Maia Shawl and What I'm up to

I finished my Maia shawl yesterday and blocked it. I felt like I'd been working on it forever... but it's done! All those stinkin' trs are done!

It seems like everyone else likes it too! One day on Rav and it's already my most favorited piece with 13 faves. That's so cool! My next most faved piece is my Imitation Hawaiian Diamonds pullover- it only has 9 after months of being up. Eee!

Speaking of being noticed, I got contacted by Inside Crochet asking to put pictures of my beret in an upcoming issue! It's so cool- it feels like people are recognizing what I'm doing and that's definitely making me feel good. Crocheting has been keeping me sane while I'm job hunting and unemployed, so hearing someone say I'm good at it is a real boost.

(The yarn I used for the beret. Ain't she pretty?)

I really have to start publishing/writing patterns. I have a few things that I could put out patterns for- it would probably be a good idea to test my pattern writing skills before I put out any paid patterns. We'll see.

I'm working on something now that could eventually be a pattern I put up for sale. I ripped out a tube top I'd made last summer. It took me forever the first time- I kept getting things wrong and it was fitting funny and finally I got it right. I wore it once. The stitch pattern made it way too hot and a tube top? Seriously, tube tops are not flattering on me, and I feel like I'm getting too old for them.Look at it. Yuckers. This time I'm making the rather obvious dye lot changes horizontal, so they'll be more subtle stripes if anything.

So now I'm working on a plain stockinette tank, and if I like the final product it will be my first crochet stockinette garment (other than socks!). The other wrap cardigan I was working on is still in time out. I'm still mad that I messed up the back.

Crochet Stockinette

ETA: since this post, I have begun working on my crochet stockinette in a different way.
Check more out here

I always thought that it must be somehow possible to crochet something like stockinette. Something flat, non-holey, with a little stretch, just simple, plain looking fabric no thicker or denser than the yarn. I've been trying lots of things- different stitches, hooks, etc. I wasn't having a huge amount of luck until yesterday.
Now I knew that sl st flo worked in the round gave you a nice flat even stockinette-like fabric. My favorite sock pattern ever, Smoothie Socks (trust me, you won't be disappointed with how they feel!) uses that as part of it's awesomeness. What I didn't know was how to work it flat. Working flo then blo on the ws made ridges. I tried working the right loop from behind- no dice. Turning just wasn't an option.
Then suddenly it clicked- don't turn.I'm starting a project (who's pattern I may release soon!) and it's awesome. Soft and smooth, light and only as thick as the yarn itself. It's a little bit slow going, but it's so, so worth it. And I doubt it's any slower than normal stockinette (and way faster than learning to knit good stockinette!).
I was debating on showing the process before I release my pattern, but honestly, I'm pretty excited and want to share!

The Process
Chain as many stitches as you'd like (10 was a pretty good swatch) plus one.
Sl st into the second ch and across, working the top loop only.

Here's where it gets a bit interesting. Don't turn. Chain one (from here on in, when you chain at the end of the row, pull it tight. You don't need the height, just the separation from the other stitch). Find the front loop of the stitch to the right of your hook.
(If you have trouble finding the first stitch, don't worry. You can try a stitch marker, holding it differently, etc. As long as the hook goes through from the rs and you hold the fabric that way when you work, it'll be fine!)

Insert the hook into the front loop only of the stitch to the right of your hook.

Turn your hook upside down

With your upside down hook, grab the yarn.

Pull the yarn through the two loops on your hook. Twisting it upwards as you go can help. Work loose!

Work across the row, front loops only. Count every stitch while you get used to this pattern. When you get to the end, ch 1, pull tight, don't turn. Start working in the stitches to the left of your hook. Continue as needed.

Decreases in sl st can be worked as normal- to increase, work first the front loop then the back loop, or both loops together then the front, etc.


(Please let me know if you have any questions or could use more photos or a video!)

ETA: One more note- I find my starting chain tends to be too loose. Try it yourself and see, but don't go as loose as you normally would.

The Dark Side

Meet my first yarn.
Ok, not the first yarn I've ever had, or used or anything like that. This is the first yarn I've ever spun.
Oh yeah, that's right. I've gone to the dark side.

Last night I went out to a pub event. My friend Gabe came along with her spindles and a promise to teach me.
Today I went out and got myself some awesome fluffiness and a spindle of my own.

The super thick white rope stuff is what I made last night- after my first little teeny bit. It's from roving I got ages ago before I knew what that meant. Using it all makes a nice, even and very thick yarn, which was kinda nice as a beginner.
(The pink is my latest attempt- just a little bit to try and get something more like sport weight.)

Today I started in with some of my plain white yarn (below). My results were not so awesome, and it turned out underspun in many areas, overspun in others and generally just meh. I mean, not too surprising for a first attempt, but still.

Then I learned an important lesson- my couch sucks. Ok, I knew that. But it sucks in ways that make spinning a lot harder. See, it sinks. I can't get any height, which means I couldn't get my spindle spinning properly. My attempt with the pink yarn, sitting at my (pink!) desk chair was much better. I felt like a wizard :D

Still, it's totally awesome to be starting a project with yarn I made, even if it sucks.
Maybe I'll just felt this one :)

In other news, I made the fluffiest sweater ever. I went past a Zellers on Monday, and decided to stop in. You know, tempt my willpower. But then they had this Bernat Pipsqueak in mill end bags. I have no willpower. I do have this, a lot of buttons and some soft, fluffy yummy acrylic mohair.
The sweater worked up really quickly. It's thick and warm- it actually makes a great spring jacket.
It also makes me a hug magnet. I went out last night and made everyone pet my soft jacket. I love this thing. Oh jacket. You are gonna get so much wear.

Being Busy

Work is kinda crazy right now. For me, it's partly doing the easy stuff I've been doing for awhile now, partly figuring out complex simulation stuff that I just learned to do a couple of weeks ago. For my boyfriend, it's a temporary lay off while contracts get sorted out. And of course, I'm done at the end of the week.
The good news is that we're planning a trip to New York City since we'll both have time off! I'm pretty excited- neither of us has been. We're going to take the bus since it's really pretty cheap. It's an11 hour trip, so I will definitely be bringing along some projects. I just started my Romantic Wrap today- it's gonna take a looong time to finish (I'm working it in even finer gauge than called for) so that will be on the hooks for the trip. I'm also planning on finding some yarns stores- yarn is the perfect souvenir!

No pictures right now- this weekend I was caught between being busy and sick and just didn't have time. I'm still sick and I seem to be getting home late from work so that there isn't much sun left by the time I get in. Once I'm feeling better I can take pictures of all the stuff I've been working on- mostly wips. My shawl, the wrap and a laceweight mohair top I've been working on. All stuff that's gonna take awhile.

But I'm impatient! So I decided tonight that I'd make up something I'd been meaning to make that I could finish really quickly. I am now the proud possessor of a sparkly red beret. I made it using random stitches and doing basically what I felt like- I wanted simple, no pattern, just easy fun crocheting.
I like the results, though I must admit when I get to the decreases in a beret, I always think that the flat part on top is way too huge! It is nice to have a red hat- now that my hair is black, red looks really nice against it. The pink hair was not so much flattering to red hats!

Yarn Crawl!

Today I went on an awesome adventure with my stitch 'n' bitch friends. We decided to do a yarn crawl through some of Toronto's yarn stores.

We started at the Purple Purl, one of my favorites. It's near where I work and has yummy yarn, yummy food and a great area to sit and pull out a projects- not to mention it's incredibly crochet friendly and has a nice selection of books.

The other gals had snacks- I stole some of Sarah's delicious smore square. It was incredible and oh-so-sugary and something that I could far to easily make into a habit. I ended up walking out with two skeins of louet Riverstone in pink that was on sale. I'm gonna make another Stone Path Hat out of it. I made my best friend one in turquoise from the same yarn, and once I finish this I should have enough to make a third in stripes. I'm excited!
I also picked up a bamboo handled hook (ooh, I love it!) and Natural Crochet for Babies and Toddlers. I have a new nephew, and I am just dying to make him cute sweaters and things. I will probably make most of the stuff out of acrylic, because let's face it, babies are messy and washing machines are wonderful. The patterns are adorable though.

(At the coffee shop- my louet, my ella rae and my filatura with the knitted cup cozy!)

After lunch we went to the legendary Romni. I was looking for pretty laceweight to make a shawlette of some kind, and was tempted by so many. Some Malabrigo almost won me until I found the most amazing Ella Rae Lace Merino. The colourway is all pinky-purpley-blues and the skein was just amazing. It was more than I wanted to spend, but I had to take it home. I don't regret it in the least! I also picked up some Filatura Di Crosa Golden Line Nirvana. It's a lovely white laceweight I plan to use for the Romantic Wrap. Now I just have to see if I can find the pattern booklet. I can order it online, but I don't want to pay 7$ shipping for a 4$ booklet.

(The new yarn I adopted. Isn't it beautiful?)

We stopped briefly at Americo and then went to a coffee shop next to Lettuce Knit. My tea came in a glass with a little knitted cozy! It was too cute. After our rest, we continued on to Lettuce. The new store is really bright and lovely and charming. I was wavering- thinking about enough to make another shawlette but couldn't decide when my mother called me. I talk to her when I can, but it was something of a surprise to hear from her. We chatted a bit as I wandered around petting things and falling in love with various yummy yarns. Eventually I had to hang up so I could say goodbye to everyone and make my choices, and she told me she had news. I guess my parents decided to give some of what they inherited from my Grandmother's estate to my brothers and I. It's kind of amazing- it's not a gigantic amount of money, but being just out of college, it's more than I've had at once and it's pretty incredible.

Needless to say, I went and grabbed a few lovely skeins of yarn that had been tempting me- some beautiful sparkling Berrocco Flicker and a little skein of Lorna's Laces in an amazing yellows and oranges and pinks colourway. I know my Grandmother would approve! I can be sensible with most of it- helping my boyfriend to pay off his student loan is something I've been wishing I could do, and we need a new couch... but who could resist the temptation when you get that phone call in the middle of a yarn store. If that's not meant to be, then I don't know what is! I must admit- it's probably a good thing she didn't call while I was in Romni!

I am loving my new yarns. Generally I buy less expensive stuff and tend to work with acrylic. Don't get me wrong, I love my acrylic and it's my fibre of choice for a sweater. Laundry sucks, and having to handwash is not my favorite thing. But yummy yarns for smaller projects, stuff that doesn't need frequent washings? Yes please!

I also ordered a bunch of pattern books from Amazon I've been waiting to get my hands on. Everyday Crochet, Contemporary Crochet and Baby Blueprint Crochet. I can't wait to get my hands on them. They're such inspiring books.

This is what's on my hook now. Well, the one that's my priority now. Oh boy do I want to dig into my Ella Rae Lace... but not until I finish this sweater! It's a copy of a gorgeous knit sweater I saw on Ravelry, and this is the top. Once I block it, you'll be able to see a bit of a diamond pattern. The yarn for the top is Knitpicks Chroma in Galapagos- the bottom and accents are King Cole DK merino blend in black.

What a day! We finished it off by meeting up tonight for "Yarneoke". Singing loudly with a bunch of yarn nuts after a day of shopping is very satisfying, and there's nothing like ending a kareoke session with Ghostbusters!

Now I'm off to get in a few rows on that sweater before bed... I want this baby ready to wear Monday morning!

Share the Crochet Love

I've been an avid crocheter for years now. It's become part of my life, and it's something I hate to miss even for a day. It's soothing and fun, it's making beautiful things, it's making inexpensive and useful things, it's buying treat yarn and the joy of searching for just the right pattern.
Crochet has a bad rep in some ways. So many people think of nothing but dainty doilies and ugly granny squares, and there is so much more to it.To me, it's an incredibly versatile craft. Colourwork, lace, speed, amigurumi, versatility- crochet has so much to offer. Crochet is one of the few crafts that can't be emulated by a machine. There's something really awesome about that. I can make something and know that no one but another crocheter could make that. We can make beautiful projects that can't be mass produced.
It's also a unique experience to be on a new wave of interest and beauty in the craft. The incredible range of patterns coming from designers, both the established designers and the small indie designers are exciting to watch. More than ever there are beautiful patterns being made for creations that some people don't even know can be crocheted!

It can be frustrating, too. Crocheters have come across bad attitudes, ignorance and a lack of resources. The amount of patterns out there is growing, but it's still relatively small.
Still, the growth is encouraging. Even some of the places once very crochet-unfriendly are starting to open their doors. After all, we go through yarn pretty fast! Still, it seems only few places are giving it equal billing. They wonder why we don't spend our money, and we wonder why they don't try to market to us!

To me, crochet is an everyday joy. I can turn to my left and see my shelves of all my projects, just waiting for me to start or finish. I can see finished projects waiting for me to wear them once again. The yarn is so many things to me. It's gifts to be made and clothing to add to my wardrobe and soft bits of delight that will give me so much joy!

I am not a slow, patient person. I will do things wrong quickly four times and then figure out what I'm doing, or start into something without being really prepared. Sometimes this means I finish things really quickly, and sometimes this means I spend all evening pulling out a mistake I should have been aware of a long time ago.


So here's my little blog with my voice and my love for the craft. I want to share pictures and stories and everyone's favorite-yarn porn. I hope to add a few patterns at some point and contribute to the growth of this craft.
So stitch around and enjoy my terrible puns and my crochet!