fo: Lacy Crocheted Tee

Okay, this post has been a long time coming.  I showed you a sneak peak of this top during the week 1 round up of MMMay, but honestly it's been finished since I got back from Cuba in February.  In fact, we took a bunch of (poorly lit) pictures of it on the beach one of our last days there!

Aha.  It was nice of him to take these, but I definitely should've given Darryl a bit more direction on them.  Oh well, he got some good ones!  You can see how short the top is though.  It's worse in the pictures above, just cuz these were taken right after I'd sewn it all together and it hadn't been blocked there.  Wasn't going to be blocked there, because everything took 12 days to dry there.

Despite how cute it is, I've only worn it once or twice between February and now - and not only because hello winter you're too cold for a lacy crocheted top!  (Although to be fair, one of the ways I wore it was over a white long-sleeved blouse...)

I just wasn't sure how to wear it.  I'm sort of liking the outfit I pulled together for MMMay though, and I'm going to experiment with more layering options for sure.  Cuz it's way too cute to leave languishing alone in my closet!

Here's the dets:
Pattern: BR-10223 Flowery see-through V-neck
Yarn: Nice & Knit Fingering in Lobster Pot (I was super lucky and won in the Very Shannon Summer Sweater KAL last year)
Mods: None?  Except changing yarn and hook size - needed to get a bit more width in this one-sized sucker to fit me.
Challenges:  A LOT.  This pattern is written entirely in Japanese.  It's charted really well though, so if you're able/willing to learn how to read crochet charts, it's well worth trying to get your hands on this pattern.  Honestly, I didn't fit it that hard once I got the hang of it, but I've been crocheting for...erm...twentymumble years.  Your mileage may vary.

Uh, what else.  Anything?  Nope, I think that's all I got right now.  Forgive me, I'm anxious to get this post done so I can get out the door.  I just recently started a new running training program, the Zombie Run! 5k Training app, and I've never in my life been more excited to run.  I forced myself to take a day off to give my body a break, but dammit I wanna know what happens next!

So uh, I'm going to go do that.  Wish me luck outrunning the zombies!

Vacation Wardrobe: Crocheted Top

So, Darryl and I have been planning a vacation for a while now.  We're pretty excited about it, and I've been saving up for ages for this.  Where are we going?

CUBA!  For two weeks, too.  :)

And since I'm me, I'm making things hard for myself by trying to make up a vacation wardrobe for this trip.

I have a plan, and it's a pretty good one too.  I should write up a post about it, actually.  A couple of dresses (one that's basically a strip of fabric sewn to the bottom of a cropped tank top), a skirt, a t-shirt reconstructed into a tank top, maybe a pair of shorts I started well over a year ago now and basically just needs a waistband, and a crocheted top.

I'm stoked about this crocheted top - I've been wanting to make it for a while now.  It's a lovely v-neck top built around a lacy doily.  The pattern is from an out of print Japanese magazine, and it's a pain to get a hold of.  I was pretty sure this pattern would always stay on the wish-list, but a friend of mine showed me her copy of it she's had since her trip to Japan a few years back, and I all but jumped her for it!

I started it last Wednesday, and finished the back doily today.  Despite working from crochet charts alone, it's going pretty good.  Especially since this is only my second time using crochet charts!  It's challenging and I have to pay attention, but I'm still able to do it while watching tv, so it's been a great relaxing-on-the-couch project.

The medallion is about 18" across, which is what the pattern calls for (after blocking, I believe).  Considering that this pattern is one-sized and a Japanese pattern, I know I need to make this bigger.  I'm pretty sure I'll get that once this is blocked.  Look at the pattern picture above - you can see how much open the lace is - and using a wool, this should open up nicely.

I'm using Nice & Knit Fingering in the Lobster Pot colourway.  The pictures above don't show the colour well, mostly because I was too eager to show you guys so took them in my sewing room with the blinding fluorescent light on.  It's gorgeous though, a lovely tonal reddish-orange - you can sort of see the tonal varigation in the first pic.

Considering that I started this 4 days ago, I should be able to get this done before the 22nd, right?  Right??!

As for the other projects, well, I got a skirt done already and I have a basic t-shirt dress cut out already. More on those later.  I should've had my tank-top dress finished, but I decided that I want to match the stripes and I need more fabric for that.  Or I need to re-think the skirt.  Either way, I left it be for the weekend.

It's been a good crafty weekend!  I think I needed this, I've been in the dumps lately and it was good to get some creative time in.  How was your weekend?  Did you get any craft-time in?

State of the WiP Pile

Hey guys, remember the WiP Name and Shame post I wrote a month ago?  It's the one where I wrote this declaration:

I, Heather of Things I Make. Plus Rocks, do declare that I will finish at least 5 of these projects in the next month, and will not start anything else until they're done.  I will also finish all of these projects before the end of 2015.

BAM!

7 project finished!  SEVEN!!!
2 projects frogged (well, one frogged and a dishcloth thrown in the garbage because I screwed it up so badly it was that or stab repeatedly with my scissors)
Major progress made on my Henri sweater (the purple one on the right) and the fingerless mitts at the top!

You've seen some of the finished projects, like the Fuego in Flames toque, the SpringTastic socks, and the Helix set (my musician cousin won them, btw, and has apparently been bugging his wife for a pair for years).  I'll post about the other finished projects soon!

The grey sweater in the bottom right corner is still waiting on my KAL buddy to catch up - she's currently in the far northern arctic doing field work, so she's forgiven.  I'm not feeling the grey and white baby blanket right now, but I'm not ready to frog it right now either, so it's going into hibernation until I'm desperate for a baby gift.  The dark brown socks are waiting for fall when it's cooler out, and all of the ends in the year in temps scarf in the upper left corner scare the crap outta me, so it's a project for another day.

But hey, I'm pretty darn proud of myself.  Especially since I finished off 4 of them this past weekend (the last before my self-imposed deadline)!  We did a fishing trip to Haines, Alaska, and between 10 hours a driving and a lot of sitting in camp chairs in front of fires and on pretty rock beaches, I got a lot finished.  I'll post more on these another day, but here's some teaser pics!

Baby vest, finished on the way to Haines - just in time for a wander about the Million Dollar Falls along the way!

Sewing in ends above the treeline.

SO MANY ENDS!


Sewed in more ends (AAAAHHHH) and then added the buttons I bought at the Dalton City Yarn Store in Haines.

More end sewing, but this time with a glacier view from a pretty rock beach.

Of course, we had to run away from these guys at one point.

MOAR ENDS!  But miraculously, finished in time for a freshly caught salmon dinner, cooked over the campfire!

And because I obviously hadn't sewn in enough ends, I did some more.

After all of those ends (SO MANY ENDS OMG), I pulled out my Henri and started the bobble section of the sleeve.  I hate knitting bobbles and that was why I left the sweater alone for so long.

I think I'm on track to finish all of these projects by the end of the year, except maybe that baby blanket, and the scarf will obviously need a couple of days into 2016 - since I'll need to know the temperature on Dec 31 first.

I'm also not letting myself start another sweater until Henri is done.  Following my declaration was tough at times, especially that "not start anything new" part, but it was really good at pushing me to finish projects.  This last declaration, about finishing Henri, is particularly tough because I just received some gorgeous new yarn and I want to play with it so badly!  But I want to wear Henri even more, so it's easy to talk myself out of starting something new.

More on these finished projects soon!

wip Name and Shame Time

Uh, I might have a problem.  A big startitis problem.  A woman at one of my knit nights recently asked me how many projects I had on the go, and I jokingly said 15.  Um.

Here, let me lay it out for you.

1. Year in Temp scarf.  Started in January, stalled out in March.  Still recording the daily temps though, so I'll catch up...someday.
2. Toque Tank.  This was the second knit I started during the TTTKAL, after I powered through my Avana.  It flew off of the needles...until I hit the armhole and neck bands.  This will probably only take another couple of hours of knit time.
3. Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot! Nearly finished the first fingerless glove!  Loving this project, but the colourwork takes a lot of concentration.  Maybe a half-hour to finish the first?
4. Striped toque.  This is for a silent auction for an upcoming family reunion.  We're fundraising to buy an outdoor event tent.  I'm planning to make a pair of fingerless mitts and a cowl to go with it.  This is still in the wips because I just need to finish sewing in ends.  Uh yeah.  Minutes.
5. Henri.  The as-yet-unblogged sweater.  I adore this thing, it's like a wearable swatch, so much fun to knit!  I need maybe a few more hours to finish the front, then onto the back.  This got put on hold while I knit my Cardboard Cafe for the Holla Knits KAL.  Definitely something that needs to be picked up again soon!
6. Fuego in Flames toque.  Haha just started this sucker.  I justified it because...because.  I'm knitting this out of a scrumptious yarn one of my best buddies sent me in March for my birthday.  Considering how much I'm loving both the pattern and this yarn, it shouldn't take too long to finish it.
7. Amiga for the Heather's Amiga KAL.  Just blogged about this.  I'm nearly done the raglan increases, but will be holding once they're done to wait for Heather to catch up (she cast on tonight - July 7!).  
8. Nub of a scarf.  Was supposed to be a small lacy scarf using this amazing qiviut that the above-mentioned Heather sent me a while ago.  I don't like the lace though, so I guess I'll frog this and find a better project for this yummy yarn.  Not that there's a lot to frog.
9. SpringTastic Socks.  Started this on the way to Mexico, hoping to finish the pair on the trip.  Then realized how long fine-weight yarn socks take, so hoped to finish one.  Then was just pleased to get past the heel.  Uh, these are taking a while.  I like them though!  Must get back to them.
10. Yet another Baby Vest.  Same pattern as the pink one I just made.  Probably only need another hour to two to finish this one?  What the heck, me, just finish it already.
11. 5 Hour Baby Sweater.  On...5 months?  AHA yeah.  All that's left is about 12 rows for the hem and buttons, AND THAT'S IT.  I...don't even know why this isn't done.
12. Silver Star Crocheted Blanket.  Started for a friend's baby, took too long to start, baby is now 1.5 years old?  I don't think he's getting this blanket.  Good thing I didn't tell his parents about it, eh?
13. Reverb.  Uh so I started this November 2013, and last worked on it during a plague the end of December 13.  I do really want this cardigan, it's just been hard to restart this.  Maybe I should pull it out again after I finish Henri.
14. Alpaca Winter Socks.  I think I mentioned these socks (or erm, half of a sock) in the Baby Vest post - they're a community knitting project.  They'll be a really heavy and warm men's over-socks.  These suckers weigh a ton already!
15. Dishcloths!  I'm including both of these as one project so I don't go over the holy number 15, shhh.  Actually, I've joined another dishcloth swap and they posted both the Happy dishcloth and the Pinwheel dishcloth.  I spent that morning working on these instead of cleaning my house and packing for a camping trip last Friday. HAHAHA.  The crochet dishcloth only needs another half hour to finish.  The pinwheel needs to be seamed and have all the ends sewn in.  One or both is going to someone awesome!

I actually think there might be more, but this is what I could find.  And this doesn't even touch on sewing.  I have a declaration to make though:

I, Heather of Things I Make. Plus Rocks, do declare that I will finish at least 5 of these projects in the next month, and will not start anything else until they're done.  I will also finish all of these projects before the end of 2015.

And now it's your turn: how many wips do you have?  *arches eyebrow*

fo: Deco Daisies Cowl

I have another finished project to share with you!  Except this one was finished months and months ago...I only got around to taking pictures of it last week.  Allow me to introduce my extremely pretty Deco Daisies Cowl!

Peakaboo!

I've blogged about this lovely before, both during my crochet startitis last summer and the original wip post a bit earlier.  It was such a fun crochet pattern and, while a bit complex, was pretty easy to learn a few repeats in.  This hand-painted yarn helped make this a fun knit, since the colours were stunning and I loved seeing what colour would appear next.  I think the multitude of colours made the daisies in the pattern sing, don't you agree?

Pattern: Deco Daisies, designed by Michelle Moskalok and published by Holla Knits
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Alegria in Pindo
My Ravelry Project Page

I've had the yarn for a while.  I bought it during a visit to Winnipeg, Manitoba in May 2013, and had been searching for the perfect pattern ever since.  It had to be special for this beautiful but expensive yarn.  Found it!

I modified the pattern a bit, as I only had the one ball of yarn (the long cowl requires two).  That's alright though, because I wanted a shorter cowl anyways.  I think I did 12 repeats of the pattern to get the shorter length.

Please forgive this horrible "portrait" photo. Ick.  Classic gaze-into-the-distance pose.  I should have a graduate cap on my head.  I'm only including it to show the length on a real person.

The lace opened up more than I expected, so it's a bit longer than planned. It's perfectly fine, but I fiddle with it to get it where I want it a bit more than I'd like.  Next time, I'd probably only do 11 repeats.  If the length of this one continues to bother me, I'll just pull it back and rip out a repeat.  Easy peasy.

Now I sort of want one in black to go with everything else in my wardrobe.


Do you crochet?  If not, did you realize just how pretty crocheted projects could be?  There's more out there than granny square afgans!

fo: Grey Amber of Summery Goodness (and Winter too!)

Look, I crocheted a sweater!

I mentioned this sweater last month when I was suddenly obsessed with crocheting.  We're heading off to a warmer climate this summer, and I wanted to make something for it (well, a few somethings, but we'll get to that later).  This seemed like a great garment to toss over a tank top and shorts or bathing suit, so I bought yarn and started hooking as soon as it arrived.

Pattern: 152-17 Amber, by Drops
Size: Small
Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy Worsted in Whisker
Hook: 5 mm

The thing is, I didn't exactly read the yarn requirements properly before I made my Knit Picks order.  Which is totally understandable since it was a 2 am order...  ANYWAYS, I ordered worsted weight, not DK as the patterns calls.  (For those who aren't yarn affici, worsted is a bit thicker and heavier than DK, which can effect your finished garment size since the stitches tend to be bigger and thicker as well).  I really wanted to use this yarn though, so I just did some maths (urk) and made up the size small...

...with a bit of finangling around the neckline.  There's technically supposed to be a solid stripe right up to the neckline, but that didn't work out with my gauge.  And honestly, I really like the lattice lace at the neckline better anyways, so WIN!  I did do away with the loopy finish on the neckline though, and opted to just do single crochets around the whole neckline, partially to finish it but mostly to give it some support. 


I sewed up the shoulders and side seams (from body hem to sleeve hem) using just a whip stitch.  Nothing fancy.  (I'm mostly showing these pics because I wished someone else had when I was trying to figure out how to sew this up.)

There's no shaping to this sweater.  The lace and solid striped panels just tend to conform to your body shape without clinging, similar to bias-cut fabric.

I'm pretty tickled by the final result, even if the sweater does emphasize why I probably shouldn't do drop shoulders - emphasizes my narrow shoulders and wider hips.  Whatever, it's cute and comfortable and I adore it!

And don't think this is only a summer top!  I'm totally rocking this sweater here in camp, despite the suddenly frosted campsite, by layering it overtop one of my many long-sleeve tees.

(Please forgive the office photo.)

Because I picked a heavier yarn, I didn't quite have enough to get the 3/4 length sleeves.  I realized this pretty early and panicked when I realized that Knit Picks wouldn't be restocking this colour until the end of November.  :O  So I found a woman on Ravelry who would sell me a couple balls.  A couple balls turned into 6.  But then, I realized I liked a shorter length anyways, because at my gauge, the sleeve would wind up full length - not what I wanted.  So I managed to use up nearly every little bit of my original 7 balls!

And completely forgot about the extras until this arrived in my mail box.  Oops.  :) Oh well, I'm sure I'll find something to do with it!

Do any of you crochet?  Ever thought of hooking a sweater?  I certainly hadn't until I came across this!

Crochet Startitis - I NEED HELP!

Holy cow, has crocheting ever gotten it's hook in me (haha pun intended).

Deco Daisies is coming along beautifully, and I'm really enjoying the project.  Especially now that I've memorized the pattern.  I think it won't take much longer to finish 'er up.  It's going to be a short cowl, not the long version in the original pattern. 
 

Seriously loving the texture and colours in this one!

And then there's the Amber I told you about when I got my (1st) recent yarn order.  I'd planned to start this in the fall when all that wedding bag sewing was finished.  But nooOOOOooo, I had to start it now Now NOW!!  And I'm nearly to the neckline on the front.  Seriously guys, crocheting in worsted weight is so damn quick!  Now I remember why I picked it over knitting when my Grandma taught me, 25-odd years ago.

Also loving the texture in this!  The problem is that I only have 7 balls of this yarn, and I just polished off the second one right before taking the picture above.  Uh...I'm thinking about 2.5-3 balls on each front and back, which leaves me a little bit more than 1 ball left for the sleeves.  That's not going to work.  So I went to the Knit Picks site to order more, and saw this:

Uh oh.  Uh, I don't want to wait until the end of November!  I couldn't even wait 1 month!  Luckily, it seems like a lady on Ravelry has a couple of balls she's willing to sell me.  *whew*  Definitely a lesson in ordering enough yarn to begin with.

Speaking of not buying enough, I impulse bought some yarn from my LYS yesterday to start this gorgeous crocheted top, In the Shade by Elena Fedotova.  Except I mistakingly bought lace weight instead of the required fingering because I was too impatient to check the yarn requirements.  Luckily I can just double up the lace weight to make fingering, but uh, that means I'll be short one skein. 

Well damn, I guess that just means I'll have to go back.  Poor me.

So yeah, STARTITIS ANYONE?  I think I need help.  Or just a bit more time.  Because these are all parts of the mini travel wardrobe plan I'm coming up for our beachy holiday this winter, and I want to make them all NOW!  lol  Maybe I'll make up a little plan to try to keep me on track.

Am I the only one with a case of startitis right now? 

wip: Deco Daisies

I joined a KAL/CAL over at Holla Knits based on two of their special collections.  I adore Holla Knits patterns - in fact, I knit their Eastwood Cardigan this past spring.  This time, I'm crocheting up their Deco Daisies in a gorgeous skein of Manos Del Uruguay Alegria.

I was a little surprised to see the yellow in the skein - it was hidden behind a twist in the skein.  I was a little worried that this bright vibrant colour was going to overshadow all of the gorgeous jewel-toned shades, but it's actually a stunning combo when crocheted up.

This is the first pattern repeat.  The pattern itself seems a little intimidating at first, but gets so much easier once you get going. 

I've made a few alterations to the pattern.  First off, I have about half the amount of required yarn, so this will be a much smaller cowl.  I reduced the width by 20 stitches, and instead of knitting two identical pieces and seaming them together with ruching along the seam, I'm just going to crochet until it's either the length I want or I run out of yarn.  I'll probably still ruch the one seam though.

Seriously, I think this is THE perfect marriage between yarn and pattern.  The daisies look stunning in this gorgeous varigated yarn!  I mean, daisies come in all colours under the rainbow, so how perfect is this?!

*~~*~~*~~*~~*

If you're curious about the picture at the top of the post, it was taken in camp last week looking up at the ridge above camp. 

I'm pretty damn proud to say that I finally climbed to the top of it this rotation!  I've been itching to do that since the moment I landed in camp for the first time, Dec 2012.  And boy do I have the bug bites to proove it!  Damn blackflies.