Big Update on Everything

Gosh, I did let this slide a bit, but with good reason... I've had lot's of progress in my yarrny crafts!

First off, I finished my 2010 KAL afghan! The colour combination was great in my head, scary when I was putting it together, but overall, now that it's done, I think it works well.

I learned how to cable and make bobbles! Both were just as great as I'd hoped. I started cables with a 3.5mm bamboo dpn because I couldn't find my cabling needles, but it didn't work as well as I'd hoped because the bamboo can be a little rough, although a plus was the bamboo holding the stitch onto the needle. I did eventually find the cabling needles, and settled with the smalled 'J' shaped one. I never did get the hang of or enjoy doing cables without a cabling needle as the Bernat blog had suggested trying. I could just see the stitches getting smaller and smaller without being on a needle. 
For blocking, I actually decided to block them to the same templates I used for the first afghan, after measuring squares from each clue. The biggest problem was that the clue 3 squares were much wider than every other square, so even after blocking they were the largest. 
It all came together nicely though, especially with the use of little hair clips to hold squares together when seaming, so they are sewn evenly. It's very soft and comfortable, and smells delicious since it smells like the fabric softener from the hand towels I used in blocking!

I also finished up all of the squares for my crocheted star blanket. I ended up adding a border to the two smallest star squares, and added a stitch on either side of the pattern for the remaining few I had to crochet. The star squares started going quicker though, when I stopped trying to make dc stitches inside of the chain stitches, and just worked right into the chain space (which, if anything, made them look better, and was sooo much faster)! I've blocked them all, and started on the border just yesterday, even though I finished seaming last week. The reason I waited was because the border is made up of one round of sc in white, one round of dc in contrast A (my green), another round of sc in white, and then one round of dc in contrast B (my yellow). But I'd learned from the border I added to my two star squares that if you add too many stitches on the sides, where the stitches aren't definite, then it will flare; so I was a little worried I may get the same thing happening. Thanks to YouTube though, and this helpful video, I was able to figure it out. I did occasionally have spots of flare, but today I learned something new to help combat that as well. I learned how to do a sc decrease and a dc decrease! I'm very happy to know how to do them, and they worked out well in helping to reduce those few areas of wavy flare. The border really helps make the blanket and bring it all together. I can't wait for it all to be done! I'm taking a break from it now because crocheting hurts my right hand. I can't seem to hold the yarn well. Wrapping it around my pinkie finger doesn't let it flow well and it gets tight, but the way I do it now just hurts! :(

Vanity baskets

Anyways, I've also started and finished a few more crochet projects since I last wrote. 
I made a small crocheted teething biscuit for my step-sister, who's expecting. I learned how to slip stitch two flat crocheted items together in the making of it. I also crocheted some small vanity baskets for my bathroom. The biggest, squat one is for facial scrubs, the smallest is for Q-tips, and the tall one is for makeup, like eye-liner, mascara, and lip gloss. That third one I kind of improvised, and after a few attempts ended up with one round of dc followed by one round of tr for the bottom. 

Stars of David in the yarmulke

I also crocheted a yarmulke for my dad. I used a pattern from Ravelry that uses a star stitch to make a round of Stars of David around the outside of the yarmulke. My dad chose the colour of the crochet thread, Really Royal Bernat Handicrafter crochet thread. I also got a small 2.25mm crochet hook for the yarmulke. It took a lot of work and I had a somewhat hard time figuring out the star stitch at first, but once I figured it out, I enjoyed working it. My only problem with it is that you can't really work increases with the star stitches, so the yarmulke doesn't lie as flat as I'd hoped, and my dad may need to use a few bobby pins to keep it on. 

Still need to add a button

Finally, the most recent crochet project I've attempted is a cell phone case. I want one that will fit well over my iPhone while it's in the silicon case. I made one case from a Lily Sugar'n Cream pattern. But it's much too hard to get my phone in and out of with the case on. So I tried starting two more with bigger stitches and more stitches, but both still weren't thick enough! So I've temporarily shelved my idea, but I know what I'll do next. The pattern is reminiscent of granny squares, (which I've never attempted before, yay!), but instead of starting it right off with that, I'll start off with a slightly longer version of a 'one ply' teething biscuit like I made for my step-sister's baby, and then start the granny square sides from there. That should give the case enough thickness for the silicon-clad iPhone to easily slide into and out of. I really just want it to protect the screen from hazards in my purse and backpack while in transit. 



The border for my crocheted star blanket isn't the only project I'm currently working on though. I'm working on a pom-pom blanket for my mom right now. The balls are different dye lots because I got them discounted by more than 50%, but she doesn't mind at all, she's just excited to have it! It's my first time working with pom-pom yarn, in this case it's the Loops and Threads brand. I'm using 6mm circular needles for it, and you work one stitch between each pom-pom. The pattern from Ravelry is for a square blanket, but it's quite small, so I'm making it rectangular, following what someone else did. The only problem was when I got to the point of extending the length. The blanket is knit diagonally, so if I just started knitting back and forth, it would end up like... a rectangle with a triangle on each end. I just wanted a normal rectangle like the other person had, so I looked it up and eventually found out how to accomplish it! You just increase at the start of every other row, and decrease at the beginning of the other rows. It's so soft and squishy!

And then, the other day, I started my first knit shawl. I was at a wedding a few weeks ago, and was quite cold at the reception, when I noticed a woman with a shawl over her shoulders. I was quite jealous of the warmth, and said to myself 'Hey! I could make that!' So that's what I've started to do. 
I just needed to find a shawl pattern that could be made with thicker yarns. I'd always figured you needed a lace or fingering weight yarn for a shawl. I ended up with Summer Flies. I'm using Red Heart Soft Touch yarn in black, and a 5.5mm circular needle. I'm more than halfway through the pattern row-wise, and now up to more than 150 stitches. I like knitting it though, and I can't wait to have it finished! I'm sure it will need blocking, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it! 
In the hopes of possibly making more shawls, I've got some sparkly black yarn and other yarns in colours that would be nice as shawls... really I've been stocking up on all sorts of yarn, as Zellers is closing and the yarn is marked down! They're turning it into Target (which I love, but I know doesn't sell yarn in their American stores), and I'm going to miss Zellers's selection of yarn brands and varieties, which Wal-Mart pales in comparison against, and even gave Michael's a run for it's money! I even found some Bernat Sox yarn in camouflage (which I was 'meh' about at first, but the colours have grown on me since I've seen it in person), to hopefully knit my first pair of homemade socks with. 

Things I learned:

• how to knit cables
• how to knit bobbles
• how to crochet borders
• how to sc decrease
• how to dc decrease
• how to crochet the star stitch
• what it's like crocheting with thread and a very small hook
• (kind of) how to work stitches for granny squares
• how to slip stitch things together
• how to knit with pom-pom yarn
• how to knit a rectangle on the bias
• there are shawl patterns for thicker yarns