Crochet to Go

This book puts together all my passions (well, at least crafting and celebrity gossip) in one horribly wrong package. Awesome.

This is a quick project - less than three hours start to finish. I used the "Boy Beanie" pattern from The Happy Hooker, swapping in an H hook for the recommended I. Size-wise, it's perfect for a 2-3 year old. I doubt the recommended hook size would actually fit an adult. Save the pattern for kids.

Craft magazine posted a feature on the Crochet to Go Deck! You can check it out here. The editor, Natalie Zee Drieu, did a beautiful job. There's a link to a free pattern (the cover wrap top), too. You'll also find an interview with yours truly, with everything you ever wanted to know about the first project I crocheted, favorite patterns, and what I'm making next.

I love the Craft Magazine blog: they consistently feature wonderful, surprising things. Take the Translations in Tupperware contest - who knew? The deadline for the third annual competition is August 31st. Do you think you can top this dress?

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Originally uploaded by aliciamalia.

Here's another scarf from The Happy Hooker. Worked entirely in sc, it couldn't be easier. It's a little stiff - I might use a larger hook next time - but I like the look of the vertical stripes.

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Originally uploaded by aliciamalia.

I finished this little dress last weekend. It's the fourth project I've completed from Simple Crochet for Cherished Babies (pictures of the others below). This book is great - well photographed, simple patterns, and lots of attention to the details. The leg snaps on the overalls, for example, make the garment actually wearable. I used Sirdar Snuggly Chatterbox (how's that for a name?) yarn, and vintage buttons for the closure.

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Originally uploaded by aliciamalia.

I finished this scarf a few weeks ago, along with the purple version pictured below. It has been really difficult to photograph - the yarn is a mix of orange and purples with a black metallic thread running through (Artful Yarn's Broadway). This picture doesn't quite do it justice, but it's close.

I wasn't a big fan of the yarn originally, but I love the finished result. It was a treat to be surprised by yarn for once - I usually work with solids, so the results are more predictable. This pattern (the One Skein Scarf from The Happy Hooker) is great - simple, fast, and yields an elegant scarf. I'm sad to give these two away, but I suppose I'll just have to make time to make one for myself.

Oh yeah - it takes more than one skein to finish the scarf.

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Originally uploaded by knitomatic.

Have you noticed this craft trend lately; the desire to make knitting and crochet "sexy"? Here's an exceptionally bad example. The photographer for my book had recently shot a series for Sexy Little Knits. I don't love the cover, but definitely want to buy it.

And, of course, there's Naughty Needles: read the SF Chronicle's take on it here.

P.S. I'm having major photo uploading problems - Flickr seems to be the only way to get any images up. Hopefully will be resolved soon.

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.

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.

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.

My friend Jessica loaned me an amazing book she found at a used bookstore: The Baby Book of Knitting and Crochet. Published in 1948, it has roughly 150 patterns, many of which are still appealing to a modern audience (or, at least, to me). I've had the book on my nightstand for about two months now. My only problem is deciding which project to make first...

Feeling guilty about keeping the book so long, I recently went online to find my own copy. The author (Elizabeth Laird Mathieson) also wrote a The Complete Book of Crochet and The Complete Book of Knitting. Crochet is definitely dated, but there's hope--expect to see a few projects from the book in the near future. It includes this pattern that I made a few years back for Sophie.

I'm finally done with the apron! I'm working on a post about that, but thought I'd put up a few pictures of what spent my weekend on. These are the "in bloom" and "fit to be tied" purses in Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet. The patterns couldn't be easier (total time, including making the lining, was about 3 hours per purse). I'm really pleased with the pocket I made for the burgandy version and those great little clasps holding the bags shut. The white flower is actually an earring from the estate sale I recently attended (and was inspired by this great owl version of the purse).

I whipped these up earlier this week to provide a few different color options for Crochet to Go's photographer. The original cupcakes for the book were solid brown (chocolate) and brown and white (chocolate with white frosting). The fact that everything I made is actually getting professionally photographed somehow makes the book feel more real, and more likely to actually appear on a shelf someday. Hey, the publisher's paying good money for this, right? Surely they want a chance to recoup their investment. I've seen the call list, shot notes, and locations. I'm taking the day off of work for the first day of the shoot (this Monday). They plan to shoot for three days, doing the adult stuff, then baby, then still lifes. I'll try to sneak of few pictures of the team in action.

On another note, I finally broke down and bought Debbie Stoller's The Happy Hooker. Stoller really rubs me the wrong way--I often feel that her books are forced and trying too hard to be "cool." The patterns aren't awful in this one, though (she didn't write the patterns; just solicited and chose which ones to include). Her writing is also occasionally very funny and I find myself agreeing with a lot of her points. For example, she acknowledges that there's nothing wrong with acrylic yarn. (This is a huge pet peeve for me--why spend a bundle on yarn that you'll never be able to wash? Especially when the item is for a baby, who's sure to barf on it within the first ten minutes?)

I love what she writes about thread crochet (which is what the apron in the previous post is):
"it is understood by crocheters of every stripe to be a practice reserved for those with advanced skills, prison inmates with loads of time on their hands, or folks with a masochistic streak." I fear I fall into the latter category.

Recently there was a call-out on a lot of the crochet blogs to "Flash Your Stash" (post a picture of your yarn supply). Having viewed several of these pictures (entire closets, neatly arranged but filled to the brim), I feel confident that my 20 or so balls of yarn is perfectly reasonable. But my craft book selection? It's nearly an entire shelf now. Given, I'm a big reader, and also that I worked for a publisher with good craft titles. But still...