Wednesday, May 2, 2012

WIP Wednesday

It's Wednesday AGAIN!?
Time flies, I seem to have very little time to crochet and even less time to blog...


Also, I'm spending some time at my parent's place and I'm not sure I have my camera with me. I have lots of yarn, though and more time than at home. On the other hand, my daughter's with me and I'm currently alone with her. Same old, same old... let's check on the camera...


Got it!


This is my newest project: A Shawl, my Mom's birthday present!



I want to keep you in suspense as to what it's going to look like when it's finished... (Actually, I was going to provide a pattern link, but I've had trouble accessing Ravelry for a while, soooooo... screw that.

I also made a little progress on the doggy, but it's too little to show off.

But I also made a cute little munchkin hat for the same baby that's going to receive the dog and I'm in love with it!


And I had to make a quick last minute gift for a second birthday:

When I opened my camera to get the card out, a tiny little thing fell into my hand. Turns out it's the thingy that holds the battery in... I guess I'll be spending the better part of today trying to get it back in... this camera is starting to go... need to save up for a new one!


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Work in Progress Wednesday: Doggy

After finishing TWO lambs for Easter (check out my  projects page on Ravelry, if you're curious), I'm working on a cute doggy for a friend's new baby. As usual, I don't know the sex yet or even when it'll be born. (He's my husband's friend and I asked him to find out, but... I mean, guys...) So I'm doing it now, just in case.


I fell in love with this pattern just after I learned how to crochet. I purchased it but didn't really know if I could handle something like this. Well, I'm still not sure it'll be as cute as I imagine it to be, but at least I know I crochet well enough. 


So this is how far I've come as of today:




That's the head with the nose already attached, the eye patch thingy, the ears and about two thirds of the body. On the left ear you can see how much the yarn splits but I'm getting used to it... it's a sport weight yarn and the pattern calls for a 1.5mm hook. Not too good for my eyes (the black nose was terrible to work on!) and even my fingers start to cramp up after a while.


I also find it strange to work in rounds AND turn my work. I guess that's to keep the seam straight in the back, but it's also a more noticeable seam... oh well...


I think I gotta start working on something else in between, this is just too hard to do while watching TV!


And now head on over to see what everyone else is working on:

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Monday, April 9, 2012

Finished my Cardigan!

Okay, so it's been finished for a while now, I  just never got around to share it...
Tada: The blue cardigan and me



How I like it? It's quite all right, considering this is my first real wearable crochet project. I am satisfied with the size, though the small is still a bit wide around my waist and makes look kinda fat. O well, it's almost see-through, so people will be able to tell I'm not THAT fat... ;-)

Here are some more close ups of my work:


I like the way my modifies sleeves turned out, good length for a tiny person like me...




Had to go down one more hook size for the button cover, not sure why, but it worked out. This also isn't the original edging. The treble crochets turned out to be way to big, it looked ridiculous. So I went to look for a simpler version and used this edge from Crochet Adorned by Linda Permann.


I was going to add a list of everything I learned while working on this project, but it's getting late, so I'm saving it for another day...

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Sweater and I are back!

After that nasty sinus infection stole about two weeks my life, I'm finally crocheting (and posting) again! I have a new smallish project, a padded sleeve for my beloved Kindle:




This is the pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/padded-kindle-sleeve
The colors are kinda dull in the picture, sorry...
I'm still thinking about embellishments, but I want it to keep a simple look, so... maybe nothing at all.


Also, I have made made some progress on my blue sweater! I crocheted one long sleeve, even though I new I didn't have enough yarn to make long sleeves. But the sleeves are crocheted from the bottom up because of the pattern. So I kinda had to make the whole thing to find out how to alter it. Finished it, put it together with safety pins and "put it on". And I was thrilled to see how well it fit! It would have been too long for me to wear that way anyway, but I decided to go with short short sleeves, I don't do 3/4 length on anything, I think it makes me look fat! So the yarn needle marks where I would have my new starting chain:



And then I spent an evening ripping the whole thing and turning it into neat new balls of yarn... Using those, I learned something: The yarn unwinds much better from a handmade ball than from the store bought skein! Makes my awesome yarn bowl much easier to use, too. Still, I think I'm just lazy enough not to wind my own balls... 

Oh, well, so I made the short sleeves and wet blocked (100% cotton) all the pieces on my super fancy blocking board, also known as our mattress for overnight guests...


This is my first blocking experience and I'm so excited to find out how it'll turn out! I was impressed with how much you can shape the wet fabric (and how tight my crocheting had become by the time I made the sleeves...) Can't wait to sew it together! I don't sew well, so I'm kind of nervous about that, too.


So far from my end of the world, visit Kristine's blog and check out what everyone else is up to:



Thursday, March 1, 2012

WIP Wednesday

So, I'm a little late...
I have finished several small items this week like this awesome Hello Kitty hat for my daughter's upcoming third birthday:




I also made a hairband for myself




and a cute little cozy for my lip gloss




I have made little progress on the sweater, though. Almost finished the other front piece and I decided I'll make short sleeves. Unfortunately, that means I have to finish one after the instructions to find out how to modify the pattern...




And please visit all these cool craftsters:




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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

WIP Wednesday

The sweater is growing slowly:



The back piece and one of the front pieces are done. I got bored by the repetition and started working on a sleeve:


I don't think I can really increase on the left hand side, can I? But the pattern says on both sides... O well, I guess it'll be alright once I sew everything.
Still not sure I have enough yarn...!








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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Starting a Cardigan Project!

Starting a Cardigan Project!


A couple of days ago I decided to get started on my first crochet sweater (not that I ever made one any other way...)!  I'm using a cheap sport weight cotton yarn from a grocery discounter, so it won't be too sad if this just doesn't work out. However, this is the pattern:


My yarn seems to be a little heavier than the one used by the pattern designer, so I'n using a slightly smaller hook and I still get the feeling it'll be slightly too big. I'd work the instructions for a smaller size, but I'm already doing the smallest one and don't feel comfortable making it smaller on my own. This is my first more complex wearable, after all.
I'm not even half way through the back piece, but have a look:




The color is pretty accurate in this picture, wow.