Category: Crochet!

3TT: Three Things on Thursday · Crochet! · Unraveled Wednesday / Knit & Read

3TT/Unraveled

Vicki11 Comments

It's a mash up! Joining Carole & friends for Three Things on Thursday… in combo with a belated Unraveled Wednesday post with Kat & the Unravelers.

 

NEEDLES & HOOKS

Thing One: Gnorwen

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I finished her last Friday!

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I can't remember the last time I kept up with a Mystery Knit-along. This was a fun project, even with all the fiddly bits (the flower on the hat, the nose, the mittens, the braids) and interminable I-cord — a.k.a. the things that make her so special!

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I took her out for ice cream on Tuesday after Knit Night. I really wanted to take her photo with our local iconic neon drive-in sign illuminated!

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I also wanted a photo with an actual ice cream cone, so I took her inside. The employees were all quite charmed.

  • Ravelry Project Page: All Work, Gnome Play
  • Pattern: All Work, Gnome Play by Sarah Schira
  • Yarn: Various fingering/sock weight scraps
  • Needles:  US 1½ (2.5mm)
  • Start to Finish:  September 21 – October 15, 2021

 

Thing Two: Wild Fields

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I finished this cute little hat on Sunday. It's intended for Malina and I'd planned to take a photo of her wearing it last night when they were over for dinner… not only did I not get a photograph, I didn't even give it to her! So there's still a chance for a photo op.

  • Ravelry Project Page: Wild Fields
  • Pattern: Wild Fields by Beth Ashford/Kaleidoscope Knits; free pattern at knitty.com
  • Yarn: Malabrigo Rios from Flaxen Fleece in Sauk City, WI
    • Queguay (headband/brim)
    • English Rose (body of hat)
  • Needles:  US 6 (4.0 mm) DPNs
  • Start to Finish:  September 18 – October 17, 2021

I found myself flipping pages back & forth a lot while knitting this hat, and the abbreviations are all on a separate knitty.com page… a little annoying, especially because I started this while camping and internet was not great. The flower stitch was fun to do, once I figured out how to pull the last "petal" through without losing the previous two, and it looks great!

These two FOs are not only the first FOs since the wave of knitted gnomes that got me through Covid in December/January, they're also the first actual knitted items since the gnome wave… and one of them isn't a GNOME!

And I've started another hat, reversing the colors, for Gin! I bought enough yarn for four hats, so…

 

Thing Three: Half-hexies

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(It's so dark in the morning.) I did a lot of research to see how people finished and/or squared off the edges of crocheted hexagon blankets! I've decided on half-hexagons for the sides, and will likely use some longer stitches to fill the smaller divots on the ends.

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Those are the three most recent hexagons and the best, so far. There are some wonky ones at the beginning, but that totally fits with the vibe of this blanket. I think there are only four more on this side, then up the other (and they go pretty quick), and then – FINALLY – the border. I've ordered two more skeins of the natural color. Hopefully, I'll only need one, but regardless, this is probably one of my most costly projects ever.

 

READING

I've recently finished Laundry Love: Finding Joy in a Common Chore by Patric Richardson & Karin B. Miller. It was a quick, entertaining, and informative read! I'd previously (slowly) begun changing up a few things in my laundry practice, but I'm on the way to changing it quite a bit more.

I've put The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear by Kate Moore on pause.

I've just begun listening to Stanley Tucci's memoir, Taste: My Life Through Food, and it's delightful… as is he, and his Instagram, with plenty of cooking & cocktails (with recipes). I'm adding one of his cookbooks (or two) to my Christmas Wish List*! And need to queue up his Emmy-nominated show, Searching for Italy, on Hulu.

 

*Speaking of Wish Lists… I'm sure one or two of you has recently received Amazon's "Ready, Set, Play" toy catalog in the mail. Ali did, too. She said that the kids grabbed it, circled all but five things, and put it back in the mailbox thinking that Santa would be by to pick up. I love the way those kids think!

 

Crochet!

To the border!

Vicki7 Comments

As hoped, I worked the last two motifs for Hexie Love and, unlike any of the others, they were truly JAYGo'd (Join As You Go).

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I imagine that once I figure it out, the border will go fairly quickly because there won't be all the color changes.

Or will there?

Then I finished knitting the headband portion of Wild Fields… still have to sew it up. The kids will be over tomorrow after dance class, so I'll see how it fits the girls then, and decide (or let one of them decide) whether to add the crown on this one.

It must all have been a bit too much because I went to bed last night without setting my alarm… and weirdly woke up this morning right about the time I'd normally be getting dressed. Rusty's teaching in Door County all week, or he'd most likely have roused (me) a bit earlier. I hurried with the brushing & washing & making up (it takes longer to curl my eyelashes than to actually apply any makeup), and added a cup of coffee to my usual KC&T order instead of making it at home… and actually made it to work on time!

 

Crochet! · Unraveled Wednesday / Knit & Read

Unraveled Wednesday

Vicki7 Comments

Joining Kat & the Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday…

CROCHET:

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I crocheted the last charted circle motif the other day for Hexie Love (Rav link)!

My box of colors has changed a lot since February 1st.

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I started with 35 and not only have I run out of some colors, but I've also dumped the box too many times to count… so lately the chart is just a suggestion, and I work with whatever feels right.

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Now I have two stitch holders full of circles to join/make into hexies, and a pile of extras — because every other row is a short one (not reflected in my chart of squares). So there will be one non-charted row, and at least a few more after that. At least.

READING:

I guess it's been a while since I wrote an Unraveled post! I have finished An American Quilt: Unfolding A Story of Family & Slavery (pages) and Sinéad O'Connor's memoir, Rememberings (audio). The quilt story was… missing something; it wasn't quite as dynamic and engaging as I'd hoped. I really enjoyed listening to Sinéad read her book, but I'm sure it's not for everyone. I was eye witness to the event that changed her life and it was interesting to hear the back story…

I just finished listening to Unsettled Ground this morning! It's a full month until the book club discussion (unheard of!), and I'm looking forward to that. On my nightstand is The Lager Queen of Minnesota: A Novel, which I am enjoying.

 

Crochet! · Unraveled Wednesday / Knit & Read

Unraveled Wednesday: Hexies All The Time

Vicki7 Comments

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting crocheting and reading!

CROCHETING:

The last time I shared an "official" Unraveled Wednesday blanket update, I was seven rows in, and now I'm three hexies away from finishing Row #11!

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I am still gobsmacked that it's working so well. I love it more and more! There are some very weird color combos in a few of those hexagons… there are also many that are perfection, and often I'm surprised. Details & more pics on my Ravelry project page if you're curious.

READING:

I will likely finish listening to Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation by Kevin Roose today. It's not my usual type of book, but it's interesting and enlightening, even for someone at little risk of losing her job to a computer. AI (Artificial Intelligence) touches our lives every single day in a myriad of ways and, while "controlling" may be too harsh, it (algorithms, data, analysis) definitely influences us in ways we might not even realize.

Perhaps then I will get back to & finish The Midnight Library, I know I'm not the only one who found it a bit of a slog through the middle.

Though I should probably start reading Shuggie Bain!  

And An American Quilt: Unfolding A Story of Family & Slavery is still on my nightstand. I used to read a little every night, but lately I've been prioritizing sleep (sort of, because I'm still a night owl and stay up too late) over reading.