Showing posts with label Crochet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crochet. Show all posts

Saturday, October 5, 2013

I Crocheted My House (Finished!)

I'm a sucker for cutesy amigurumi, and I'm a sucker for cutesy housey thingies. So when I saw these adorable crocheted houses, well, of course I would make a version of my own house!

It helps that I live in a "Cape Cod" style house- it's already cutesy all on its own.





Azaleas in the front...


...and a forsythia bush in the back. Yay, homey goodness!

Initially I wanted it to be pillow-sized, but as I got into the foundation and halfway up the house I realized how unreasonable that is. Frogged it and began anew- and now this little guy is a sweet "miniature". I stuffed it with poly-fil, but I'd recommend that you weight it with some beans in the bottom, because mine tends to topple.

So are you going to crochet your house? Check out the link that follows for some inspiration and instructions to get you going! Crafty Queens: Crocheted House




Friday, October 4, 2013

Jade Pullover (Finished!)


Despite crocheting many days away in September, I didn't manage to update my sweet little bloggy corner of the interwebs. The main reason for my neglect was camera issues. The lighting was either terrible, or my battery was dead, or my pictures just weren't what they should be. So I'd wait or forget or put it off until suddenly over a month had passed and not a peep came from this blog.

So today I sit here and have decided: enough! Here's my Jade Pullover, all FINISHED! and cozy and looking quite green. I still need to block it so the sleeves will lay a bit softer, but for now, you get the idea...
 I was about to clean the dirty mirror but I looked up to discover a wasp in this room. Eeeps! So I did what I do and I ran out and shut the door and then told my husband about it when he came home.

 Awkward stance.

I've never been much for taking 'selfies', so these finished sweater shots are a challenge to get right, I guess everyone gets the gist of the sweater, despite my photographic abilities. :)

Now I need to write up the stitch pattern tutorial. I really-really love this stitch, it was fun and fast and repetitive and geometrical and a wee bit floral without being overly complicated. I think it'd make a great tote-bag of sorts, especially with a calico material lining peeking through the diamond-y holes. Mhm!

You know what else I've crocheted in the month and a half it's taken me to get this post together? A poncho, a house (yes, a house), more squares on my queen sized blanket, a lot of hats for care-bags, added rounds to my son's star blanket, Lego finger puppets, and a whole lotta motifs for a sweater I'm working on (at this point it's becoming a compulsion). Now let's see if I can get my camera to cooperate!




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

***

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Sedge Stitch Tutorial (Free!)

The Sedge Stitch is a stitch I completely
* L * o * V * e *
and I wanted to share it with everyone,
especially those of you who saw and loved my version of
The Circus Sweater

So before we get this tutorial-party started
I will mention a couple of things....

This tutorial is for the *stitch*, not for any finished item
(though I've included a selection of pictures of finished sedge-stitched things).

I include the instructions for each picture
*BELOW* the picture.
If you're like me, excessive scrolling will confuse you,
so just keep that in mind.

You can use
*any yarn*
and
*any hook size*
to make
*almost anything*
that you want.

So with no further ramblings,
I happily present:

*The Sedge Stitch Tutorial*


To begin, chain a length in multiples of 3. I chained 36.


In the second stitch from the hook, work a single crochet, a half-double crochet, and a double crochet. (Disregard the cat hair on the floor.)


Skip two stitches, and in the third stitch work another single crochet, half-double crochet, and double crochet. You repeat this step all the way across. (Be brave!)


Now you've reached the end of your row and you have one stitch left. (It's not a mistake!)


Single crochet into the last stitch. (YES!)


Chain 2 and turn your work! (Onward to our second row!)


In the last stitch of the previous row you'll work a double crochet. (See, it's like a half cluster.)


Skip two stitches, and in the single crochet of the previous row, work your cluster again: single crochet, half-double crochet, double crochet. Keep repeating that step until you've reached the end of the row.


Locate the very last stitch of the previous row. (It's tricky, it kind of hides.)


Work a single crochet into the very last stitch. (Row 2 is CoMpLeTeD!)


Two rows painlessly completed. Now, chain two and turn.



Row 3: Begin! In the first stitch of the previous row work a double crochet.


Skip two stitches, and in the third stitch work your cluster: single crochet, half-double crochet, double crochet. Repeat across. (You've probably gotten the gist of this by now. Hang on, one more thing of note left.)


Now you're at the end of the row. Notice there's no single crochet in the previous row, but your turning chain and your double crochet. That's exactly how it will be from here out. So...


Work your single crochet into the turning chain of the previous row.


If you keep going, eventually your stitches will look like this.



And this. Easy peasy!!
So,
In Abbreviated Crochet Terms...
To begin, chain a length in multiples of 3. (I chained 36 for this project.)
Row 1: In the 2nd ch from the hook work sc, hdc, dc. *Skip 2 st, in 3rd st work sc, hdc, dc * across. In last ch st work sc. Ch 2, turn.
Row 2: In sc of prev row, work 1 dc. *Skip 2 st of prev row, work sc, hdc, dc into sc of prev row * repeat across. In last stitch work a sc. Ch 2, turn.
Row 3: In first stitch of prev row, work 1 dc. *Skip 2 st of prev row, work sc, hdc, dc into sc of prev row * across. Sc in turning ch of prev row. Ch2, turn.
Repeat Row 3.
To increase, work additional clusters into beginning or ending stitches.
To decrease, skip clusters in beginning or ending stitches.





From this tutorial I made a coffee cozy (sah cuuuute!). These itty bitty projects are a great way to practice a new stitch. Just sayin'!


And, of course, the Circus Sweater.


Enjoy your sedge stitching!!

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

***

Thursday, June 13, 2013

The Circus Sweater (Finished!!)

I finished it!
The Circus Sweater!
Weeeeee!!!







I'm happy.
Some details....
The Circus Sweater's inspiration and general instructions can be found at Genuine MudPie's Blog .
I changed some of the details for my sweater a bit.
 -I used fingering weight yarn (Bamboo & Ewe via JoAnn Etc) and a 4mm hook
 -I tweaked the sweater to my own measurements (it ended up being a snugger fit than the original)
 -I crocheted in a Sedge Stitch (tutorial to come)
 -I didn't change my stitch for the stripes, but continued on with the sedge stitch.
You can check out my progress by following these links: Picked a Perfect OneWork in Progress, Come Together.

Whew, I'm tired.
I still have a yoga mat bag to make.
I may (or may not) be making a bedspread.
But for today, I'm finished.
Finished is good.
(Is it Autumn yet?! I wanna wear my sweater!)
Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

***

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

***


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

***