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I finished the knitting on the diagonal lace scarf. I still need to block it. I'm excited to see how it will turn out. It wasn't anywhere near as difficult as I expected. I'm now looking for the next knitting challenge. In the meantime I am bound and determined to finish the diagonal market bag. I've simplified the pattern and it is going faster. It would be flying by if I could follow the pattern. I'm still having to rip back fairly often as I am a dork and can't seem to pay attention enough to get the proper number of double crochet in the proper order. Sigh. Must press onward. Pictures coming soon when the pattern on the bag is more visible.

Diagonal Lace and the Market Bag

My current lunchtime project is My first foray into lace. It's a lovely and simple diagonal lace scarf by Helena Frank @ Midnight Purls. I was smart and did a swatch as I've never really done this kind of knitting before. Here are the results--

It is Caron's Simply Soft. It seems to be an odd choice as most knitters go for the natural fibers or at least blends, only using man made fibers sparingly so as to enhance the natural fibers. The two things I really like about the yarn are the hand and the feel after it's blocked. It lives up to the "soft" moniker. The drape of the swatch is so smooth. I used size 8 needles and blocked it with the iron instead of the steamer. Most of stuff I've blocked with the steamer still curl a bit. So, far not a curl with this swatch.

And then there is the market bag I've started. Check here to see my travails with this thing. Well, I've decided to frog the whole thing and start over. I've gone back to the bottom base and started the pattern over again simplifying the non-diagonal parts and the sides. Pics of that progress are coming soon. I don't have anything to show yet.

Flowers

Awhile ago I knit up a scarf in some nice fuzzy yarn that I had left over. It was ever so boring so I decided to add some embellishment to it. I plan to give it to a friend of mine as she had complimented the other project that I had worked on. I even asked her if she wanted a scarf with the extra. She's a scarf lady. She was excited by the prospect.
I had decided that flowers would be perfect. One or two little posies would be perfect. I have some cashmere blend worsted weight in the perfect colors to go with the scarf. The first place I went was Ravelry. On their pattern page I searched for crochet flowers. All the flowers I found were quite lovely. The problem I had was that the designs were either too complicated or I just couldn't wrap my head around the instructions. While I am more experienced in crochet than knitting I'm still quite a novice and need relatively clear instruction.

My next search was through Yahoo. After clicking on a site, then to another and another I finally came upon Craft Matters. The "Tiny Flower" pattern is a perfect little posy. The instructions were clear and it introduced me to a new process for starting a circle.
The Magic Ring is a way to create a nice tight circle to start circular crochet. The instructions that Craft Matters linked to is at Planet June. Again the clear and concise instructions were most helpful.

And here is the result...
The instructions use a dk weight yarn so hers were a bit smaller. I used a worsted weight cashmere blend. Unfortunately, it is now discontinued but it is very snuggly.

Finished pics coming soon.

Frogging yet again

I knew there was something off with the pattern. I just couldn't figure it out for the longest time. I'd finally decided to let it go so I could get the bag done. But oh, no, I finally figure out where the mistake was and it was driving me nuts. So, here we go again. I'd gone into the second ball and that all had to come out. A small chunk of the first ball came out as well. But all is well and I'm reasonably happy.
I think it will need to be blocked when done but I can't wait to use it. I love the diagonal pattern.

Creepy Cute

Creepy Cute by Christen Haden is a dream come true. They are cute little amigurumi but with a fun edge. Who wants to crochet Cthulu? Me! There are lots of monster toys(Vampire and Aliens and Skeletons... Oh my!) Both my husband and step-son have requests out. I actually went to Michael's (Arts and Crafts) to buy the yarn in the book, Lion Brand Cotton Ease. Unfortunately they had 2 out of the 3 colors I needed. I don't why it is that every spring they go for a month or more with out any replenishment of their yarn. I know it's a new season but some yarns and colors are staples and should be continuously replenished. I'm just sayin'.

I'll check the 2 other Michael's and see if they have the charcoal color I need. I have doubts. Fortunately.,I can order directly from Lion.

Out of My System

Now that I have the previous post out of my system I am going to post about something positive and mildly successful. My scarf!!

It is a little scarf I made for my daughter and and a friends daughter that shares my birthday. It's one of the truly complete things I made. I will try to get a pic of it on as soon as my daughter slows down. Who knows when that will be.

Here is a pic of some of the detail as it was in progress
The green fuzzy yarn gives it a nice ripple. Although, it still wants to curl. I've blocked it twice. Maybe I'm not stretching it enough?

Both girls love it and that's enough for me.

Ugh!!!

Effing Bag!!!

Can I not go a day without a frog?

Ugh!