Stasia's Place Of Grace

Sunday, February 22, 2004

 

More Crochet Fun (And Some Knitting)

Crocheted Mitered Square Bath Cloth

Crocheted Mitered Square Bath Cloth Pattern

Instructions are general - please use common sense and your intuition when following them as I'm no pattern writer.

Lily cotton yarn, size I crochet hook.

1) Chain 3. Single crochet (SC) in 1st chain. Turn.
2) SC twice in SC of last row - turn.
3) SC twice in 1st st., SC twice in 2nd st., turn.
4) SC; SC 2x in each of next 2 sts.; SC; turn.
5) SC 2; SC 2 in each of next 2 sts.; SC 2; turn.
6) Continue in this manner, increasing 2 sts. each row, in the center. You are working two sides of a square shape.

You may do rows of double crochet or half-double crochet as desired, but when appropriate size is reached, finish cloth with 2 rows of SC maintaining the regular increases.

To finish: stop working rows. SC along the unworked side edge of the square, towards the starting point, picking up a stitch for each row. At starting point, SC, chain 10, and join back into starting stitch with a slip stitch to form a hang loop.

Continue working SCs down the other undworked side edge. At the end of that side, join with a slip stitch to the first stitch of the last increase row worked. Weave in ends.

This makes a wide diamond. A narrower, triangular shape can be made by increasing 2 stitches every other row. Have fun!

Triangular Bath Cloth

Another Square Bath Cloth

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I made up a circularly-crocheted tote using Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride yarn and a size K crochet hook.

Crocheted Tote Pre-Fulling

Like an eejit I forgot to measure the tote prior to fulling it in the washer! i do remember there were about 96 stitches around.

In the red part, I tried a new stitch that I learned from Margaret Hubert's Freeform Crochet video. In the black part near the top, I did some "button holes" through which I'll thread a cord when the bag has finished drying.

Crocheted Tote Post-Fulling

Here is my tote after fulling - I ran it through the washing machine (hot/cold) twice. It fulled very nicely, losing more in width than in height (I guess because I was going circularly with my crochet stitches?) I've never fulled a crocheted item before so I didn't know what to expect, but I'm pleased with the results.

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Here is my first freeform crochet experiment:

"What a neat mask!" you say?

Well, you won't say that when I tell you that this was supposed to be a hat for my dog! Not that she'd wear a hat - I was just trying to assign myself a task to work on. Obviously, I failed miserably, but it'd be good for Carnivale in Venince, don't you think?

Here is my second freeform crochet experiment:

Yep, those are bullion stitches in the white part! Ok, so they're only five wraps, but I don't have my special hooks yet!

If you would like to learn freeform knitting and crochet, here are some links:

Prudence Mapstone's Great Book

Freeform Crochet group at Yahoo! Groups

Margaret Hubert's Freeform Knitting and Crochet Videos

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With all this crocheting, some friends had questions about the shape and size of some of the hooks I am using. I thought I'd share the photo I took for them with you for your information:

Crochet Hook Comparison

From left to right:
Brittany
Susan Bates (inline)
Three Turn Of The Century hooks
Boye
Hummingbird
Red Heart (Susan Bates) Crystallite

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Well, Poo!

I started the Magical Mitered Vest pattern from Just One More Row only to find out that the Noro Silk Garden yarn color repeats are really too long to achieve the desired effect:

It just looks too patchworky to me. Might as well do it in separate skeins of yarn!

Noro yarns show themselves best in simple stockinette stitch, I think (see swatch at left in photo), so I'll have to figure out something else for this yarn, and this pattern. I think Koigu Kersti yarn would be good with this pattern... problem is, I'm having to go down to size one needles to achieve the gauge because of my poor tension (size sixes are recommended!)

By the way, special thanks to Claudia for posting on her Blog about washing one's swatches - I did so with my Noro swatch. I didn't do it when I made my Pumpkin Tam, and despite having tried to full it by hand in very hot and very cold water, it can still fit all of Whoopi Goldberg's dreadlocks in it. I will say one thing for this Karabella yarn, it's pretty durable during mishandling! I'll eventually frog it when I can look at it without cringing again.

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Around Here...

I'm grateful that Jeff got home safely from California today, bearing a bottle of 2000 Imagery Malbec and some fig and date balsamic vinegar for me, and some other goodies for his "wine cellar" (a corner of the basement under some shelves).

I'm grateful the dogs were all wonderful while he was away, and that the weather was a bit warmer.

I'm grateful the female betta spendens fish are all getting along fantastically, and are so bright:

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Valentine has been waiting patiently for Mama. TIme to go play!

We are lighting a candle tonight for Spotty Bush.

Have a wonderful, creative, inspired week!

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