right hand/left hand and Who yarn

Well, I did it. I have been crocheting with my non-dominant (left) hand. I even made a video. (Yeah, yeah, that is so that I don't forget how to do it.) You can see it at my YouTube channel here. It is actually quite fun and gives an interesting texture to the work.

Here is what I did over the past couple of days. It was going to be a Nook carrier but I ran out of yarn. I don't know if you can really see the stitch definition well in these pictures, but here they are.

Front

Back

Today, hubby took me to Michael's to use the gift certificate I received from son for Mother's Day. I used the certificate and a coupon and saved a good bit on the whole thing! I still managed to spend quite a lot, but to make excuse much of it was not for me but for my students. :-) I do think I got my money's worth on this trip! Plus daughter, hubby, and I went to eat at Texas Roadhouse afterwards so good shopping and good food. Can't beat that!

I was disapointed in the selection of products at Michaels today. They didn't have several of the things I wanted for the beginner kit I was trying to pull together. 

I also had my paint chips for the Doctor Who scarf with me so daughter and I looked at the yarn they had and tried to match.

Here's what we came up with for a possible Doctor Who scarf.

Remember the original colors from the BBC were simply put:
Purple, Camel, Mustard, Rust, Grey, Greenish brown, Bronze

The paint chips we used were:
Behr S-G-690 Delicious Berry for purple
Behr 260F-4 Sunset Beige for camel
Behr 300B-6 Glorious Gold for mustard
Behr S-G-170 Licorice Stick for rust
Behr 770F-5 Dark Ash for grey
Behr 320F-7 Fig for greenish brown
Glidden GLO31 Spiced Gingerbread for bronze

What I used for the Vanna's Choice scarves. Remember that it is difficult to get true matches in the same yarn.
Burgundy, Beige, Mustard, Brick, Charcoal, Olive, Toffee       

What I bought today was:
Red Heart Soft Grape Color 3729 (purple, may not have enough red in it. Impeccable Burgundy is more red but not very purple)

Impeccable Heather  Color 01010 (not really the right color, but closest we could get) (camel)

Caron One Pound Sunflower Color 0549 (mustard, pretty close)

Impeccable Rouge Color 01531 (Rust)[update: I am finding this a little too much on the pink side]

Impeccable True Grey 01044 (Grey)

Vanna's Choice Rust Color 135 (bronze)

We couldn't find a green that was brown enough and came close to the Fig.

I found it funny that the yarn named "rust" actually fit bronze and the color Rouge fit Rust.

These colors are just what was available and the closest match in the store in which we were shopping. They are by no means any better than what Tara or Gene and Chris have. I will continue to look at different places as I have opportunity.

I might also mention that I did order some of the Annie's Choice yarn. The yarn is fine though there was a big old knot in the first skein I pulled out. I'm not thrilled with the way it's wound. No center pull. But I've just got it so I don't want to be too quick to judge it. I'll post more on it later.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

hooks and yarn and hooks and yarn

What a nice day I had. First off, hubby gave the a-ok for me to order more of the delightful egg hooks from Jimbo (for Christmas). I know it's only May but you get where I'm going with this, eh? ;-) I love these hooks. The one I have (an *I*) fits right in my hand and is so smooth. I used it for my last video.

Speaking of video, I have not given up on recording video. I just haven't had a chance to do any lately. I have several topics I want to cover and hope to get to those soon.

Oh and did you know Jimbo made one of the biggest hooks ever? Have a look-see here. That is one big hook. 25# I think was said? Too heavy for me to hold and actually use, but how neat!

Dee over at Crochet with Dee has a few links to other big/long/thick hooks. You can find it on this page, down at the bottom.

Later, I went out to get the mail and what should I find but three skeins of pink Red Heart Soft yarn. Remember I told you about the green in my pink and I was through with Red Heart? I didn't ask for yarn when I wrote to let them know about this problem. In fact, I specifically said not to worry about sending me any and didn't leave my address. But those folks at Red Heart - well, you can't complain about their customer service! They found me somehow, possibly from the previous times, and sent me yarn. What can I say? I can't refuse yarn. I'll make more squares. *grin* I have to say it IS soft and the pink is delightful. It's also a different dye lot. Shall I forgive and forget? Thank you to Mr. Karwowski for the yarn.

Going back to video, I am learning to crochet left handed. Originally this was so I could teach some folks who want to learn to crochet and happen to be left handed. As I was struggling with the process, I remembered somewhere in the back of my  mind a blog post that mentioned working one row right to left and the next row left to right with the opposite hand. I thought, wouldn't that be great? I could teach both right and left handed. I can't remember where that post was. I think it might be on Pinterest. If I find it, I'll come back and add the link. At the time, I didn't take time to read through it to the point of understanding. [update: here is the link http://www.freshstitches.com/crochet-rows-backwards-left-handed-right-side/ ]

I like this idea because I was worried that learning left handed would mess me up on my right handed crochet. If I'm doing every other row in each method, however, that shouldn't be a problem.

The more I do it, the better I seem to be getting at it. Whether I am doing it CORRECTLY I am not 100% sure. LOL I know Teresa Richardson has videos of both right and left hand so I might have a look at those. I also have a leaflet that teaches left and right hand.

That's all for now.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Pink 12 square ribbonghan

Another cancer ribbon pink afghan but this one is a little different.

This one is all ribbons and includes 12 squares.

Finished size is about 42" x 55" after washing.

I am really getting to like this Caron Natura yarn. :-) I haven't had any problems with it at all.

I used 12 skeins, one skein for each square.  I left a really long tail (about 3x the width of the square) which I used to assembled each square. That still left a good bit of the tail. I did NOT cut that. After I finished assembling the squares into a column, I used one of the leftover balls to work a sc edging around the column. One leftover ball for each column. Then I used what remained of the tails to assemble the strips together after bringing them to the proper point.

For the edging around the entire afghan, I pulled out a bit of Vanna's Choice white and worked a sc, ch 2, sk 2 pattern around. Then I picked up a leftover pink ball and worked (2 dc around each ch-2 loop, ch 1, sk 1 sc). In corners I worked 3 dc with a ch-1 on either side. You might need more stitches in the corner, depending on your tension. I was wishing I'd put 4 actually.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy this yarn again. I was pleased with the way the all ribbon afghan turned out. It doesn't make a large difference in how much yarn you need though the filet ribbon squares use a little less than the solid ones.

I used a J hook for the foundation chain, an I hook for the squares, and for the side edging on each square I used an H hook. For the final edging I used an H hook also.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie