Botanical Gardens Net Bag

I try not to do a ton of impulse yarn, but I absolutely fell in love with this Queensland Collection Cairns in Royal Botanical Gardens that was in clearance at Northampton Wools. Seeing it, I immediately knew exactly what I wanted to make out of it.

Yarn: Queensland Collection Cairns in Royal Botanical Gardens and Dungarees Fine 

Yarn Suppliers: Northampton Wools and Mind's Eye Yarns respectively

Hook: 3.5 mm and 5.0 mm

Pattern: Mandala Net Bag by Caroline Hosmann (modified)

I had used the same Queensland Collective Dungarees Fine in the edging of my Trio blanket. I love how the colors are picked up between these two yarn colorways by the same producer.

I did make some minor modifications to the pattern due to my choices of yarns with different gauge, which I was really satisfied with.  I started with pattern, went until I ran out of the Cairns, then did one round of the netting in the Dungarees Fine held double. When starting the top I halved the number of stitches and went single strand to get the more closed open that I would like.

For my gauge with the Cairns the number of net stitch repeats in each round is probably higher than it needed to be, but the end result is a very stretchy, generous bag, with some extra structure from the way I did the top.

Trio Blanket

I cast on this project in January 2020 and finished it up in Nov 2022. Turns out over 3000 yards of fingering weight yarn take a really long time to turn into a blanket if you don't work on it regularly. This was a pattern I had been wanting to make since I had first seen it though, and it is absolutely in my preferred colors.

Pattern: Trio Blanket by Susan Carlson

Yarn: Sheepjes Whirl in Blackberry Mint Chip, Green Tea Tipple, and Peppermint Patty Cake & Queensland Collection Dungarees Fine in Chrysocolla

Yarn Suppliers: Webs & Mind's Eye Yarns

Hook: C / 2.75mm

After knitting the pattern as written, I did a couple of rounds around the outside with the leftover colors I had and a little Queensland Collection Dungarees Fine to give it a more finished look and tuck in the carried yarns on the edge.

Annie at Mind's Eye Yarns had suggested the Queensland Collection Dungarees Fine, and I will absolutely be making more with it. I love that it is a recycled fiber yarn (from jeans!) and it has a great linen-like feel.

FO: Honey Bee Blanket

When I first saw the Honey Bee Blanket pattern, I thought it was so cute that I really wanted to make it, despite not having a clear plan on who I would give it to. The recommended yarn was new to me, but the soft cotton blend seems like it will wash really well and be great for little ones and/or messy lives.

Pattern: Honey Bee Blanket by Gaynor Edwards

Yarn: Scheepjes Stone Washed

Seriously, look how cute this detail is?

I was glad to have been this one, but the comments I had read were NOT kidding about the completely unreasonable amount of weaving in of ends. That last part was a slog, but I am still happy to have made it. No need to do a second though.

From the comments on Ravelry, I was also aware that there were some errors in the original pattern. At this point, errata are up, but I did not have any significant trouble in fudging/figuring things out based on what made sense.

My only major complaint about the pattern is that because it is so open ended about the mixed color blocks, I was not sure about exactly how much I would need. I just went with the recommended amounts, but still have a bunch of leftovers.

FO: Crochet Dissent Cowl

In addition to the knit Dissent cowl, I also made a very pink crocheted version of this pattern. This version is in colors chosen to go with a friend's favorite light jacket.

Pattern: Dissent Cowl (crochet) by Carissa Browning

Hook: 4.5 mm

Yarn: Dream in Color Juliette BFL Silk DK in 67 Liberation

and Kim Dyes Yarn Brioche DK in Last of the Wildflowers

Yarn Supplier: Scratch

I had first done mosaic crochet in Rozeta, so this was a good follow up project. Having said that, I like the finished result of the knit version a little better.

Trio Blanket

A while back, I had started a trio blanket with 3 skeins of Scheepjes Whirl, and I can see why people find this yarn so addictive. The very slow color transitions are meditative with pleasant milestones every time you reach a "fuzzbuzz."

 

Minerology Part 4

Compared with Minerology Part 3, Part 4 took forever! The motifs in the corners were fine, but between the winter holidays, the end of the quarter and starting back up at work after the New Year, I found it really challenging to sit down with enough concentration to assemble the corners. Once that was done though, it was smooth sailing.

 I am still loving all of the detail and texture of this project. And in the next part there are elephants!

Minerology Part 3

Part 3 of the D'Histoire Naturelle has been a delight. I am looking forward to the next set of instructions.

While Parts 1&2 had those wonderful bee and butterfly details, Part 3 is all about the leaf detail for me.

I am not the only one in my house obsessed with the Scheepjes CAL.

 Both with this this year's D'Histoire Naturelle and last year's Rozeta, I have struggled with cat-thievery. All of which is very strange, since normally Boris is not that interested in random balls of yarn. When it comes to Scheepjes though, he is constantly trying to walk off with my balls of yarn to bite and bunny kick. Not even my loose ends on the project are safe, as he will try to chew on them if not watched. Strange!

FO: Almost Twilight Rozeta

In my excitement about starting the 2020 Scheepjes CAL, I realized that I had never posted pictures of the finished 2019 Scheepjes CAL: Rozeta. Oops!

I had loved the Twilight colorway, but this kit was sold out everywhere by the time I went to go purchase it. Fortunately Webs had all the "stained glass" colors, so found a good color match for the base color in the Valley Yarns Huntington line, to make sure the that the fiber match was good. Note: these yarns have a fairly different construction and a slight weight difference. It wasn't a perfect match but it worked for my purposes.

This was a really challenging and enjoyable project, and I was sort of sad to see it end. I had never worked with Our Tribe before, but it is delightful. Highly recommended! It is soft and the color graduations are subtle and mesmerizing to work with. It was pleasant to crochet, although it has a slight fuzz that can be challenging to rip out work if you are impatient. I can't say that I minded it though.

Pattern: Rozeta (2019 Scheepjes CAL)

Yarn: Scheepjes Our Tribe and Valley Yarns Huntington

Yarn Supplier: Webs

Hook: 3.75 mm (F)

Minerology Part 1 & 2

I have been so excited to be working on the 2020 Scheepjes CAL: D'Histoire Naturelle that I finished Part 2 only a few days after it came out. Fortunately the 2 weeks until 

I am loving the bee and butterfly details here.

I am working in a Minerology Stone Washed and River Washed kit. In Row 37a I grabbed a different color for the butterfly wings, but just rolled with it. All and all, it has been a delight, and I am looking forward to the next set of instructions being released.

Almost Twilight Rozeta

A friend was planning to do the Scheepjes Rozeta CAL and got me all excited about it as well. Next thing you know, I made a trip to Webs and swatched. The Our Tribe Twilight kits were already sold out, but I was able to get the colors other than Color A (Iris Garden) as individual balls of yarn.

Instead of the Color A in Our Tribe. I picked up some Valley Yarn Huntington in Navy, to provide a similar color and weight, although the texture isn't quite the same.

Rozeta: 1 row short of week 5 completion

The instructions for Week 6 are out, so I have a plan for the rest of my lazy Sunday. So far I am having a lot of fun, and I am already thinking of a second one.

Berkshire Weekend Away

Salvbard and I took the weekend to get away to the Bershires for a mixture of pleasure and a memorial service that I wanted to attend. The weather was absolutely perfect, and that meant I got lots of outdoor knitting time.

I worked on a new hat for Diamondsoled out of Zauberball she had bought for this purpose:

I also worked on a pair of toe up socks from a bunch of leftover self striping yarn:

On Saturday we even stopped into Webs, and I picked up yarn for the Scheepjes Rozeta CAL, which my friend fiber Fiddledragon turned me on to. I am freestyling a bit with colors chosen based on my personal preferences.

I could do less with the "help" from out 6 month kitten who has never show interest in balled yarn before though.

All and all, it was a really lovely recharging and connective weekend. I am very lucky.

Temperature blanket - July 2018 edition

I have a friend who has been desperately waiting for red to show up more. Red represents an average daily temperture in the 80s *F. Well July 2018 was that time!

2018 temperature blanket - Christmas edition

The temperature blanket for 2018 is fairly large and awkward to travel with at this point. Clearly that hasn't stopped me though.

On the plus side it does keep my lap warm.

Still it was good to make some progress, and I had some fantastic kitty help.

June Progress - Temperature Blanket 2018

The combination of the warmer temperatures in June and the size of the almost half finished blanket stalled the progress on my temperature blanket.

June:

January to June:

With the holiday downtime and cooler temperatures though, I have been making good progress recently though.

May Progress - Temperature Blanket 2018

As mentioned in the April update, May saw the first orange, which represents an average temperature in the 70s Fahrenheit.

I have to say that May looks decidedly 70s living room to me.

And a progress-to-date picture is clearly necessary to how how things are shifting.

March Progress - Temperature Blanket 2018

March progress is looking more steady temperature-wise than February or January.

So year to date, it is looking like this:

Moving right along though.

2018 Temperature Blanket - January Progress

The last few years there has been a movement each January where there is a rush of people making temperature blankets. The idea is simple: do a row for each day representing the day's temperature. With a little math

Here is January:

Looking around the internet, there are a lot variations, both knit and crocheted. With the yarn I had selected though, I ended up going with a simple single crochet blanket with a large enough hook to keep it from being too stiff.

I may have been a little over ambitious, as I started a very generously sized blanket for a queen (or slightly less generously king) bed. From previous blankets though, I know that will get it a lot more use.

Super excited about this project!

Rites of Spring: Gnome Hat Edition

This past weekend I spent in the mountains of Western mass at with a group of several hundred community members. One of the on-going events that happened across the weekend was that the littles in the community were hunting little crocheted hats.

It turns out that the gnomes had put out an alert that there were a bunch of missing hats, and the kids very helpful spent the weekend looking for them high and low. I found myself utterly charmed.

Playing Catch Up

With one of my toughest semesters completed, I am taking this time as the year winds down to catch up on documenting my crafting and tidying my spaces. Today I went through a giant pile of WIPs, yarn to-be-entered into Ravelry, and hibernating projects to figure out where things were.

In the process I found this project that just needed ends woven in.

Hook: C/2.75 mm

Yarn: Mind's Eye Yarns Merino/Tencel (discontinued) - March '08 Sock Club colorway

Yarn Supplier:  Mind's Eye Yarns

This newborn hat was ad-libbed. It is top-down with faux ribbing using crochet through front/back posts. Cute! Little! Instant gratification!

Posted via Blogaway

Crocheted Snowflakes

Happy Boxing Day to those who celebrate. To everyone else, happy Thursday!

Everyone tends to be busy during this winter holiday season, but this last stretch until New Years is a welcome break at least in Academia. I celebrated by taking some time for myself on the couch, crocheting a bunch of snowflakes which I have wanted to do for ages. My mom had gotten me a book of snowflake pattern ideas (two years ago?), but I hadn't managed to get far. I am super glad to have some for my tree now.

Pattern Source: 100 Snowflakes to Crochet by Caitlin Sainio

Yarn: Payette by Loops & Threads in color 07005 (icicle)

Yarn Supplier: Michaels

Hook: F or G hook (which ever was handy at the time)

One of the things that I like best about this book is that it is roughly sorted by complexity. So I feel good about handing it to an adventurous new crocheter to play with. Also the patterns are both written out and charted, so that you can use which ever method makes more sense to your brain. I love that sort of thing!

Some of the patterns were more to my taste than others, but with so many to chose choose from that was not a problem. And it is super easy to modify the patterns into new variations if you like.

#1 Barber

#2 Frost

#3 Stellar omitting long points and adding a rnd of sc

#4 Spring Snow

#5 Nevada omit round 3

Pattern: #5 Nevada 

#7 Droxtal

#9 Narbonnais

#13 Snow Mist

# 14 Sikussak

#16 Arctic Mist

About a dozen was just about right for our little tree. I didn't starch these mostly due to the time frame in which I wanted to get them on the tree. So the patterns done were chosen for approximate size and relatively little floppy/saggy-ness.

Thanks blog folk for visiting again this year. I look forward to the next one with you all. I hope that your coming year is full of opportunities for your creative spirit, people worth surrounding yourself with and just enough challenge that you appreciate your blessings.