WiP Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Sorry, photophiles (is that a word? *lol*) no pics this week.

Why?

Well... I'll tell ya! If you'll look to my sidebar on the right over there ~~~>, you'll see that I've joined another swap. The Wild & Woolie Swap over at the 'ville. I was reluctant to join another swap after the fiasco I made of the last one, but right before the signups opened, our financial situation changed drastically, and I knew I wouldn't have a problem being able to get supplies or getting it out on time.

So now that I've got all of Ellie's gifts done and out of the house, I've been concentrating on getting my partner's items done. She's getting some wool (obviously!!), and I'm also making a few little "extras" to put in her package. So far one item is about 30% done, another is 90% done, and another is 99% done (just need to weave in ends). I have TAKEN pics, but I'm not uploading them until I know my partner has gotten her package. Don't want to ruin the surprise!!!!

I'm having fun, though. A lot more fun than I did last time, because I don't have to worry. "Am I going to be able to get this done on time?" Yup. "Am I going to be able to get this OUT on time?" Yup. The only worry I have is whether or not she's going to like it, but then again, other people who have seen the items have had nothing but good things to say about them. My SIL wants an exact duplicate of one of the items, and even Hubby says I should make more of one of the other items and try selling them! So... *fingers crossed*... my partner (Angela) SHOULD like them.

I hope!!

Blue and Yellow Rectangular Granny Afghan

Made from Erin Lindsay's rectangular granny square pattern, using baby dk weight yarn... although I can't remember what size hook. Because:

This is actually quite an old one. I started it back in June/July, and had it finished by mid-July. It was for my neighbor's niece (Ellie's mom's cousin), who had a baby boy in July.

I told my neighbor that it was done, and told her that when Gemma (her neice) came over to visit, to have her stop at my house and get her blanket. She never came. (Methinks my neighbor forgot to tell her.)

So while cleaning and organizing my stash, I put all of my FO's in a storage box, and this happened to be one of them.

Well, I happened to run into Gemma a couple of weeks back while the kids and I were out shopping, and I thought to mention this afghan that I have had for months... and months... and months!

Tonight (FINALLY!!), Hayley (my neighbor's daughter, Ellie's mom) came over and said that her aunt Carol (Gemma's mom) was over and had asked about the blanket.

So now I have a little more room in my FO box... what to put in it next? Decisions, decisions. *lol*

Ellie's Baby Granny

I **FINALLY** finished it!!!!

This was, of course, made without a pattern. Just make-up-as-you-go.

There are 3 squares each of purple, pink, green, and yellow, sc'd together (as you can see if you look at the pictures above). I prefer to sc squares together - it's quicker and seems stronger to me.

The border is 4 rounds of sc and 1 round of 3sc, ch 3, 3sc (without skipping any sc's). that's what gives it the ruffly/key-hole look.

The whole thing was made with dk baby yarn and an H hook.

Ellie's Baby Bonnet

Made from this pattern here.

I hadn't actually PLANNED on making a bonnet... but I had a pretty long bus ride to my oldest dd's school, and went looking for a small and quick project I could take with me to work on during the ride. I found this and just could NOT resist.

It's made with dk baby yarn and an F hook. I finished most of it on the bus ride and only had a few rows to do when I got home that afternoon.

As you can see, her baby doll is the model, as Ellie herself hasn't even seen it yet. I just washed it and it's in the dryer now. As it's already 9 p.m. here, I'll give it to her in the morning.

Ellie's Baby Doll

This is, of course, her head

And her bod.

A leg.

Her hair (as cute as it looks, it's a pain in the ASS to do!!!).


And here she is in her entirety.

I didn't follow a pattern when I made her... I made up my own!!! *yay me!!* *lol*

I wrote it down as I went along, and I'm going to share it here, just in case anybody's interested in making one like it.

Ellie – a baby doll to crochet
Suzanne Barrow
© 2007

Materials needed:
Yarn of your choice
Complimentary hook (you don’t want to wear the skin off your fingers trying to push the hook through your work, but you DO want your stitches nice and tight).
Stitch markers
Stuffing

Notes:
Use your stitch marker to mark the first stitch in the ring.
The adjustable ring can be found here.

Head

Using an adjustable ring, sc 6 sts into ring, and pull to close.

Round 1: 2 sc in each st around (12 sts)
Round 2: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next st}, repeat from { to } around (18 sts)
Round 3: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 2 sts}, repeat from { to } around (24 sts)
Round 4: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 3 sts}, repeat from { to } around (30 sts)
Round 5: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 4 sts}, repeat from { to } around (36 sts)
Round 6: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 5 sts}, repeat from { to } around (42 sts)
Round 7: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 6 sts}, repeat from { to } around (48 sts)
Round 8: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 7 sts}, repeat from { to } around (54 sts)
Round 9: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 8 sts}, repeat from { to } around (60 sts)
Round 10: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 9 sts}, repeat from { to } around (66 sts)
Round 11: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 10 sts}, repeat from { to } around (72 sts)
Rounds 12 – 23: sc in each st around (72 sts)
Round 24: {sc 2 tog [sc dec], 1 sc in next 10 sts}, repeat from { to } around (66 sts)
Round 25: {sc 2 tog, 1 sc in next 9 sts}, repeat from { to } around (60 sts)
Round 26: {sc 2 tog, 1 sc in next 8 sts}, repeat from { to } around (54 sts)
Round 27: {sc 2 tog, 1 sc in next 7 sts}, repeat from { to } around (48 sts)
Round 28: {sc 2 tog, 1 sc in next 6 sts}, repeat from { to } around (42 sts)
Round 29: {sc 2 tog, 1 sc in next 5 sts}, repeat from { to } around (36 sts)
Round 30: {sc 2 tog, 1 sc in next 4 sts}, repeat from { to } around (30 sts)
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Body

Using an adjustable ring, sc 6 sts into ring, and pull to close. Use your stitch marker to mark the first stitch in the ring.
Round 1: 2 sc in each st around (12 sts)
Round 2: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next st}, repeat from { to } around (18 sts)
Round 3: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 2 sts}, repeat from { to } around (24 sts)
Round 4: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 3 sts}, repeat from { to } around (30 sts)
Round 5: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 4 sts}, repeat from { to } around (36 sts)
Round 6: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 5 sts}, repeat from { to } around (42 sts)
Round 7: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 6 sts}, repeat from { to } around (48 sts)
Round 8: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 7 sts}, repeat from { to } around (54 sts)
Round 9: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 8 sts}, repeat from { to } around (60 sts)
Rounds 10-34: sc in each st around (60 sts)
Round 35: {sc 2 tog, 1 st in next 8 sts}, repeat from { to } around (54 sts)
Round 36: sc in each st around (54 sts)
Round 37: {sc 2 tog, 1 st in next 7 sts}, repeat from { to } around (48 sts)
Round 38: sc in each st around (48 sts)
Round 39: {sc 2 tog, 1 st in next 6 sts}, repeat from { to } around (42 sts)
Round 40: sc in each st around (42 sts)
Round 41: {sc 2 tog, 1 st in next 5 sts}, repeat from { to } around (36 sts)
Round 42: sc in each st around (36 sts)
Round 43: {sc 2 tog, 1 st in next 4 sts}, repeat from { to } around (30 sts)
Round 44: sc in each st around (30 sts)
Fasten off

Arms (make 2)

Using an adjustable ring, sc 6 sts into ring, and pull to close. Use your stitch marker to mark the first stitch in the ring.
Round 1: 2 sc in each st around (12 sts)
Round 2: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next st}, repeat from { to } around (18 sts)
Round 3: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 2 sts}, repeat from { to } around (24 sts)
Round 4: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 3 sts}, repeat from { to } around (30 sts)
Round 5-9: sc in each st around (30 sts)
Round 10: {sc 2 tog, 1 sc in next 3 sts}, repeat from { to } around (24 sts)
Round 11: sc in each st around (24 sts)
Round 12: {sc 2 tog, 1 sc in next 2 sts}, repeat from { to } around (18 sts)
Round 13-29: sc in each st around (18 sts)
Round 30: {sc 2 tog, 1 sc in next st}, repeat from { to } around (12 sts)
Round 31: sc in each st around (12 sts)
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Legs (make 2)

Using an adjustable ring, sc 6 sts into ring, and pull to close. Use your stitch marker to mark the first stitch in the ring.
Round 1: 2 sc in each st around (12 sts)
Round 2: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next st}, repeat from { to } around (18 sts)
Round 3: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 2 sts}, repeat from { to } around (24 sts)
Round 4: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 3 sts}, repeat from { to } around (30 sts)
Round 5: {2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 4 sts}, repeat from { to } around (36 sts)
Round 6-10: sc in each st around (36 sts)
Round 7: {sc 2 tog, 1 sc in next 4 sts}, repeat from { to } around (30 sts)
Round 8: sc in each st around (30 sts)
Round 9: {sc 2 tog, 1 sc in next 3 sts}, repeat from { to } around (24 sts)
Round 10-30: sc in each st around (24 sts)
Round 31: {sc 2 tog, 1 sc in next 2 sts}, repeat from { to } around (18 sts)
Round 32: sc in each st around (18 sts)
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Sew head to body; arms to body; and legs to body. If you want to add hair, add it any way you want. If you want to make clothes for your doll, by all means do so. But if you prefer your dolls nekkid, that’s okay too.

Comfortghan Squares

I decided to whip up a couple of squares for a comfortghan for a lady on the 'ville whose mother has been diagnosed with cancer.

I was trying to make the Circle of Hope square, but wasn't having much luck. It didn't matter how many times I frogged it and started over, it just never looked right. I don't know if there's an error in the pattern somewhere, if I kept making the same mistake over and over, or if I was just having a really long blond moment. *lol* Whatever it was, I just could NOT get it, no matter what I did.

So I had the wonderful idea of frogging back to a certain point and making it up on my own as I went. That worked! And I liked the "Circle of Hope" idea so much that I ditched the idea I'd had for the second square and just made another one in another color.

I've written up the instructions for what I did in case somebody would like to copy my idea. I really just followed the original pattern for the first few rounds, but rather than send somebody flipping through 2 different patterns back and forth, I wrote it all down. I have to give credit where credit is due, however, and reiterate that the first few rounds are NOT my creation. It's only from Round 4-on that is MY creation. It's not exactly a difficult pattern, but ya never know when some crochet newbie might stumble along on my blog, see this and think "I wanna do that!" In that case, a pattern would be a good thing. :)

Circle of Hope
Suzanne Barrow’s Version
February 2007

Largely based on Melissa R. Green’s Circle of Hope
http://www.geocities.com/alyssa5000/circle.html

Materials:
Size H hook
About ½ oz. yarn

Makes a 7 inch square

Ch 4, join with a sl st to form a ring

Rnd 1: ch 3, 11 dc in ring, join
Rnd 2: ch 3, dc in same sp, 2 dc in next st and in each st around, join
Rnd 3: ch 1, sc in same sp, [ch 3, skip next st, sc in next st], repeat from [ to ] around, join.
Rnd 4: sl st into ch-3 sp, ch 3, 2 dc in ch-3 sp, [3 dc in next ch-3 sp, ch 2, 3 dc in same ch-3 sp, 3 dc in next 2 ch-3 sp], repeat from [ to ] around, join.
Rnd 5: sl st in first 2 dc and in the sp between 2 dc clusters. Ch 3, 2 dc in between the two clusters, [3 dc – ch 2 – 3 dc in next sp, 3 dc in next sp], repeat from [ to ] around
Rnd 6 – 8: repeat pattern from Rnd 5, putting 3 dc – ch 2 – 3 dc in every corner.
Rnd 9: sc in each st around, putting 3 dc in each ch-2 sp in the corners.

Fasten off, weave in ends.

That's it. Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy, as they say out here. Once I decided to do it MY way, these two squares took me less than 2 hours to complete, including weaving in ends and everything. Not bad for a night's work. I just hope the recipient likes them as much as I do!

The Round Ripple is FINITO!!!!

Finally!!!

Of course, to be honest, it really didn't take me all that long. But it FELT like it took forever. Now that I think about it, the baby afghans that I made for my children and my niece and nephew took longer, but this one seemed to drag on and on forever.

Now that it's finished, I'll tell y'all the details. It's made from dk (double knitting) weight yarn, with an F (Susan Bates) hook. Since I used 2 partial skeins for the 2 different shades of pink and not even a whole skein of the white, I can't be absolutely certain, but if I had to guess, I'd say it used about 1 1/2 skeins of yarn (100g skeins). It's not very big, but it's not supposed to be. The baby granny is going to be much bigger. I'm thinking this one would be great to use in her buggy when it starts getting a bit warmer out, but it's not so warm that she wouldn't need anything at all. (Of course, to be quite honest, it rarely gets that warm here anyway.)

I got the pattern here. I have to thank the ladies of the 'ville for that - I kept seeing these round ripples all over the place, and didn't know where to find the pattern. But the 'ville has this really nifty search option, so I did a search, and whaddya know? Somebody had posted the link to the pattern. Lucky me! *lol*

It still needs to be washed (I ALWAYS wash items before gifting them - it softens up the yarn and they get the delicious smell of my fabric softener! *lol*), but I'm not giving it to Ellie until I get her other stuff done anyway. I may start assembling her baby granny tonight, if I have time. Regardless, it should only be a few days more before I've got everything finished (I'm making her a little stuffy with the scraps left over as well) and can take it all next door.

WiP Wednesday - February 7, 2007

I'm nearly there!!!!





The baby granny is ready to assemble. That's all that needs to be done, aside from a border - but I can't put a border on it until I ASSEMBLE it! *cheeky grin*





And the round ripple is well on its way to being done. I've got another row to do of the white, and then I think I'm going to do one row of the coral/peachy-pink, one white, one light pink, one white... and then that's it. This one isn't going to be very big - but it's not SUPPOSED to be very big. I'm thinking it'll be good for use on the buggy, especially when it gets warmer but not warm enough to go without anything.

I've also done a bonnet for the baby, but I need one of the kids to find me a model (read: baby doll) before I can take a proper picture of it.

And I've decided something. For every project I finish, I'm allowed to start a new one. BUT... I ALSO have to work on a UFO while I'm working on the new project. I used to be able to just work on one project at a time, but nowadays, I get bored working on the same thing day after day after day. Which is why I've had so many WiPs going at once. But I've got a few things that have been sitting in the UFO pile for almost a year. So this way, I get to work on more than one thing at a time, I DO get to work on something new, BUT I also get some of my UFOs out of the way, too.

I think the green & white shawl I started back in AUGUST will be the first UFO to be pulled out of the pile. I've got some that have been sitting there longer, but if i don't get this shawl done soon, then it's going to be too warm for the person it's intended for to USE. But... it's getting frogged before it gets finished. I've decided I don't want to do it in the shape I have it now. I want to try a half-moon shape instead. It looks better, in my opinion, and it looks like it would be easier to wear at the same time. So (hopefully) that'll be on my WiP Wednesday page for next week.

Happy Hookin'!!!

iPod nano cosy

I made this as a "just for the hell of it" gift for my SIL, Vicci (the one who brought me that GORGEOUS yarn that I'm making a scarf from). She got a new blue iPod for Christmas from her boyfriend, and she was moaning to me that she couldn't find "socks" for it. And I just happened to have the perfect thread to match her iPod, so I figured... why the hell not?

I used Aunt Lydia's crochet thread (mercerized cotton), size 10, variegated color "Ocean." It's crocheted in rounds, alternating 11 rounds of sc, 3 rounds of dc, 9 rounds of sc, 3 rounds of dc, and 11 rounds of sc. Very simple.

I got the actual dimensions of the iPod online, thanks to Argos website. I made a chain, measured it, did one round, measured again to make sure, and just went from there until it was the right height. So simple it's not even funny.

I'm considering making more of these and selling them online at Etsy. I'm just waiting for the "experts" at the 'ville to give me some feedback before I make a final decision. Of course, I wouldn't exactly complain if I got some feedback here, either! ;)