Purple Chair Crochet: August 2013

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Jade Pullover (Sneak Peek)

My jade green sweater is d o n e, and has been for a few days now.

I did try to get some good shots of the thing, but sheesh, it's tricky to take self portraits and this is the only one that came out clear....
so, let's consider this a sneak peek. :)

It's quite cozy. I'm almost okay with autumn coming.

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

***

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Left Overs (Work in Progress)

'Use it up
Wear it out
Make it do
Or do without.'

I like to think of myself as a bit of a minimalist. Or at least, I aspire to minimalism and truly believe the old cliches: "less is more" and "waste not, want not". Jaded by our consumer driven society, my charming husband and I decided long ago that we'd make what we could, fix what we could, buy thrift when we could, and buy new only things that were really made to last.

This mentality carries over into my crochet stash, where I'm keen to use up my random yarn and not let it go to waste. It's been a year and a half since I finished my Not-That-Ugly Scrappy Granny Blanket and I recently noticed the yarn bits were multiplying again. Time for some stash busting with the left overs!

This go 'round I stuck with just two rounds of granny. It makes the squares fast and fun, makes weaving in ends feel faster, and when the whole thing is finished it'll have a great retro granny feel (especially if I circle it in black). It's awesome how different granny squares can look.

L O V E

Mini stack of mini grannies.

My project within the project came into being from the surprise bits of yarn that don't have enough length to form even one round of a granny square. I'm taking those and knotting them together and winding them into a ball of their own. When I have 3 or 4, I'll make a little multi-colored floor mat for entrance to my house from the porch.

Minimalist living is surprisingly colorful.

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

***

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Fast Makes (Finished)

Sometimes you don't want to crochet a blanket or a sweater. Sometimes you want some instant gratification. Sometimes you just want a fast make.

Last weekend I felt like that. Ugh, I don't want to touch you, queen size granny square blanket. Ugh, I've frogged you entirely too much to make you appealing, jade green sweater.

So I made a belt.

And a finger puppet (inspired by this foxy guy).

And, since I'm over run with spider plant babies, this little doily plant hanger (inspired by dottie angel).

Fast,
cute,
fun,
yes.

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

***

The Petal Cluster Stitch (Inspiration)

I am loving the Petal Cluster stitch! Despite quite a few hiccups when I started my next sweater (still officially nameless), I stick with the Petal Cluster because it's a design I'm seeing everywhere...

From my bedsheets...

....to my yarn bowl (okay, technically orchid planter, but I can't keep orchids alive)...

...to porch table tops...

....even tiny little bits on throw pillows.

I gave the stitch a try with some dense cotton yarn, but it just didn't feel right. And I remembered no matter how much I love yellow, it does not love me.

So back to my jade green I turned. No in-progress pictures are available just yet, but hopefully I can get those done soon.

So, does anyone know what this design is actually called? Oh, and I know I linked to the photo tutorial of the stitch available from Crochet Me, but if the pictures aren't enough, no worries: I intend to write up a tutorial, especially because I think I tweaked the row end/beginnings a bit from what the original offered.

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

***

Monday, August 5, 2013

End of Summer (Work in Progress)

If you've been around this blog, you may remember The Circus Sweater was a recent make of mine (here's a link to the Sedge Stitch Tutorial, if you want to recreate it!)

Well, since this is my most favorite-est time of year (the end of summer!) and we're looking ahead to autumn but not even there yet (a good 6 weeks before I even think about actually wearing the sweaters I'm making), I thought it was the perfect time to start on another sweater while we wait for autumn.

Initially, I started on this lovely, simple pull over...

Gorgeous, right? Yeah, it's not gonna work. I began the first row of this sweater 5 times (5!) and had to frog it. I wonder if there's something amiss in the pattern, because what I was creating just wasn't adding up with the instructions. There was an actual chart, but since I've never made a top-down sweater before, it wasn't much of a help (I'm actually not much of a visual learner- I need words).

Scratch that.

I then decided to base my next sweater off my circus sweater, but to use a stitch that was a bit airier, to make the sweater a bit looser, and the sleeves a bit longer.
It took a few days of internet searching and book perusing, but I've finally settled on (what I think) is the perfect stitch.... The Petal Cluster

I had to alter the stitch a bit so it would work out with straight edges, but it was a pretty simple adjustment.

It meets all my nit-picky criteria: interesting stitch without being too complicated, a tad flowery without being too feminine, airy without being entirely made of a chain stitch. Oh yes, I have high hopes for this stitch. I just have to order a bit more yarn, because I don't think I have enough of my jade green on hand.

Time to get started.
Happy Monday, all! And happy end of summer!

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

***