Sew I See!

Here's the Prairie Star Motif , so named because that's the first thing that came to mind when I looked at the finished product. It's a very simple motif-- and a small one, too, as written.  My first sample worked out to just shy of 3.5 inches square.  (If you wanted it bigger, you could easily add another round or two of the granny square clusters of double crochet.) The center is a bit puffy-- puffed up higher than the final round.  I think it adds to the texture and "dimensionality" of the motif, but if you want something very flat, this isn't it.  (Also, the edges in my samples aren't perfectly straight, but I think that with blocking, edging, or joining a few together, they'll even out much more nicely.) I used an H / 5.0 mm hook and worsted weight yarn, but there's always room for adaptation. You can of course work the pattern all in one color or change colors as many times as you like.  I've worked just the two samples yo...

I'm accumulating the "makings" for a new throw pillow, using the Prairie Star motif... Can't ever have too many throw pillows, right?   - - - - - - - Meanwhile, the cyber-stalking of the (crochet book-containing) package continues.  This afternoon, it arrived in Atlanta.  Progress!  Next stop-- Montgomery?  Or will it head straight for Mobile?  I'm on the edge of my seat!  ;o)

So, I started playing around with the idea of designing crochet motifs-- just to see if I could.  It's a little (ok, a lot) intimidating to me, so I'm starting out small and slow. Possibly the biggest intimidation is this feeling that there are so many motifs out there, it would take a largish, elaborate, complicated one to have any chance of being truly unique.  I didn't relish the thought of someone coming along, claiming intellectual theft.  Neither did I want people to look at my baby-step first attempts and think that I'm full of myself for even bothering to blog about my silly simple motif. But then I decided that it doesn't matter if my attempts are humble-- everyone has to start somewhere-- and that since I'm not copying someone else's design, if there's overlap or similarity, it's completely unintentional and innocent.  So why not try?  Well, enough preamble. Here's the Prairie Star Motif , so named because that's the first...

I've been using one of the hooks I gave a polymer clay handle a lot, this past week.  It's really grown on me, and I feel just as at home crocheting with it as I did with the uncovered hook.  I haven't tried an uncovered hook since getting used to the polymer clay-handled ones, so I'm not sure if I have a strong preference one way or the other... but the fun of covering the hooks may be the deciding factor.  ;o)  Last week, I covered a couple more crochet hooks that I have in duplicate sizes-- an "I" and a size 7 steel hook (both Boye (g)): I only covered the "I" hook up to the thumb-rest, to give that style of handle a try. If I do decide to cover more hooks, I want to know which type fits my hand better. I guess I was too eager to get those two hooks in the oven, because I completely forgot to give the steel hook handle an indentation for a thumb-rest. Oops. Well, if I try it and hate it, I could always use a linoleum cutte...

I ought to know better by now.  No matter how (relatively) minor-- or even trivial-- a subject may appear from the outside, if you look close enough, you will find people passionately invested in it.  (g)  Today's examples are crochet hooks and brand loyalty. I use Boye hooks (though I do have a few acrylic hooks in large sizes that I think are Susan Bates).  After I bought my first set of three hooks, I stuck with Boye just because I already had a few, and it made sense to continue collecting the same line to complete my set-- but I don't remember why I chose Boye to begin with.  Probably, they were just available and affordable.  (Especially important for someone starting out in a new craft, not sure she'll stick with it and loath to invest much in tools and materials.) I've been aware for quite some time that there are other brands of hooks and that each brand has its supporters and detractors, but it wasn't until today that I read much about croch...

I have gone on a potholder- and dish scrubber-making spree.  I don't think I've crocheted anything else since my last post.  Just potholders and scrubbers.  This is partly because I want to add to my stash of retro crochet potholders (which I will hang behind the stove as "useful décor") and partly because I can whip out a potholder/dish scrubber quickly and easily, without feeling that I'm straying too far from my Big Projects.  Guilt-free variety! ;o) Some of them are kind of crazy, and they don't all "go" together very well, but that's the good thing about potholders-- they're easy to swap around... and they're useful, even if they aren't all perfect.  (I probably definitely wouldn't have chosen some of those colors, if I could've used any colors I wanted, but I was trying to use up my stash of cotton scraps and reclaimed cotton from thrift-store sweaters.  So, frugality and practicality trump my druthers.  As so often h...

Ever since I started crocheting seriously, I've planned to "eventually" try covering a crochet hook with polymer clay.  (Not surprising, considering that before I became obsessed with crochet, I was similarly obsessed with polymer clay.)  Yesterday afternoon, I finally gave it a try. I chose a few hooks that I have duplicate sizes of, which was important to me because I want time to  decide whether I prefer polymer clay-covered hooks or uncovered ones-- and I'd rather not have to go buy more uncovered hooks, should it turn out that the clay-covered ones aren't as comfortable for me to use. With a few hooks in hand, I went to my long-neglected polymer clay supplies and pulled out some scrap clay and leftover bits and pieces from previous projects.  I wanted to try out a variety of looks, so I chose a retro/mod cane (a.k.a. a "Klimt cane" or extruded cane) for one... simple marbled scrap clay for another... the remnants of a sparkly mokume gane bloc...

To make up for the last image-less entry, here are some hastily-snapped photographs... - - - - - - - I forgot to mention that I crocheted a little doily for my mother's birthday. I tried out the heart-shaped doily from Patricia Kristoffersen's 99 Little Doilies , using the left-over thread from when I crocheted her "Gallant" pattern. I believe this was my first time making a multi-motif doily, and I have to say, I wasn't crazy about it. (g)  It wasn't awful, but I don't see myself making huge, motif-based, thread tablecloths or bedspreads anytime soon.  (Not that I ever was tempted...  Doilies are enough to satisfy my appetite for thread crochet.)  The last round of the border was by far the most time-consuming, patience-demanding part of this pattern.  (Phew.  I feel my blood-pressure rising just remembering it...) Next up, my current doily-- Hiddleson's "Pretty Baby" (which I'm calling "Lotus Bloom", because le...

Time for the typical "why I haven't been around lately" post.  ;o) I've been busy with other stuff, I guess.  (?) I'm still crocheting on my Big Secret Projects (two of them).  Well, I had put them aside for a while, but I've picked them up and I'm nearing the end of of Phase 2 (of 3) in one of them.  I'll probably switch to the other one and finish Phase 2 of it before starting Phase 3 on this first project.  (Isn't this fascinating, when you have no idea what pattern I'm even talking about?)  It's extremely repetitive, but I'm seeing progress, so that's ok. Not so much progress on the cables front.  Spring/early summer seems to already have found its way to southern Alabama, so I'm not in any hurry on any cold-weather projects... but it would still be nice to finish the Celtic Cables Neckwarmer, just so I could call it done.  I kind of dread picking it back up, though.  I'll have to remind myself of the pattern, beca...