Sweet Surrender

Though I continue to make progress on the afghan, I think I need to broaden my horizons a bit. See what else I can do at the same time…

In case you are suspicious – no, this is not me giving up. I’ll continue crocheting, but I’ll focus some of my attentions elsewhere. I will finish the afghan. I will finish the afghan. I will finish the afghan. See? Three times makes it totally true. But in the meantime, is it so wrong if I pick up some sticks and make something beautiful? I think not.

You’ll see. It will be amazing.. someday.

In the meantime, I’ve set my sights on a little romance, some va va va voom.

Meet Patons Angora Bamboo. It’s deliciously soft and luxurious. I’ll be making a garment for a good friend of mine. I don’t want to give too much away, but here’s a subtle clue:

That’s right, Patons pattern book #500873 Luxury Knits. You might be wondering if I’m planning on making every garment in the book – and the answer might be yes. But first, it begins with some Laurel Leaf and some cables..

-jencraft

Three’s Company

When I said the amazing granny afghan comes with me everywhere, I wasn’t kidding.

Though I did have to share it with an admirer while visiting friends in the country:

What you see here is three shades of Patons Decor, looking amazing next to a sleepy dog. Eventually the sweet pup had to leave the picture because my afghan and I needed some quality time.

Some folks have asked for clarification on the pattern I’m using. It’s ridiculously simple, really. I started with the granny square tutorial in Next Steps Five: Crochet Guidebook. Instead of stopping at the fifth row like the tutorial, I just keep going. Each row of a granny square is the same as the one before, it just grows a little. A free Patons pattern with a similar concept is the Stained Glass Window Afghan. I love this concept – it’s brainless and fun, just what I need on sleepy evenings.

BUT.

My brain forgot to consider what happens when you make something starting from the center. It starts really small – great! But then it gets bigger. And Bigger. Aaaand Bigger. Eventually each round of the blanket becomes a feat. It gets to the point where I challenge myself just to crochet one side before taking a break. What happened to the world of ‘just 10 more rows and I’ll call it a day’? No. Now it’s ‘just 1/4 of a row and I’ll go to be-zzzzzz’.

I’m making progress, but I’ve lost the ‘sense’ of progress. I have no choice but to keep crocheting but stop paying attention until it gets obscenely large. I’m starting to understand why people make lots of little squares instead of one big one…

-jencraft

Angora, bamboo and a big green Canoe

“Take off! To the great white north! Take off! It’s a beauty way to go!”

If you haven’t seen Strange Brew, you’re undoubtedly scratching your head. The lyrics to the film’s theme song are never far from my mind whenever I’m drinking a beer by a lake… and knitting.

I grew up in small town Ontario, though I’ve lived in the big city (Toronto) for almost half my life now. It’s pretty true what they say about taking the girl out of the country but not taking the country out of the girl. About once a year I need get away from the smog, the crowds and the half-caff-non-fat-soy-chai-lattes and paddle a canoe*. (It’s practically the law in Canada.)

Without the distraction of telephones, television, or internet, a knitter can get a lot done out in the middle of nowhere! I brought with me a brand new knitting project:

Pattern: “Shoulder Shrug” from Patons Luxury Knits.
Yarn: Patons Angora Bamboo in “Indigo”

Might I add this yarn is pretty kick ass? It’s really unique (at least to me). It’s got the sheen of bamboo, the loft of wool and the soft haze of angora. (No, no one paid me to say that – though feel free to send cheques!) I’m getting along with this yarn quite nicely… that beer down by the lake doesn’t hurt either.

*For the record, the canoe photo was totally staged. Unless someone else is taking over the navigation it’s pretty hard to knit in a canoe. Hmm, until someone invents knitting needles with big paddles at the ends. Someone should get on that.

-juliaknits

It’s not you. Really. It’s me.

I met someone else. Maybe it was a fear of commitment, I’m not sure. I don’t even know how it happened. No! He’s not better looking! Like I said, it’s not you. It’s me. I’m so sorry.

At first it was just a look. Then we started chatting and flirting a little. Pretty soon it developed into spending some time together. Then we spent an entire evening watching television.

You are special. You really are and I’m sure you’ll find someone else. That someone else may even be me again. I’m just not ready for a commitment right now.

I said I was sorry. I’m not sure what else I can say. I know I shouldn’t have even looked…to be tempted. I was weak, I know. The fact of the matter is I need to move on. Please don’t be hurt.

This is Beehive Baby Chunky and I’m telling you it’s worth cheating for. It’s amazingly soft and I absolutely love how quickly it’s knitting up. Personally, I’m not into pastels or “baby colors” but these are a tad bit darker and worth a try especially because of how soft it is! (I can’t say that enough.)

I was so excited about starting this (“startitis:” to start more projects than you finish) that the first night I zoomed several inches out. Ya gotta love that about bulky yarn.

This is Beehive Baby Chunky Hoodie, it’s a free online pattern. I did find one tiny error and a correction is getting done but in case you printed your copy a while back: at the beginning of the back where you cast on it doesn’t tell you what color to use. You are supposed to cast on using the main color (MC). Other than using different colors I am knitting this to pattern.

I keep forgetting to carry up my yarns along the edge, so I’m going to have scads of ends to weave in. (We all know that no relationship is perfect.)

–knittinjen

Another Day, Another Double Crochet

This is my new motto. Making your first afghan is a serious investment in time and energy. I think I know why I’m notorious for never finishing anything – it’s because I have five projects on-the-go at all times. Startitis at it’s finest.

Until now.

Tah Dah! I give you progress! Lately, this afghan comes with me everywhere. My own personal security blanket, I have forsaken my other projects for this exciting little bit of geometry. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still coming up with new project ideas by the dozen, but for now, my crafty energies are going towards a future of warmth and coziness.

Did I mention how much I love these colors? Thank you Patons Decor, and your marvelous stepping stone shades.

-jencraft

Slow progress

Last week I showed you a photo of the Cable Wrist Warmer and I am making some progress. I have toyed with starting the second one, out of sheer terror of second mitten syndrome (I do have another set of size 8 DPNs). You’ve heard of second sock syndrome, right? It’s when you knit only one of a pair and for, what I’m sure is as many reasons as there are people who knit, the second one is never finished.

When I knit socks I like to take my time. They are my “go to” project. The one that goes to work with me and when I have time on a lunch break, I knit a few rows. It goes with me when we travel to inlaws, or even when my husband and I travel back and forth to work. I never plan socks for a gift because I don’t need that kind of pressure.

This Cable Wrist Warmer has been a sock for me. I’ve knit on it only “when I can” and that nonsense needs to stop. After doing quite a bit of contemplating and much introspection, there is a main reason, I think, as to why I am only working on this great fingerless mitt now and then: The attraction of something new. I think if I had worked on a few other projects between finishing the Cable Hat and starting these I would’ve finished these in a matter of a week or so. Instead, I am tempted by pursuing my learning crochet (can you say amigurumi?), making baby hats for expecting co-workers and then there is the cuteness of those Monkeys! There are three boys in my house that would go ape over those! (I am fully aware of just how corny I am.)

Dare I say, I’m bored?

I think that’s it. I’m bored with fiddling with a cable needle (and haven’t mastered juliaknits technique), I’m bored with keeping track of stitches and where I am in the pattern, etc. I need mindless knitting for a while. Oh boy, this is not good…

–knittinjen

Let it snow?

Happy Augtober! Did you have a great Juvember? If you live anywhere near my part of the world (Toronto) you may be wondering what happened to summer. Cool temperatures and far too much rain have been a cruel plague on us northerners that enjoy such a short summer to begin with. The upside? Great knitting/crochet weather!

No matter what the weather is producing outside, my mind fibre-wise seams to be stuck firmly in December. Last December, at the eleventh hour I thought; “Hey, wouldn’t it be nice to crochet up a bunch of snowflake tree ornaments to include in my Christmas cards?”. After finding a pattern and dusting of my crochet hooks, I came to the realization that a) my meager crochet skills would not make it through the pattern, b) I wouldn’t have enough time to teach myself the new skills and c) who was I kidding, even if I had a p.h.d in crochet and learned to live without sleep there was no way in hell I would be able to make all of those snowflakes before Santa Claus was comin’ to town.

Let it snow:

Pattern: Flakes – free online pattern!
Yarn: Patons Grace in 62008 ‘Natural’ (I probably should have used the white named ‘snow’, but it’s a long story and not very interesting)

This year, as I seem to be having a love affair with crochet, I thought I’d take another stab at this snowflake business. Funny how six months and a little ‘hooking’ later, the patterns that had me scratching my head in the past are suddenly crystal clear. I feel like I learned a new language. Well, I suppose I’m not fluent yet:

See that? Six inches! According to the pattern, the finished snowflake should measure approximately three inches. Hmm. Being an ‘advanced beginner’ crocheter I’m not sure what went wrong here. Am I the loosest crocheter in the west? Was my hook size far too big? I’m going to take another stab at it, but the accidental doily/flake gave me the prime opportunity to experiment with starching. If I wrecked the thing I wasn’t going to be heartbroken.

Is anyone else surprised that spray laundry starch is super-easy to find? Maybe it’s my generation, but I don’t know anyone that starches anything! Heck, just plain ironing is chore enough! The snowflake pattern recommends ‘crochet thread stiffener’ but seeing as I don’t live near a big craft store, and well frankly, I really don’t know what ‘crochet thread stiffener that is’, I figured good old-fashioned starch would do. I did a little research on starching doilies (and yes, as always, by ‘research’ I mean ‘google’), and it appears there are a lot of different ways to go about this. Me? I took the easy route. I covered a scrap of cardboard in plastic wrap and sprayed the be-jeezus out of it with my laundry starch.

Oh yeah, and pins. Pinning is important! After a couple of coats the snowflake is stiff enough to keep it’s shape, though still flexible. I think if it wasn’t so ginormous it would be just fine, but the sheer girth of the thing means it wouldn’t make a great tree ornament. Well, maybe if it were a giant tree…

I think with a little practice (and some serious down-sizing) my dream of whipping a bunch of these up for holiday cards will come true! Bonus – snowflakes are non-denominational!

-juliaknits

Summer Lovin’

We interrupt this blog for some serious fun in the sun.

My new granny square afghan-to-be became the perfect travel companion. Being a crochet project, the chances of losing my hooks or needles was reduced by half. Being the easy-to-memorize granny square, no pattern (or thought for that matter) was needed.

Just as I was ready to get started, my long awaited vacation arrived. I went to San Diego, my home in the high school years.

My wee-afghan-to-be wanted to get some sun:

Me? I was all about the water.

A headcold, a sunburn, and an amazing trip later, I’m home and ready to dedicate myself to the cause of the granny square!

-jencraft

Gettin’ a groove on

I did have a rough start, but once I got a groove going it was all good. I had to jot notes in my notebook so that the pattern made sense to me. I say whatever it takes to get ‘er done.

I completed the Cable Hat. I did have to tear it out completely once and had to back up one row at a time so many times I lost count. There was a rhythm, it just took me a while to get with the beat. One thing I learned about myself while doing this pattern is I do not enjoy purling three together. Not one tiny bit. Nope.

Despite my personal challenges here she is in all her glory!

Remember my mantra? I will triumph over my knitting.

Now onward to the Cable Wrist Warmers. Even though I wouldn’t describe myself as a “matchy-matchy” kind of girl I like both the hat and mitts. I’m used to knitting mittens on two needles so I can finish both at the same time. Wish me luck getting a complete pair in a timely manner. I’m going to need good knitting vibes.

My psyche cannot handle second mitten syndrome. No way, no how. That said, I ain’t messin’ around and wasting time. I got started:

And now I leave you with some lovely seed (moss) stitch: I could just gaze upon it…

– knittinjen

Tea Party

Success!

It’s cute, right?

Every time I look at it I smile.

I’m a fan of kitsch, and in my book, pretty much every tea-cozy is kitsch. Though, unlike Hummel figurines, this is totally functional! It could even double as a completely ridiculous chapeau!

If you’re interested in making on of these, it’s the tea cozy from the Patons Next Steps Five crochet booklet. I used Patons Classic Wool in 00202 Aran, 00216 Navy, 00204 Old Gold and 77525 Moss Heather. If you read my last post, you’ll know, this was FAST! I consider myself an “advanced beginner” crocheter (or perhaps, “beginner advanced?”) and I had no problem with this pattern rated “intermediate”. One word of warning: the yarn requirements are a little off. The pattern calls for three balls of the main colour to crochet the medium size. I used just one. Oops! You may need two balls for the large size, but I think the small and medium will work with one ball no problem. The flowers would be a great project to use up little leftovers!

I can’t say I use my tea-pot often, but I may just have to whip up another one of these babies for myself. Even if I don’t use it, I’d much rather look at this on my shelf than a Hummel figurine!

-juliaknits