Purple Chair Crochet

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Come Together Riiiight Now, Over Me (Work in Progress)

Thisclose to being done with my version of the Circus Sweater. (View my progress here and here).
I need to weave in ends,
block it,
then it will,
come together, right now, over me! Well, over my head. 'Cause it's a pullover. Anyway, something you should maybe know about me is I've had a case of Beatle Mania since my teen years and I show no signs of recovery. I can make a n y t h i n g a Beatle reference. Including, it seems, crocheted sweaters.
Moving on...

The downside of stripes is the ends to weave in. The upside of stripes is the stripes. Stripey goodness!

I haven't forgotten to write the sedge-stitch tutorial. I think that may be after the Finished! post for this project, and *that* post isn't far off. Not at all.

After working on this sweater I've decided that one of the nicest things in the world is fingering weight yarn on a 4mm hook. There's something so incredibly perfect about it. I've also decided that all my sweaters will be with fingering weight yarn when possible. Crochet works into thicker stitches than knitting does, so using a thin yarn really makes what you're making more garment-like, rather than blanket-like. Mhm.

Other musings: I must be the only person I know on this side of the equator making a wool sweater in the middle of June. Ah, well, I've always been colder than average.

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

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Friday, June 7, 2013

Knit Picks Order is IN! (Inspiration)

Check out what came in the box from my latest Knit Picks order...

How gorgeous, right? It's an interchangeable crochet hook. I attach that cable to it and I can crochet big ol' Tunisian crochet projects. Not that I had any in mind. But now it's an option.

Oh yes, future sweater material.

Isn't that beautiful?

Love love love.

Classic but not frumpy. What a great book! I'm definitely recommending Blueprint Crochet Sweaters to all interested in crocheting clothes.

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Any 10 Squares Bag (Finished! and a simple How-To)

I made this bag on a whim. All you need is 10 squares of the same shape. They can be any square pattern, but I used the Sunburst Granny for my first attempt because it's such a beautiful stitch. I think my squares measured 4.5" across. Tweaking the size of the square will tweak the size of the bag (so, uh, that was probably obvious information, but it's relevant to point out, nonetheless). Anyway, you can join as you go (as I did) or stitch them all together after.

10 Squares total

6 will lie flat; 4 will be folded

Hopefully my pictures make it easy to see how the bag was assembled. I have 3 flat squares on each side- 2 for the top corners, 1 for the center (3 x 2 = 6). For the other 4 squares, they are folded squares that give the bag its bag shape. They were a bit trickier to join, but I managed, as you see.

Oh, you haven't seen.
Well, you should.
Take a peek!

Ooooh sah petty!

I have a friend who is an amazing seamstress. She's going to make a liner for the bag. I don't know if it's necessary, but it will help it keep it's shape and stay useable for years.

To finish, I hdc around.

For the handle, I joined the yarn to the top corner of the bag. I chained 60, slip stitched into the opposite corner (on the same side- that's important). I sc into the next stitch, skipped 2 stitches and worked 5dc in the 3rd stitch. *Skip 2 stitches, 1 sc in 3rd stitch, skip 2 stitches, 5dc in 3rd stitch * across. When I got to the end I slip stitched into the corner and fastened off.

This bag is destined for a charity sale, but I think I'll make another one using a solid color in an interesting motif. Sah-petty!

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

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Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Another Summer, Another Sale (Charity)

I'm not quite finished prepping for my Summer Charity Sale, but it's all coming together, and that's a good, good thing. Here's a sneak peek of some of my items this year...

An assortment of hair clips.

A mystery item (I really need to finish this and write the blogpost for it!).

I ~heart~ sunflowers.

This blue with this red. A favorite.

I hope you didn't miss the Sunflower Tutorial....? :)

Produce bags in an assortment of colors (greens and blues).

Maaaaybe some doilies (who doesn't love a doily?!). I'd need to remake it into something fresh and new. Maybe a simple little bowl shape from a doily? Trinket-basket like?

And, of course, earrings. Swoon!!

I have other stuff not shown here: another octopus (maybe I'll make a pair), wash rags (for the uber practical types out there), coffee cup cozies (they say 'Love', I'm quite happy with how they turned out- definitely need to get pictures of that!), and a few left overs from last winter's sale (Coffee House Cowls, doily art, etc).

Oh look, another mascot.
This is Calcifer, a rescue kitty that we were just supposed to be fostering, until my 4 year and 2 year old fell in love with him. That only took a day and a half. So, I guess he's ours. I didn't see that coming, but it seems everyone else did. ;) Worst foster parents ever.

Less than a month until the sale! Sheesh, where did half the year go?

Better get to work on that mystery item. :)

Have a Lovely Day!

~Jess

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Monday, May 27, 2013

Circus Sweater (Work in Progress)

My 4-year-old son opened the door to the porch.
"Are you gonna crochet all day?"
....maybe. :)

Check out the progress I've made on my Circus Sweater!

We're not there yet, but we're on our way. LOTS of blocking needed, otherwise this is gonna be one snug sweater. Fortunately, my yarn is wool (and bamboo, but mostly wool) so it should ease up nicely. Blocking always strikes me as miraculous.

You can find the original Circus Sweater pattern here (via Genuine Mudpie). I've altered the original by using a sedge-stitch, which I'll be writing a tutorial for, oh, any day now. It'll be listed on the Right side of the screen when it's ready!

Happy Memorial Day!!

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

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