain, sc in next; repeat from * across. Ch1, turn
Row 2: dc in first st, sc in next. *dc in next stitch, sc in next. Repeat from * across. (You are always putting a dc in a sc of the row below, and a sc in a dc of the row below).
Repeat row 2 until cloth is square, or desired size. Fasten off, weave in ends.

I have made a couple of these cloths now and I love how the color pools in different patterns.

My summer cardigan

2008-07-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my summer cardigan- and it's still summer! I started it the first weekend in May and finished it the first weekend in July. The pattern is Butterscotch Cardigan from the Spring 2008 Interweave Crochet magazine. It was a fairly straight-forward garment to crochet, each piece went by rather quickly. My stitch guage was a little off from what the pattern called for, but since it is worked vertically and I am taller than average, I didn't have to make any adjustments to the length of the garment. This was also my first real experience blocking and it went fairly well, although I might try a string or wires for the center front pieces next time. Seaming went by fairly quickly too- just match up a stitch on one side to a stitch on the other. Sewing in the sleeves was also wonderful, the striped pattern made it really easy to know what stitches to match up. I also loved working with yarn on a cone- each segment of the sweater was made from a single piece of yarn. The yarn is JaggerSpun Zephyr 50-50 Wool Silk lace-weight. It's a little finer than what was called for in the pattern, but I am pleased with the weight of the sweater.

Bamboo Baby Set

2008-06-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

I recently made this bamboo baby set for my soon to be born nephew. I chose bamboo because it is soft, and because it will "grow" a bit with the kid, so maybe he'll get some more wear out of it. I was under a bit of a time crunch by the time the yarn arrived and when I wanted to get it mailed. I did this in a week. I was able to send it out to arrive in time for the baby shower. I tried swatching from a couple of books I have with baby sets, but nothing was really coming out very well. In addition, one of the books had a very sorry excuse for a gauge, showing only the stitches per 2 or 4 inches, but not giving the row gauge, nor finished measurements. So I improvised by taking a pair of baby shorts and matched the waist and rise, and added legs. For the sweater, I used measurements from a different pattern book, but created the pattern myself. I took good notes and may try to write up the pattern once I have some feedback on how it fits.

One Blue Ribbon

2008-06-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

I went to the County Fair yesterday and entered the "Nimble Fingers Quick Crochet" Contest. This year the pattern was more challenging than last year's, and we had 5 contestants this year. I am happy to say that I won a blue ribbon for coming in first in this year's contest. It was a close competition, the man who came in second was right behind me. The prize this year was some Blue Ribbon Strawberry Jam and a cookbook of the prize winning recipes from the 2007 county fair. I found my two entries on display, but neither of those won a ribbon. I didn't get a chance to look around the display floor too much, but I hope to take another look when we go back another day.

Infinitely finished

2008-05-28T15:02:00.000-07:00

I've finished my take on the infinity wrap. I've blocked it once, and woven in all the ends. If I had time, I'd block it again, but alas, entry day for the fair is tomorrow. I was surprised at how much flattening happened when blocking it. If I were to do it again, I think I would stick with more regular color usage instead of my imposed pseudo variegated. I didn't change colors on the mesh part because I didn't want to have to weave in ends into the mesh. I'd also try it with only 2 colors. To recap: vintage size 30 cotton thread in 5 colors, and vintage size 11 steel hook.

A new shaped shell

2008-05-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally finished it! This is a shirt that I made from "The Lady who Lunches Sheath" by Lily Chin in Couture Crochet Workshop. Her pattern is a beautiful dress and gloves. I was drawn to this pattern for several reasons, I liked the look of it, but more importantly it involved interesting increase and decrease sequences in the shell pattern stitch. I wanted to learn how to do this type of shaping. I had hoped to make the full dress, but when I was shopping for yarn, I couldn't find enough yarn in any one color to make a dress, but I found enough to make a top. This was done in Vickie Howell "Love" 6 skeins of purple and 1 of white, a bamboo silk blend. The pattern starts from the hem and works upward. It was an interesting challenge starting halfway through the pattern- how many stitches do I have after working through imaginary decreases, where do I put the stitch markers...After a few evenings of math and diagrams, I figured out the adjustments I needed to make. I pretty much followed the pattern from there, but I think I added a few extra rounds to lengthen it. I discovered an error in the shoulder shaping, figured out the problem, and was pleased to get a prompt response from the publisher about the errata. Once I finished the top and shoulder seams I had about half a skein of purple left over, so I decided to add a few rows to the bottom because it was a little on the short side for my tastes. I then trimmed it in white following the details in the pattern.

Fun with Felting

2008-04-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to making little swatches for felting. I made a sc square, a dc square, a dc circle, and a dc adult size hat. I should have known better and done this much earlier, but I am so glad I did it now. To make my sc square I chained 11, and starting with second chain from hook, sc in each stitch across to get a swatch 10 sc wide. I sc for 11 rows. Then I chained 16, and then made a dc swatch 10 stitches wide. I did 6 rows of dc. I chained 10 more stitches, then worked 10 dc in 3rd ch from hook. Closed w/ sl stitch in 1st dc. Increased 10 dc evenly for 3 more rounds for a total of 4 rounds and 40 stitches. Then I made my basic dc adult sized hat that goes to the bottom of the ears. I measured each piece and then threw it into the washing machine with a couple of other items to be felted.

Swatch .................Prefelted..... Felted..... % change

sc square 10 sc wide........ 2.75" ......... 2.25" ........... 20 %

............... 11 sc rows .........2.75" .......... 2.5" ............. 10 %

dc square 10 dc wide...... 2.75"........... 2.25" ........... 20 %

.................6 dc rows........ 2.75" .......... 2.25" ........... 20 %

dc circle 4 rounds .......... 4" ................ 3.125" ........ 20 %

The hat is a little hard to measure because it is still damp and drying, and I have to crush it to measure it. But rough measurements suggest it was 8" high when folded flat and 20" in circumference before felting. Post-felting it is about 6" high and 18" in circumference.

A Circular handbag

2008-04-09T13:43:00.001-07:00

I've had this bag finished for awhile, but I haven't posted it. It is made from two circles in 2 colors. The circles are concentric- and closed at the end of each round. The ch stitches at beginning of each round do not count as a stitch. Then the circles are stitched together starting with just a single crochet seam, and increasing to about 5 stitches wide for the sides and handle and then decreasing back to the single crochet seam. To do the side seams, just sc into the side of the circle, and turn. Don't do a turning chain. Here's the recipe/pattern for this bag.

Gauge: not really important since it doesn't have to fit. But the first 4 rounds of this bag measured about 2.5 " in diameter.

Materials:

Worsted weight yarn in 2 colors about 100 yds each will be sufficient.

Hook to match yarn used. I used an H hook for this.

Stitch markers- 4.

Needle for weaving in ends.

Circles- Make 2. Make them any size you'd like. Just make them the same size! Do the increases evenly so that the circle stays flat.

Round 1: With green, chain 3, dc 10 in 3rd chain from hook. Close w/ slip stitch in top of 1st dc.

Round 2: Join black w/ sl stitch. Ch1, make 2 sc in each dc around. Close w/ sl stitch, and change to green.

Round 3: (green) Ch 2, Dc in same stitch as sl st; 2 dc in next stitch. *(1dc in next stitch, 2 dc in next stitch) repeat from * around. Close with sl stitch in top of 1st dc.

Round 4: With black, ch 1, sc in same st, 1 sc in next st, 2 sc in next st. *(1 sc in each of next 2 stitches, 2 sc in next st), repeat from * around. Close w/ sl st in 1st sc.

Round 5: With green, ch 2, dc in same stitch. 1 dc in each of next 2 stitches, 2 dc in next st. *(1 dc in each of next 3 stitches, 2 dc in next stitch.) Repeat from * around. Close w/ sl stitch in top of 1st dc.

Round 6: With black, ch 1, sc in same stitch. 1 sc in next 3 st, 2 sc in next st. *(1 sc in each of next 4 stitches, 2 sc in next st), repeat from * around. Close w/ sl st in 1st sc.
Round 7: With green, ch 2, dc in same stitch. 1 dc in each of next 4 stitches, 2 dc in next st. *(1 dc in each of next 5 stitches, 2 dc in next stitch.) Repeat from * around. Close w/ sl stitch in top of 1st dc.

Round 8: With black, ch 1, sc in same stitch. 1 sc in next 5 st, 2 sc in next st. *(1 sc in each of next 6 stitches, 2 sc in next st), repeat from * around. Close w/ sl st in 1st sc.

Round 9: With green, ch 2, dc in same stitch. 1 dc in each of next 6 stitches, 2 dc in next st. *(1 dc in each of next 7 stitches, 2 dc in next stitch.) Repeat from * around. Close w/ sl stitch in top of 1st dc.

Round 10: With black, ch 1, sc in same st. Sc in each stitch around, close w/ sl stitch.

Fasten off black and green yarns. Make 2nd circle as the first. Fasten off green only.

Joining and Handle

With wrong sides together, line up circles. Place markers symmetrically about bag at 10 st on either side of center bottom, where yarn is still attached, and at 15 stitches past each marker 1st placed. Put another way, the markers should be placed at 2, 4, 8, and 10 o'clock. (Note you can adjust where the markers are placed to suit the opening you want for the top of the bag. Just be sure to place them symmetrically about the vertical axis (12-6 o'clock) of the bag.

Row 1: Ch1. Sc through both circles in each stitch up to 1st marker.

Row 2: Sc in stitch on front circle, sc in corresponding stitch on 2nd circle. Turn.

Row 3: Sc in last stitch made. Sc in next stitch. Sc in next stitch on bag. Turn.

Row 4: Sc in last stitch made. Sc in next 2 stitches. Sc in next stitch on bag. Turn.

Row 5: Sc in last stitch made. Sc in next 3 stitches. Sc in next stitch on bag. Turn.

Row 6: Sc in last stitch made. Sc in next 4 stitches. Sc in next stitch on bag. Turn.

Row 7: Sc in next 5 stitches. Sc in next stitch on bag. Turn.

Repeat row 7 until you reach marker at 10 o'clock position.

Row 8: Ch1 and sc in each stitch across. Turn.

Repeat Row 8 until handle is approximately 2" longer than arc of bag if you were to hold handle snug against bag to measure.

Row 9: At next marker (2 o'clock position) Sc in next stitch on bag, sc in each stitch across. Sc in next stitch on bag. Turn

Row 10: Sc in next 5 stitches, sc in next stitch on bag. Turn.

Repeat row 10 until you reach 5 stitches before next marker (4 o'clock position).

Row 11: Sc in next 2 stitches, sc 2 together, sc in next stitch, sc in next stitch on bag. Turn.

Row 12: Sc in next stitch, sc 2 together, sc in next stitch, sc in next stitch on bag. Turn.

Row 13: Sc in next stitch, sc 2 together, sc in next stitch on bag. Turn.

Row 14: Sc 2 together, sc in next stitch on bag. Turn.

Row 15: Sc in next stitch on bag on each side of bag.

Row 16: Through both sides, sc in next stitch on bag until you reach center bottom, close w/ sl stitch in 1st sc. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Birthday fun

2008-04-03T14:51:00.000-07:00

I recently celebrated my birthday and had lots of fun with family and friends. I have to tell you though that I received the best birthday cake ever from my son. He made this cake, with frosting and candles all by himself. He came out of his room and gave me the cake. We had so much fun eating it and eating it and eating it. Then the next day, it was so sweet, he came out of his room singing "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you." and handed me the cake again. I wish I could have recorded it because it was so sweet and precious.

I also received some llama yarn from a local farm. I am excited to work with it, but I am not sure yet what I will make. The yarn is minimally processed, so it still has bits of hay in it. So I'll need to pick them out as I go.

I almost forgot- I also received some wonderful handmade crochet stitch markers from my niece. I haven't done much crocheting since my birthday, but I am excited to use them. I'll have to use them on projects I keep in my bedroom away from curious little hands though. Otherwise they'll pull them out to play with, and I won't know where they were marking.

Update on Infinite runner

2008-03-21T09:34:00.000-07:00

I titled this post Infinite Runner, because it goes on and on and on... I started the Infinity Runner using size 30 thread for a couple of reasons. I have alot of thread in many different colors; I wanted the challenge and I thought the San Diego County Fair had a specific entry for work done in thread smaller than size 20. (Size 30 is smaller than 20. The higher the number, the tinier the thread.) The hardest part of working with tiny thread is that my left hand holding the thread cramps up because I have to hold it so tightly to get any tension. So while the pattern itself is easy to do, it is time consuming working at this small scale. Well the Premium Book for the Fair came out and that lot isn't listed this year. I had 3 motifs done before the Premium Book was released. It was hard to finish the last 2 motifs in the tiny thread. I can still enter it, just not in the separate lot for tiny delicate threadwork. I now have all 5 motifs done, and 2 of them are seamed together. The seaming takes quite a bit of work when I am working with such small thread and so many colors. I have lots of threads to weave in, and I don't have any smaller hooks or needles to use to help the work go faster.

Here are my motifs, 5 of them with 4 colors each. I was probably a bit too ordered and maybe should have been random in the color choices, but hopefully adding the borders will bring some of that flow back. They measure about 3 inches long by 2 inches high.

I haven't been posting as often because I have set goals of how far I want to get on a project before I post about it. I thought this would allow me to have more regular posts, but it seems like everything is getting finished about the same time. We'll see how this goes. Maybe I'll just have to save things for a bit later when I'm working on getting other projects ready for posting.

Thread work

2008-03-06T14:55:00.000-08:00

So it's been awhile since I've done any thread work. This week I've started two thread projects- and even finished one of them. I made this doily "Hearts and Diamonds" by Cylinda Mathews as a bridal shower gift for a friend of mine, Dr. Cookie. Her shower is on Saturday. I started it on Monday and finished it, except for blocking, on Wednesday. I love the pattern, it was fast and easy. I made another one of Cylinda Mathews' designs for another friend as a wedding gift a couple of years ago, but this pattern was easier to find. If I do it again, I might add a couple of rounds of mesh in between the diamonds and the hearts so that I can do it in more than one color. This was made using size 10 cotton with a size 5 steel hook.

My other thread project is "Infinity Wrap" from Interweave Crochet Winter 07. It is supposed to be a huge wrap/throw, but I don't really need a big blanket/wrap out here. I do need a project for the fair, I have lots of thread, and would like to make a table runner/doily for us to keep. All the other ones keep getting given away as gifts. (All except for the first 2 that are so bad I don't want anybody to see.) I worked on this for about 3 hours last night. I am about 60 % done with the first motif. There are 5 motifs and then they are joined and rows are worked on either side of them. The other two colors I'll be using are natural, and garnet. This is being done in size 30 thread. I am using a super tiny size 11 hook that is much shorter than normal hooks. I have some other ideas, maybe a 2 color infinity runner with size 10 thread. I think I might do a motif with that and then decide which one to pursue first.

On another note, my blog now shows 2 counters, and my clustrmap shows over 1000 views! So exciting. Thanks for reading!

Very Versatile Vertical Striped Hat

2008-02-28T13:23:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted a lot lately, but that is because I have been busy crocheting and writing up a pattern. One of my friends is testing it for me. I plan to submit it to a book the Crochet Liberation Front group on Ravelry is developing. Since we retain our own copyright on our patterns, I can show you a photo of it, and not keep it in super secret. I am also super excited about the new pattern store features on Ravelry that are being tested by others. Soon I will be able to host my patterns for free or sale on Ravelry, and you will be able to access them even if you don't have a Ravelry account.

OK back to the pattern, I made this using the leftover yarn from the spiral felted bag. Hence the Chocolate Raspberry Delight.

Then I tested the pattern in toddler size and had to come up with a new name, so Very Versatile Vertical Striped Hat it is, or VVV or (Ver)^3 for short.

Tag again

2008-02-25T13:28:00.000-08:00

So my friend Lisa at http://neuroticneedles.blogspot.com/ tagged me for 7 random things. The rules are very similar to the 8 random things I got tagged for last October. This time it is post 7 random facts about yourself and then tag 7 others. The difference is this time, I know more people who have fiber blogs. Here are the official rules:

1. link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.

2. share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here are my 7 factoids:

1) I just watched "No Reservations" last night. A very cute movie. The main character, a chef at a fancy restaurant, had one of Alton Brown's cookbooks on her shelf.

2) I had fun spotting lots of fun crocheted and knitted hats and scarves that the characters sported in that movie. Even some cute crocheted doll clothes.

3) I'll probably get interrupted 15 times writing this post. Changing diapers, dealing with toy teasing, nappers not staying in bed during naptime, fun stuff.

4) I went to a delightful tea party on Saturday that my sister-in-law had. She made delicious scones, pumpkin bread, and hot cereal. Afterwards we went to a yarn shop and I got some fun yarn to make a bag, plus some for a top for myself.

5) The yarn I bought was all in hanks, and I needed to wind it into a ball myself, we couldn't stay and use the one at the shop. The first hank, 90 meters, took 3 h or so because I didn't put it around my knees or a chair or anything. I thought I could just be careful. It got knotted up pretty quickly.

6) Last night I did about 1500 yards in 3 hours while watching the movie. It sure does go faster when it doesn't get all tangled up.

7) I haven't been posting too much recently because I've been busy typing up and formatting some of my patterns. I'm super excited about the new pattern features coming out on Ravelry, and hope to have some of my patterns available there soon. You'll see some of my designs in an upcoming post.

The people I have tagged are: Pam, UmmeYusuf, Lana, MinglingYarn, HobbyZu

I know it's not 7 yet, but if I don't post it now, I doubt it will ever get posted. =)

New look

2008-02-17T19:23:00.000-08:00

I was having a bit of trouble recently with my blog. Like none of the posts would show up at all. However, changing the template allowed my blog to magically reappear, so we'll see how this goes. My counter may have been lost, though. It was so close to 1000 too. Oh well.

Treasures

2008-02-14T10:38:00.000-08:00

For Valentine's Day I thought I would share with you some recently acquired treasures which were made by my Great-Grandmothers. These items were made with love for their daughters. The first is a beautiful guest towel and washcloth that my Grandma received as a wedding gift 62 years ago. She told me she doesn't think she ever used it, but often had it out. I just think it is a clever and creative way to put the towel and washcloth together. I'm also curious about how the edging was done. Did she just force her steel hook through the bottom of the towel and cloth or did she use a needle somehow?

The second was made by my other Great-Grandma, whose crochet thread I now have, for my Great-Aunt. It's a little potholder, with the same pattern on both sides, seamed together with the white picot edging. Inside is a pad of cotton flannel. It has been used with love to serve many meals.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Circular Labyrinth

2008-02-06T13:22:00.000-08:00

I've finally started making some progress on the circular labyrinth. I've wanted to work on it since I first did the square labyrinth last summer. I didn't see any patterns that matched what I wanted to do, and I knew it would take some time, so I set it aside until after Christmas. This is actually the second one I've started, as I didn't like how the first one was turning out. Some of the rows I have done several times because I get distracted and miss a color change, and don't notice until 2 rounds later.... I've completed about half of the circuits. The nice thing about this circular labyrinth as opposed to the square one, is that there are far fewer color changes- so the yarns don't get as tangled. A lot of my time on the square one was spent untangling the yarns so that I could continue stitching.

I think I'll make at least two more versions of this before I'm satisfied, because as I am going along, I keep coming up with ideas to make it better. Ultimately I want to convert this into a hat. It won't be hard to do, I just need to finish making it flat first.

even more hats

2008-02-04T12:57:00.000-08:00

So I've been busy making a few more hats and even got them sent off to MN. I really like the plain simple dc beanie. It goes so fast. I also made an adult size spiral hat. I made them for my brother and sister-in-law as a thank you for letting us stay with them while we were in MN. Since they have received the hats now, I can post about them.

The blue one is for a former neighbor who is expecting a baby boy this spring.

I've also been working on a circular labyrinth. no pattern, just following a sketch of one. It is taking me awhile, and sometimes have to rip out a couple rounds when I discover an error. I'll talk more about this and show a photo in a later post.

I'd have more to show, but I've been spending too much time on Ravelry lately.

A Shrug and an Ugh!

2008-01-25T12:54:00.000-08:00

I started this shrug for my friend Rebecca last fall. I bought the yarn at an overstock sale at a yarn store in MN (the new owners were clearing out lots of odd balls of yarn.) There was enough to make something, but what..... I found a stitch pattern in my Crochet Stitch Bible by Barnden. I used 1 ball each for the scallops, and 1 ball each for the honeycomb mesh. I was just over halfway done after about 2 weeks. I didn't bring it with me to MN, but started working on it again after returning in January. I even tried blocking it (that sort of worked). It was sort of neat to see in Lily Chin's Couture Crochet Workshop, which I received over Christmas, a dress and shawl with scallops out of a very similar peach color.

And now the Ugh!!! I started this project last summer. Ruthie Marks had a welcome mat out of twine in her Geometrics book. I bought some sisal rope from a big box home improvement store, and a giant hook (P) from my craft store. I kept the rope and project outside on our patio. I could only work about 2 rows a day because it would tear up my fingers and also hurt my forearms because it was so stiff. I finally got the mesh done, and even a few rounds of the dragon curves. Then the wildfires came, and deposited lots of ash and soot and particulates all over the patio and my rug. Yuk! Now the rain has come, and this is what it looks like now. It is sitting on top of the spool of rope so maybe I just need to cut it and try again???

My first felted bag

2008-01-24T10:43:00.000-08:00

Well I finally finished my first felted bag. Ta da? It turned out nice, but I've learned a few things for next time.

1) My machine doesn't let me peek in at anything once it has started. For some reason I thought I had been able to in the past, but alas, I cannot. What does this mean? It felted a bit more than I wanted it to, and the opening is a bit narrower than I had hoped.

2) Crochet stitches shrink more in height than they do in width. This means that the proportions of the bag are a little off. I thought that I had read somewhere (must have been wrong) that the stitches felt more widthwise than lengthwise, so I made the bag with that in mind.

Here is the pre-felting photo.

Here is the post-felting shot.

Winter hats

2008-01-16T13:37:00.000-08:00

I made several hats this winter. First was the "Strawberry Frozen Yogurt" hat & mittens for #2 Here is the finished set alone. Made out of alpaca from the Alpaca Yarn Co., exactly 1 skein each color. I also made "Cookies & Cream" hat & mittens for myself. I used the Fibonacci sequence for the stripes, from the center 8-5-3-2-1-1. The hat was made with alpaca and misti alpaca. I bought the yarn this summer. I started it this fall using front post double crochet stitches, which make it look nice, but eat up way too much yarn. So I had to frog it and start all over again using just plain dc after I got to MN. I then bought the yarn (Araucania Nature Wool) for the mittens when I got there. I thought that the browns matched a little better than they do, but I guess they are close enough. I just worked a few rounds at a time, and tried the mittens on. I worked from both ends of the skein so that I wouldn't forget what I did with from one mitten to the other. They worked pretty well, except when it was windy. A single crochet stitch would have probably been better.

Here's the hat/scarf I designed for my mom. I used Jo Sharp Cashmere, silk, wool blend for the light purple and Cascade 220 wool for the dark purple.

I also made the following hat for my dad out of Tivoli's Aran Luxury Tweed that my sister-in-law brought back from Ireland.

Felted Placemats

2008-01-08T10:10:00.000-08:00

For my first attempt at felting, I thought I'd try something simple. Placemats are rectangles, and it doesn't matter how big they are exactly. Above are the prefelted shots, below are the pics post felting. They were 120 stitches wide, and done with dc Rows are made up of stripes of 3,6,3,6,4,1,4,6,3,6,3. I used the same colors, just rotated them through between the two placemats. They felted more along their height and less along their width, so that they are a little wider than normal, but still functional. The edges ruffled a bit. I suppose I could have placed something heavy on them to prevent this. But they are super soft. I used Patons Classic Wool Merino, 5 skeins.

Gifts

2008-01-07T09:08:00.000-08:00

We had a mini-dishcloth swap in our meetup group last fall. Here is the awsome cloth that my swap partner Jennifer made for me. I love the tumbling blocks design, and it is so soft. The photo doesn't do it justice.

My grandma gave me lots of her stash of yarn from her plastic needlepoint canvas projects. I will use a good portion of it for squares for the Wildfire Blanket project. She also got a lot of crochet thread from a friend, so now I have lots of beautiful thread complementing the other threads in my stash. I better start working on more tiny projects. Just waiting for it to arrive. There was too much yarn & thread to bring back on the plane with us. So when it gets here, it will almost be like Christmas all over.

I have also received the new Interweave Crochet magazine for winter. I'm looking forward to making some of the items in there. I also got Lily Chin's Couture Crochet Workshop, and am excited to attempt some of the patterns in there, as well as use her ideas to adapt patterns to fit myself. One of her ideas about turning chains at the end of the row, is similar to something that I came up with on my own when I worked on my dischcloth. I use one less chain than recommended for a typical turning chain/1st stitch of row, and then make the correct stitch in the first stitch of the row. She says to just make an elongated chain st, to bring it up to height, and then do the correct first stitch in the row. This eliminates the gap and frustration of trying to work into a chain on the next row. Of course this will mean a trip to the yarn store.....

Some of what I have been working on

2008-01-02T13:58:00.000-08:00

I promised to share some of the items I made for Christmas gifts. I have most of the photos on the computer now. (Some still need to be uploaded, some gifts still need to be made.) I made lots of washcloths, a scarf, 2 hats, a wine bottle bag, a market bag, a FBB, 2 placemats for felting and tiny flower pins as Christmas gifts. I also made 4 baby hats, a hat and mittens for myself, 2 pairs of mittens for the kids, and a Hat/scarf combo for my mom. Most of the washcloths were out of mercerized cotton, some were just out of plain cotton. I made several Ms, a couple of Zs, an L and a P. The P didn't turn out quite as I had hoped, but the others looked pretty good. I also made several hearts and one bell washcloth.
These are the pins I've worked so long on. Made from thread that belonged to my Great-Grandma and my Great Aunt.

Here is one of the placemats pre-felting. You'll need to stop by later to see the photos of the felted project.

I still have all of my Christmas cards to mail out- the only ones that have been delivered are those that were hand delivered, so it may be a while before I get back to regular posts.

So close to Christmas

2007-12-15T18:28:00.000-08:00

Gasp! Christmas is just around the corner. I've been busy working away on lots of gifts. Still no photos to post. It is hard to believe that the time has just flown by. Still so much to do, but maybe I'll get it all done. (or at least enough of it.) And my first attempt at felting will happen this week. Cross your fingers.

I've enjoyed catching up on your blogs. I'm glad you have been better about posting than I have these last few weeks.

I did get to crochet with a nice group of ladies at a pub down the road from me in MN last week. Well, they knitted and I crocheted. It was nice to get out of the house for a bit.

Ok better get a bit more done while I have the chance.

Working away

2007-11-20T13:24:00.001-08:00

I've been working on finishing hats and mittens for the kids- the mittens fit! Yeah!!!
I've also finished my "Cookies & Cream" hat for myself, and I've started another hat - a gift for somebody...
Working on Christmas gifts for family and friends. It's hard for me to post pictures right now since my computer can't access the internet. Plus I don't want people to see their gifts ahead of time. Just know I am working away, and I will try to post photos when I can, or once I figure out how to away from home.
I'm so excited that I get to go to some awesome yarn stores here in St. Paul. Hopefully this week.

A few squares

2007-11-05T09:10:00.000-08:00

I've been working on making 8" squares for the San Diego Wild Fire Blanket Project. Saturday at the meetup I edged and pieced together squares for a baby blanket that a woman sent in to the the project. The project is really taking off. GeorgeAnne is getting donations of squares from all across the country. It will be so amazing to see the squares transform into blankets and all the love and well wishes that have gone into each stitch.

I haven't gotten much other crocheting done this week, except I did finish the Strawberry Frozen Yogurt hat and mittens. I'll try to post a picture in a few days.

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T09:44:00.000-07:00

While we were out of state, I made some halloween trick or treat pumpkin bags for the kids. Not too big, not too small, but just right. Here we are in our costumes I frantically made after returning to San Diego (while dealing with a cough & cold and no sleep). DH is a leopard, #2 is a lamb, #1is a lion, and I'm a snake. I like trying to do family costumes because it is fun and presents an interesting challenge. I'll post the answer to our family costume theme tomorrow, but feel free to guess how we might all be related. I'll give you a hint: each of us has a buddy. Leopard-goat, lion-calf, lamb-wolf, snake-baby.

The other thing I started working on last week is a bag to felt. So many crafty people in our Fiber Therapy group have been making felted bags recently, I've gotten excited and want to try one out myself. I had been thinking about the design for awhile, and was excited to buy the yarn at a yarn shop while on the trip. I think that it is big enough to stitch together and then try felting. Here is the pic of the flat fabric. I know it will shrink upon felting, but we'll see how it goes. Maybe this will be a project for the weekend...

This week, I have begun making 8" squares for the SD Wild Fire blanket project. I know we'll be busy sewing the squares together on Saturday.

Here we go again

2007-10-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

We were out of state when the fires of 2007 hit this weekend. So frustrating to be so far away and not have much info on what was going on at home. Like many, our neighborhood was evacuated, and thankfully we have been able to return to our home. The fires bring back memories of the 2003 fires, which came within less than a mile of my home then. I evacuated then. I remember the smoke, the ash and soot and working on halloween costumes because I couldn't go to lab. I tried to go to lab after a couple of days, but the air quality was worse inside than outside because the building ventillation system had sucked in so much bad air before... I don't know yet how close the fires got this time. I feel fortunate that we have a home to come back to; that we were able to breathe clean air for a couple of days while the fires were close and intense; and that family is safe (not sure yet about their homes in East County as the fire is still burning very close to their homes). It was almost a relief to be so far away when the evacuation order came. My family was safe, I could do nothing about anything at home so there was no need to fixate and worry about our place, and I knew that God would protect and provide for us. I wait to hear about family and friends.So now I'm home. Tired after the loooooong drive, and I have Halloween costumes to make.

Please visit San Diego Wild Fire Blanket Blog to learn about making 8" acrylic squares for blankets for those who lost their homes in the fires.

8 random things

2007-10-17T13:11:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by GeorgeAnne
The Rules:Once tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you. Then post the rules before your list, and list 8 random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to 8 other people, visit their sites, and leave a comment letting them know they’ve been tagged.

1. I love to make Monkey Stew. Don't worry I don't really use monkeys- it's a vegetarian lentil based stew.
2. My Grandma taught me how to make lefse. It's the Norweigian version of a tortilla made from mashed potatoes and flour. Usually served with butter and sugar. So yummy.
3. I have a B.A. in Chemistry and Math from St. Olaf College, and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from University of Michigan.
4. My other Grandma taught me how to make peanut brittle and even showed me her secret for making it super yummy.
5. I love to ballroom dance- waltz and tango are my favorites. I haven't done too much since moving to San Diego though.
6. I love helping my Mom make krokonner cookies at Christmas. It's a Swedish cookie that is baked on a curved sheet so that they look like little bridges or bracelets. They are supposed to be white, but I like them a little on the brown (burnt) side.
7. I've stayed in the 4-H dormitory on the 3rd floor of the 4-H building at the Minnesota State Fair over 50 times.
8. My all-time favorite TV series is The Pretender.

Edited-1-20-08 (I've removed the links to the non-fiberworks blogs.)
People I've tagged: Edina, Mary, Amy, Wendy, Noriko, Dawn, Rebecca, and Olaina.

An all yarn purse

2007-10-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

Here is my first attempt at a purse made completely of yarn. It needs a name. Maybe Twisty Clutch? Ideas? I was working on another bag I have in mind, but this time the yarn just didn't want to go there, so this is what I came up with instead. It's sort of a fabric made on the bias with inc on one end and dec on the other, giving you a parallelogram. Then I matched up the stitches and sewed the seam part way up on either side, leaving the center open. I think the twist in there helps keep the bag closed. The ends were gathered and sewn shut. I made the handles by chaining a length, then sc over the ch, and then sc over the handle again to add some bulk. I even made a little "bell clapper" button- Chained a few, then made a little ball at the end. If you've ever seen a crocheted bell, then you know what I'm talking about. The button can fit through some of the stitches to hold it closed.

Blog for the Environment

2007-10-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind. In 2007 the issue is the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.
I grew up with Reduce, Reuse, Recycle always running through my head and I have always tried to use my resources wisely. Teach your children to recycle from an early age, then they won't know anything different. My parents were recycling long before it was so easy, hanging on to the recyclables until the next collection opportunity came around. Today we load up the kids' wagon with the recyclables and take it down to the far end of the complex to the recycle dumpster. Make toys & crafts for and with your kids from items to be recycled- the cardboard cones that thread & yarn come on make fun tunnels for cars/trains or bracelets or blocks.

Reduce the waste you generate by purchasing things with less packaging, buy only what you need, combine trips in the car, and walk whenever possible.

Reuse Make simple cloth napkins for everyday use. With little kids around, we go through lots of napkins, and rather than the fancy ones getting used all the time, I made some very plain ones. You can cut 1 yard of fabric into 20 9" squares. It's a good size for our house, or you could make larger ones if you wanted. I just left the edges unfinished- the first few times through the wash you will have frayed edges to remove, but after that they won't ravel anymore. You could also finish the edges with pinking shears or a simple hem. They also make good handkerchiefs to use instead of tissues. Reuse your grocery bags or make or purchase reusable bags. Check out all the crafty ideas at My Recycled Bags.

When purchasing yarn, why not try to use yarns made from bamboo, soy or other renewable sources? Or if you like alpaca choose Frog Tree Yarns- the yarn is made by a co-op of women in Bolivia and is sold as Fair Trade. Or search and purchase other yarns that have a Fair Trade promise. And buy organic whenever possible. It's better for you and better for the environment.

A new love?

2007-10-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

So we're getting ready for a mini-dishcloth swap in our Meet-up group to get to know the members better. I'm excited for it as it will be fun, they are fast to complete and are pretty. I recently read someplace that "you can't do pictures in crochet but you can in knit" or something to that effect. Knowing that both knitting and crocheting have brick stitches that look just about the same, I figured you can make pictures in solid crochet cloth. So yesterday I set out to try it. I found a grid of a heart, modified it a bit, and voila! I know you're jumping up and down in your seat! How did I do it? I did the background work in half double crochet and the picture work in front post or back post double crochet (alternating rows so that the post is always accented on the same side of the work). This works because the fpdc and bpdc go down into the row below so it turns out to be the same height as when the hdc is done on top of the stitch from the row before. Plus the picture part gives ridges that will be great for scrubbing. Also, at the end of each row, I only ch 1 instead of the normal 2 for hdc, and then I went into the first stitch. This seems to have given a nice edge on either side with out doing a round of sc around the edge. I'm sure others have already thought of this, but being new to crochet, and not having scoured the dishcloth patterns, I'm happy to have tried it, and found out that it works! It only took a couple of hours to make, and I can see how these would make great gifts, especially if I find lots of pictures/graphs to work from.

Stripes

2007-10-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

So I finally sat down to make the striped FBB. I wanted to do it because the stitch used is called herringbone half double crochet. I thought it would be cool to see the herringbone stitch really pop out like in some fabrics with that pattern. I think the bag looks pretty good, but I don't really see the detail I had hoped to see. I suppose it's because I used black yarn. I lined it with red fabric, made a white strap and black button to close. It took me 2 days- 1 to do the bag, and 1 to do all the finishing details. It looks like a FAT BOTTOM BAG! not some flat bottom tube! Yay! It feels good to have finished one I've been thinking about for a long time. I even used the bamboo handles.

I also finished #2's striped Frozen Strawberry Yogurt hat, well it's almost done- just need to add ties to the ear flaps. Now to work on the mittens.

I have also finished the filet crochet I mentioned earlier. It's not blocked yet, it doesn't look too horrible, but I might still try doing it with triple crochet instead of double. I gotta satisfy my curiosity. I might just do part of the motif- 1 heart instead of the whole thing.
Now I can start working on other projects like necklaces and barrettes, and Halloween costumes- do I try to make a family costume or do individual??? It's fun making a family costume, but so hard to come up with cute ideas. I've been putting it off for a while, now I really gotta crank them out.

On another positive note, the folks at Ravelry have added like 5000+ people in the week since I signed up. There are only 11000+ people ahead of me, so either I should be on by the end of the month or maybe it will be open to everybody soon.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry

2007-10-10T23:51:00.000-07:00

The 2007 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Gerhard Ertl for his studies of processes on solid surfaces. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7037210.stm

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2007/chemadv07.pdf

While I consider myself more of a synthetic chemist, I have done some surface chemistry and have an appreciation for suface chemistry. A significant number of students in the research group I was in at the University of Michigan did their projects on various aspects of surface chemistry. My post-doc at UCSD also involved aspects of surface chemistry.

Ertl's work has had impacts on all of our lives borh by the questions he investigated and by the methodology he developed (that others have used to study different systems). He studied how catalytic converters in our cars work, as well as how the catalyst used to make ammonia gas from nitrogen and hydrogen gases is involved in the transformation (ammonia has many important industrial roles including its use as fertilizer).

Other examples of surface chemistry include - corrosion (rust), making semi-conductor computer chips (and studying why/how they work or fail), and new fuel cell technology.

It's exciting to know that while I didn't do the exact same experiments he did, I have done similar experiments on different systems. So reading the pdf article from the Nobel committee, I understand what it takes to do some of those experiments and know what those acronyms stand for. Like how hard it is to get a surface really, really, really clean so that there are hardly any molecules of gas (oxygen, water, nitrogen, hydrogen, etc) on it at all. Let's just say you need a really good vacuum to do so. By getting your surface so clean, then you can introduce the molecules you want and look at the reaction you want to study, not some other reaction.

Hats and Mittens

2007-10-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

I've had a bunch of hats planned for quite awhile and just haven't let myself work on them. But now I've decided to start working on them so that I can 1) play with the alpaca yarn I bought to make them, 2) not have to keep worrying/wondering about them and 3) get them done before we go to Minnesota for Christmas.

Last year I made this hat for #1 and some mittens, both were out of wool. I need to find the hat and see if I need to make a new one for him. I know the mittens are too small. I actually made two pairs for him last year. The blue ones had thumbs, and did not fit right, plus he didn't really need thumbs on the mittens. So I made the red ones- no thumbs! Less of a struggle to put on.

This summer DH asked me to make him a beanie out of bright green bamboo yarn. He liked the bamboo I used for #2's dress and my vest. While there are many places which sell bamboo yarn, there are very few selling the bright green he wanted. I spent several days looking for it- first in local yarn shops and then on the internet. While the yarn shops only had bamboo sock yarn, I found the alpaca for the winter hats for #2 & myself. I finally found the green bamboo yarn at http://green-logic.net/, a really great store selling environmentally sustainable goods. I told DH I'd make a beanie for him and that he could select the stitch pattern, etc from my book with over 200 stitches Crochet Stitch Bible by Barnden. The only thing I said was don't select something from the chapter on Tunisian crochet, because I don't know how to do it and I don't have the right hook for it. So he spends some time looking through and picks 3 patterns from the Tunisian crochet chapter. After discussing what he wanted, I found out he doesn't want any holes and wants a nice solid cap. So I auditioned a few different stitches- I did a few rows of sc, a few in dc, a few with front post dc, all in two different hook sizes G & D, and then a few rows of sc with a B hook. What does he pick? The sc with the B hook. So because I love him I gladly made the beanie in boring sc with a super tiny hook. His choice meant that I needed to do 4-10 times as many stitches as I would have if he had picked any other combination. Here are my models modeling the hat.

When I bought the alpaca, I bought 4 skeins- 2 white, 1 pink, and 1 brown. I didn't notice that the pink was super fine while the brown and white were a thicker gauge. So now I get to work both ends of the pink to double it so that I can make the stripes with the white. Not too tough except it makes it more interesting for #2 to want to play with. I'm not too much for naming my projects or patterns, but this one is just screaming "Strawberry Frozen Yogurt". I tried it on her this morning and I have a few more rows to go before I add the ear flaps. It's so exciting when I guess the right size. I started it after she fell asleep, so I couldn't check it out until this morning. I'll try posting the pattern when I finish. See she's already getting into the yarn while I'm trying to take the picture.

Brooke's beanie pattern- my friend asked if I would teach her how to make beanies so she could make them as Christmas gifts. She picked out three stitch patterns and we auditioned them. Luckily the 3rd one worked. It's tough to try to transition a pattern that works well for flat, non increasing pieces into one that works on a hat with lots of increases. This one worked because it called for a row of sc between the crossed hdc. So I simply put all the inc into the row of sc, and worked the crossed hdc rows even. I made this one out of Frog Tree Alpaca that was left over from the labyrinth in the corner. I picked a super huge hook because I didn't have much yarn left and because I wanted to show off the crossed hdc. I really like Frog Tree Alpaca http://www.frogtreeyarns.com/ because the yarn is made by a co-op in Bolivia. I hope to put the pattern in a separate post soon.

FBB crochet-a-long

2007-10-03T14:34:00.000-07:00

So I'm part of a Fat Bottom Bag crochet-a-long with our Meet-up group. I've finished 3 and will need to frog the fourth (which is actually the second one I started). The first one I made in two halves and stitched together in the center because I didn't know how much yarn I had left on this skein and I didn't want to run out and be left with a funny shaped FBB. So I crocheted from both ends.

The second, I'm not sure what happened but somehow my inc rows don't match my dec rows. I thought maybe when I gathered it, it would be ok, but no. I can't finish it how it is.

The third, I really like. I made it out of a teal yarn from Big Lots. I raided my quilt stash and lined it. Then I added a button and strap to close it.

I made a button for the FBB by ch 4, closing w/ a slipstitch, ch 1, 8 sc in loop, closed w/ a ss. Rnd 2- ch2, 2 hhdc in each sc, close w ss. (16 sts)Rnd 3 ch1, sc2 tog around, close w/ ss. (8 sts)Rnd 4- ch1, sc2tog around, close w/ ss. (4 sts)Fasten off leaving a tail ~18" long. With a needle, gather loops together. Sew to center of bag at bottom of gathering. Wrap yarn tail around button a few times to stabilize it.Strap- ch 6, sc across (5 sts)Row- ch1, sc across in back loop only (5 sts) until strap is 2" (or long enough to get over handle and down to button) Mine was 7 rows.last row- ch1, sc in 1st stitch, chain 6 (or enough to get over button), skip 3 sc, 1sc in last stitch.Before fastening off, check to see if hole is appropriate size for your button. If not, remove last sc, adjust chain length, sc in last stitch. Then fasten off.Sew strap to inside center of back side of bag just below handle. This way strap can hide inside bag when it is not buttoned shut.

I really like the flower handles I found at Michael's. They are brass rings. I also got plain rings as well as a pair of stars. I can't find any good deals on the bamboo or other handles. I just can't justify spending $4-5 on a cheap pair of handles, knowing that Michael's or JoAnn's marked it up so outrageously. I suppose if I were making only 1-2 FBB I could pay that, but I have so many ideas for different ones to try.

The fourth is blue with contrasting green- mostly because I didn't have enough blue left to gather it and I hate starting a new skein for just a couple of rows because that would mean I'd have to adjust the next one, and I don't want to think that hard.

It's funny, I can't figure out why I feel so obsessed with these FBB. I'm not really a fan of purses/bags. I prefer to use pockets when possible. I know a lot of people who would like one as a gift, so I keep making them. Maybe also because I still don't think they have turned out like I thought they should. Mine all seem so small, and I think they should be deeper. GeorgeAnne's always look so nice. Maybe the bags are misnamed- maybe I'd be satisfied with them if they weren't called Fat Bottom, and were called Round Clutch or something like that. The stitch is pretty, and makes a nice pattern, but I can't seem to find a nice rhythm with it, it is far slower than the hdc or dc. I have to pinch the loop on my hook to get the right loops to transfer. Once I make the "perfect" one I'll be satisfied, maybe ...

Timing

2007-10-03T14:16:00.001-07:00

I should have looked at that Ravelry site earlier. I had noticed people mentioning it awhile ago, but I didn't take the time to check it out until this week. It seems like it will be really cool and neat to use. Of course, there is a huge waiting list, like 16000 people in front of me. But that's ok, I've waited for awhile, I suppose I can wait some more. It looks like it's an online version of what I've started in a bound journal at home.

Monday night after my post, I decided to do a few more rows on the filet crochet. Right after I say things are going well, I notice that my dimensions aren't coming out quite right. Although the pattern is square, the listed dimensions are 7" x 8". Mine is on track to being 5 x 7. I don't mind the size, I'm frustrated by the distorted proportions. The hearts do not look symmetrical at all. They look rather squashed. I'm going to stick with it, and hope that with enough blocking and stretching it will come out looking ok. If it doesn't, then I'll keep it and use it as a coaster here. Then I'll do it again with triple crochet instead of double crochet. I'm not so sure switching to a larger hook would solve my problem.

Thread, thread and more thread

2007-10-01T17:47:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine from church gave me some beautiful rayon thread. Nancy had bought it for embroidery, but it didn't work on her machine. It seems to be about size 10, so I made a necklace out of it. It's a choker, with an eight petal flower in the center. I know the picture doesn't do it justice, but the webcam is fastest.

I am also working on my first filet crochet item, a belated wedding gift for a former housemate from: http://www.fortunecity.com/millenium/abbeydale/183/heart-f.htm It's working up pretty fast, and it's nice that it is so symmetrical. The symmetry means I don't have to remember which way I'm goin L to R or R to L- when I have to set it down to go deal with the kids.

I recently finished these two pot-holders for my halloween loving friends. I made them with Grace Cotton on a size D hook, using the pattern from Geometrics, a new way to Crochet by Ruthie Marks. Now to make a trip to the post office and send them off.

You talked me into it

2007-09-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, Ok, Ok. I figured I should finally make a blog. I enjoy reading my friends' blogs so much, I thought I should get one too so I can post what I've been working on.

How did I get here? I've always liked fibers- I learned to sew through 4-H and sewed 1-2 outfits a year from 3rd grade through grad school. I first learned to finger crochet in 1st grade at school. It's where you chain with your fingers. I spent a lot of time doing it. I knew you could make things bigger than just a chain, but the only way I knew how was to finger crochet a chain until I ran out of yarn, then finger crochet my chain a second or 3rd time. I got lots of short, fat ropes, but nothing tall, or terribly useful. But it kept me occupied.

I've loved chemistry since elementary school for two important reasons. 1) My aunt is a chemist and she's really cool. 2) The 5th and 6th graders at my elementary school could take chemistry and advanced chemistry, and I couldn't wait to take it because the science teacher who told the funny jokes taught it. We made our own lab notebooks, balanced equations on the board, made oxygen gas and saw it relight a glowing ember, and lots of other cool things. My passion for chemistry and fibers was combined in high school when I did a report on the history of synthetic fibers for the History Day Competition. That's when I first became interested in polymers.

Although I was introduced to crocheting and knitting about 20 years ago, I didn't really do much more than a pair of slippers and some coasters. While in grad school at U of Michigan, I worked on a sweater vest from my "learn to knit" book I received in 6th grade. I got all of the pieces done, but never sewed it together. I dug it out of the closet last week and realized why I never finished it. (It's been sitting at the bottom of my closet for at least 5 years!) While seaming it, I sewed the shoulder seam on the wrong side, and gave up. (I think I may have been working on it while trying to write my thesis, and decided finishing the thesis was more important.) While I love sewing, I never enjoyed hand sewing- so that's probably why it never got finished. Anyways, as I was saying, I corrected the seaming mistake, finished the other seams, and wove in my threads. I'm part of a great Crocheting and Knitting group "Fiber Therapy". Our group is making items to donate to the San Diego chapter's Susan G. Komen booth at the 3-day in November. So I finished it up and gave it to GeorgeAnne, our organizer, last night at our Stitching for a Cause meetup. I'm working on a few other items to donate for them too.

I decided to get serious about crocheting a year ago to make some hand puppets for my son's 1st birthday. My reasoning for choosing crocheting over knitting was simple. If my curious kids got into my current project and pulled out the needle, I'd lose all of the stitches on my work, and never make any progress. On the other hand, if they pulled out my crochet hook, I'd lose only a couple of stitches before I could catch them. I checked out a book on homemade toys from the library and made the puppets- I could do all the stitches except my single crochet never looked quite right. It turns out I was forgetting the extra yarn over and made three puppets in slip stitch! I couldn't figure out why it was so hard to get the hook into each stitch! I also had to change to a much larger hook to get the puppet to fit. The pattern called for a G hook, but I had to use a K! Once I realized my error and started making the puppets in sc and not ss, I could use the G hook again!.

My Grandma gave me her Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework, and I taught myself more stitches, patterns and motifs. I've been crocheting almost non-stop since then. I love to crochet with both thread and yarn.