Showing posts with label crochet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crochet. Show all posts
Sunday, March 14, 2010
With Balls
I have a little display set up at my library for National Crochet Month. The books didn't seem to be moving but today I noticed the stockpile I put on the bottom shelf was smaller. Checked the rest of the display and saw Knitting With Balls. Someone obviously read Restocking Book Displays With Balls. That book has been removed.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
An apple
Made for a coworker in the hopes of keeping the doctor away. I was going to crochet some flowers but couldn't find any that I thought I could manage well in one night and are cute enough to bother with. Apple is cuter.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Hat troubles
One of my favorite crochet blogs is Crochet Spot. Very cute patterns and a lot of free stuff in addition to nicely priced patterns. A few weeks ago the City Hat was posted and I fell in love. I'm not a hat person. A couple of years ago I had a hat I'd throw on to keep my hair under control but even in the winter my head is usually uncovered. This hat is cute, though, and looked fun.
I got it right before Stitches Midwest so I looked for yarn there. When I found two balls of Noro Silk Garden for 50% off I knew I'd found the right yarn. It's multicolored and such a pretty combination that I wouldn't have to worry about it matching anything. I started the hat and found that the yarn's color isn't all that changes. It gets thicker and thinner throughout and I was getting mostly very thin sections. The yarn itself is scratchy but when worked up it's very soft. The stripes it was making were amazing.
I tore out my first attempt. It came out more like a tight beanie. Tried again and added some rounds. I got to the brim this time. After I tried it on I knew it'd have to go. Too big and floppy and silly looking. My tension on the brim was too tight so it bent weird. There's no way I'd wear it.
I still want to make the hat but I'm going to use normal acrylic worsted weight yarn. I have some brown that I'll probably use. And some purple Red Heart that I can make a stripe or two with. I can put up with Red Heart for a few stripes. Maybe.
I got it right before Stitches Midwest so I looked for yarn there. When I found two balls of Noro Silk Garden for 50% off I knew I'd found the right yarn. It's multicolored and such a pretty combination that I wouldn't have to worry about it matching anything. I started the hat and found that the yarn's color isn't all that changes. It gets thicker and thinner throughout and I was getting mostly very thin sections. The yarn itself is scratchy but when worked up it's very soft. The stripes it was making were amazing.
I tore out my first attempt. It came out more like a tight beanie. Tried again and added some rounds. I got to the brim this time. After I tried it on I knew it'd have to go. Too big and floppy and silly looking. My tension on the brim was too tight so it bent weird. There's no way I'd wear it.
I still want to make the hat but I'm going to use normal acrylic worsted weight yarn. I have some brown that I'll probably use. And some purple Red Heart that I can make a stripe or two with. I can put up with Red Heart for a few stripes. Maybe.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
It figures
The closest LYS--the one I never wanted to go to again--just sent out their newsletter. They have a couple of really interesting looking crochet classes. On one hand, I'm upset that the store I'm not so happy with is the only one to offer something beyond basic crochet. On the other, I'm really happy that someone actually is offering new and different crochet classes. I'll need to think about this. I'm not going to sign up just because they're their but if it's something I think I'll like then I want to support it. And it'd be great to meet more crocheters.
Is supporting crochet more important than not supported a store that's made me feel unwanted and/or unwelcome every time I've been there? No. And the money I'd spend on a class and materials could be better spent elsewhere. None of the classes are for things I'd want to make on my own. I'd be better off using that money to get a new kind of Noro. Or just saving it and not spending it on yarn or crochet toys. At least not all of it.
Is supporting crochet more important than not supported a store that's made me feel unwanted and/or unwelcome every time I've been there? No. And the money I'd spend on a class and materials could be better spent elsewhere. None of the classes are for things I'd want to make on my own. I'd be better off using that money to get a new kind of Noro. Or just saving it and not spending it on yarn or crochet toys. At least not all of it.
Monday, September 14, 2009
What I've been up to
Friday I saw and fell in love with the City Hat on Crochet Spot. Got the pattern. The next day I went to Stitches and was on the lookout for yarn for the hat. Didn't see anything and thought I'd have to find something in a craft store and then I found some Noro Silk Garden on a 50% off rack. I loved the colors--no worrying about what would match or go with this hat! And the price couldn't be beat.
I started the hat Sunday at Stitch n Bitch and later got it up until where the brim needs to be added. Later was after my pug grabbed my finger and attempted to snap it. She didn't but it got bruised and some skin went missing. Lovely.
The top of the hat is too small so I want to rip out most of it and add a few more rounds to the top. I still have some of the first ball of Noro and an entire unused ball so I won't run out. I kind of want to frog the whole thing and start from the other end of the yarn so the pink shows up on the sides.
I love the striping that happened and am really impressed with how soft the yarn is. Unworked it feels tweedy and there are a lot of sections that are like thin straw. But the fabric came out soft and flexible. I've never crocheted so loosely. The yarn weight is supposedly aran which is thicker than the worsted weight this pattern calls for but it's really much narrower. I think that's why the hat is snug.
I'm letting the wound on my finger get some air so no crocheting tonight. Or ripping out. Another piece of Stitches loot is a nice ball winder so the prospect of frogging the hat and dealing with all the yarn is not scary. Winding with a winder is fun. Especially Noro.
I started the hat Sunday at Stitch n Bitch and later got it up until where the brim needs to be added. Later was after my pug grabbed my finger and attempted to snap it. She didn't but it got bruised and some skin went missing. Lovely.
The top of the hat is too small so I want to rip out most of it and add a few more rounds to the top. I still have some of the first ball of Noro and an entire unused ball so I won't run out. I kind of want to frog the whole thing and start from the other end of the yarn so the pink shows up on the sides.
I love the striping that happened and am really impressed with how soft the yarn is. Unworked it feels tweedy and there are a lot of sections that are like thin straw. But the fabric came out soft and flexible. I've never crocheted so loosely. The yarn weight is supposedly aran which is thicker than the worsted weight this pattern calls for but it's really much narrower. I think that's why the hat is snug.
I'm letting the wound on my finger get some air so no crocheting tonight. Or ripping out. Another piece of Stitches loot is a nice ball winder so the prospect of frogging the hat and dealing with all the yarn is not scary. Winding with a winder is fun. Especially Noro.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
A new take on an old standard
No pattern. No guidelines. Just a need to make something to wear to Stitches and a longing for a studded bracelet.
Crochet thread is awesome. It doesn't do any of the annoying things yarn does. And with a project like this I don't have to bother with blocking it.
Crochet thread is awesome. It doesn't do any of the annoying things yarn does. And with a project like this I don't have to bother with blocking it.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
I've been on this road for a long time
I've started work on the Free Spirit Amigurumi Doll. After doing a few rounds of her head I thought that I should get the eyes taken care of so I'm not tempted to finish the head without them. The pattern uses normal safety eyes in front of a crocheted white. The white is made out of pearl cotton and I had no idea what that was. After some Googling I decided to try DMC floss. That was dumb. The floss is multiple threads and they aren't wound. I used a steel (tiny) hook. I managed to get one done before my mother gave me her pearl cotton. By then I was too tired to try using it.
I don't have the right safety eyes for this. All I have are green cat eyes. Which I'm not opposed to using. I don't want to get a pack of eyes in blue. Ew. I'd rather use something weird. I've seen some really pretty ones on Etsy but I'd like to make this doll sooner rather than later. I'm hoping there will be eyes at Stitches but don't really think there will be since amigurumi is mostly a crochet thing and the shower caters to knitters. Maybe I'll be surprised. There are more books on knitted amigurumi so maybe there will be eyes. But that's still longer than I want to wait.
The doll doesn't use a lot of yarn so I can make a weird cat-eyed girl and make a more normal one later. I want purple eyes so the next doll may not be that normal. Now I'm looking at my purple camouflage yarn and thinking it'd make good hair. Poor dolls.
I don't have the right safety eyes for this. All I have are green cat eyes. Which I'm not opposed to using. I don't want to get a pack of eyes in blue. Ew. I'd rather use something weird. I've seen some really pretty ones on Etsy but I'd like to make this doll sooner rather than later. I'm hoping there will be eyes at Stitches but don't really think there will be since amigurumi is mostly a crochet thing and the shower caters to knitters. Maybe I'll be surprised. There are more books on knitted amigurumi so maybe there will be eyes. But that's still longer than I want to wait.
The doll doesn't use a lot of yarn so I can make a weird cat-eyed girl and make a more normal one later. I want purple eyes so the next doll may not be that normal. Now I'm looking at my purple camouflage yarn and thinking it'd make good hair. Poor dolls.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Bulletproof
I crochet very tightly. The only thing I've made that couldn't stand up on its own was a granny square. Everything else holds its shape just fine without stuffing or special care. My amigurumi are squishy but not soft. It's usually not that much of a problem since I'm used to having to fight to get stitches in but the last thing I made ended up with a teeny tiny hole for stuffing instead of a nicely sized open area.
I need to pick a simple pattern and try working looser. Maybe with a bigger hook. And a glass of Bailey's. But then I'd probably just end up with a larger amigurumi while blushing and needing to pee.
I need to pick a simple pattern and try working looser. Maybe with a bigger hook. And a glass of Bailey's. But then I'd probably just end up with a larger amigurumi while blushing and needing to pee.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
