Swirling around in a crochet dress

The silence is deafening. If you are still keeping up with my blog, thank you so much!

Blogger's been giving a little problem (or so I thought) but I am picking up from where I left from -- the project for my niece.

Purchase date unknown; this yarn lot may have been basking in the SABLE for at least 8 years or more -- I bought it from Spotlight then, not knowing that yarn quality plays a part in the finished garment's look as well as its longevity factor (for those who want to create keepsake heirlooms.)

It's an acrylic fingering weight blend which works well for the crochet project but in terms of quality, I won't hold it in the highest regard. But in a bid to reduce SABLE, this yarn meets my needs.

Since my mom (my niece's grandma) would most likely hand wash this hand crocheted summer tunic dress, I think it might last reasonably well . [I just tend to drop all my hand knits and crochet projects in the washing machine - I am lazy when it comes to laundry, I'll admit.]

On the other hand, I know my mom appreciates and understands all the time and effort I devote to my knitting and crochet so she really does take good care. [But Mom, please wear the ones I knit for you more often! I am more than happy to knit you more!]

 A WIP photo -- I love working with thin yarns but they do kill me at times with all that slow growth!

To counter any possible itch factor, I decided that a lining may soon be in order but that'll have to hold until after the dress is presented to Ms P.


I decided to switch to this fan and feather panel as I think the whole dress would look very heavy with the same body stitching. The lower panel also adds some lightness to the overall look.

Here's a photo taken during daytime. I know the sunlight does show off the stitches more clearly when I snap pictures but then my knitting and crochet habits tend to be nocturnal.

The dress does look awfully long and skinny huh? 

Another, in the night.

To get her comfortably dressed, I have also put in button closures on the back.

And then it was all ready to go!

I swear it fits my niece well.

Until my next blog post...

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Bag or basket

Apart from knitting, the crochet projects are creeping back to be in line for completion.

The hexagon project is coming along much further.

I have tucked in all the tails, and even added a trim edging to the opening.

The thing I haven't yet figured out is how I would like the handles to be attached.

- Should I add it right at the top?
- Or maybe an inch or 2 from inside?
- How should the handles look? (I definitely intend to crochet them.)

Any suggestions?

I think adding a lining would also further help stabilize as well as prevent tiny things from falling through the crevices.

Until I come to a conclusion, this project is now sitting at one corner of my living room as a very lovely WIP basket.


I can't believe we're just a month away from Christmas! Now I seriously need to increase my pace.

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Destashing with a baby gift project

Once every so often, a baby's impending arrival would jolt me from my rather erratic knitting and crochet schedule. This time, it was my husband's colleague's announcement.

Funnily, men just don't remember to inform you early. They just prefer a month's notice and when asked, the reason simply is, "I forgot."

Hmmpf...

GT suggested that I could go with the usual suspects - small pair of booties or socks. There was a pair that I knitted and gifted previously to another colleague of his back in 2007. (Gosh, that sounds so long ago!)

Obviously meant for a baby girl, with the cute pink flowers on the cuff.

But I am just not in the mood for socks.

So to bring up the challenge factor, I decided that a cardigan would be "IT". And while at that, I figured that using yarns from my stash would be good.

After all, detashing is good. This helps alleviate the hoarding madness.

As you can tell, it's meant for a little boy.

I have opted for a whole piece rather than the standard 3 piece (one back and 2 front pieces) approach as I wanted it to be portable. Besides, who wants to do more sewing?

Rather than to go variegated all the way, I have used a solid white yarn for garter rows to break up the colors.  Besides, it's always a relief to the mind since the scheduled section breaks make me feel that my project is growing.

It's progressing at a good rate!

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Pink please!

Fueled by the enthusiasm shown by Ms P, my niece towards the crocheted capelet, I felt encouraged and crochet her a blouse top.

As you can tell, it's a top down pattern. [Actually when I put it on the mannequin, I saw the potential of this design being a fashionably chic neck bangle when crocheted using the right yarn!]

Then disaster struck. I showed it to my niece excitedly and got her to try it on for size. And we had a conversation that went like this:

The soon-to-be-5yo gal said, "Auntie Mommy, the armholes are a tad tight."

I replied, "Ok, I'll redo and fix the armholes."

And I proceeded to ask, "Do you like this?"

She went silent for a while and went, "I prefer pink better."

ARRGHHHH!

Then mustering all the calm I could, I told her, "P, if you really do not like yellow, then I'll abandon the project. I will not continue on so you wouldn't have this finished project to wear. Is that ok with you?"

She looked at me and then replied in the sweetest voice, "Auntie Mommy, do finish the project. I will promise to wear it. I just simply like pink better but it's ok if it's yellow."

Aww.... aren't kids just simply so adorably charming when they know they are treading on the edge of a volcano?

Got to hand it to her.

And so, the story continues.

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Inspiration behind Ms P's mini capelet

In my previous post, I spoke about how I originally chose a pattern.

The pattern is Chanson en crochet by Mari lynn Patrick (one of my favorite designers).

In fact, one of the gals has crocheted this piece before.

While it looks great on adults, I personally thought that the pattern was a little overwhelming on a little gal -- especially that extended lace section towards the hem edge.

Also, I figured a bigger curvature resulting in greater coverage would work for Ms P as little ones tend to be more hyperactive and fling their arms about.

So, rather than to frog and then re-wind the yarn, I got lazy and decided to work from it. Hence you see the side by side comparison.

Here are some of the pattern modifications I did:

• I removed the lowest section. 
• Introduced repeats of the collar sections (that involves re-calculating as usual.)
• Added a row of flower motifs.

All that the capelet is missing is its closure. I am toying with the idea of either a button or a tie-front option.

Suggestions?

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Something for my niece

My delightful niece (likewise, her little kid brother) addresses me as "Auntie Mommy" - a term coined by my younger sister who decided that her wonderful kids could well be mine; since I have none of my own. [Not that I am in desperate need nor have the urge to have some offspring yet.]

Anyway...

So I constantly have her in mind whenever I feel the urge to get some toddler knitting/crochet projects started.

This recent project was sparked off by a conversation my mom and I had when we were mall shopping. My mom saw a poncho and commented that it is a very child-friendly keep-warm clothing item. Besides not having buttons to fuss with, there is also no need for the struggle to get the kid's arms into the item; unlike a sweater. And the coverage is sufficient.

Hence the idea of a capelet.

As usual, I have gone through the route of selecting a pattern, working it almost halfway through, then ripping it back entirely. I just wanted a pattern that had a bit more coverage (less lacey) and also more girlish.

Reason: Just simply because I wasn't satisfied with the way it looked.  [Does that ever happen to any of you?]


So this was the resulting piece.

I had decided to finish off with a round of crochet flowers and those had the stamp of approval from my niece who comments that she "loves pink!"

Well, if you know what that means...

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Dropping stitches for the fun of it

I seriously declare myself a process knitter. I just start so many projects on a whim and that I lost track of the many resulting UFOs in residence.

Having been often nagged by my sister that she only had the honour of ever receiving the one and only handknit sweater from me (while it looks absolutely frumpy on me, the sweater comes to life when my sister puts it on!), I decided it was time to knit another project for her.

Taking a cue from a knitting book, I have decided that a simple dropped ladder stitch pattern with simple ribbing works best for this nubby yarn.

This yarn was something from the closet -- gifted by my good friend who first picked up knitting with me about 14 years ago, then abandoned ship. She figured rather than to have the yarn be lying around, it should go to a good knitter's home.

Which wasn't an issue, until I realized due to its uneven texture, the dropped stitches aren't exactly as defined as I liked them to be, forcing me to work on twisted stitches next to them when I could have gone with standard knitting. Arrgh!

But did I love the result? Absolutely! I just had to put this on the mannequin to check out the final measurements. I left the armholes unworked as I wanted my sister to actually try it on so I can gauge how much to bind off the armholes for -- she has a much longer upper bodice than me.

This has got to be one of the fastest knit that'll be FOed recently!

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Undecided

This is the second crochet project I started. Sometime after I started crocheting the hexagons.

As much as I love the cheery bursts of colors, I wanted a wearable garment. I am a Plain Jane where clothes are concerned -- plain colors for me please!

So I chose a pineapple motif (as this is commonly referred to) and got working on it. I started at 1am in the wee hours of the morning. Yes, I figured I was a little insomniac and figured that a little crochet work will get me tired enough to crawl back to bed.

Honestly, it was a wrong move.

Instead of feeling tired, crocheting got me so energized that I stayed up all the way until 5am. Then I woke up  around noon time and kept going. That's a serious crochet addiction, I tell you.

Then by 10pm at night, I am all done. All in less than 24 hours!

This pattern is originally a fully crocheted skirt.

I am now contemplating that instead of 100% crochet skirt, I might want:

• To pick up the stitches and knit upwards to the waist?
• Or maybe a toga top with this being the accent piece at the neckline?
• Or leave it as is and use it as a shawlette?
• Or do as what the gals are suggesting: turn it into a dress!

But seriously, I am tempted with the dress idea...

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By the way, thanks for all the well-wishes. I am so happy that my other blog is being featured on 3 Sep 2010 in The Straits Times, Urban titled "Craft your own fashion" (page 20).

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Picking up crochet again

My crochet hexagon project has been lying around longer than I intended it to be.




Most of the delay was a result of my getting distracted by other projects I have on hand (which I will blog about another day to keep focused on this entry). The distraction issue must be a common dilemma faced by other crafters -- I heard it's called "startitis".

Besides, the recent influx of new customers signing up for our knitting and crochet classes has been keeping me really busy, in a good way. These just leaves me with less time for my own projects. Oh, and my biggest gripe for those crocheted hexagons?



Motif crochet just creates lots of tail ends! I have tucked in those ends as I switched colors with the different rounds. However, those can get a little unwieldy at times. In fact, I have also joined the seams as I worked the last round of each motif so that I can eliminate join sewing.

As the project grew bigger, it became bulkier and was no longer fitting my tote. And so it ended up being the stay-at-home resident project.





I have to say I really love the colors though; it's so bright and cheerful. This project is taking shape and I am really excited.

In fact, the recent flurry of crochet projects by our customers is enough to get my younger sister, the cross stitch expert to pick up her crochet hook again. We both picked up crochet in our early teens from our mom but my sister decided to divert her interest to cross-stitch while I took to knitting and crochet.





Well, she showed me her WIP and asked me to critique her work. Well....the tension was a tad too tight -- wrong hook size. And acrylic yarn she bought from elsewhere -- not that I have any issues with that.

She could have simply come over and raid my yarn stash! With that invitation, she certainly did!




She selected this variegated yarn and I taught her a simple mesh pattern that will help lend some visual interest.



I certainly don't have to worry as she took to the new instructions readily. With a change of crochet hook and the new yarn, her tension was way better and the project is growing quickly as she committed the pattern to memory.

I am hoping she'll be interested enough to keep on crocheting!

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Going back in time - UFOs

Sometimes it's just amazing how we get distracted and lose focus on the project we have on hand.

I have many of those instances and this is just one of them.

I have pulled these squares out of my stash / UFO / WIP sack and have no idea what I was intending these squares for.

Perhaps they are meant to be dishcloths?

Or facecloths?

But as I looked closer, there are several patterns that I used.
Maybe I had intended to piece them together for a patchwork project of sorts? Say, like a baby blanket?

Honestly, I really couldn't be sure.

I think these UFOs are lurking around in my sack for at least 5 years.

I really need to be more disciplined with my WIPs as well as the projects I have on hand. Rather than aborting them mid-way, I should really persist right to the end.

So now I really need some suggestions and thoughts as to how I may utilize these squares.

Ideas / suggestions anyone?

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Wrap and pull

Still revelling in the fun of basic shapes, I have decided to continue with my pursuit of hexagon work.

But this time, in crochet.

My original intention was to use the crochet hexagons to add width to the lapghan (which I had envisioned initially as a sofa coverlet or a blanket). However, as per my earlier post, you can see that it's a tad too narrow and more suitable for a single person use.

Besides, the colors I chose for this new crochet project is probably too great of a contrast. [Yes, once again, I have raided my stash.]

However, I really do like the colors together. My niece just loves to stack them up. If I crochet them larger, they will work well as mug coasters.

They are not-me-colors; but together the colors put me in a happy chirpy mood -- they serve as a great mood lifter, don't you agree?

I haven't referred to any pattern chart specifically. I just developed the pattern on the go. It was quite easy to figure out.

The only thing that is bugging me is -- what should I turn this into? The ladies say nay to cushion covers, saying that I have already done it previously.

Besides, as one of them said,

"There is no way of showing this project if it doesn't leave the house!" 

LOL! We are just a hilarious lot sometimes. 

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The *garter* thing and its special bag

Actually, it's grown quite a bit that it's gotten its own special resident tote bag. By resident, I mean, the tote bag in question contains no other knitting or crochet projects.

And it comes in a bright cheery shade of pink with flower motifs all over. Oh, and a hair clip for those bad hair days, which is getting frequent.

It comes with a zip and a button flap which makes it ideal for bringing small knitting projects around as you can button the bag and expose the working yarn and knit on the go easily (without zipping up fully.)

There is also a small pocket but I don't use it as it's too shallow and I keep worrying that things will drop out.

The bag is now getting a little too cramped for 3 balls of yarn and my ever-growing thing. You can see that I also stash a bottle of water and a book for reading on the go. And my wallet goes into it as well.

 

Here's the WIP. I am on the 9th column. The recent rainy days helped; the cool air is making me motivated enough to knit more often. Hopefully this project can be complete by May!

 

If you see me toting this bag sporting some knitting, don't forget to come up and say hi!

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Colored hexagon sandwiches anyone?

These days, the unworked sections of the *garter thing* (refer to this post on how this project name came about) is constantly in a folded, pined up stage. Doesn't it remind you of a stack of crispy criss-cross wafer cookies?

When laid out flat, this piece is as long as my coffe table (about 5 feet or 1.5 metres long). I figured if I stopped here, I would have a funky, chic table runner.

My guy friend remarked that this reminds him of the soccer ball surface -- he's a Premier League fan, like GT is.

Currently, I am on the sixth column and still persisting. See the back of the photo where I have just started?

If you look from that vantage point, it can be quite depressing.

Hence the folding and clipping of the un-worked sections -- it just makes the project look shorter than it is until I get to the end of the column.

Visual deception in this case, is totally essential to avoid mid-way abortion.

As a reminder to self, the above is a representation of 300 grams (100g of each color) worth of 4ply yarn knitted using 3mm needles.

In order to get it as wide as it is long, it looks like I'll have to quadruple the dosage! I don't think I would have enough of these colors in my stash. In fact, I have just about 100g worth for each color and that's it.

Very annoying... I'll have to work on resolving this issue when it comes. I would really hate to buy yarn as this is meant to be a stashbuster!

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Irish crochet and comfort food

I dare say I am pretty proficient with crochet. I have been doing crochet for several years now; using both written instructions ala UK and American styles as well as the schematic diagrams favored by the Japanese.

However, in the course of working on my secret project, I am astounded by the amount of time and effort needed for Irish crochet. Take this motif as an example.

I call it a butterfly because of the curly flick.

This is the third crochet pattern motif called for in this project. It's barely larger than my palm but the first piece took me just about 40mins to complete!

That includes pattern reading, stitch counting, fumbling with the annoying center thread bulk and so on. Hopefully my pace will improve once I become familiar with the chart.

Did I mention that the triangular motif you saw last time takes me an average of 20mins once I gained speed? All that cutting and joining made me embark on a production assembly approach. i.e. I crocheted the center pieces first and then outlined with the Irish crochet work in a separate session.

On a side note, I was so inspired by Deb of Chappysmom's comment of making pancakes. And so I tried out a receipe yesterday morning. Perhaps it was the recipe I used or my limited cooking skills, the pancakes turned out rather flat and blah looking.

So I decided to make pancake rolls instead. I had 2 versions made:

1. butter and kaya fillings
2. orange marmalade

Luckily, they turned out pretty decent! Else they would have headed for the trash bin.

But seriously, if anyone has any great thick fluffy pancake recipes to share, I'll greatly appreciate it!

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Irony

Still on that secret crochet project. Wiki defines it as "a piece of information that one person or a group of people know, and do not want others (either everyone, or certain people) to know."

Although some of the gals actually know what I am working on, I am reluctant to share further details of what this project is about as I fear the pressure I am subjecting myself to.

See the amount of tails?
I'll have to set aside some proper time to tuck in those.

Yet, I keep pushing myself to blog on my progress as it's the only way to ensure that I'll not lose momentum or abort it halfway. As you can see, I have started on a second set of motifs.

The pace is picking up although I am not crocheting as fast as I would like to. Eventually...

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