Winter is Coming: Get Crochet Ready.

my-new-crochet-winter-woollies

It’s properly autumn now; the urge to make woolly warm things is upon me. I’m starting with things for me (this will come as no surprise to those who know me)! Then I have lots of things waiting which, will become wintery outerwear for others. Crochet hat? Crochet scarf? Crochet gloves? I hope so! Sorry everyone, it’s another handmade Christmas!

wool-ease-lion-brand-tunisian-crochet

I ordered more Tunisian crochet hooks quite soon after I first tried it a couple of weeks ago. I very quickly spotted a gorgeous looking cowl from BHooked and I knew it was something I could do with my new skill. I ordered the same brand of wool used in the original pattern (Lion Brand Wool Ease in Barley and Mustard) and I have to say that it’s perfectly nice. I’ve got no problems with it and it’ll be lovely and warm because of the wool content. And there is no itch, which is very important when smooshing against a neck.

stopping-the-tunisian-curl

Tunisian crochet has quite a curl to it. This won’t be an issue once it’s finished. To get a good idea of my progress I have to hold it flat.  My progress is slow, I’ve found that chunky yarn is not something that can be worked on for long stretches. Achey fingers are a bit of an issue. Also, I hold the hook differently, which will hopefully improve with practise.

crochet-puff-stitch-hat

To go with my new cowl I’m making a hat. I’m picking this up when I put down the other. I’m two balls into a three ball hat. I’ve guessed at three, I think it should just do it but there probably won’t be much slouch when I’ve finished. I’m using aran weight; Big Merino by Drops (love Drops!). It’s  dense but super soft. I like it and know it’ll be lovely and warm. The pattern for this is sort of made up but before I started, I looked about on Pinterest and found that there are several patterns that essentially make this hat. Here is my hat board for Pinterest, try the Urban Slouch Beanie.

crochet-faster-winter-is-coming

There had better be enough of something left so I can make a pompom…

 

 

Thistlebear

So Many WIPs…

cat-crochet

I have a silly number of Works in Progress at the moment. Here is the cat, sleeping on one that I left on the sofa.

workings

She’s sleeping on this; the never ending half circle I’m trying to work out. I think I’ve mentioned before about trying to work out patterns and how it’s done. My method is Trial and Error because I know no other way. So, with that in mind, I have, in fact frogged several rows this morning. Too many stitches were causing it to get ruffled. I don’t know how/where to increase the stitches in a nice, even way at the minute. Too many, not enough, blahhh. Whatever I try, it doesn’t want to mirror the initial semi circle of colour. I’m tempted to bin it. Bin the idea and move on. So. Much. Frustration!

hand-made-wooden-handle-bag

Anyway, this is more like it. An actual finished item. Woot! I loved making this. It was so quick and easy. I didn’t follow a pattern, I made it up and was surprised at how speedy the process was. If I were to have another go, I’d make the fabric pieces wider. I think there’s room for expansion. I took a load of photographs as I made it;  I’m tempted to write up a tutorial. I might also buy a new pair of handles and have a second attempt.

first-go-at-tunisian-crochet

New skill alert! I’ve tried Tunisian Crochet this week. A little bit addictive actually. I’m slow and not sure what goes on if I drop stitches but I did order a set of bamboo Tunisian crochet hooks so I can get properly stuck in. This hook is one I got from my Nanna. I keep meaning to ask her if she ever used it. Anyway, it’s slightly too small. And the freebie I got from a magazine is slightly too big.

bad-colour-changes-for-tunisian-crochet

Yesterday I struggled with colour changes. I really want to make pictures in crochet. It isn’t as easy as I thought it’d be. It’s mucked up the tension, making it skewed. Poo. I think I’ll benefit from some practise but I also think that Tapesty crochet might the way to go instead. Any advice?

ami-balls

This is part of my Brightoween ColourSwapCraftPop on Instagram. I’ve done a bit more on this project than this picture suggests but I’m still not quite finished.

new-ideas

Whilst messing about with the Brightoween and Tunisian projects yesterday another idea popped into existence. I had to try it immediately.

new-idea-progress

I’ll try and get this finished for next week although I’m well aware that I say that sort of thing quite often. I’ve got a crochet pattern/tutorial in handwritten scribbles that I’d said I’d publish this week. That’s really not going to happen. Not yet anyway.

linen-stitch-in-the-round

This idea is a lot more simple than the other not-yet-ready pattern. I think it’ll be a fun one so stick around for a future blog post.

another-wip

Then there’s this, which is related to the c2c geometric square cushion I made recently. I really hope this one looks like my imagination tells me it will look.

And now I need to go and make dinner before collecting Eldest from Judo. I really hope that some of these WIPs will actually be finished at some point soon. Today is not the day.