Road Trip

The shawl pattern, that is. Although, there was a road trip to Oregon just recently, to meet our new little grandson and spend some time with his big sister.
But this really is about the shawl pattern I came across recently while "doing research."
I had bought yarn to make an Elise Shawl in Oregon, started it and decided after just a few rows that the pattern did not do the yarn justice. I think MadTosh is better suited for knitting, just my opinion. So, after much searching online, I decided I would be better off with either a solid or a sock yarn, something with long stripes and put that particular project on the back burner (it's getting kind of crowded back there).
I did, however find this pattern and, after a bit of research and a quick trip to JoAnn's, got started. A quick project, fun, easy to do and the yarn works well for it. No, it's not a natural fiber, but I'm okay with it. It's just right for this project.
Details can be found here:

And a couple more cowls

I love this one, loved making it, love the feel of it. I found the pattern on the web, probably on pinterest (way too much inspiration), found some yarn that I thought would work, dug out the biggest crochet hook I own (there are bigger ones) and got started. Two evenings and two hockey games later, I had a new cowl.

This one wasn't quite as fast. The pattern came from etsy (it's available on craftsy and ravelry as well, I think). I had the same yarn specified in the pattern, but I just couldn't make it work out. Too small. So, I switched to a thicker yarn, a larger hook and that worked just fine. I think I'll give the other yarn a try again, with a much bigger hook and, maybe, another pattern repeat.

It's Cowl Season

Actually, it really isn't. It's getting to be too warm to wear toasty cowls. But, I finally buckled down, sewed in threads and photographed a few I've made over the last few months.

This is the oldest one, not by much, but still .......... Made for a KAL at Knitterly in Petaluma, which is also where I found the delicious yarn, Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande for the body of the cowl and madeleinetosh bulky for the accent. I used the broken rib stitch (which isn't in the pattern, I just happened to be in the store at the same time as Shelli, the designer, and she generously shared all her modifications (the broken rib stitch and the slit at the top).

Next came this one, the Chi-Town Crochet Cowl, a free pattern. Quick, easy and fun to make. There's a twist in this one. The cowl is actually crocheted flat and sewn together at the end, that's when the twist is added.

And this is one I'm not sure about. I used a much thinner yarn than the pattern suggests, used more stitches and it works, sort of. I think I just might re-do this one, using yet more stitches and a larger hook. Not my favorite thing to do, but sometimes you just have to.
More details can be found here: on ravelry.

Finish-it-up Tuesday

Since I still can't get into my studio - we are having the outside of the house painted and it's quite an adventure. All the windows and a few of the doors are covered with plastic (and there's something kind of freaky about not being able to look out your windows) in preparation for painting and have been for almost a week which means I can't open the studio window to solder. I signed up for an online metalsmithing class a while ago, it started last week Monday and am now officially more than a week behind. Sure hope I will be able to catch up.
Anyway, while I am (im)patiently waiting for the painting to be done (I have a feeling the estimate of 7-10 days is way too optimistic), I decided against pulling my hair out in frustration and to finish up a couple more things that, yet again, just needed a few threads sewn in.
So, here goes:

I love the dangly bits in the border.

The colors shown are nowhere near what the scarf looks like in real life. I'm wearing it as I type and it's much more turquoise, but ........ lighting and not being an expert at editing ended up with it looking like this. Details here.
And another:

This time, the color is close, it's a little more bluish-green than shown. This one was fun and fast to make and it's comfy to wear. It's long enough to wrap around the neck up to three times. Details here.

Another project done

I'm trying to be good and finish up some projects that have been waiting for just a tiny bit more, like sewing in the loose threads.
Here is the latest one:

Details on ravelry.
Just a quick recap for people who don't have access to ravelry: it's crocheted, the pattern is the Half Granny Shawl also found on ravelry. I used Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn. Love the colorways, not quite so fond of the way the yarn tangles or the occasional knots which interrupt the flow of the color sequence.

Crocheting scarves, cowls and an afghan

One of us went a little overboard with this pattern ................

Details to be found here.
And just to prove that I'm not a one trick pony, here are a couple of other things I crocheted:

Again, the details can be found on ravelry (I love that place).
And here's my big project, I worked on this for months, used up quite a lot of yarn and it hasn't made a dent in my stash at all:

This one comes in quite handy in the evenings now. The days are still warm, very warm even, but the house doesn't warm up any longer like it did even a month ago. So, a lap throw like this is perfect.