Twist n' Shout & Leaping Stripes!

This week saw a couple of finishes:

First was my Twist 'n Shout Slouchy Hat which doesn't slouch.  I even added some extra rows at the top to try to get it to slouch, but no go.  Maybe my head's just big. I don't know...   It fits fine, it just isn't long enough to "slouch".  But that's okay, I like it anyway - the stitch pattern is fun, and wasn't hard at all to make.   The slip stitch ribbing, on the other hand, was tedious to crochet, but it turned out nice and stretches great.

 

I made the pom pom with some low-pile fake fur.  I like the pom, but I'm thinking since pom poms are usually more fluffy, I may use the rest of the fur for some other project (as opposed to making more poms for more hats).   Though I have no idea what I would want to make with it now.  Fake fur is seriously messy to work with.  I had no idea. 

The yarn used for the hat is Red Heart Soft in the color Berry.

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I also finished my Leaping Stripes and Blocks Blanket.  I made mine toddler or child-sized measuring at 38" x 48".

This is a great pattern - easy to do, and creates a fun design when using three or more colors.  And the truly genius part is that if using no more than three colors, the yarn can be carried up the side and then covered up by the border.  Very few ends to weave in!

The yarn is Deborah Norville Everyday in Orchid and White, and Red Heart Soft in Plummy.  

We had a good Thanksgiving at brother-in-law's on Thursday.   He ordered several pasta dishes from Olive Garden and everyone else pitched in with appetizers, sides and desserts.  It was a yummy, non-traditional treat.  And Friday night our three sons came over for a "shrimp fest".    Middle son cooked up his version of Shrimp Scampi on the stove-top, while I put together a baked dish of garlic shrimp. Mmmmmm...  it was all sooo good.   And then, with full tummies, we played games.  Always a new game to play with these fellas.  Oldest son introduced us to Nefarious.   It was fun, but it took me two whole rounds to grasp it well enough to not need constant help.  My thinker doesn't fire as fast as it used to.  Or maybe it's just my imagination that it ever fired fast at all.

To see what other Yoppers are up to, visit our thread on Ravelry.

  

Wrapped in warmth...

My heart is filled with memories today.  Yesterday my husband and I attended a "celebration of life" service in honor of the pastor who married us 36 years ago.  After numerous moves between us, we had lost touch over the years, but oddly enough, found ourselves living in the same general area again.  I wish I could say we had connected in a meaningful way when we realized this some years back, but sadly...  except for visiting the church Pastor Ted was then pastoring, we didn't connect further.  Life has a way of taking people down varied paths; and busyness (among other things), too often keeps people from reconnecting in meaningful ways once paths have diverged.

We were surprised a few days ago to open the paper and find his obituary and picture.  We had no idea he had been ill.  How thankful we feel, though, for having seen the notice and for being able to attend his memorial service.  It was quite a memorable memorial service.

As the church gym/sanctuary filled first with the Purdue fight song, with alumni (my husband included) standing and clapping as they sang; then laughter and tears while we watched a video of Ted take the jump of his life when he took a tandem sky dive - exclaiming on the big screen that he'd waited 54 years to do this; and throughout the service hundreds of people joining voices singing happy hymns we used to sing in the Free Methodist Church, I was transported back in time.  Transported to an earlier place my middle-aged heart has been hungry for in recent years.

There were surely at least 400 people attending the service and all were strangers to us except for Ted's immediate family.  But it's amazing how a common faith, and in this case a common friend and pastor, will instantly bring people together in spirit.   It was a great day.  Our spirits were heartened and memories abounded. Greg and I topped it off with a pizza meal at a nearby Arni's.  It seemed fitting.  Purdue alums (or fans who live anywhere near Purdue), know Arni's - "in busy Market Square".  Pizza at the Greenwood, Indiana Arni's doesn't compare to the Lafayette Arni's, but it's the closest facsimile we have in our neck of the woods.  As we filled our tummies, we enjoyed our memories and full feelings from the service we had just left.

And what does this have to do with this week's Year of Projects post?  

Nothing.  

Absolutely nothing.  

But once in a while it feels good to share the stuff of life with those of you who visit here, and Sunday's YOP post is the time most drop in.  :)

So, on that topic... this week saw the finish of my latest crocheted Linen Stitch Scarf (pattern here).

I mentioned last week how much I enjoy this stitch pattern. And how I love combining non-obvious colors together to see what they produce in the end.  Last week I showed a picture of two very unlikely colorways of yarn I was using to crochet this scarf.

I'm happy to say...  the colors played very nice and did not disappoint.  The yarn is Red Heart Unforgettable in the colorways Tidal and Sunrise.  It's a wonderful yarn for a drapey scarf.  Super soft and luxurious feeling.  And purchased on sale or with a coupon (which I almost always have) I consider it very affordable.  

I made this scarf wider and longer than normal and I really like how it turned out.  It doesn't go with any coat or sweater I own, but I think I may need to work on that as I love the colors in this! The blues are perfect for me - and the bright oranges, while not necessarily "my colors" work with the blue to complement my very pale complexion and white/gray hair.  As I began this scarf I was sure it would end up being gifted to someone, and now here I am happily contemplating keeping it for myself!

To see what other Yoppers are up to, visit our group on Ravelry.

Let's talk color...

I knew half way through this busy week Sunday would roll around with no finishes.   And then a couple of days ago I remembered that I was hosting a Crochet Along (today! eek!) in the Our Happy CAL Place on Ravelry, and I hadn't even begun the project I wanted to invite others to join me in there!

So I got busy on that and today I have another started project to show:

What is it, you ask?   It's the start of one of my favorite projects.  A crocheted Linen-Stitch Scarf.

I love this stitch pattern for so many reasons.  First of all, it is super easy. Mindless, even.  And it's a perfect stitch pattern for playing with color.  Because each row overlaps the one before, you get to watch how colors play with one another - the whole effect changing with each new added color.  And...  It's a stitch pattern that's fun for all sorts of projects: scarves, shawls, pillows, blankets, tote bags...  really anything that requires a square or rectangular piece of fabric to create. You can use various yarns and colors to create subtle shading, or a wild cacophany of color.

In this scarf I'm using Red Heart Boutique in the Unforgettable line in the colors Sunrise and Tidal:

You can probably figure out which is Tidal and which is Sunrise.

I'll admit, from the above picture these two colorways do not look like a natural fit. Not to me, anyway.  While blue is opposite orange on the color wheel and therefore complementary, these two colorways don't appear to be complementary because they are so dissimilar in tone.  The blues in the Tidal are muted and the colors in the Sunrise are nearly off the chart vivid.  

Using these two colorways in most projects probably wouldn't work if each is used by itself to create much width at all before introducing the other colorway.  But when working the Linen Stitch pattern, the colors are laid on top of each other and the end result is much more interesting (I think) than either colorway is on its own.  The muted blues of the Tidal colorway are lifted from being kind of gray to being truly blue.  And the bright orange in the Sunrise skein is still vivid, but it isn't overwhelming.  Separated from the other bright colors each vivid color in the Sunrise skein gets to shine on its own, rather than compete with the other colors.

Truth be told, I wouldn't have had the courage (or sense) to put together the above two colorways if the Sunrise didn't have a smidgen of blue running through it.  And, as I've come to look at these scarves as a total experiment in color, I was eager to give these two colorways a try together.  I think the end result will be something totally unexpected, but hopefully fun and interesting to wear.  I can't wait to finish and see what I finally have!  :)

To see what other Yoppers are up to, visit our group on Ravelry.

On the hook...

This week ended with no completed projects, but several are on the hook.  I'll give just a peek at what I'm up to at the moment -- yarn-wise, that is.

For a couple of weeks now I've been working on a Leaping Stripes and Blocks Blanket.   I'm loving how the colors are working together.

I'm using Deborah Norville Everyday in White and Orchid, and Red Heart Soft in a variegated called Plummy.

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And I'm also working on a Twist 'N Shout Slouchy Hat.  I think this is the first time I've crocheted a ribbing.  This ribbing is created by slip stitching into the backs of all the stitches.  Can anyone say tedious?  Crocheting loosely is key -  and keeping count of the stitches is important too.  Those little slip stitches tend to disappear under the first and last stitches of each row and they are easy to miss.

Crocheting a slip-stitch ribbing is sloooooow going. When I finish this hat, I think I'm going to try knitting a ribbing just to see how quickly that goes by comparison.  The body of the hat nearly flies off the hook, by the way.  So attaching a crocheted top to a knitted ribbing maybe the way to go with this hat in the future.

So that's about all I've managed to accomplish with yarn this week, but I've got something fun to show you.  Yesterday I received a beautiful copy of a vintage McCall's Crochet Treasury.  

This copy was published in 1977 (the year I graduated from high school), but some of the patterns are from 1968.  I don't know if I'll make anything from this book, but I'm going to thoroughly enjoy looking through it.  Many times, no doubt.

I just opened it enough to take a few pictures to share with you...

Now, I don't propose  that this would be anything anyone would want to wear today (necessarily), but am I the only one who thinks this is pretty?   I imagine in the 60's this would have been very fashionable.   While I wouldn't make something like this (mostly because I wouldn't want to sew the lining it would need to hold its shape), but I LOVE the fit of the pieces and the look of the crocheted fabric.  And those scallops!   I just love it. I love the whole thing.

And this one, too:

Now, this one...?  I'd change the collar, and the buttons (and maybe that bottom band - or maybe not), but I'd totally wear something like this - well, okay...  if I was skinny I'd totally wear something like this.  ;^)


And there are these pretty curtains.  I can imagine these moderned up with some bright, fun colors.  Or maybe done in some grays...

And who of you over the age of say... 50... doesn't remember these?

During my teen years there was a sunburst pillow on our living room sofa.    And that round granny pillow in the back - that would be "hip" in someone's home decor today!

Ooooh...   I'm going to have fun pouring over this book and imagining making something new out of a vintage pattern.

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Of course, there's some downright silly stuff that I really can't imagine anyone took seriously the first time around:

But the entertainment value is worth something...

I wonder what crochet clothing models got paid in the 60's and 70's...  I doubt it was enough.

Well...  that's all I have for today.   If you enjoy perusing vintage patterns you'll appreciate my pleasure at looking through a book like this.  And if you think I'm a bit loony, that's okay...   That means less competition for finding such treasures.  ;^)

To see what other Yoppers are up to, visit our group on Ravely.   If you're not a member of Ravelry, it's free and easy to sign up!