Sew I See!

My first attempt at a doily was one of Trish Kristoffersen's "99 Little Doilies" (which, as you may know, contains written directions-only patterns).  I chose it because I thought it looked simple-- no fancy stitches involved.  And it probably was simple.  However, I had two things working against me (in addition to the fact that it was my first experience crocheting with thread).  First:  I was using variegated thread.  While it's beautiful in a ball (and can be stunning in the right project), variegated thread usually seems to act like camouflage on fancy stitchwork, in my limited experience.  It's not the best for a beginner trying to reassure herself that she's "doing it right". Second:  I turned my work after every round, even though the pattern never said anything about turning.  (Forgive me.  I was a newbie.  I didn't know any better.)  The results, as you might expect, were less than stellar.  Still, I per...

Meh.  I am just not feelin' it (as they say) today.  I even think I may be slightly depressed, which isn't helping me get motivated to do all the crap that needs doing-- one of which is letting some things go/moving past them so that maybe I won't feel slightly depressed anymore.  So much easier said than done!  (I don't think many people from my Real Life read this, so I feel a little more comfortable writing this kind of thing here, though I still "can't" go into details... Every now and then, I wish my personal blog was anonymous, but it's way too late for that, now.) So.  One of the happier aspects of life at the moment is crochet. I'm just about finished with the next-to-last round of my latest doily.  When that's done, I'm not sure what I'll start next. I might make a couple of mini doilies... (We'll see.)  What I'm more tempted to do is start that afghan I wrote about last time.  I've already gone through my sta...

Since finishing the booties and dodecahedron, I've been making doilies (on my third at the moment, and need to block the first two).  My plan was to spend my crochet time this late spring / early summer making doilies and possibly weaving in ends on two finished afghans (my Sunny Seaside Moorish Mosaic and the Flower Garden Hexagon-- because, tsk-tsk, I still haven't woven in all the ends from even that afghan)... But I've been getting the afghan itch again... I keep thinking about the Weekend in Stockholm throw, in particular.  Yes, I'll admit it:  Part of the reason I want to make that afghan might be its name.  My husband is Swedish, and I visited Stockholm with him before we were married.  (Gamla Stan and the verdigris on the copper roofs were two of my favorite things from the city.)  But I also just like the design of the square, honest! (g) ...So... I'm thinking I may "have" to start an afghan in the hot time of this year, after all.  Since ...

The last time I went to Michaels to buy some sale-priced yarn, I was disappointed to notice that they seem to be shifting their stock of Caron Simply Soft from the 7 oz. skeins down to the 6 oz. skeins.  And they're not changing the sale price to reflect the shrinking skein (so I kind of doubt they're changing the regular price, either, though I'll admit I didn't think to check) .   That is just SO RUDE. I'm not sure who's to blame here... Maybe Caron is no longer making the larger skeins.  (I've noticed before that other stores carried only the smaller skeins.)  On the other hand, Caron probably isn't forcing Michaels to charge the same amount for a 6-oz. skein that they charged for a 7-oz. one, before the switch.  I know, I know.  Prices go up on everything.  ( Don't I know it!)  But still.  Please allow me to be irritated.  ;o) Oh well.  I dug around and found the 7-oz. skeins where they were available.  (Thought the...

I made a couple more crochet items to put in with our baby shower gift. First:  Rainbowy Dodecahedron (Here's the project page on Ravelry , where you can also find the pattern.) Instead of making the full-sized pattern, I stopped after round 10.  I think it turned out plenty big enough this way (for a baby/toddler toy).  You can read more about my impressions of the project on Ravelry, if you're so inclined.  Basically, once you get started, it's a fast project, but putting the "modules" (points) together can be a little messy.  I explain the method by which I finally understood we are meant to join them in my Ravelry notes.  Second:  Booties I actually made two pairs of booties, because the first turned out so tiny I didn't suppose the baby's feet would fit into them even as a newborn. This was my first time making booties, and I wasn't that excited about making them, honestly-- but I thought there'd be a lot of adorable patterns o...

You know how you hold off blogging for a while because you don't want to completely ruin the surprise of a gift?  And meanwhile you accumulate quite a mental list of things to blog about?  And then when the gift has been given, you find you've just kind of fallen out of the habit of blogging, and there's so much you've been meaning to write about, that the thought of blogging becomes one of those "um, maybe tomorrow / where do I start?!" things? Yeah, well, let's see if I can ease my way back into this blog again... The first subject to tackle is the gift that I didn't want to spoil-- the Circle of Friends baby afghan. I was overwhelmed by the kind comments and hearts over on Ravelry for that blanket-in-progress.  Wow!  How flattering!  It's a really fun motif, isn't it?  I may make another afghan from it--  to keep this time, since I've given the first one to the mommy- and daddy-to-be.  (The baby should be arriving early in May.) ...

  Ha! (Found here ... from The Onion .)

I think I have nearly half as many squares as I need to finish the Circle of Friends Baby Afghan! I had fifteen squares when I took these photos, yesterday afternoon. I now have seventeen... and I think I'm going to stop when I've made thirty-five squares.  (That'll be 5 squares by 7 squares... which, considering that the motifs are about 7 inches square, I think is about right.  I don't want to make it too big and unwieldy for a young child.) I'm eager to finish those remaining eighteen motifs so I can see it all put together! Here are a few beauty shots: ...And here's a boring one to show the color combinations of the first seventeen squares: (Some of the squares look quite a bit smaller than the rest, in this photo, but I think that's exaggerated by the slight angle of the view... They're closer in size in real life... and I think that they'll work out fine when I start crocheting them together.) As much as I'm enjoying this...

Had you told me when I was a teenager that I would someday crochet a tissue box cover, I probably wouldn't have believed you... or I'd have been mortified at my (imagined) future state of mind.  (g)  Yet there it is.  I have made one of those "little old lady" tissue box cozies. I saw the pattern on a blog or two-- then my husband caught a cold, and our unadorned tissues came under my eye.  Well, it was inevitable, really, that I should take a break from my current pet project (the Circle of Friends afghan) to make a tissue cover.  It's a simple and very quick project.  An experienced, speedy crocheter could whip it up in an afternoon.  The rest of us might stretch it out over a day or two of easy, pleasant crocheting.  Mine's not the prettiest I've seen.  I really prefer the ones in rainbow colors... but since this one will probably be living in our bedroom, I decided to go with the colors that tend to harmonize best with our bedclothes...

Time for a couple of progress photos! First, a detail photo of the first Circle of Friends motif I made... And here's a (rather blurry) photo of all the squares I had made as of yesterday afternoon.  (I finished one more last night, though, so I'm up to six!) (The one in the upper left-hand corner is the second one I made.  It's my least favorite, so far-- too "circus-y" for my tastes-- but I think it'll be fine when they're all mixed and matched together.) I'm going to make all the squares before I begin connecting them, so there's plenty of time to arrange them just so.  ...And also plenty of time to agonize over the final placement.  ;o) ...I have to say, I'm pretty happy with how it's turning out.  I think it's going to be very bright and cheery, indeed! One thing I noticed is that my squares measure about 7 inches instead of the 8 inches mentioned in the pattern.  I'm not sure why.  I'm using worsted weight ya...