The wonderful world of Crochet

I have to start this by saying that I love to crochet. It’s my me time where I can ignore everyone with good reason and no one expects me to remember a word they say. Wow, I’m really antisocial, or a prick… probably a healthy combination of both.

Anyway, since picking up lace crochet I have had the opportunity to create new combinations of expletives. I love the result, it is amazingly intricate and I can hardly believe that it is something that has come from me. The process to attain the result is tedious in the extreme and very hard on the eyes.

It’s not that I went into this undertaking with expectations of quick work or even ease, but damn! I have been working one lace for several days now. It looks great and I am really proud of it, but I find myself trying to figure out ways to make the lace a little shorter or try to work in longer stitches without having to start over. I am seriously coming up short.

The good part of this work is that although it is tedious and repetitive, it puts me into a trance like state. I just zone out and I don’t even focus on what I am doing. It’s this incredible state of zen, my mind is blank and I am not thinking about yesterday or tomorrow. It’s the same when I knit something easy, or crochet with yarn, but something about zoning out and then putting down the work to find this delicate thing hanging from my hook just blows my mind every time.

Well, I guess I worked through that on my own. Since that epiphany is over, I guess I’ll get back to it.

Obligatory Spats Post

Here’s a tease for you Melanie!

That is the first lace for your spats! I hope you like them. It is actually an easy shell pattern:

1. ch 4, dc 4 in first ch, turn
2. sl st in first three dc, ch three and dc twice in same space, turn
3. sl st in two dc, ch 3 and dc four in same space

And is goes like that till it’s done.

Craft List

I am almost half way done the second spat. I’m pretty sure it’s going faster because I actually know what I’m going to end up with. I had a knitting marathon today, I knitted through the televised Santa Clause parade, I put supper on, and went back to knitting. I felt like a cybernetic knitting machine, it wasn’t all that bad.

Now that I am almost done the spats, I took time to figure out what else I have to do as far as looped yarn projects. I have a decent list going on. I have the round ripple afghan to finish, it has about 2 or 3 more feet of work on it. I have the Warm Jewel Square afghan, I have 31 squares left to make on that. I have Chris’s scarf and fingerless gloves to make (that’s the next project in line.)

Okay, that list isn’t all that daunting, but when you consider I also need to get stock together for etsy and make Christmas presents, it starts to look a little over ambitious (to put it nicely.)

Well, thanks to the wonders of MSN, I have totally lost my train of thought and it took me a good half hour to write this post. I guess I’m off to work on the RP sites now.

Spats… again…

After almost a week of working on the first spat, all of the black work is done. The only thing left to do is sew on the button and decide whether I am going to knit an i-cord or crochet a lace for the back.

If I knit an i-cord, then I will want to do some sort of fun lace around the cuff. I have an idea of what it will look like, but it’s hard to explain. The lace I want to make will be slip stitched to the knitting, but it will be worked in small pieces so that it looks like it is old and rotting… I know the visual isn’t all that appealing when pictured in your mind, but believe me, the effect will be cool.

If I crochet a lace to lace up the back, I would probably want to make it a little more interesting than a row of dc. I could do picoted leaves, or something similar. I could also do a straight lace with some spaces, kind of like Matrix yarn (not the best picture, but you get the idea.)

Wow, who would have known that improvising a pattern would have me so ambivalent?

Anyway, here is the pattern originally from Arcane Stick Magic, improvised upon by me.

Cast on 44 stitches.

Row 1-20: 2×2 rib [k2, p2]
Row 21: Bind off 6 stitches, continue in pattern to end of row
Row 22: Bind off 6 stitches, continue in pattern to end of row
Row 23- 43: 2×2 rib [p2, k2]
Row 44: Cast on 6 stitches, 2×2 rib in pattern to end of row
Row 45: Cast on 6 stitches, 2×2 rib in pattern to end of row
Row 46- 78: 2×2 rib (Add or subtract rows for length)
Row 79-85 : Garter stitch.
Bind off stitches.

Pick up and knit seven stitches immediately below the garter stitch cuff. These will form the base of the button strap.

Row 1: (k1, p1)* to end of row.
Row 2: (k1, p1)* to end of row.

Repeat these two rows until strap measures 7 in. (33 rows, not 7″)

Shape buttonhole and strap end:
Row 1: k1, p1, k2tog, YO, k2tog, p1
Row 2: k1,p1,YO, k2tog, p1, k1
Row 3: k2tog, p1,k1, p2tog
Row 3: (k2tog) twice.
Break yarn and pass through last two remaining stitches. Pull end firm, then weave in.

Make up back and instep seam.

With WS facing Work 4 rows of single crochet along instep, sl st last row of sc and other side of instep tog

join yarn with sl st on one long side, ch 5, (sc in next 3 rows of knitting, ch 5) thrice, sc in next row and bind off

Repeat for other side.

Sew button to side of spat. Weave in ends.

The Great Spatterdash Adventure

Yes, Melanie, this post is entirely dedicated to your spats. I am proud of my ingenuity and so I must gush at length. First, let me tell you that the pattern I was using (pattern from Arcane Stick Magic) which was meant for size 9-12 is much closer to a size 9 than a size 12. And really, how many people with size 12 feet, men or women, can fit into size 9 shoes or socks?

Anyway, this is where the inventive patterning comes in. I have already started the button strap, which will likely have to me a little longer than the 7″ prescribed in the pattern. I also took the liberty of doing the button strap in garter stitch, which makes an interesting pattern. I’m not totally sure how the pattern writer has decided that the button hole will take shape, but then again I have started to ignore the pattern at this point, opting for a much more useful approach.

The next thing I have to do is close off the foot section. This will be done with single crochet, probably 2 or 3 rows, depending on the gauge. I am going to have to slip stitch the two halves together. The pattern calls for sc-ing the 2 halves, but how sturdy or clean would that be? So I will use the single crochets because they are pretty and the sl st because it is sturdy.

Now on to the fun part! The leg section doesn’t look like it would fit anyone with bigger than size 6 feet. Seriously, The things don’t look like they would even fit around my little girl forearms. So, I have come up with yet another plan! I am going to crochet some loops on the sides of the pattern, and lace them up with some crocheted lace. This way they are also adjustable so that in future I can sell these spats in broad sizes (S, M, L, XL) instead of in shoe sizes.

So I did minimal work on the spats today, given that I was planning how I was going to make them work. The basis of the first one is done, along with about a quarter of the button strap.

I would post pictures, but for some reason (probably the fact that this computer used to belong to my old employer) no external USB devices will show up on the desktop. I decided to forgo the annoyance of loading the pictures on another computer and file-sharing them over here, but I will have the pictures up in flicker as soon as I get enough ambition to take them… yes, I am that lazy.

NaCraCreMo

National Craft Creation Month! I’m starting it. I decided it needs to happen, so I am doing it, anyone else who is interested can join. I am thinking that this month is not the best time however, so I am planning it for January. The rules are simple, set a goal for the month and work your butt off to complete said goal. Say you want to knit 15 scarves that month, that will be your goal. If you want to learn macramé, then you better get knotting in January. You get the idea. I will probably hold a few stitch and bitches in the month of January where stitching may be substituted for beading/painting/interpretive dance and bitching will abound! 

I am very happy to introduce my latest creation, one that will likely be a staple in my upcoming Etsy shoppe, the Hand Cozy! They are crocheted and will fit over most gloves. I gave the prototypes to my room mate and now I am having to build some for Chris. Here are the pictures of Angie’s pair:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Just for Mel

I know this is a very dark picture, I really should be investing some time into finding my “for real” camera, however this is a picture of your spats in their embryonic form. I have only completed about 40 rows of these beasts, and they require 84 or something like that, and then the strap to keep them on your boots. Rest assured, you should have them in about a week, maybe a little longer but not much.

Crocheted Snow Flakes

I am a huge holiday fan. I admit it freely, I love the winter and Christmas. I love the holiday music, decorating the Tree, baking, everything about the holidays. Anyway, I decided that there are 50 days left until the holiday season starts to end, so I want to get ready. Conveniently enough, prep for the holidays also provides a great way to procrastinate on NaNoWriMo.

Today I had a real problem writing for some reason. So I reamed as many words as I could out of my unwilling brain and then grabbed my crochet hook and decided to unwind a bit by crocheting some holiday/winter inspired creations, this is what I came up with. I am thinking the first 2 are going to make up a wreath for the front door.

6 Point Snowflake

Special Stitches:
picot (pic) – ch 3, sl st in the stitch that you chained from.

ch 5
Rnd 1: dc in 1st ch, ch 1 *dc in same ch as 1st dc, ch 1, rep from * 3 more times and join to 3rd ch of beg ch with sl st.
Rnd 2: *sc in 1st ch 1 sp, ch 6, rep from * 5 times, join last ch 6 to 1st sc with sl st
Rnd 3: *(sc 3, pic in 3rd sc, sc 3) in ch 6 sp, sk sc, rep from star 5 more times, end with sl st in 1st sc of row.

7 Point Snowflake

Special Stitches:
picot (see above for explanation)

Ch 5
Rnd 1: dc in 1st ch, ch 1 *dc in same ch as 1st dc, ch 1, rep from * 5 more times and join to third ch of beg ch with sl st.
Rnd 2: *sc in ch 1 sp, chain 7, sl st in 4th ch from hook (pic), pic twice more in same ch, ch 3, sc in same sp as 1st sc, sk sc on row below, rep from * 6 more times

4 point Snowflake

Special Stitches:
bullion – yo, insert hook in st indicated, yo and draw up loop, yo, insert hook in same st as before, yo and draw up another loop, yo, insert hook in st, yo and draw up and other loop, yo and draw through all 7 loops on hook. (Note: This is not a normal bullion st, you normally repeat the yo, draw loop process 4 times.)

picot (pic) – see instructions above.

Ch 4
Rnd 1: dc 7 times in 1st ch, join with sl st in top of first ch
Rnd 2: ch 3, bullion in same sp, ch 5, *sk 1 dc in row below, bullion in next dc, ch 5, rep from * twice more, join with sl st in the top of beg ch 3.
Rnd 3: *sc in top of bullion, ch 5, sl st in sc just made, ch 7, sl st in sc, ch 5, sl st in sc, sc 5 times in ch 5 sp, sc in top of next bullion, ch 5, sl st in sc just made, ch 9, sl st in 3rd ch from hook, pic, ch 5, sl st in sc, ch 5, sl st in sc, 5 sc in ch 5 space, rep from *, join in first sc with sl st.
Rnd 4: *3 sc in ch 5 sp, ch 2, (sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc) in ch 7 sp, ch 2, sc 3 times in ch 5 sp, sc in third sc from hook on row below, 3 sc in ch 5 sp, 3 sc on next 5 ch, sc in pic, ch 3, sc in same pic, ch 5, sc in next pic, ch 3, sc in same pic, 3 sc on ch 5, 3 sc in ch 5 sp, ch in 3rd sc from hook on row below, rep from * once more, join with sl st in 1st sc of row.