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Crochet washcloths and a Cardigan!
I have been feeling a bit wordless recently but am enjoying the words of others in beautiful lyrics and engaging books. As I let the words wash over me or replay them in my mind I am also reveling in textures; the soft hat I am knitting, this cosy cardigan and drapey-yet-just-textured-enough-to-tickle-while-gliding-over-my-face washcloths.
The washcloths are the same as the ones I made in the spring, using 4-ply cotton and a half-double stitch. The cardigan was scored a few weekends ago at the charity shop for 3.49 and contains angora and lambswool.
I still had some purple fabric strips from the rainbow rag rug and made a quick kitchen mat. I didn’t worry about making even stripes, just using the yarn up.
It comprises a sheet, t-shirt and chocolate covered pretzels flannel pajama bottoms.
(sorry the second picture is blurry)
I’ve been playing around with crochet lace for a linen blouse I plan to sew, modifying the Fan Bookmark pattern. On the right is what started out as the regular pattern as I gradually dropped stitches to get it to a width I wanted.
The left is what I’ve ended up with. I’m still not sure if I am going to sew this on in a vertical strip down the shirt (think of a guayabera) or if it will be slanted horizontally as if on the shirt’s yoke. The hook is 1.75 mm and the thread is cotton size 10 (South Maid is the brand).
I made this cosy for my new water bottle back in April and was waiting to re-test and write out the pattern I used. It was my first project in Tunisian/Afghan crochet and then my second (with some improvements in design) came the following day when I made a cosy for my mom’s new bottle.
The re-testing is just too far down my list of priorities at the moment, but someday it will come!
My sister and her partner (aka “Young Wifey” and “Hubster”) are coming to visit us on Tuesday! They are staying several weeks and I’m really looking forward to showing them around. Last time young wifey came to visit me in Scotland, she wasn’t a wifey and I lived in a tiny student flat with 5 others in St. Andrews…that was in 2003.
Add this visit to the reasons cited in my previous post and you’ll know I’ve been busy tidying, decluttering and creating for the home. Here are my most recent completed projects
We have been working on this rag rug for a long time. Started in January 2008, it has stayed its current size for about a year. We ran out of purple to complete that round and have used it as a hang-out spot ever since. This week I talked to Partner (we both worked on it) and we decided that it was a perfect size already so I dug out some newly aquired purple, finished the round, and now it is complete! It is large enough for both of us to sit on the rug while playing games.
Next, is a hand towel I made using the Basket rib stitch on Ravelry. Here is the link to the original pattern. I cast on 74 stitches and made it just under 2 feet long because I think long rectangles stay on the towel rack better than shorter ones.
Last, is a wee heart rug I made one night to use up the red strips we had cut for the rainbow rug. It is about 1.5 feet across and sits next to our bathtub. I may expand it in the future but for now, I enjoy seeing a small red heart strewn on the floor. It reminds me of red hearts candy.
I got a Visa and I’m back home in Scotland now. While it was nice to spend extra time with my family, I am relieved to be back to my regulary scheduled life.
After all the waiting I had done in the past two months, I wasn’t looking forward to sitting in the airport lounge for three hours with just a book. I took the chance and brought a (metal) crochet hook with me…and it passed through security twice!
Towards the time we were boarding, a woman near me said “Excuse me, are you knitting?” then seeing my project she said “Oh, it’s crochet. Because we’re not allowed to knit on planes”…She was a knitter and found out the hard way when her sweater got dumped from her needles at an airport earlier this year. That’s when I realised the advantage of just losing the hook! I said that I had read about several people who have successfully brought bamboo needles on. I suggested she tries again and to also bring a plastic canvass needle and extra yarn next time to work as a stitch holder if they do end up confiscating the needles.
So, I happily crocheted the hours away, relieved they did not take my hook because I was too anxious to focus on anything and needed my mind to wander into the sunset as I produced stitch after stitch…
When I started this blog two years ago, I was unsure about how long I would follow through with it. While I haven’t been the most regular poster I find that I now love this blog. It is my place to save my progress, inspiration and thoughts, not to mention the fact that it’s much easier to pull up the page and share projects without lugging around a book of scattered ideas!
Glancing back at the original post, I was surprised to see that I have basically avoided (excepting the occasional wagon-fall) purchasing new clothing for the past two years when I have second hand or hand made options available. I hadn’t realised that much time has passed, simply because it feels normal for me now. My confidence in my projects has also increased exponentially and I am now excited to give handmade gifts to everyone rather than a select few. Having friends that say No one gives gifts like me, or Everyone always loves my gifts (although of course these friends, being friends, are biased) definitely helps too! To set the scene for this blog-iversary (or whatever all those bloggin’ pros out there call it), here’s a shot of my recent 29th birthday cake!
Here’s a photo of my mom holding me at 5 months old and sporting the crochet outfit mentioned in the previous post. Also, here are a few shots of my mom’s Mother’s Day shawl. I’ve wanted to make her a shawl for a while and wasn’t sure which weight to make until she said she has been chillier than usual even in warm-ish weather, so I made an early Spring type shawl! I used the increases in the Eva’s Shawl as a guide. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO THE BEST MOM EVER!
For the past week it has been too drizzly and overcast for me to photograph any of my recent crafting (and one will remain secret until Mother’s Day) so here’s a collection of crochet photos gathered from around me.
Going through my belongings while visiting my parents, I came across these Kewpies to realise that they wore crochet clothing. As a child, I don’t think I ever made the connection between the textures of their clothing and the crocheted blankets around the house. It seems there are even books with Kewpie patterns. While I remembered the doll in the second photo having curly yarn legs I also just realised that her entire visible body (there is a very small plastic doll inside with small arms and legs) is crochet. Unfortunately, my mom cannot remember the name of the woman who made these gifts for me. The day after photographing the pink doll, I came across a doll in a crochet dress at a thrift store and snapped a shot.
Kewpies
Here’s a peek at a blanket that matched an entire crochet outfit I had as a baby. It came with a loop-stitch cardigan, bonnet, and booties. I used the cardigan and bonnet on my Cabbage Patch Kids as a child and the booties held potpourri in my dresser drawers. The blanket had been tucked away with our other baby blankets and, I’m excited to report, is in fantastic condition. Here’s a shot of the blanket, but you’ll have to wait for Mother’s day to see the outfit!
Finally, my little sister – also a very crafty lady and the one who taught me to crochet the time it stuck – has started a blog to document her ventures in gardening, DIY and baking. Check her out at Young Wifey!
I flew home this week to surprise my mom and to take care of my parents for two weeks. It is the first Spring I have been to Pennsylvania in five years so I’m definitely enjoying everything. Before heading over, I knitted two more sets of wrist warmers for my nieces. The little sister of the first recipient requested a green pair for her Spring birthday and their cousin, my other niece, requested a pink pair.
In addition to the knitting, I crocheted face cloths for my parents and added two Scottish soaps. I wanted to do a seaside theme with them and so I did scalloped ’shell’s around the edge of the green cloth, but did not like the result of a crab-stitch edging (which I thought would look like a sailor’s rope) around the blue one. They really liked them and it was such a satisfying gift to make and give. After feeling different cloth thicknesses, I think using a 4-ply yarn is definitely the perfect weight for a crocheted face cloth. Yarn for all four projects came from my stash, making me a happy crafter.
