Brrrrrrr.......

Hairpin Lace Baby Blanket from Winkin’ Blinkin’ and Nod, published by Bernat, 1979.

The first day of winter and it is freezing out there! What better way to spend a frigid day that by finishing a baby blanket.

I just love going through old patterns. You never know what treasures are buried in my pattern library. This is my first attempt at hairpin lace. It is very easy and quick. The hard part was deciding on an edging. I don’t like fringe on blankets so I make up my own edge. This one uses the three colors and picots on the last row.

The recipient of this blanket is due in March, so the lace will be perfect around then. Not so today!

Have a blessed and safe holiday season!

Socks & Alpacas

Pedicure Socks

I did it! I finished eighteen pairs of socks! I saw a pamphlet at Hobby Lobby for pedicure socks. The pattern came home with me, but as usual, I decided to make some changes. The pattern I used is a basic sock pattern I’ve had for so long that it is memorized. All that is needed for pedicure socks is to stop knitting a few rows before the toe shaping, add a few rows of ribbing, bind off, and sew for a toe opening. Easy! The hard part was keeping my interest to get all the socks finished. Half the socks were done in a print yarn and the other half were solid colors. I just kept switching colors after every sock. Can’t get bored that way and Second Sock Syndrome was not an option.

For Thanksgiving, my husband and I went to North Carolina to spend the holiday with my brother, sister-in-law, and spend a little time with Mother. We took a trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains so the guys could indulge in their photography habit. We stopped at “An Alpaca Farm & Store on top of the Blue Ridge Mountains”. If you find yourself on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I definitely recommend you stop at Peaceful Heart Alpacas. They are located at the 204 mile marker. These are such beautiful and gentle animals, not to mention the yarn!!!! Of course I came away with a hank of yarn made from two of their alpacas. I think I am going to make a pair of fingerless gloves with the yarn.

Christmas is not too far away. I hope you have a blessed and safe holiday.

Moody Blue, Rose, and Red

Part 2: Fashion Doll Period Ensembles – The 1940s “Moody Blue, Designed by Holly Fields, Crochet World, December 2007

My very first crochet projects were Barbie clothes. My Barbie was the very best dressed Barbie in the neighborhood. I still love to make these tiny clothes with tiny hooks, tiny snaps, tiny beads, and tiny accessories. I made these for a co-worker’s granddaughters.

This particular pattern was very frustrating. I don’t know if it was me or the pattern, but I had a difficult time getting the pattern to work and still fit the doll. In order to get anywhere close to the gauge, I had to use a size 2 steel hook instead of the size B suggested. The size B aluminum hook was just too lose, but the steel hook seemed to work better. There are also many other adjustments I made to the pattern. Again, I don’t know if there are errors in the pattern, or I just crochet funny. Anyway, because of copyright laws, I don’t want to put the corrections here, but I’ve got them saved.

Right now, I have two projects going – a hairpin lace baby blanket and eighteen pairs (yes eighteen) of pedicure socks – all need to be completed before Christmas.

Slippers Anyone?

50’s Style Slipper, designed by Marion Kelley, Annie’s Favorite Quick & Easy Projects

I have never been one for swatching, but this project convinced me how important it is to take that first step to any project. How fun it was to find out that different combinations of yarn and hook would produce different sizes of slippers!

My stitches tend to be a little tight when I crochet, so I automatically go up a hook size. Now I find out that sometimes the yarn can also make a difference in stitch gauge. All the yarn I used came from my stash (good way to use up some yarn) and all yarn is worsted weight. Red Heart Classic produced the largest slipper, using a J aluminum hook. Plymouth Encore Worsted produced the smallest slipper, using an H aluminum hook. However, for the other slippers made from the Plymouth yarn, I got a good mid-size using a size J aluminum hook for the foot and a size H aluminum hook for the flaps. I seemed to hit the middle road on all the other yarns by using a size H wood hook for the slipper foot, and a size H aluminum hook for the flaps. Hmmm…do I crochet looser with a wood hook? By the way, the pattern calls for a size F hook. I didn’t even try that!

What am I going to do with ten pairs of slippers? One pair I’ll save to enter at the county fair next summer. The others, like everything else I make, will be given away. I know people with all sizes of feet, so I am sure I can find a pair to fit at least eight of my loved ones. Personally, I’ll probably keep the purple and black one for myself. It’s stretches nicely and fits my foot like a glove. My hubby won’t have to worry about my cold toes this winter!

My next project is also going to use up some stash and will take me back to my first crochet projects – crochet outfits for Barbie. I can’t wait to get started – after making a swatch, of course.

Lessons Learned

First things first – credits: The sweater pictured is called “40 Days & 40 Nights”, designed by Kathy Sasser, Knitting for Babies and Kids, page 157. I used Plymouth Encore Worsted yarn.

This was a learning experience. After frogging several times, I just went with the pattern. It has been a long time since working with several colors. The first piece knitted, the back, has some large stitches and a couple of holes. By the time I got to the last sleeve, all that was fixed. So I decided to do the duplicate stitch starting with the last sleeve and ending with the back. Again, the stitches are uneven to start, but just fine by the time I finished.

Another change I made is in the shoulders. The pattern has the shoulder stitches, along with the neck band stitches, on stitch holders to be bound off front and back together. I went ahead and bound off the shoulder stitches and put the neck band stitches on stitch holders, sewing the shoulders together before knitting the neck band.

My next challenge was trying to find a 16”, size 5 circular needle for the neck band. Impossible on this side of town (something that will be fixed when I get enough money set aside to open a yarn shop). I ended up using double pointed needles, which as a pain, but worked.

All in all, this was a good learning experience. The little guy can use it for a play sweater. If it gets dirty – no big deal. Mommy can just throw it in the washer and dryer.

My next project will be something simple!!

Recurperating

Cheer camp went well as usual. A great way to prepare for surgery the day after returning. That surgery went find and I am recuperating nicely.

What have I been doing since I can't go anywhere? Knitting!! I started a Noah's Ark sweater for my grandson, got halfway up the back, frogged, and started over. It has been a long time since I've worked with several colors, but I'm getting the hang of it.

For the first time, I entered two of my projects in the county fair. The crochet baby dress placed 1st and the knitted coat placed 2nd. I don't understand the judges comments. She/He said the armholes on the coat are too small and the stitches uneven. The coat fits perfectly and the stitches are supposed to be a little uneven. Using large needles and a bulky weight homespun yarn makes the stitches uneven. Sometimes I have to wonder where the judges have been hiding to not know the trends in the fiber arts.

I'll post where all these patterns can be found next week. Right now I'm somewhere besides home and don't have all the information in front of me.

Till next week...

To line, or not to line....

Hot off the hook - the 30th Street Station Skirt, designed by Kathy Merrick, Interweave Crochet, Spring 2008. I used Knit Picks CotLin for the skirt and some LusterSheen I found in my stash for the faux slip. This was pretty easy to do once you get into the rhythm of the post stitches, and worked up quickly.

Now for the subject in the title - to line, or not to line. If I am going to wear this skirt, I need something underneath. Sorry, but I don't want my underwear showing through. I have lined my crochet and knit items before, but it was always something that didn't need to have a lot of stretch. This is a pullover skirt and will need that stretch. Is it worth it to find a way to line, or should I just leave it alone and go out an buy a slip? Stay tuned......

What's next? Nothing for now. I am leaving for a cheer camp Monday, and then surgery on Friday. But waiting is a knitted Noah's Ark toddler sweater for my youngest grandson. Never fear, I do have my grab and go bag that has a working scarf out of Lion Brand Homespun yarn.

Welcome!

I need to be honest - I am one of those technology-challenged people. This is a big step for me. What am I going to blog? Crochet of course! I also knit, so knitters are welcomed.

Please bear with me as I figure this out. Suggestions are always welcomed.