Sew… Sew… Snip…

My goodness… this is an incredibly slow and boring project. I am pretty sure that there must be a more efficient way to to this. There must be a crocheting prodigy somewhere in this universe discovering a mindbogglingly simple technique that would save crocheters all around the world from having to do this…

This is torture… 

Or maybe I just haven’t researched enough?

Lol. I don’t know. I just found this cleaning and securing the loose yarn like this is one hell of a boring job.

Luckily, I have found a new project to do. Remember I told you that my friend is pregnant, and doc told her that the baby is going to be a boy? Yep, Found a great pattern for baby boy, and have a wonderful yarn for it too.

Did a swatch, and had to use larger needles to get an exact gauge with my normal tension. Which is handy because I don’t need to remember the tension, as it just naturally happens like that.

The pattern is Hazel from Rowan. Ribbing is k1p2. And I have to go to bed…

x ❤ x

Whoops…

That is not the word you want to hear coming from your own mouth (especially) when you were in the middle of the WIP… It usually means that you either have to frog everything and start over, or you have to think how to wing it…

Now, before I admit what the potential disaster is, I would like to explain what’s going on about this crochet WIP.

In the pattern, the individual triangles should have 9.5 cm length in every side, and 8 cm tall from the tip to the base. I know how important it is to make a swatch, especially when the pattern relies on the number of triangles you made — instead of the length of the piece as you knit it. So, I did measure the triangle, twice, and I even adjusted the size of the hook to achieve the correct size.

You know you’re going to hear a but, don’t you? Yes… BUT, I think the pattern did not take the shrinkage of the length caused by the joining of the triangles as you go.

You see? When you were joining the triangles as you go, by making a slip stitch into the chain space of the main piece, you inadvertently pinched a very small bit of the edge. I don’t know if this happens to other crocheter, but when I do this, it will take some milimetre worth of the edge… times twenty triangles.

That’s the problem. In the end, after they’re joined in the round, I realised that the shrinkage on each triangle is then accumulated into a good inch and a half in circumference. I tried it on and it is still loose in my waist and chest so it might fit. I also count on the size after blocking, but I shouldn’t be too confidence that it will be anywhere closer to the size suggested in the pattern.

Yeah… a big whoopsie there 😦 But I think I am going to go through with the WIP, and see…

x ❤ x

WIPs Progress(es?)

It makes me wonder… if there are more than one WIP, would the progress should be in plural form too? To be honest English confuses me a lot, especially when it is learned properly (instead of the basic one used for daily conversation). But oh well… Let’s not let it distract me from sharing the progress I have made so far…

The first one is the crochet project I made during my trip to Edinburgh. You’d be surprised how much one can make during the train trip. The first few pieces that’s been connected looked slightly wonky, but the latter ones looked much better. Overall, I am loving this project… I think green is good for summer too, don’t you think?

And, I just realised that the other project was also green! It has gone very quickly too… before I accidentally nicked my finger with the sharp edge on the tin when opening a spam. Damn Spam… But the back and the front is done, and I am halfway on the first sleeve.

HOPEFULLY… I would be able to post more regularly again. It is nice to return to a routine…

x ❤ x

Which One is Better?

It is always great when you have an FO, especially during weekends. It does make you feel like you have achieved something while doing nothing.

Previous FOs waiting for buttons

Unfortunately the buttons I have been waiting for haven’t arrived yet. So now I end up with three very cute lacy baby cardigans, without buttons 😦 Oh well… not much I can do about it. I’ve been thinking of doing something else after this, at least until the buttons have arrived.

Talking about FOs… I do really like the white cardigan. I think I like it more than the yellow one. What do you think? Which one is better?

WIP Progress…

Since I haven’t yet learned how to make an interesting title for my blog post, I am afraid you will have to put up with the generic one — like this one. Yes, of course there’s nothing wrong with a generic title like this, but I kind of think that if the title says everything, it feels like spoiling the whole blog post.

Oh well…

Like I said, the title is pretty much self-explanatory.

I have to say that I like this pattern very much, but if I am not careful I would end up with hundreds of these, and then going to have a big problem finding anyone who would need the jackets. I think this is going to be the last one for a while, at least until mum or my sisters ask me to make more of these.

As the others before, it progressed really quickly. Just like what I suspected before, once I am used to the heart lace pattern, it gets much quicker. I could even do this while watching Miss Marple — and pretended that I am knitting with her while trying to solve a murder mystery.

I am going to have another FO really really soon. I really hope that the button will have arrived by then 😦

x ❤ x

WIP Weekender…

Okay… I have to admit that picking up a title for a post is getting more and more difficult. Of course I can always use “WIP update” or something generic like that, but I don’t like using it too much. It sounds so… meh. How do you creative people make up titles for your posts anyway? Tell me tell me tell me…

Anyway… Weekend! Again! This time it is this wonderful Bank Holiday weekend… apparently. Usually… there are two things that might happen in holidays and weekends: 1. You have a lot of activities — going to the city, shopping, dining out, or even getting a day trip to nearby historical towns. Or 2. The plan is to do as little as possible, and only move from your sofa when it is needed — and knit all day and all night, while having this crime drama on the telly.

Of course you can always have something else in between, like having fun in the allotment plot when the weather is less crappy, or banning husband from the kitchen while baking some awesomeness in the kitchen. Or combination of everything…

But I am glad that I have time to blob in the sofa for a long time and knit without any husbandly intervention. It does feel like a holiday when I slouch, and knit, and every now and then there is a husband approaching and offering some hot drinks. Gosh! Luxury…

Look what spoiling can do to the progression of a WIP…

x ❤ x

WIP Again…

I am quite happy with the progress with this project. It is going slow, but of course I don’t mind starting slow with this as long as I will finish this in the end.

I did this project before for my niece, but it was in white because I made it for her baptism/christening thing. I am proud to say that she has worn the jacket again several time after that and still loving it.

This time it is for some family friend 🙂 It is surprising that even though this is my second time making this pattern, it is still as enjoyable as the first time I did it. I wonder if next time I make it again, I could change the lace pattern in it? Something to think about while finishing this project 🙂

x ❤ x

WIP Progress Report

I really enjoy doing this pattern. I have to say that although some of the pattern is a little bit fiddly, it does give enough challenge without making me feel inadequate 😀 I think the pattern is very pretty too, and I couldn’t wait finishing it so that I can wear it.

One thing that is being my concern right now… I don’t think I would have enough yarn for it. I am pretty sure I did have the amount of yarn mentioned in the pattern, but I have gone through almost half of the yarn and haven’t even finished my first piece.

Worrying… but not enough to stop me making it. I could definitely get more yarn if needed, but I would rather not.

Oh well… Wish us luck 😀

x ❤ x

 

New WIP!

I am so happy just to write that title.

No…

Seriously.

I just came back from Wales, visiting in laws, and didn’t have either time or proper internet connection to tell you how happy I was that I can now move on to a new project.

This project now will be “Cancun Boxy Lace Top“. The pattern has been in my to do list for a long long time, and looking at some other blogger making them made me so envious. It looked really pretty and it is definitely suitable for the weather.

Didn’t you feel a little bit warm lately in the UK? Spring is definitely coming…

x ❤ x

Oops…

Okay… a few oopsie moments here.

First, the green wool has arrived. I have to say that the delivery is quick, so yes… if I had the correct colour I could start working with the repairing project. But, that’s the thing… IF I had the correct shade of green.

Just so you know, I am not blaming the shop for sending me the wrong colour, because it must be my fault. I matched the colour with stranded cotton DMC shade 701, and it was correct… and I used this conversion chart here to get the code for the tapestry wool — which was 7042.

So, theoretically 7024 should match my green. That is the plan anyway, but apparently it is not quite so.

When it arrived, it didn’t match completely. It was close. Very close. Probably the closest I have ever found, but I am pretty sure that if I use this wool, it would be quite visible. I know that my SIL wouldn’t mind so much, but I do… I mean, if I want to make something for someone I do care about, I would want to make it perfect, wouldn’t I?

Anyway, I would try the wool first, maybe when it is crocheted in it would be seamless. Let’s hope so 😦

The second oops is this…

I have made it so far only to realise that I don’t have enough cotton yarn to make a full curtain. It might be enough to make one half a curtain (with some extra for the other half), or a cute lacy throw or afghan, or table cloth. I mentioned the table cloth to my husband though… but he wasn’t too enthusiastic having a cute lacy table cloth.

So… I have several options now. Make it as a throw or afghan to be use for summer, or… I could make one half of the curtains, and make as much as I can until I have got the chance to visit Indonesia again to buy the material to finish the project (means having a UFO for a while). What do you think?