Week 4 Challenge

This week's block from 63 East-To-Crochet Pattern Stitches Combine to Make An Heirloom Afghan is #55, Parallel Post Stitch. Post stitches are one of my favorites. It is an easy way for a little texture in crochet.

THE CHALLENGE IS ON! I have 59 more blocks to make and I am already bored with the whole project. Will I continue or shove it in a drawer to be forgotten?

Meanwhile, the fair isle vest is coming along nicely. The armhole shaping is done and the only thing I need to be concerned about is the neck shaping. It can be difficult to keep track of all the shaping while keeping the garment in pattern. My chart has helped a lot. I used different colors to mark for the different shaping; green for the waist, pink for the neck, and blue for the armhole.

Once this vest is finished, I'll need to concentrate again on Christmas presents. I don't want to stay up all night through the month of December trying to get projects completed on time.

We have had twelve straight days of measurable rain. The last two days have been sunny and dry. The weeds are taking over!!!

Week 3 Challenge

This week's block from 63 East-To-Crochet Pattern Stitches Combine To Make An Heirloom Afghan is #44 Cluster Braid. I really like this stitch--it would be good for a scarf. I can also see it for a very sturdy tote bag.

The fair isle vest is coming along a lot better and I am happy with it now. This time I have charted the whole front; marking all the shaping. The chart is quite large, but with the magic of a copier, my working copy is about the size of a sheet of paper. I thought the symbols would come out too small, but it is surprisingly easy to read.

This week I also made my fiber pal something to do with food. The May challenge for this swap is difficult, but I came up with something. It is a bit of a stretch, but I like it--I may have to make one for myself. I don't want to say what it is because it's supposed to be a surprise, but I can say it is made from Lion Brand Recycled Cotton. The yarn is a little difficult to work with because it splits--a lot. However, the color and drape is wonderful.

With Spring finally here, I am spending more time outdoors; at least as much time as my allergies will allow. This weekend we cleaned out the rings under Scarlett and Rhett (our maple trees we planted shortly after we were married). I then planted purple, pink, and white petunias. Next weekend I am hoping to clean out the flower beds at the side of the house. Maybe I should take pictures.

Week 2 Challenge

The second block from 63 Easy-To-Crochet Pattern Stitches Combine to Make An Heirloom Afghan is #10 Offset Cluster. I've decided to try a tunisian join for these join-as-you-go blocks. If it works, I'll give the directions with pictures.

We just got back from a week in the Smoky Mountains. It was awesome! Not only did we see mountains, rivers and streams, and a lot a trees; but we saw bears, wild turkeys, deer, and snakes. We are ready to go back. Too bad we have this thing called jobs.

The only thing I got done this week, along with the block, was to frog the fair isle vest. Something just wasn't going right. If I'm not happy with it now, I know I'll never wear it. Since vacation used up my money, I don't really have anything else to work on. Guess I'll be casting on soon. This time I am going to use larger needles (turns out my knitting in the round is a little tight), make it a size larger, and follow the directions. Maybe I'm just not ready to make modifications on fair isle knitting.

Happy Mother's Day!

Week 1 Challenge

The first block from 63 Easy-To-Crochet Pattern Stitches Combine to Make An Heirloom Afghan is #49 Lacy Wave Stitch. The layout for the afghan doesn't go in order, neither do I.

For the joining row I added one row of single crochet in the back of the loops.

That's about all I can say about that. It took less than an hour to crochet. One down; 62 more to go.

Since the block didn't take long to crochet, I was able to make some progress on the fair isle vest. The steek for the front opening is set up, but I'm not sure when to start the armholes. I like my tops a little longer than most patterns, so I added about an inch and a half before setting up the front steek. Also, I never like a garment after I put in waist shaping--it just doesn't fit me right, so I left off the shaping. Therefore, since I am not following the shaping by row numbers, I not sure when to set up the steeks for the armholes. I'll just have to make a guess.

That's the beauty of knitting and crocheting--it will work out somehow.

Crochet Challenge

I've picked my challenge. Drum roll please... "63 Easy-To-Crochet Pattern Stitches Combine To Make An Heirloom Afghan", designed by Darla Sims, Leisure Arts.

You may ask, "Why would easy to crochet be a challenge?"

The challenge for me is that I cannot stand to crochet squares then sew them together. Therefore, I am going to make this a join-as-you-go afghan.

Here is how the challenge is set up.

Beginning May 1 and for the following 63 weeks, I will crochet one square a week. One square should take me no more than a few hours and I will still have time to work on other projects like this vest.

Yarn for this project will come from my stash, which consists of a hodge podge of colors and yarn contents. There will be no color pattern for the border.

After the last round of each square, another round will be added and that square will be joined to the surrounding squares. I may need to block the square to keep the size of the squares consistent.

The first blog on the first square should be next Sunday.

Have a good week!

It Doesn't Fit!

Queen Anne’s Lace Blouse, designed by Monica Welle Brown,

Interweave Crochet, Summer 2008.

KnitPicks Stroll Cocoa and Buckskin

Why doesn’t it fit?

I’ll tell you why. It is not the fault of the magazine or the designer. My crochet is to gauge. The yarn is wonderful to work with. The fault is all mine. Me. I didn’t measure me before starting. How in the world did I manage to gain so much weight in so short a time? I’m sure it has nothing to do with my eat-fast-because-I don’t-have-time-to-cook-anything-healthy diet.

I have two options with this top. Option 1: Rip it out, wash the yarn, and make it over in a bigger size. Option 2: Lose fifteen pounds. Hmmm. I’ll think about Option 1 while I work on Option 2.

It time to stock up on items for the local arts and craft sale this summer. My sister-in-law gave me several balls of bedspread cotton. There isn’t enough of one color to make a doily; I’ll make coasters for the sale.

March Madness

It’s basketball time in the Hoosier State! I’ve been traveling and watching basketball this past weekend. Three and one-half hour bus ride to the school, two hour game sitting on a hard bleacher watching our girls lose, three and one-half hour bus ride back. I have serious rear end issues. Our season is not over yet! We still have the “Big Dance”.

The crochet blouse is on hold while I work on something for my Fiber Pal. We get challenges every month and this month the challenge is to make something that shows where we would most like to travel. This is going to be fun. I’m not giving out anything yet. Last month we were to send something that we like to our Fiber Pal. I made a crochet mug cozy and included a mug and tea bags. It turns out we both like tea because I got tea bags, too. She also sent me a washcloth she made and a ball of cotton/corn yarn. I’ve never seen yarn made from corn. It’s so soft.

Later this week I’m on Spring Break. I should get lots of crocheting done!