A Good Start

Happy Day after Thanksgiving! I hope you all realize all the things/people for which you/we are thankful. I won't get too maudlin and list all that I am thankful for, but I am grateful for the ability to crochet, the means by which to do it, and cats who don't get into my yarn basket.

I thought about how to make that lovely afghan and decided that for me, the only way to do it was to take it a section at a time. I looked at the middle section and guesstimated it to be about 24 inches square. It may not be, but that's my story and I'm sticking too it!

The middle area is made of 3 inch grannies, which is great, but I wanted a statement center, so I went with a 12 inch middle that will be surrounded by 6 inch squares. One of the hardest tasks, and one of the funnest, is picking the pattern and the colors. Colors! Oh my gosh. The original must have a billion colors, or at least a lot. I'd say the original has an overall red theme and that gives it that Oriental rug look. I chose more greens and browns. I hope to get the Oriental rug look; keeping my fingers crossed. So what do I have so far? Here is the 12 inch middle piece.

After I made it, I decided to add a round of brown (oh...look...I'm a poet) to all the squares that are going to make up the entire center. This pattern is called Raindrop Block by Donna Kay Lacey. I changed the last couple of rounds. The blue in my square is more of a country blue and what looks white is soft taupe. This gives you the idea. The yarns I used were all a worsted weight (#4), but from different manufacturers. Some have a sheen and some are matte, which gives the whole piece a bit more character. In this piece you will find:

Mary Maxim Starlette in Chocolate
Mary Maxim Starlette in Medium Taupe
Mary Maxim Starlette in Soft Taupe 
Mary Maxim Starlette in Green
Mary Maxim Starlette in Caramel
Caron Simply Soft in Country Blue
Caron Simply Soft in Autumn Red

Green? Green? Where are the greens? Coming chickadees. Peace.

Quixotic Afghan

Hi everyone. Hope all of you in the Mid-Atlantic states have prepared for the storm coming your way. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I have started another project. I was looking around  Pinterest a few weeks ago and came across the most wonderful looking afghan. I tracked down the original posting and it turns out that is is on a fabulous French website. Alas, there was no pattern for the afghan.

I kept seeing this afghan being repinned and repinned. I studied it as best I could and thought "Hey..I'm going to give it a try. I want to make this afghan for myself. " Yes, I may be crazy, but I'm going to have lots of spare time in the near future so I think this is going to be a fun project. Take a look at this. Gorgeous, yes?

Other work by this talented fiber artist can be found at  Clothogancho.

I'll be back over the next several weeks showing my progress on this Quixotic endeavor. Peace.

Fern Forest Scarf

This is an orange scarf update. I said that the scarf was inspired by a pattern that I saw. I found the pattern and would like to give credit to the designer. The book is Crochet: 20 simple and stylish designs to wear by Jane Davis. The book can be found at Amazon  http://tinyurl.com/7hp4mzy.  I may make another scarf using another whole different set of colored and textured yarns. I wish I could show you her picture of the scarf. Even the name is lovely Fern Forest Scarf. There is also a pattern for matching Fern Leaf Mittens.

Picking a Pattern

As several of you know, I like to spin my own yarn. What I thought that I would do with this blog is to go through the process of all the things to do to make yarn and make an item. I thought it would be fun if I posted pictures and descriptions of what's happening and of course, answer any questions and ask a few questions myself *g*

I have the fibers picked out in my head of what I'd like use. I'm thinking of a yarn made of mohair, soy silk, tussah silk, yak, merino wool and blue-face Leicester wool. So I need a pattern. I have decided on making a crocheted shawl. Shawls are nice in the cooler months for those times when you are say, sitting down, reading a book, and a sweater is a bit too warm and a blanket is just too bulky. The hard part is picking a pattern. There are so many beautiful patterns out there. My favorite online site to find patterns is http://www.ravelry.com/.

I've found a few that I like and can't make up my mind. What pattern do you like? Keep in mind that each pattern can be made in any color (s). Make a comment and help me decide *g*

All Shawl


Blue Curacao



Cassandra



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