Blitz - arm warmers

I've been looking at all sorts of arm warmer patterns of various complexity. I ended up going with simple, without using a pattern at all.





I used a 4.00mm hook again - this size is becoming my favourite, it seems. I have no idea what the yarn is. I got it from a fabric and yarn exchange a couple of years back. With only a partial ball, I had no idea what to use it for until now. Whatever it is, it was pure luxury to work with! I think it might actually be a silk blend of some kind. Whatever it is, it's smooth, soft, and has a wonderful sheen.

The arm warmers are 40 stitches long, worked side to side in hcd in the back loops only. I ended up doing 24 rows before closing it up. It took several tries before settling on where to put the thumb opening. The opening is wider than usual, but it felt more comfortable on the hand that way. I ended up closing it up for 8 stitches along the palm, then leaving a 12 stitch opening for the thumb. I worked the seam by ss the sides together, so when I got to the opening, I continued to ss into the foundation chain only for the 12 stitches, before joining the two sides up and continuing to the end.

One of the beauties of working side to side in the back loops is that the resulting fabric is quite flexible. In this photo, my 13 yr old is wearing them, but the fit me, too.

Blitz - java jacket

In looking at the various projects I've been doing, I have a serious dirth of guy-friendly patterns. Thinking about my various family members, I remembered that I have some serious coffee drinkers in there. Having seen some interesting ideas in pattern books and online, I decided to make up a java jacket for coffee mugs.






I worked this using Bernat handicrafter cotton and a 3.50mm hook. It's done much the same way as my can cozies, except that I was working in circles instead of a spiral. After working up a flat circle for the bottom (actually, it ended up being an octagon until I started working up the sides). The first round for the sides was done in the back loop only. I kept a mug beside me determine how high to go before starting the space for the handle, then adding the length for the closure.

The mug I used as I worked it up was a standard sized mug, and it ended up feeling a bit loose. It fits much better on this larger sized mug.

Blitz - Mohair hat

For this project, I used another one of gorgeous mohairs I found at Goodwill. This pattern is from Hip to Crochet: 23 Contemporary Projects for Today's Crocheter. The pattern recommended a sportweight yarn, but I thought it would work well with this mohair blend.



I used the recommended 4.00mm hook size. The yarn is from les fils marnel yarns, Rainbow - a French named yarn made in Italy. It's 70% acrylic, 20% mohair and 10% wool. It's machine washable in warm water, which is an added plus.

The pattern is worked in hdc, including the strange little nipple at the top. The down side of working in this pink colour is that I couldn't past the image that I was crocheting a giant breast. LOL It's meant to be worn with the bottom turned up, but my kids like it better down. It's much lighter and thinner than the recommended yarn would have been, while remaining beautifully warm. It does look strangely lumpy when not being worn, though.

Blitz - Cowl Hood Neckwarmer

This is a pattern from Crochet! magazine, Fall 2009 - the same one I got the beaded bracelet pattern from. Here, my demure looking younger daughter is modelling it for me. :-D




The pattern called for Bernat Soft Boucle bulky (5) yarn and a size J 6.00mm hook. I used the recommended hook size, but I changed the yarn. I also made added a few rows to make a longer tube, once the seam was closed.




I don't know what the yarn actually is - it came from an unlabelled pack of mill ends. It was quite a bit thinner than the recommended yarn, so I used two strands. The end result isn't as floppy and flexible as the recommended yarn would have been. It is, however, very soft, warm and cushy.

Blitz - mohair stole

Some time ago, I found a treasure of yarn at a local Goodwill. A bag full of fancy mohair blend yarns, including 9 balls of one type. Enough to make a very decent sized project. I've been hanging onto it for a while, thinking of what I could use it for. Because of the light airiness of the yarn, I was thinking of a shawl or a stole.

After looking at the various patterns, I ended up not using a pattern at all and just did a mesh pattern repeat. Here it is, modelled by my older daughter.



The yarn is Gypsy, from Jaeger. It's 71% mohair, 13% wool, 9% nylon and 7% acrylic; hand wash only.

To make the stole, I used a 4.00mm hook (mine is labelled F, but other brands label that size a G). I worked outwards from the centre foundation chain, in 5 ch loops. Because I had 9 balls of this yarn, I worked the first half until I finished 4 balls, which turned out to be 45 rows. Then I just matched the number of rows on the other side. When I completed the last row of loops, I kept on going around the entire stole, using up the last ball of yarn. Each long side has 2 sc into the ch and dc spaces along the edge, while the ends were done in scallops of (1sc, 1hdc, 3dc, 1hdc, 1sc) into each loop.

This project took me two evenings to finish. The finished result is incredibly light and fluffy, and surprisingly warm, considering how open the pattern is. I'm quite happy with my first stole. :-)

Blitz - beaded bracelet

This is a pattern from the Fall 2009 Crochet magazine. The original used gold metallic yarn with alternating green and pearl beads and a toggle clasp. It also called for a 1.80mm hook. I used a 2.35mm hook, as I don't have a 1.80mm, though I do have smaller. Too small for the yarn. I have a rather large size gap in my thread crochet hooks that I need to fill!



The yarn is the same Phildar Sunset brand I used for the filigree choker and earrings set. The beads were taken from mixed bead sets I got at DeSerres some time ago.




I used a magnetic clasp instead of a toggle clasp, too. That did make using a needle to attach the clasp and sew in the loose ends interesting. The clasp kept sticking to my needle. *L*

Because of the larger hook size, the bracelet is somewhat wider and looser than in their sample. This actually worked out well. The bracelet fits my daughters, but it's got enough elasticity to it that I can wear it, too.

I'm very happy with how this turned out. :-)

That should be it for the next while. I still got another project I didn't get a good photo of, so that will wait until later. For now, it's back to work! :-D

Blitz - mittens

These are a variation of a free pattern I found at the Bernat website. The original instructions were for Softee Chunky yarn and a 6.00mm hook. I kept the hook size, but I used Northern Chunky from Kertzer, which I picked up at a yarn store I recently discovered. It's 100% acrylic, machine wash and dry-able. The colour is Cranberry Cocktail. It's a very lovely yarn to work with.




A couple of modifications were made from the original pattern. The pattern called for 2 colours. The first was used for the first couple of rows, then a second colour was added, and the rest of the pattern was to be worked up with 2 strands on the hook. I chose to stick with just the one colour.

To the pattern itself, I didn't change anything other than doing the thumb in a spiral after the first joining round. I didn't want a "seam" on the thumb.




The Bernat pattern also didn't have a ribbed cuff. I added that on myself, as longer cuffs offer better protection against the elements. I started by doing a row of sc into the foundation chain at the wrist. Then I chained 6, then worked back along that foundation for 5 sc, slip stitching back into the row of sc along the edge. Then I did another slip stitch before working 5 stitches back up the cuff, working in back loops only.

My daughters really like how they turned out. I will probably be making more of these for ourselves after our trip.