Spring is here in full force, with highs in the 80s already, so I'm trying to get things done outdoors. Despite plans to get big things done during the winter, most of it is still unfinished. (Isn't that how these things usually go?) Mostly my Need-to-Do List is mulch-mulch-mulch and weed-weed-weed, but there are also seeds to start, seedlings to tend, raised vegetable beds to prepare for planting (we moved them this year, and they need more soil), and "rustic obelisks" to build. Also, we went to a plant show late last week, so there are a few new plants to place. (Yay for new plants! I've blogged about this elsewhere, if you're interested.)
Maybe it's as a result of spring that I'm feeling the urge to set aside the cool-weather crafts... Thread crochet is sounding better by the day.
Though I've yet to take photos, I finished the second Meret. (...Did I even mention that I was starting a second one?) I made the second hat larger than the first, which turned out more child-size than expected. In fact, I was afraid that merely moving up a size to "large" wouldn't be enough, so I increased two repeats, starting with a cast-on of 96 stitches (iirc). Anyway, it turned out pretty big. I'll keep it for myself, I guess. It "works", but might blow off in a gale, since it's a little loose. Lucky I have a big head, I guess. ;o) One of these days, I may make a third Meret, this time sticking to "large". But right now... I think I'm tired of knitting hats.
A long while back, I knitted a "Wham Bam Thank You Lamb" cowl, but I never really used it. The yarn wasn't bulky enough, so the resultant cowl felt skimpy. I unraveled the cowl and am knitting it again, holding the old yarn (Yarn Bee Andes Alpaca) together with a strand of another yarn (Yarn Bee Effortless Chunky). I think I'm pretty close to having knit enough. It's set to the side for now, waiting to be measured, bound off, and seamed. There's no need to rush, since it probably won't be cowl weather again for a while.
I needed some mindless crochet, earlier this month, so I pulled out the on-going scrappy granny-square afghan. It really is looking scrappy. Since I'm joining squares as I go and introducing new scrap yarn as it becomes available, I think this will turn out to be the most truly random afghan I've ever made. No careful planning. Not even a lot of artful "looks like it's random but it's actually not" arrangement-- or at least, not as much as I'd normally do.
And finally, there's the quilt. (I really need to come up with a name for this one... "Half Square Triangle Quilt" feels a little too dull. The pattern reminds me of some sort of grass or grain, so that will probably be the inspiration...)
I haven't done a ton of work on it, lately, but there's been some progress since I took this photo:
There are now three completed strips, and I've joined the first two strips together. Whew! Long strips like that make me a little nervous, but it seems to have worked out okay. Photos next time, I hope.
Meanwhile, I've started cutting some 6-inch squares so I'll have a "Leaders and Enders" project to work on while I continue piecing this half-square triangle quilt. I had been sewing the remaining HSTs as my leaders and enders, but then I went ahead and finished them up (so I would more easily see exactly how many I have of each color, for even distribution). Now I have nothing but a little thready scrap of fabric to start and end with, and I feel guilty about it, for some reason. (g)
My leaders and enders project is not at all carefully planned out, at this point. I found a small picture of part of a quilt and loved it-- and it looks simple. I'm not sure what this pattern would be called... It's a type of four-patch quilt with alternating diagonal lines of four-patch squares and solid squares, with darker/brighter colors forming diagonal lines within the four-patch "stripes".
...After a little more research, I think it may be "Rainbow Rows" by Lyssa Alexander. The pattern's available in the April 2015 edition of American Patchwork and Quilting, if anyone's interested, and there's a link to a free size chart on this page.
I can see that I'm making my squares smaller than they "should" be (if it's even the same pattern). Well, that's no big deal. I doubt mine will come out at all the same in feeling as the one in the photo, but that doesn't mean it can't be nice in its own way. :o)
Maybe it's as a result of spring that I'm feeling the urge to set aside the cool-weather crafts... Thread crochet is sounding better by the day.
- - - - - -
Though I've yet to take photos, I finished the second Meret. (...Did I even mention that I was starting a second one?) I made the second hat larger than the first, which turned out more child-size than expected. In fact, I was afraid that merely moving up a size to "large" wouldn't be enough, so I increased two repeats, starting with a cast-on of 96 stitches (iirc). Anyway, it turned out pretty big. I'll keep it for myself, I guess. It "works", but might blow off in a gale, since it's a little loose. Lucky I have a big head, I guess. ;o) One of these days, I may make a third Meret, this time sticking to "large". But right now... I think I'm tired of knitting hats.
A long while back, I knitted a "Wham Bam Thank You Lamb" cowl, but I never really used it. The yarn wasn't bulky enough, so the resultant cowl felt skimpy. I unraveled the cowl and am knitting it again, holding the old yarn (Yarn Bee Andes Alpaca) together with a strand of another yarn (Yarn Bee Effortless Chunky). I think I'm pretty close to having knit enough. It's set to the side for now, waiting to be measured, bound off, and seamed. There's no need to rush, since it probably won't be cowl weather again for a while.
- - - - - -
I needed some mindless crochet, earlier this month, so I pulled out the on-going scrappy granny-square afghan. It really is looking scrappy. Since I'm joining squares as I go and introducing new scrap yarn as it becomes available, I think this will turn out to be the most truly random afghan I've ever made. No careful planning. Not even a lot of artful "looks like it's random but it's actually not" arrangement-- or at least, not as much as I'd normally do.
- - - - - -
And finally, there's the quilt. (I really need to come up with a name for this one... "Half Square Triangle Quilt" feels a little too dull. The pattern reminds me of some sort of grass or grain, so that will probably be the inspiration...)
I haven't done a ton of work on it, lately, but there's been some progress since I took this photo:
There are now three completed strips, and I've joined the first two strips together. Whew! Long strips like that make me a little nervous, but it seems to have worked out okay. Photos next time, I hope.
Meanwhile, I've started cutting some 6-inch squares so I'll have a "Leaders and Enders" project to work on while I continue piecing this half-square triangle quilt. I had been sewing the remaining HSTs as my leaders and enders, but then I went ahead and finished them up (so I would more easily see exactly how many I have of each color, for even distribution). Now I have nothing but a little thready scrap of fabric to start and end with, and I feel guilty about it, for some reason. (g)
My leaders and enders project is not at all carefully planned out, at this point. I found a small picture of part of a quilt and loved it-- and it looks simple. I'm not sure what this pattern would be called... It's a type of four-patch quilt with alternating diagonal lines of four-patch squares and solid squares, with darker/brighter colors forming diagonal lines within the four-patch "stripes".
...After a little more research, I think it may be "Rainbow Rows" by Lyssa Alexander. The pattern's available in the April 2015 edition of American Patchwork and Quilting, if anyone's interested, and there's a link to a free size chart on this page.
I can see that I'm making my squares smaller than they "should" be (if it's even the same pattern). Well, that's no big deal. I doubt mine will come out at all the same in feeling as the one in the photo, but that doesn't mean it can't be nice in its own way. :o)