Mother's Day Present-Round One

Kid to me:

'"Mom, what do you want for Mother's Day?"

Me:

"Oh, I don't know.....something that starts with "Y"."

Kid:

"Huh?"

Me:

"It can be in a gift certificate."

Kid:

"Oh. ok"

Me:

"Y.....you know, yarn...."

"NO WAY ARE WE GETTING YOU YARN!"

Swapbot Yarn Exchange

I've been having some fun with Swapbot.com. It's a computer generated swapping facilitator that connects people all over the world with others that have common interests. Take, oh, I don't know, yarn, for instance! I signed up to swap yarn and chocolate with one other person. One skein of yarn and one chocolate bar had to be sent in April before the hot weather set in causing chocolate coated yarn skeins to be delivered. Sticky yarn is never fun....

This package was sent to Canada! My swap partner loves wool, so I sent a skein of Lorna's Laces Swirl DK, a super soft blend of wool and silk. I know we were only supposed to send one chocolate bar, but they were on sale.....The envelope says "A little something I made...JUST FOR YOU." Inside is the crocheted bracelet I blogged about earlier in the week. I hope she likes it all! I don't know yet because I sent the package on the deadline and at the post office they told me it would take 5 to 10 days to be delivered! I'll keep that in mind for future international swaps anyway.

Now, on to the package I received.

My package comes from a knitter in California! Too cool! In addition to the yarn, she sent me a fat, blue pen with an Apple logo! I wonder who she works for! The skein of Mission Falls 1824 Cotton was just perfect for me. I've been wondering what this yarn is like. I know just what it will be, too. Since it's a one skein project, it won't take too long to make up. Of course, the project will have to wait its turn in the queue!

I think Swapbot is fun. You do have to be pretty trusting though. It is monitored, but they require addresses and other personal information to make the site workable. The envelope I put the bracelet in was also from a stationery exchange on Swapbot. It's made from paper pressed with flower petals and smells very springlike. It came in handy to put the bracelet in and sweeten the whole box.

Silly Little Caterpillar

This little creature is from the book Crocheted Gifts by Kim Werker The pattern designer is Toni Rexroat

Well, actually, it's a bracelet and a variation because I wasn't going to use size 10 thread or a size 1 hook. I can and have made things with size 10 thread, but I just wasn't in the mood. Plus I thought "I have a lot of pretty size 3 thread that will take way less time to work up."






Looks like a caterpillar just up and died on it's back right on my blocking board!













The beginning chain needed to be a multiple of 6, so I tried 60, which yielded a 7 1/4" bracelet. On the second round, I sc 2; sc, ch 3, sc in same stitch; sc 2, sl st in next chain, repeating until the end of the side. At that point, I attached a shank button by using an impossibly small size 1 hook, inserting it through the button hole and drawing up a loop through the shank hole. Then I switched back to the size 10 hook and sl st in the same stitch to anchor it. Then just keep going with sc 2; sc, ch 3, sc in same stitch; sc 2, sl st in next chain and repeat to the end of the round.

I think crocheting the button on is way better than sewing it on. First of all, it is permanently anchored. Secondly, there are no sewing ends to weave in; not to mention I didn't have to dig through my notions box for a sewing needle and a threader! I think it turned out very pretty. I sent it to a special friend. When she gets it, I'll let you know what she says!

Ajune Toddler Pullover

Really, now. I took a pattern and changed it up! The pattern called for DK weight yarn. I used Aran. I had leftover balls of Bernat DenimStyle to use up. I actually made a crocheted afghan with this yarn. I didn't really like the way the fabric turned out crocheted. It worked up too thick and didn't show the pattern well. However, it is a soft yarn; the kind you might even like to hold up to your face and pet a bit! I was right! It knit up into a wonderfully soft pullover. The fabric was substantial but not hefty or stiff. Happiness!

This pick shows the measurement I tried to most closely match on the original pattern. This size was supposed to be 11.5". I went to a little over 12". Not a problem for it to be bigger because the little recipient is growing fast right now. In order to make it about the same size (I wasn't really worried about a sweatshirt type of garment with no shaping not fitting a toddler at some point in his life) I cast on 20 fewer stitches than called for in the pattern, threw all caution to the wind then started knitting.

As a reminder, this free pattern is available at the NaturallyCaron.com website. I recommend this pattern for beginners as there is lots of garter stitch. New skills for some might be casting on mid project and picking up the stitches for the neckline and working in the round. I used a 16" circular because as we all know, I haven't had the moxie to try dpns....yet.

I'm proud of this project because I used stash yarn and (listen for trumpets blaring) it was finished ON TIME! BEFORE the birthday party! I am now doing a little celebration dance a la Snoopy....excuse me

Easter Present for Daniel

Well, well, well, what do we have here? A sausage? no. A balloon? no. A thick branch off a tree? No, no, no! It's a pillow!

See? If you look again, you will recognize stockinette stitch! The beauty of this design is that I used up all but a few strands of the yarn. I was using stash yarn, Bernat DenimStyle, and didn't want any leftovers. No little balls of anything I might be forced to make into a granny square later.

Did you take a good look at the end? Fooled You, didn't I? The ends are crocheted! Yeah, you know me--dpns aren't yet my thing.

Here's what I had leftover: just a few ends clipped off after weaving. The really long one became a temporary meal for the cat. But her owner discovered it hanging out of her mouth and rescued it for the garbage just in time!

HAPPINESS IS.....

USING UP TWO COMPLETE BALLS OF STASH YARN

Flu Shawl

Follow me back in time to October 2009. Not that long ago really. A very bad month for the H1N1. I work at an elementary school where the flu was making its rounds. However, I'm pretty sure I actually caught it from my husband who works with the public at a grocery store. Anyhoo.....the end result was the same: Too sick to go to work; too tired to work at home. Enter this shawl project: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/senso-crochet-wool-shawl

It's crocheted in Lily Chin Chelsea, a 30% merino/35% cotton/35% acrylic blend I picked up from a WEBS sale last year. The only mod I made was adding the fringe. After completing the last row of the shawl, I slip stitched to the edge, chained 40 and slip stitched to the next stitch, chained 40 and repeated the same process all along the two sides.

I like this yarn. I'm always looking for blends of cotton and merino to work with. Mostly because I get too hot in 100% wool. I have four balls of this left which is about 760 yards. I'm thinking of knitting a little dress for my baby niece. Time to go look for a pattern!

Here is the Ajune Toddler Pullover up to the armholes. I thought it was so pretty! However, there were a few problems with it. Number One-the yarn worked up too thinly. I have come to admire a certain squishiness in yarn. Not wet sort of squishy, but thick and fluffy kind of squishy. These two yarns were making a very lightweight, cheap looking fabric. Second, I doubted this would actually fit a 12-month old who wears 18-month clothes. So, this version was frogged.....

Oops! That's not right! I didn't frog it....I threw it out! Yes, I committed the ultimate yarn workers travesty and threw out some precious fiber. Don't get me wrong; I wrestled with the moral implications for about a week. Afterall, none of the other fiber bloggers ever admit to throwing out a frogged project. I weighed the implications of storing this cheap looking stuff until I could find another use for it. Well, why would I ever want to make anything else with it? Is it ok to dislike something so much that you actually throw it out? My answer was "yes" and after this post, I'm not going to even think about it again.

In the meantime, I completed another pullover based on the Ajune pattern. Wait til you see it....next time.