A Scarf for Me

Of all the crochet projects I've completed in these past years, many have been gifts, and the rest have been baby items. Not much for myself, why, I haven't the foggiest. So I felt like making a shawl/scarf for Moi!! 

Having recently dipped my toe into the vast & varied world of tunisian crochet, I've been really enjoying the technique. So I made a tunisian simple stitch scarf =) Toni at TLYC inspired me to make some stripes and fringe. I took elements of the Bobbi scarf and the Ada Shawl and mixed 'em up.

I think we've established that I love making things. Sewing is awesome and I miss it, but crochet is a portable hobby that I can indulge in around kids. My almost 3 year old knows that it is "mumma yarn, mumma hook". So "no touchy" 😆 So these evenings you'll probably find me with a hook in one hand and a bag full of yarn next to me, while the kids watch their daily episode of Wild Kratts.

Tutti Frutti Baby Blanket, Completed =)

And... its done =)

We love the spirals, and the pretty blue border!  

Another Wynn

 This one is for Gudia =)

A pompom may happen, or not. We'll see.

Mandir Curtain

Most Indian households have a “mandir” - a small temple. Size/style varies. I was setting up mine and didn’t have a curtain I could use. In our previous house, I'd used an ivory lace valance that I’d bought at Target, cut in half because the temple was only that wide. That valance was showing its age, the mandir decor was due for an upgrade :) 

My first crochet thread project! 

Once done, I wanted to run it through one laundry cycle and then block it, so I put it in one of those "delicate garments" bag and put it in the washer. But. When it was time to put the lot in the dryer, I took out the garment bag and - my white curtains had turned blue. 😢😢turns out that one blue shirt had snuck into this lot, and the only things that got affected were whites. After some sadness and 5 bleach soaks, the old white emerged again. 

It is still a bit stiff, I suspect I'll need to wash it a couple of times before the fabric gets its drape.

Tutti Frutti Yarn - Out of Hibernation!!

This spiral pattern totally struck my fancy - so much so that I bought the pattern not having made so much as a single Tunisian crochet stitch in my life! The pattern mentioned that I could start the project with the hooks I already had. So I picked up a ball of my yarn (one of 4 balls that I'd ordered back in 2018), printed the pattern and settled in my chaise, ready to make progress!!

When I was done with the base rectangle, it looked really good - exactly like the knit stockinette stitch. Then I looked at the project photos. Different! After a quick google search I learnt that I'd made a mistake and unknowingly  created a different Tunisian crochet stitch LOL. So I frogged and re-did the base.

The first corner also took me one round of make-frog-make to get right. But that's only me Tunisian crochet-ing for the very first time. This is how far I've gotten, slow and steady, ya!

Aaru's Wynn Hat

Every winter, I try to make something (hat/mittens/gloves) for Aaru. Until last year her requests included braids/ears/hello kitty/unicorns/rainbows/etc. This year, she requested a hat that "hugs my head (so no slouch), no pom-pom, no eyes, no ear flaps and no braids" =)

My little girl is growing up and is done with baby hats LOL!! 

She also wanted some sparkle in her hat. She and I shopped for this yarn online, she chose the white ("because it's like arctic foxes, which are my third favorite animals"). 

She loves animals - "I can't decide if I should be a marine biologist, or a vet. So I'll be a Vet on mon-wed-friday, and a marine biologist on tuesday and thursday" =) 

This pattern is such a refreshing change from the "in the round" construction as well as gathered hats that are too "bunchy" at the crown. I love the waves, and the stretch in the resulting fabric.

The first time I started this hat and got to row 8, I was multitasking and watching Earth at Night with Aaru, so was not paying as much attention as I should have been, and made a mistake. Frogged that and started again, this time reading the entire pattern and understanding what was happening. It's a well-written pattern, works up quickly, and did I mention the texture is beautiful?

ETA - pom-poms are okay if they are fur 😆

Rug.. finally done!!

I came across the Alicia Doily Rug and wanted to make it in maroon for my half-bath downstairs. I ordered the yarn and one fine Saturday last October started making it while watching Airlift!

Initial enthusiasm gave way to fatigue resulting from tight crocheting holding two strands and using a smaller than usual hook size (don't need drape on a rug, so it's got to be tight!). So this got shelved for SO long! I found other things to make and kept putting this on the back burner - you know the one that is the farthest! :)

But the very nice bag that this unfinished rug sat in kept taunting me so I picked it up and finished it out of spite LOL!!

Here it is... my very beautiful doily rug. It is about 3 ft wide, and I LOVE it :)

You can see some scallops curling up, but that's because this photo was taken as soon as I finished it :) After blocking it lays nice and flat.

The pattern does not follow the traditional 12 stitch increases for DC, to account for the thickness of the two strands held together. But the 10 stitch increases are perfect.

For rounds where the stitch count increases, I used my own noodle to identify how I wanted to increase stitches - the written directions were difficult for me to follow. So I calculated the difference in the two stitch counts and evenly distributed that around my increase round.

Also, I skipped two rounds that came just before the large scallops - I'd had it, I didn't want to tight crochet anymore!! So again, I reviewed the scallop pattern to see what multiples I'd need, and winged it :)

An Owl Hat with Earflaps & Braids

Made this one for a friend's son who was turning one!

Used this pattern, toddler size. Works up fast, and makes for a nice present :)