Cowl No More

As I was working on the cowl, i found that it is just too huge to be a cowl and still show the design the way i want it to. The cowl is no more. It is now going to be a shawl. I might have to get some more yarn. If i do, so be it. Oh, I found this shawl pin on Etsy that i think is perfect

Isn’t it pretty!!! This shop has a lot of nice pins though. I dont know I might go with a heart one.

Both of these are cute. I think i like the treble clef pin the best.

Holy Cowl Revised

So…The cowl that I was knitting was not turning out the way that I wanted. I think I need a little more practice with color work before I make anything design plans. I took apart what i had completed so far and decided to go with crocheting for this project. Because this is a gift I don’t want it to look too “jacked-up” (for lack of a better term). This is the second day that I have worked on the “revised” cowl and I only like half of it. What’s worse is i like the 2nd half better than the first :( . The treble clef is so messy and the bass clef is so clean and neat. Just looking at the pictures makes me want to start it over. I already told myself that i am not going to take it apart. I am sure after I do the finishing it wont look that bad. Hopefully…

This size of this thing is crazy. It really does make you want to say “Holy Cowl!”. I want to say that i should be done with it in the two days but I don’t know because this weekend is going to be busier than usual. I just want to hurry up and get this done and sent to KJ before the cold weather ends completely.

Projects…Cant have just one :)

So I found myself looking around for more yarn yesterday. I really wanted to crochet something. I started looking around on Ravelry and I was missing something for every pattern that I wanted to do. What’s funny is over the past few days I have been trying to finish up some of the unfinished projects that I have around the house. I finished the afghan for my friend then started one for my aunt. I haven’t finished the cowl that I started (I found, color changes in knitting is a lot harder than in crochet). I decided not to compete in the Vanna’s Choice contest this year because I don’t think I will be able to finish the afghan in time. Even though I was trying to get away from scarves. I found a pattern on lionbrand.com for a ruffle scarf that looked pretty cool. Another plus is I am trying to use up this multicolor yarn my mom got me for Christmas.  I am not a big fan of the multicolor stuff. So, instead of finishing projects I have started new ones but I was able to satisfy my craving crocheting a new pattern as well as use some “undesirable” yarn :) Over all I think this was a win. I started the scarf yesterday and finished it today after class.    

I didn’t add the tassels at the end as the pattern suggests. I really don’t care for tassels. The only problem I ran into was at the very end I ran out of yarn. This is probably because I made the scarf a lot longer than the pattern suggests. Because of the shape and color of the scarf, the unfinished end is not noticeable at all.

Sunrise Sunset Afghan & Baby Afghan

In November I found out that one of my friends was going to have a baby soon. As I always do, I decided to make the new baby a blanket. 

Then I came across a pattern that I had been dying to make. I think I originally found the pattern at a Michaels or Hobby Lobby. It was one of those free patterns you find hanging  on the isles. I started making this one for my friend and then, as usually, I was distracted and the project was temporarily forgotten. I finally finished the blanket. Details and progressive pictures for this project are available on my Ravelry.

 

Holy Cowl!!!

I promised to crochet my friend a scarf a long time ago but I never seemed to get around to it. Every time that I realized that it had been put off for a couple more weeks I designed a more extravagant scarf. The last time I came up with something it was a green, purple and white, zig zag hooded infinity scarf with pockets that had her initials on it... say that 3 times fast. That scarf's journey began many times but never ended. Since, I have learned to knit and I decided to dedicate my first cowl to my friend, KJ. I started sometime around midnight last night so this is my official day one and its going pretty well. I am going to try and finish this by the end of the week because my classes start on Wednesday; I don't want a repeat of the scarf that never was...Anywho, this is what it looks like so far. I might track my progress on Ravelry.com. I haven't quite decided yet

My First Knit Scarf and Design

I recently learned to knit and I love the way knit cables look. I had to make my first project all about cables. I designed a scarf and knit it up. I found out that knitting takes much more time than crocheting. This scarf took me about 15hrs over the course of 3-4 days. It is still not as long as I would like it to be but my fingers were pleading with me. I don't think giving in after 15hrs is too shabby :) Here are some pics and the pattern that I followed.

I held 2 strands Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool together throughout this project. I used 6.5mm (US 10 1/2) straight knitting needles. The pattern is as follows:

Row 1 & 5: K1, P2, K6, P1, K1, P1, K12, P1, K1, P1, K6, P2, K1

Row 2, 4, 6 & 8: (the opposite of row 1) P1, K2, P6, K1, P1, K1, P12, K1, P1, K1, P6, K2, P1

Row 3: K1, P2, C6F, P1, K1, P1, K12, P1, K1, P1, C6B, P2, K1

Row 7: K1, P2, C6F, P1, K1, P1, C6B, C6F, P1, K1, P1, C6B, P2, K1

I used this chart to help me

Hello Craft, Nice to have met you

I have been on a journey of crafts since I was about 11 years old. First I learned how to cross stitch. I was always wanting to cross stitch something and thinking of patterns to create. I wouldn't actually use a pattern until much later on. I started off making the simple flat patterns. Then I graduated to simple patterns on tiny bags or small pillows and maybe some wall art here and there. I just loved being able to sit down and create something. Whats better was that something that I created was beautiful. I went from cross stitch to crochet. Now, crochet is the craft that I have grown to love. Although, I like to keep it very simple as to what I am creating. I find the fun in the patterns. Since I did start off as a cross stitcher I love to take a blank pallet and make it my own and then add a little texture. I get excited just thinking about it. Whenever I crochet in public people always ask me, "what are you knitting?". Then, I have to go through the, " I am not knitting. I am crocheting" explanation. Sometimes, I skip it, they'll probably never know the difference. I tried knitting in the past but it just seemed to complicated. The only thing that really interested me about knitting were those beautiful cables. Sure, there are crochet patterns for "crochet cables" but they just don't have the same effect. I had to give knitting another try and i finally got it. I practiced knitting, purling and some basic stitch patterns for a couple days and before the end of the week I was knitting cables. It could be because my hands are still getting used to knitting but as of right now, knitting seems to take a lot more time than crochet. Don't get my wrong its beautiful, no doubt, but boy is it time consuming. I haven picked up a needle to cross stitch in years but I will definitely hold on to the skill. Crocheting and knitting have become my two turtle doves held together by a ball of yarn.