Crochet to Go

I've finished 4 hats and 2 pairs of arm warmers since the last post. Here's a sneak preview - more to come this weekend.

Here's darling Charlotte Stokes, who's 18 months old now! She's modeling two sweaters I made (that light blue one is clearly an early effort, from when I was still figuring out sizing). Charlotte's about to move into a new home in Brookline with her parents.

Click here to see Charlotte's first crochet photo shoot.

Here's a new one, specifically requested by Adam's brother Wes. It's a close approximation of the first hat I ever made. Single color, ribbed border around the edge. Wes chose the color for this green one. The blue version is my mom's Christmas hat (we celebrated Christmas last weekend; that's my parents' house in the background).

It's hard to believe everything you read, but according to this article Beyonce and Jay-Z just dropped $40K on this crocheted chair.

If you have the big bucks, too, buy it here.

P.S. Actually, it's a "Chrochet" chair.

I just finished this (it's a Christmas present). I was trying to:
1) use a really thick, warm yarn - the future owner lives in a cold climate
2) finish this quickly
3) create something somewhat stylish and dressy
4) find an interesting stitch - I hate working row after row of single crochet
5) avoid the common problem of the scarf being super bulky (hence uncomfortable) around the neck

So there you have it. I'm pleased with the results. As intended, it's very comfortable to wear - the mesh allows it to clump together without getting too stiff.

I found this similar version in the MOMA store catalog a few days ago. Funny.

We're getting a mountain of catalogs these days - apparently Adam signed up for a dozen or so lists when filling out his change of address form. Here are a couple of my favorite crocheted (or crochetable) finds:

Garnet Hill's Haverhill Afghan Throw. $329.00.

Urban Outfitter's bra top and hot pants, and popcorn scarf.

My mom is a great crochet supporter. I recently let her know that it's not yarn that I need (I'm drowning in the stuff these days), but rather pattern books. I'm working towards putting together a book of vintage patterns, updated for modern audiences, sizes, yarns, and hooks.

This is her favorite of the latest batch she's given me. I like it a lot too. She requested this hood, which I tried but had to abandon last night. As Adam said, it's just to funereal.

I plan to get started on these projects as soon as I make it through my huge list of holiday gifts.

Today seems to be my day for dealing with failed projects. I just gave up on this shawl, a Christmas gift for my sister. I gave her this blue version a few months back, which she likes a lot. The tan color was a request. Unfortunately, my yarn choice was poor. The ribbon yarn is so much more elegant; the nubbly yarn just looks grandmotherly.

This last picture is the start to a scarf for my mom. I've had it for ages - probably two years now - because I've been unable to find enough yarn to finish the pattern. Thanks to a wonderfully diligent yarn store in the deep South (yet again my local store failed me - darn you Article Pract) I finally was able to officially give up on the project. The yarn, despite the fact that the manufacturer still "offers" it on their website; was pulled out of production 18 months ago.

I think the 2-foot length I've made will make a nice cat blanket.

It's cold today, and I think it might rain in a few minutes. I'm dithering about and trying to clean up my inbox. Here's a designer's website I bookmarked months ago - a young woman who makes handmade crocheted hairclips, among other things. You'll find her bio here.

Crochet Me posted a link to this remarkable project set on Flickr. All of sea creatures, crocheted or knitted entirely out of plastic fibers. I just love it, particularly this white one.

Yes, I've started the Christmas craft frenzy. I'm tacking it in stages: first hats, then ornaments, then scarves and mittens. If I work really hard, I think there's a chance I might actually get everything done. Here are the first six hats. Thanks to Adam for graciously modeling all of them. His favorite is the black and grey one; I'm partial to the fuzzy white hat with blue and brown accents.

I'm really pleased with this year's efforts. Of course, I didn't make anything last year, so it was certainly easier to top nothing. Here's the whole path of events:

In August, Adam requested a pair of white fur pants to wear to Burning Man (nighttime wear; it gets cold out there in the desert.) I've never made pants before, but it was surprisingly easy. Here's what a few yards of fabric and two hours will get you.

October rolls around. We still have about a yard leftover of what I've been referring to as "chicken fur." Adam has been prepairing for a major presentation, leaving me with way too much time on my hands. Inspiration struck on the train last week - a chicken costume!

The entire costume is a single piece of fabric with elastic bands at the top and the bottom. I wrapped a blanket and two towels around my waist and secured with a belt to create the bulk. The hat is also a simple tube, secured at one end. The red top is felt, sewn at the base.

Finally, here's Adam again. We added a pair of horns to turn his fuzzy pants into a satyr costume.

I recently finished this wrap from Cozy Crochet. If I'm being totally honest, I have to admit I don't like the patterns in this book much. Kind of uninspired. I have always wanted to make this project, however. It's shown draped around a woman's shoulders, hanging softly. The author recommends using Blue Sky Alpacas' Alpaca and Silk. I used my standard sport weight acrylic yarn, which definitely wasn't the best choice. It looks fine, but it doesn't drape at all. But, if you used blue sky alpaca, this single project would cost nearly $200! That's just crazy.

I just got the new anthropology catalog in the mail. While I think these shoes are hideous, at least they're crochet!

There's actually quite a bit of crochet on the site - here to see. I love this necklace.

I received a real, final copy of the Costco edition of my patterns last night! It's massive and just beautiful. Rumor has it that the kit will be in stores within the next week. I think this is going to be a great gift - it has 50 patterns (25 from my Crochet to Go Deck, 25 from Melissa Leapman's Cozy Crochet Kit), yarn, and instructional booklet, and several hooks. Adam and I are driving to Costco today to see if it's there yet.

Here's a few samples of how the photography turned out. Gorgeous!

These were a recent find at a thrift shop in Napa. I'm almost positive that the apron I made must have been from a pattern that also listed variants - the designs are really similar. Particularly this second one. I can't say I like the red version much, though it has something tribal about it, with shaping and colors inspired by Native American loincloth designs. Not necessarily what I normally look for in an apron.

I just love fred flare. I want to either buy or make everything on the site. I met the owners at a gift show about a year ago - two adorable young gay men with a great, playful design sense. They quite frequently have crocheted items. I just found this ghost necklace. It's so clever! I assume that for $9 it's made on a machine. Just as well - crocheting something that small would be really hard on the fingers.

These dolls are apparently making quite a splash at the various gift shows this year. It's not crochet, of course, but it seems like a great one-skein project. There are many more here. All handmade in Thailand.

What Not to Crochet posted this gem earlier this week. While the blog is generally right on - there's certainly a mountain of bad crochet out there - I kind of like this Johnny Depp-ish pirate. Sure, he's campy, but I can think of a dozen people who would laugh hysterically if given one for a gift.

This is my first project from The Baby Book of Knitting and Crochet. I drastically modified the pattern to get the gauge to work. Thank god for pictures of what things are supposed to look like, right? My finished version appears to be close to what the author intended. My impression of this book, based on this one pattern, is that it's great inspiration but only suited to a more advanced crocheter or knitter who knows how to identify and correct problems. For example, this tells you to repeat pattern stitch "across until 72 star sts are made. Cut off remaining chain." Huh? The whole thing with unravel.

All that said, I love how this turned out. Definitely a keeper. It could be expanded into an entire dress - you could leave the back open and just attached a crocheted skirt.

My adjustments to the basic pattern: I used South Maid 100% mercerized cotton in peach, size 10, and a 3.5 mm hook. I essentially halved the stitches per row (to 36 star sts in the first row), but kept the number of rows the same.

I just finished my grandmother's scarf. I did end up adding a scalloped border around the entire thing; I think it works quite well. The complete scarf - which is about 70 inches long - took 125 grams of RY Cashsoft Classic 4 Ply (gray) and 15 grams Rowan 4 Ply Soft (dark gray).

The pattern itself is quite simple - it's the "Fan Pattern" in The Ultimate Sourcebook of Knitting and Crochet Stitches. I started with a foundation chain of 37 stitches and used a K / 6.5 mm hook. The border alternates clusters of 5 dc with 1 sc.

Alicia of Posie Gets Cosy recently wrote a post that includes a great popcorn-stitch purse. It's quite sophisticated - much more so than this playful sweater I made for Charlotte last year. I also used a popcorn stitch trim on these arm warmers, which are featured in the Crochet to Go Deck.

What else can be made? I like this purse I found on flickr. I'm thinking scarfs, obviously, but there's something else...

Maybe a lamp shade? Very retro-looking. I'll have to give that some thought.