Posts Tagged ‘Christmas’

Ahh, gauge!

You hear a lot about gauge; every pattern tells you to “save time by checking your gauge”. What does it mean? Well, they want you to crochet (or knit) up a decent sized square (usually) using a stitch pattern used in the pattern. You measure it, and count your stitches. Or you wash it, block it, then measure it an count your stitches. If you match what the pattern says, then you might end up with a finished project in the size you’re expecting. Well, maybe.

I’ve talked about gauge before. I hope we all know now that even if you get gauge with one dye lot, you might not with the next. Different colours of yarn sometimes have different gauges, even if they are otherwise the same yarns… even in variegated and self-striping yarns (I’m looking at you, Bernat Baby Coordinates White)

The other day I made this:
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It’s for my cousin; she likes handmade dishcloths and her kitchen colours are blue, green, and yellow.

I also made this for her:
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(it’s actually more blue than grey in person… it’s supposed to look like denim)

And then this green-and-cream one:
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I finished that last one on the commute home and it wasn’t until I stacked it on top of the other two that I noticed this:
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All three dishcloths were made using Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, each with a 6mm hook, each exactly the same pattern.

Luckily, gauge doesn’t always matter. ^_^

(P.S. this post documents the first finished Christmas gifts for 2010. That’s right, you heard me!)

Need for Speed

I’m totally switching gears on a project. I’m not going to get into too much detail here, but I will one day. At any rate, I’m in full Christmas Gift Making swing and thought I’d try something new today.

I’ve got a need for speed and I’m going to blog about it!

I’m making a blanket for a rather tall individual. I decided on a hexagon pattern (I haven’t made one in a while!), and this is what I got done last night while watching Castle:

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I only just noticed this morning that the first hex looks kind of Settler of Catan-ish. I’m thinking of maybe switching up the sizes of the tan-middles… we’ll see.

I’ll update this post tonight with how much I get done today. Wish me luck!

*****

Look!

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That’s 14 finished hexagons, all ends woven in except the last one… I’ll probably use those to join them.

Here’s a closer look:

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I’m back to watching Castle again, and making some Granny’s Daughter squares. It’s just the first round of a regular granny square (*3dc ch2* 4 times).

Plan B

BOB didn’t go well (stupid rain) but that’s ok, because I had a backup plan!

These blankets are going to charity:
pink stripes Striking round ripple Peach Rainbow Round Ripple purple Fibonacci blanket (in progress)
(I should get a better picture of that purple one made at the show before I send it off…)

I’m going to make these three bigger and give them as Christmas gifts:
Pink Rainbow Round Ripple Yellow Rainbow Round Ripple 3way Tunisian

These are Christmas presents, and I’m keeping them as is:
Tetris pillows

And this one is MINE:
Settlers of Catan blanket

My current main project is a gift for someone who reads this blog, and I really don’t want to give the surprise away if I can help it, so pictures and updates will be made on Ravelry (where you need an account to see it). Don’t worry, once the Big Day has come and gone, I’ll post all of the gory details. ^_^

Now that BOB is over, I find myself with my own crafting time again, so I’m waffling around trying to decide what to do. I’ve joined a couple of swaps, I still need to make the June square in the CAL, and I’ve been itching to just make my way through my growing collection of motif books and make at least one of everything.

Of course, there’s still Christmas coming, and various birthdays left to think about. I’ve been hoping that Bernat Satin would go on sale for the last several months, but I haven’t seen it. If you do, could you please let me know? I’m planning on buying a LOT of it, not only because I’ll need it for some gifts, but also because it’s my go-to yarn for worsted weight acrylic and I’m starting to run low. It’s soft, works up well, and the colours are pretty nice.

Anticipated projects: at least one more Snowflake afghan, maybe the Hawaiian Flower afghan, more 3-way Tunisian, lots of hats and scarves, some geeky afghans, and of course, Dad’s Christmas present.

My work situation has changed and I suddenly find myself with a good chunk of crochet time. That time can only be spent working on a pattern I know really well, and that doesn’t have any tricky colour changes. The project I’ve been working on lately has recently become too large to do while I do my job, so I need a replacement project. For now, I’m prepping some scarves (doing the base chain and first row at home on several), and I’m thinking of doing some granny squares. Any thoughts on what else might work? Basically, anything I don’t have to look at too much, that can easily be done a couple of stitches at a time.

Finally, check out this Spiral Granny Square I made: click here.