Under the Sea

This doily and I went on a long journey together.  I started it in 2009 as a way to pass time during a long plane flight to Japan.  However, I quickly discovered that the pattern (found in this book) was extremely tedious and technically difficult, and so perhaps doing it in perle cotton with a 0.9 mm hook was not the most brilliant idea of my life.

This doily then became my go-to “purse project” that I could carry with me to work on when I was bored.  I brought it on all my vacations.  It went to Malaysia, and a few years later it went with me to Poland, Germany, and Czech Republic.  Every few months I would pick it up and complete a row.

But now it is finished.  I am satisfied.  I am content.  I am ready to move on and begin a new journey.

 

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crochet cat toy: meet “giraffe guy”

Hi!  I’m Giraffe Guy!

Aren’t I cute?

Hi!  We should be friends!

Hi!  Hi!!

Do you like my catnip cologne?

Hehe!  That tickles!

Hehe… ow!

Wait!  Hey!!

aww…

—————————————

What do you do with a random little bit of bright yellow yarn?  Make a giraffe, of course!

I had a little bit of  yellow sugar n’ cream left over from making a Little Starbursts Dishcloth and I thought it would make a cute cat toy.  As part of my planning process, I made a list of what I think are the hallmarks of a good cat toy:

-Makes noise (An empty travel size shampoo bottle with some beans in it)

-Has floppy parts (I noticed that crochet doesn’t do this very well)

-Easy to pick up, carry around, and throw around

-Lots of places for teeth and claws to chew on

-Preferably all in one (oops five) piece(s), with no parts that might fall off (My cat has a tendency to mercilessly pull the eyes off of every handmade toy I give her!)

-Not made of wool (Cats tend to try to eat wool things)

But even with the best intentions of design, Giraffe Guy doesn’t seem to be that big of a hit.

Oh well.

birthday earrings! *free pattern*

A good friend of mine who I haven’t seen in far too long is having her 21st birthday today!  And because handmade gifts are always the best, I made her a couple of pairs of crochet earrings!

Actually, I only just made the second pair (the purple ones).  The first pair, I made for her a while ago when I first started learning to crochet, but I never got around to finishing them because I didn’t have earwires (silly excuse).  I don’t remember where I got the pattern for the first pair, or if it was something that I made up, so unfortunately I can’t give you a pattern for those…

But the purple ones I’d love to share.

Birthday Earrings

materials:

1.0 mm crochet hook

size 20 thread (I used Flora.  It’s very stiff and perfect for earrings)

two earwires

needlenose pliers (tweezers work okay in a pinch)

starch or water/glue mixture for blocking

* * *

Chain 8 and join in a loop

Round 1:  Ch 3 (count as first dc), 24 dc in loop, sl st to first dc

Round 2: Ch 1, sc in same st, *ch 5, skip 1 dc, sc in next dc* around until 1 dc away from first st, ch 2, dc in first st.

Round 3: Ch 3 (count as first dc), 3 dc in same space, *sc in next space, 4 dc in next space, ch 1, make 3-ch picot, ch 1, 4 dc in same space* 5 times, sc in next space, 4 dc in next space, ch 1, make 6-ch picot, ch 1, sl st to first dc.

Cut thread and weave in ends.

Wash and block gently to even out the stitches.  Spray with starch or soak in a glue and water solution.  Let dry, or if you’re impatient like me, gently press with an iron under a handkerchief on medium heat.

Open the bottom loop on an earwire with the pliers and slip the 6-ch picot into the loop.  Close the loop and repeat for the other earring.  Admire.

crochet and conversation

One thing I’ve decided it’s impossible to do is hold a conversation and count stitches at the same time.  And the thinner the thread, the harder those stitches are to see.  The harder the stitches are to see, the longer it takes to realize that four rows down you skipped three stitches of the pattern.  And the more tedious the pattern… the more heartbreaking it is to have to rip back four rows and put yourself through the same struggle again of trying to talk, listen, and count stitches at the same time.

I think this project may have been cursed from the start.  As you can see, I somehow managed to buy two slightly different colors of perle cotton.  Yay!

on how I hate to do motifs…

As a crocheter, I think some of the greatest, most beautiful, impressive patterns are done in crochet motifs.  I would love to complete something as intricate and gorgeous as some of these patterns (okay, that last one is kind of tacky but you get what I mean).  Somehow, though, every time I try starting myself on a motif project, I get bored.  I tried starting on a granny square vest once and got through three squares before I gave up.  I started on a cotton motif blanket and got through three motifs before forgetting about it.  Later, when I tried to start it again, I’d forgotten what hook I’d used and thus ended up with four more motifs that were half an inch larger than the first three.

So I tried starting on this motif project, thinking I would be inspired by the lovely picture on the front cover of the book.  I love the way this pattern looks, and the motif pattern looks interesting enough to keep me engaged throughout the project.  Even better, there are only four motifs to complete (join as you go), and only one row of edging at the end.  I thought, “I’ve done four motifs before… this should be simple!”

Well that was two months ago.

I really don’t get what my problem is with motifs.  I have several patterns which I like a lot that I’ve made several times.  I have one favorite coaster pattern which I think I’ve done eight times in different colors.  I think, however, that I really like the feeling of being done once you get to the end of the pattern and cut the thread.  I get discouraged when I finish one motif and think, “Here is one out of five hundred more I have to do…”

Whenever I bring my crochet with me out in public people always say, “you must have a lot of patience to do that.”  I don’t know a thing about patience.  As crocheters go, I have no patience.