Sew I See!

In an effort to continue whittling down my WIP list, I began knitting on the Billowy Clouds of Alpaca scarf again.  In a relatively short time, it was done! The pattern is Billowy Delight by Aimee Alexander. The yarn is Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud in "Wonderland Heather". I love the look of the finished pattern-- and even my own humble version, with its uneven tension, is pretty and romantic and "billowy" and puts me in mind of sea breezes and the beach in general. It's not a difficult pattern, either, from a technical standpoint.  However, worked in laceweight, it sometimes seems to go on for-ev-er (or at least it did for me).  It's simple and repetitive enough to make it a good candidate for a TV project-- however , the few times that I made a mistake, it was a pain to fix them!  (Probably wouldn't have made them if I hadn't been watching/listening to something else at the same time, but mental distraction was a sanity-preservation necessity.)

I have photos of three recently finished objects to share! First, here are some photos of the finished "Rustic Shawl" .  Pattern: "Isis" by Anastasia Roberts (not currently available) Yarn:  linen/cotton blend (reclaimed from a thrift store sweater) I haven't blocked it and don't know that I intend to do so right away...  Honestly, I'm not even sure I'll ever wear it, but if I do, I think it looks fine as it is.   I added some rows to make it larger, and by the time I decided it was long enough, it didn't seem to need a fancy border/edging.  I didn't really want it any longer.  (And maybe I just wanted a fast edging, so I could scratch it off the list).  I put simple 3-chain picots evenly spaced (every five stitches, I think) across the bottom of the shawl.  For the front/top edge, I ended up with three rows of single crochet.  The pattern calls for two, I think, but I felt that one more wouldn't hurt,

I've been making an effort to work through some of the backlog of UFOs (unfinished objects, to the uninitiated). I finished the "Rustic Shawl" and even weaved in the tails, though I've yet to photograph it.  (I haven't blocked it, either, but I'm not sure I'll bother... It's definitely a casual-- one might even say "rustic" ;o)-- shawl, and if/when I ever wear it, I think it looks fine as-is.)  I'll try to take photos soon.  Then I picked up a project that has been in hibernation since the summer of 2013-- the "Ruby Cardiff Cowl" .  I'd crocheted it on the plane ride across the Atlantic.  When I got home, I put it away, and though I've thought about it from time to time, I didn't want to get it back out, because the next thing to do was to decide how big it should be and whether to cut the yarn or keep going.  In the end, I added a few more rounds, but I'm still not sure it's the ideal length.  In any ca

The latest crocheted pillow cover is done! Here it is with another pillow made (years ago) using the same pattern: Pattern:  Front: Pretty Petals Potholder #9378 This pattern always seems to ripple when I make it-- too many increases, I guess.  I have to fuss with it to get it flat, and it doesn't want to stay that way.  However, if you're using it for a pillow cover, that doesn't matter as much, because the pillow front won't be perfectly flat, anyway. Back: Plain flat round shape in double crochet. Start with 12 dc in first round.  Increase evenly by 12 each round.  For the 13th and subsequent rounds, add another increase between the 12 you've already been making.  (See this video for a demo.) Yarn: Lion Brand Pound of Love, "Antique White" I used quite a bit of the skein.  There's a good amount left over for the scrap basket, but I think it took at least 3/4 of the skein to crochet the front and back. (It's a pretty big pill