Is It Really Almost Thanksgiving?!

Where did 2011 go?  This year was pretty slow for me as far as crocheting goes.  Ever since I completed the Mystery Afghan Crochet Along last year, I’ve been gravitating towards more and more blanket patterns.  I   made a little earthy green and taupe baby blanket for a coworker who was expecting (photos below).  I’m excited about this one because my photo was featured on the Ravelry pattern page!

I’m also pretty excited about the free Hither Green Throw pattern I found on the Lion Brand website.  I completed one in shades of blue & brown and I’m working on another right now in pinks & greens to give away as a Christmas gift to a very special little girl.  I’m working on sewing the squares together right now (the most dreaded part) and then all that’s left is the border.  Hopefully I’ll get some pictures of both up soon and you can let me know what you think about them.

2010 Update

Time to dust off the old blog.  For one reason or another, I never fully committed to completing one crochet project per month in 2010.  I think it's mostly because I'm not in the mood to crochet when the weather starts getting a little warmer (also it may have been an overly ambitious goal to start with).

Oh well, c'est la vie.  I don't have any lofty goals set for the coming year, so for now I will just use this space to display current projects that I'm working on. 

I realize that I left you hanging with the March project - well I'm happy to report that it is finished (and has been for a very long time) as you can see in the pic below.  I also just finished a Mystery Crochet-Along project (courtesy of Bernat) that lasted about 3 months.   Participating in that project introduced me to Ravelry, a kind of crafty social community.  They have some great resources when it comes to cataloging your yarn stash or tracking and organizing your projects.  If you're into yarn crafts I would definitely check the site out.

Ramping Up the Brand

While browsing the shelves of Barnes & Noble this weekend I came across a display about crafting. It featured two books that explained how to create a brand for your homemade crafts and how to market them. I spent some time flipping through both Craft, Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco and The Handmade Marketplace by Kari Chapin. While they were both filled with great tips and relevant information, I decided on Chapin’s book. I ordered it last night through the B&N website (because it was a bit cheaper that way - $10.76 vs. the $14.95 cover price). I’m hoping that the book will inspire me to improve on my brand and give me some new ideas.  Visit the author's website here.

March Project Materials

Yarn:
Bernat Alpaca

Aqua

Hook:
Susan Bates US K10.5/6.5 mm

March Project

March's project will be another attempt at a cowl (new pattern this time).  The new Scalloped Cowl pattern I found on the Lion Brand website uses a thicker yarn which I think will solve the hook sizing issues I was having before.  I'm going to try starting this with one of the new colors of Bernat's Alpaca yarn, and if this doesn't work I'll stick with the recommended Lion Brand Jiffy yarn. 

Finished: February Scarf

It's the last day of the month and I barely made it.  I finished sewing in the ends of my February project earlier this morning.  The pattern called for a border around the edge of the scarf, but when I tried it out it made the scarf look too chunky.  I tried modifying the border a few times, but I still thought it looked out of place, so I decided against a border.  Here's the finished piece:

Progress: February Scarf

I've completed all eight squares and have sewn them all together in a long row using a whip stitch.  The only thing left on this project is to crochet a border all the way around the scarf.  Here's what it looks like now. (Side note: It's amazing - in a bad way - how much a camera flash can alter the colors.  The scarf colors look most like the bottom picture.)