Remember that massive pile of scraps I tipped out onto my sewing table yesterday?
I started picking out bits by colour and building new fabric. I started with black, then moved on to pinks and purples, then blues.
This is very satisfying! I burned through 5 thread spools and 11 bobbins that were low on thread.
And this is what’s left.
A small pile of not-too-tiny scraps and some decorative selvedges. I did toss the tiny scraps into the trash.
I think I should tackle my fleece remnants next!
Well, we’ve had a lovely run of sunny weather…until today. This morning was grey and wet, with solid rain falling vertically for quite some time. I love it. Good for the garden! Now it’s dry, but windy. Weird!
So yeah, I’m definitely a bag lady this week. Four new bags made.
Ali of Little Drops of Wonderful, in partnership with Claudia of Crochet Luna, is running a Dodgy Bag Make-along #dodgybagmal2020 which is inspiring me to make even more bags! Here’s another of the project bags from Erica Arndt’s tutorial – I’ve made a lot of these now – and I used some of my dwindling peace sign fabric in conjunction with some solid cottons and denim. I used my new machine to embroider “handmade” on the front and I added a couple of pockets inside.
This small crocheted bag was an “I need something to crochet while I walk” project. Yesterday I decided it was going to be a long walk, so I grabbed a bag and some yarn and a hook and set out. It’s two partial cakes of Caron Cupcakes, different colourways, held together and single crocheted with a 5.5mm hook. I made most of it while walking for well over an hour. When I got home, I decided to line it. Well, the first attempt to make a lining failed because I made it too narrow so that became a separate little bag.
Then I cut some solid purple and used that to line the crocheted bag, extending the lining above the level of the crochet to make a drawstring casing.
Seeing my work in progress sitting on top of its denim project bag got me all excited about combining crochet and denim in one project. So today, after breakfast and noodling around on the computer, I went down to my sewing room and rummaged in my denim offcuts. I have lots of old jeans, most of which have now been cut up for bags, but I found a good-sized chunk which I cut and trimmed to make an asymmetrical project bag.
It’s basically the back pocket and top part of the leg, and one belt loop was attached at the top. I removed three more belt loops from what was left of the waistband and sewed them to the top of my new bag. Before sewing the side seams, I attached the crocheted mandala to the non-pocket side, anchoring the centre with a button. I discovered a new stitch on my sewing machine which looks like overlocking, so I used that for the side seams, and then I added part of the jeans seam as a drawstring, plus a large button.
To give you an idea of size, the bag is 13″ tall when lying flat, and the crochet mandala is 7.5″ across.
There has been some yarny progress on my only WIP, however I seem to have a repetitive strain injury at the base of my left thumb which makes knitting a little uncomfortable. However, here it is in all its scrappy glory.
Last time I measured it, it was about 18″ deep, and I’m probably aiming for 60″. Also, I think the measurement across (when the tube is laid flat, double thickness) is about 48″, though it’s hard to tell for sure. It’s 370 stitches around (and around, and around) but it’s great Netflix knitting. I had to do some minor repairs on the bottom edge the other day, as the vacuum cleaner sucked in a couple of tails and I realised afterwards that one row had been pulled really tight for a few inches either side and there was a live loop randomly hanging out. Oops!
We had an enjoyable dinner of homemade sushi, coconut rice and baked spicy tofu and once that has had a chance to digest Mr Fixit and I are going to do some yoga. Happy crafting!
I followed through on that idea I mentioned in my last post about using up some stash to make cat mats.
Five strands of random acrylic plus a 19mm hook makes for fast finishes. Once I’d made five, I thought I’d make a nicer version for myself. The floor in my cold room (an unheated cupboard in my basement where we keep our food stores) is freezing in the winter so to save our feet I thought we needed a rug. So I made one.
I rather like the way the colours worked in this one, except maybe for the yellow at the beginning. Still, it feels good to use up random balls and odds and ends of yarn and edit my Ravelry stash to show “all used up.”
Zumba on Sunday morning was as fun as I remember it. Shame I don’t have every Sunday off (working all this weekend) but I will go when I can.
No inspiration for the Lion Brand Mandala yet, but I am keeping my antennae up for mentions of likely patterns online.
Pizza time! Off to eat.
We had a slight digression there, while I reblogged Boats of Oats’ vegan posts, and even had a bit of a crochet hiatus. I think there was a three-day chunk of time when I didn’t pick up a hook! Incredible!!
However, we are now back to your regular scheduled programming, and here is the pile of little hats. All twenty of them.
I used some yarns that were languishing in the craft room, miscellaneous ones that weren’t bringing me joy. (Maybe it’s time to clear out à la Marie Kondo?) Various yarns, various hook sizes, various methods. It was fun while it lasted, but it’s nearing the time when my friend needs them so she can pass them on to her friend with the Swaziland connections.
And now to move on…
This bag full of beach-inspired colours is the Coast Colour Pack, originally put together by Lucy of Attic24. (That link will take you to her home page – there is a link to her ‘store’ at Wool Warehouse, and also in the right sidebar if you scroll down you will find a link to her Ripple blanket [Coast].)
Fifteen skeins of Stylecraft Special DK, which I bought probably a couple of years ago now with no specific plans in mind. But I’m a bit blanketed out, if you know what I mean, and I really want to crochet myself a sweater. I’ve never done that before. There has been quite a bit of mulling, agonising, swatching and pattern-browsing, trying to find that perfect design that will work with multiple colours without me looking like a circus clown. (Oh, wait, I already made the granny square coat, so what am I worrying about?!)
I did find a lovely design at DROPS, though their patterns can be quite challenging to follow, or so I’ve heard. However I am stealing their construction idea. Make two large squares for front and back, add bits at the top for shoulder shaping, and add sleeves. With that in mind, I found this – the Big Gypsy Flower Square – which has been in my Ravelry queue for some time. I love the look of this square and decided to use it as the centre of my sweater front/back. Using doubled yarn and a 6mm hook, because I’m impatient and don’t want to fiddle with one strand and a skinny hook, I made this progress last night…
It’s pretty, huh? Round 5 caused me grief, as I think the designer may have added an extra stitch in when typing up the instructions. I wasn’t getting the right stitch count and my corners were ending up in the wrong place, so I ended up removing one of the scs from the middle of the straight edges.
That last (sixth) round is khaki green, though it looks browner in the photo.
Anyway, there will be 14 rounds total, but I think I’m going to have to do a lot of extra rounds to achieve a sweater width, but this is a ‘design-it-on-the-hook’ sort of sweater and we shall see.
In other news, I had a haircut this week and I bit the bullet and went with an idea that’s been in my head for ages – an asymmetric style that scared me a little but I did it anyway. Hair grows, right?! I gave the hairstylist free rein, after a brief explanation, and I love it. It’s not a drastic difference – my hair is really curly when short, and so now the left side comes to just below my ear and the right is at chin level. No, I don’t have a good photo.
I also treated myself to a Fitbit Flex 2, which is one of the less expensive gadgets that one can wear on the wrist to track activity. It is waterproof, so you can actually swim in it. Time will tell if I actually pay attention and up my step count. I’m not sure how accurate it is – the first night, it got my sleep time right, but the second two it was way off. But anything that gets me more aware of my sedentary habits and getting more exercise has to be good. I’m thinking of bringing the small rebounder upstairs and getting more steps in that way. Plus the weather is getting milder and walking when there’s less ice on the ground is more enjoyable!
Better run – Tai Chi Man and I are planning to go out this morning and I’m still in my PJs. Enjoy your Sunday. 🙂
I obviously got a bit carried away when increasing for this pouf. The pattern said to increase until there were eight hdc between increases. No, I thought I knew better, so I went to ten. Diameter was about 26″ so it looked good.
Then I started to work without increasing for the sides and it grew to about 35″ across, not counting the edges that flopped inwards when I took this photo.
Last night I added more rounds, and my random worsted weight yarn is disappearing fast, and I estimate the sides to be about 8″ deep now. A long way to go yet.
I love this project though. I can watch Netflix and hook away, no pattern to memorize, no counting, not even a slipstitch to interrupt the flow.
I went to the chiropractor this week. I had a stiff neck for a few days – it felt like a muscle was in spasm in the right side – and it was bearable until I went to work on Tuesday and did a bunch of lifting. We are always moving fabric bolts around, fitting new stuff in, moving older stuff to the discount aisle, lifting and carrying in the usual routine of cutting for people. By lunchtime, my neck was so bad, I could barely sip out of my water bottle or angle my head to take a bite of food. My range of motion was limited to almost nothing. I mentioned it to my boss and she had me do something less strenuous for the afternoon, and thankfully the pain lessened.
A visit to the chiro and a friend who does her own brand of healing helped, but then I went to work Thursday daytime and Friday evening and my neck was aggravated again. I have a follow up chiro on Monday, but in the meantime I’m thinking a swim and hot tub might help.
I am grateful for a work-free weekend to do family stuff. In fact I must call my mum! Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.
NICOLA KNITS 