Cutting it Close

Here it is....the hoodie sweater I have been working on for the past month. It didnt take me a month to finish it....I got kinda tired of it after I was about 1/2 done and put it aside. But little A's birthday is tomorrow so I was under the gun. Worked on it every day this week and I just finished it this evening. Thank goodness. This was one of the biggest PITA projects I ever did. It was sewing a shirt except you had to make the FABRIC as well as fit it properly and sew it all together. But the finished product is worth the effort, I think. It was good practice too.

Now its on to less stressful stuff :)

The pattern is a Coats and Clarks freebie. You can find it here. The yarn is Bernat Satin Sport in Meadow.

ETA- I swapped out the original pic for this one of A modeling her new hoodie....isn't she cute!?

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Round About Sweater

I just started this a few days ago. Doesn't look like much yet, but its coming along nicely. I have been wanting to try making a sweater and I wanted to make it with as few seams as possible. I found patterns online that were done in the round, but they started at the shoulders.....I wanted to start at the bottom. So I decided to try designing one myself. So far so good. I still have aways to go on the body but its moving along. I chose a pattern with a 2 count pattern stitch so increases and decreases would be easier when the time comes for that. And I am doing the pattern in blo so the sweater has some give to it and isn't stiff. I figure it will be for the coming Fall season so I have plenty of time to work on it. I know most people are thinking about spring wearables but I wanted to take my time with this project.

The yarn I am using is Simply Soft Shadows....I love the colorway. It will go with anything and anything will go with it. I will post more photos as the work progresses. I'm writing the pattern as I go along and hope to try getting it published. We'll see what happens.

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Long, Long Time Ago.....

I have mentioned to a few people in the past about my very first crochet project that I started when I was 12....over 40 years ago. Well, I was sifting through some boxes in storage and I found it. So I am posting a photo of it. Not a very GOOD photo but its the best I could do :)

I began making this doily when I was 12 and stopped about 3/4 of the way through....I guess being a teenager got in the way. I picked it up again a couple years later and finished it and have had it ever since. I am NOT crazy about the color, but I was a kid....what did I know? :) Anyway I just thought I would share it.

If you are curious about the pattern, if I remember correctly, I got it from an old Coats and Clarks booklet called "Learn How To....Knit, Crochet, Embroider and Tat". The copy I had belonged to my mother and I think it was from the late 50's but you can still find copies of it online....I looked :)

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A WIP Finally Finished :)

Here is a project I started last spring and finally finished yesterday. Its the Boteh Scarf from the Spring 2007 issue of Interweave Crochet. Its a very pretty pattern....easy but it does take time. I used an orphaned skein of LusterSheen in Sage.....got it on clearance about a year ago at Michael's. I only had 2 yards of yarn left over when I finished....talk about cutting it close :) But its a perfect yarn for this project. Hangs SO nicely. Not sure who I am going to give it to, yet.

Unfortunately, the pattern is not available online but if you can get ahold of a copy of the issue, give it a try.

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Bargain of the Month

I was going through A.C. Moore today looking at yarn and I am getting more and more frustrated with the selection. Note to chain stores that carry yarn: Start carrying more lighter weight yarns and not so much worsted weight. Worsted weight does NOT lend itself well to many garments. And baby yarn is NO substitute.

Ok, now that I got THAT rant off my chest, here is my find.....10 skeins of Moda Dea Jai Alai. Its an eyelash yarn and I have NO idea what I am going to do with it and I HATE working with eyelash yarn. Plus its not particularly practical. But I couldn't argue with the price....99 cents a skein. If I do nothing else with it, I can make a nice soft scarf. This was the only color I could get the same dye lot in and get a good amount. Its pretty, but I would have prefered the blue/green color they had....but there were only 2 of those left. Still, I am happy :)

P.S. Hope you all had a nice Valentines Day. My b/f and I are going out to dinner TOMORROW night instead because we knew no matter where we went, it would be crowded. I dont mind waiting a night. And I got a lovely Swarovsky crystal rose as my gift....its beautiful!

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Not Just a Bib...

This is my favorite baby bib to crochet. You can find the pattern HERE. You can't tell from my pic but it has a fpdc design in it. Its more appearant in the photo on the pattern page. But I like it because it doesn't have ties. Its easy to make....only takes a couple hours. Its not a small bib....it would be too big for a newborn, but an older baby starting on solids would benefit from it.

My b/f visited his little grandson William the other day and the baby's father said they didnt have many bibs for him. So I made this one for him today. Tomorrow my b/f will deliver the bib. I bought some extra cotton ww yarn today to make more.

I havent tried, but you could probably use a finer weight cotton and a smaller hook to make one for a newborn. I might just have to try it. :)

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Sock Stash

I normally dont take photos of yarn but I wanted to show the types of yarn I am using for my socks. No, I dont have stock in the companies...he,he.

The Sockina is cotton and acrylic and it comes in 100 gm. skeins. It tells you on the side how much you need for different projects, but, of course, thats for knitting. It looks like it will make a nice sock. :) The Regia is an experiment. Its a wool blend with silk and acrylic. It comes in 50 gm. skeins and feels VERY soft and may just work for this wool allergic soul.....it better, for the price. :) The Panda cotton is the same yarn as I used in my last post in different shades. Looking forward to trying a new pattern with them....with ALL of them, actually.

Nearly done the second sock of the pair....I will update photos soon.

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I'm Addicted!

Ok...its official. I am becoming sock obsessed. Here is my latest creation.

I started out with a pattern but for some reason, the directions werent working out so after frogging the darn thing a half dozen times, I gave up and just made a simple sock using sc and esc. Nothing fancy but I like it. I used sock yarn for this one....Crystal Palace Panda Cotton in "Roses". I LOVE the feel of it and its stretchy so it fits nice. I bought 2 other Panda Cotton varigateds so you will probably see more socks in future. But unless I hit the lottery, I wont be buying much more sock yarn....I just spent $150 for SIX pair of socks....OUCH. Not all the same brand of yarn, though. But I have splurged enough for now. :)

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Chemo Caps

I finished making 3 Chemo Caps for one of the ladies at K&C...the daughter of a friend has cancer. I have made this cap before in different colors for one of my friends and I really like the style. And I like the added embellishment of the buttons, front and back. I actually like the pattern SO much that I made myself one. You can find the pattern HERE. Its easy, its pretty quick and you can adjust the size very easily. I know there are an infinite number of patterns for caps out there, but this one is my favorite :)

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Latest Socks for Me

I just finished my second pair of socks for myself. I like them even better than the first pair and they were easier. I used the same booklet for the pattern and I also used the same Cotton Plus in Thistle. The white is Cotton Ease in Snow. I used the leftover Thistle from the first pair of socks and about 2/3 of a new skein. I used about a 1/3rd of a skein of the Snow. I still have plenty left over if I want to make another pair.

Now its on to the chemo cap I promised to make for K&C.

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