Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Grace's Infinity Scarf for Nana

My mom bought some truly gorgeous yarn from the Serenity collection by Deborah Norville. This color is Red Bayou.  It has these great reds, roses, greens and browns in it and it has this velvety look to it.  It reminds me of vintage fabric.


I used my Grace's Infinity Scarf pattern, but had to adjust a bit because this Serenity yarn is a bulky weight instead of super bulky like the Hometown. The bulky weight uses an L hook.


Sunday, December 29, 2013

In the beginning...the first pattern I ever learned

Twenty years ago, when I was in college, my boyfriend's mother taught me to crochet.  I was a biology major, carrying a full course load and working.  I was a huge stress ball.  Rosi decided that I needed a creative outlet and she sat me down next to her and taught me a pattern.  She did not teach me stitches...those came along by accident.  Instead, she taught me a pattern:

3 DC in one stitch, chain 3, skip two chains, 1 SC, chain 2, skip two chains, 3 DC in the same stitch. 

It was lovely and lacey and it made me feel wonderful as I worked on a scarf.  I had no clue what I was really doing. I had no idea about chaining and how many chains I needed to skip in the beginning.  I did a lot of guessing.  Most of the time it worked, but sometimes it didn't.  As I look back now, I had no idea how many different patterns there actually were.  I just thought that this simple lacey pattern was it.  I loved it because of how beautiful it was and I used it to make scarves and ponchos.

Years later, I would learn what the stitches were called and how to create different heights of stitches.  I learned how to create hats and so much more. Recently, I set out to work out the exact pattern Rosi taught me and soon I plan to share the pattern for a cowl, but you can use it for so much more.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Zombie Girl Doll

Ever make something you are totally proud of? That is me today. I made a zombie doll out of the pattern I bought on Ravelry. It came out so well that I just had to share!

Friday, December 20, 2013

Homespun Boot Cuffs

I have a confession to make.  I don't understand boot cuffs.  Maybe it is because I don't wear boots, but I just don't get it.  These things are all the rage and I just don't understand them. As a result, I've never made any.  That is, I hadn't until a friend of mine begged me to make some.  Challenging in and of itself, yes.  But then she threw down by choosing Lion Brand Homespun yarn.  I say "threw down" because there are no free patterns out there for boot cuffs using Homespun.  There may be a paid one, but I wasn't interested in looking at paid patterns.  So this is how a person who knows nothing about boot cuffs decided to design a pair.

I did a fair bit of research.  Turns out the standard cuff is between 12 and 13 inches in circumference, so you need to be certain you are taking careful measurements.  You also want the cuff to be tall enough to stick out of the top of the boot, but low enough that it can hide inside the cuff as well.

Good gravy.  Do you see the challenge I had here? 

I spent most of the week playing around until I came up with this pattern that seems to work and is pretty darn simple.

Supplies:


K Hook (6.50 mm)

Lion Brand Homespun yarn

tapestry needle
Fancy schmancy button

Pattern:

Chain 9
Row 1: 1 sc in second chain from hook and in the rest across (8 sc).
Row 2: 8 sc across.  Chain 1 and turn.
Rows 3 +: Repeat until piece reaches 12.5 inches. (mine was 36 rows of  SC)

To form the cuff, you have two options:

1) Slip stich beginning and end together to form cuff.
2) Use the join as you go method of taking the loop off of your hook, inserting the hook into the side you want to join with and pulling the loop through that side. Form a SC back on the other side.  This forms a seamless join.

After joining, continue the cuff by crocheting around one side of the cuff.

Row 1: Chain 1. Sc in each stitch around. Join to the beginning sc. Chain 1
Repeat this row for 10 total rows of sc.

Attach your fancy schmancy button on the vertical SC rows. If possible, use a strand of the Homespun yarn to attach the button.





Friday, December 13, 2013

Grace's Infinity Scarf - Free Pattern

Have you ever had a Secret Snowflake? Secret Snowflakes are kind of like Secret Santas.  In pondering how to end our school year, my homeroom got together and drew names to give gifts to one another.  We decided to make it last a while, but wanted to limit the gift commitment as everyone is in seventh grade.  On the first day, we wrote a note to our Secret Snowflake.  On the second day, we gave a treat.  On the third day, we gave a gift.

My Secret Snowflake's name is Grace.  She is 13 years old and when I think of her, I normally picture an athletic person.  She is not a girly-girl in the slightest. However, I was suprised to discover that her favorite color is pink!  So, when I started to picture the gift I would give to her, I knew it was going to be pink.  I decided to crochet her an infinity scarf.  My students are forever asking if I will make them something, so I figured Grace would love this and she did!

Whenever I would like to make a scarf for someone, I tend to go with bulky or super bulky yarn.  I love the quickness and beauty of the large stitches.  My favorite patterns are ones that Fiber Flux dreams up and usually, my scarves are heavily inspired by things she creates.  This scarf was inspired by a stitch pattern she uses in her Pavement scarf.

A note about my infinity scarves:  I used to start my beginning chain and join the two ends so that I could simply crochet in the round for my infinity scarves.  However, I found that my chain sometimes twisted and it left me with a twisted mess of a scarf.  Now, I start my chain and crochet the first row as if I were going to make a blanket or a regular scarf.  At the end of the first row, instead of turning, I join the two ends with a slip stitch at the top of the first stitch in the row and then continue from there.  At the end, I use a tapestry needle to use the beginning tail to sew the bottom ends together.  Viola!  beginning disappears!

6 rows and 2 skeins of Super Bulky yarn!


Super Quick Infinity Scarf for Grace


Supplies:

2 skeins Lion Brand Hometown Super Bulky yarn
N Hook
tapestry needle.

The pattern:

Beginning Chain:  136, Grace may be 13, but she is already taller than I am.  136 was a perfect number to allow her to wrap the scarf twice.  It fell just below her waist before she wrapped it.
(You can make this as long or short as you like.  It has to be a multiple of 3, plus 4.)

Row 1: HDC in the third chain from the hook and in each stitch to the end.  (134 HDCs).  Using a slip stitch, join the last HDC to the top of the first HDC.

Row 2: Chain 4 (counts as 1 DC and 1 Ch).  1 DC in the same stitch. * Skip 2 chains and crochet 1 DC, chain 1, 1 DC in the same stitch*.  Repeat from * to * around.  Skip 2 chains. To join, slip stitch in the third chain of the beginning chain 4.  (44 V stitches)

Rows 3-5: Repeat Row 2.

Row 6: Chain 2.  *2 HDCs in each chain 1 space (top of V) and 1 HDC in the next.* Repeat around. Fasten off.

See?  Totally easy peasy.  I finished mine in an hour and a half and Grace loved it.

I did not get any pictures of Grace wearing the scarf.  These are my test pictures last night.  Needless to say, she put it on right away and wore it the rest of the day.

I hope you enjoy this pattern!