Celebration Time!

After way too long, I finally finished part 2 of my crochet course!  The last project was finished about a week ago, but I needed to finish converting my notes into lessons, patterns, etc., print it all out and put it all together.

Finishing required commandeering the computer for the day and pretty much kicking the family out so I could work on it uninterrupted.  Good gosh!  I just looked at the time.  I've been working on this for almost 8 hours straight!



Mind you, I did have some interruptions.  I set up a small table beside the computer chair to spread my binders and stuff out.  That required closing the drawer we usually have our older cat's bed set up (yes, we're sucks).  She was quite unhappy with the situation and plunked her but down right on my notes in protest.  I wasn't able to get a shot, but the other cat promptly jumped up to see what the big deal was. 



And here it is!  I've got all but two of the samples in small Ziploc bags that were hole punched to fit in my lesson binder.  The sweater and sampler pillow case are too big to fit into the binder with them.

Now I just have to find a box big enough to fit it all and mail it off.

It feels so good to finally have this finished!!

More photos here.

On display

What is that saying about best laid plans? *L*

So the still life display that I was working on was originally going to be in a frame.  First, I discovered I messed up on the sizing.  Yes, the two parts of the display would fit into the frame, but not both at the same time.  That was a bit of a "duh" moment for me.  Which is fine.  The flowers in a half-vase demonstrated stitches taught in the classes, so that was going to be used.  Then the frame itself got kiboshed.

The display is up now, though, and I think it turned out rather well!



Individual classes are advertised underneath, while the vase and flowers are at eye level.   They have been THOROUGHLY sewn to the backing, so the parts and pieces won't go travelling, but people will still be able to touch it and examine it closely.  A great job was done in putting this together within the space and display restrictions.  Thanks, Ladies!!

For display - part three

Part One
Part Two

For the next section of my display, I wanted to have a tree branch with leaves hanging down from one corner.



I started off with a simple sketch to decide where and when to place side branches and twigs.  The thicker branch portions would be shaped in with the foundation chain, represented by the line in the middle of the branch, then the twigs would be added while working the width of the branches.



Which turned out like this.  The foundation is done by working a chain, then working the back of it in single crochet.  The first section of chain (follow along the top of the branch, starting from the hook) was worked the length of the main part of the branch, plus the length of the first side branch.  I then worked down the other side of the first side branch in single crochet for the length I wanted, then continued working a chain for then next length of the main branch, plus the second side branch.  Single crochet was then worked down the other side of the second side branch for the length I wanted.  To do the tip of the branch I continued chaining to the length I wanted, then turned to work the other side in single crochet. (In the photo, the tip of the branch is curled on top of the tape measure.)  I continued working single crochet into the back of the chain, past the second side branch, until I reached where I wanted to add the one last side branch.  For that, I made a chain for the length I wanted, then worked single crochet along the back, then continued on with single crochet to the end.

The whole thing was a twisted, confused mass by then.  I straighting it out as much as I could for the photo.  Having that sketch to help me keep track of what I was doing really helped.  It was very easy to get lost on where I was.



For the branch width, I worked another round of single crochet into the branch, adding twigs by making a few chains, then single crocheting down the backs to rejoin the branches.  At the tips of each main branch, I did [1 slip stitch, 1 single crochet with picot, 1 slip stitch] to keep the tips pointed.  When reaching the area where the inside of a side branch joined the main branch, I worked a decrease to ensure the side branches pointed towards the end of the main branch.  The branch is now complete.

Time for leaves!



I decided to make leaves using the two greens I'd bought.  I had considered using the yellow and orange to make fall colours, but decided they would look too much like the flowers in the vase.

Each leaf is made by working on both sides of a foundation chain, changing the heights of the stitches to create the shapes, starting with a chain the length I wanted for a leaf, plus stem.  The first few stitches in single crochet make the stem, triple crochet was used for the widest part of the leaves (to reach the height of the first triple crochet, I changed up between doing a hdc first in some leaves, chaining 3 in others), then doing double, half-double and single crochet to taper to a point.  The tips of the leaves, which are worked into the first stitch of the foundation chain, are [1 slip stitch, 1 sc with picot, 1 slip stitch].  The stitches on the other side mirrored the first.

For the smallest leaves, the foundation chain wasn't long enough to do only one stitch on each side per chain stitch. Instead, I did several stitches in one chain, changing up the stitches to get the shape I wanted, though I did the tips the same as for the larger leaves.



At first I had thought to sew the leaves onto the branch, but decided against it.  The various parts and pieces will be pinned to a backing, and by leaving them lose, they can be adjusted and arranged to whatever is most aesthetically pleasing.

I've dropped off all the parts with my manger at the store I'm teaching at, along with some fibre fill for the vase, and showing her more or less how it was all supposed to go together.  She and another co-worker were to put it all into the frame that evening, so it should be up on display already.  I'll be bringing my camera when I come in for a class to get a photo of the finished result.

For display - part two

Okay, here is my second attempt to finish this post.  I started this a few days ago but, after technical difficulties with blogger, I lost almost the whole thing and haven't been able to get back to it since!

After finishing the vase for my display, it was time to make some flowers to fill it. 

First up were the leaves.  I wanted a long tapered shape, and these are about as simple as it gets.  I used the Impeccable yarn with a 5.00mm hook.



These are started with chains of varying lengths for the foundation, worked on both sides.  The start of the foundation chain is in the tips of each leaf.  To get the tapered shape I started with double crochet stitches, then half-double, then single.  In the final stitch (the first chain of the foundation) I did [1 slip stitch, 1 single crochet with a picot, 1 slip stitch].  The stitches on the other side of the leaf mirrored the first side. 

Next up, the stems.  These were a bit of a pain!



These were done in the round to make long tubes, but they're only 5 stitches around.  I started them by working 2 single crochet, then working 5 single crochet into the second stitch from the hook.  From there, I worked in a spiral in the front loops only.  The first couple of rounds are rather awkward to do, but once past that first bit, the rest went rather smoothly.

Next up, the centres.



Here you can see the two stages of the centres.  I started with a ring of 5 ch and worked 10 double crochet around it, making sure to catch the tail end in the stitches.  After slip stitching the round of dc closed, I pulled on the beginning tail to close up the ring.  I sewed in the end of the yarn, but left the beginning tail in case I needed it for later.

To make the two rounds of foundation loops for the petals, rejoin the yarn around the post of one of the dc stitches, from the back, then a sc around the same post (back post single crochet - bpsc).  Chain 3 for the loop, skip the next dc, then work a bpsc around the second dc from the start.  I kept working that pattern to make five 3 chain loops, finishing by slip stitching into the first bpsc.  Chain 1, then bpsc around the first skipped dc.  Chain 4 for the loop, then bpsc into the next skipped dc.  Continue around, finishing with five 4 chain loops, slip stitching into the first bpsc.  After cutting the yarn, I secured the ends but left them long for later sewing.

I wasn't able to get photos of the in between stages of working the petals. I had originally intended to make the petals the same was as in the thread crochet flowers I'd made for a friend.  I changed my mind because those used a technique not covered in the classes. Instead, I made shells for each petal.



As you can see in the photo, I also added a third later of petals in the back.

To start, the new colour was joined around a chain 3 loop.  Each petal in the front layer is made up of [1sc, 1hdc, 1dc, 1 hdc, 1sc] around each 3 chain loop, finishing with a slip stitch into the first sc.  Two chains were made to reach the next layer of loops.  Those were made with [1 sc, 1 hdc, 3 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc] around each 4 chain loop, finishing with a slip stitch into the first sc.

The next step was to make a new round of foundation loops for the third later of petals.  After chaining 2 to reach, a bpsc was worked around the same dc post as the first layer of foundation loops.  Ch 5 for the loop, then bpsc around the next dc that was worked in the first round.  This pattern was continued until 5 loops were made, then finished with a slip stitch into the first bpsc, making sure the chain 2 was tucked under to hide it.



You can see where the stitches were worked somewhat better from behind.

For the petals, each loop had [1 sc, 1 hdc, 2 dc, 2 tdc, 2 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc] worked around the 5 chain loop, slip stitching to finish, then the yarn ends were sewn in to finish.  Adding this third layer of petals made the flower size much more proportionate to the stems.



Using the tail ends from the flower centres, the stems were sewn into place.  I made sure to sew into loops on the underside of the stems, so that the stitches would be hidden.  The yarn ends were then finished by sewing them into the flower centres.



Next step, adding some leaves.



Using the yarn ends from the stems, I sewed a leaf to each stem, catching loops on the underside of the stem to hide the stitches.  I only attached the leaves for 2-3 inches, allowing most of the leaves to hang free.  In this photo you can see the front, side and back views of the stitched areas.



The finished flowers!



Here, I'm just checking out how they fit in the vase, along with the remaining leaves.  Fibre fill will be stuffed into the vase to help it hold its shape, as well as keeping the flowers and leaf ends in place.

Next section: a branch with leaves.

For display - part one

One of the staff at the Clareview Michaels had the idea of getting all the class instructors to make a display to promote our classes.  They will be framed and put up in the appropriate sections of the store.  The space we'll have to fill is 11x14, minus a 4 inch square which she will use to put in text about the classes.

My first thought had been to do a flat display featuring the stitches taught in the classes.  It occurred to me, however, that while these will be framed, they aren't going to have any glass.  Which meant I could go with something three dimensional.

I decided to go with a "still life" idea, using stitches and techniques that students will learn if they've taken all four classes.

I started off with a general idea of colours and textures, then spent some time in the yarn section.  This is what I came home with.



The skeins on the bottom are all Loops & Threads, Impeccable, Worsted.  For the Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, I ended up going with just two colours, but I will be using all of the Impeccable colours.

Next, it was time to do some sketching.



The pencil is a little hard to see here.  The big X was to find the centre, while the box just above the centre is where the information would be.  I figured a vase done in the Handicrafter Cotton would be good to show off how structural crochet can be, as well as show off some of the textured stitches covered in one of the classes.  From the vase would be some flowers and long leaves, using the light green for the leaves and stems, burnt orange for the flower centres and pale yellow for the petals.  On the other side, hanging down, will be a branch in brown with leaves in the darker green, though I am considering using the yellow and burnt orange as well to make fall foliage.



Next, I wanted to work out more details for the vase and flowers.  I changed the flower petal shapes from what's in my sketch, as that would have used techniques not covered in the classes.  Since all of this is going to be pinned onto a backing, I wanted to have the vase flat on one side, which meant I would actually be making half a vase, vertically.



I started with the vase base by making a semi-circle in single crochet, then finishing the flat side with single crochet to tidy it up.  The "right side" of the semi-circle would be facing down, where it will be visible.  The rest of the vase is worked from the "wrong side" of this piece.



To keep a sharp turn between the vase and the sides, I made a foundation of slip stitches on the wrong side of the semi-circle, worked under the single crochet loops.  This photo is of the right side of the base, and you can see where the yarn is wrapped around each single crochet.  For some reason, I never got a photo fo the wrong side, showing the slip stitches.  Oops.



The first round of the vase's sides was worked through the loops of the slip stitches, leaving a crisp edge of single crochet loops facing out from the base. 



Here's the inside view of that first round.



As I built up the sides in single crochet, I worked increases on the curved side, spacing them in different places in each round so that I would not have increases worked one above the other.  I still kept the increases closer to the flat back, where possible, so that they would be less visible.  I changed colours after about 2 inches, dropping the first colour without finishing off the yarn.  I did not do any increases in the new colour.



After the 1 round of single crochet in the new colour, I worked a round doing double crochet in the back, then popcorn stitches separated by two double crochet around the front.  I did one more round of single crochet before changing back to the first colour, again just dropping the second colour without finishing it.



I hadn't made much effort to count stitches when I was doing the increases, so it wasn't until I switched back to the first colour and did a single round of single crochet that I stopped to count.  I found I had 32 stitches, which is perfect for this shell pattern using 5 double crochet shells separated by a single crochet.  I did two rounds of shell stitch, then another round of single crochet, then changed colours again.



Then it was another group of 1 round in single crochet, 1 round with popcorn stitch and 1 last round of single crochet.  This time, when I changed colours, I did finish off the yarn in the second colour and hid the yarn end under the next round in the first colour.



Here's an inside view before continuing on.  None of this will be visible in the display.  The rest of the vase was done in single crochet only.



Using the first colour, the next few rounds had evenly spaced decreases added to the curved front of the vase to close it up until it was about the same size as the base.  One round was done without any increases or decreases, then I started adding increases again to create the flare.  Finally, one last round was done in the second colour.

The shape is a bit wonky from handling, but it seems to have worked out rather well! When it comes time to mount the vase, the flowers stems and leaves will be filling it, along with enough fibre fill to maintain its shape.  The smaller hook size (I used a 3.75mm hook) makes for a stronger structure, but it'll still need a bit of help to keep it from getting squished.

Next up, the flowers.

Experimenting with a new yarn.

Michaels has brought in a whole bunch new yarns that have caught my attention. This in particular.



This is Red Heart Boutique Doodle yarn. It's a 100% polyester yarn that's listed as 6/Super Bulky, with a recommended hook size of Q/16mm or needle size of 50US/25mm. It's the thickest, squishiest yarn I've ever seen! Very soft feel to it, too.

The sample at the display, however, was very disappointing. It's just a length of the yarn, braided. So I went looking at the free patterns available at Red Heart for this yarn.

More disappoint. I can't believe the folks at Red Heart couldn't come up with something more creative. I kept going back to the display, wondering what I would make with such a soft, squishy and bulky yarn.

Perhaps I'm showing my age, but the idea that kept popping into my mind was a butt pillow. *L* There have been a few times recently where I really would have liked having some sort of cushion I could use to sit on, such as during Taste of Edmonton, when what few seats were available were quite wet from the rain.

So I finally forked over the cash and got the two hanks pictured above.

After some thought, I decided to do the equivalent of double ended crochet. I dug up a piece of dowling to serve as a double ended hook. Here is my first attempt.




I started off by hand chaining 7 stitches. I picked up the loops through the back bars of the chains, placing them on the dowling. The dowling serves only to hold the loops and nothing else. Tension was all maintained by hand.



After turning the work and pushing the loops to the other end, the new colour was pulled through the loops...



Then the new loops were drawn up the same way as Tunisian Simple Stitch.

The whole thing was turned and the loops pushed to the opposite end of the dowling to pick up the first colour again.



Here the first colour has been drawn through the loops.



Then the new loops were picked up again.

Working with the dowling was all right except that it wasn't as smooth as it should have been, making sliding the loops from one end to the other less than idea. Here is how it looked at the end.



Here's one side, before I wove the loose ends in.



I had more of the lighter coloured yarn left, so I hand chained it to make a carrying loop before tucking the end in.



Here's how the other side looked.

I was no happy with this. As the work progressed and I got more used to handling the yarn and loops, my tension changed a fair bit. The last rows were quite a bit tighter and denser, and I found I preferred it. I also didn't like the dimensions very much. So I undid it and started over.

Here's the finished result.





For this, I worked with 10 stitches, but made everything a lot tighter, making the resulting butt cushion smaller than thicker. I ended up with two fairly long ends, so I hand chained them and tied them together to make a handle.

That's when I discovered a problem with the yarn. The yarn is made up of short lengths of fibres caught in a twisted core. Some of them came loose as I was tying the ends of the two colours together. The next thing I knew, tufts of colour was bursting loose in my hand. I ended up taking the small lengths of yarn that had tied the hanks together to tie around the ends to stop it, but those started coming apart, too. It seems stable now, but I'm now afraid the knot will simply disintergrate at any moment!

Aside from this, however, I consider the project a success. I still ended up with the last rows looking narrower than the first rows, but I don't think much can be done about that.

It is also a very comfortable butt pillow! *L*

Shell topped Wrist Warmers

After doing so many hats and cables, I switched to something quick and easy.  I made a pair of arm/wrist warmers.  They're the same basic pattern I used here.  Just rows of stitches worked in the back loops.






Top view of both warmers.  I used a thicker yarn than before; some bulky (5) yarn left over from another project and a 6.00mm hook, worked in dc instead of hdc.








The base chain was long enough to completely cover the wrists, but the length can be adjusted to whatever is desired.  The thumb opening is created when the basic rectangle it slip stitched closed.  The only major change from the ones I made before is the shell stitch topping the arm end.  First, a round of sc was worked evenly around the edge, then I did a round of shells separated by 1sc.  Each shell is [1 sc, 1 hdc, 1dc, 1hdc, 1sc] worked into one stitch.

The chunky yarn makes things bulkier than I typically like to wear on my arms, but they do the job. :-D

Building inventory

Our co-op has an annual spring garage sale. We hadn't been living here long when the first one happened, but have signed up for a table this year. With the feedback I had during our Christmas Craft Sale last year, I decided to test the waters a bit and include some small crocheted items, plus a couple of bigger pieces.

Working on those has kept my hands nice and busy. :-D

Most of what I'm doing are quick, useful things like dishcloths, pot holders and can cozies in Handicrafter cotton. Here are some of the pieces I've got so for. There are a few others that I forgot about when I took the photos, but I'll do those another time.






The cloth is done in tunisian stitch. I started off doing single stitches, as I had been with the double ended hook technique, but found the fabric curled up quite a lot. I didn't want to have to block a dish cloth, so I switched to double stitches. I ended up blocking it anyway, as tunisian tends to slant to one side quite a lot.

So far, this is the only tawashi I've done, but will be doing more with multiple colours when my skeins of yarn start getting too small to do full sized items.




I started getting tired of doing simple squares and rectangles, so I did my first ever filet crochet, finding a heart motif in one of my craft books, and a star motif using only single crochet and chain stitches that I found in another of my books. I just made it bigger than the pattern in the book, then finished is with a single crochet edging, adding picots to the tips to make them ore defined.



This herringbone pattern is from working in the back loops only. It's a bit like working a single ripple of a ripple afghan, without reducing at the ends of the rows.

 

I'll be making more of these potholders with the double ended hook. I've made a variation of these that resulted in a MUCH thicker fabric that I'll be giving more info about in its own post.



Just some simple dishcloths using double crochet stitches.



The basketweave pattern makes this ideal for potholders, while still being flexible enough to be a nicely textured washcloth.



The texture on these was created by alternating sc and dc stitches all the way across, then working sc into the dc of the previous row and dc into the sc of the previous row.



More can cozies! I love these things. I've been experimenting with textures, which serve as extra grip when being held.

Here is a more intricate piece I want to try out; a Moebius shawl (also spelled Mobius and Möbius) in fingering weight yarn. Usually when joining a long chain into a loop, great care is taken to ensure there are no twists. Here, a single twist is deliberately introduced to create a one-sided form.




This is less than half the width it will be when it's done. I spent quite a bit of time flipping through my pattern books to find something that was lacy and open enough to wear in the summer, yet dense enough that it wouldn't be too fragile. It's meant to be worn with the twist in the front, around the shoulders as a shawl, or as a cowl or neckwarmer.