Deja vu

If you are a Canadian child of the 70s, this motif might look eerily familiar to you...

Remember the flexed arm hang? The 50 yard dash? The long jump?

Remember...Participaction???

I think it was the Canadian government's way of introducing physical fitness into the school system, but for kids used to dodge ball, skipping and frozen tag being the extent of the gym curriculum, Participaction was sheer torture. Especially for those of us for whom even that much gym was too much.

And this motif? Well, it looks a lot like the program's logo. The book seems to think it's a celtic-esque motif, but to me it just screams, "YOU ARE SLOW AND UNCOORDINATED!"

Delightful.


I made this without breaking a sweat. HA!

Purple haze

Ugh. I hate when the colour doesn't translate well! These two yarns (gifts from a very sweet friend) are two beautiful shades of lavender in whisper soft cashmerino aran by Debbie Bliss.

Unfortunately they look kind of grayish here, but they're not. Honest.

I'm still kind of keeping with the flower motif, even though there's a wind chill warning in effect (which tells me Mother Nature has totally turned her back on me and my efforts to hasten the arrival of spring. Sheesh, you try to help...).

I know it would have made more sense to use green instead of the darker lavender - and certainly would have made the flower theme more obvious - but the two purples (which you can't see properly) look so gorgeous together, I couldn't separate them.

Well, gorgeous in real life...

February 28, 2009

Le sigh.

I think it's working...

Today was mild, there's a lot less snow and ice out there than there was this morning, and it's currently raining...

Go buttercup, GO!!!

February 26, 2009

I couldn't be more grateful to my Mom for these little scraps of yarn or to Melody Griffith for the gorgeous little flower motifs.

It's like a yarny rain dance. Sort of.

I probably don't have enough flower motif patterns to crochet my way all the way into Spring, but I'm willing to give it a try.

I'm that desperate.


February 25, 2009

Hey, it rained today and I noticed a significant snow melt. Maybe it's working...

Still ignoring winter...

...by relentlessly crocheting Spring-like things, such as this little clematis motif from Melody Griffith's 201 Crochet Motifs, Blocks, Projects and Ideas (which is where the sheep pattern came from - I should have mentioned that yesterday).

Although I know it's going to take away from my crocheting time, I can't wait to get back out into the garden. Digging in the dirt is almost as satisfying as spending an afternoon surrounded by crochet books and covered in yarn.

But since the dirt is frozen, yarny flowers are going to have to do. For now.

February 24, 2009


Hmmm, Thomas' maple tree will be big enough to shade me almost all afternoon this year...perfect for crocheting in the garden!

My own personal Spring

I'm so desperate for Spring (fueled, no doubt, by the wicked winter cold that still has me in its snotty, achy grip and is making me as miserable as sin), that now I'm just trying to crochet my own.

Winter be damned, it's spring inside on my couch!

February 23, 2009




Look? See? Fluffy lamb! Green grass! Spring! Spring! Spring!

From baby gifts past...

A pale yellow bit of trellis lace done in ancient baby yarn - another remnant from my Mom's stash.

Okay, maybe it's not that ancient, but I have a feeling it could be from the 80s. My teachers always seemed to be having babies and my Mom always seemed to be making an outfit for me to take to school as a gift.

Lucky little babies.

Sweet Mom.

February 22, 2009

Such a long, long time ago...

AH-chooooooo!

I have the plague. Fine - it's possible it might just be a small cold, but whatever. So it was nice to discover an offset lace pattern that was incredibly simple to make and required very little mental energy.

I used a scrap of deep teal green yarn from my Mom's old stash which, if I'm not mistaken, she used to make me a Nordic reindeer sweater in the late 80s or early 90s.

The sweater is long gone, so it's kind of nice to have a tiny reminder of it in this little patch of lace.

February 20, 2009



Ah, the 80s. Good times. Good times.

A casualty of craft

I burst a blood vessel in my eye this evening. Apparently you can spend too much time crocheting.

Maybe I need to lay off the psychedelic variegated yarns. Or get a proper lamp. Or more sleep.

Because I can't. stop. hooking.

February 19, 2009



Even with just one good eye it looks like a circle...

Yesterday today

This is what I thought I was making yesterday. It's a picot-corner joining square (from Jan Eaton's Crochet Basics).

It's fancy on the inside.

February 18, 2009


Because we can't all be fancy on the outside.

A happy accident

I set about making what I thought was one motif, only to have it slowly and rather magically turn into this one instead. Because I was reading the pattern for one motif and looking at the picture of another.

*Simpleton.

Anyway, I'm kind of glad I made the mistake I did because I love this pattern! It worked up really quickly in the lime green and blue self-striping Bernat Baby Coordinates, and just looks really cool to me.

*I'm easily amused.

February 17, 2009


Ooooh. Pretty.

Luck 'o the Irish part II

...Or not so lucky, as the case may be.

This is, according to the pattern book, supposed to be similar to Irish lace.

To me it looks a little more like something made by an inebriated leprechaun, but whatever.

I SWEAR there's a pattern in there - look realllllly hard and you'll see it. Sort of...

I think it might look better with crochet thread instead of yarn. In fact, even the sample in the book didn't look all that great because they used yarn instead of thread too (which makes me feel better).

Live and learn...

February 16, 2009



...and drink more Bailey's.

'Tis a shamrock octagon

It's a little early for St. Patrick's Day, but I have a habit of immediately starting to look forward to the next holiday the moment the last one is over.

So, with Valentine's Day 2009 a not-so-distant and very delightful memory, I've moved straight into the annual celebration of all things Irish with the Shamrock Octagon from Melody Griffith's 201 Crochet Motifs, Blocks, Projects and Ideas.

If you look closely, you'll see eight tiny shamrocks circling the motif, which I crocheted using a little scrap of leftover yarn from a sweater my Mom knitted for me years ago.

Sure an' today's is a cozy wee project, isn't it?

February 15, 2009



I think this calls for some Bailey's. I could use a belt.

Happy Valentine's Day!

And on a completely unrelated note, here's a blue triangle.

February 14, 2009



I'm entirely too full of rich food and wine to say anything more coherent than this. Cheers! *Hic*

Superstar!!!

...or not, given that for the second time I've missed a day and am now short one square/motif.

My excuses (yeah, there are two) are as follows:

1. I spend most of the day finishing this and wore myself out, creatively speaking.

2. I've gotten sucked into Twilight (even though my teen years are far, FAR behind me and I should probably be reading something meant for people my own age), and opted to stick my nose in my vampire book instead of crocheting last night.

I'll make it up - I'm committed/obsessed with keeping up the pace - but in the meantime, the star made from Wednesday's pentagon.

February 13, 2009



Awww, a star in soft baby colours. Take THAT Friday the 13th!

Part I

I know this looks unfinished, but in actual fact this is a completed pentagon motif (crocheted using variegated Bernat Cotton Tots, as per my sibling's request) which can totally stand alone. And is standing alone today.

The reason I've left it attached to its yarny umbilical cord is because the pentagon is also the base for a star pattern that I'm going to make tomorrow.

Two birds. One stone.

February 11, 2009



The Pentagon. Tee hee hee.

Poncho

If you are a child of the 70s, no doubt you had a poncho. Or two.

Mine were hand-knitted by my Mom, and I adored them. I especially liked that you could half pull them off, leave them hanging from the back of your head, and pretend that they were a head of long hair flowing in the wind - just like the bionic woman's when she ran.

God love the 70s.

Anyway, this square is one of about 4 billion from a poncho pattern I found in the July 2006 issue of Crochet Magazine.

I think I might be too old for ponchos now. But then again, if Martha Stewart pulled it off in her 60s, maybe I can too...

February 10, 2009



I miss the days of poncho hair.

Sing!

I grew up in churches listening to my Dad singing. Some of my sweetest and most enchanting childhood memories involve soaring cathedral ceilings, pipe organs, robed choirs and, of course, the sound of music.

When I was finally old enough, I started singing myself - directed by my Dad in church choirs from the time I was seven years old.

I quit when I was six months pregnant, making my choir career 27 blissful years long.

The church is a huge comfort to me - and, sometimes, a torment too. I won't lie. But mostly now I find the familiarity of the surroundings and the rituals comforting.

And I still sing. From the pews instead of the choir loft now, but that's okay.

You can't go home. But you can take the memories with you. And you can always, always sing.

This cathedral window motif, made from a little remnant of soft, peach coloured cotton from my Mom, made me think of the choir years - of my dad and all the people whose voices I've listened to, sung with and loved.

February 9, 2009



The beautiful old saying, "To sing is to pray twice" is so true. So very true.

Lesson learned

Hmmmm...

Hindsight being 20/20, I shouldn't have used a dark, variegated yarn for this stitch pattern (which explains the back lit second shot). The alternating shells and lacy bits kind of get lost in the shuffle.

But isn't life like that sometimes? The prettiest, sweetest, most wonderful things aren't always right there on the surface just waiting for you all easy peasy like.

Sometimes life makes you work for it.

Or, at the very least, makes you use back lighting.

February 8, 2009





Well, at least it worked. Even if you have to use special effects to see it...

I never said there wouldn't be reruns...

I've been thinking a lot about Tuesday's little star - wondering if it really would look better hanging around with a few friends - so today I gave it a couple.

And yeah, I think it does. In fact, I think this is going to be a pretty cute blankie, if I do say so myself.

I decided to use the colours randomly - to apply no specific pattern to the green, yellow, lavender and white stars. Partly because I have different amounts of each colour of yarn and won't be able to make the same number in every colour, and partly because it just feels right to do it that way.

I realize the universe has order, but not to a wide-eyed star-gazer standing in a darkened field on a quiet summer night.

So I'm going with what I see when I look up. A mass of chaotic beauty.

February 7, 2009



P.S. No reruns tomorrow. I promise.

Kind of cheating...

This is actually just the first few rows of what will become a much bigger square - right before it then becomes one side of a felted granny square purse (to match the other side I finished last night).

So, kind of not exactly a finished square, but it counts. I totally think it counts...

February 6, 2009



It must be nice to know what you're going to be when you group up.

Heaven

I've had two skeins of Lion Brand Microspun sitting in my stash for years. Just two. For some reason I think my sister gave them to me, possibly towards the end of my pregnancy - or maybe just after. The details are hazy (as are many things from that time, really).

Anyway, I've never known what to do with them, but have been quietly and very, very deeply loving them since the day they found their way into my life. Such beautiful, bright, and impossibly soft yarn!

Today while I was poking through my books and magazines looking for a square to make, I stumbled across a pattern for a scarf that caught my eye. Mostly because of the gorgeous, deeply saturated colours. The yarn.

Yeah, that's right, Microspun.

Cue heavenly chorus of angels...

I'm short a couple of balls and only have two colours instead of the required three, but I don't care. I started anyway, with this beautiful lime and grape square made from deliciously soft Microspun.

February 5, 2009



I wonder if it's at all possible to find the same dye lot...four years later.

Not just for wearing

Ooooh, the beloved sock monkey! (Yes, I know this looks a little like a sock bear - I swear I followed the pattern in Stich 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker faithfully. Just squint - you'll be fine).

My sister probably remembers this better than I do, but I have a fond (albeit vague) memory of making sock monkeys with my Grandma. Or, come to think of it, maybe I was just watching her make them. That's probably more likely if the memory is that hazy. I couldn't have been more than 5 or so and probably wouldn't have been entrusted with a needle and thread at such a tender age. Certainly not by my Grandmother who instilled a less than healthy fear of docks and toilet tanks in me.

Long story.

Anyway, every time I see a sock monkey, that warm-chocolate-chip-cookie-fresh-from-the-oven feeling washes over me and I smile.

I don't know if the same thing happens to you, but if so, enjoy!

February 4, 2009



Toilet tanks still scare me, by the way...

Twinkle, twinkle little star...

...how I wish you looked as much like a star as you did in the magazine where I found your pattern.

Because really, you kind of look like a flower. And a bit of a boring one, at that.

But, in the star's defense, it's supposed to be one of about 80 all strung together in a lacy, star-studded afghan. Joined to other stars by each of the six tips, the "petals" get a little more pointed looking, adding more starriness (star-osity?) to the overall shape and appearance of the motif.

Strength in numbers, as it were.

But one star all alone? Kind of dull.

Despite my criticisms, I'm thinking this might make a cute baby blanket; soft, puffy little stars in pastel shades like this one (which is butter yellow, but appears cream due to my inadequate photographic skills). I used Bernat Baby Coordinates (leftover from a baby blanket I made a year or so ago) which isn't what the pattern called for, but was what I had on hand.

And now I feel the urge to make more, more, MORE stars and see if my suspicion is correct - that this might actually make a heavenly baby gift.

February 3, 2009



Shine on.

I heart you

Today's square is one of four patterns meant to make up a cozy Valentine's day afghan (as seen in the Jan/Feb '08 Crochet Today! magazine. And no, I don't work for them; I'm just giving credit where it's due).

I didn't use the yarn they suggested - I just pulled some Bernat Satin from my stash - so I think my square is a little more "defined", if that makes sense. The lighter weight yarn makes it a little less bulky.

I also added the ribbon detail because I was irritated by the spaces created by the heart-making process (something that wouldn't likely be an issue if you were using the correct yarn, I'm thinking). Instead of remaining irritated, I thought I'd take advantage of the spaces by weaving a little bit of ribbon through to make a pretty little bow.

Tres Valentine-y, if I do say so myself.

February 2, 2009



I wish I had some cinnamon hearts to go with this square...

Grape Ape

Does anyone remember that Saturday morning cartoon from the late 70s, early 80s? It's fuzzy (I don't think it ran for very long) but it's wedged in my noggin somewhere between the Lemon Twist and legwarmers.

All I know for sure is that he was a huge purple ape. He might have had a hat on too, and a little vest maybe? I'm not sure. The 70s were ever so long ago.

Anyway, because this purple doily was meant to be a dainty coaster but ended up being so big it could easily accommodate a flowerpot, the cartoon gorilla popped into my head.

Clearly I used the wrong weight of crochet cotton. It's still pretty, I think, but it's awfully purple for a doily...

February 1, 2009



My apologies to the March/April '08 issue of Crochet Today! for bungling this delightful coaster project. I'll get the right crochet cotton next time I attempt this. I promise.