Big huge labs

 

Today I fiddled with the Framer function on Big Huge Labs.  There were a lot of tempting options, but I settled on the ‘brushed edge’ for this photo. 

The pink butterfly is from the corner of the rain cloud picture I posted on Easter.  What looks like a flower is actually a tiny pink butterfly sitting on a blade of grass. 

Whenever you see a photo mosaic here on A Whole Load of Craft, you can bet it’s a product of Big Huge Labs.  There’s so many options I could never fully explore each one, but I’m a fan of the mosaic functions.  You can cram a lot of photos into one cohesive picture. 

The Big Book of Dishcloths by Leisure Arts is something I’ve wanted to buy after seeing Mellissa’s pretty dishcloths on her blog The Adventures of Wondermommy.  Wouldn’t you know, I was off-island yesterday and found it on a rack at Goodwill for $2?  It was a nice little surprise on a busy, errand-filled day.

Some may not like the black and white photos inside the actual booklet, but I found myself admiring several different patterns.  Not only are there some interesting dishcloth patterns, this book doubles as a stitch library of sorts.  There are a number of interesting and unique stitch patterns.  This booklet is a great resource for crocheters and relatively cheap, even at the regular price of $7.95.

Stay tuned for actual finished objects in the near future, including some toddler-sized slippers!

Read Full Post »

Marbles and bubblebum

 

Doesn’t the picture above look like a crochet spermatozoom, perhaps carrying a tiny X chromosome?  (And, yes, I did have to look up the singular form of ‘sperm’.)

Anyway, Val over at Yarni Gras! has this great tutorial for making marble-enclosed book thongs.  Her Crocheted Bookmark calls for yarn and a size F hook.  I like this supply list because not all crocheters have a plethora of steel hooks and crochet thread at their disposal.

I used Babysoft in bubblegum, a clear marble and a size C hook.  With a much smaller hook than gauge, the decreases make lacy holes.  You can see the upper half of my bookmark has some open work because of this.                        

I was surprised how fast this book thong worked up.  With the tutorial pictures, the pattern is very easy to understand.  If you’re looking for more bookmarks, Val also has an owl and a blowfish/peep pattern, too. 

*That’s cool* a random fact

Virtually all the scripts of the unsuccessful sitcom “Hey, Landlord” (1966) were eventually rewritten as scripts for “Laverne & Shirley” (1976).

Read Full Post »

Rain drops

Happy Easter everyone!  If you have some extra blog time today, vote for your favorite rain cloud over at Knits and Knots.

*That’s cool* a random fact

Wet air is less dense than dry air with temperature as a constant.

Read Full Post »

Just slip stitch

 

I have more than enough WIPs and computer upkeep to keep me busy, but I just couldn’t resist a few little projects.  They are entertaining until all those little ends catch up with you! 

Hopefully people are managing with the error in color scheme for the Through Any Window Baby Blanket Tutorial.  The corrected tutorial is slowly coming together. 

This tan Crochet Headband, below, consists of a few easily crocheted flowers.  The pattern calls for four motifs, but I threw in one more as a tiny bit of procrastination.  Since each motif was made individually, all those loose ends were no fun. 

The pattern directs you to leave a ten inch tail when you finish off, which is then used to connect the motifs.  Next time I crochet this headband I would just slip stitch across a ch-5 loop for a quicker, join-as-you-go assembly. 

 

Just like the Elizabeth headband I made last Christmas, the wrong side almost makes this headband reversible.  Each flower petal is a cluster of double crochet stitches which bulge on the bottom side. 

Mandi of On Hooks and Needles made a pretty green cotton version back in May 2007.  Mine is made of some scrap Red Heart Super Saver in Cashmere. 

Andrea’s “Woven” Dishcloth gives the stitch multiple so you can easily customize the dishcloth size.  I used a starting chain of twenty-six with a size F hook.  The actual dishcloth measures 6″x 6″.  I also replaced the double crochet stitches in Row 1 for half double crochet stitches. 

This dishcloth packs a lot of cotton in a little square.  Back and front post stitches are alternated in each row with a tight gauge.  This results in a tough, durable structure and a nice, bumpy texture. 

Andrea has a blog contest running until 2pm CT, March 23rd.  To enter the contest, make up the mystery pattern and e-mail her a description and/or picture.  Even if you can’t participate, check out her blog after the deadline to vote for the best entry! 

Also, check out her review of A Whole Load of Craft along with a short interview about my crafty beginnings.

*That’s cool* a random fact

The Pink and White Lady Slipper (cypriedium reginae), illegal to pick in Minnesota, takes over a decade to produce it’s first flower.

Read Full Post »

Bobble bobble

 

I’ve actually had this Bobble Clutch crocheted for about six months now, waiting to be lined.  Shocking, I know, but my fear of fabric and thread is hard to overcome.  With the “All About Hearts” swap for Swap Swap Gals I decided to make a few purse items in order to force myself to sew.  It worked out and I got everything finished in time, but I’m still not a sewing convert. 

 

Anyway, I finally got this darn purse lined and zippered.   The zipper is sewn in a little wobbly, but it zips like a champ.  I learned a very important lesson – do not sew the lining too close to the zipper!  I had to sew the fabric twice since the first time the zipper kept catching the hem.

 

I’m not 100% positive, but I’ll guess this purse is made of Red Heart Super Saver in Gemstone.  I like to roll my skeins of yarn into balls and rarely keep the wrapper.  I figure the internet can always help me with future identification.  This is easy when I remember what brand, but I’ve had the yarn picked out for my grandma for a long time.  She loves these jewel tones, especially the turquoise, and I was just waiting for a one-skein pattern to catch my eye. 

The Bobble Clutch was the perfect project I was hoping for.  The pattern is from One Skein: 30 Quick Projects to Knit or Crochet.  (I’m sure you’ve all heard of it.)  Easy pattern to memorize, and the bobbles make any yarn look wonderfully textured. 

Hayley, over at Adventures with Little Miss is working on the Bobble Clutch in a gorgeous olive green color from Vanna White’s yarn line.  It’s looking great so far!

Happy St. Patty’s Day everybody!

*That’s cool* a random fact

New York’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is the longest running civilian parade in the world.

Read Full Post »

World kidney day

 

This Thick Warm Crocheted Winter Hat lives up to it’s title.  With front post stitches for insulation, my brother loves how fast this hat warms his head.

I crocheted the Boy Beanie v2.0 for him, also using Red Heart Super Saver in paddy green, but it turned out too tight.  I was thinking of trying out the Husband Hat for him, but he requested a Cable Hat, like my gray one.

I really enjoy the Cable Hat pattern, but after making that hat several times over to get the right size, I had no desire to make another for a while.  The Thick Warm Crocheted Winter Hat pattern seemed like a good compromise.

This hat is my first with a brim and it looks very bulky in the picture.  When worn on an actual head instead of a yarn ball, the brim stretches out a bit more.   

In other news, I’m working on a new set of photos for the Through Any Window Baby Blanket tutorial.  Three rows were out of pattern order, so I’m re-photographing them.  The actual directions are correct, but just remember the color order is jumbled.  Also, I’m planning a new tutorial for a neat little crochet technique I came across on YouTube. 

Today is the third annual World Kidney Day!

      

*That’s cool* a random fact

One in nine US adults have chronic kidney disease.

Read Full Post »

From january

I took a walk around Mountain Lake with my brother today.  We wanted to scout out the best campsite since registration is opening up at Moran State Park for the summer season. Quite possibly the best car camping in San Juan Island, WA is located in campsites #126 though #136.  They all are on an elevated loop looking out onto Mountain Lake.  There’s a boat launch, tiny stretch of rocky beach and a hiking entrance within 500 feet of the loop.  Also, the area is far from the main road so you don’t get the car traffic like you do in the Southend sites. 

Can you believe this is the view from campsite #130?

 

Read more about why my trees look black on naturephotographers.net.  I’m still learning how to get a blue sky with a point and shoot and not end up with silhouetted trees.  Suggestions are appreciated!

I took more pictures of the campsite loop but, for some reason, they didn’t register on the memory card.  I think it was because I changed the batteries and the memory card was jarred in the process. 

I did get the memory card to save pictures of my Quick Winter Headband.  This free pattern gets an ‘A’ for adaptability.  Not only does any yarn weight work, you can insert any crochet stitch you like for the body of the headband as long as it starts with a base of thirteen stitches.

The headband pattern isn’t beginner friendly though, as the stitch directions for the body are not written with the pattern.  Instead, the reader is directed to the Vanilla Grit Stitch Washcloth.   

I had to frog the first row a couple times before I realized that the stitch pattern should start with row 2.  Since row 2 refers to stitches from the foundation row, it took a little extra work to figure out exactly how many single crochet stitches to skip to account for the unworked foundation.  For this reason I wouldn’t recommend this pattern to crocheters just learning to read a pattern.    

Once I had the first row figured out, the grit stitch went quick.  It’s an easy stitch, but interesting.  Also, the headband is worked entirely in one piece so there’s only two ends to weave.

The pattern calls for worsted, but I used Babysoft in Cream. The headband still came out pretty wide, about three inches. With worsted weight yarn in gauge, I think the final product would end up similar to Christina‘s St. Maurus Headwarmer.

I finally photographed my St Maurus Headwarmers from January with the buttons sewed on. I was really dreading the needle and thread until Christina suggested using buttons with large holes and a tapestry needle.  Worked like a charm!

This striped one looks a little fuzzy since I’ve been wearing it a lot in the past month. It’s great in windy weather since my ears can be easily covered with my hair pulled back.  

I like the style of this headwarmer.  I’d like to try knitting the Calorimetry for the fall.

Also, remember the Jacob’s ladder stitch baby blanket I talked about? I found out the Rainbow Bright pattern is available for free on the Coats and Clark website.

*That’s cool* a random fact

Mosquitos are twice as attracted to blue than any other color.

Read Full Post »

Seven random things

 

Wondermommy tagged me! 

The tag rules are:

1. When tagged, place the name of the person and URL on your blog

2. Post the rules on your blog

3. Write 7 things about yourself

4. Name 7 of your favorite weblogs

5. Send an e-mail letting those bloggers know they have been tagged

So here are 7 random things about me:

1.  The sunshine on bright, sunny days gives me headaches.  Even with sunglasses, it feels like I’ve been looking directly into a bare lightbulb at the end of the day.

2.  I gave myself a haircut when I was three.  My mom put a ribbon in my hair for the picture below to keep the short hair on the top of my head from sticking straight up. 

3.  I love fresh ground pepper – lots of it.  I even put it on popcorn.

4.  At restaurants, I tend to shred, tear or strip my paper napkins by the end of the meal.  It’s very bad manners, but I always make sure every piece is scrunched up on the plate before I leave. 

5.  My public high school graduation ceremony was at the Roswell Street Baptist Church in Cobb county, Georgia, the same county that had the famous ‘evolution is theory’ sticker controversy.

6.  I love going to those cheap matinee movies where there’s five other people and you get to put your feet up.  The theater on this island only plays two shows a week in the evenings, so I don’t get to do this often.

7.  I have a tiny scar under my left eye from when I was a toddler and an older kid at daycare threw a record at my face.

I’m tagging the following 7 people:

Andrea, Angela, Ashley, Cami, Christina, Lesa, and Nikki.

*That’s cool* a random fact

When trade was monopolized by the Portuguese in the Middle Ages, pepper was worth more than gold by weight.

Read Full Post »

All about hearts

Katrina got her Swap Swap Gals package the other day so now I get to blog about all the super-secret projects I have been working on.  It was actually pretty tough to stay mum on so many projects. 

 And I know there are at least a few of you are thinking, “Finally, she made something besides dishcloths!”   

 

The Brea Bag is the item I’m most proud of for the “All About Hearts” themed swap.  I had been weary of intermediate knitting projects until Kara and Katie gave me some knitting encouragement via my Ravelry message box and I decided to just go with it. 

This was my first major knitting project with cables, but the pattern was actually easy to understand, especially with the videos on Knittinghelp.com.  Also, I relied on the Terms and Techniques list from Knitting-crochet.com.  Their abbreviation list is really comprehensive and I learned a bunch of knitting terms like ssk, psso and St st.

This was also my first project with a lining.  I had to hand sew everything and it took me a while to finish.  The lining turned out a little baggy but I was afraid it would end up on the small side. 

The handle was thrifted from an old handbag.  Instead of  sewing the flaps in place I sewed buttons to the inside so the handle can be removed and Katrina can wash the bag easily.  She could even replace the handle if she wanted.

The picture of the Brea Bag along with the free pattern had a heart-like shape.  Mine doesn’t look quite like that so just for good measure I used a button with a heart motif.   

My crochet skills really helped for the last steps of the pattern.  I slip stitched the bag together for strength.  Also, the pattern called for a crab stitch edging and chain button loop. 

Since the purse didn’t have a zipper closure, I made her a matching Half-Hearted Purse with Red Heart in Cafe and Cashmere.  I used a crab stitch for the edging to match the purse and kept the same color scheme on the front and back.  In the original pattern, the designer used hemp and reversed the colors for the opposite side of the coin purse. 

I lined the coin purse, too.  I think the zipper was sewn a tad uneven so it’s a little tough to open and close.  Also, next time I sew a zipper I’ll make it a little longer.  The opening is smaller than it should be.

This drawstring bag is titled That Pouch Thing.  The pattern makes a nice little drawstring bag designed for holding dice.  I would make this again in a DK or light weight yarn.  The crochet fabric is a little stiff to gather with Red Heart (in Cafe and Country Rose).

The bottom view shows the individual pieces of the bag.  I whip-stitched the pieces together instead of single crocheting like the pattern called for. 

Changing colors every row for each of the four pieces would make a nice v-shaped stripe design. 

Katrina is due this summer so I made her baby-to-be a Pixie Hat.  The size is meant for a 3-6 month old, but could stretch to fit an older baby.  Katrina wrote in her Wish List that she liked earth tones and orange.  I originally wanted to make this in Bernat Pink Camouflage, but I didn’t know the sex of the baby until after I sent the package (it’s a girl!).  To be safe I used this gender-neutral TLC yarn in Jungle.   

There was so much sewing for this swap!  When I was done with the purses, I still had to this button to attach.

Instead of a tassel, I added a little orange heart motif.  Looks a little like a carrot now that I see it up close!

For her other three kids (4, 2 and 1) I sent Alice in Wonderland.  Remember the Queen of Hearts? 

There are four items that don’t fit the ‘All About Hearts’ swap theme.  Katrina mentioned in her wish list that she liked to read about organizing and collects recipes, so I had to include the Woman’s Day Magazine.  

As for the pink bag, I was originally going to find a heart bead to thread on the drawstring, but I couldn’t find anything non-plastic.  The little heart beads were perfect for a bracelet kit for her four year old daughter though. 

I also threw in a toy elephant and a spool of ribbon.  These were last minute additions to put in the purses.  I don’t know where I got the idea, but I don’t like giving a bag/purse/wallet as a gift with nothing inside.  It’s probably one of those superstitions you hold over from childhood.  Remember avoiding cracks on the sidewalk?

For the Lewis Carroll book I made a little granny square heart bookmark.  The pattern, Heart Coaster or Embilshment, is from Crochetville.  I just added a slip stitch tail.  The little sun motif at the end is just a ring of single crochet and a row of single crochet and picots. 

Lastly, I made this dishcloth with Lily’s Sugar and Cream in Hot Orange and Over the Rainbow.  The My Heart Dishcloth pattern is pretty and quick, just like a dishcloth should be.

At least this post wasn’t all dishcloths, right?

Read Full Post »

Dishcloth-o-rama

Maybe it’s because I spent so much time restitching the border, but I really do like this Lacy Round Dishcloth.  I frogged the last two rounds a few times trying to match the pattern to the picture beofre I gave up and wrote my own border pattern.

The directions are clear until round 9 when the pattern directs you to put 9 dc in every ch-5 sp.  This will give you twice as many shell lobes as the actual dishcloth has.  Plus, round 10 is missing brackets around “ch 1, sc in next st”.  I’ve written the last two rounds according to how I crocheted them:

Round 9: sl st in ch-5 sp, ch 3, 8 dc in same sp, *ch 1, sl st in next sc below in round 7 and around ch 5 of round 8, ch 1, 9 dc in next ch-5 sp, rep from * 6 times more, end ch 1, sl st in next sc below in round 7 and around ch 5 of round 8, ch 1, join rnd with a sl st to top of ch 3.

Round 10: ch 1, sc in same st, *[ch 3, sc in next st] eight times, sl st in ch-1 sp, sl st in next ch-1 sp, sc in next dc, rep from * 7 times more, end [ch 3, sc in next st] eight times, sl st in ch-1 sp, sl st in next ch-1 sp, join with a sl st to sc. 

These pattern revisions are probably a little more complicated than they could be, but I liked the slip stitches in round 9 to accentuate the shell curve.  (Beware: these directions are not tested!) 

Also, if you’re past the ‘beginner’ stage of crocheting, it’s not impossible to come up with your own guess-timation for the border rounds.    The extra work was well worth the final product though and the border reminds me of Lion Brand’s Sweet Scallops Shawl.

This Textured Stripes Dishcloth is one of the most durable, functional dishcloth patterns I’ve crocheted.  The crunch stitch rows make this dishcloth very sturdy and the size is big enough to get a grip without being overly large.   

The only downside to the crunch stitch is the difference in gauge compared to single crochet.  The crunch stitches are very compact and single crochet is comparably loose, making the two of the edges curve.  I used a crochet hook two sizes smaller for the single crochet rows, but I could have gone down another hook size. 

You can see in the picture below that I accidentally crocheted the border facing the wrong side. Oops!  Next time I’ll pay closer attention to which side I’m on. 

Overall, this pattern makes a great little dishcloth.  I’d love to see a matching Swiffer cover.  The crunch stitches would be perfect for catching dust bunnies. 

If you don’t like, use or enjoy crocheting dishcloths, but still want to try the crunch stitch, check out the Pirate Clutch on Craftster.  It’s an easy crochet purse with a shell detail. 

Finally, the Simple Dishcloth uses v-stitches and shells in the round.  This pattern really is easy and the resulting lacy dishcloth is very pretty.  I would use a smaller crochet hook next time because the stitches are not as solid as I expected. 

Also, I’d like to try using stripes of different colors.  The first three rounds would be perfect for a flower and leaf color.   

Watch out for my next post!  Katrina got my swap package, so I’ve got the go ahead to blog about all the crochet goodies I sent her.  Check out her blog, Sewalicious Designs for a sneak peak of her Swap Swap Gals package.

Read Full Post »