Halloween - Spider Web

My work place held a competition for Halloween decoration.  I made a big spider web.

I found inspiration from this picture when I did a google search.

 I used a black yarn and started crochet the outline.

Filling in the web took longer than I thought it would be.

 

Here is the finished web.

 

 All I need now is a giant spider.

 

Crochet flowers

Having fun with some odd ends of yarn.

 I used some home dyed hand spun yarns.

 Really enjoy this book: 100 flowers to knit & crochet by Lesley Stanfield.

There are so many more pretty flowers in this book.  It is simply a question of which one I should make next.

My pink and grey morning jacket

I started this jacket a long time ago but did not have enough yarn.  I managed to find some grey yarn in the same thickness and was able to finish it.

The pattern is free and you can find it in Ravelry; just search for "Filigree Cardigan".
It is also available at  http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/filigree-cardigan

It calls for chunky yarn and uses 6mm crochet hook, so it is very quick to make up. I would point out that you would need to choose the yarn with care.  It needs to drape well.

Unfinished business

I am not a pink person so when I was given some pink yarns they stayed in my stash for a long while. Since I am on a stash busting mission I thought I would use it up by making a jacket. It is a thick yarn it would be a quick project, right?

Here is the back. The left and right front.

The sleeves.

Then the edging.

Just a few more rounds...but I run out of yarn Oooooo%$#@*&^!! I sewed everything in as I went, locking all the threads, so there is no way I am going to undo this.

This yarn is discontinued. Patons Beehive Shetland Chunky Shade 9012 Lot 39210.

Let's hope someone will sell them on the internet. Right now this little unfinished business is going back to stash! Not a quick project after all.

Decoration for my work place

My current employer is very pet friendly. Poppy visited and stayed with me one Friday afternoon. She was so well behaved. She would give people love and kisses when they wanted to pet her, otherwise she settled down in her corner under my desk.
My work cubicle is rather bare. As it happened we have moved to a new expanded area yesterday. My new station looks the same but it will be my permanent home. I want to decorate it with handmade stuff.

Gathering up scraps and yarn ends.

Using an Embellish Knit to make I-cord…it is very fun to use.

My first butterfly...going to make leaves and flowers now.

Thank you for visiting, until next time, take care and have a great weekend.

Lace Doily

I finished the doily last week, washed and blocked it over the weekend.
It is about 19" (48cm) across. The pattern is from this Japanese book. I used size 10 cotton thread from Aunt Lydia's which is thicker than what the pattern asks for.

14 July 2011 Reply to a comment

Where to buy the pattern? http://www.yesasia.com/ and search the words "crochet pineapple lace"

Doily for my coffee table

Thanksgiving has been and gone and Christmas is just round the corner. I have been so busy. No, not busy preparing for the holiday festivities, but busy job hunting.

The company I currently work for is relocating further south. It would mean having to drive 35 miles each way, navigating through two major busy highways, every day. The move is imminent.

I have been so lucky. This week I have been offered a new job with a growing company which is just a few miles from home.

So this weekend no more job search and I can spend time to take care of my home life and do some crochet. Here is a doily I am making for our coffee table.
This is what it would look like when it’s finished (not my picture).

Thank you for visiting. Have a great weekend.

Flower Coaster

It has been a long while since I last wrote; I hope you are all keeping well. I am still here and I have been working on my needlework; just that I blog less nowadays.

I crocheted a few flower coasters for co-workers. I made 7 of these, all different color, but forgot to take pictures before giving them away. I did two more today and I remember my camera – pretty, are they?
They are so easy to make, just three rounds and you have a 4" coaster.

I found this pattern from one of my old books. I used 5mm hook and worsted weight cotton yarn. If you want the pattern contact me by leaving a comment with your email address.

銀杏 Ginkgo Biloba

I love Ginkgo trees. The Chinese name for Ginkgo is 銀杏 and in strict translation it means silver almond. Pretty name and its leaves are pretty too with very unique shapes.

Here is a picture of the leaves from one of my two baby Ginkgo trees.
As a young child I was confused by my mother when she used ginkgo nuts for a Chinese vegetarian dish but she called it white nut. It is not white. Now I know why: it’s white when it still has its shell but yellow when it’s cooked.

So when I came across a crochet pattern for ginkgo leaf and nut, I simply could not resist.

I am going to make more of these then decide what to do with them.

Slow Going

It is that time of the years when you start thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas. I want to make two toys with the holiday theme. I finished crochet all the pieces very quickly in September and only have the tail to do. But I have only made very slow progress with it after my niece arrived from the UK. She is staying with us for three weeks. We have been out and about, and time flies when you enjoy yourself, right? It is week 3 already and my niece is returning home on Wednesday. I will have my routines back then and have more time to sort out my craftwork.

Hat and Flowers

I made another hat for our local knitting group. They knit and collect hats for a charity for young chemo patients. I kept it simply this time so that it is unisex. The pattern is from Vogue Knitting on the Go Caps & Hats, page 75, it's called the Watch Cap.
I finished sewing the caftan for my husband so I am now free to start other projects. I crochet a few flowers. I love making them. I get so much enjoyment just seeing them materialized from thread to little pretty embellishment.

The pattern for the pink flower is from CrochetPatternCentral. I printed it a long time ago and didn’t make a note of what it was called. There is a long list of free flower patterns on this site.

I made up these blue flowers.

The flowers are made with 100% cotton craft thread and a size 2.00mm crochet hook.

Amigurumi Band from Japan

Saw this all singing amigurumi band video over at the weloveamigurumi website. So cute. I uploaded it here.

There is a second video just as funny. While I was watching the bear and the bunny singing, I can't help but notice the changes in their expression and the close-up of their finger work over the guitars...so clever!!

Blocking with a Hula Hoop

When it comes to blocking, the books will tell you to pin the finished item on to a board. I used to do that too. But after moving so many times, my blocking board was long gone; I still have loads of pins though.

Few years ago I needed to block a doily. I was looking around the house for something to use when I had a light bulb moment. I remembered reading a book about the history of Shetland lace and how the islanders made size specific square frame to block their knitted shawls. How about stretching the doily like my embroidery onto a round frame with thread? The hula hoop was the only thing I had that was big enough to use as a frame.

Well, I need to block a new doily and have to wash two old ones, I thought I would take some pictures to show you how I block using the hula hoop.

First thing I did was to soak the doilies in Oxi Magic (a stain removing solution with no bleach) for 10 minutes. I put them in an old pillow case that has a zipper to make sure they all stay inside the case during washing. They went in the washing machine with the rest of the laundry. These are the three doilies after the wash, still damp.

I put a clean bath towel on the floor; place the hula hoop on top of the towel and the doily in the centre of the hula hoop. I used a waste yarn and threaded it through an edging loop of the doily and tied it to the frame at 12 o’clock, stretching a little but tried not to move the doily from the centre.

Then work the opposite end at 6 o’clock. This is an important step: this sets the size of the doily.

You should have an idea about the finished size from the pattern if you use the suggested yarn and crochet hook size. My pattern said that it should be 16 inches. But I used a finer thread and a smaller size hook, so I stretched mine out by feel but still knowing that it should be smaller than 16 inches.

As I pull the thread at the 6 o’clock position, I use my right foot and put my big toe on the thread to keep the thread under tension while I use a measuring tape to determine the diameter of the doily from point to point. I set mine at 15 inches and knotted the thread securely at 6 o’clock. It would be great if you have a friend to help you with this.

I moved myself to work on the 9 o’clock side, followed by 3 o’clock. Again, I measured the doily diameter while I held the 3 o’clock thread under tension with my toe. I would release more thread or pull the thread tighter and would only tie the thread securely when the diameter is exactly 15 inches.

I moved around the doily to work on the major points, always working one end and then the opposite end and measuring each time. Now the frame work of the doily is set, I don’t need to measure any more. I use these major points as a reference to tie the other threads. Also I am now able to lift and move the hula hoop rather than moving myself around to work on the doily.I was about to work on the little doily using an embroidery frame when Poppy came in to check on me and to let me know it’s break time.

I don't normally use starch but one of the doilies is so fine I decided to use it this time; leaving them outside to dry.

Poppy is smelling the starch.

Hula hoop is not ideal because it is flexible; a rigid frame is better. Still it works. The doily might be off centre of the hula hoop, but provided that you stretch the doily to measurement, the doily blocks out good. Just cut the thread to remove the doily. You could recycle the used waste yarn as toy stuffing.

Wheat & Grape Doily...all done

I omitted linking up a chain loop in round 24, and didn't realise that until I nearly finished round 25. So I had to undo a round and a half, corrected the error and crocheted round 25 all over again.

To learn from my mistake, it would be a good idea to count the number of loops in round 24 before moving on. You should have 96 loops in total. Crochet hook size: 0.75mm

Pattern: Wheat & Grape Doily on page 125 from Heirloom Doilies - A Collection of Favorite Crochet Patterns. Or free from http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celtsvintagecrochet/

Wheat & Grape Doily

I have been good, working methodically through my patchwork. I want to finish the top end of the quilt, so I have been doing some half hexagons.
These half hexagons have sharp corners and are fiddly to do. To give myself a break with hand sewing, I started crocheting a doily.

This Wheat & Grape Doily has 30 rounds and I am on round 15 at the moment. I picked up a second hand book called Heirloom Doilies - A Collection of Favorite Crochet Patterns by House of White Birches and the doily pattern is on page 125.

You can also find this pattern free on-line when you join the Celt's Vintage Crochet and here is their web address http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celtsvintagecrochet/.

Lacy Summer Cardigan

The pattern for this cardigan is a chart. Whilst it is not hard to follow the diagram, I didn’t make the job easy by picking a fancy yarn to make this top. The yarn is a mixture of cotton, acrylic, viscose and nylon; in cream color with gold and silver specks and has bumps of white cotton bubbles along the entire length. I didn’t make an accurate cast-on the first attempt simply because it was so difficult to count the chain stitches with this yarn. I did it again and this time I marked the chain stitch for each cluster as I cast-on.
After that, it was straight forward.

I added beads for extra sparkles.

The beads are only sewn around the yoke.

It is actually prettier than what the pictures are showing because I am not able to capture the shine and the sparkles of the beads.

Really happy with how it turns out.

Material: Sirdar SunSeeker Cotton Boutonne DK (A gift from my sister Flo)
Crochet Hook size: 4.0 mm (G)

Pattern: #16 Crochet Cardigan by Puppy Jardin published in European Handknitting 2007 Spring/Summer