Crocheted Afghans

Lukey's Afghan

Lion Brand Yarn's Marble Baby Throw pattern has been my go-to pattern for quick gift items. I really like that it is quick and easy, like granny squares are, but doesn't require any piecing together. So, I've made quite a few at this point.

Ava's Afghan

Carnival Throw

Another pattern I like to use is Lion Brand Yarn's Carson City Afghan, though the pattern is a lot small for my liking, so I generally double or triple it.

Jair's Baby Blanket

Grandma's Afghan

Mom & Dad's Afghan

I've been slow to update my blog, but busy with my hooks and needles. The captions are all links to my Ravelry pages for each, if you're interested in the yarn or patterns I used.

Success and Failure

My Ravellenic Games Team Ravatar

Official Ravthlete Ravatar

My official Scarf Hockey Medal!

The 2012 Ravellenic Games are over. I completed one project and received a lovely badge for it. Success!

 

 

 

 

Rose Tyler BoomTown Scarf

Unfortunately, I did not complete my other event(s). Most specifically, I did not finish Tinker Bell. She's still technically not finished. The pattern was just too confusing, leading me to have to frog a couple pieces, then start them over. Tinker Bell is still not finished, but I'm hoping to power through and get it done this weekend.

Tinker Bell's Current Condition. Boo.

So, I didn't get everything I intended to done for the Ravellenic Games, but I learned a lot about knitting. Specifically yarn overs, decreasing, and that ribbing in the throw(?) method is painful for a girl with tendinitis. Because of that, I'm thinking I may have to switch back to Continental. I'm almost a week out from the contest and my arms are still hurting.

Jackson's Afghan

Picture courtesy of  www.bnd-photography.com

A couple months ago I made an afghan for my cousins' baby. He's finally here to see it, and in one of his newborn photography sessions, he showed it off. (Well, it showed him off.) I thought it was very cool to see something I made in a professional photograph. And my newest first-cousin-once-removed is pretty cool too.

The afghan is based on Lion Brand's free pattern for Marble Baby Throw. Instead of switching colors for stripes, I held three yarns together. For yarn and pattern information, check out my Ravelry project page here.

Ravellenic Games Update

Nothing is finished yet. And now I've run into some pretty major tendinitis pain, not unexpected, though I didn't really foresee just how much of my arm would be in pain due to knitting. I'm using the throw (?) method, which may or may not be called English. At any rate, I think going forward I'm going to have to re-train myself to use Continental because there is less movement, which would be key for me.

The Tinker Bell pattern has been kicking my ass. Not because it's hard, but because I don't understand half of it. I'm fairly certain it was translated from another language and there are quite a few places that I literally have no idea what they are asking for. I've googled and everything.

Ravellenic Games - Day 5?

Rose Tyler's BoomTown Scarf - Progress

So, I'm not sure what day of the Ravellenics this is. I can't decide if Friday the 27th counts, or not. Regardless, this post is just to show the progress I'm making on the Rose Tyler scarf. It looks really pretty, though I'm not sure it looks enough like the original. The yarn coloring is finally getting to what I thought it would look like and not so pastel, so that's good. I'm just a little bit frustrated that it takes so much time to make. Knitting is slow. Plus, I'm not quite good enough to watch the Olympics while I'm knitting, so the events I actually want to see, I'm having to put it down. (Go Team USA Swimming/Gymnastics/Tennis/Beach Volleyball!)

I'm using a Yarn Bowl to hold my yarn. It was made by my friend Ariel's dad. And it is full of awesome. I've gotten so many compliments and tons of people want one. One person literally said to me: "Oh, when I start knitting, I will definitely use one of those." So, the actual crafting of scarves and sweaters and animals isn't enough to entice them to start, but a pretty bowl to hold yarn is. :)

Olympics and Yarn

I've been watching the Olympics while I work on my Ravellenic events. Tonight, as I'm trying to decide what to do with my amigurumi TinkerBell's face, I'm watching the NBC coverage of the US Men's Gymnastics Team Final. I assume the announcers are trying to prepare the viewers for the fact that there won't be a medal, but man, they are constantly pointing out the bad. Saying a fantastic vault by Jake Dalton is "too little too late," which I would argue, was fantastic, not too little. And then NBC only chooses to show the best of the best from the other countries, enthusiastically pointing out that they had errors in the past, but not tonight when it counts.

I don't know if this is because they are finally just assuming we know the results ahead of time or if they really believe they'll lose viewers by seeing our team fail to live up to a medal, but the way it's being shown is making it far worse in my opinion. They could actually focus on the good of our team. Or just give us the meet as it happens, like they usually do. This constant focus on what went wrong is just depressing. Yuck.

Now I'm depressed, and I still can't decide what to do with TinkerBell's eyes.

Ravellenic Games 2012

Rose Tyler's BoomTown Scarf (modified)

TinkerBell's head

The Ravellenic Games have begun! Ravelry, a site for yarn-enthusiasts, hosts a competition every two years (during the two weeks of the Olympics). People all over the world join teams and get to crocheting, knitting, weaving, and other yarn-related events.

There are different sport-themed events. I'm participating in Scarf Hockey, Toy Toss, and Holiday Hurdles.

I'm on two teams, Team TARDIS and Team Disney.
For Scarf Hockey I'm making the Rose Tyler scarf from BoomTown (Doctor Who).
For Toy Toss I'm making an amigurumi TinkerBell.
And for Holiday Hurdles I'm making some TARDIS ornaments...if I can finish the other two projects first. :)

Granny Squares and Photography Lessons

Carnival Giant Granny Square Throw

The Marble Baby Throw pattern, offered for free from Lion Brand is now one of my go-to patterns. Not only is it quick and easy, it also looks great with lots of different yarn combinations. I've been experimenting with color choices lately. I call this color combo Carnival, partly because it reminds me a little of Hot Dog on a Stick, and a friend mentioned clowns. It makes me think of a county fair in the summer.

Carnival Throw in a Basket

One thing I'm learning about this wonderful world of yarny goodness is that you can make the world's most beautiful handcrafted item, but if your photographs aren't of good quality, it won't matter one bit how great your work is. So, I decided it was high time I learn how to take a better picture. I am quite proud to say I took the above photographs. I don't expect to start entering photos into galleries,but it at least has some semblance of quality, and it's the truest to the colors of the yarn of any picture I've ever taken.

I owe most of my newfound ability to a fantastic website I found via a blog I follow. Thank heavens for a friend on Pinterest pinning it. Fresh Stitches Blog - Photography Tips. Because of this site, I'm now carrying blank poster board in my car because I know I'll only remember to take pictures with the right daylight when I'm out and about, so now I will have the tools needed.

To show I'm progressing in my photography skills, here are some of the pics I've taken in the past, starting with the most recent.

The Queue

Free Lion Brand Pattern: Marble Baby Throw

I have so many projects in queue right now. And a lot of them are things I have started but not finished. This is the baby throw I'm working on. I'm using Lion Brand Jamie yarn, as that's the yarn used in the pattern, though I'm pretty sure if I make it again I'll go for a softer yarn selection. The colors of the yarn are fantastic though. It's hard to tell in this picture, but it a gorgeous combination.

I'm not currently sure who this is for, and I may end up keeping it for myself since I've not kept any of my blankets so far.

The Sticks Matter

In my attempts at knitting I have learned a very important lesson. Using the right needles is important! So important, that using the wrong needles will make the whole knitting process intensely more difficult. When you're crocheting, as long as you have the same size hook, really, you can use any hook. Some people swear by wooden or bamboo hooks, but really if it's the same size, it'll work. With knitting...not so much. (Or at least, not for me.)

For me, bamboo hooks (which I started with) stick to the yarn. A lot. My knitting was really really tight (so much that my friend commented that my needles were squeaking) and it was pretty much a painful miserable experience.

Then, I tried a friend's nickel plated needles and the loops wouldn't stay on the needle it was so slick.

So, the other day I went to an LYS (Local Yarn Store) called Yarning For You. It's nice and everyone was so helpful and nice. I picked up some Knit Picks Interchangeable Circular Needles. And I looove them. They're wood, but it's super polished wood, so it's really smooth, but not so slick the loops fall off. They're also really pretty because of the different colors.

They inspired me to start another project. When I get to a point that I'm happy, I'll share it on here. So far, (fingers crossed) it looks really good. :)

2012 Resolutions

I'm officially behind on a couple of my resolutions this year, but, so far I haven't broken any completely. So that's better than 2011. One of my resolutions is to expand my horizons by learning to KNIT. I'm finding there are A LOT of differences between knitting and crocheting, but I'm also finding that there are a lot of similarities.

People frequently comment on how even and tight my crochet stitches are. This is because I am a yarn control freak. Seriously, I have what is basically akin to a death grip on my working yarn. I loop it around my pinky, then weave between each of my fingers. Most people that I've seen barely hold the yarn at all. (I'm sure it's something I should change, especially because I have tendinitis and it's painful.)

So, I'm finding that my yarn control issues are making learning to knit a little on the difficult side. My loops (no clue if that's the right term) are so tight on the needles it's hard to get the other needle inside them.

Another thing I'm finding, is that there's no indication that you've done something wrong until it's too late to do anything about it. In crochet, it's really obvious when something isn't right...or at least it is to me now that I've been doing it a while. The following photo shows the piece I discovered a big hole in.

But, on the bright side, what I currently have going looks pretty good...I think.

2012 Pay It Forward

The Pay it Forwards are complete! Now I just have to finish making my cards to attach to them and get them mailed/delivered.

 

To give some size perspective, they fit pretty perfectly in a gallon-sized storage bag.

Tic Tac Toe: Spring Edition

For my second Pay It Forward gift, I made the same Tic Tac Toe board, but because I hated making the X's I needed a new theme. The flowers and butterflies make it very springlike and I absolutely LOVE the color combination for this one. It's just gorgeous.

 

A closeup of the flower applique piece

 

A closeup of the butterfly applique piece

Details: The board: Ch 35, sc in second ch from hook and each chain across. Ch 1, turn, sc in each sc across. Repeat until the board is approximately 10" x 10". Using contrasting color, evenly stitch lines to make the squares. Join two stitches from a corner, sc across to corner, sc 3 in corner sc, repeat for each side, joining with a slst to first sc. Pattern for flower applique is here. Pattern for butterfly applique is here.

Tic Tac Toe

Here is the first of my Pay It Forward projects to be completed. Tic Tac Toe! I got the idea from a Lion Brand pattern, but it seemed so complicated and there was so much sewing involved I got nervous. I looked on Ravelry at some of the other people who had modified and went with an idea they had given me. In the end, it's all improvised by me. The "board" is approximately 10" x 10". I'm not satisfied with the X pattern, so for the next project I plan to change it.

Pay It Forward Update

Two projects partially done!

Super Secret Gift One

This is the beginning of the first of the five Pay-It-Forward gifts. This is also an example of single crochet, in case you were wondering.

Washcloth Bunnies

I needed a last minute baby shower gift and luckily I remembered I had made a washcloth with some super plush yarn. So I grabbed some Lily Sugar and Cream in Faded Denim and made a companion washcloth. Then I folded/rolled them into bunny shapes and tied them with ribbons. The pattern and directions for bunny shaping can be found here.

Stumbling Blocks

Sometimes I go to crochet something and I'm just not into it. I've started quite a few projects and midway through I'm just...over them. A couple have taken hours of my time and they're currently just sitting in the barn (aka, the living room that is now my craft storage room) waiting for completion. Someday, I hope to finish these projects. Today is not that day.

Right now, I have five projects on my docket. They are for a Pay-It-Forward event. I am completely stumped as to what to make these people. They have seen what I am capable of and are therefore expecting something awesome. However, I'm sitting here thinking - What in the world can I make for 5 different people, who have 5 different personalities, that is completely awesome, but is easy, cheap, and quick?

So, that's what this post is about. I'm baffled. I'm stumped. I've hit a few stumbling blocks. And I'm wondering why in the world I signed up for this.

At some point, I will definitely post pictures of my un-finished wips (works in progress) so that you can be amazed. But for now, I'm sitting here thinking about how insanely hard it is to turn a crocheted sphere into a doll's head. Hair is annoying.

Also, going into the Ravelry.com pattern search and just going through countless patterns is not helping me narrow down my search.

I am frustrated.

-cr

Birds Filled With Anger

Crocheting critters is called Amigurumi (Japanese for Crochet Animals). These are some of my favorite Amis because they are obviously recognizable from a certain game played on cellular devices. Unfortunately, the person who wrote the patterns for these bad boys got a cease and desist from the people who are making millions of dollars off the games, so she can't sell the patterns anymore, and absolutely no one can sell the Amis they make. So, yes I was able to get the patterns before they became persona non grata, and sadly no, I cannot risk my monetary future by providing them to anyone else. These Amis are not for sale, but they did make great birthday presents.

Scarves

Scarves and stuffed animals for the Not-Nieces-Because-They're-Cousins. I was actually pretty amazed how well they matched since I bought the yarn and the animals separately. The scarves are made of Lily Sugar & Cream variegated yarns.

This is the One-Hour-Scarf, a pattern I found on Ravelry. I probably shouldn't have used such bulky yarn (I used Softee Chunky) because it uses three strands held together. Its really pretty, but it is definitely warm. Probably just a little too warm for the San Diego climate.

I call this the Seahawk Peacock Scarf. I made it for the 2011 Pay-It-Forward gift exchange. It's one of my favorite scarves because it's simple and fast, but looks gorgeous.