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.