Kitten Approved Kowl

Large gauge projects are faster, but I feel like wrangling the massive hook is harder on my hands.  In my advanced age, I'm having trouble using smaller/typical sized hooks for long periods of time, and the massive hook seems to have similar problems.  Eventually I'm going to read a point where everything is made with either a J or a K hook.

This is Red Heart Grande in Orchid and a Q hook (with 6 month old kitten for scale). The Classic Chunky Cowl was an impulse project after years of disliking infinity scarves.  I guess if anyone says anything, I'll tell them this is a cowl.

This is another good traveling project since there's only one color, but my brittle old wrists make it hard to sustain.  It was good for when it was the boyfriend's turn to drive in Shenandoah National Park especially since we had lots of overlook breaks, but it probably wouldn't make the cut for a plane trip or long car ride (since I wouldn't be able to work on it for very long at a time).

As for the final result, it's not as much of a "wow" project as the Asymmetrical Neck Warmer or my scarf and fingerless gloves set (which apparently I never posted about).  Even after wearing it to work, I'm still not sure about the final look of it, but it's warm and a big hit with Toro--he wanted to knead the big stitches and then he tried to climb inside it.  This yarn and a similar pattern might make a good kitten bed.

Finished project with kitten tail

Black and White

After Toro the Kitten was adopted, it was time to decide on his signature colors.  Choosing signature colors for one's cat is a very important decision if you're a sad, crazy person.

Although black and white go with almost anything, red is Toro's signature color.  He's got a little red collar (that is currently behind a bookcase)...and all of his hand-me-downs and random toys which are not red.  Also what's left of a cardboard fire truck he and his sibs got to celebrate their last week in the foster system.

Once Toro had a signature color, he needed a little cat blanket of his own.

I've been using leftover yarn to make Snuggles, but I wanted something that could show off black and white stripes.  Plus, what's the point of a new kitten if you can't use him to practice new stitch patterns?

I decided on the cat crochet stitch in alternating black and white with a red border.  There are a few different versions of the pattern online (you know how the internet is about cats).  Primarily I used Crochet Geek and Loops and Rambling. I used a K hook and chained a multiple of 5 (the second link has a multiple of 5+2, but mine seems to have worked out for giving to a cat or a baby).

Dropstitch: Yarn over, insert hook into stitch two rows down.  Pull up a loop--really pull it so it reaches the top row--yarn over, pull up a loop for 5 loops on the hook.  Yarn over, draw through 4 looks, yarn over, draw through 2 loops

Row 1: Dc in 4th ch from hook, dc in next ch, sk 4, *2 dc ch 2 dc (shell) in next ch, sk 4 ch, repeat from * until the last 2 ch, dc in each of the last 2 ch

Row 2: Ch 2, dc in next dc, *shell in ch 1 space, repeat from * across row, dc in last dc, dc in turning chain, change to next color

Row 3: Ch 2, dc in next dc, *dropstitch two rows down, shell in ch 1 space, dropstitch, repeat from * across row, dc in last dc, dc in top of ch 2.

Row 4: Ch 2, dc in next dc, *shell in ch 1 space, repeat from * across row, dc in last dc, dc in top of ch 2

Row 5: Ch 2, dc in next dc, *shell in ch 1 space, repeat from * across row, dc in last dc, dc in top of ch 2, change color

Repeat rows 3-5 until the blanket is the desired length, then do one more Row 3.  For the final row: ch 1, sc in first stitch, ch 2, 2 sc in ch 1 space, * ch 3, 2 sc in ch 1 space, repeat from * to last 2 stitches, ch 2, sc in last 2 dc

Skipping the last Row 3 and Final row makes it hard to shape your last row of kitties.  The trade off is that finishing this way gives the top a "severed heads" look.  Especially with a bright red border!

For the border I used sc, then dc for the second row.  Pretty standard border: go down the sides and wonder if you're doing enough stitches, 3 stitches in the corner, feel confident about doing the backside of the foundation ch, and so on.  I thought about doing a crab stitch or something else subdued yet elegant, but then I remembered that this is for somebody who spent October sitting in a plastic bowl.

He looks like this because I had to lure him onto the blanket with a toy.  He only recently learned how to use a bed instead of a grocery bag or a pile of newspapers, so maybe some day he'll sit in it voluntarily.

Rainbow, purple, and glitter

 What do you give a girl who already has a magical rainbow bag for her birthday?  A doll that also enjoys purple and rainbows!

 This is the same pattern as the 4th of July doll I made for my grandmother a few years ago.  This one is a smaller hook and I actually remembered to put a mouth on!

The doll and the first dress are the Lily Fun in the Sun pattern.  I'm still...skeptical about the body pattern (it involves making some sort of tube), but it's easy to modify to crochet in the round.

To crochet the body in the round, ch 2, then sc 6 in the first chain.  Work increasing rounds until you reach 30 sc, then sc around until the body is two inches from the butt--then you can go back to the pattern as written.

Normally the dolls I make go commando (or have leotards). Since I was hoping to have enough time to make a second outfit (and worried that the Fun in the Sun dress might be too short), this doll has permanent sparkly underwear.  And permanent sparkly shoes.

Feedback from the boyfriend and the sister indicated that the transitional stage of the doll (assembled but no hair or clothes) was unsettling.

Since the doll is going to get multiple outfits, both of her dresses are strapless.  Based on the directions, I suspect that the clothes are designed to stay on once the straps are added. The doll also went to a six year old with two younger brothers, so extra things that get sewn on are just extra things that can get accidentally pulled off.

After finishing the Fun in the Sun Dress (purple and sparkly), I had enough time to make a rainbow dress.  The rainbow dress is the same pattern as the 4th of July dress but with more color changes and more stripes.  Just one rainbow sequence made the dress more of a tunic length and I figured the birthday girl would approve of more rainbows, so I added more stripes.

As always, the patterns recommend sewing yarn onto tape or something?  This requires arcane skills like "threading a sewing machine" and "remembering where a sewing machine is."  My technique is to backstitch the "hair" onto the scalp, then carefully trim the hair once it's all on.

 It might be the yarn (Lion Brand Bon Bons vs Red Heart) or the length, but the rainbow dress came out a bit lumpy.  I'm hoping that the fact that it's hot pink with a rainbow will make up for that.

My motivation for winter projects plummets once it starts to warm up.  This is probably normal given that I live in Virginia, where it's 80 degrees through most of September.  I've wanted to make the Asymmetrical Neckwarmer for awhile, but I had a hard time choosing yarn and then Spring came.  As the wretched heat and humidity of Summer faded away, I looked at what I had of the neckwarmer so far and decided I hated the colors.

Part of the problem with the yarn I'd been using was that the colors didn't change at the right places for this pattern.  After my previous experiences with substitutions gone awry, I decided that if I was going to do this, I needed to find a Landscapes colorway that I liked.

 My version is done with Desert Spring since I wasn't sure I wanted to be a gloriously warm rainbow.  It's made in a long strip, then seamed together at the shoulder.  Since I'm an idiot, I thought it had one arm (it doesn't).  This slightly impeded seaming.

Once the seam is made, the collar's worked around the neck opening.  The pattern says to work the collar until it's about 4", but I went with "until the yarn is almost completely used up."

For whatever reason, this item has gotten more compliments than a lot of my other scarves/crocheted accessories. Apparently the boyfriend's mother now wants him to marry me so she can get one of these.  So, stay tuned for my 300 Craft Projects pre-engagement blog!

It's not really a cover up

This is Toro's first craft blog post.  He was one of my post-Zoot foster kittens.  In August he was hired on permanently.  Here he is sleeping on his first crochet project.

Webby Sundress is my second attempt at a Double Stitch Twins pattern.   I'm pretty sure Stitch Nation yarns ceased to exist, so I did mine with Red Heart Soft.

I was initially just going to use two colors--Watercolors, a variegated shade, for the main dress and Lilac as an accent, but I decided it would look weird to only match one of the colors in Watercolors.  I would like to praise Red Heart's Multicolor Coordinates List, but my A.C. Moore didn't have one of the matching colors and I didn't like the other one when I saw it in person, so I just eyeballed it.  But it helped me choose Lilac to begin with and it's good for star afghans?

Given my statuesque proportions, I used a larger hook and added a few rows to the bodice and middle to make sure that it would actually fall to knee length when worn as a dress.  Since I was using three colors instead of two, I also added a second (third?) stripe to the top section.

I also skipped two of the chains for the belt/halter neck.  This was partially because I wanted to wear the finished project on a date the weekend I finished it, but also because I was happy with the way the two ties looked.  They're long enough that you can wear it around your neck a few different ways--regular halter, criss cross, make a bow in front, etc.

As a mesh dress over an existing dress this was a hit with the boyfriend, but I'm not sure how I feel about it as a skirt.  I don't think black will work given the greens and browns in it, and matching the length is also a bit tricky.

With my current body, I also feel it's not as flattering as a skirt.  The top part feels like it draws way to much attention to my paunch.  I also tried it over a long tank top and leggings but didn't like it (then again, I don't like looking at myself much these days).

Toro helps with the ruffle

I like the way it turned out, but if I were doing this one again I'd pick colors that work better with my existing wardrobe.  The little bit of brown is what kills it since all my neutrals are black and gray (aka light black).

No pictures from my date, so here is what the finished product would look like on a very thin person with a bonus glimpse into my messy closet.

Rainbow is the best color

The magic rainbow bag is a simple project that took way longer than it should have.

As I've blogged about before, I like the idea of Bonbons.  I'm just not as big on stripes and what to actually do with even smaller yarn scraps.  But after confirming that my friend's daughter still considered rainbow to be the best color, I decided that I would do something with rainbow Bonbons.  I didn't know what that something would be, but even if I didn't have a vision, I had a coupon.  Having a coupon and/or being in a craft store while bored has often been my tragic flaw.

Fortunately I was able to combine my mastery of buying more craft supplies with browsing the internet for projects and I discovered the granny square bag.

  This could be made with any colors, but I went with rainbow.  To keep from running out of anything, I did two versions of the squares--one starting with red and one starting with purple.  I considered assembling the bag with red border squares on one side and purple border squares on the other, but Brian said the alternating layout looked better.

Once the squares are assembled into one big square, bag is joined by placing the wrong sides together and double crocheting through the edges of both squares.  Since I was low on almost all the Bonbons colors and didn't know if pink would make it all the way around, I used some leftover white (which probably turned out better than a pink border anyway).

I crocheted the sides together, and then went off to do something else.  Then I made handles and continued to procrastinate.  Sewing/joining is my least favorite part of any project, so I did other stuff.


Zoot enjoyed the project in her own way.  And I very slowly considered that maybe at some point I'd start sewing the handles on, and eventually I'd get around to weaving in the loose ends (you know, probably before my friend's daughter went to college).

Zoot passed away a month after the above picture was taken.  I still have a few other WIP that Zoot slept on, but this one was sort of the last.  She slept on it and played with the little balls of yarn and after she died I had to get it out of the house.  So this is the only project Zoot got me to finish faster (after interrupting it a few times).

What with grieving and all I didn't manage to get a picture of the finished bag (and probably shouldn't post pictures of friends' children on my humble little blog), but for me it's probably always going to be the last inadvertent cat bed rather than a magical rainbow bag.

This is the last of the backlog posts for now.  I did some crafting in Zoot's memory, but I'm not ready to post about that yet.  Zoot may make some appearances (which will indicate I've taken my good sweet time finishing something), but this will be her last heavily featured post.

Unforgettable

I want to like Boutique Unforgettable yarn--it's probably accurate to say that I do like it since I like a lot of the colors and I've tried to use it in projects...

...but those projects haven't come out quite right.  They look nice. I still like the colors.  But crocheting with Unforgettable is what happens when you make something in the Pet Semetary.  It just comes back...wrong.

There is no way in hell this yarn is actually worsted weight.  My first encounter with Unforgettable was for the Cluster Stitch Wrap (to the left).  I liked this pattern so much that I actually used the yarn pictured to make it.  Long time readers (hi, Kristen!) know that I generally take the pictured yarn colors in a free pattern as a suggestion.  And maybe even the brand.  That's right, yarn companies, this is one crocheter who's not falling for your scam to give me free patterns to get me to buy your yarn!

So, I dutifully bought this yarn and began stitching.  And then it came out too small.  Think "pastel rainbow wild west bandito" too small.  So I tried again with a larger hook.  Wearable, but still smaller than promised.

 Here's the finest product modeled by Zoot so you can see the insufficient size (although to be fair to the pattern and scarf, Zoot was built like a feline opera singer).

Naturally I learned nothing from this experience and went back to Unforgettable to make the Butterfly Wrap.

Like the yarn, I want to like the Butterfly Wrap.  For mine I used some leftover purple wool and a coordinating shade of Unforgettable.  I don't know if it's the yarn or my burly shoulders, but it does not drape beautifully over my shoulders.  Maybe I would have better luck with Treasure, the yarn it was written for, or something like Lion Brand Landscapes, but the end result is too small.  This could also be a one size fits most problem; even at my skinniest, I still usually needed larger sizes for jackets and cardigans.