Success with the WIPs

Finishing a WIP is just plain satisfying. Nothing like making that last stitch on the round, or the border, of a WIP and knowing you're done. Especially if that WIP has haunted, um, sat around for a bit.

Two WIPs are happily folded and available for use now, and one is receiving some much needed attention.

This small lap robe is one I haven't featured on my blog before because quite honestly I had forgotten about it. Yup, it's been that long. I was rummaging through the current WIP projects looking for a yarn color and discovered it quietly waiting for some attention.

I pulled it out and started working on it as an away-from-home project. The pattern was enjoyable, although I couldn't quite memorize the pattern and had to refer to the first few stitches of every row throughout the entire lap robe. I likely won't stitch this one up again.

Details: Red Heart Pattern LW3973 Rainbow View Throw. Yarn - I Love This Yarn in colors Forest, High Sierra Ombre and Light Taupe.

This next one I started as a mood afghan in 2014, but the block size as prohibitive as a daily block. It was put away until earlier this year when I had a plan to redo the afghan. I was doing well until life began getting hectic.... alas, it's finished!

I used the flat braid joining method. I had originally joined with a slip stitch every so often, but I didn't like the gaps that method left. Since I was ripping the blocks apart, I changed my mind and am much happier with this join. It's a bit fussy, but the finished product is worth it!

I used Red Heart and I Love This Yarn for the blocks.

I could've never finished this as my mood blanket. Each block takes almost two hours to complete. The pattern is beautiful, and can be made to different sizes. It's Arches by Dayna's Crochet.

This has now become a WIP, I'm sad to say. It's the CAL from Zooty Owl. I am time challenged, and was doing okay in keeping up.... until the block strips weren't the same length.

There was some stress in life, and I just didn't want to deal with it. When I went to pick it up, still didn't want to deal with it. Luckily, I didn't have to! A fellow crocheter helped me with joining the naughty uneven strips!

So I'm working on the blocks to finish joining the parts together. the colors are absolutely beautiful in my living room and go perfectly with my curtains. All yarn is I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby.... so very soft!


I'm excited to continue this trend... but I've started another CAL. This is from Sandra at Cherry Heart. I'm already behind, but it's okay with me. Details in an upcoming post!

Enjoy the fall weather. Curl up with your crochet project when the weather isn't so nice outside!

Happy on the Hook!
Gwenhywfar

Slow but sure...

It's been a while since I've posted, and as I mentioned in my last post I had some pain at the base of my thumb. Well, around Halloween I tried to shut the tailgate of my car on my hand and boy did I have a bruise from it. That bruise hung around for over three weeks. I finally went to see the doctor (after I put two and two together - not being able to pick up bowls, glasses, etc.) and had it X-rayed. It's not broken, but it will take a bit to heal.

So I am just now able to get in a bit of crocheting, but not for very long at a time. And it's not easy with my 'friend' on my wrist. There is improvement though - I find myself going without the brace a bit more now and doing okay, but only when I know I won't be lifting or using my right hand much.

This injury has hampered my Christmas plans a bit as well. My intentions were to make snowflakes and ornaments for friends this year. So much for that!

My afghan for the Blankets for Barracks Soldiers project is on hold until I can lift the afghan without hurting my wrist. I'm on the last row before I start decreasing on both sides, so I'm excited to get back to it. The colors are really coming together nicely. And the yarn scrap pile is being used up as well!

Since I can't handle my main project right now, I started a smaller project. It's a shell blanket using Red Heart Soft yarn. Beautiful yarn to work with - soft, works well on the hook.... but it's a bear finding the end in the skein and getting it out of the skein! I end up pulling nearly half the skein out of the middle just to find the end. There has to be a better way, I just haven't found it yet. The 'Soft' yarn isn't like Red Heart's Super Saver yarn where the end is sticking out, easy to find. Nooooooo. It's hiding inside, buried where you can't find it. Very frustrating. Not sure I'll use the yarn after this project, unless I discover the secret to finding the end without pulling half the skein out of the middle!

Now that crocheting is gradually coming back I should be posting more.

I hope your Christmas projects are on task and you have some time for you!

Happy on the Hook!
Gwenhywfar

The challenging challenges of a challenge

I haven't been able to work on the Stitch-cation Summer Challenge as much as I want to, but I've made two blocks so far - the popcorn stitch block:

which I love the texture and feel of. And, the popcorns are kind of fun to make once you get the hang of them.

The second block is a granny square, but it's not like any granny I've ever made!

It's not made in the round. You turn the work after each row like an afghan, giving the block a different appearance. It's a Red Heart pattern (LW4132-11), and I really like it.

I thought I was going great guns, excited to move onto the next block... Until my mother, who is doing the same challenge but has more time, discovered a couple of things. First of all, the border should be done in the same color on all the blocks. Second, the blocks need to be the same size...

Notice a size problem? My mother has found that a few of the blocks require adjusting by changing hook sizes up or down. For the popcorn block, it's two sizes down. So, I will remake the block with a smaller hook and put the right border on!

Another project in the crochet basket is my temperature blanket. I found a pattern at Moogly called Riley Flower Square Motif. Once again, I'm using I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby. I made up two squares to see how it worked up with the join-as-you-go-method I use, and to be honest I think I have to do some tweaking. I don't like the corners and it seems to be a bit 'scrunched,' as if it doesn't have enough yarn to go around the flower.

And, for clarification, my year is July-June :). The inside color is the low temperature and the outside is the high. I'm collecting my data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Weather Service website. It's been fun to watch the temperatures through the winter and slowly get warmer into summer. I've definitely enjoyed this part of the project.

More WIPs to keep me busy. But, that keeps me interested and motivated I guess!

Happy on the Hook!
Gwenhywfar

Soft and cuddly, for me and the fur monsters

I love the feel of Lion Brand Homespun yarn. My dogs love Homespun yarn... more specifically when I'm crocheting with Homespun yarn. The first non-granny square afghan I made was with Homespun. I'm not sure that was one of the smarter choices, now that I look back on how I struggled with the yarn. But I love the afghan. In fact, I made two. Simple afghans of just row upon row of single crochets.

Even though I don't have the afghan out this time of year, the minute either of the fur monsters can get near it they want to cuddle into the soft fibers. I really can't blame them. Homespun entices you to curl up on the couch with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate with no mind of what's going on outside.

Homespun can have a mind of its own. It's a bulky weight yarn but woven with the strand is a thread that gives it another hint of variegation. That strand is heavier than sewing thread, but it can unravel. I've learned to tie knots at each cut end of yarn to prevent this. In addition, I wonder how well the ends will stay tucked in because of how soft the yarn is.

All in all, I still love the yarn. I generally don't recommend beginning crocheters use the yarn until they are comfortable with basic stitches and have their tension evened out a bit. Tight stitches with Homespun yarn would likely cause frustration because of the yarn's tendency to unravel/fray.

This doesn't stop me from using the yarn, though. I made a throw for my mother using two strands with Red Heart's Holiday Stripes Throw (LW1882). All the while, the fur monsters curled up on my lap to 'help' me make this gift for her.

When I finished, I decided I needed to make one for myself.

All that's left to do is tuck ends and finish the border. Why don't I learn and tuck ends as I go? Life would be grand, I would be less stressed and much happier, and the afghan would be DONE by now! Ahh, but we don't learn, do we. But I am close, really close, to being done. It's on the table, instead of a bag. So maybe even work on it tonight.

Happy on the Hook!
Gwenhywfar