Presenting: Color Affection!!!

Welcome back! Sorry for being away, but I appreciate your patience with my blogging break while I was busy novel-writing.

But! I did still get a few crafty things done in between the writing. One of which was to finally, at long last, finish my Color Affection shawl. Huzzah!!

Dimensions in Space by Cori 2012.

Pattern: Color Affection by Veera Välimäki (available to purchase from Ravelry)

Yarn:
IndigoDragonfly Merino Nylon Sock in TARDIS (1 skein)
Knit Picks Gloss Fingering in Coast Grey (1 skein)
Knit Picks Stroll in Black (2 skeins)

Needles: US 6

Man, what can I say about this? It took me five months to make, which is kind of insane. Especially since I don't know when I will ever actually get the chance to wear it. I also completely screwed up by doing a stripe of blue when I should have done grey, and then not wanting to rip back two whole rows just let it stand. (Although my husband really likes that part, funnily enough.)

But. I really do love it. All of the yarn came together very nicely and it is very soft and cozy. I LOVE the colors and how they look together. I am glad I made it, and I know that the next time I have occasion to wear my little black dress, this will go with it perfectly. Plus it was a good exercise in making something garment-sized.

Still, I am oh so glad to be done with it and on to the next thing!

And, At Long Last...

I know you guys are either sick of hearing me talk about it or eagerly looking forward to seeing it (or perhaps a little bit of both). So, at long last I present to you...

...the dragon blanket!!!

Watchdragons by Cori 2012.

Pattern for the Dragon Panels: Dragonscarf by Ravelry user Tina13 (available for free if you have a Ravelry account)
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Soft Navy (four skeins), Light Blue, and Coffee (two skeins each)
Hook: US J

Everything is just straight up double crochet with a little color work for the edging, dragon panels, and center stripe. It took me just under two months to make (and a whole lot longer to plan). I am fiercely proud of this thing and I know that it will be well-loved in its new home.

Every couple of years I get a really cool concept idea for a blanket. One that challenges me and really stretches the limits of my own skills while teaching me new things. This was one of those blankets. It's one for me to remember with pride for the rest of my days.

So, there you have it. Now, I am going to take a break by working on some super simple patterns for the next few (several) projects!!

I Really Wish I Wore Hats

Because they are so quick and fun and easy to make. Seriously.

On my road trip to Illinois a few weeks ago I of course took a few projects with me to work on during the drive. One of those I started and finished in a day, because it was a hat.

Supplies for a hat...

Enrique by Cori 2012.

Pattern: Really Easy Slouchy Beanie by Jennifer DiMaria
Yarn: Southwest Trading Company Llama Luxury in Brown (two skeins)
Hooks: US G and US H

Luckily, while I might not wear hats very often, my husband absolutely loves them, so this one was for him. It is named Enrique because when I was entering the finished project in Ravelry and wondering out loud what to name it, that is what he tossed off at me. I shrugged and figured it's his hat, might as well let him name it.

As the name of the pattern suggests, this truly was a very easy project to make. I did alter it a little from the pattern as written. I stopped at row twenty-two instead of twenty-eight before changing to the smaller hook (largely because I realized I probably did not have enough yarn for the full pattern). I also did half-double crochet instead of single crochet for the band to allow for my husband's not small head. Also for the band itself I only made three rows instead of six.

He seems pretty happy with how it came out.

Hat model!

I think this was my first project using llama fiber and it was very nice and soft, though it sheds something fierce. I think I might try a hat for myself with this pattern before winter approaches, I really do like it.

That isn't to say I will actually wear the thing though. Sigh.

Something Quick and Fun

Last week I got the chance to attend a reading and book signing by author Jenny Lawson. I have really enjoyed reading her blog and book and I like that she comes across as very accessible. Part of this is because a lot of what she writes about involves her anxiety disorder and how that affects her life. So, when I realized I was going to get to meet her, I wanted to make her a present. Just a little "thank you" to her for sharing herself with the rest of us and reminding those of us who have trouble adjusting that we are not alone.

Here's what I made her:

Bloggess Towel by Cori 2012.

This gives you a better idea of what it says.

Pattern: Improvised from Baby ABCs Afghan by Coats & Clark
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in Violet (2 balls)
Hook: US H

It was so freaking hard to photograph this thing! I know that you are supposed to photograph your projects outside in daylight for the best results, but I never finish them during the day it seems like, and usually I want to get the photos taken and done with as soon as I finish the project. Otherwise I forget to do it and to update it in Ravelry and whatnot. Also, outside is dirty and I don't really have a good surface to put my nice pretty projects on for photographing. Sigh.

But I think you can get the gist of it. Basically, it is straight-ahead single crochet with the letters spelled out in bobble-stitch (I used the templates for the letters from the baby alphabet blanket I recently made, but modified the size of each letter's space to accommodate a towel). It worked up really quickly, only took me two days to whip out (even with several false starts on the border). It says "Don't Panic" (in large and friendly letters, even) in reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. This seemed doubly appropriate for Jenny Lawson because of her battles with anxiety as well as her love of geekery.

I am really happy with how it came out and I hope that she enjoys it as well. It dawned on me as I was making it that this would have been perfect for National Towel Day, which is later this month. If I hadn't already bought my yarn for that (which sadly does not lend itself to this pattern), I would be making another one for myself for that event. Oh well. Maybe next year.

Checking Off Another One

Ooh, I love the feeling of completing a project! Taking pictures and updating it as "finished" on Ravelry give me a nice warm fuzzy feeling. Even better, I then get to share it with you! So, here you are, hope you like it!

Spring Roll by Cori 2012.

Pattern: Circles to Squares Afghan* by Shiri Mor
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Real Teal (8 skeins)
Hook: J

*If you are familiar with the pattern (or clicked over to the link to see it), you might be wondering why I am listing it for this blanket, since clearly, this is not a blanket consisting of many squares and colors. I actually had a completely different ripple/chevron pattern picked out for the blanket but I got about three rows into that and realized I would not be able to keep it up for the long haul without a) hating the blanket fiercely, and b) going more than a little nuts. I wanted something simple because this yarn is so soft and pretty I didn't want to distract from that. So, I decided instead to make a glorified granny square, but with a little more elegant twist. I worked square number three from the Circles to Squares pattern (minus the color changes) and then instead of finishing off and making more squares, I just kept going. So basically, double crochet all around, super simple! But it features this nifty little wheel in the middle:

It kind of puts me in mind of the center of a flower, and as the color makes me think "spring," I thought that was appropriate. It's a wedding gift for a couple that has been through some very rough waters over the past year and come out together on the other side even stronger. So I like the spring/floral theme that I am feeling for this blanket. It represents the start of a new life, full of all of the hope and promise of a new season. I don't know, maybe I am reading too much into it, but sometimes when I am making these projects, those are the kind of things that go through my mind. I can tell you that this blanket is imbued with a lot of love and hope for good things for this couple. It is just going to be a blanket to them, but that doesn't diminish the love I put into it, if that makes sense.

Anyhoo, for the border I wanted something that felt leafy, and after a a bit of searching online, I found one I thought was perfect. Kim Guzman offered up this border for a blanket made of friendship squares, but it worked quite perfectly for this project too. Since I already had a solid base of double crochets, I just worked rows five through seven of the border. I am super happy with how it came out.

I will definitely be keeping that border in mind for future projects. It was simple and fast and looks very nice.

So, now that I've crossed that off my list, I am back to my two lingering unfinished projects--the scarf and the sweater--as well as six more blankets. I've got the yarn for two of those and I bought swatching yarn for the dragon blanket, so I am in good straits there. My plan is to focus on the scarf and get it knocked out in the next week or so before I jump into another blanket. Then I can figure out what to do about this poor sweater! So, lots to do, as always. But approaching the pile doesn't seem so daunting with a freshly finished project under my belt, I can tell you that!

Happy crafting friends!

Maybe...No, That Won't Work...How About...?

Yeesh. I've been trying to plan out one of the blankets I am going to make this year and it is being something of a bear. I was talking to a friend and I mentioned that I really should make him a blanket to celebrate something awesome he just did and he asked if it could have a dragon on it. My first thought was, Hell yes you can have a dragon! Then I started looking around for a good pattern to crochet a dragon motif on a blanket and that first thought was quickly replaced by, Oh good lord, what have I gotten myself into?

I surfed around on Ravelry and found a dearth of crochet afghan (or scarf or towel or....) patterns featuring dragons. There were quite a few knitted patterns, however. So after running a few of the types of dragons past my friend, I had settled on trying to just convert the knit scarf pattern to a crocheted blanket.

I sat down over the weekend to do a swatch and see a) how well it would work, b) how it would look, c) how big it would be, and d) to get an idea of how much yarn I would need. The results were...not promising. I mean, it didn't look terrible, but I wasn't satisfied with it. I only got about a quarter of the way done with it, but I really didn't like how the top loop of the previous stitch was carrying over into the next when switching colors.  So then I spent the rest of the weekend trying to think about how I would make a blanket featuring this pattern that my friend had picked out.

I have a few options available to me:

• Just crochet the whole blanket in single crochet and then cross-stitch the pattern on afterward.
• Knit the blanket according to my originally envisioned pattern.
• Knit the blanket with super chunky yarn, requiring one central motif instead of several smaller motifs.
• Knit just the dragon bit in big chunky yarn and then crochet a fun border around until blanket-sized.
• Knit the originally planned number of motifs and crochet the rest of the blanket, sewing all of the panels together at the end.
• Crochet the pattern in individual blocks and sew them together like I did with my Yoshi blanket. 

It's not an exhaustive list by any means, but I think that covers all of the options I have been considering. All of those that involve knitting will require me to learn how to knit color work. Granted, it's on my list to learn, but I wasn't really planning to start with such a big project. It seem like most of the crochet options on the table just have more assembly required than I would like, however.

I am leaning toward going with either option number three or four at the moment, just because knitting goes so much more slowly for me than crochet does. I think I have found a good chunky yarn to use, one that falls within my care, price, and color requirements. My next step will be to go pick up a skein of that yarn (and possibly a pair of the correctly sized needles, provided an inventory check turns up that I don't already have some) and then just knit up the entire ball to see how much finished product it is going to give me, as well as to get an idea of how big the motif will end up. If that works out, I can move ahead with finalizing a plan of attack pattern to use.

Then I will be calling up my mother for a nice long consultation re: knitting blankets and color work. 

Not that I am actually expecting to start this blanket for a good while yet. But once I started planning it out, I couldn't stop. I've got to see this thing through now or it might make my head explode. So...I will let you know as that progresses further.

As far as actual current projects go, I am halfway done with blanket number two (yay!) and only have three pattern repeats left on the scarf (double yay!). Because the blanket's deadline is looming rather more quickly than I had anticipated, I am putting the scarf on hold until that is finished, but after that, it will be the scarf until it is done (with possible breaks for chunky swatching). So hopefully I'll actually have some progress to show you soon!

I guess I should get back to work, huh? Tea, I need tea...

Getting A Bit Out Of Control

I am slowly but surely making progress on two of my three big projects currently in the works. (The third is on hold until one of them is finished, since it is not time sensitive.) Here's a peek at the one I am actually able to show you:

The back (so far) of my KAL sweater.

I got a good chunk of this worked on this weekend (yay!), but I still have about forty something rows left on the back before I start the shaping for the armholes. This is only the first piece. Sigh. It's okay, I have resigned myself to the fact that I will be working on this long after the actual KAL blog posts have wrapped up. The beauty of Lion Brand's KALs is that they don't actually have a set schedule or anything. They do a post a week that you can use to pace yourself, but the discussion groups in Ravelry stay active as long as anyone is still working on the project and wants to talk about it, and the blog posts themselves don't go away. They will still be there to reference when I get to the steps they describe.

I am so glad I went with the Wool-Ease for this project, too, because I really do love this yarn. Also, it was lovely to play with this past weekend, which was nice and cool and rainy for us. A rare treat. Yes, I know, it's October, that's the normal weather for everyone--unless you live in Texas. We don't really get fall. We just have summer (with a few fall-like days scattered throughout September and October if we're lucky) until winter shows up sometime in November. You get used to it, but still, after a summer like this one, breaks in the weather are very much appreciated.

But I digress.

Right now I have six projects on my official knit/crochet list. Three of them are the current WIPs. One of them is a Christmas present that I am hoping will work up quickly in December. Another is a little quickie project for a friend that I can probably get done in a weekend, I just await measurements for that one. The third is a wedding present for someone who has actually been married for a few years already (I recently realized I totally dropped the ball on that), so while I would like to get it done sooner rather than later, there isn't really any sense of urgency to it.

I am just crazy enough that, depending on how the Christmas present goes, I might even try my hand a knitting a pair of socks for my daughter's stocking. We will have to see on that one though.

I do have one other largish personal project I would like to tackle at some point next year (but that I am not going to make a priority), and will have at least three blankets to make. Then, hopefully, I can finally embark on my long awaited quest to start knitting socks. My closet would really like me to get on with it already. I am also pretty sure my husband would like me to just stop buying sock yarn (well, yarn in general, but most of it seems to be sock yarn). But what is a girl to do when presented with a limited edition sock yarn colorway called "Time Traveler" and described thusly:

Wear these brightly striped socks whether you are going to the office or traveling through time and space. Time Traveler is a colorful mix of purple, tan, red, gold, ivory, and gray stripes. While you can knit some really really long socks, this colorway will not create socks that are larger on the inside than they appear on the outside.

Knit Picks Felici in "Time Traveler"

What, I ask you, what?

She buys six skeins of it, that's what.

Got another Sunday Social at Jennings Street Yarns this coming weekend. Hopefully I can resist bringing home any of the yarn in the store...

One Skein Wonderings

Well, I almost chickened out on Sunday, but in the end I managed to make myself go to the Sunday Social at my local yarn store, Jenning Street Yarns. It was a little more crowded than I had hoped it would be (and, apparently, more crowded than the owners had expected) but it was still nice. I jumped into a few conversations here and there, but not too many (I didn't want to just butt in). Mostly I just sat and knit quietly and listened. It was good though, and I am glad I did it. I definitely want to try to go back next month.

I was also very good and managed not to buy any yarn, even though several skeins were calling to me. I did pick up a few things, however. I felt it would be rude to come hang out and not buy anything. I needed another row counter necklace, so I picked one of those up. I also snagged a pattern book of baby afghans to crochet, Leisure Arts #5260, that I had been eyeing on my last visit. Of course, I couldn't get past the stitch markers at the checkout counter without picking a few of those up too, sigh. One of these days I will be able to resist.

I had hoped I could find a book of patterns for one-skein projects while I was there, but didn't see anything. I have several random skeins that I have picked up here and there and have no idea what to do with, so I thought they might make for some nice one-skein projects. Looks like I will end up taking my mom's advice and looking up each yarn in Ravelry to see if I can get any good project ideas (and pattern links).

For those that are curious, here's what I've got in my One-Skein Stash.

Cascade 220 Heathers, color 9443.

Picked this one up from Craftsy. I really need to learn how to resist their "deal of the day."

Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, Dusty Eggplant.

This one came to me from my mother-in-law when she was cleaning out her own stash of yarn, as she very rarely crochets any more.

Cascade 220, color 8339.

Another Craftsy "deal of the day." I think I might see if I can combine this with the Cascade 220 Heathers skein, the colors will look really nice together. I just need to figure out what to make with them.

Cascade Kid Seta, color 837.

Y'all, I have no idea what to do with this yarn. Seriously. This was included in a surprise box from, you guessed it, Craftsy. It is a silk/mohair blend, which I have no use for in my life. Sigh. It is nice and soft, and I don't want it to feel unloved. I think I am going to just have to see what I can find in the ways of patterns for this one and make a gift for someone else.

Red Heart Wintuk, Grape.

This is another one from my mother-in-law. It is awesome and vintage. It's labeled as a "sock and sweater yarn." I want to make something really nifty with this.

Wisdom Poems, color 571.

Finally, I have this Poems from my mom's stash clean-out. I love the name of this yarn, and it makes me want to use it to create something whimsical. We shall see what I can find!

Ideally I would like to use these one-skein projects as quickies in between some of my bigger projects. That way I can feel like I am actually making progress on something and use up some of my stash before it grows sentient and decides to assume full control. I mean, let's face it, it's not like I can't pretend it doesn't have an unnatural amount of control over me already. It's really only a matter of waiting to see if I can keep it from taking over completely at this point.

Odds and Ends

I took a big chunk of last week off as far as actual yarn-crafting went, but I did manage to get a few things accomplished.

I got all of the blocks made for the latest baby blanket--this one for a cousin's kiddo.

Someone is coming to check it out...

Ooh, a puzzle!

I will probably finish getting the pieces sewn together today or tomorrow. Then all that will be left is the border, even though the pattern doesn't call for one, I think it will look more finished that way. I'll have more for you on this one next week.

I also finally remembered to assemble the squares from the swap my sis and I did last year. Each month in 2010 we each sent each other a crocheted square. We both had our own designs in mind and the idea was that at the end of the year we would each have our own twelve-block blanket, made with sisterly love. My sister did an abstract sort of pattern for her squares. These are the three different types of squares I got:

It is possible she might have forgotten to send me the key to how the pieces actually fit together though, so I had to improvise a little bit, but I am very happy with how the assembled blanket turned out.

2010 Sister Swap Blanket, made by Cori's sister, assembled by Cori.

This past week I got a really awesome Ravelry message from the lady at Lion Brand who has been running/blogging about the Crochet-Along I just did. She is going to be doing a write-up featuring photos of some of the finished sweaters and wants to include one of mine! That will probably go up later this week. I got a nice warm fuzzy from that request. One thing I absolutely adore about Ravelry is the periodic positive feedback on my projects that it provides. It is nice to know that other crafters out there approve of what you are doing, you know?

I also have been doing a bit of planning. I got the yarn for my next project after this blanket is done. This one will be a knitting project, and I am kind of excited about it but can't say much about it at the moment beyond that. I picked out the pattern for the project after that, and the one after that as well. For one of them I should just be able to pick up the yarn at one of several chain stores, but for the other one, I may have to do some hunting to make sure I get what I need. I know my local yarn store, which I have been meaning to visit again anyway, does carry the brand I'd like to get. It's just a matter of them having the correct colors on hand in the right quantity. But hopefully if they don't, I can make a special order. We shall have to see.

Anyhoo, so that's the state of my yarncrafting at the moment. I am in a nice relaxing work at my own pace zone which I am very much enjoying. It's nice to be able to take a day off here and there and know I won't have to furiously make up for it down the road.

I wonder how long that will last?

Crochet-Along: Mission Accomplished

Wow, strolling through my Ravelry page to get the pattern details for this post, I realized that I don't have a single unfinished project right now. That is a very nice feeling. Much better than having, say, four things going on at once. As I am sure that you can guess, all of this means that I have, indeed, finished up my CAL project.

I am kind of deliriously happy with it, I have to admit. I feel like I am really starting to improve on my garment projects, and that is also a very nice feeling. I have been crocheting for a long time and it is kind of awesome to realize that yes, I actually am still learning and getting better and able to do more all of the time. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with just wanting to learn a craft to figure out how to do one thing and then stopping there to settle in and do just that, for me that is not the way to happiness. So, I continue to learn and grow at my craft, and even to branch out and try other things, like knitting. It gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment and, yes, contentment that I think I need to really thrive in life.

I know at least part of that mindset comes from the inspiration of my mother, who is an avid knitter (and her mother before her, who taught me to crochet). For my mom knitting is not just a hobby. It is a an everyday facet of her life. A day in which she goes without knitting is a day in which something has gone horribly awry. She is constantly learning new things and creating beautiful works with her own two hands. She even designs her own patterns on a regular basis, something which I am not quite up to doing just yet, but which gives me another goal to strive to reach. She works at her local yarn store teaching others her craft and spreading the love and knowledge. Remember when I went to the comic convention earlier this past year? Well my mother spent the past weekend at Sock Summit, a convention for knitters. By all accounts she had an absolute ball, and I am so glad she got to do that. I look forward to getting to go with her to the event one of these years.

With such a wonderful inspiration like that, is it any wonder that crochet has become such an integral part of my life?

But I digress. I meant to show you my latest finished project and I shall. Here it is, in all its glory:

Sunny Days Pullover by Cori 2011.

Action shot!

Pattern: Mesh Raglan Pullover by Lion Brand Yarn (available for free on their website), size XL
Yarn: Lion Brand Recycled Cotton in Sunshine (five skeins)
Hook: H

For comparison, here is the sweater as shown on the CAL banner:

I'd say It came out pretty well, the difference in size between the models notwithstanding. I finished it on Thursday and was so happy with how it turned out I decided to give it a test drive on Friday (you may have caught a glimpse of it in my article about Squishables). Friday is my daughter's music class, which means lots of movement, and it proved to be very comfy throughout.

Added bonus: It was camera day in music class! 

Baby Girl wasn't too keen on posing for a photo, there were instruments to be played with and dancing to be done, but Hubby and I were glad of the opportunity for a family shot.

I had originally intended to make the sweater a bit longer than called for in the pattern, but once I had completed the called for number of rows, I was actually happy with the length. The only pattern modification I made was to leave out the tie for the bottom, which I felt was rather unnecessary. Other than that, this pattern is pretty marvelous and wonderfully simple. I think sweaters made from the top down are my favorite kind to make!

As far as the yarn, this was my first experience with Lion Brand's Recycled Cotton, and I have to say it was rather nice to work with. I like the idea that it is recycled from scraps used to make t-shirts, and it gives the yarn a very unique look that I quite enjoy. I think that this will definitely be a yarn I turn to again when making other garments out of cotton.

As far as what is next, I have about four more projects on my list to get done and then I think I will start delving in to the world of knitting socks. I have the pattern picked out and the yarn ordered for my next project so once it gets here I will get started on that. Until then, I think I am going to just bask in the glow of being done with everything else--and plan for all the wonderful projects I would like to do once this crop is done, of course!

Have a good one, y'all. Happy crafting.

Elephants, Ninjas, and Blankets, Oh My!

So, I sadly did not make any progress on my crochet-along project this weekend. That doesn't mean I didn't make any fibercraft progress, however. Oh no.

The reason my CAL got put on hold was because I encountered an unexpected deadline for the baby blanket I have been working on. I found out that I needed to get it done before Sunday if I wanted to avoid paying to mail it across town. Seeing as I had also intended to make a stuffed toy for the baby's big sister, this meant I needed to get my butt in gear. So I doubled down and finished the blanket on Friday.

Blue Rose by Cori 2011.

Border shot.

Detail shot.

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Blue Mint (5 skeins)
Hook: G

For the most part I am very happy with it. It is just alternating rows of single crochet and double crochet with a scalloped border. If I had had a little more time I probably would have made it a bit longer, but it is still a good size for a baby. I really do just love the color of this yarn. I must find something fun to do with the leftovers! If you want to see the actual "pattern" I used, I detailed it on my Ravelry projects page.

I finished that up on Friday, which left me Saturday to make the toy for big sister. For one amigurumi, one day is plenty (even if that is a crazy baby shower and birthday party-filled day). Apparently, she loves elephants, and I just so happened to have recently stumbled across a really cute pattern for an elephant, so...

Ton of Toffee by Cori 2011.

Side view.

Look at that cute little elephant tush!

Pattern: Amigurumi Elephant by Ms. Premise-Conclusion
Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in Toffee (1 skein) and Beige (1 skein)
Hook: G

Of course, I ran out of the Toffee yarn when I was almost done, which is what I get for using leftovers. But I improvised with the ears and tail and I think it actually came out really cute! I love this little guy. I did use a G hook instead of the F called for in the pattern, because I wanted it to be a little larger. I also had to wing it a bit on the legs because the pattern was written with the pieces worked inside out, and the complicated legs had to be worked inside out to follow the pattern exactly. But out of habit, I just make it so the fabric turns right side out as I work, which made things...interesting. Still, it all worked out quite well, I think. This is a great pattern for an intermediate or above crocheter!

Speaking of a baby shower and birthday party-filled Saturday, I can now show you what I made as gifts for those events. This was the project I hinted at in last week's post. It is full of win and awesome.

I think you will agree.

Party of Ninjas by Cori 2011

Ninja 1

Ninja 2

Ninja 3

Pattern: Amigurumi Crochet Ninja Pattern by Ms. Premise-Conclusion
Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in Sapphire (1 skein) and Charcoal Grey (1 skein), Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Baby in Lamb (1 skein), black scrap yarn for the eyes
Hook: F

I mean, come on, how are these not awesome? Also, this pattern? SUPER easy! I may or may not have snuck up behind my husband and launched all three of them at him while simultaneously yelling, "NINJAS!!" Cuz, you know, why not?

So, I had a flurry of activity crochet-wise last week, but that is okay. My next project deadline isn't until the middle of September. So I am going to work on my CAL and then go from there.

Doing This One By The Book

I don't know what it is about summertime, but it seems to kick start my craft and home-related projects into high gear. I think I thrive on the warm weather and sunshine or something. At the moment I currently have two crochet projects in the works.

The first is a fairly simple baby blanket. When I say simple here, I do not exaggerate either. The piece is just side-to-side worked rows alternating between single crochet and double crochet. It gives a very nice clean look with just a touch of texture to it. Partly I chose this pattern because it is very easy and works up quickly, and partly I chose it because the yarn is so pretty I wanted a pattern that wouldn't distract from that. I am pretty satisfied with how it is coming along.

Here's what I've got so far:

Baby Blanket Delta as of July 11, 2011.

A closer shot of the pattern. Clean and simple, no?

As for the second project, I am participating in Lion Brand's summer Crochet-Along. They do a Knit- or Crochet-Along a couple of times a year. I don't always join in, I have to really like the pattern they choose, which is what happened this time around. We are making the Mesh Raglan Pullover for this CAL, and this is a pattern I have had on my radar for quite some time now, so it seemed silly not to join in.

For those of you not in the know, a KAL or CAL is when a group of people all decide to work on the same project at the same time. Sometimes the group will set a specific pace for the project, though Lion Brand likes to let everybody work on their own schedule. The way Lion Brand runs their KALs and CALs is that they will post a new blog post every week with the project leader discussing various stages of the project, from choosing yarn (including picking a substitute if you don't want to use the yarn called for in the pattern), to how much of it to get, to making gauge swatches, to making the pieces of the project, to finishing and assembling them. It's actually a really great way to try your hand at a new type of project for the first time. Say you want to make a sweater but you've only ever crocheted blankets or toys, a CAL would be a big help to you. Not only does Lion Brand put up a blog post each week going through the various steps of the project, they also host forums on Ravelry for the participants to ask questions and discuss amongst themselves the joys and pains of their endeavor. The forums are a great place to go for advice if you are stuck or confused to find out if anyone else is having the same problem and how other people are fixing or getting around it.

The yarn called for in the pattern for the pullover is Lion Brand's Recycled Cotton, a yarn I had not previously used. I have been discovering the joys of working with cotton yarns lately though, so I decided to give this one a try. I chose the colorway named (appropriately) Sunshine, which is a mellow, yet happy, shade of yellow. (You have no idea how hard I had to fight the urge to buy the blue or green yarn though, seriously. I know that there are other colors out there, my brain just doesn't seem to care most days.) The yarn is kind of cool because the "recycled" part is actually remnants from t-shirt factories. It is the bits that aren't used when the fabric is cut to make the shirts. That knowledge just makes me happy. Yarn out of t-shirt fabric? This is custom-made for me. It also gives all of the shades in this line a really cool and unique not-quite-heather look.

Now, normally I am pretty much allergic to doing gauge swatches. I have just never seen the point. But as I get further along in my skill development, and look over my body of work as I move into wanting to make things I can actually wear, I am starting to acknowledge that gauge is, in fact, very important for projects like sweaters and socks. (I think my mom is more than a little relieved to hear this.) A little extra effort at the start is worth it to come out in the end with a piece that fits and that you are happy (and able) to wear. So. I actually did my gauge swatch over the weekend before starting the project.

Bonus: It will probably make a decent wash cloth.

I even washed it and let it dry out before measuring. This took a bit longer than I would have liked (the letting it dry bit), but thankfully my gauge was spot on for the first try. I very much doubt that will ever happen again, but it was quite encouraging for my first gauge swatch, I have to say.

Once gauge had been determined as acceptable, I got started on the sweater itself. It is worked in one piece from the neck down (holes are left for the sleeves and then once the body is finished you go back and work them onto the openings). I got a few rows of the yoke done.

So far, so good.

All in all, I think that is off to a spectacular start. I expect I should probably be able to keep up with the basic pacing the blog has outlined for us without sacrificing progress on my baby blanket as well.

I love this productive feeling, I really do. Hooray for summer!

All in All I'd Say It's a Good Start

Well, despite my daughter deciding to kick off 2011 by waking up several times in the night on New Year's Eve/Morning screaming her head off and all but inconsolable (she is in the process of cutting three very large teeth), so far this year has gotten off to a pretty good start, I'd say.

Saturday was just plain awesome.  I hung out with my husband and daughter all day long, which is actually a much rarer event than you might expect, given Hubby's normally busy schedule.  We finished off watching the first season of Stargate Atlantis together (we've been working on that for a while now), I finally started in on watching my season four Bones DVDs (I got them for my birthday back in August), and, there was something else...what was it?  Oh, yeah.  My alma matter, TCU, WON THE FRAKKING ROSE BOWL!!!!!!!  Dude.  I am not a football person.  I seriously only watch two football games a year (and as someone who lives in Texas, I promise you, that takes some dedication), but even I can tell you that was a GREAT game.  So yeah, heck of a way to ring in the new year.

Yesterday was a pretty nice day as well.  I realized that I definitely need/prefer to go to the earlier of the two available services at our church (they started offering a later service in November), despite the fact that it means I have to get up early.  Going to the later service has just had me dragging.  So.  Did that, and then had another day of hanging out with my family.  Hubby mostly napped on the couch while I played with Baby Girl and watched some more Bones.  I also watched the first episode of the new season of Primeval on my DVR and enjoyed it quite a bit.  I am so so glad that show has come back.  Good times. 

Lest you think all I did was laze about and watch television (though I did do quite a bit of that), I also got in some good "puttering."  I finally, finally, pulled out all of my yarn and went through and cataloged my stash, then put it all on my Ravelry account.  I also pulled out all of the kits I have yarn for (crochet and knitting) as well as making a list of the other patterns I have that I want to make in the coming year and put those in my Ravelry queue.  I will definitely work my way through the patterns/kits I have the yarn for first, and then start moving on to the others.  While I was going through my stash I also at long last took the time to go through a stack of vintage patterns my mother-in-law had given me earlier in the year.  Most of them are for crocheting with thread, which I might want to try at some point, but while looking through them I also found the pattern for the blanket she has at her house that I have been admiring for years.  Yay!  As it is a rose motif, I told my husband that if the Frogs won the Rose Bowl (we were watching the game at the time) I was going to make the blanket this year and make the roses purple.  So.  Yes.  That will be happening.  Sweet!  Right now I am just dithering over the decision of whether or not to start my first attempted knitting project or my crocheted sweater first.  I think I may go with the knitting because it is a pair of slippers and darned if I don't just really need a good pair of slippers right now.  So I will hopefully get started on that this week.  I am sure you will hear much about it.

I haven't said much about Kingdom Hearts II yet, but that is mostly because I was still slogging through the beginning of the game, which was incredibly slow (I kid you not--I was five hours of playing time into the game before I got to the title sequence).  I am (mostly) enjoying it so far, I think the story is an intriguing one.  I was chagrined to find that even though the designers seem to have lessened the amount of time you have to spend in the Gummi Ship (yay!), they managed to make the time you do spend in it about three times as obnoxious as it was in the first game.  Sigh.  Also, I ran into this new addition yesterday called the "morale gauge" that was giving me some problems and is a huge pain in the rear-end.  But other than that, I am having fun with it overall.  I feel the strong urge to brag about the fact that I have thus far not once cracked open a walkthrough either.  I have a few bookmarked, just in case, but I am gonna see how far I can get before I break my resolve.

I made the first steps on the path toward achieving a few of my goals for the year as well.  For the "read more books" goal, I have made the executive decision (then told it with my husband and am now sharing it with you so that I have people to hold me to it) that since I am getting up early on Sunday mornings again, I will just rule Saturday nights a non-game-playing night.  I can read a chapter or two of my book instead of wittering away hours on my game.  It's a baby step, sure, but a step all the same.

I made some slightly bigger strides toward my writing goal yesterday though.  I've started giving some serious thought to the story I will be researching/starting this year.  I spent a large part of the evening bouncing ideas off of my husband last night to see how crazy any of it sounded.  I have definitely decided that this one will be straight up science fiction, not fantasy, which is a break from my normal MO.  This also means, flat out, NO MAGIC.  This is gonna be a challenge for me, but I think I can do it.  Sadly it also means no dragons, but I will find a way to make sure they are represented in the story, never you fear.  *cough*spaceships*cough*

So I would say I am pretty pleased with how my first weekend of 2011 went.  I hope each of you are as satisfied with the new year thus far, and if not, I sincerely hope that things start to look up for you soon! 

Oh!  And before I forget, I did manage to finish my cowl on Thursday.  I am pretty pleased with how it turned out, even though it was not as I expected.  I think if I made it again, I would half the width of the circle and double the length of the tube.  But still, it is super warm and cozy and I love how the colors came out.

Cori's Cowl by Cori 2010.

This is how the pattern photo suggests it be worn.

Though I like wearing it as a hood to keep my ears warm too!

Pattern:  Vintage Cascade Cowl by Lion Brand
Yarn:  Red Heart Super Saver in various shades (I used remnants from other projects).
Hook:  J

Ooh, Look What I Made

So, now that Christmas has passed, I can reveal to you a few of the projects I have made in the last little while, yay!

Let's just dive right in, shall we?

Winter Warmth by Cori 2010.

Pattern:  Angora Tam by Lion Brand
Yarn:  Red Heart Super Saver in Aran
Hook:  I

I made this set for my mother-in-law for Christmas.  Like the tam and scarf I made for Flick Filosopher, I used the pattern of the hat for the scarf, though I changed it up a little bit.  I was much much happier with how this one came out.  Also, it used less than a skein of yarn for the set, and I worked it up in just a couple of days.  This is an excellent little last-minute gift that I will definitely be keeping in mind in the future.

Nightcap by Cori 2010.

Yarn:  Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Grey Heather
Hook:  J

I totally improvised the pattern for this little cap, which I made for my husband's stocking.  He is rarely seen without a hand-made beanie on his head during the cold months (he has a few, made by myself and by my sister).  He even likes to sleep in them, since he is a freak of nature and is incapable of burrowing under the covers like a normal person (i.e., like me, the bedtime burrito).  Um, I digress.  I love my husband very much.  I was pondering whether to make him a new hat or socks for his stocking and he mentioned that as much as he loves his beanies, they never stay on at night, so I wanted to try to make him a hat that would actually stay on his head while he is sleeping.  So far, this one seems to have worked!  I modeled it after the old-fashioned sleeping caps you often see in movies.  I am pretty proud of how this one came out.  Also, the Wool-Ease is my favorite new hat and sweater yarn by the way.  It is super warm and soft without being crazy thick, and as a bonus, is completely machine washable and can even go in the dryer!  I call that a win.

Plus Five to Warmth by Cori 2010.

Yarn:  Red Heart Sport in Paddy Green
Hook:  G

I initially made these to go in my daughter's stocking, but ended up stashing them to go on the Christmas tree next year instead, because the fit is not all that great.  The wrists openings are too wide and the thumbs are too small.  I improvised this pattern because the smallest I could find for mittens was for 2 year olds, and my daughter at 16 months is still fitting comfortably in some of her 3-6 month pants (though they are a bit short).  She's healthy, but she is a tiny little thing (which she certainly doesn't get from me).  In addition, most of the patterns I found called for really bulky yarn (like Homespun), which I wasn't feeling for the project.  So I may just have to try again next year, I guess.  I still thought they were pretty cute though (which is why I've relegated them to ornament status), and they only took a day to whip up, so not a complete loss, all told.

Jewel Top by Cori 2010.

"Model" Shot.

Pattern:  Dinner at Eight Top by Lion Brand (size Medium/Large)
Yarn:  Lion Brand Vanna's Glamour in Ruby Red
Hook:  H

So this is the project I was putting off working on when I made my husband's hat and my daughter's mittens.  I'm not completely dissatisfied with how it turned out, but it is not exactly how it was supposed to be.  The top is supposed to be an overlapped V, sort of like how a wrap-around shirt looks.  Also, when I was putting the skirt and the top together and trying it on to see how that would look, what it looked like was a maternity top.  Since I have no plans to need a maternity top again, well, ever, that wasn't gonna fly.  So, I did several rows of single crochet at the top of the skirt to give it that waist panel before joining the top and bottom halves.  I think that if I were to make this top again (or if I could go back in time and give myself some tips), I would keep a better eye on my gauge (I had two skeins of yarn left over when I was done), and I would probably make the next size up, at least for the top half of the shirt.  But, it is cute how it is, and I like the sparkle in the yarn.  Vanna's Glamour is a little too thin for my tastes, and that strip of sparkly means it is a pain to wash, but with another yarn, this could come out really nicely, I think.

Thermal Scarf & Sweater Set (Sweater) by Cori 2010

Thermal Scarf & Sweater Set (Scarf) by Cori 2010.

Baby Girl Models the Sweater.

Baby Girl Models the Scarf.

Pattern:  Thermal Scarf by Lion Brand
Yarn:  Red Heart Super Saver in Dark Orchid
Hook:  I

Okay, so after I finished my Jewel Top, I finally came back to the sweater I was trying to make for my daughter.  I ended up going with a different pattern, because I wanted something more solid for the cold weather.  So I took the pattern for the Thermal Scarf and used it to wing a sweater.  For ease of putting it on and getting it off, the neck is a shade too wide and the sleeves are a shade too narrow, but it actually fits her really well and I am pretty happy with how it came out.  She seems to enjoy it as well.  The scarf I just made from the pattern, making it a bit narrower and shorter.  It took about three days for both of these items and only about a skein and a half of yarn (I love the Red Heart Super Saver skeins).

Right now I am working on a cowl for myself, and though it is not turning out how I expected (but, I will note, that is an error on my part, because I was expecting something different than what the pattern was intended to produce), I am really liking how it looks.  It should keep me nice and cozy this winter.  I'll have more on that once it's done, to be sure.

After that I have one more sweater to make and then I am gonna start lining up my yarn craft plans for the new year. 

For anyone interested in the patterns from Lion Brand, they are available for free on the company's website, though you do have to register (totally free) with the site to see them.  That's why I didn't link directly to the patterns, but their search tool is pretty user-friendly, so you should be able to find them no problem.  As for my "original" patterns, I really, really hate writing out patterns, so even when I start out trying to keep track, I usually forget to record my steps well before I get to the end of the project.  Wonder of wonders, I did record the pattern I used for the Winter Warmth scarf.  I put it in the project details on my Ravelry page.  My user name there is AtlantisDragonGrl, so feel free to check that out if you have an account.