Summer of crochet

I've done a lot of exploring crochet in the past couple of months. Nothing very complex - I'm not up to lace doileys yet - but I did go in a few different directions.

Crocheted toppers for hanging handtowels:

Surprisingly, a standard face washer turns out to be just the right size.

Crochet edging for pillowcases:

This all started with the variegated yellow and white cotton I found at the Green Shed. It really spoke to me of my sisters, who both had birthdays coming. I had an idea about finding some pillow slips in a nice print and using this for a crochet trim. I mentioned this idea to my mum and she had the great idea that we could make it a collaborative project and she would sew the pillowslips instead. We do love a collaboration! I bought a couple of contrasting prints in nice cotton, she found a few more in her stash and then made up four coordinating, but all different, pillow slips.

And she did them with these handy contrasting flaps for the trim to be crocheted onto - I just like this placement a bit better than crochet on the very edge of the pillowslip. I used a few different people's instructions and examples to work out how I wanted to do this (see the links in the Ravelry project page).

I did consider using pink for two of them, but decided the yarn was too thick.

Then there were some more washcloths and dishcloths for my sister's birthday package (including a couple of knitted ones with crochet edging - can't find the pics of those!):

Sunburst Granny Heart - pattern by Bunny Mummy

Pretty Petals Dishcloth by Julee Fort.



And finally these little pods with crocheted collars, which made an appearance as part of my stall at the Canberra Suitcase Rummage last weekend, as part of the Art Not Apart festival. This was the second time I've participated in the rummage with friends. It's a really pleasant and easy way to get into market selling - low fee, casual format and a really nice location to spend a day. We sold about enough to make it worthwhile (in a hobby sense, not a really viable business) and had various friends and family visiting through the afternoon as we sat beside the lake on a beautiful sunny day.

The blue 'collar' below was actually dyed - when I first did it in white it looked far too twee, like a lacy Peter Pan collar. As I was also in the middle of a dyeing adventure (that'll be another post) it was easy to sit it upside down in a shallow tray of blue and grey dye for a while and fix that problem. So happy with how it turned out.

Moondust will cover you

In addition to the plant hanger, I've done a few other bits of crochet lately. I had had the pattern for the Little Spring Mandala printed out and ready to go for months, waiting for the right moment to concentrate on something unfamiliar.

I decided to try it in 8ply cotton (Mostly Lincraft, some others from the stash and from a generous donor), in the hope that it might end up big enough to serve as a wash cloth/face washer. I had to google instructions for just about every round, even a video for the magic loop to start. Watching the video lead to the strange experience of somehow forgetting that I am decidedly left-handed when it comes to crochet. This is crazy, but not quite as crazy as it sounds, as I and do some things with my left (writing, eating with a fork or spoon, cartwheels) and some with my right (throwing or kicking a ball, handling scissors and other tools). Nothing ambidextrously, though.



After a few rounds of slow, clumsy frustration, I started again with the left hand and it mostly went smoothly from there. Once I'd made one (on the left above, with the orange centre) I concluded they probably weren't going to be suitable as washers. But I went ahead and made a second one anyway. I wanted to try a more planned-out and harmonious colour scheme. And also there is just a lot of satisfaction in making the second one of anything new - it's so much faster and easier the next time around.

I was showing them to my grandmother (a wonderful knitter who only crochets edgings when she really has to) and she came up with a use for a pair of them - basically as doileys/mats, as a gift. So I had an excuse to go one more time, this time a matching colour scheme, but swapping the yellow and the blue.

I was still looking for a nice crochet washcloth pattern. There was another one I tried, and I struggled with it for a while, unable to figure out what I was doing wrong. There seemed to be too many stitches as the rounds increased - it was so ruffly I couldn't see how it would ever lie flat. I realised that I was treating it as an American pattern when it might actually be using the British definitions of the terms. Or was it the other way around? This was all before Christmas, I can't remember now. In any case, when I tried the other option, it had the same problem.

This is an annoying thing about crochet, especially if you like to source patterns online. The terms are different, but only just. Actually some are the same or similar terms but they mean different things! A US single crochet is a UK double crochet. Double crochet in the US is treble in the UK. Triple in the US is double treble in the UK. I still have to look up almost every stitch to be sure I'm doing the right one.



Anyway I couldn't get that annoying pattern to work either way, so I gave up and moved to another one I had stashed and ready: the 'Starfish Washcloth' by Deta Jetmir. This one was well written and the designer has made videos (both left and right handed!) which are very helpful.



I made a set of three for a baby who will be joining my extended family in a few months. The two pastel ones are in 4ply baby cotton and I added a few extra rounds of the pattern to get a good size. As it's written for worsted, I think I also needed at least one extra round when using 8ply. The purplish colour is an 8ply from the Bendigo Woollen Mills back room. (I finally got there for the first time, late last year!) It is delightfully soft and seemed to be too fine to really be an 8ply. No regrets though, it's lovely stuff.

Below, the blue one with yellow edging is all Lincraft 8ply. And the yellow-green might be my favourite, in Katia Degradé Sun.

More crochet flowers

In a comment on my recent post, Faeryfay suggested I might like her crochet flower pattern.

This suggestion was perfectly timed, as I wanted to make some flowers using acrylic (for reasons I won't go into yet), which isn't likely to block well. And those other flowers really did need blocking.

I like these. I might not be doing it correctly, with those large centre holes, but I can sew them up a little when I weave the ends in.

Plus I can use up some of my extensive stash of pink buttons for the centres. I'm embarrassed to admit that I have no idea how I acquired those pink ones. They weren't collected with the rest of my button stash - developed from op shop lots and a few mixed bags bought new - I'm pretty sure these came in one big hit. I do remember being given the container with the big button on top, but it wasn't full of buttons at the time!

There's no black and no white

On a recent lunch date, my friend showed me some knitted tea cosies in a shop window. She *strongly admired* one in particular - and her birthday was coming up.

I took a quick dodgey picture through the window and used that as my reference. And after the cosy was given and duly admired, we strolled back to that shop to see it again. Turns out I chose a much brighter blue (which luckily she likes), Shepherd Colour4Me 8 ply. It's hard to tell in these photos, but the shop one was quite a pale blue, and the pink was actually fluorescent. Mine is just a strong hot pink, leftover from this blanket.

I looked at a couple of patterns to get the general idea and customised it to fit a standard 2-cup teapot. At first I wanted to knit in the round, but I realised that so much of the side has to be open that it makes more sense to knit it in two pieces, basically just rectangular, narrowing a bit at the top before the eyelets.

I was pleased to learn that I can whip up a tea cosy in a day. (A useful life skill, right?) This included making the flowers, though I did the sewing up later.

Finally, this is how the crochet flowers looked before I steam blocked them. I'm actually wondering if part of the reason I've given up too easily on crochet attempts is that it looked like a chaotic tangled mess, but actually just needed blocking. Though the bigger problem tends to be following the instructions while looking up what every stitch means, one by one.

It finally happened

I successfully followed a set of crochet instructions!

Til now I've really only managed basic crochet in straight lines or around in a circle. The few times I've tried something more complex I gave up in frustration.

Now I need to stop trying to get a good photo of this one little flower, and make the rest.

Is it an elaborate pendant or a small bib?

So, I'd been meaning to make another necklace like this one for months. Actually, I'm pretty sure I promised my other sister a black one. Other sister? Let's talk.

And, I keep making felted circles which seem to have all sorts of uses. I've also been wanting to have a go at 'bib' style necklaces using embellished felt.

And finally I had a new outfit which wanted a new necklace, and an event to wear it to. Deadlines can be wonderful - I made this from scratch on Sunday (including felting the circles and drying them quickly on the heater, even though it wasn't really cold enough to have the heater on) because I wanted to wear it on Sunday night.

I haven't been able to correct the colour of the top - it's actually a very dark bright fuschia - but the point is, the necklace sort of works with the shape of the neckline. At least, that was the idea.

If I do this again, I'd like to come up with a slightly more involved beading design. And a simple way to attach a fabric backing - I can tolerate the felted wool (I always find it less scratchy than the same wool before it is felted) but it would be more comfy with something smooth on the back.

All I wanted was a sign on the last day

I came up with another way to use those crocheted circles of waxed cotton. This idea popped into my head almost fully formed. Which is certainly nice, on when it occasionally happens. I was planning to embellish one or two of the circles, either with a silver border (didn't sit right) or with buttons (too much going on). In the end, the simple version was the best. I used sterling silver chain and jump rings to join them all together.

This was a birthday present for my sister. Didn't she style it nicely with her blue tops?

It's nice to have options

One friend particularly admired that first brooch, and even went so far as to say she thought she would wear one like it. I took her at her word and made one for Christmas. Which quickly turned into two, as I wasn't sure if she would prefer one almost exactly the same, or a variation.

After making my first brooch, I aquired some more of the waxed cotton. The one on the left is dark blue rather than black. I went back to Mooble for two more buttons by Bird Textile. I have plans to take this idea further into other items of jewellery / embellishment. So many plans, so little time! I'll get there.

Like fool I spent it all on you

The other day I was out of sorts. I had worn a shirt to work that didn't feel very 'me'. This was particularly annoying as I only bought it very recently and it cost quite a bit.

I thought a brooch might be just what it needed, and at lunch time I found a button I really liked at Mooble - it's by Bird Textile. I was thinking I might be able to put it on a felt circle, but when I tried it out at home that didn't seem like it was going to work. I remembered the waxed cotton I used for those knitted cuffs. I still had plenty left to crochet a circle as a base for the brooch. I also had some brooch backs in my collection of jewellery findings, and it was pretty simple to sew the whole thing together - actually I did this part this morning before work.


And here is how I wore it today. I haven't tried it with *that* shirt yet. I never thought I would do one of those dodgy work bathroom photos - I used the wheelchair accessible bathroom to avoid funny looks and questions! It would have been smarter to just ask the ladies I knitted with at lunch time today.

I'm just trying to steer this boat

This is the knitted man jewellery I was talking about. The pattern is the Herringbone Leather Cuff from Alterknits by Leah Radford. The black one, made for K for his birthday (and completed in one long Friday evening) is knitted from black waxed cotton - a substitute for leather cord. Large quantities of 1mm leather cord are both hard to find, and pretty expensive. I made it slightly narrower than the pattern and added repeats to make it longer as well.

During the Noosa weekend I made another one. The red part is hemp. This time I reduced the width even more to allow for the different gauge. I knew I was a bit short on the hemp and had thought I could try knitting stripes or sections in the black cotton, but the gauge difference spoiled that plan.

Instead I did the crochet edging in the black and used a few extra rows on the ends to make it long enough.

It took a couple of tries to get the crochet looking ok, and it's not perfect but then we know I'm not a perfectionist. I wasn't sure if it was dorky but both K and the recipient's girlfriend approved it before I handed it over.

One and one and one is three

Some time ago I made a felted pendant for my mum. And now I have finally made one for myself.


It's a crocheted circle, felted then cut into a rough oval shape. I stitched all around the edge with embroidery cotton. Then I just poked a hole for the jump ring, and attached the bead-and-shell pendant. This part was made using recycled bits given to me by a good mate. A while ago, there was a fad for selling jeans with a jangly bundle of charms hooked onto a belt loop. I don't think the look ever took off, but it supplied me with some bits to play around with!

This other necklace came about in the the same session. I was playing about with the wooden beads as a necklace to hold the felted pendant, but there was too much going on all together so I paired it with a simpler pendant.

Being good isn't always easy

Another iteration of the jewellery (or knitting notions) tray. I was just messing about, really, and the shape of the base was so simple I didn't bother to write down exactly what I did. It was refreshing to just forge ahead without taking notes.



The base is knitted and the sides and inner walls are crocheted. It's made from more gorgeous Happy Spider hand-dyed wool (I don't know the name of the colourway but it is a very bright blue with pinks) combined with a soft green, which I also used by itself for the crochet parts.

Update - that colourway is Sour Raspberry.



After felting I was really happy with the result and immediately cast on another, this time with blue. And it turned out that I didn't remember exactly what I had done - it came out a bit bigger.

Really, I'm going keep to telling myself: Always take notes.



Don't those colours blend nicely?

Loving you... is it the right thing to do?

I knitted a tree. When I saw the Fun Fur Kitchmas Tree pattern I had a vision inspired by the Queen Victoria Building's enormous tree covered in Swarovski crystal ornaments. I know someone who is very very enamoured of that particular tree.



I sprung for a few Swarovski beads, including the star (actually a starfish) for the top, and the rest are faceted glass beads.



It's stuffed with wadding, and the base is crocheted over a cardboard circle. Looking at that picture makes me think of Press Gang, because that's what I was watching (straight through all five seasons, obsessively) at the time.



How crazily green is Canberra right now? It still feels weird to have rain.

When K saw me making this tree he had a vision too. In a lucrative business deal the shop had aquired a free 'Sea urchin light' - a battery-operated star shaped light on a stand. A bit odd really. But build a fluffy tree around it and suddenly it all comes together.

Yes that is a lot of star relative to tree. The size of the tree was limited by the height of the stand.