Sew I See!

Time for an update on my progress in the Stardust Melodies CAL! Last time, I noticed that working in a spiral created noticeable (to me) uneven spots in a couple of the patterns.  I had  intended  to leave them both as they were.  There was only a minor issue with the last round or two of one block, so I did leave that one alone, but the other one nagged at me until I ripped it out and reworked with the join in the corner.  I'm much happier with the results from that method, and that's how I've worked all the blocks since that one. So, here's my improved " Fools Rush In ": I also decided soon after the last blog post that to get the size of afghan I'd find most useful, it would be best to work all the blocks twice, so I've been going back and making a second one of each.  I still haven't made the second "Fools Rush In", but it shouldn't take long to get caught up. Here are my two versions of " I'm Beginni...

I've finished the first three blocks for the Stardust Melodies CAL (which I mentioned in a recent blog post ). These are smaller than the typical 12" blocks (mine in heavy worsted/aran are coming out as about 9" squares), and they are one color each, so they work up fairly quickly.  Since Polly's releasing a new pattern twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays, I believe), this CAL won't last all that long.  (It ends August 17th.) I'll try my best to keep up, but I haven't yet decided how big I want my afghan to be, and I'll likely want to make multiples of at least some of the blocks to "size up" the finished blanket, so even if I do keep up, I may not be finishing my afghan immediately after the CAL wrap-up.  There's no hurry, of course, but I do want to finish this project in a reasonable time frame.  No more hibernating projects, please! So, the first few blocks! A lot of participants are changing up the patterns slightly to avoid v...

First, a couple of sets of finished objects! I recently came across this (free) pot-holder pattern ( "Double-Thick Diagonally-Crocheted Potholder" ), which is perfect for mindless crocheting. I wanted to use up what cotton yarn I had in-stash (which turned out to be Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton!), so I had limited color choices.  It's kind of an autumn palette, but I'm not enough of a seasonal decorator to bother about that.  They'll be used year-round. I ended up with seven of them before my yarn ran out.  Two have gone to another home, but that leaves more than enough for us. ;o) It's an easy pattern-- particularly after you get past the crocheting into the chain part.  The only possibly tricky bit is deciding when to seam it closed.  I found that I tended to want to close them up earlier than I should, so once or twice I had to rip out a seam and add another round or two.  If you close them too soon, they might be slightly rectangu...

One of my favorite crochet designers, Polly Plum, has a new crochet along (CAL) starting in a few days.  The Stardust Melodies CAL  will include 24 textured crochet blocks, which will be revealed as the CAL proceeds.  (So it's a bit of a mystery, though there have been some sneak-peek photos of some of the blocks.) Twelve of the blocks (the simpler ones, from what I understand) will be free.  For the other half, there's a coupon code that will take 50% off the ebook price.  (See the link above for more information.  That 50%-off code is only good until the start of the CAL, May 18th, so if you want to take advantage of it, don't wait too long!) I've enjoyed Polly's past patterns a lot (though solid-color blocks are a bit of a departure from the extremely colorful designs she's been known for), and I feel confident recommending this CAL.  There are plenty of helpful people in her groups on Ravelry and  Facebook, if you run into any sort of trou...

Remember the quilt-style curtains I was making for the kitchen? They're done and in the windows! They have been for weeks, actually, but I only recently took a few photos for "show and tell". The main attraction curtain is basically a doll-size mini-quilt-- a rectangle to go in the window of the kitchen door. I chose to make a carpenter's star (sometimes called "carpenter star", without the possessive) as the focal point, with a simple chevron for the bottom edge and a row of random half-square triangles along the top. The fabrics are a selection of greens and deep blue-greens as the darks and a white-on-white print for the lights.   I made a scrappy binding (my first!) from a handful of the same fabrics. The backing is just leftovers from a pale cream sheet I had on hand.  White might've been a more ideal choice, but you'll never see the two sides at the same time, so this is fine. The batting is 100% polyester leftover from a qui...

Here's another finished object with photos, at long last. This is one I knitted in a couple of weeks, back in the late summer of 2015-- but I only recently got around to blocking it and taking some photos. "Mermaid's Tears" Pattern:   "Petits Trous de Printemps" by Berangere Cailiau (Free on Ravelry, in English and French) Yarn:  Knit Picks Aloft, "Tranquil" One ball made a nice-sized scarf.  I'd estimate it's about 64 inches long. The pattern doesn't call for adding beads, but there are several projects on Ravelry (with accompanying notes) that include them.  My own notes mention the modifications I made (and the Raveler whose notes I found helpful). This was my first time working beads into a knitting (or crochet, for that matter) project, but once I got the hang of it, I really enjoyed the process.  I'd definitely like to work glass beads into more projects.  They add an elegant touch of sparkle, a...