squares, yoyos, saltines, magic ball

I'm still working on the ziploc bags filled with small balls. Some of these balls are actually not that small and I've had enough to make a few 6" squares. I think I can get a few more of those.

If I can't make a 6" square, then I make saltines. If there is not enough for a saltine, I make a yo yo. If there is not enough for a yo yo, I try for a granny's daughter. If there is not enough for a granny's daughter, then I add the strand to my magic ball of scraps. Here is the ball right now. It is 15 1/2" around.

How do I know if there is enough for any of those projects? Well, a while back I made each of these and then ripped them back and measured around a 12" ruler. I discovered that worked with an H hook and worsted yarn, for MY tension, I could make a saltine with 16 lengths of the ruler. (You can find this info in my page on making the saltine/yo-yo etc.) In brief, here are the rules I use:

yo yo - wind at least 8 times (8 feet), 16 dc
double yo yo - wind at least 20 times (20 feet), 16 dc first round, 2 in ea for 32 dc last round
granny's daughter - wind at least 7 times (7 feet), 4 3dc shells separated by chains
saltine - wind at least 16 times (16 feet), first 2 rounds basic granny square


To be clear, when I say wind, that means one length of the ruler (12"). So there would be 2 lengths in one back/front wind. I also hold an inch or two at the top so it doesn't slip out of my fingers. You will be able to judge if this works for you pretty quickly. The number of chains between shells on your granny is up to you. I sometimes use 2, sometimes 3 depending on to whom it is going.

Using this method, here is what I accomplished yesterday.

49 saltines, 11 yo yos

And here are the 6" squares I was able to make. I don't know how many winds those are as I can't bring myself to rip one back. LOL

I didn't make any double yo-yos this time. Primarily this is because I didn't think of it. heh

Other than this I've been keeping busy with regular things. My mom is progressing with her physical therapy. My son has moved back home temporarily and he is getting settled in. Jack got out once and I had to call daughter to help me corral him. There have been the usual gecko ack incidents. All in all, life continues to move on. Hope you and yours are doing well.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

wips and fo

What's been on my hook? Here's a look ...

64 saltines (2 rounds of a basic granny)

31 yo yos (16 dc in ring)

This will be a cowl when I've sewn the ends together

sc scarf worked in back loop only

Where are they going? Well, the yoyos and saltines are going to Dawn. She puts these together into gorgeous afghans.

The blue cowl is staying at home. It was made because I saw a pattern I just had to try. It is double triple crochet rows alternated with a single crochet row though I think the pattern called for three rows of sc between. The pattern is Patons Lace Sequin Cowl. I had a large ball of thin yarn and thought it would be enough but it was not. I used every bit of it and ended up with 7 rows of the dtr, about 7 1/2". I was hoping for 12". Still I think it will be useful. I have a small neck and it's very lightweight for our mostly mild temperatures here. I haven't had a chance to look through my stash to see if I can find a close match for joining even though I don't think the join will show.

The red is in progress and just a back loop only single crochet. I think I did 200 chains. I was inspired by the Mistake Stitch Knit scarf at Knit Your Bit and this scarf will be headed there when it's done.

That's all for now.


Happy crocheting!
Sandie

thick warm scarf

I finished a scarf with this lovely Deborah Norville Premier chunky yarn.
So very soft. I think the color is Fudge.

The pattern is straight double crochet. Finished size is 7" x 65". I was trying to get the hat man size but was afraid I'd run out of the yarn so it ended up being suitable for a small man or a woman. I hope that will work for someone. It is a bit stretchy and it's definitely warm.

I'm thinking to send this to the Bridge project since it is so warm.

The next scarves I make will be for the Knit Your Bit project if I can find enough man yarn in my stash. I am hoping to save some postage and deliver them at the next gathering at the museum, which will be in November. We'll see if that works out.

I also have a lot of small balls with which I will probably make some saltines. Those are fun and easy to do and I am happy to have every bit of yarn used. Dawn does such a good job of assembling these into beautiful, useful ghans.


Happy crocheting!
Sandie

DW scarf #3

Remember before I left on vacation in September, I was working on a Doctor Who scarf, my third one. I finished it before I left except for taking care of the tails. A few days ago I completed  that little chore.

Finished size is 9' 3" long x 6" wide. I used an I hook and chained 21 to start.

I used the row counts from Chris Brimelow's pattern (#4) with the Vanna's Choice colors of Tara Wheeler's season 14 pattern.

This will be a much more useful scarf for me than the wide one, though that one is closer to the original which I believe was said to be 11" wide.

This is my third DW scarf. I do enjoy making them though it takes a lot of yarn and a good spot of time.

With that done, I decided to work on loom potholders just for something different to do. I am thinking of doing another loom hat or trying for a scarf perhaps with the long loom, if I can remember how I did the other little hat. :-)

That's all for now.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

surface crochet

I've been keeping busy. I made squares for Share a Square - sent those off but forgot to take a picture. I made some rectangles for injured soldier ghans but also forgot to take a photo of those before sending off. :-(

A few people have asked me about surface crochet. I haven't done a video on it yet, but Kim Guzman has a nice one you might want to have a look at. There are also a number of text and photo tutorials. I found this one that I thought was clear. If that doesn't do it for you, just Google surface crochet.

Just briefly, what you do is make a slip knot, but don't put it on your hook, just hold it underneath your piece. Insert your hook from the top, through the material you've made, and put the knot on your hook. Draw it through. (Now don't draw the tail and everything through. Stop at the slip knot.) Insert your hook at the next spot where you want your design to go. Yarn over (from the back). Your yarn is always held underneath the work. Pull through the work, and through the loop on your hook, which makes a slip stitch. You might want to pull on your slip knot tail just to make sure the knot doesn't poke through.You will be able to see the outline of the design on the back as well but it won't look the same.

When you are finished with your design, weave the tails in carefully. It will probably not be the same color yarn but should not show through too much if you are careful.

You also have to be careful that you are not pulling in your piece as you choose where you want to insert your hook.

Although this method uses the slip stitch, I don't see any reason why you couldn't get a more 3-D look by using a single crochet or some other stitch. I haven't tried it, but perhaps I will do so soon.

I can envision many fun uses for this. I guess the only down side, if you want to call it that, is that it is worked over single crochet, which takes a bit more time and yarn to work since it is a short, closed stitch.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie