kiss stitch

I was looking at Dee Stanziano's Ravelry page and revisited her Kiss Stitch. Such an interesting stitch, I thought I'd share it with you. You can find her stitch here. (Also check out her Facebook page ... )

In the comments a similar stitch, but not exactly the same, is mentioned. It is used in the Thermal Dishcloth by Julie Bolduc. She calls it the single crochet front back bobble.

A double crochet version is cited by Julie in her Ultra Thick Potholder pattern. 

Another stitch that is interesting to me is the Star Stitch. I think I've mentioned it here before but I don't think I had this tutorial then. This is the wonderful designer Vashti as written in her blog.

I have links to a few other tutorials on the Star Stitch in the sidebar. 

I saw another stitch earlier in the week that I found interesting. For the life of me, I can't remember where I saw it. The gist is that you make a stitch, like the double crochet, then you worked around that stitch. I have used this technique before. If I ever remember where I saw it, I'll update. If anyone knows, holler out to me please.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

commemorative hook

The hook I ordered from Unraveled Ewe on Etsy arrived today.

The wood is Osage Orange. It's very lightweight and smooth.

The cost was $25 for the hook + $5 for the engraving and $8 shipping. Total cost $38.00. 

Here are some pictures. The first one was taken with flash and shows the engraving well. The second is without flash and shows the color of the wood better. The third show the top of the hook with the size engraved.

front of hook with engraving to commemorate 20 years

Back of hook

Hook size noted on tip - I hook

Though the cost was more than I was hoping to find, I am pleased with the hook. It feels good in my hand. That said, I haven't crocheted with it yet. I'll let you know how that works out. I will make something with it soon as I finish sewing in the tails of the temperature afghan. I'm about half done. :-)

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

2016 Temperature Afghan complete

As promised, here is all the info regarding the 2016 temperature afghan. This afghan was begun February 23 and finished April 20. That does include a few weeks off while waiting for yarn.

Here are pictures of the finished afghan before I took care of the tails.

The finished size is approximately 43" x 72". 2016 was a leap year so one more row than the 2013 I did previously. As you can see the afghan is not lying flat so measuring was a bit tricky. I can't get down on the floor anymore to measure large items.

I used the Wunderground site to get my data for the high temperatures for each day. https://www.wunderground.com/history/ 

[Update: You can now use the weatherghan web site to get your temperature information for your locale. Faster and easier. http://weatherghansite.azurewebsites.net/ ]

I chose to use the calendar year from January to December. Some people go from their birthdate to first birthday.

How to get your data and edit it is in the post from February 17, 2017.  

This afghan was made using Knit Picks Brava Sport yarn. I usually love this yarn but had some trouble mostly with knots and especially in the paprika. The paprika, even the new skeins, had some plasticy flat sections. I just used those as is since they were just part of the yarn. It just felt funny but seems to have worked okay within the project.

I used a G hook. Foundation chain was 226. 

Here are the temperatures, the color used, and how many of that color.
30s eggplant (1)
40s mulberry (1)
50s freesia (25)
60s cornflower (35)
70s marina (40)
75-79 tranquil (51)
80-84 Grass (52),
85-89 canary (42)
90-91s orange (50)
93-95 paprika (46)
96-99 red (23)
100 caution (1)

Tips:
If you use the same stitch I did, to help you see that very first single crochet of the row you can put a stitch marker in that first stitch. Just move the marker up as you go to each row. You will need one at both ends of the row if you choose to do this. Both ends should be the same. Every row begins and ends with a single crochet.

In all the months that begin with Row 3, the odd numbered days are worked with sc, sc at the beginning and end of the rows, the even numbered days are worked starting with (sc, ch 1, sk 1).


In the months that begin with Row 4 it is reversed. Odd numbered days are with with the (sc, ch 1, sk1) and the even days are worked with the sc, sc.

Which months these are will depend on which year you are working.

I chose to mark the last row of each month with a stitch marker, but that is just me. It served no purpose except to show me the months.

My pattern:
With a G hook and sport yarn, chain 226
Change colors according to your temperature chart.
Row 1: sc in second ch from hook and in each ch across (225 sc)

Row 2: ch 1, turn, sc in first sc, * ch 1, skip next sc, sc in next sc, repeat from * across. You should finish evenly, with a sc in your last stitch.

Row 3: ch 1, turn, sc in first sc, sc in ch-1 space, * ch 1, skip next sc, sc in next ch-1 space, repeat from * across row to last stitch, sc in last stitch

Row 4: ch 1, turn, sc in first sc, * ch 1, skip next sc, sc in next ch-1 space, repeat from * across. You should finish evenly, with a sc in your last stitch.

Rows 5 - 365 (or 366) Repeat rows 3 and 4 consecutively 


Note: Every row begins with a sc in first stitch. After the first sc stitch, you will sc if the next thing is a ch space, and you will ch-1 and skip it if the next thing is a sc.

The edging is (sc, ch 1, sk 1) using (sc, hdc, sc) in corners. I used marina for the edging.

Here are pictures of the afghan at the end of each month. 

Janury

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Etsy shop

Before I forget, I want to mention that I have closed the Crochet Cabana Etsy shop. They made some changes in Etsy and I don't get a lot of sales from it anyway. I'm thinking of doing the same to the Ravelry shop but haven't decided. I don't get many sales from there either. It's also a little more difficult to add patterns to Ravelry, at least I find it is, but I can offer free patterns there and couldn't on Etsy. I can make changes to current patterns easily enough though.

I just this minute finished the 2016 temperature afghan but still have to sew in hundreds of tails. I'll then put up the post with all the info about the afghan.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie