crochet – Dramatic Lyric

Finishing the Two-Year Baby Blanket

Two years ago I started knitting a blanket for my niece. I fell in love with the Vivid blanket by Tin Can Knits, knit 9 of 20 squares, then got bored and wandered off to sew something instead. The thing about baby blankets is that if you wait too long they’re not baby blankets anymore. They’re just really small.

Earlier this year I decided I was going to finally learn to crochet properly. I watched a few classes on CreativeBug and learned a lot. One of the classes was on the classic granny square, and my passionate and unreasonable love for this simple square was rekindled. I say passionate and unreasonable because at an earlier time in my life when I disliked all crochet, I somehow still thought the classic granny was beautiful and interesting. Granny squares are my bridge into the world of crochet.

After completing a test square I didn’t want to stop, but I also didn’t want to start a whole new project, so I hatched a plan to knit half the squares for the blanket and crochet the other half. The knitted squares resemble flowers to my eyes, and I wanted the crochet squares to echo the floral design. Where the knitted design uses texture (lace) to create a flower, I needed to use colour the make flowers on the crochet squares. Each granny square consists of 8 rounds: the center in one colour, the following 5 rounds in another to make the petals of the flower, and 2 rounds of border in a third colour.

It only took me a few weeks to crochet my 10 squares. Then I knit the last square, and the quilt was ready for assembly!

Before sewing everything together I had to decide on a layout. This may have been the toughest part of the blanket, but I finally settled on a design I was happy with.

Once I had decided on a layout I sewed the squares together in strips, then sewed the strips together to form the blanket, using whip stitches throughout. The knit and crochet squares had very nearly the same number of stitches per side even though the granny squares appeared smaller. I clipped each pair of squares together in the middle and at the end, and sewed one stitch to one stitch as much as possible, skipping a stitch here and there as needed.

With the blanket in one piece I had to decide on a border. I swatched a few knit and crochet borders as you can see above. I was specifically looking for a chevron shape to echo the knitted lace. I decided on the crochet lace on the left. I liked it best, and I’m in a crochet mood right now, so it’s more likely to get done than knittted lace is at the moment.

I worked a round of single crochet around the blanket in preparation for the fancy border.

Then I worked the border in white. The border is worked in two steps: crochet shells, then single crochet over top of the shells to make them pointy rather than rounded. I used the border instructions from this blog post by Crochet 365, Knit too.

I love how the border and the blanket as a whole turned out! It took me much longer than I wanted, but the recipient is two, so she won’t know the difference.

Trying New Things

My mom and my Nana are both expert Crocheters. One summer when I was maybe 10 my mom made this incredible afghan with textured roses on a tan and white background. She taught me the basics of crochet, but for some reason I wasn’t very interested. I preferred sewing/embroidery, reading, and playing outside with my brothers.

Now that I am an adult I have a renewed interest in learning ALL THE HANDCRAFTS, so I’m dabbling in crochet again. Through my public library I have access to CreativeBug, and I’m working my way through a Crochet Stitch Sampler class with Twinkie Chan. So far I’ve practiced single crochet, half-double, double, and treble stitches (US terminology). Increasing and decreasing seem straightforward (though I haven’t practiced them yet) and I am excited to learn the proper way to work in the round (I’m pretty sure I messed that up last time I tried it).

Learning new crochet stitches has reminded me how much I love the simple Granny stitch. I’ve been browsing crochet patterns on Ravelry (as one does) and found a simple chevron Granny stitch cowl pattern. After a bit of dithering on what yarn to use, I settled on an autumnal handspun skein I finished around this time last year. There is nothing like a beautiful handspun yarn to elevate a simple project.

I seem to be incapable of simply following a pattern: Instead of using the suggested yarn and hook, I used a much smaller yarn (DK vs. Bulky) and thus, a different hook than called for. I worked the pattern for a few rows before deciding the fabric was a little more stiff than I wanted it to be. So I ripped it out and started again with a bigger hook and slightly smaller stitch count.

I very much like the fabric I am getting with the larger hook, so I’m hoping it will be smooth sailing from here.

New Pattern Alert: The Cady Cowl

It always seems like the first half of the year drags by and the last half goes too quickly. I’m not sure why, but the sheer number of events/holidays at the end of the year may have something to do with it. I’ve been sitting on a secret for almost half a year now, and I am so excited to finally let the cat out of the bag!

This, my dears, is the Cady Cowl, which has just been published in the December issue of I Like Crochet Magazine. The Cady Cowl is written for just about any yarn/hook and is also written in multiple sizes. So no matter what yarn you have on hand or who you are hooking for, you’re covered.

Multiple Gauges — Pink – Bulky, Green – Worsted, Grey – Fingering

Crochet is outside my normal comfort zone, since I am primarily a knitter, and bubblegum pink is way outside my comfort zone, as my mom will tell you. But somehow I really, really love this cowl. I can’t wait to pair it with my royal blue coat to keep stylishly warm this winter.

I highly recommend taking a look through all the patterns in the December issue – if you’re especially interested, I Like Crochet is giving away yarn to make several of the patterns!

Me Made May: Year 2

I participated in Me Made May again this year. My making has slowed down considerably in the last 6 months, so my goal was the same as last year: wear 1 handmade garment or accessory every day. It’s interesting to see how many garments were the same as last year, but also how many were different.

Garments:

Of course I wore my grey Alabama Chanin dress. This dress has become one of my go-tos: I feel good in it and I always get compliments. I also get a lot of wear out of my orange tunic-dress. It’s super comfortable and easy to wear for a lazy day at home.

I have 4 handmade sleeveless tops now: 2 self-drafted, and 2 Wiksten Tanks.

I don’t wear vests a lot, but when I do, they need huge awesome collars. Some handmade lace for a back cutout doesn’t hurt, either.

It’s debatable whether socks are garments or accessories, but I figure since they enclose a part of your body and have to fit, they should be included as garments. I wore my Slytherin socks and my Watermelon socks throughout the month.

Having handmade undergarments has been a real boon for those days when everything else was dirty or didn’t seem to go well together.

sew1

Accessories:

My office is really cold. As in, ‘wear socks and shoes (not sandals) and a shawl and a sweater and fingerless gloves’ cold. So I wore shawls a fair amount this month. My Granny shawl drapes perfectly and stays on effortlessly, and I also wore my wedding shawl and my most recent pattern release, the Balai Shawl (free pattern here).

Some days I didn’t feel like going all out, so I accessorized with my Kumihimo necklace or a ribbon rose hair clip. Simple, but effective.

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New:

I’ve been working on several projects this month, but most of them aren’t finished yet (oh the life of a crafter). I did manage to finally finish my wool crepe vest, and I love how it turned out! It’s big and comfortable and the fabric is oh so lovely.

New Free Pattern: The Balai Shawl

I am excited to tell you that I’ve just published a new pattern! And this time, just to change it up a little, it’s a crochet pattern!

broomstick lace shawl

Meet the Balai shawl, published in Knotions Magazine. This shawl is worked in Broomstick lace, which I learned from my husband’s grandmother. Now I am not a super-experienced crocheter, but that just means that the pattern is simple enough that anyone can do it. All it takes is a little practice. The shawl is worked by increasing every other row, so you can make it as big as you like. And, the pattern is written to work with virtually any yarn and hook (bulky, super bulky, and jumbo weight yarns are not suggested as they may not drape well). So what are you waiting for? Grab a hook, some yarn, and a dowel (Broomstick Lace requires a dowel or stick to hold your stitches open across the row…kind of like a giant knitting needle), and get started!

broomstick lace

For more information on Broomstick Lace and a free bracelet pattern, read this post.

Pattern Testers Needed!

Hey friends! One pattern has just been published, so that means it’s time to get the next into testing. My next pattern is quite different from normal for me, in that it is a crochet pattern. It all started on my vacation last October, when my husband’s grandma taught me how to crochet broomstick lace. I got an idea at that time, and now I’ve made it a reality: I made a Broomstick Lace Shawl!

The beauty of this shawl is that it can be made any size, and with any weight yarn, so the possibilities really are endless. Mine is a shawlette, made with a skein of Miss Babs Yowza (Worsted, 560 yds/ 512 m).

I’m looking for 6 pattern testers – 2 each to make a shawl in fingering, Sport or DK, and Worsted weight yarns. If you’re interested, all the details are here.

Also, I need a name for this beauty. “Broomstick Lace Shawl” is descriptive, but not very evocative. What would you name this shawl? Leave a comment and include your Ravelry name. The person who comments with the best name will receive a free copy of my Ribless Hat as thanks.

2017 in Review

Every year December comes and suddenly none of us can believe how quickly time has gone. Isn’t it funny that we have this same conversation every year when nothing and everything has changed?

In 2017 I finished 21 knitted projects, plus several additional small projects.

I have 9 Works in Progress at this point…one or two of them were started in 2015! Yikes!

I learned a little bit about crochet and finished 2 projects, with one more in progress (the pattern for the shawl on the right will end up being released in Knotions Magazine in March).

I also learned to weave and finished 2 projects with another currently in progress.

This was a good year for spinning – I finished 9 spinning projects in several different weights. Most of my handspun is from combed wool top, but this year I spun my first batts and my first silk. I am so proud of my Rumpelstiltskin yarn. And, yes, I have some spinning in progress as well.

I sewed quite a few garments this year, mostly tops, but the crown of my handsewn garment collection is actually a pair of undergarments – my Watson Bra and Bikini.

Lastly, but certainly not least, this year I launched my own line of knitting patterns. I have published 4 patterns this year: two I published myself, and two were published in Knotions Magazine.

And we can’t forget the gnomes…but they have a whole page all to themselves here.

During the year it is very easy to get bogged down by the details, and it can seem like I’m not accomplishing anything. I think taking a little time for us each to focus on our achievements is healthy and uplifting. So now it’s your turn: What did you do this year?

How to Crochet a Broomstick Lace Bracelet in 9 Easy Steps!

My husband’s grandma is a crocheter. When we visited them recently I showed her a picture I found on Instagram of a bracelet made of broomstick lace. We realized that we could totally make that, and before I knew it we were in her yarn closet (She has a yarn closet! I knew I married into the right family!!) picking yarn and finding a dowel to make broomstick lace with. She rooted out her crochet notebook from when she taught Home Ec. in the 80s and found the directions for Broomstick Lace:

She guided me as I awkwardly made a chain and single crocheted a few rows before starting.

The bracelet was a rousing success! So fast! So easy! The hardest thing was picking out buttons. I decided to go with blue, since my wardrobe has been skewing toward blue recently.

It would be super easy to make up a whole set of bracelets in different colours – something for every occasion!

If you want to make a bracelet just like mine, here is what I did:

Materials:

Yarn: 10 yds fingering weight yarn
Hook: 3mm
4 buttons, sized 1/2″-3/4″
Dowel: 1″ wide and at least 6″ long – it helps to have a very smooth dowel with a rounded end, so take the time to sand your dowel down if it’s not already smooth

Method:

Ch 21, turn work
Skip 1 ch, sc 19, turn work
Ch 1, sc 19, turn work
Ch 1, sc 19, do not turn work
With crochet hook pull up last loop and place on dowel held in left hand. Insert crochet hook in each st of ch, pull yarn through and place on dowel (20 sts).
Insert hook in center of first 5 loops, holding these loops together as one, yarn over and pull off needle, ch 1, and work 5 sc in first set of loops. Work 5 sc in each set of 5 loops until no sts remain.
Repeat rows 4 and 5 six more times, or until the bracelet is just long enough to go around your wrist. Cut yarn and hide the end.
Sew 4 buttons to the foundation rows.
Wear your new bracelet with pride!

Have you ever crocheted Broomstick Lace? What do you think of it?

Happy hooking!

My First Crocheted Finished Object!

I’ve been quiet recently about my Half Granny Shawl, but I’ve been working on it a lot and I am ecstatic to say it is done!

I love how it came out. In the skein the yarns reminded me of sunrise and sunset, but worked up they make me think of ripe peaches and plums in a woven basket sitting on a wooden table with dappled sunlight falling through leaves. Yummy!

It’s a little smaller than I would normally make a shawl, but it completely used up the 2 skeins of yarn I had (from stash!). Any extra yarn I put in the tassels. Perfect.

tassels

Yarn: Araucania Nuble – 2 skeins (273 yds each) – 75% merino/ 25% silk – Colours: Yellow-Peach-Grey and Sienna-Magenta-Purple

Hook: 4.5 mm

In Progress

My Fibonacci blanket is getting too big to cart around. Thusly, I have barely looked at it recently. This square is going to be done soon, though.

blanket

My Crochet shawl continues apace. As a knitter this is surprisingly easy to work on and I am enchanted with the play of light and colour in these two yarns.

shawl

My Pink Floyd socks are close to being finished. I have a few more inches left on the foot and then the toe and afterthought heel. I’m hoping to finish them this weekend.

socks

And here’s a sneak peek of a project I’m just about finished with! I can’t wait to tell you more about it next week! (Look, it has a pocket!!!)

shirt