Amy Artisan

Family | Travel | Craft | Life | Books

Category: Crochet

Cover Your Head

With all of the bitter cold weather recently, I am taking the adage of “cover your head” to heart whenever I’m outside and so my Chattanooga cap is getting a lot of wear (and holding up great). So I thought it would be fun to make Calorimetry for something different. As I saw others blog about it there were warnings of knitting off gauge & it being too big. I thought I’d just “go for it” because I have a hard time finding hats for this big head. So last Sunday I knit the whole thing & when it was off the needles it was obvious that it would be way too big for even me to wear. So I promptly pulled it apart & wound the yarn back into a ball. For this, the second time is the charm. What a fun head warmer! I finished this up on Friday evening & it kept my head warm through all of the errands and outings on Saturday.

Calorimetry

The Details:
Calorimetry in Pearl Malabrigo. Size 8 needles (super long ones from my Grandma’s stash). The button is a glittery silver star that I had picked up over the summer & added to the stash for baby bibs. It’s a bit of fun on the grey knit. My pattern modifications: cast on 104 stitches, I did row 5 14 times (instead of 16 in the pattern). This was my first short row project – I still need to work on the skill but it’s nice to have a new skill in the knit kit.

This is my second Malabrigo knit & I think this yarn is rapidly becoming a favorite. The color is great – of course a gray day is not optimal for capturing it’s true color. Upon first glance it is gray and white but there is a purple hue to it as well.

Crochet Scarf

On Saturday I crocheted a few flowers to add to my scarf. I enjoyed this crochet class – it was fun to learn a new skill, one that I’ve wanted to learn for quite a while. Now when I see a knit project that involves a bit of crochet finishing I won’t shy away from it because “I don’t now how to do that.” I don’t have grand plans for crochet projects now; however, I plan to do a bit of crochet in each Project Spectrum 2.0 color in the coming months.

This past week I was wondering what my next project would be. I now know what it will be – a “crazy square” (or 2) for A Blanket of Hope.
Blanket of Hope
Sonya‘s husband has been recently diagnosed with lymphoma. As they are just starting to learn the details and treatment options, Rebekah is pulling together a Blanket of Hope to provide comfort and warmth. If you have some spare yarn (I’m pretty sure that’s a rhetorical question) & a bit of spare time you can knit whatever size wool or woolblend square/rectangle/triangle to be included in this crazy quilt.

A couple of other things that have been rattling around my head…

Another “helping others” event in blogland that I want to highlight is Debby’s husband who is participating in a 3 day bike ride for the Chron’s and Colitis Foundation. Debby’s announcement about the ride is great – the spokescat Charlie is too much.

Speaking of Project Spectrum 2.0 – Have you seen this?
Color in Motion
Check out this color education. Learn a bit more about the colors we see in our everyday world.

P.S. For those of you who have tagged me for the “6 Weird Things” – here is my “5 Quirky” posting from last year.

Third Time’s a Charm

As I mentioned in my last post, I had hoped to start February with a blue finished object; however, the hotel knitting last week just wasn’t happening. On Monday I cast on…knit round & round, cabled, knit round & round and then discovered a problem with the first cable – so I ripped it all out. On Tuesday I tried again…cast on, knit round & round, cable, knit round & round and then discovered a problem – so I ripped it all out, again. Fast forward to last Friday evening – I cast on, knit round & round, cabled, etc. and by the end of the evening Blue Fetching #1 was complete. I did discover one “issue” with it but it was something I could incorporate into the pair. Saturday morning I cast on for #2 and later in the evening was finished. Ever since I finished Grandma’s pair I was wanting to make a pair for me and with the deep freeze that has descended it was a the right time to make this pair. They came in handy (oops, no pun intended) this week with all of the drive time to/from WI they were the perfect thing to keep my hands warm. (And they are on my hands now as I type this entry.)

Fetching

The Details:
Fetching in Dream in Color in Blue Lagoon. This is a “new to me” yarn and I love how the color subtleties knit up. My extra “design feature” the palms of both mitts don’t have the third cable.

Calorimetry

Next on the needles is Calorimetry from Knitty. I knit it up on Sunday but encountered sizing issues and had to rip it all out – so will finish up version 2 this weekend. I had hoped to complete it this week as my hotel knitting; however, for the second week in a row I had knitting error problems with Monday night knitting. I think going forward I shouldn’t plan to accomplish any real knitting on Mondays when I travel – I’m just too tired at the end of that day.

Shells on the scarf

This weekend is my final crochet class. Last weekend I added the shell border to the edge and will learn to make flowers on Saturday. Now I’m ready for warmer weather so I can wear my new spring scarf.

As I finish up these projects I’m wondering what I’ll cast on for next. So much yarn, so many possibilities! Stay tuned…

Bring on the Color!

Project Spectrum 2.0 has begun!

The focus for February and March is the blue/gray/white spectrum – quite fitting for these winter days! Recent car time to/from the client in WI has been filled with these colors – blues and grays in the sky and the white of the snow covering everything. In addition to knit projects I’m looking forward to some non-knit projects – including some that I had hoped to accomplish last year during the first Project Spectrum.
Blue Knitting
I have a blue knit planned for the next couple of days. I started this knit twice this week while traveling for work (and actually thought I would start the month with a blue FO)…but a couple of intense work days meant that I had few brain cells left for knitting & both evenings I messed up the knit & had to rip it out. Hopefully I will reveal the finished project soon!

January Knits
Looking back on January I managed to knit quite a few colors from the spectrum – this stack of knit includes 12 dishcloths, my Bejeweled Blue Hostas Scarf, the secret knit and the still unfelted tote. The simple knitting has been great travel knitting.

Crocheted Scarf Progress
The crochet class is going well & I have made great progress on my scarf. As for the sore hand/arm when crocheting I have found that these hand exercises are helping & I plan to incorporate them into the daily routine. This multi-colored cotton yarn is perfect for a spring scarf!

It looks like we will be in “deep winter weather” mode this weekend – just perfect for staying in and crafting – stay tuned for project reveals…

Sunshine Salad

Oh the cold, gray days of winter…no sunshine in sight! So, on a cold, gray, snowy Sunday I whipped up a Sunshine Salad in the kitchen.

Sunshine Salad

I came across this citrus salad recipe and used it as my starting point. I used a ruby red grapefruit, navel orange and blood orange. For the dressing, I mixed half clover honey and half blueberry honey with the citrus juices. In addition to the cardomom (one of my favorite spices) I also added a dash of ground cloves. This is a simple salad that tastes great – I’ll be making it again.

In addition to finishing my Bejeweled scarf earlier this month I’ve managed to finish quite a few other things.

Current Finished Objects

First up, a stack of dishcloths (and this stack doesn’t even include all of them so far this month). Most of these are my standard “grandma’s favorite.” I also completed the January Monthly Dishcloth KAL – a snowflake. I must admit, knitting a dishcloth in cream (or white) seems odd to me – I knit dishcloths to be used & this seems like it will always be stained or always have to be bleached.

Next up, a secret knit that can’t be revealed quite yet. How’s that for a teaser?

Next, I dug deep into the WIPs and pulled out my striped felted tote. The bottom of the bag has been seamed up, all of the connections have been dealt with – it’s ready for felting fun in the washer and then some handles.

Why have I been knitting so much this month? Work has me traveling during the week again – this time driving to the Northwoods of Wisconsin. On my drive up last week, I managed a detour to the Herrschners Retail Store – the reason for stopping was to buy a Wool Winder to go with my new swift. I left with a bag filled with yarn and no winder – didn’t even think of it when I was in the store. I was able to stop at the store on the way home & pick one up. It has already been put to good use.

First Crochet Attempts

Last spring, I picked up SnB: The Happy Hooker when Debbie Stoller came to Arcadia Knitting. I wanted to pick up some of the crochet basics last year; however, that didn’t happen. On Saturday morning I had my first Crochet Basics class at Arcadia – when the class is done I will have completed a scarf & learned several basic stitches. Saturday was the single and double crochet – homework was to practice those stitches and we’ll begin the scarf next week. I have done some practice with the intended scarf yarn; however, most of my crochet practice has been with leftover dishcloth yarn – not only am I practicing my new skills I’ll also have a few “wonky” dishcloths for my sink. One thing I have noticed with the crochet is that my right hand and arm gets sore – which is something I haven’t noticed with knitting.

Thanks to everyone for sharing your stories about your Friday Night Knitting Clubs. Isn’t it great that we are each able to find our own groups – whether in person or through our online connections? Now that the book has been released the author has appearances throughout North America – check out the schedule and see if she is coming to your town. Unfortunately she isn’t scheduled to visit Chicago yet; however, if you do go to an event I’d love to hear about it.

© 2024 Amy Artisan

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑