Last days of May

Random views from the last days of May

and now it's June

F+A+E Brooch

F+A+E brooch is the mystery blog giveaway. And the winner is...

Chickenbetty!

Please email with your address info or pm me on Ravelry. Hope you like it! It was crocheted with a Habu silk using a 1.7 hook. Below is the piece as shown in the book.

Here's a photo from the Knot book that displays all the motifs used throughout the book.

Hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend!

BLUE

Blue. I'm surrounded by blue these days.

My sister, Jenny, gifted me the shawl pattern, Wings of The Valkyrie by Jennifer Benson. I'm crocheting it with Zitron Trekking Pro Natura, a wool/bamboo blend yarn. It doesn't look too impressive in its current unkempt state, but the blocked swatch gives a preview of its future loveliness. The pattern can be found here or on Ravelry.

On the blue knitted front, I've started my first lace scarf, Anita Caroline, designed by Bonnie. It's a really pretty lace pattern, that's interesting to knit, but not too complex for a beginner like me. It too will open up once finished and blocked. The pattern can be found on Etsy or Ravelry

Yes, still more blue, but this one is finished. Topflappen, is a fun, uniquely shaped potholder. It was crocheted with Paton's Grace in azure, gray, and beige stripes on front and solid azure on the back. It's on its way to the recipient's mailbox, who just happens to love blue.

Rain's gifts

It's so nice to have April begin with sunny weather. It seemed like March was nothing but rain. In mid-March, on a day with huge wind gusts and torrential downpours, Bonnie and I spent the day in New York. I've never seen so many broken, abandoned umbrellas but what really impressed me were the hearty souls bicycling through the New York streets in the pouring rain. We managed to stayed dry for a good amount of time at Habu Textiles.

There are so many intriguing and unusual yarns. I'd have been happy to sit on a stool there all day long, picking up one yarn after another, creating crochet and knit stitches. There are a few more photos of the shop here. By the time spring arrived, I had finished crocheting a doily full of flowers using Habu Tsumugi Silk. It's a free pattern from Pierrot Yarns. Once the silk has been washed and blocked, it softens and drapes so nicely, so exquisite. I'd like to make a summer shawl or top with it.

I found the perfect book to encourage my experimentation with some Habu yarn samples. Knot is a Japanese thread crochet book of small accessories and jewelry. The other day I used a bit of silk and one of the shapes in the book to make a brooch. It reminds me of Birch tree seed pods.

As a way to say goodbye to National Crochet month and share some Habu goodness, I'm having a mystery giveaway. The winner will receive a crocheted item from the Knot book, made from Habu yarn. I'll include some other surprises as well. Just leave a comment that you're up for a surprise. I'll randomly select a winner on April 17 and show you what the winner won.

Washing Winter Away

Isn't it nice to finally see and feel the first signs of Spring? I'm looking forward to the temperature climbing into the 50's this weekend. Just about time to do some spring cleaning. Since it's National Crochet Month, here's a washcloth crochet pattern I worked up for some gift-giving during the holidays. I wanted a pattern that wasn't too feminine, but also wasn't a plain Jane. This is what I ended up with-it uses an easy spike/relief stitch and a simple border all around. While I made it to use as a washcloth, it could fit right in in the kitchen too. I used sportweight yarns, but really any weight could be used.

Knit Picks Simply Cotton Organic Sportweight yarn, Malted Milk and Ginger. You could crochet 2-3 cloths with one skein.

Berroco NaturLin, Oat and Chocolate. One skein makes one cloth, with a good amount left over, but not enough for 2 (in the size I made them).

Pattern: Open Ridge Washcloth
Dimensions 8 ½ inches by 8 ½ inches
Hook: G/4.0 mm
Yarn: Sportweight cotton or linen, such as Knit Picks Simply Cotton or Berroco Naturlin

Notes:
If you tend to hook tightly you may want to use a larger size hook for your chain row.
Work the chain at the beginning of each row loosely.
Increase or decrease the beginning chain row by even numbers in order to change the size of the cloth.
Any weight yarn will work-adjust the hook size and number of chains accordingly.

Instructions:
Chain 36 loosely.
Row 1: Sc in 2nd chain from hook, and 1 sc in ea ch to end. Turn.
Row 2: Ch 1, skip first sc, * skip next sc, hdc in next st, 1 hdc in space between last 2 st., * repeat from *to *, ending with 1 hdc in last sc. Turn.
Row 3: Ch 1, 1 sc in back loop of ea st, end with sc in the ch 1. Turn.
Repeat rows 2 and 3 until the cloth’s length is equal to its width, or to your desired size. End with row 3. Turn.

I added a simple edge of 2 rows of sc. Change it if you'd like!
Row 1: Ch 1, 1 sc in ea st across, 3 sc in the last stitch for a corner, sc evenly along each of the sides, continuing to place 3 sc in ea corner st. Sl st to first sc. Turn.
Row 2: Ch 1, 1 sc in first st of corner, place 3 sc in middle st of the corner, 1 sc in third st of corner, and continue 1sc in each st, and 3 sc in the middle st of each corner. Sl st to first sc. Fasten off.

Weave in ends and block lightly if needed.

I'm using my initial swatches as coasters. These were made with Elesbeth Lavold Hempathy. They look spring-like to me!

(Off to Ravelry to add the pattern there)

a girl, a bird, a wurm, and a medal

Or, the early bird gets the wurm?

the bird: my winter pigeon

Doesn't he look tough? The pigeon was a bit challenging to train. Fingering weight wool yarns, C hook.

the pigeon's cute backside

the Wurm: a squishy knit with Cascade 220, 1 skein, US 7 & 8 circular needles

my wurm pile

the medal: Ravelympics 2010 Skelegurumi (for crocheting the pigeon)

...and the girl gets them all.

Loving the unlovable

What's not to love about a pigeon?

Winter Ravelympics has begun on Ravelry! I've entered the Skelegurumi event and hope to medal for Team Sennott by crocheting the lovable Alfred the Pigeon. My much more challenging event will be the Mitten Moguls. I'm still in training for that event.

bits & scraps

Winter Daisies Pillow:
Scraps of unfit (meaning too thin for rug hooking) wool fabric. A bit of crocheted daisy flowers, an abandoned scarf project (all those endless chains...). I used the incredibly easy envelope back pillow tutorial here.

Coral Strand Necklace:
A bit of Berroco Mica yarn to make a chained and slip stitched cord, with spare button and looped end. Some scrap yarn of Berroco Seduce yarn, leftover from my knit Baktus scarf. The jumping off point for the necklace is Coral, a free crochet pattern from Berroco. I wove the slipped cord through the holes of the Seduce Coral to make my Coral Strand. Depending on my mood, I can wear it spread out or scrunched up.

new boy in town

He sings, he's athletic, he looks good in red, he's

Homestar Runner!

Another brilliant design by Aleta Fera

Sock Star Scarf Reveal

I was so thrilled to be a finalist in Berroco's Sock Star competition! Now I'm even more thrilled to see my crochet scarf, which Berroco named Olney St., in the upcoming Sock Star Pattern Booklet. The scarf is crocheted using one skein of Berroco's Ultra Alpaca Fine wool. The pattern booklet will be available in LYS' soon and directly through Berroco. If you voted for the scarf back in the Fall, a huge thank you to you, and I hope people like the scarf if they crochet it. These are a few photos I snapped before I had sent it off to Berroco in August.

In September I crocheted it again, using the Redwood Mix colorway. I gave it to my sister, Bonnie, a small thank you for all her support and continuous inspiration.

Cowl Happy

I was totally happy when I received my very own Chickadee Cowl knit by my sister, Jackie. I love the colors. Sheep Shop 2 yarn if I remember correctly. Thanks, Jackie!

Then I was way happy at the beginning of this week when I finished knitting my Buttermilk Sky cowl designed by my sister, Bonnie. Knit in Berroco Pure Merino. Such a great texture and great fun to knit.

Cowl Happy

Crochet for a Winter's Day

I've been crocheting a few different items as I try out my Habu mystery yarn samples. The doily pattern is from the Kyuuto! Lacy Crochet. I love the claw-like petal/leaves and its simple design. The Habu yarn is a laceweight linen so I used a small 1.75 mm hook. The yarn has a beautiful natural color and texture and draped nicely with blocking.
Sometimes it's very satisfying to complete something from start to finish in just a matter of a couple hours. The Habu yarn I used for this simple necklace appears to be a silk paper/ribbon yarn. It's bronze color seemed to be the perfect compliment for some peach seed beads I had left over from a scarf. I played around with several hook sizes before deciding on a 1.75 mm hook for smaller chains. The necklace is long enough that it can be worn in single strands or doubled up around the neck.

This motif reminds me of a passion flower. I'm not sure what this will become. I had just enough of this yarn to make two circle motifs. I may combine it with some linen or wool fabric to make a brooch. Plenty of winter days left to ponder its use.