10.29.2009
Socks!
One of those things happened where I ended up with a million different things to write about and a million different pictures to process and post, and I got so overwhelmed I ended up working on nothing at all. That's my excuse for taking so long between posts. What I'm doing now is working up a backlog of posts, so I can parcel them out as needed and not have to worry about typing up ten major posts in a row. We'll see how this goes.
So the first topic in my massive list is...knitting socks! I'm a crocheter at heart, but I thought it would be a good idea to expand my horizons and learn knitting. As of the end of January, I had exactly two knitting projects completed. One, my Rikku scarf (which still isn't completed by the way...*sigh*), I did circa 2005. The other, the garter stitch scarf, I did in January after completely relearning how to knit. Both of them involved doing the knit stitch over and over and over, except one was on circular needles and one was on straight needles. Neither of them was the most complicated knitting project in the universe. In fact, I'm not sure it would have been possible to knit a simpler project, except maybe one with no color changes whatsoever.
Then, around March or so, I was given a couple of knitting pattern books, including the aptly-named "I Can't Believe I'm Knitting Socks" by Cindy Guggemos. Not only does this book include several sock patterns, but it gives very detailed instructions on the sock knitting process. There's even a section on using circular needles, a section on alternate heels, and so on. The basic pattern uses fairly large yarn (DK weight) and needles (Size 4) for socks -- none of the fingering weight yarn on tiny needles. So I picked up some cheap acrylic yarn and some bamboo double-pointed needles. It's tough to find DK/sport weight acrylic except in the baby section, but amidst all the pastels, I found an interesting striping yarn I liked.
Going from garter stitch rectangles to double-pointed needles, K1P1 ribbing, increases/decreases, short rows, and picking up stitches was a big jump, but less than three weeks after I started, I had my first pair of socks! There are two visible mistakes on them -- one of them is a big loop of yarn on the inside that I never quite figured out. I will count these mistakes under "things only Jeanne would notice."
Here are some photos:
And a link to the Ravelry project page.
After that, I was ready to move on to the next project. I picked up some nicer yarn (Berroco Comfort Sox Metallics) and used one of the more complicated patterns in the book. The cuff had a chevron pattern that involved all sorts of increases, decreases, yarnovers, slipping stitches, and passing stitches over. I finished these socks with no visible mistakes (note that there were still mistakes...just not noticeable ones) and gave them to my mom for Mother's Day.
Photos:
Ravelry link.
Since then, I've spent way too much money on sock yarn. Yes, I can admit that I'm a sock knitting addict. My most recent project, one that's taken me much longer than the other two because I haven't been putting the time in, is the Spring Forward pattern from Knitty magazine. I have one sock complete and the other in progress. Here are the photos so far:
Ravelry link.
I haven't worked on these in a few months, because I felt guilty about all my neglected crochet projects, so I've been concentrating more on crochet again lately. I'm feeling good about getting some of my backlogged projects finished, so I'm sure I'll pick up the socks again soon.
I really want to buy the Sock Innovations book by Cookie A., but I seem to always spend my monthly budget on other stuff like, say, yarn. In the meantime, there are enough free sock patterns online to keep me busy.
Labels: Knitting
Posted by: Jeanne at 17:45
| 2 comments
5.04.2009
NatCroMo Freeform Crochet-a-long 2009 (3/23-3/31)
Clearly, I am behind on updating my progress. Specifically, I am a month behind on my final NatCroMo Freeform CAL 2009 report. Here are the final parts of the design:
W is for Worm. I made little pink spirally worms along one edge.
X is for Xanadu. I went with the theme of "opulence" here, and crocheted with some beads. This marks my first time doing beaded crochet. I used a design from Crochet on the Edge.
Y is for Yellow. I did a surface crochet chain around the central area using yellow.
Z is for Zest. This loopy stitch made me think of lemon zest.
Your name. I added up the number values of the letters in my first name (A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, etc.). I then turned to that page in my new crochet stitch dictionary and used that stitch (Single Crochet Cluster Stitch I) in the cranberry color I used for J.
Neighbors. Our neighbor in back has a dog that's white with light reddish-brown spots. I used the closest colors I have to that, and crocheted another stitch pattern out of my stitch dictionary.
Partners. I "partnered" up two colors of yarn that had been used earlier in the project (but not together) to make an improvised edging.
Fantasy. This made me think of something lacy and open, so I chose an appropriate stitch from Crochet on the Edge.
Craft. I wanted something that took a fair bit of craftsmanship to create. I ended up trying the lily of the valley sculptural stitch (which includes surface chains for the stems) from Crochet on the Edge. This was a lot more challenging and time consuming than I expected -- I ended up with about a million yarn ends to weave in.
So it's done, and it's pretty wacky, definitely in a good way. I still need to learn how to do the more "traditional" (if such a word can be used) scrumbles that are used for freeform crochet, but I think this is a fun result for my first attempt. Next time: knitting! That's right, knitting!
Labels: Crochet
Posted by: Jeanne at 19:42
| 2 comments
4.09.2009
Lion Brand Crochet-A-Long: Moderne Jacket
As promised, here is my post on the Lion Brand CAL. The pattern was the Moderne Jacket -- details and purchase information can be found here.
Before March, I'd never done a crochet-a-long, and it was great to read about everyone else's experiences with the pattern and see all the different variations on the same garment. Originally I wasn't going to participate because the yarn specified by the pattern would have cost about $130. That's a bit out of my budget at the moment. Then, when I read the post on the Lion Brand blog about yarn substitution, I decided to go ahead with the project. Instead of the cashmere blend and the wool yarn, I used acrylic -- Vanna's Choice in Dusty Purple and Silver Grey, to be exact.
The pattern uses two yarns held together, which was a new technique to me. The combination of these two yarns was probably a bit bulkier than intended -- the example jacket looks more "meshy" -- but I think my version looks great.
As for the pattern, a lot of people had trouble with it because there were a number of inconsistencies. For example, working the pattern as written ended up with a staggered column effect, whereas the example jacket clearly showed the stitch columns aligned vertically. There was advice on both the Ravelry group and the Lion Brand blog on how to change this. Although I worked the pattern as written for the back, I aligned the pattern on the front (for the most part).
Another issue with the pattern was that the stitch pattern was meant for an odd number of stitches, but most of the front had rows with even numbers of stitches. No instructions were given on how to adapt for this. Also, at one point in the pattern, there was a missing row. I worked an extra row at this spot, with no issues. Others ran into the same problems, so it wasn't just me misreading the pattern. I always try to rule out "user error" first.
Apart from those issues, the project went very smoothly. The larger hook (N) combined with the thicker yarn made it work up quickly as well. When I made the gauge swatch, my row gauge was right on, but my stitch gauge was just a tiny bit too big. This was perfect, because the small size was just a wee bit too small (bust size 34", I'm a 34" or 35") and the medium size was way too big (bust size 40"). For the small size, I didn't need to make the jacket longer but I did need it to be wider. I know the issues that can be caused by using the wrong gauge, but in this case, it worked very well. The jacket fits!
Although the fabric is thick, I still used backstitch for the raglan seams for strength. It didn't seem to add too much bulk to the seams.
That's enough writing. Here are the pictures of the finished piece. It fits a bit tighter on the dress form than on me, due to the pot belly on the form. Still, it looks good on me and on the form. Success!
Next time: the rest of my freeform project.
Labels: Crochet
Posted by: Jeanne at 17:21
| 2 comments
3.23.2009
NatCroMo Freeform Crochet-a-long 2009 (3/10-3/22)
Whew! I got behind on the Freeform CAL from the last post, but I'm finally caught up through yesterday (V). Time for another picture-fest!
J is for Jam. I went with a berry-colored shape. Since the yarn color was called "Cranberry" I even put little ridges into it, like the canned cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving.
K is for Knowledge. I wanted to include a technique that I didn't previously know, so I did a little rectangle of Tunisian crochet. I don't have the proper kind hook, so I used one of my standard hooks to make it.
L is for Leaves. I added little leaves to the chains between some of the "pebbles."
M is for Mold. This made me think of the mold found in blue cheese, my favorite kind of cheese, so I added a mottled blue-green ruffle on the front.
N is for Night/O is for Orange. Night is represented by the midnight blue shape, created using a star stitch, which I looked up online. Next to that is a little patch of puff stitch oranges.
P is for Peel. I created three yellow banana peel shapes. I haven't yet mastered the art of shaping my crochet to lie flat or curl the way I want it to -- therefore these like to curl oddly. I got them to stand out correctly in the photo.
Q is for Queen. Using a fan type stitch, I made a purple queenly robe, with fuzzy cream-colored yarn as trim.
R is for Russet. I only have one yarn of a russet color, and it's the same variegated yarn I used for some other parts of this piece (the bullions, the antennae, part of the crab body). I used an edging stitch I found in one of my crochet books for this shape.
S is for Stone. Since I already created some grayish/brownish pebbles for Ground, I decided to interpret Stone as gemstones and added a ruby-colored picot border.
T is for Taste/Touch. I've been crocheting for less than a year, so I don't have an impressive yarn stash yet. So it was lucky that I happened to have the perfect yarn for this one. My favorite taste is chocolate and one of my favorite things to touch is velvet. I had a velvety, chocolate-colored yarn (Lion Suede), and I used it to create another interesting stitch from my edging book. The stitch (twisted rib) took me quite a few tries, and I'm proud that I finally got it to work.
U is for Underground. I made the Night section into the top of a little cave/tunnel and added an entrance.
V is for Variety. I went through my stash and cut off lengths of yarns that had different colors, weights, and textures. Then, I tied them together and stitched an edging that uses a variety of stitch heights. I'm not sure how to deal with the knots on the back -- I didn't leave enough yarn to weave in the ends. I may just snip them off at the knots. Still, I like how this one came out.
One thing I've noticed about this piece is that by making the lettuce-y ruffle early on, I ended up with a very ruffly item where it really isn't possible to see all the different parts at the same time. At first this annoyed me, since it's kind of difficult to take a picture of something when parts of it are hidden, but then I realized that it's kind of cool to be able to get different looks from the same exact object. I'm proud of myself for sticking with this project, even though I've had some not-so-fun time-sucks in my life this month (like both my bunnies getting sick at the same time). Now we're on the home stretch, and I'm looking forward to seeing what I end up with, as well as everyone else's finished projects!
Next time: my progress on the Lion Brand Moderne Jacket crochet-a-long.
Labels: Crochet
Posted by: Jeanne at 18:28
| 0 comments
3.10.2009
NatCroMo Freeform Crochet-a-long 2009 (3/1-3/9)
Last week was crazier than I expected, but I'm finally back with another post. This might be some kind of record.
March is National Crochet Month (or NatCroMo), and there's a group dedicated to it on Ravelry. In addition, there's a Freeform CAL (Crochet-a-long) project where there's a different inspiration for each day. Despite having no experience in freeform crochet, I've been giving it a try. It's been a great exercise for me. Although I have much to learn (how to make pieces lay flat, how to create the shapes I want without too much ruffling and/or curling, etc.) I'm also discovering that I know more than I realize. The final result (well, the final result so far) is rather crack-induced, but I'm discovering all sorts of ideas for future projects.
Here are the photos of my project in progress:
A is for Apple and B is for Blossom/Bullions. I started out with a reddish color (combined with another yarn containing muted versions of apple-y colors) and a shape that looked like the bottom half of an apple. To that, I added bullion stitches and ended up with a vaguely flowery shape.
C is for Crab. I added crab claws bordered with crab stitch. I also added a crab stitch border above the bullions.
D is for Drop. I interpreted this as drops of water, and added a wave stitch in two shades of blue/aqua.
E is for Eating. Crocheting food is fun, so I added a hyperbolic lettuce edge around the piece.
F is for Fragrance. One of my favorite fragrances is lavender, and the pieces ended up with a lavender spiral.
G is for Ground. I chose a yarn with various grays and browns and crocheted pebbles (bobble stitches) around the lavender spiral.
H is for Honey. That's a honeycomb on the back side of the piece, crocheted in the closest color I had to honey.
I is for Insect. The little crab guy, buried under the lavender and pebbles, gained two moth antennae. They like to droop a bit, but I got them to stand up for the photo.
Today is J for Jam, but I haven't decided what I want to do with that yet.
Labels: Crochet
Posted by: Jeanne at 16:41
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3.02.2009
About the New Layout (plus some crochet)
Okay! I'm finally sitting down to write an update post. I've been holding off on posting here until I was done with the new layout. I'm going to have to break this into several posts so I don't go crazy. First, here's the story behind the new blog look.
I'm redoing my portfolio, and one of the items on my to-do list is creating custom layouts for my blogs under my new name: Lopapalooza Studios. For my sewing and crafting blog, I am now using the name Lopapalooza Creative Fingers. The old name, "Diary of a Sewing Novice," doesn't really apply anymore. Not only am I no longer a novice (hooray!), but I'm focusing on more than just sewing.
For the layout, I wanted something that incorporates both sewing and crafts with muted colors and a bit of classic charm. And of course, I couldn't resist including my lop logo! The site should be viewable on most browsers and versions, although it will look best on newer browsers. The text is also resizable.
I used brushes and patterns from Obsidian Dawn.
I am still very much into crochet, with the occasional bit of practice knitting. Crochet has become a major focus for me, and the best place to follow my recent progress is my Ravelry page. I encourage anyone who is interested in knitting and/or crochet, even if you don't feel like you're very good yet and even if you don't have any completed projects, to sign up. The number of resources on there are just amazing, including the pattern search and all the groups. At the time of this writing, you need to sign up for an invitation, and it'll take a few days to get it, but it's worth it.
For those who aren't on Ravelry, here are links to my latest completed projects. I'll go more in-depth on these in following posts:
More to come soon!
Labels: Crochet, Knitting
Posted by: Jeanne at 15:26
| 0 comments
2.27.2009
A New Layout!
As you may have noticed, I created a new layout for the blog. I still have some issues to work out, so if any of the posts look funny, just be patient...
Stay tuned for more!
Posted by: Jeanne at 18:49
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