Current crochet projects

Though it may not seem like it sometimes, I do manage to finish craft projects occasionally. This one started off as a gift for my sister out of the blue yarn I had leftover from a hat I made last year, having found the pattern in the free section at Lion Brand. I had to get more yarn to finish it, and when found this Patons Shetland Chunky Tweeds I wound up deciding to give her the other hat and keep this one for me! The other one was too tight on my head anyway, and the two times I wore it I got a headache. I was hoping for more of a scarf than this with what was left of the skein, but it does wrap around my neck and I just need a shawl pin to keep it together.

The truth, though, is that I work on too many projects at once, and yet I see so many beautiful patterns in Interweave Crochet, Crochet! Magazine, and on Ravelry and various blogs and websites that I would like to make! In addition to the hat, I have been working on the Wedding Frame for Mindy, I made another Stocking Ornament for Vince's mom for Christmas, and I'm really enjoying making my first crocheted sock (see below). I am taking a quick diversion to make another pair of Hand-Mitts for myself so that my hands don't get so cold when I cross-stitch here in the winter. Actually, very soon I need to start making my garter (a pattern from the Summer 2009 issue of Interweave Crochet) so that it is done in time for the wedding. Whew, I told you I have too many projects, but I love making every one of them!

Birthday Bike Ride

Vince and I went on a bike ride on the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail for my birthday (though we technically went the day after my birthday). It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining and pretty cool temps, and we stopped beforehand to get some sandwiches and took them with us so we could stop somewhere along the way and have a picnic lunch. It was a delightful way to spend some time together.

Here's the basic route, but the end point is merely a guess. For some silly reason MapMyRide have this embedding code only usable in Internet Explorer, so if you're smart and use Firefox it won't show it. :-(


Go here if you can't see the map.

Pink Afghan for my sister

As far as I can remember, this is the very first afghan I made after learning how to crochet. I made it for my sister, and I'm happy to know that she uses it to this day. Recently I took it for a week to tuck back in and fray-check some yarn ends, but it has done rather well I'd say for being around 20 years old and not just sitting in a closet. I wish I could find the original pattern, but I haven't a clue even what to look for (magazine, book, pamphlet, etc.) or where. I also don't remember if these are the original colors the pattern called for, or if we picked them out considering our room growing up was pink and we share it as a favorite color.

Wedding Frame

I haven't worked on my Mary Wigham SAL much because I've been working on a super-secret high priority project - a wedding frame for my co-worker who is getting married today. Since I'm not done with it yet, which I'm famous for not getting things done on time, I'm printing out pictures of the progress to put in the card.

So, I'll now be posting progress of this project, along with work on Mary when I get to it. The frame is based on a listed idea in Needleprint's Rebecca Blake Sampler pattern pamphlet. I put in the top part of "Bridegroom's Heart Motif" that Needleprint has a free download chart for, exchanging the letters in the chart for the initials of this happy couple. Here's an up-close pick of that top motif:


What will be interesting is how to wrap it to make the frame when I'm done with the stitching, because I haven't a clue how to do that yet, lol. I'm loving these Quaker samplers, though, because they are much more relaxing than changing floss color all the time.

Mary Wigham SAL

I'm so very excited to be participating in my first-ever SAL (Stitch-A-Long) making this beautiful sampler. It was made by a girl named Mary Wigham back in 1790, while she was a student at the Ackworth School - a Quaker boarding school founded in 1779.

Needleprint has worked together with the school to chart the sampler and offer it as free downloads in sections for this SAL, asking only for donations to further Ackworth School's efforts in conservation of this and many other samplers. Go to this post at Needleprint if you'd like to know more about the decision to release the chart this way. If you are at all interested, I encourage you to check it out and join us.

This will be the first time that I am going to stitch on linen - I've only ever used Aida cloth before. The fabric (Wichelt Lambswool Linen) is on order and should be here soon, and I can hardly wait to start. I'm actually intending to stitch it in monochrome - meaning that I will only use one floss color, which I think I've chosen a blue for it. I may vary it a bit by using lighter shades of the same color, but we'll see how it goes and whether I feel like sticking to the monochrome.

I think there will be an "official" blog dedicated to this SAL that I will link to for my updates once I know what it is and I get started stitching. Until then...happy stitching!

Baby Bib and Burp Cloth

This started off by my receiving the 2009 Crochet Pattern-A-Day Calendar from a co-worker for Christmas, and another co-worker whose daughter was expecting saw the pattern for these bibs when glancing through it. I was more than happy to try out the pattern and make them, and since we didn't know the gender of the baby yet I picked out this Lily Sugar 'n Cream variegated yarn that would work for any baby.

I had so much of the cream left over, since it was just the trim, that I then had the idea to make a burp cloth with it. I used the same stitch, half double-crochet, as the bibs and just guessed at the size. I was hoping I'd have enough of the variegated left to trim around the burp cloth, and I had just barely enough. They turned out perfect, if I might say so myself! I really enjoyed making these so much more than previous baby blankets and the bunting because they really didn't take much time at all. The hardest part was attaching the buttons! Speaking of buttons, here's a close up of the ultra-cute Bunny Buttons I found for them:

Blue Winter Hat

I made this blue hat for myself (and I thought it photographed best with my wearing it). It was super easy and quick to make. It has also been nice and warm with this ultra-cold winter this year!