Posts tagged ‘yarn’

I’ve been talking so much about joining-as-you-go and crocheted hexagons that I thought it might be nice to have a tutorial on joining. This method will work for any type of granny square (or triangle, or hexagon, etc) pattern. I will also have a pattern up on my blog, Life on Laffer, today for a basic hexagon.

Start by crocheting a single hexagon (the joining will begin with the second).

On the second hexagon, crochet to the final round as the pattern calls for. In the final round, we will now begin our joining. I like to crochet to the first or second corner (if possible) before joining. Begin joining at the corner by chaining one, then slip stitch into the chain 2 space (corner space) of the completed hexagon. Continue to complete the double crochets in the same space: corner on Hex 2 and joined corner complete.

Read more »

Have you ever heard about the curse of the Boyfriend Sweater? It’s a curse/urban knitting legend that states that if you knit (or crochet) your boyfriend a sweater, by the time the sweater is complete, he will no longer be your boyfriend. I personally have never made a boyfriend a sweater and, now that I’m married, don’t plan on knitting anything for my husband (he doesn’t get as excited about handmade gifts as I would like).
I did, however, crochet him an afghan the first year we were dating. Since this was made specifically with him in mind, it was extra long (he is 6′4″!) and I used colors he liked (greens and gray). I spent about two weeks while he was out of town working on this afghan. In the last seven years, he has consistently used this afghan every winter. He wraps himself up in it while laying on the couch and walks around the house with it draped over his shoulders. Every year that we take the blanket out he comments on how he can’t believe how warm it is.

This year when I pulled the blanket out, I noticed something frightful. The center of one of the squares had come undone! I didn’t feel like fixing it so I ignored the problem only to find my husband sticking his toe through the hole when he used the blanket. I finally decided that it needed to be fixed. And what a simple fix it was.  I found the tail of the original ring that the square had been crocheted around and pulled it out. I used a smaller crochet hook to pick up the loops that had fallen off the tail yarn. I pulled the tail yarn through the loops and then through the original know (that I had found and loosened). I tightened the know and there you have it. This blanket will live to see another winter.

Read more about guest blogger Andrea Sanchez.

I recently participated in a pincushion swap with some of the ladies from the Akron Stitch ‘n Bitch group.

I spent a lot of time fretting over what kind of pincushion to make and decided on a nice, multi-colored pincushion crocheted out of Perle Cotton thread. The fun thing about this pincushion is that it is made up of eight hexagons that you join as you go! I love joining as I go because I hate seaming. I’ve been known to crochet all the squares for an afghan and then leave them stacked nice and neat for over a year so joining as I go is highly valuable to me.
I was able to quickly crochet this pincushion up over the weekend. I really liked this pincushion and was a little disappointed to swap it away. The day of the swap, I gave my beloved pincushion away to Pam after I had received my pincushion from Amy. Would you believe that Amy crocheted me the exact same pincushion? I couldn’t believe it either. I was so excited!

All the pincushion business has gotten me in the mood to use hexagons. The fun thing about crocheting with motifs is that they work up quickly. The hexagonal shape in itself is visually interesting and therefore eliminates extra work, like the need to add a border, for example. Of course, you could always do that, but I like to keep things simple (or perhaps I’m a bit lazy). Additionally, depending on the pattern of your hexagon, you can join as you go.

I was brainstorming what I could do with a hexagon and have decided to use the pattern to work up my sock yarn blanket. In case you haven’t heard about sock yarn blankets, they’re simply knitted blankets made up using small scraps of sock yarn (about 20-25 yards per sock yarn square). If you’re a fast knitter, then this probably isn’t a problem. I however, knit incredibly slowly and after having accumulated close to 100 tiny balls of sock yarn (and having only knit 6 squares in four months) have come to realize that a knitted sock yarn blanket may just take me the rest of my life. I settled on using the scraps to crochet up hexagons instead, each being approximately 4” across at the widest point. In the course of an hour I was able to work up three hexagons. This blanket will definitely go much faster than my previous knitted version. Now, if only I could find someone to ball up all those tiny hanks of yarn.

Read more about guest blogger Andrea Sanchez.

I recently overheard a mother and daughter talking while looking at some crochet pattern books at a local craft store. The mother told the daughter that she used to crochet. The daughter expressed interest at this but the mother told her that “all crochet looks handmade by a grandma”. I was slightly offended by this considering for a long time I only knew how to crochet. I personally enjoy (and appreciate) handmade items and I love crochet.

So I decided to dig through my projects and find something that was fun, current, and still functional. I found this: a crocheted bowl. This bowl is crocheted using cotton fingering weight yarn. It is then stiffened using a warmed, one part water/one part sugar mixture. Surprisingly, it stiffens very well but needs several days to dry. This could be done with any doily pattern you can find. I think it’s a great way to make a doily a little more current. It makes a wonderful house-warming gift, is firm enough to hold goodies in, and even better? There are so many wonderful colors of cotton out there now so you don’t have to settle for the classic white. I’ve also done doilies using worsted weight cotton to increase the overall size. Imagine the possibilities!

Read more about guest blogger Andrea Sanchez.

My boss’s birthday was coming up and bless her heart, she appreciates a handmade gift. I had a gorgeous skein of purple (her favorite color) yarn in my stash. But what to make with only 220 yards? A crocheted scarf. The wonderful thing about this scarf pattern is (a) it’s free on Ravelry (just sign up for a free account to access it), (b) it’s open, lacy, and perfect for spring, and (c) it’s crochet so you know you can whip it up quickly.

After winding the yarn into a ball and finding my I hook, I got to it. Two days later (with only minimal time spent working on it) I had a scarf. The secret to making this scarf a WOW is blocking. I let it soak for about 20 minutes in my sink with some wool wash. After gently squeezing all the water out I pinned out the points on the scarf, making sure to stretch it as much as possible. That one skein of yarn ended up about 58” long and 10” wide. A quick and easy gift for a spring birthday.  Crochargosy Scarf

Read more about guest blogger Andrea Sanchez.

Throughout April, Andrea Sanchez will be one of two guest bloggers with us.  Andrea is a “yarnaholic”, and will share crochet tips, project ideas, and her love for fashionable crochet with modern colors and design.  Here are a few favorite projects from Andrea’s blog, Life on Laffer:

Crochet Squares Scarf, Amigurumi Dragon, February Lady Sweater

A little more about Andrea & her beginnings with crochet:  Andrea began crocheting at age 18 when she convinced her mother to buy her a hook, enough yarn to make an afghan, and teach her the basics. Her mother, used to her picking up and dropping hobbies like hot potatoes, made her promise that she would finish the afghan. Andrea completed the afghan and her love for crochet was born.

After earning a degree in English, Andrea and her husband moved to Akron in 2007. Here, she has found a rich community of crafters and fellow yarn lovers. Andrea enjoys taking traditional crochet patterns and making them fun, up-to-date, and unique. She especially enjoys giving these creations to friends and family to use and love.

Andrea is currently continuing her education, working towards a Master’s degree in education at the University of Akron. She has also recently begun to blog about her yarn adventures at lifeonlaffer.blogspot.com.

My knitting friend, Heather, was my partner in our recent Stitch N’ Bitch amigurumi swap. I am super lucky, too. She’s so talented! She spun the wool, as well as crochet the owls. She also felted the nest from her own wool.

She made an owl for every member of the family, Rob to Cressida.

Apparently there was a moment where Heather’s son kidnapped the owls for his own. She had to bribe him with his own Amigurumi Ninja. Thanks, Heather!

If anyone has a photo of all the Amis, could you send it to me? I didn’t bring my camera, and I want a documentation of all the awesomeness.

All my yarn-addicted friends have peer-pressured me into dyeing yarn. I’m just dabbling, for fun. I’m not as proficient as Mary, Jenn, or Martha, but I did manage to make white yarn turn sherbet colored.

I used my ancient crockpot to keep the water at a consistent temperature, and Wilton dyes. To set the dye I used lemon juice. I didn’t measure anything, because experiments are for guessing. That’s probably why I ended up with sherbet when I was aiming for the same color orange as my kitchen walls.

I still call it success, because it is pretty, and I can knit with it. Hurrah!

In the spirit of a new year & reflecting about Clever Nesting’s previous year of blogging, I thought I’d share my favorite 2009 tutorials that Devona’s written.

Do you ever find beautiful sweaters at the thrift store but realize they’re too stretched out or shrunken to wear?  In Knitting with an Old Sweater Devona shows how to unravel those sweaters and reuse the yarn for new projects, so that pretty yarn won’t be wasted.

In Throw Pillow with Piping Trim, Devona teaches how to use strips of cut t-shirts for the piping on a pillow.  You’ll save money on expensive piping and have a way to use those stained or stretched t-shirts besides for rags.

And here’s an idea reusing ties when the fabric’s great, but the men in your life will surely never wear them!  Devona teaches how to Make a Composition Cover from an Old Tie.

And finally, let me just say I’ve loved working with Devona on the Clever Nesting blog this past year!  She’s so innovative with her crafty reuse & recycling ideas.  She’s also a wealth of information about a variety of crafts & thrilled to learn more.  Plus she’s an idea queen…you should hear all her ambitious plans for the next few years!

Jennifer Doll of Landen Road Designs specializes in handmade ceramic buttons & knitted children’s items.  Not only has she set up shop at Etsy, but if you’re local to Akron, Ohio, she’s selling at the Hartville Fall Arts & Crafts Festival this Saturday and sells at Tween Diva in Hartville.  Stay tuned, because next week Landen Road Designs will be doing a ceramic buttons giveaway for our readers!  *Hint, they’re green & blue and you might spy them on her Flickr.