Marking stitches...

This week turned out to be anything but full of leisurely crochet that I anticipated when I wrote my YOP post last weekend.

I've been doing some part-time companion care for an elderly lady since mid-summer (basically, I'm a fill-in for her regular care-giver).  Well, this week the regular gal took ill and I ended up working every day (or evening) except Tuesday.  I'm not complaining - I've really grown to love the woman I "keep company with" and the pay feels generous to me.   BUT...  When I have a week like this I realize how hard it is to get anything else done!  It's all very good, but it's not my normal.  And oh, my house shows it.  Not that I'm a model housekeeper (I am not), but sparing you the details...  it looks a bit rough here.  I desperately want to declutter and vacuum and dust!

All that said...  I did make something this weekend!  Yes, I did.

I was inspired by Sandra at http://farmgirlsam.blogspot.com/ to get out my beads and wires and all the paraphernalia needed to make some stitch markers.  And on Saturday I set up a little stitch marker factory on my dining room table.

I made some fun and funky ones:

And then I decided it would be really clever of me to make some autumny-looking ones: 

I know these look like two pictures of the same markers, but they're actually two different sets.

And since Christmas is right around the corner, I decided I might as well make me some holiday-inspired stitch markers:

And lastly, I decided to make some knitting stitch markers because well...  I haven't given up completely on the idea of knitting something substantial enough that some knitting stitch markers will be a necessity.

Granted, they are not the most sophisticated-looking, but I can't get over how easy these were to make:

And that's pretty much it, folks.  I crocheted just a bit in the evenings on my Leaping Stripes and Blocks blanket, but it looks essentially the same as it did last Sunday, so I don't see a point in taking a picture.

This week I hope to catch up some on my Last Dance squares, and maybe even finish a WIP.  Big talk, I know.  Check back here next week to see what I actually manage to accomplish.

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

Time for simple things...

Well, I knew it would happen at some point, and last week I broke my record for continuous weekly YOP posts since I began in June of 2015.  Not that I need a reason to miss a YOP post, but we were busy last weekend helping middle son move into his new digs in a city 3 hours away.  He's been out on his own for the last three years, but this is the furthest he's lived from us.  I know he's just fine with the arrangement, but this momma is missing him (what I really miss is that he's no longer just a phone call and a 25-minute drive away for lunch or supper).

I know it's all good, though.  He recently graduated from college, and now it appears he's got a great job (that begins tomorrow) and we know he's settled into an apartment that will work very nicely for him.  It's milestone for him.  For all of us.

And I guess it's been a busy week since because all I've really managed to accomplish with yarn since last Sunday was to block four squares crocheted sometime the week before.  These are the Week 2 squares for the Last Dance Blanket.    The stitch used is a new one for me.  It's called the Star Stitch.

I didn't have enough of the light pink color (which was my first choice for making this square), but I think mixing it up a bit with the pale lavender color will work well with the whole color combination I'm hoping to be able to finish.  I say hoping because I keep finding out that colors I planned to use are discontinued, so I'm having to substitute colors when I run out of what's in my stash.

And, as if that wasn't disappointing enough, I'm finding out that it's really hard to mix brands of yarns with the different square designs, as even a slightly thicker yarn will, of course, change the gauge a square crochets up in (and one can only go down so far in hook size when working with worsted weight yarn).  Sigh.

Just between you and me, I'm starting to not love this project like I thought I did when I first started.  Hopefully, I won't spend the next two months being forced to rethink my color and yarn choices, but after spending some time recalibrating this week, hopefully it will go smoothly from here on out.

I also knitted up a washcloth on the return trip from moving son.  I almost finished it in three hours.  Actually, I would have finished it on the return trip, but I was enjoying the countryside in a new-to-me part of the state.  And then it got dark...

I love this simple non-pattern for a dishcloth.  And I love the no-thinking involved in making one.  I also love that wooden spoon.  It was in a simple set of wooden utensils sent to us as a wedding gift 37 years ago from Poland, from a grad school friend of my husband's.  I'm not sure whatever happened to the holder for the set of stirrers (and there was a pestle, too, at one time) -- it hung on the wall for a while and for the longest time I just treated these as something to display.  Probably, something happened to the holder and I decided the spoons and stirrers were perfectly fine to actually use - and there you have it.  A nearly 40 year-old wooden spoon that is worn from 15 or so years of wear, and makes me smile inside every time I use it. Or snap a picture of it.  Truly a simple pleasure.

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And lastly, Friday night, feeling the need to crochet something other than squares, I decided to start another child's blanket.  

A few weeks ago, I bought this Caron One Pound yarn (in the colorway, Country Basket):

What is it about a skein of variegated yarn that is so appealing?   Especially knowing that variegateds rarely crochet up well.  Sigh.  Well, it was on sale and I had a 20% discount on top of that, and it was so soft and just begging to be made into something for a child.  I had to have it.  Or so I told myself.  And when I got home I remembered why I've repeatedly berated myself for being pulled into the lure of variegated yarns... 

And then I remembered the Leaping Stripes and Blocks Blanket.  It's a fun design that actually works fairly well with variegated yarns and coordinating colors, so I started another one:

A few rows in, I've decided to re-do the above and make the blue rows wider than the white and variegated rows.  Otherwise it seems the solid blue is pretty much lost as a solid.  Once this gets going, this is another mindless project.  Perfect for relaxing.  It's supposed to rain and be cloudy and chilly most of this week.  Except for working a few hours on Monday morning, it appears I have few commitments this week.  Sounds like a perfect week for crocheting.  ;^)

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I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I had an interesting project I would share.  Well...  while my pictures below are seriously lacking, I'm excited to show what I've been doing with some friends.  We are making "Pillowcase Dresses" to send to countries (or even here in America) where poverty means a young girl without clean and appropriate clothing may be vulnerable to a variety of ills and evils.  To go to the heart of the matter, putting a pretty, but simple, dress on a girl may communicate to others that this is a child who is cared for.  Who is wanted.  Who is protected.  Hopefully, a pretty dress communicates to the one wearing it that she is worthy.  That she is loved.

Again, my pictures are really lacking  -  the lighting was all wrong, and they just don't do justice to how cute some of these dresses have turned out.  And frankly, I can't take much credit for the dresses as I've mostly cut, ironed and sewn simple hems and casings while others did the finishing work.

I'm just beginning to understand the reasons and purposes behind the various ministries that sew, collect, and distribute these dresses to children in need of clothing, but for now we have given some dresses to a church that is putting them in Operation Christmas Child boxes.  The next batch of dresses will be going to a ministry that will distribute the dresses to missionaries (short and long term missionaries) who will encounter children who will benefit from them.

Our next sewing session is in November.  My personal goal is to help us get set up in a bit more organized manner so each of us always has something we can be working on while we're together.  We're pretty hard working, but some organization will only benefit our work.

yep, that's yours truly...

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

Squares and more squares...

This past week I finished the first four squares in the Last Dance Blanket:

And I came up with this color scheme and layout (using stash yarn):

The color representations aren't completely accurate (e.g. it's hard to convey "dusty" and "clear" in the colors that are those), but I think this graphic is a fair approximation of the colors I'm planning on using.  And I kind of like it so far.  Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind about any of the colors as I go.  I've already learned that two of the colors I have yet to crochet squares for are discontinued, so right out of the gate I'm adapting my plans.

If you'd like to join a current CAL for this blanket, we're working on it together in Our Happy CAL Group on Ravelry.  We just started the second week (second square) today and the CAL will go through the end of December.

Each pattern is worked 4 times, so at the end of each week we should have four squares completed, and at the end of 12 weeks (which will be the end of December), we should have 48 squares!   And then a couple of weeks in January will be dedicated to joining and crocheting the border.  Wish me well!  And come join me, if you like!

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As if that wasn't enough of a project to start this past week, I was inspired to try a square from the Stardust Melodies Blanket by gifted crochet designer, Polly Plum.  And after I crocheted that square I was so impressed by the video tutorial and how perfect and nice the square turned out, I decided to consider making a small blanket of some of the squares in this collection.

The first square I tried is called Don't Fence Me In:

I followed Polly's video tutorial (which is available at the link above) and I must say she is thorough and her instructions are easy to follow.  I look forward to making more of her designs.

Note:  Polly has published an e-book that has many more patterns (and accompanying video tutorials) for a large Stardust Melodies blanket, so check it out if you think you might be interested and want more than the 12 free patterns Polly generously provides on her website

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And finally, I decided to pull out a long-languishing project.  Okay, I know some of you have projects that have languished a lot longer than this one, but I hadn't worked on this Fairly Isleish sweater since trying to block out the seriously crooked center-front edges (that was in June, I think).

What used to look like this:

Now has a straight button band on one side and a button-hole band on the other side of the center-front:

And the beginning of a toddler-sized long sleeve:

I'm going to try to get this finished!  If not by the end of this week, then by the next.  There might be a little person out there who'd be warmed by this cute little sweater and it will soon be turning chilly here.

And that's it here in my little corner of the crochet world.  The coming week promises to be busy and if I think to take some pictures, I may have something new and interesting to show and tell about next week.

Hmmm...  aren't you curious now?!?  😉

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

Hats For Kids...

As of today, I declare my hat factory officially closed.  I don't know if 17 hats is a good number to have made in the last four weeks, or if it's a ridiculous number, but this is what I've got to show for my crocheting efforts over the last month.

Washed and dried, these hats are super soft and if they find the right heads to fit, they ought to keep some kiddos warm come winter.

I know I shared a couple of the patterns here when I first made them, but I thought I'd share all the patterns - in one place this time.  Clicking on the pictures will take you to my Ravelry project page, that will have any notes I made, as well as a link to the designer's page.  Clicking on the links in the text below the pictures will take you to a video tutorial of each hat.

The Divine Hat was probably the easiest and quickest to make, and of course I love it for that reason alone.  Because the pattern produces a hat on the large side, though, I had to tweak it a bit to get it kid-size.  Basically, I just continued with 3 dc shells, instead of enlarging to 4 dc shells where the pattern instructs, and if necessary, I switched to a smaller hook when I worked the ribbing (or started with a smaller hook if I was wanting a hat significantly smaller).   An easy hat with a ribbing that doesn't stretch as much as the others I did, but cute all the same.

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Then there was the Snowfall Slouchy.  I'm not sure how much mine will slouch, but I loved how these turned out.  The size can be adjusted by creating a larger or smaller ribbing, and when beginning the hat portion, just make sure that the starting number of stitches (the stitches that transition from the ribbing to the hat portion) is a multiple of 4. 

A note on how to get the correct starting number of stitches...   After connecting the ends of my ribbing by slip stitching them together (into the back loop only), I did a round of sc's around the top edge of the ribbing with the same yarn I made the ribbing with.   I strive to get the right multiple of stitches on this round by using increase or decrease sc stitches.  Then, if changing colors, I do so with the first round of dc's, and if I didn't hit the correct multiple on my sc round, I have a second chance to get that right on the dc round.

I should mention that I love how the designer made these ribbings - watch her instructions carefully as it's  little different from other crocheted ribbings I've made.  I love it  because it makes very nice edge.   This became my go-to pattern for creating a ribbing on the rest of the hats that were made from the bottom up.

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It was when making the Snowfall Slouchy hat, I discovered the Puppy Love Heart Slouchy - made by the same designer - Bethany Dearden.  This can be crocheted in any size - crochet sc's around the top of ribbing in multiples of 6 (I think).  I love how these turned out, but there is a lot of openness to this pattern, and I wasn't sure how warm and dry of a hat that would make, so I only made two of these before deciding to move on to a new pattern.

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I think my favorite pattern was the Stepping Textures Hat.  The written pattern and video tutorial demonstrate how to make one of these with chunky yarn, but these can be made with any size yarn as long as one starts with a base number that is a multiple of 5.  And, again, I made a ribbing like Bethany Dearden demonstrates in her tutorial  - as opposed to the slip stitch ribbing this pattern calls for. Note: the slip stitch ribbing is wonderfully stretchy, but it's tedious to make.  More tedious than I have patience for.

The pictures below may not show every single hat, and may even show a duplicate or two, but this is what my month of hats looks like:

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And I almost forgot -  After some disappointing attempts at making sturdy pom-poms, I searched for a way to make pom-poms that don't pull apart, and looky what someone came up with:

Try it!  It works pretty well!  All of the pom poms on the hats above are made using this technique.  So much for my fancy-schmancy Clover pom-pom makers!

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And that would be all she wrote, but I want to invite anyone who might be interested to join in a Last Dance CAL in the Our Happy CAL group on Ravlery.  We're just getting started, so you can get in on it from the beginning if you like!

I'm making a Last Dance in the Clouds blanket and here's the first square I made last night:

The CAL will run through the end of the year with weekly installments and links to video tutorials (I think), and even a prize each month for some lucky participants.   Come join the fun!

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