Week 18: Crochet in Movies or TV

Week 18: Name a movie or TV show in which someone is crocheting, or that has a crocheted item in it.

Back in October of 2012 I was watching the TV show Hollywood Treasures. I honestly can't say too much about it except that one of the cast, Tracy McCall was wearing a really fun crocheted hat. I liked it so much that I paused the show long enough to sketch out the hat in my crochet notebook. I think about it sometimes, and may even work one up one of these days.

Another crocheted item that has caught my eye is from another TV show, but it's one that I haven't watched myself. I was reading the Ravelry forums and came across this thread. It is about the show Breaking Amish which has a crocheted afghan in it. It 's a very distinctive pattern and one that I am considering starting this fall. It just happened that Love of Crochet magazine mailed me an offer and they included 2 free patterns, one of which is Rippling Ridges. It's a bit different, but has the same stitch pattern in a shallower chevron. So, I now have a pattern, I'll just need to choose my colors. There are some fabulous colorway examples of this afghan on Pinterest, and below is a photo by Angelala242.

Do you have any crocheted TV or movie props you'd like to make?

Thanks for joining me for week 18 of the 52 Week Crochet Challenge!

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Week 8: Unfinished Projects and Week 9: Organize Your Patterns

Week 8: 

This weeks challenge is to go through any unfinished projects you've had sitting around and either work it or frog it.

Boy, oh boy, was this a challenge for me! I really wanted to take my time on this one and do it right. This is the second major project purge that I've done, and I'm really proud that I didn't have as many UFO's (unfinished objects/projects) as I did the first time. So, the good news is that I'm getting better about finishing my projects. No, really it's true ;)

Here's the list of what I'm keeping and working on finishing:
A baby blanket - FINISHED 5/3/14. It was near completion, but stuffed in a closet, which is not a typical place! So it's no wonder I had forgotten about it.

Another baby blanket for charity. This one is my Bright Striped Blocks pattern. The blocks are completed, one needs the ends woven in, and then it'll be ready for assembling.

A tire cover for my Jeep. Yep, you read that right. It's almost finished, just needs the final few rounds.

Folk art doll. She needs some ends woven in on her apron, and some hair, then she'll be complete.

A sweater for me. This one I had completed, but I needed some seaming examples for my book Crochet-opedia, so I undid some of the seams and took photos. It's been sitting unfinished since then.

I'm still working on my scrap afghan too. I'm so happy with it, but I think I'm enjoying the crocheting part the most :)

Oh yeah, and I'm working on a new design too. A scrunchy hat and cowl. The pattern and samples are almost done. I've got to proof the pattern and take pictures then make the pdf file.

I decided to frog a motif runner. The runner is made up of triangles that are sewn together to form a quilt like pattern. I probably had 25 finished, but this project had survived the first purge, and hadn't been touched since. Too much work, and I'm not even sure what I would have done with it. It was a really cool pattern though!

As you can tell from my UFO's, it seems that I lose steam near the completion of a project. I wonder why that is? I should really attempt to reward myself somehow when I've completed a project. Or maybe I need to tell myself I can't start another until I've finished one. Hmm, it's definitely something to think about. Overall though, I have to say that I feel so much better now that I've finished this challenge. It's great that now my yarns, patterns, and projects are all neat and organized. It's been inspiring and I feel like I will accomplish so much more!

 

Week 9: 

Organize your patterns this week. Do you have a special system for your patterns? Can you find a specific pattern easily?

I find that I am starting to rely much more on the computer for organizing my patterns. I used to print out or make copies of patterns for my personal use, and store them in a file cabinet. I had two drawers full at one point. This would have been okay, if I had used them more than I did. I finally realized that it was a waste of space, not to mention paper, so I have since recycled them. These are only the patterns that I had not made. The ones I had made projects from, I kept the copies because I typically make notes on them as I go along. If I ever want to make the same pattern again, it makes it much easier because of my notes. I also like to write down the start and finish dates. It's sort of like a scrapbook for me too, and it's fun to look back at the patterns. When I've finished the project I put the pattern in a clear plastic sheet protector and file it in a large 3 ring binder that I have that is organized into sections.

I have considered scanning these patterns and keeping them as computer files only (and of course, they are only for my own personal use). It would be a pretty big project to do so right now, but maybe I will try doing that with my future projects. Right now I keep separate file folders on my computer; works in progress, things I'd like to make, charity patterns, etc. I try not to add too many files. If I'm looking for a new project I'll check out what I have saved on my computer and if nothing catches my eye then I will check out my Pinterest boards or other crochet pins for inspiration. From there I can easily keep track of pattern links with Evernote. I'll make a new note for a particular project, like an afghan, then when I am searching the web it's easy to add links, photos, and even a pdf file if one is available. Once I've decided on one particular project, then it's simple to delete my note. Easy peasy.

 
Thanks for joining me for Week 8 and 9 of the 52 Week Crochet Challenge! 
It's never too late to join in the fun and there's no need to catch up, just jump right in:

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BeauFO - at least I think so!

I've been in the mood to work up some smaller projects for myself lately. Here's a few lovelies:


I crocheted this cute beanie (Mesh Cap) from a pattern I found in Vogue Knitting Crocheted Hats. I made it in black to match my coat. I needed something for those bad hair days of mine when all I really want to do is run out to the post office, or to the store, or wherever. This hat is perfect!








This pretty headband was made from a pattern by Drew Emborsky, the Crochet Dude. I made mine from Caron Simply Soft yarn. The pattern can be found in his book in all Caps! It works up very nicely and would be a great pattern for anyone interested in learning a basic cable pattern, and I like that it is reversible too!









I really love this project, made with Lion Brand Jiffy yarn, which is really soft and has the right amount of "give". It is the Scalloped Cowl pattern which can be downloaded for free from their website. You'll have to register first, but it's free to join and there are lots of great patterns to be discovered!


And in case you're wondering, BeauFO = beautiful finished object - I hope you'll agree!

Monarch Butterflies Passing Through Michigan and The Butterfly Project

I was lucky to have spotted a lot of Monarch Butterflies around our house the last week of August. Especially around our willow trees, they were hanging out in groups, so I was determined to take some photos. I wasn't able to find a group of them, but this little guy was hanging around.




Cool picture? I thought so! It was getting close to dusk, so I used the auto setting with flash. I tweaked it a bit in Paint.net to darken the background up.

Being curious about the migration I found this great site: Journey North's Monarch Butterfly Migration. Lots of info here, FAQ's, maps, and lists of sightings. There's quite a few sightings listed in Michigan - I'm not surprised!

And along with my Monarch sightings, it called to mind a very special project which I plan on donating to - The Butterfly Project. Thank you Doris! She's my crochet friend that let our crochet team know about this, and you can read Doris's original blog post about the project here. But essentially, The Holocaust Museum Houston is collecting 1.5 million handmade butterflies in remembrance of the innocent children who perished.

I will be sending in some crocheted (of course!) butterflies and I found this great 2-D pattern here. But, they don't have to be crocheted and can be made in any medium. This would be a great project for kids.

Here are a few pics of some butterflies I crocheted. The first I made in worsted weight yarn.


The smaller butterflies I made using variegated embroidery floss. I used to love to cross stitch, but don't anymore, so I have tons of floss. Each butterfly took less than 1 skein and I used a size 3 (2.10 mm) steel crochet hook. I think they turned out really pretty!

Continuing Crochet - Weeks 1 and 2

So I haven't been busy blogging (obviously) but I have been busy crocheting and I thought I would post here about what I've been up to. I am currently teaching a Continuing Crochet class that is 7 weeks long, and this Thursday will be our 6th class. I didn't have a set lesson plan because I wanted to find out from my students what sort of projects they would be interested in learning. So, each week I devise a lesson plan and work up a project for the next class. It has been a success, with 8 to 10 students each week.

The first week, I wanted to keep it fun and get some ideas from the students about future projects, so I started with embellishments.


We learned how to make fringe, tassels, pom poms, and twisted cord. I had square cardboard templates for the fringe/tassels and circular templates for the pom poms. Pictured above are the samples that I made up. The blue variegated tassel is made from size 3 thread.

Week 2 centered around color work. I handed out a ripple scarf pattern that I designed, which includes simple color changes.


I haven't yet decided if I'm going to add fringe to mine or not. I'm real happy with the colors I chose for this project. Several of my students have completed their scarves, and they really enjoyed working this stitch and pattern.

The same week I also introduced them to working from color charts. And here is the chart:

Each square represents 1 stitch in single crochet, and 2 stitches in double crochet. I also provided them with basic instructions to complete a potholder.


Above are pictures of the front and back of my sample. We used the stranding method (also called the carry over method) to work the colors for this project.

Pictured below, the top photo shows the same chart worked in single crochet. The picture below that is a single crochet fabric with cross stitches worked over them.


The cross stitch sample above reminds me that I still haven't completed my Search to Be Square, but I have several samples of that to post later on. I will also update you next week of Continuing Crochet - Weeks 3 and 4.

Thanks for stopping in :)

Holiday Weekend Crochet - yay!

With the Labor Day weekend gearing up I am hoping that I will have some time to work on new projects! I have a pretty placemat pattern I am working on and a cute Halloween project. I have quite a few books I want to read too.

Speaking of books, I have been looking at Robyn Chachula's Blueprint Crochet. What an awesome book! It is geared toward visual crocheters and has symbol crochet patterns for her lovely designs. I myself have designed a symbol pattern as a bonus to go along with my Star Wash Cloth and Face Scrubbie pdf, and I can honestly say that I haven't found an easy way to create these charts. Kudos to Chachula for her awesome and fresh designs! I think that symbol charts are making a comeback!

Boggy Bloggy Me

An alternate definition of the word boggy is "To be hindered and slowed." Yep, that's me. Hindered. And Slow. *sigh*
I have so much on my plate right now that I thought I would take a brief moment to update my boggy blog and put a few things into perspective. So, here's a few things I've managed to accomplish.
1. I managed to update my Etsy banner, and I've also uploaded the new one here.
2. I've added a new pattern to my shop. (That's my Daphne in the pic - awww, isn't she cute!)


3. I'm working on another new pattern that I've almost finished, and I hope to offer with a crochet kit in my shop soon.
4. I finished a scarf project for The Special Olympics.
5. I'm *mostly* caught up with all the EtsyHookers team stuff I have to do.
6. I reminded myself today that I am very grateful - for my wonderful husband and family, for my adorable and affectionate pets, to have a job that I love, and to have the gift of being able to making something out of simple tools of hook and yarn.
Okay, so no more feeling boggy, and I've just updated my bloggy :) Thanks for stopping in!