The Pinterest Bug...

... has bitten me too :)

I've read a lot about Pinterest on other blogs, seen great pictures and followed some links - needless to say, Pinterest had me at Hello ;)

Yesterday I received my invite, and spent the whole night pinning and re-pinning - you probably know what I'm talking about! I started browsing the crochet boards, but was soon distracted by the Print & Posters pins. I think I'm ready for a new addiction... :)

Have a nice week-end everybody!

Source: Pinterest

Thursday Thoughts

"I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes
because I know I'm not dumb...
and I also know that I'm not blonde."

(Dolly Parton)

 

 

 

 

Basket Parade

Hey girls! Have you all started your Christmas crochet preparations already? I've seen that some of you have, and so I wanted to join the fun. I thought a little Christmas basket would be nice, wouldn't it? I've tried some ideas I had in mind, and in the end I've found three different patterns I really like (not only for Christmas). 

 

That was my first try. I like the pattern for the sides and the style of the border, but not the combination of them in one basket :) so this basket is not on my top3-list. Here's the second try:

 

I've used some typical Christmas colors and the same pattern for the sides like in my first try. I've made a different border and was quite happy with the result.

 

For this one I've worked with two shades of brown. I like the pattern, but I think I've got a problem with the colors. So maybe not brown the next time :)

 

I think that's my favorite pattern. I've always wanted to try working beads directly into the fabric while crocheting. The double border's almost the same like in the first try, but I've added the beads in the last row. Unfortunately, on this picture you can barely recognize the pattern for the sides, but it's a nice one, trust me :)

The pictures 2-4 are my favorite combinations of side pattern and border style, but actually it's a mix-and-match thing, each of the three patterns can be combined with each of the three border styles. If you like my baskets, please check back soon for the patterns! :)

Magic Blanket Ride: The End...

It's done!!! A long ride has come to an end, and today I can finally show you my huge, reversible, grey and white double-ended crochet blanket with multicolored stripes, also known as "The Magic Blanket":

 

I finished the blanket on Thursday and waited until the weather was less dull and cloudy to take some sunny pictures. Today's a cold and sunny day, so I had a little photo session this morning. It still bothers me, that it's almost impossible to get a good full-size picture, so I leave it with these two full-size shots:

(Left: the girl's side - Right: the boy's side)

The final size of the blanket (including the border) is 150cm x 175cm (~ 59in x 69in). Those of you who have followed my statistics might wonder, why the size is still 150cm, although I've added a border - I have no idea, maybe I haven't measured right when I started the blanket, maybe the border draws in a little. Talking about the border, let's have a look:

 

Remember that I've worried about the border in my last post? It was so much easier than I thought it would be! I've found out that with this pattern, I need exactly one sc for a white stripe, and one sc between the stripes to get a flat border, so there was no calculating stitches or wondering where to place them, it all worked out perfectly!

 

I'd like to thank you all for your great suggestions concerning the border! Have you checked out Little Orphan Skein's awesome tutorial for a leapfrog border? It's a great idea for a striped edge like mine and of course I've given it a try. However, I've also tried using just the white yarn, and since the stitches where so easy to place, it looked quite neat and inconspicous - so in the end I've decided to make the base round with white, because it was much quicker and I was eager to finish the blanket.

 

Although I've seen lots of elaborate borders in Edie Eckman's book, I thought a simple border would look best for this blanket. After the white base round, I've made a (1sc, ch1, skip one sc) round with grey, after that a (1sc, ch1) round with white (placing the sc's in the ch1-spaces), then another sc round in grey, and finally - still in grey - a round of reverse sc's, like many of you have suggested.

Now my final evaluation: I've really enjoyed making this blanket and I'm so in LOVE with the finished result, it's the softest piece of fabric I've ever created with a crochet hook! My Mom and Dad immediately fell in love with the blanket when I showed it to them, so maybe I'll make another one for them next year for Christmas (I wouldn't manage it this year, and for now I need a little break from this pattern).

Hey, thank you all so much for joining me on this Magic Blanket Ride! I really enjoyed sharing my experiences here with you, and you really motivated and helped me with all your nice comments and helpful suggestions, you're great!! :)

And now...

The Final Statistics (including border):

Width: 150cm (~59 in)

Length: 175cm (~69 in)

Colored Stripes: 36

Yarn Usage (basic colors): 21 balls of grey + 15 balls of white
Timeline: July 1st - October 20th 2011 (with a big break from August to mid-September)

Days actually worked on the blanket: ~ 51

Estimated hours worked on the blanket: ~ 172

Previous Posts: Introduction - Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4  - Chapter 5 - view everything

Now that this blanket is done, I can finally start with the next big project. Unfortunately I can't tell you more about it (yet), although I'd really love to! It's kind of a secret project, in fact it's so suuuuper secret, that I don't even want myself to know about it *lol*. But I know that I cannot work on a big project without sharing anything at all, that's why I started the "Thursday Thoughts" - I'm a fan of good quotes and thought I'd collect some of my favorite quotes here and share tiny little glimpses of the new project until I can reveal it. And I promise, I will! :)

Thursday Thoughts

"God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change,

the courage to change the one I can,

and the wisdom to know it's me."

(Author unknown) 

the start of something new

Theme Party # 3: Bags and Purses

It's party time again, how nice to see you back in k-town! It's been a tight race, but Bags/Purses have made it to the pole position this month. Can't wait to see all your bags and purses in the collection below! :) And while you're here, don't forget to vote for the next topic - there's a new poll in my right side bar! If this is your first k-town link-party, please read more about it before submitting your link, thank you!

This collection can be found at The Crochet Boulevard now!

Magic Blanket Ride: Chapter 5

I've made some more progress on the Magic Blanket Ride last week. The blanket's got a length of 140 cm (~ 55 inches) now, that means I just need another 30 - 40 cm (12 - 16 inches) - time to worry about the edging!

You know what I like about granny square blankets? You've always got four nice edges where you can place your stitches for the border, and everything looks neat and perfect. Unfortunately this blanket is made in rows, which means I have to deal with the vertical edges as well - and I hate that! I never know where to put the stitches to avoid holes, or how many stitches I need so that the edge lies flat. Any suggestions from you are more than welcome!! :)

Recently I've bought Edie Eckman's book "Around the Corner - Crochet Borders", because I thought that a magic blanket needs a magic border :) The author's got a good tip actually: she advises to crochet the base round of the border in the same color as the actual fabric, so that those stitches look as inconspicuous as possible. Sounds reasonable, but which color should you use when the blanket is striped? I'll probably have to do a lot of trying, ripping, and trying again. But maybe I should deal with the last 40 cm of the finish line first :)

Intermediate Statistics:

Width: 150cm (~59 in) (no news, I'm sorry)

Length: 140cm (~55 in)

Colored Stripes: 28

Yarn Usage (basic colors): 15 balls of grey + 11 balls of white

Days actually worked on the blanket: ~ 40

Estimated hours worked on the blanket: ~ 122 (easy calculation, it takes about 30 minutes to work back and forth)

Previous Posts: Introduction - Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4   view everything

Another thing: don't forget that there's another theme-party here on friday! You've got four more days to vote and it looks like a tight race between blankets and bags/purses - I'm really excited which topic's gonna win! :)

Yarns, Trials and Errors

I had lots of crochet plans for the past week-end (it's been a long one, because Monday was a national holiday in Germany), but in end... I achieved almost nothing ;)

Look what I’ve bought before the week-end:

The package on the left is a sock knitting set. They’ve got those sets once or twice a year in my favorite discounter (ALDI) and I usually buy a few packages and knit some pairs of socks for John and me. This year however, I’m afraid I’ve simply bought this yarn out of habit, because – with all those crochet ideas spinning around in my head – I don’t think I’ll be in the mood for knitting boring socks and I definitely wasn't the last week-end.

I had great plans with the variegated blue yarn in the front – I wanted to try the broomstick lace technique and make a scarf for my Mom (you can’t start with handmade Christmas presents too early, right?). It’s such a lovely yarn, very soft and I love the colors, but unfortunately it’s too thin for the pattern I had in mind. I’ve made a few rows, but it didn’t turn out right, so I had to rip it again. This was the second dead end.

The white and purple yarn in the background is a yarn I’ve been sneaking around all summer long. You can’t see it on the picture, but it’s a really extravagant yarn with tiny shimmering loops. Way too expensive actually, but guess what – it was for sale at the drugstore last week and cost only half of the usual prize! I’ve interpreted this as a sign and bought a few balls without really knowing what to do with it. I've tried a few things (mainly little ideas for Christmas decorations), but nothing worked out right - the third dead end.

What you don't see in the picture is a huge amount of colorful yarn I need for a great new project - you don't see it, because I couldn't buy it yet :( - the shop ran out of the yarn I wanted, so I have to come back at the end of this week. The next dead end.

Finally I've decided to try the broomstick lace technique with the way-too-expensive white yarn I've bought:

As far as I've read, broomstick lace is made with a regular size crochet hook and a really biiiig knitting needle for the loops. Needless to say, that I couldn't find such a big knitting needle in the shops, so I really had to use a broomstick, you can see it in the picture :)

Here's a close-up, maybe you can see the structure of the yarn a little bit better. If not, you just have to believe me, that it's an incredibly pretty yarn :) When this scarf is finished, I'll probably keep it for myself, because I don't think my Mom would like a white scarf (never mind how pretty the yarn). I have to go back to the yarn shop anyway, so I'll probably buy another yarn for my Mom's scarf.

On Sunday afternoon, John and I spontaneously joined some friends on a little two-days trip to the Czech Republic, enjoying the last hot days of the year, so that was the end of my (this time dissapointing) crochet adventures for the week-end.

See you back here soon, hopefully with more crochet the next time :)