nameghans

Crocheting seems to have fallen by the wayside lately. Though I haven't been as focused on it as I usually am, I have not completely abandoned crochet. I have been working on the name afghans for my grandchildren. You may remember that I was considering taking apart my first grandson's name afghan in order to add my second grandson's name. I even made two separate afghans with both names which I shared in another post while trying to decide what to do.

Well, I did decide. What I decided was to make a completely separate afghan for grandson #2 with his name and keep the first afghan as it was.

Here is the one I just finished.

Both ghans are exactly the same size - 38" x 39". Each name took one full skein. The letters were made individually and then sewn together. Some names required a couple of "blanks" so the stripes would all be the same size. Each individual letter was edged in single crochet, then the entire piece was edged with (sc, ch 2, 2 dc, sk 2) It's an edging I use pretty often. As I went to start the edging I couldn't find the hook I intended to use (and had been using recently) and had to substitute. It still came out okay I think. I still haven't found that hook. LOL

As to the yarns, I've lost most of the labels. They are all either Knit Picks Brava Sport or Deramores Stylecraft Special DK. Here's what I think they are. KPBS Almond for the edging (that is correct because it was purchased especially for this ghan), SSDK Burgundy, KPBS Cobblestone Heather, KPBS Brindle, SSDK Khaki. I had two skeins of the green and brown so those names use the same yarn. I only had one skein of the red and grey.

I love working on name afghans and other filet projects of all kinds. I hope to get back to the filet dish/wash cloths I was making a while back and I have yarn coming in for bulky scarves.

I actually gave away all the small balls of yarn and even some full skeins that I felt I would never use. I wanted the room for other things. That said, I still have a couple of bins filled with yarn and projects. The yarn is mostly leftover from Doctor Who scarves.

So what am I doing with the time I used to spend on crochet? I've been doing adult coloring. I was gifted Jenean Morrison's 2016 coloring calendar book and have been enjoying working on that. I also am in a family coloring group where we post a picture once a week from the same book. That is a lot of fun as even though they are the same picture, the coloring is so different on each one. Just as in crochet, coloring takes supplies which cost money. Both also allow one to use whatever creativity skills one has. You can see some of my coloring sheets at Crafty Corral.

That's all for today.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Rocketghan almost complete

The rocketghan is *this close* to being done. This project was begun end of September 2015. Let's say it's taken about 3 1/2 months. The yo-yos, antennae and mouth still need to be added. I will add a picture to this post when it's finished.

Here are the details on this ghan.

First I needed a pattern, of course, and this was provided in a chart made by my daughter. 

Then I decided on the pattern I wanted for the squares. They had to be rather small to get a proper picture and not make the ghan too large since it is for a child. I decided to use three rounds of the  crossed stitch square (see Crochet Cabana pattern page under Kate Smith), but you could use regular granny squares just as easily. Eventually the pattern will be up at Crochet Cabana, but it may be a while.

More often than I liked, I would be working on a round and then run into a knot in the yarn. Rather than have two additional strands to sew in, I abandoned that square and put it aside. If this happens to you, my suggestion is to NOT throw those incomplete squares away. I used the yarn to sew together the odd squares that I could not assemble with one of the long strands. That way I didn't have to use more of the skein itself. Always thrifty with yarn.

I made all the Red, Sunshine, Peapod, Silver and Cobblestone Heather squares first and assembled those, sewing in as many tails as I could as I went. I also made the yo-yos. I then started on the Asphalt Heather (black) squares, using them first to complete the rocket itself, then assembling around the rocket for the finished look.

Another option would be to make all the squares first, then assemble them row by row or column by column in proper order. In some ways I wish I would have done that, but since I didn't have all my yarn when I began, this is how it worked out.

Tip: Be sure to join squares with one of the colors in the squares. I made a mistake in a couple of spots where I used, for example, a green strand I had lying there to join black and red squares. This shows more and I regret doing that. I should have used red or black to join those two squares. In one spot I was able to snip the inappropriate color and replace it.

There will still be lots and lots of tails to sew in, but by working on them throughout the project instead of leaving them all until the end, you'll get breaks and it won't be so overwhelming. I tried to sew all my center tails in before assembly. It still took me a week to sew them all in.

Size: 38" x 65"

Materials:
G hook, sport yarn as below (for reference I got 27 squares out of one skein of Silver)
1 skein Knit Picks Brava Sport Peapod (green)
1 skein Knit Picks Brave Sport Cobblestone Heather (dk grey)
1 skein Knit Picks Brava Sport Silver (lt grey)
8 skeins Knit Picks Brava Sport Asphalt Heather (black)
1 skein Knit Picks Brava Sport Red
1 skein Stylecraft Special DK Sunshine or Knit Picks Brava Sport Caution (yellow/orange)
1 skein Knit Picks Brava Sport Canary (you could use the Sunshine/Caution to make the yo-yos if you like, eliminating the Canary)
about 7 yards of royal blue (enough for a yo-yo with an extra long tail for sewing onto afghan)
about 7 yards of purple (enough for a yo-yo with an extra long tail for sewing onto afghan)

Number of squares needed (leave a long tail at least 16" for assembly)
There are 286 total squares - 13 rows by 22 columns.
4 Sunshine or Caution
10 Peapod
17 Red
18 Cobblestone Heather
54 Silver
183 Asphalt Heather (286 - 103 colored squares)

Number of yo-yos needed
(A YO-YO is 16 dc worked into the ring with no chains between them. To see if I have enough worsted weight yarn, I wrap yarn loosely around a 12" ruler 8 times (in other words 8 12" lengths or 8 feet, that means front and back of the ruler - once around - is 2 lengths). Don't stretch it. Just loosely wind around the length of the ruler. This will to some degree depend on the yarn.)

10 Canary (or Sunshine/Caution)
2  peapod
2 red
2 blue
2 purple


Assemble squares as per chart.

Assemble yo-yos as per chart. Here is a picture showing approximate placement before being sewn on.

Mouth: fashion mouth with a long single strand of black yarn
Antennae: fashion antennae per picture with 2 long strands of peapod

Edging is 3 rounds. First round is single crochet with asphalt heather. Where the corners met, I worked one single crochet in each corner and one in the join. Second round is single crochet worked in silver. At the corners I worked the modified sc3tog, which is basically a 2 sc decrease.

Here are the detailed instructions on the edging.

Modified sc3tog: Insert hook in next st, yarn over and pull through st but not loop on hook, insert in next st, yarn over and pull through st (3 loops on hook), insert hook in next st, yarn over and pull through st (4 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through 2 loops (3 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through all three remaining loops 

Edging:
Round 1: Using asphalt heather, single crochet around, working (sc, hdc, sc) in corners. At side joins, work 1 sc in each corner space and 1 in the join. Join with sl st to beg sc.

Round 2: Join silver in any corner space. Work (sc, hdc, sc) in this and every corner. Work sc around. At joins between squares work the modified sc3tog. This will give you a li le bit of a puffy spot. Join with sl st to beg sc.

Note: I chose silver but you can use any of the colors for Round 2. My reasoning was that silver would blend into the night sky best...?


Round 3: Join asphalt heather, single crochet around, working (sc, hdc, sc) in corners. Join with a sl st to beg sc. 

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

nameghans

I thought I had posted this, but apparently I started it and didn't finish it. So here is a two-in-one post.

The narrow nameghan was completed a couple weeks ago. The finished size is about 25"  x 54". Long and skinny. :-) The picture shows the afghan folded over so it is about a third wider than it looks.

The yarn used is
Knit Picks Brava Sport Paprika (rust)
Knit Picks Brava Sport Walnut (brown)
Knit Picks Brava Sport Sienna (brown)
Knit Picks Brava Sport Brindle (brown)
Stylecraft Special DK Lipstick (red)
Stylecraft Special DK Khaki (green)
Stylecraft Special DK Plum (purple)
Hayfield shade 0792 Moss Green
Knit Picks Brava Sport Almond (cream) for edging

Each strip is edged in one round of single crochet in the same color as the strip, then edged again in almond, also in single crochet. I left a very long tail in the almond which was used for whipstitch assembly in back loops. The border around the entire afghan is (sc, ch 2, 2 dc, sk 2).

Though I wish it would be wider, I'm please with the resulting look. It actually works quite nicely as a shawl.

I also just finished a second one-piece where I made the individual strips a bit wider. My foundation chain was 137 (67 columns). After edging it ended up 36" x 38 1/2", a nice lapghan size. 

Yarn used was all DK or sport that I had on hand. I am not sure about the maroonish color but the others are

Knit Picks Brava Sport Walnut (brown at the top)
Knit Picks Brava Sport Persimmon (peachish second stripe)
Hayfield shade 0792 Moss Green (after the maroon)
Stylecraft Special DK Lipstick (red)
Knit Picks Brava Sport Sienna (brown FAMILY stripe)

Each stripe has a name in filet. I colored them out in the photo.

Just as in the one above afghan, each strip of this one was edged in the same color with a round of single crochet and then an additional round of single crochet in almond, leaving a long tail for assembly. When all strips were assembled, I edged with a round of (sc, ch 2, 2 dc, sk 2) round.

I ordered additional almond skeins and also skeins of a different neutral color - Camel Heather - to see which I like best, with the thought of adding a name to the original lapghan.

I also will start back to work on the picture afghan I was working on. I had started making black squares when I got sidetracked with names. Truthfully, filet is my thing at the moment so I enjoyed the distraction. I will be making more dishcloths in filet soon. 

I am also sorely tempted by Knit Pick's Learn to Knit Club. I have tried knitting a number of times but it hasn't taken yet. :-) At the least I can get three dishcloths out of the kit if I decide to do it. If I can't pick up the knitting, I can always make them in crochet. ;-)

That's all for now.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Robotghan complete

I actually worked on this blog a few days ago but was waiting to get the pattern up at the web site and then forgot to come back and post the blog. LOL

So... The robotghan is done! 

Daughter and I collaborated on this project. Of course, she designed the pattern so that was the first and most important part. Then she sewed on the "extras" - the eyes, mouth etc. 

I made and assembled the squares and did the edging.

The details posted earlier are slightly altered as I actually did measurement and countings and such.

Of course, I didn't follow the original chart (do I EVER work a pattern as it's designed? LOL), so daughter revised the chart for me and it looks really cool. The pattern is available at Crochet Cabana (under Kate Smith) and will be at Ravelry later on. The details here are included in the pattern.

I used a G hook throughout.

The squares are 3 rounds and came out about 3" (7.62 cm according to Google). They will appear slightly smaller after assembly. Leave a very long tail, about 15", for assembly. You will still have to sew in the remainder but you won't have to join additional yarn for assembly. Believe me, you will have plenty enough tails to sew in! 

I suggest sewing the center tails in as you go as you will appreciate it at the end. It's hard to go round and round with a full afghan in your lap. With regard to using the adjustable ring, make sure you go around that area a few times when sewing in tails and perhaps even up a round, to make sure it doesn't come undone in the wash. It ends up a very small area after you close up the hole and you want enough tail woven there to keep it from unraveling.

You can, of course, use larger squares if you want a larger afghan. Grandson is going to be 2 so I didn't want it TOO large. Remember it will be rectangular and the wider you make it, the longer it will also be unless you decide you want a short, stocky robot. 

Materials:
G hook
Knit Picks Brava Sport Silver (light grey)
Knit Picks Brava Sport Celestial (blue)
Stylecraft Special DK Graphite (dark grey)
Stylecraft Special DK Sunshine (yellow, almost orange)

The robot uses
38 light grey squares
23 dark grey squares
60 yellow squares
110 blue squares
18 yo-yos

I began each yo-yo with an adjustable ring and there are 16 dc in center. You can find info on yo-yos at Crochet Cabana with a video.

Because the squares are whipstitched together, it adds virtually no width or length to the squares. In fact, I found it made the squares slightly smaller so that even after assembly and the edging was added, the size was about 39" x 69". (13 squares x 23 squares)

The robot itself was 50" tall and about 20 1/2" across at the feet.

There were, as I have said before, a lot of tails to weave in. This was not too difficult, just time consuming. It took me three days to get them all done. Bits of caution on that point ... Not to make too much bulk under any one spot, you may want to weave some tails vertically and some horizontally and some even diagonally or in multiple directions. Try not to go back over the same area such that you pull out what you've already done. 

Here is a picture of the back of the ghan. If you look closely you can see tiny bits where the yo yos were sewn on and the tails woven in. This is unavoidable unless you use blues and greys for the yo-yos. I liked the bits of color. If you work carefully you can reduce the show-through. We used some worsted yo-yos that were already made which were a little thicker than the DK of the main afghan, for convenience.

I'm thinking if you make the yo-yos in thin yarn there will be smaller threads to sew in and you could maybe hide them better. Just a thought. Overall, however, there is very little showing.

The finishing touch was the edging. I worked all rounds in single crochet, using (sc, hdc, sc) in corners. The first round is blue and the second yellow, with the final round also in blue. I have more details in the actual pattern.

I think it looks great! Grandson saw it briefly and loved it! I had to sneak it out again to finish the edging and hold for his birthday in a couple of weeks.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Robot Afghan almost done

I am repeating this info to have everything all together. Last I blogged, I had planned not to put additional squares but rather work around with dc. I changed my mind after I looked at it. I had almost enough yellow squares to go all the way around which would mean I didn't have to make as many blue ones so I decided to go that way. (I had started making yellow squares while waiting for the blue and grey yarn to come in and had made way more than I needed for the original pattern.)

The squares are 3 rounds of daughter's cross-stitch square and come out about 3" square. The pattern can be found at Crochet Cabana under Kate Smith. I left a very long tail, about 15", for assembly. You still have to sew in the remainder but you won't have to join additional yarn for assembly.

You can, of course, you use larger squares if you want a larger afghan. Grandson is going to be 2 so I didn't want it TOO large. Remember to consider that it will be rectangular and the wider you make it, the longer it will also be. 

The yarn is Knit Picks Brava Sport Silver (light grey) and Celestial (blue) and Stylecraft Special DK graphite (dark grey) and Sunshine (yellow, almost orange).

The robot uses 38 light grey squares, 23 dark grey squares, 60 yellow squares and 110 blue squares.

After I sew the tails in, if I have time, I plan to do a round of single crochet to even out all the edges. I hope to have enough blue yarn to do this.

Because the squares are whipstitched together, it adds virtually no width or length to the squares. The size before any additional edging is approximately 39" x 69". (13 squares x 23 squares)

Daughter and I are considering whether to add eyes and mouth to the face.

Next time you should see a finished robot! I have about 3 more weeks to work on it.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

robot afghan wip

As you may recall, I was unable to crochet at all for about a month and then limited use of hand for a couple weeks after that. I am now almost fully able to crochet without pain so I've been slowly working on an afghan for my grandson. His birthday is coming up and he loves robots. His mom made up a chart for me.

 I was able to make a few squares a day for a while. I started putting them together and I've now got the robot portion of it done. It will pop out better once the edging is completed I think.

Because there are literally hundreds of tails to sew in for these small squares, I have decided to try a "regular" edging around the robot itself even though I have all the yellow squares already done and a few more of the blue completed. LOL You know how I hate sewing in those tails! I may add the other squares later if I have time. Not being able to crochet for a while messed up my timing.

Because of the nature of the robot it would naturally turn out longer than wide. I'm thinking I may add more rows to the sides first and then go around the entire thing. Still in the thinking stage at this point.

The squares are 3 rounds of daughter's cross-stitch square. At first I left a long tail 3x the width of the square but found that was not enough as it left only a short strand after assembling the squares. (If Lily Chin can leave small tails I can make do with these, eh?), so for the rest I left a very long tail, about 4x the size of the square. That is what I recommend using for assembly. You still have to sew in the remainder but it stops you from having to join additional yarn for assembly.

The squares are approximately 3". (If you want a larger afghan you can use larger squares but measure carefully. Remember I still have sides to do on this one.) Grandson is going to be 2 so I didn't want it TOO large. 

The yarn is Knit Picks Brava Sport Silver (light grey) and Celestial (blue) and Stylecraft Special DK graphite (dark grey). The yellow, if I end up using it, is Stylecraft Special DK Sunshine, very bright, almost orange.

The robot itself is now about 21" x 51". I didn't actually measure but given each square is 3" that should be about right. The robot uses 38 light grey squares, 23 dark grey squares and 57 blue squares if I counted correctly.

If you are brave enough to work all the squares on the chart as it is, you will need 32 yellow squares and a bunch more blue. I'll count it out for you on the post showing the completed afghan - don't expect that any time soon but I am hoping by mid October.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Mothers_Day

My daughter is always making things for other people for Christmas and birthdays. I thought that this year for Mother's Day I would make her something. I'm not as clever as she is, but this is what I came  up with.

This name lapghan is about 38" x 39 1/2", not quite square. Each letter was made individually and then sewn together. I did it that way since the names are not of equal length and I thought it would be easier to make them come out even. I ended each piece with a long strand which I used to sew them together.

The colors I used were Hayfield Bonus DK Extra Value shade 0792 Moss Green and Shade 0766 Pumpkin, Stylecraft Special DK Copper, Currant, Plum and Mocha (edging), Knit Picks Brava Sport Paprika. 1 skein each color.

The edging is one round of single crochet in Mocha around each strip, and then one round single crochet around entire ghan. The last round is (sc, ch 2, 2 dc, sk 2) around. I finagled with the skip to get my corner stitch in the right place. :-)

Now case in point, daughter gave to ME for Mother's Day these beautiful bookmarkers. I could never do such delicate work myself. I've already used the little angel one.

The patterns are at Ravelry.
Suzie's Little Angel Bookmark by Suzetta Williams
Butterfly Bookmarks by Anna Pakura
Cross bookmarks by Rainbow Junkie

Her family also made a donation in my honor to supply expectant mothers in Rwanda, Malawi, Haiti and Lesotho with new, sterile medical equipment and childbirth kits.What a wonderful thing to do. Making a difference in a very special way.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Doctor Who Season 14 dc scarf

Now that I remembered about it, I finished up that Season 14 scarf. I sewn in all the tails in one night and put the fringe on today.

Details:
Yarn: 
Stylecraft Special DK Copper, Khaki, Burgundy, Graphite, and Almond
Knit Picks Brava Sport Brindle
Hayfield Bonus DK Extra Value Shade 0766 Pumpkin

Size 8 1/2" x 114" (9 1/2') including fringe

Stitches: ch 37 for 35 double crochets across. 

Hook: G

I cut my thumb the other day so haven't been doing any actual crocheting. That won't stop me for long though. :-)

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Doctor Who scarves

Two Doctor Who Season 12 crocheted scarves are completed. Here is a pic of them before tails were sewn in and fringe/tassels added.

Details:
658 rows per scarf for a total of 1316 rows.
23030 stitches (35 per row) for each scarf for a total of 46060 stitches.
53 stripes of color per scarf for a total of 106 stripes done.

Just as a matter of curiosity I timed myself working a row and it took about 90 seconds. So 987 minutes per scarf or 1974 minutes for both. That is 16.45 hours per scarf or almost 33 hours of work for both scarves (if worked continuously and if I did my math correctly). So if you wanted to make one of these and you had only say a weekend to make it, you could do it if you worked really hard at it. :-)

Remember you have to sew all those tails in and add the fringe too. The fringe will straighten that curly section. Let's say add 3 hours for that. I don't know how long it took. (BTW, there were in the area of 100 tails on EACH scarf!) I watched several episodes of Smallville while I took care of those things. ;-)

Let's estimate then that it took about 20 hours per scarf or 40 hours for two.

If one were to purchase one of these scarves at the minimum hourly wage ($7.25) it would cost $145 per scarf or $290 for two scarves, not counting materials. 

Material cost was $20.83 for yarn plus shipping/handling for one scarf. Let's conservatively say that shipping was about 6. So materials and labor would amount to approximately $172 for one scarf and $317 for two.

To summarize - for one scarf, about 8" wide - 20 hours @ $7.25 plus $27 for materials = $172.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, because people balk at paying over $200 for a custom made Doctor Who scarf, not to mention prices for other handmade items. By breaking it down, you can see that you are not getting fleeced. This is actually what it costs to make these items.

I might also mention that this scarf is a bit more than half the width of the actual 4th Doctor scarf so these figures are conservative if you were to hire out a screen accurate scarf. I also did not use the more expensive wool, but rather used a medium priced acrylic yarn.

Both scarves are exactly the same in color. 

Yarn used was:
Stylecraft Special DK Burgundy
Stylecraft Special DK Camel
Sirdar Hayfield Bonus DK Pumpkin
Stylecraft Special DK Copper
Knit Picks Brava Sport Cobblestone Heather
Stylecraft Special DK Khaki
Knit Picks Brava Sport Brindle

If you are working a scarf all these colors are good but I would suggest replacing Cobblestone Heather with Stylecraft Special DK Graphite. The heather works but the original was not heathered.

Each scarf used 1 skein of the above colors for the body. Fringe uses quite a bit of yarn, but I was able to do 9 "tassels" on each end with the leftover from the two scarves. The original scarf had 12 but it was also wider.

I used a G hook and single crochet throughout, starting with a chain of 36. The finished width is about 8". (Original scarf was more in the 10-12" range and knitted). As always with yarn, even with the same manufacturer the thickness is not exactly the same which makes them work up slightly different.

Gauge is approx. 5 sc rows in 1".

The first two stripes of the first scarf were worked February 21. Then I had to wait for yarn. I really consider them begun February 28. They were completed as in picture 1 (with tails dangling) on Thursday, 3-12-2015 with fringe attached last night (March 15, 2015). That said, it really took 2 weeks working my little fingers steadily each day. That's pretty quick! I amazed even myself, but I did want to get these out quickly and I like having a goal in mind when I'm working.

Both scarves in my hall

Measurement was 11'5" relaxed, 11'7" stretched

Laid out on sofa

Closeup

I'm pretty happy with the way these two turned out. Next up, I'm going to use the rest of my yarn to make a double crochet Season 14 version. After that, I hope to make a Season 15 - which I've never done - probably using Vanna's Choice yarn since it's readily available, but we'll see how it goes.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Doctor Who S12 scarf

Here is the finished Doctor Who season 12 DK weight scarf. As noted in the previous entry, I think these colors will be the closest yet. They were suggested by doctorwhoscarf.com's Gene Fender at the Stitches Facebook group and I'm sure will be on the web site soon. 

Here are the DK/sport weight colors suggested by Gene (graphic used with permission) in different yarns. I added the text at the bottom of the graphic which was given in the original FB post.

In text:
BBC = new colors
Purple = Knit Picks Brava Sport Currant (F), alternate Stylecraft Special DK Burgundy (L)
Camel = Knit Picks Brava Sport Almond (D), alternate Stylecraft Special DK Camel (J)
Mustard = Sirdar Hayfield Bonus DK Pumpkin (A)
Rust = Knit Picks Brava Sport Paprika (C), alternate Stylecraft Special DK Copper (I)
Grey = Stylecraft Special DK Graphite (G), my alternate would be Knit Picks Brave Sport Cobblestone Heather (not in pic)
Greenish Brown = Sirdar Hayfield Bonus DK Moss Green (B), alternate Stylecraft Special DK Khaki (H)
Bronze = Knit Picks Brava Sport Brindle (E), alternate King Cole Big Value DK Taupe (K)

A Pumpkin
B Moss Green
C Paprika
D Almond
E Brindle
F Currant
G Graphite
H Khaki
I Copper
J Camel
K Taupe
L Burgundy

I have used all but the King Cole and agree with Gene that they are right on. The Cobblestone Heather was not in Gene's picks, but it is pretty close to the Graphite in my opinion, but heathered. The heathered doesn't bother me. I hardly see it, but then my eyes are not that great. LOL If you're unable to get the Stylecraft, it will work okay I think.

For this scarf, I used
Purple = Knit Picks Brava Sport Currant
Camel = Knit Picks Brava Sport Almond
Mustard = Sirdar Hayfield Bonus DK Pumpkin
Rust = Knit Picks Brava Sport Paprika
Grey = Stylecraft Special DK Graphite
Greenish Brown = Sirdar Hayfield Bonus DK Moss Green
Bronze = Knit Picks Brava Sport Brindle

In my opinion, the hardest color to get right is the mustard which is a goldish color. Most of the yellows are too yellow or too light or too orange. I have used those in the past, but am happy to have found a DK acrylic that is close to the correct gold color thanks to Gene. Because the scarves are so long, the DK weight helps with the heaviness of the scarf. 

I might note that if working with worsted yarn, the Bernat Waverly Gypsy Gold is to me a perfect color for the mustard.

In previous DK scarves and baby afghans I've used the Stylecraft Special DK Sunshine which is way bright and has a bit of an orange tint to it. I used it because it was all that I knew at the time but this Pumpkin beats it hands down for a more accurate Who scarf. For the baby afghans I think the Sunshine brightens it up a bit and for a baby, I think that is okay.

Stylecraft has a new color called gold but I haven't actually seen that one. I am in the U.S. and the Stylecraft yarn is ordered from the UK so I wait until I need a nice amount of yarn before placing an order. I'm pretty well stocked up right now. Deramores, where I order it from, is very quick and has free shipping with a certain amount purchase. I recommend them.

I like all the colors in this scarf. If I were to do another, I would use the same yarns with the possible exception of using the copper instead of the paprika because it is slightly more orange which says rust to me. The difference is miniscule, however. Both work quite fine and I am mightily pleased with this one.

For this scarf, I used the DK/sport weight yarn, a foundation chain of 36, and a G hook, making my scarf about 8" wide. 

For the detailed oriented, there are 53 stripes of colors and 658 rows. The number of rows of each color as follows: almond 145 , moss green 105 , paprika 94 , graphite 99 , brindle 81, pumpkin 57 , currant 77  = 658

Remember that although the number of stripes is the same regardless of what yarn you're using, the number of rows will change depending on what yarn (and what stitch) you are using. 

35 stitches x 658 rows = 23030 plus the foundation chain of 36 so 23066 single crochet and chain stitches in this scarf. That is not an insignificant number! LOL

I began working on May 15 and finished on the 22nd with the fringe.

My Who patterns are up at the Crochet Cabana web site and also over at Ravelry (free). 

baby sweater and Who scarves

I know I have been very lax in keeping up with the blog lately. The last project was such a long one that there wasn't much new to report. I've also been occupied with my new grandson and my mom under hospice care.

Here is what I've been up to.

I began a little baby sweater. The pattern is at Bev's Country Cottage.  It is the hexagon sweater. As you can see, it is not finished. I used a G hook and Hayfield Bonus DK Extra Value yarn from the UK, shade 0891. It's a sort of deep red, light burgundy perhaps.

The pattern is fairly straightforward. You make 2 hexagons and put them together in an L shape. Then you add the extra bits at the collar and sleeves and the spot for the buttons. I will probably not add buttons. Buttons, babies. I'm overly cautious.

I worked 8 rounds with a G hook which I think would fit a large preemie or small newborn. It fit the grandbaby who is just over 9# and 20.5". He is in newborn clothing, but most of it is still large on him. He'll probably have outgrown the sweater before I finish it. LOL

I also finished the main part of the Season 16-17 Doctor Who scarf. I still have all those tails to sew in. I haven't measured it but the sofa seating area is 6' so I'm guessing between 18' long when stretched out.

For the scarf I used my own pattern based on 5 rows to the inch (using the inches pattern at doctorwhoscarf.com which is for the knitted S 12-14 scarves). I used Stylecraft Special DK yarn (from the UK) and a G hook.

The colors used were:
Purple - Stylecraft Special DK Burgundy
Camel -  Stylecraft Special DK Camel
Mustard - Stylecraft Special DK Sunshine
Rust - Stylecraft Special DK Copper
Grey - Stylecraft Special DK Graphite
Greenish Brown - Stylecraft Special DK Khaki
Bronze - Stylecraft Special DK Walnut

I am fairly pleased with the colors except for the yellow which is really too bright and too orangy but the best available in that yarn I think. The brown (walnut) could have a bit more red to it, but I think it works fine with the other colors.

I chained 36. If making this scarf - just as I have it in the pattern with 8" wide - I would suggest buying 2 skeins of all colors but the sunshine and burgundy. You may not need it all but better safe than sorry.

The scarf has all 88 stripes of color and 1054 rows of single crochet. So if you don't like single crochet this is not the project for you! LOL

Row numbers will vary with hook and yarn but that's how many I did. The breakdown is camel 241, khaki 198, copper 159, graphite 142, walnut 123, sunshine 96, burgundy 95 = 1054

Pattern I used will eventually be available at Ravelry and the web site. I'll post when it's there.

I also began a baby size scarf. I took the full size Season 14 and reduced it proportionately. I chained 16 with a G hook and the DK yarn in colors as above. More on this one as it gets further along.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Doctor Who inspired baby afghans

I totally forgot to add the Doctor Who baby afghan pattern to the web site. It's now been done. This free pattern is also at Ravelry.

The yarn I used is Stylecraft Special DK which I purchased from Deramores in the UK. For the brown, on one of the afghans pictured I used Knit Picks Sienna and the other I used the SSDK Walnut. The Sienna is dark. The Walnut doesn't have enough red to make it bronze but both work well enough for my purposes.

You can find the pattern on the above Ravelry page and also at Crochet Cabana on the afghan pattern page.

More details on the making of these ghans can be found on a previous blog post here. You can also find them at my Gallilfreyan Crochetin' site.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

baby whoghan 2

I haven't been able to crochet the past few days so I thought I'd show you the progress on the second baby whoghan. No, I have not edged the first one yet, but I will when I can crochet again. (I'm also typing with one hand so if I miss an error, please overlook it.)

For this second one I am using Stylecraft Special DK Walnut instead of the Knit Picks Sienna I used for the first one, but am using the same row and color sequence.

I have completed about 13 1/2". 17 color sections finished. 27 to go.

If you want to travel with me, the foundation chain is 151. I use a G hook for the body. Single crochet  in each chain.  You can choose to skip the foundation chain and work a foundation single crochet of 150. The exact number is really not critical so do not rework if you have 149 or 152. It’s fine. The body is all single crochet. 

Here are the rows I've worked so far.
1 Camel
4 Walnut
2 Sunshine
5 Copper
2 Burgundy
5 Khaki
2 Sunshine
7 Camel
4 Copper
2 Walnut
3 Burgundy
11 Khaki
2 Sunshine
4 Graphite
2 Copper
13 Camel
2 Burgundy

If I could find a DK yellow that would be more gold than orange I would be thrilled. The walnut is not a bad color. For this purpose it could use a bit more red in it for the bronze look. Overall I'm pleased with the colors.

The original colors were listed as Purple, Camel, Mustard, Rust, Grey, Greenish brown, and Bronze. 

If you want to know more about Doctor Who, I have another web site with scarf details and other info. It's called Gallifreyan Crochetin'.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Who babyghan

Progress is being made on the Who babyghan. I've completed 70% of it - 135 rows of 195. 

You can see the tail in the picture where I finished a skein and started a new one in the middle of a row. I generally try to join at the end of a row but in this case I did not. 

It's coming along nicely though. I am hoping to finish by the weekend, but not sure if that will actually happen. We'll see. I have a few ideas on my next project as well. I want to do another hat like this one that I made back in January 2011. I have the yarn, just need the time.

I am also thinking about making another filet TARDIS. Dare I? LOL Also still thinking about the LEGO afghan. I might keep that one for later when Jonah is older as I don't have a lot of bright yarns on hand. We'll just have to see how it goes. 

I'm making headway on my stash though it's slow going.

There has been more talk about copyright issues lately among the designer groups as work is stolen left and right. It's a shame there are people who do this and damage the industry.

So what are you working on these days?

Happy crocheting!
Sandie