Hat Ornament

So I have to do a Secret Santa at work this coming week and so I thought I'd do something really quick and really easy. Therefore: The Hat Ornament.

Here it goes. You'll need an H hook and some leftover worsted weight yarn.

To begin the hat, you can either use the magic ring method (click here for a how-t0) or ch 3 and then ss in the first stitch to make a loop.

Rd 1: sc 6 times in the loop (6)

Rd 2: sc twice in each st (12)

Rd 3: sc one in the first st, sc two in the next - repeat 5 times (18)

Rd 4: sc one in each st (18)

Rd 5-12: Repeat rd 4 (18)

Fasten off.

For the hanger just take a piece of scrap yarn, pull up through the top and tie into a loop. Double knot for extra strength.

To add on decorations you can put ear flaps like mine, or a bobble or you can put in stripes in the middle. These little guys can be easily customized into the perfect gift. Also, they double as beer bottle hats! Sweet!

Ho Ho Ho.

My Yarn Wishlist:

Oh how I love Christmas, and... yarn. God I love yarn. So here's my top 5 list of expensive yarns to use. I'll make a 2 buck chuck version next.

1. Manos Del Uruguay: This gorgeous yarn is so fun to work with. It moves with your hook, and it works up in the most interesting ways. Because its hand spun and hand dyed, no two skeins are the same, and it thickens and thins as you use it. Its never going to work up the same and no two projects will ever be the same. What's better though is who the company supports. The company is owned and operated by the women who spin and dye the yarns. They are a co-op that creates and sells the yarn made by hard working women for a fair price and its awesome.

2. Berroco: This yarn is amazing. Nuff said. But then you take into account how many different kinds of yarn this company puts out and you'll be stunned. From basic cotton to merino wool and all the way down to a linen blend that looks and feels like a pair of well worn jeans. This company has it all. Plus, the great thing about Berroco is you can try all their yarns and not go completely broke in the process. Always a plus.

3. Cascade: Cascade is a yarn unto itself. I think what I like the best about Cascade's skeins is that you get SO much for your money. And they don't skimp on the quality so you're paying for 2 buck chuck and you're getting 200 yards of high quality, beautiful yarn in every color imaginable.

4. Rowan: Rowan is a unique brand in my heart. They're yarn is gorgeous, and they're patterns are stunning but they are so expensive that I have a really hard time buying the stuff. They also seem a bit knit-centric with very little in the way of crochet patterns in all of their publications. But when this company puts out a magazine or a book its worth picking up just to look inside. They're stuff is to die for. I would die to be able to make the stuff they have and with their yarn. DIE I say.

5. Noro: This is probably my boyfriend's favorite yarn. And I have to say that its a fantastic yarn to work with. Its really very pricey, but the self striping effect added on top of the very unique color choices (I probably wouldn't choose to put any of the colors together that they do, yet somehow it always works when I buy their yarn). Plus you can felt it, or leave it be and always have an insane end product that will make even a knitter happy with your work.

So that's my list of the top 5 expensive yarns. Next up... the cheap ones! Yes!

Keep on hookin' my fine hookers.

All photos are from the website of the yarn producers. Click the links for more details.

Tube Gloves!

So I told ya'll that I would give you the pattern for my tube gloves. Which are awesome. And good lord, they are fast and easy.

Yarn: Lion Brand, Vanna's Choice

Hook Size: H

You can chain as many as you need to fit your arm length, and

make as many rows and you need to go around your wrist comfortably. Just make sure that the thumb hole goes in the middle. So if you do 40 rows, put the thumb at row 20 etc etc.

Ch 30

Rd 1 - hdc in each st, ch 2 and turn (30)

Rd 2 - hdc in the back loop only of each st, ch 2 and turn (30)

Rd 3- 17 - repeat rd 2.

Rd. 18 - hdc in first 24 sts, ch 3, skip 3 st, hdc in last 3 sts, ch 2 and turn (30)

(thumb hole)Rd. 19 - hdc in back loop of first 24 sts, hdc in next 3 sts, hdc in last 3 sts back loop. ch 2 and turn (30)

Rd 20-36 - hdc in back loop of each st ch 2 and turn (30)

At end of row 36, fasten off and leave a long tail (for sewing together). Then sew the tube together and you're set.

Take a 2nd color and use it to accent the thumb hole, and edges and you're good to go

If you have any problems with the pattern, or if it just doesn't want to work let me know and I'll fix it. I think it should work though.

**With the turn, I only ch 1 because my chains are loose, so if your edges are looking sorta loose and you're not liking the look, try ch 1 instead of 2.

Happy Hookin'!

Lets take a moment to think about Lion Brand

So we all know how I feel about Vanna and her fine choice in yarn (and

isn't this picture awesome?). But I feel like I should do a blog on Lion Brand's website, because if you're not on Ravelry, you should check out Lion Brand. They have an ENORMOUS library full of great patterns and good tips and their newsletter (with its Michelle Obama tidbits) is great as well.

I have been making gloves like crazy recently (for SLCitizen as well as for a coworker) and I could not for the life of me find a good mitten recipe for kids. There are thousands of really weird fingerless mitts on Ravelry, but no good ol' standard mittens, especially not for toddlers and kids. Its annoying. So I went to the ol' standby, LionBrand.com. This pattern is great for babies, kids and adults, and the mittens are suuuper warm. Its not worked in the round like most mittens, so be advised, you'll have to do some darning but they're quick and easy. The pattern isn't super well written, so you'll have to be creative where it gets tricky.

And this is the 1 problem with Lion Brand's website. Their patterns are great, but they are sometimes really poorly written. They can be hard to follow and they leave out a great deal occasionally. Now, if you like the pattern, and you're willing to sacrifice, then its alright, but I get annoyed easily (especially if you're a company who specializes in yarn, not just a blogger helping out other crocheters by sharing a pattern). I'd rather surf ravelry buuuut, LB is still a great resource.

Keep them hooks hooking!

Photos from lionbrand.com and zimbio.com

Gloves Galore!

So I was asked to do a series of gloves for SLCitizen so that's what I've been up to since last we spoke. And man have I been busy! Lets see what's been on my hooks shall we?

This pattern is based off of Sue Norrad's design. I took off the fingers and the mitten top, left the thumb and there ya go! Its really easy and the perfect pattern for beginning glove makers. You can find it on Ravelry too, or Sue's website.

Next up is the Orchard Glove that was in Interweave's Fall issue. Its really easy (designed by a 16 year old no less!) and fun to do. Its got a spiked single crochet in it which adds a little extra umph to the pattern. It also makes the stitches pop out. I love this pattern. I make these gloves all the time.

Last, I made a pattern of my design. Its basically a tube with a thumb hole :) but it's warm and its ridiculously easy. When I have time, and I don't have a boyfriend glaring at me for wasting his tv watching time I'll post it.

I'm sorry about the poor picture quality on all the photos. The camera did NOT want to cooperate!

Anyway, That's what I've been doing! Hope all is well on your hooks!

SLCitizen

So I'm pretty stoked, I'm not gonna lie. I went on Monday to sell my animals and hats to SLCitizen and Matt (the guy running the show) loved the animals. He wants to sell them for $18 a pop and he thinks they're going to do great. He also told me he was going to try and get them put into a magazine article on the co-op that was being written when I walked in! Woo!

Anyway, I think that SLCitizen is a great thing, and its not just because I have stuff in their store. They do the leg work for artists and in a town the size of Salt Lake, that's a tough job. Its a rough business going around with a bag full of stuffed chickens and cows asking people to sell them, and then to get a fair price and to be treated well through the whole process is pretty impossible. Matt and the folks at SLCitizen make it easy for artists to do what they love and get the recognition that makes continuing to create worth the effort.

Also, in exciting news, I have the internet once again, so I will be updating a good deal more and hopefully my wretched spelling mistakes will go away. That last post was almost unreadable and I blame the library in the Avenues for it.

Anyway, Happy Turkey Day! Hope you stuff your faces!

I went explorin'

So I went out into my Salt Lake City fiber world and explored a couple more yarn shops.

The first one I went to was Pipers in Sugarhouse. Don't let the sign out front fool you. Piper's is a quilting, sewing, and yarn shop so when you poke your nose inside you'll see racks of fabric with basics of beautiful yarn. As you would expect with a yarn shop that caters to other fiber arts, their selection isn't stellar but the prices are fair and they have a good number of yarns that are great to work with. What made me happy though, was the girls who work at Pipers crochet. They know their stuff. I saw some Clover cushioned hooks and asked how they liked them and the woman running the show pointed me toward some better hooks she herself had tried. Nothing makes the heart of a crocheter warm more that knowing they're well taken care of. Plus the shop if very unique, very cute, and in a very artsy neighborhood in Sugarhouse.

Next I went to a shop who's name you can't help but love. Blazing Needles, on 1100 E. in Salt Lake City. This shop is on the expensive side, with most of their yarn above the $12 mark. But they make up for the cost with the environment they stitch in. You walk into the remodeled house to find shelves of yarn. They sell Cascade, Manos, Noro, Sleeping Dragon and a gazillion others. They have Caffe Ibis coffee brewing in the corner, big windows that open up to the back yard and a huge table for working around. Perhaps best of all though, is the fireplace right next to the work table. It crackles along as you stitch lending a warm light and just the right feeling to the room.

I would put a pup tent in this shop and live there forever. There are some drawbacks. While it is crochet friendly (they won't tease us) they don't do much in the way of teaching and they sell 0 crochet hooks. It is very expensive so you'll have to save your paychecks for this place. But they have a couple days a week dedicated to open knitting a bunch of ladies come in to talk about their stitches which is great and I really respect. They're website it amazing too, check it out.

Anywho, no yarn buying for me for awhile yet. My mom just sent me 12 balls of yarn so I'm set for now. Can't blame a girl for lookin' though right?

Keep on stitchin'!

Two Buck Chuck

www.endlesssimmer.com

So when I think of Vanna White, I don't instantly think "yarn that is soft and light and oh so nice!" I think of a bad game show with a bad host and a woman in gowns turning glowing letters.

Well, since I sold 12 chickens and 8 hats to SL Citizen, I needed a ton of yarn fast and I knew where to go. Vanna's Choice Yarn. Its soft, its durable, its actually quite nice to work with and best of all? Its super cheap!! 2 bucks a skein. You know, Trader Joes has a wine selection that's cheap called two buck chuck, well that's Lion Brand to me baby!

I think we all need to take a big deep breath and get over our issues with cheap yarn. The whole world can't afford $25, 50 gram, skeins of silk yarn people. And I think yarn shops should reflect the growing change in Lion Brand and other discount yarn producers. They make high quality, beautiful yarns that even the poorest crocheter can use. Hike up your knitted britches kniting world, and get over yourselves when it comes to the cheap stuff (my mom did, and you should see the gorgeous stuff she puts out with... gasp... Sugar and Cream!).

Exciting news!

SL Citizen just sent me an email. I'm going to meet them on Monday to set up... selling hats! Yippee!

A Love Story in Berocco.

So I went to the Black Sheep Wool Co. for my birthday and Pete was oh so kind enough to buy me yarn. It took me a really really long time to choose but when I finally did I discovered Berroco Lustra.

This yarn is ridiculously soft and has a beautiful shine to it that is

amazing. While crocheting this yarn (named montmartre) I just want to dive into and swim around in it. Like a big ol' sea of yarn! Lovely.

Using this yarn, I think I'm going to cable a hat. I'm going to try and write a pattern for it. More pictures to be posted.

Also, here's some good news. I have a job! Yes! So now I am free to invest more freely in my yarn addiction. There's some really cool yarn stores in SLC so be ready for some updates on that.

photos from berocco

Yesterday

Yesterday was my 23rd birthday. Oh what a birthday it was. But I did get to go to a Yarn Shop in SLC. I think I shall make it my home yarn shop now that I am a citizen of Salt Lake (I even got a Library card yesterday!).

Its called the Black Sheep Wool Co. Now I will warn you crocheting fools that its not a crochet yarn shop. Its for knitters. They don't have any crochet classes and the ladies in there flat out told me that they can't much help me but... they have a huge supply of gorgeous yarn. They have Berocco, Manos del Uruguay, Cascade, Lambs Pride, Noro and about a thousand other brands. And all the skeins come in around the $9.00 mark so while that's not a Lion Brand Price, its nothing to shake a hook at either.

This being said, I shall rant. Why are there no Crochet yarn shops? Why does every shop I go into have a bazillion knitting books and 2 crochet magazines from 1980? They'll have a wall, a freakin' wall dedicated to knitting needles and 4 crochet hooks with no rhyme or reason made of *shudder* plastic. I would like to open up a shop that caters to both, instead of splitting the mark in half. Not all crocheters shop at Michael's in bulk. Many of us like pretty soft yarn, and nice environment to stitch and bitch in!

Sigh. I still really like Black Sheep though. Its a great space, in my neighborhood, with nice women to help me find my yarn of choice.

Best of luck on your hooks!

All Hallows Eve.. and Blankets suck.

I think for my next project, I'm going to tackle the Moorish Mosaic Afghan from Interweave Crochet, Fall '09 But that's not really why I am posting (though, I will be posting pictures of my progress, it seems really cool...)

I don't know about anyone else, but I have the HARDEST time finishing blankets. I start them with joy, thinking "This is gonna be the best damn blanket of all time, people will come into my home, see this blanket and praise me as a goddess among blanket stitchers" and then I get 2 motifs in and I'm bored. Way bored. Thinking about the sweet hat I could be making if it weren't for this damn blanket on my hook. I've done this like 4 times. Its ridiculous.

On a completely separate, non-crochet, yet equally awesome note, I thought I would share what I am going to be for halloween. Last year I was Todd Palin and my boyfriend was Sarah (it wasn't cute...) and this year to throw everyone for a loop again... I'm going to be Indiana Jones and my half Korean boyfriend is gonna be Short Round. Oh yes people, we're doing it, and it will be amazing! He's going to be a much taller Short Round and a much older one too, but by god, it will be hilarious.

I know this has absolutely nothing to do with crocheting or yarn, but its Halloween, I couldn't help it.

Indy photo compliments of faithandfacts.com

Manos del Uruguay Hat

So as you well know, I bought some Manos del Uruguay yarn while I was in Boston. When I got back to Utah, I knew I had to do something with it. Well I think I did something pretty cool. Using the Single Spike Crochet that I found in Interweave I made this hat.

I made the pattern up, so I can put it up here on this blog. Its super simple once you get the stitch down.

The single spike crochet (ssc) is basic, once you have your foundation chain done, insert hook in next stitch, 1 row down, yarn over, pull loop to height of working row, yarn over and draw through both loops on the hook. This creates the slight bobble effect throughout the hat.

The other stitches I used are:

SC: Single Crochet

Sc2tog: Single crochet together. Insert hook into st, wrap yarn once (two loops on hook), insert into next stitch, wrap yarn once (3 loops on hook) pull hook through all three loops.

So here's the pattern:

*Do not join! Just keep working in the round, marking the first stitch with a marker*

Rd 1: Chain 61 (or however many it takes to fit your head, but it must be an odd number to create the effect we want).

Rd 2: sc in each st (61)

Rd 3- sc in first st, spike stitch in sc one row below the next stitch (this is the spike single crochet), continue this until the end of the row.

Rd 4 - spike stitch in sc one row below first stitch, sc in next stitch - continue this until the end of the row

Rd 5-17 - repeat rds 3 and 4.

(add rows if needed for height after row 17, just continue using rds 3 and 4)

Begin Decrease!

Rd 18: sc 1, sc2tog, sc in each of the next 58 st (60)

Rd 19: sc 8, sc2tog (6 times) - 54

Rd 20: sc 7, sc2tog (6 times) - 48

Rd 21: sc 6, sc2tog (6 times) - 42

Rd 22: sc 5, sc2tog (6 times) - 36

Rd 23: sc 4, sc2tog (6 times) - 30

Rd 24: sc 3, sc2tog (6 times) - 24

Rd 25: sc 2 sc2tog (6 times) - 18

Rd 26: sc 1 sc2tog (6 times) - 12

Rd 27: sc2tog (6 times) - 6

Fasten off, leaving 1.5 inches to sew up top hole.

If you need a brim like I did, join yarn on the bottom, anywhere will work.

Rd 1: Sc in each st (61)

Rd 2: Sc in each st (61)

Rd 3: Sc in the back loop only of each st (61)

Fast off and weave in loose ties.

If you have any questions, or if its not working for you, let me know and I'll try and clear it up for ya.

Sólás Caomh

So this is my current project. Its a baby blanket designed by Jodi Euchner.

This blanket is intense, I'm not going to lie. To undertake it, you'll have to be well versed in front and back double post chains, and it would be best to have played with cables in other patterns first.

Once you have a good grip on the stitches though, this blanket works up fast and easy. Its a really fun pattern to work. Plus, Jodi makes gorgeous blankets, and this blanket will not let you down.

I went on the less expensive side of yarn for this project with Lion Brand Wool Ease. Each blanket takes 6 skeins, and with the pricey stuff, I could have ended up spending waaaay too much money. I like Lion Brand, and I ain't no snooty yarn freak. Ok, so I am a snooty yarn freak, but I still really like Wool Ease.

My plan is to have 4 of the baby blankets sewn together to make one enormous to blanket. Two panels are Avocado green and two are Forest Green Heather.

With a border of Zinnia around all the panels. I think the Zinnia give the whole thing a little bit of a contrast, but its only a single crochet border so not a huge splash of red.

Right now I'm 50% finished, having 2 panels done (as seen with Poe the cat on top of them). The only problem I'm having at the moment is once I finish blanket, I have a really hard time picking up my hook to get another one going. And then I distracted by a pretty new skein of yarn and forget about it.

Oh well, its always good to have a project in your yarn basket right?

photos of yarn from lion brand.

Links!

I forgot to link to those yarn shops! Here are the websites:

www.vtknits.com

www.aloomwithaview.com

www.windsorbutton.com

Drumroll Please!

Well I just got back to good ol' Salt Lake City after spending two weeks back east in the Boston area.

After dragging poor Peter (I don't think he realized that when he asked me to marry him, he knew I'd be taking his poor ass to yarn stores on every vacation...) to a yarn store in every town we went to, I've concluded that the yarns shops over there are SWEET!

First shop we went into was The Knitting Studio in Montpelier, VT. Not only did this shop have a huge selection of yarn (and relatively cheap, I might add)

they had a really cool environment. I bought a skein of

Cascade to make Pete a hat and took off. But then I had to return the next day because I needed more to finish off my project.

Let me warn you now, that I'm about to rant. When I went back in to get

my 2nd skein (of Berocco, just so you know) I showed them the hat (which was cabled and ribbed) so they could get some perspective. At this point, they started to rave about how beautiful it was, which was awesome... then I said it was crochet, and I swear to god I heard their jaws hit the floor. I think, these women, who were knitters, thought that the only thing a crocheter can make is a grannie square or a hunk of lace. Sorry ladies, but we can cable too! But I put that aside, smiled and took my beautiful yarn. But seriously?! Ugh. I know you think that just cuz I crochet, I also pick my nose with my hooks and scratch my ass with 'em too, but give me some respect...

Next! We went to A Loom with a View in Newburyport, MA. This place was awesome too. Not as big of a selection, and their prices were a bit steeper, but the vibe was much more crochet friendly. I had to make a cousin a hat, so I was on a mission for some soft, yellow yarn. I found Lambs Pride prairie golden rod, extra bulky. Really warm, really easy to work with. I've never worked with bulky yarn before but I really liked this stuff. I put a brim of Noro and it was gorgeous.

The last yarn store we went to was Windsor Button, in the heart of downtown Boston. Now, if you're in Boston and have like... 5 hours to waste... this is the place to go. Every kind of yarn

, for really cheap. Good god. I would live there if given the chance. I bought two skeins of Manos Del Uruguay. This is my new favorite yarn. Go find a skein and touch it. TOUCH IT!

I also bought a couple skeins of Noro for Pete (he get a lot of hats...). Noro is great because it feels great and it patterns beautifully all by itself.

So all in all my trip to Massachusetts was awesome. The yarn shops were amazing, and I can't wait to get back there and crochet some more.

Now back to my hookin'... can't let my hooks go cold for too long!

photos from lambspride, berroco, and manos del uruguay.