I’m not saying this blog isn’t cool (keep reading it), or that I don’t like doing other things (I sorta do); but writing reviews after each project keeps me from having fun with the actual medium conduit we all know and love – YARN.

All the pretty projects

Here’s my solution, “Be my Ravelry friend!” That’s right, if you’re not using Ravelry, you should be. As in, the 1990′s called and wondered how the heck you got into 2013 without using Ravelry?! If you’re hardly using Ravelry and only look for patterns and nothing else, you’re missing out! There are so many features on there you should be using to help your knitting/crocheting journey. (Hmm, future post!) If you get bored, want some inspiration or frankly need more knitting friends, I’m your gal.

So, add Stacyc55 to your friends and let’s get this party started!!!!!

Not a desperate plea for friends but an invitation to the cool crowd,
-Stacy C.

I even figured out how to talk and take a picture of me holding knitting. I’m pretty BA.

It’s really not hard to do provided you take a few precautions. Can you walk and talk at the same time? Then you can knit and walk at the same time! I figured out how to do this earlier in the year when I made the resolve to get more fit. The only way to make my fat butt go to the apartment workout space was to let myself continue knitting while in motion. Before compromising with myself I would say, “After this row,” “When I get to the next section I will stop and work out.” This made it really hard to move it, move it, over to the building of physical fitness because let’s face it, I didn’t want to stop. After a few blah attempts to work out and the excruciating “wait” on the machines (you know, where you check the digital timer every 7 seconds because you desperately hope it’s been 20 minutes on the treadmill?), I told myself I could knit on the treadmill. I started out walking on a speed of 2.0-2.3 mph, really fast at all. To compensate not going so fast (but I was ok with that because at least my “fat butt” was moving) I put the incline at nine. I eventually can get up to 2.7 mph if doing a really simple knitting stitch.

I felt pretty proud of myself for figuring out how to get through the boring knitting rows when doing a sweater or repetitive pattern and at the same time getting through the painful act of exercise. I felt like a knitting ninja when I figured out how to do my circular entrelac on the treadmill. Additionally, I successfully experimented in other attempts to push through the workout blues and figured out how to knit while doing crunches, bollywood-style knee bounces, leg lifts and wall sits. I’ve also heard of other knitters crafting while working out on a stationary bike (I don’t have access to one) with good results.

One of the biggest things I can’t stand doing is sitting still for stupid award dinners, especially ones that rival the Oscars in time sucking and matter even less. Well, one of my professional duties is sucking it up and going to one every year. Last year, I crocheted under the table. This year, I’m going to work on I-cord for a necklace. Not visualizing it? Imagine this: sitting on one of those tables right next to the stage at the table of a “VIP” with my hands under the table linen doing I-cord. Another ninja skill – knitting without looking. If I’m gonna be a prisoner, I’m gonna make the most of it!

If you wonder how I get all that knitting time in, it’s because I make time in the most unlikely places getting through stuff and doing what I want to do. Rocking life.

“Stacy, out” *drop the microcphone*,
-Stacy C.

My “Fairy White”

Easter has come and gone and I’m updating you on some tom-foolery that oddly involves yarn and handmade items. Some of you know about my super awesome Black Friday experience at Fibre Space. It was the first time I’d ever woken up at 4 a.m. to go out and shop–but it was for yarn, so totally acceptable. I could have sworn I had written a post, but you tend to be a little delirious when you’re reliving a half-awake life experience.

Anyway, the only thing I had bought for myself at that wonderful yarn sale were two skeins of Spud and Chloë, Outer in sandstone. It was so beautiful, super bulky and perfect for the Vite Cowl I had wanted to make for a while. It was also my sanity project hanging out with my parents over Christmas. I wore that thing all the time because it was the perfect color of off white… You get the idea, I loved that scarf and we had a history.

Well, this Easter I went back down to D.C. to hang out with some awesome people. We decided on Good Friday to go out and have some dinner, hangout at a sports bar, and then go to this crazy weird club. Things were going all well and fine until we got to the club. Let’s just say the night got NC17 REAL fast with some of the shenanigans going on in there!

I won’t shock you with too many details but I can tell you I experienced a co-ed bathroom for the first time. I didn’t know it was one until I went in there. I rolled with it, but was SO confused for a good minute. When we went onto the techno floor all the bartenders were shirtless, but when you went up to the bar to order a drink it turns out, they were ONLY IN BOXER BRIEFS (that deserves all caps for the shock it gave me)! We decided to stay and dance, making coat check and ideal solution for our stuff. I put my lovely scarf into the sleeve of my sweater (stupid move). When we were ready to leave I got my coat back and we walked out into the night. No one puts their coat on right when they get out of a club you’re hot and sweaty and… stuffs. When we got onto the metro, I realized MY SCARF WAS GONE (also, deserving of caps)!

I was crushed. I had no idea it would just disappear. I tried calling the club the next night, but you had to go in to claim anything and I was leaving the next day. An acquaintance when down to see if they could find anything but never go back to me. I can only hope my beautiful scarf found a new loving home. Tear*

My new “precious”

After that travesty, we headed to Alexandria and–obviously–I went to my favorite D.C. haunt (Fibre Space if you haven’t figured it out by now). I consoled myself with some Capital Luxury Lace by Neighborhood Fibre Co., in Victorian Village. It goes great with a ton of my spring and summer wardrobe. I also bought some Spud and Chloë sweater in sandstone. I decided the thinner yarn would be better for wearing in warmer months. The new Spud and Chloë inspired a design that I’m working on with owls. If I had to lose my scarf, I found a great way to try and get over the pain.

Back to my Hogwarts Express Special, -Stacy C.

The Birthday Girl, showing it off.

It’s a special crochet month with means you deserve a Stacy C original design! (Waiting for applause)
It’s been a few months since my last design and everyone seems to be getting a kick out of my “Faux Entrelac” pattern on Ravelry. And I’m trying to build my street cred… I mean, give you more creative ideas! I’ve noticed that my designs like to use a lot of chaining, but I’m ok with that. I’m taking a simple element and making it a fashion MUST. Have fun with my design and let me know either here or on its Ravelry Page, what you’ve made and what you think.

Hook: I (5.5 mm)
Yarn: Red Heart, Soft in Berry (Weight #4)
Amount used: 66 grams total for the scarf. 14 grams for the bow

Scarf base:
Ch 14, turn
Ch 1, sc 14. Cut

Close up.

Scarf:
In the last sc, ch 250. Cut yarn leaving about a 2-yard tail

For the chains 2-14 continue in the following way:
In the next sc (to the right of the last one made) chain 20
Sl st into the left chain on its 20th stitch. You want to make sure when you slip the stitch that the chains line up. You only slip into the chain next to it, not all the chains.
*Ch 20 stitches, sl st into the left chain on its 20th stitch*. Repeat * section 9 times
On the last section ch 25, sl st into the left chain on its 25th stitch
Cut yarn after each chain is finished. Leave about a 4″ tail.

Scarf finishing base:
(Start working on the WS with all tail ends in front of you)
With the 2-yard tail from first chain, Hdc 14 into each chain end, turn
Ch 1, sc 14. Cut yarn

Scarf Finishing:
With the tail ends, you can either try to tuck all them into the short base. I decided to only tuck the tails that started and ended the base structure. I then took two tail ends next to each other, double knotted them, then snipped the ends. I did this for both bases.

Bow:
Ch 18, turn
*Ch1, sc 18, turn*, repeat * 4 times. Cut yarn
Bow will be about 3″ x 2″. Tuck in ends

Not too shabby.

Bow band:
Ch 8, turn
Ch1, Hdc 8, turn
Ch 1, sc 8. Cut yarn leaving an 8″ tail to sew bow onto scarf.

Blocking:
Because it’s Red Heart yarn, and pretty hearty (pun intended), I steam ironed the scarf separately from the bow. I also steam ironed the bow seperately from the scarf. While ironing the scarf I focused on one section at a time (between the slipped stitches is a “section”) making sure the chains faced right side before placing heat on them. I did iron the bow before and after I added the band. I only added heat for about 10-15 sections each time. I did do one last “once over” after I sewed the bow onto the scarf.

Bow sewing:
With your rectangle, squish the middle and wrap the band around it. Take care to center the band around the rectangle and sew a couple of stitches to secure the band. Now you can sew the bow onto the scarf.
I tried to sew the bow onto the chain section, but found that too difficult. Instead, I sewed the bow onto a sl stitch section, making it easier to anchor it, before tacking it down onto the scarf.

Voilá! You now have a snazzy scarf for the spring – and around here it just won’t quit snowing!

Continuing my FO fire!
-Stacy C.

The Manly Blanket

I decided to use a J hook (6 mm) and bulky weight yarn. I picked out a Clover “Soft Touch” crochet hook that’s an ergonomic design and a great price. Let me tell you, this saved me many a painful hour working with the hook. I never had to take a break or slow down because I was doing too much with my hands. It’s high enough up and has a flat neck where  you place your thumb and forefinger that makes working with it very comfortable. Mind you, this hook works best if you hold the hook like this:

Knife Holding Position

and not like this:

Underarmor position (my own misnomer)

My friend crochets the latter and had a hard time gripping the hook with the ergonomic chunky flat head. (Pictures courtesy of the Crochet World blog.)

Next, I used Ella Rae “Seasons” in color 19. It’s a bulky weight yarn that is “chainette”, which means that it’s not wrapped around itself, but is like an icord or crochet chain of yarn. I liked this style of yarn better, because I had ZERO splitting.

To make a blanket this size, I went up two yarn weights and two hook sizes larger than the pattern, then I added six stitches to the beginning and end of the pattern rows the whole duration of the blanket. This meant I casted on 135 stitches instead of 23 and added six more stitch repeats to the beginning of the row before doing the first cable set.

There are three separate cable types in this pattern and each is a little different. For help understanding how to do a Front Post or Back Post click on the links to understand how it works. Even if you know how to do these stitches, check out the videos anyway, because it’s a dude doing the videos. He has these big beefy hands and you sit there wondering, “This is a work of counter-nature.”

The part that is the hardest to understand in the pattern is FPdc or FPtr behind the stitches you worked, but it’s not a BPdc or BPtr. What this is trying to tell you (but hard to visualize), is you will be working the stitches as a FP, behind the stitches you just worked, but still in FRONT of the body of the project. Crochetme has a blog post all to help you out with this pattern.

To complete the edging I did the first two rows in the same color as the blanket and only used white for the last and final row. I liked the look of it better and called the white accent my “sea foam” to the ocean colored blanket.

Back to work on my knitted sock – don’t judge that I’m not crocheting!
-Stacy C.

But first, let me start at the beginning:

It was like any other crappy Monday. It started out mediocre and got bad, REALLY quickly. I needed a break and went onto Ravelry and had a message in my inbox. Who should the message be from but Patons Yarn?! What could they possibly want? WELL, they contacted me to let me know that MY sock was a completed project they wanted to feature on the pattern home page!!!!!

It took several hours for this to sink in. And after it did, I felt like the coolest kid on my sock knitting street. Are you basquing? You’re welcome :-p

That’s me, the one on the bottom.

From this HAM sandwich to you,
-Stacy C.

But to kick off this month, I want some audience participation. Yes, from YOU!

Imagine him pointing a paw at you

What, pray tell, could I be asking you to POSSIBLY do?

Give me ideas. If you think this journal has been missing something vital, or you need to know something badly, you want me to try something crazy cool (with yarn) or it’s just plain sucked in the past – make it better. Tell me what floats your boat or what needs to be happening and I will be more than happy to try things out.

Here’s the deal, I’m not lazy – usually. It’s just really hard to be creative in three different outlets and then sit down and write things out if I’m not even sure it’s what the people want. Now, mind you I’m not always worried, but I would like to make sure that the $26 a year I spend to write down my stuff isn’t lame and boring.

I have some stuff queued up for the coming month and think you will be pleasantly surprised I mean with a stash like this:

Stash beast

how could it be anything other than stellar? Or hilariously ridiculous.

Keep the brilliant ideas flowing, I need ‘em,
-Stacy C

Today is a day of celebration because I realized (belatedly) that yesterday was the second anniversary for this blog! I feel like this anniversary means a little more than the last. Sure, it means we’re one year older; but it’s more about the longevity of this project and how far the owners of this online journey have come in the art of yarn making.

Yeah! Our Anniversary!

Here’s a few facts to show you how far our adventures have taken us: 59 posts (including this one) – a little more than one every other week (not bad for people with full-time jobs, hobbies and children of multiple species), over 7,000 visits to the site (you read that right), over 100 comments and many people occasionally tuning in to this little periodical.

I’m happy to write as many posts as I have, it would be more if I could occasionally be more motivated or pushed. What is written on this site is only a fraction of the fun and adventure we’ve had over the years and I’m thankful that some people find this space so interesting.

Two years is a good marker – longer than some marriages! Raise your cupcake and toast to fiber and happiness!

Mmm, cupcakes! (Vegan in my case.)

P.S. that is Susann’s picture I stole from the webs. She takes better pictures than I and I’m sure to hear about it later. This is what happens when I wait six months for a “I’m working on it” post :-p heheheeee…

Keep on creating,

-Stacy C.

NOW IT MAKES SENSE! I use both hands to carry the yarn when making stitches! This technique really should be renamed “Two-handed stitch making.” Doesn’t really have a good ring to it, but more clear than the commonly used term.

And of course, once I see something I don’t know how to do, I have to investigate how I can make it happen. I’ve written about left and right handed knitting methods before; but this is different because it requires both types at once. My ambidextrous self was super excited to see this in action.

One of my favorite right-handed knitters is Staci (It’s not just the name similarity ) from Very Pink Knits and how her right hand just flies over those needles similar to my Continental picker knitting ways.

I’ve tried the knit stitch the way she does and it didn’t take much time to get to a good pace. Though purling this “flicking” way, is just not AT ALL easy. Knitting with my yarn like Staci is was a breeze, but I had to find another way to get some good tension to purl. I found a video with an additional way of getting that tension with right-handed knitting:

That way was ok, but I found that wrapping my yarn this way really helps me get the right tension on my forefinger: 

The biggest thing to take away from all of this is you need to make sure you have the yarn go over your forefinger and your other fingers help keep the tension correct for that one digit. Also, don’t drop the needle, use your thumb and middle finger to keep those stitches flying.

SLOOOOOOOOOWLY making things happen,
-Stacy C.

I know I’ve been pretty quiet, but if you had been crazy, like me, you would have been super busy last month trying to race to the finish line for Christmas gifts. I ended up making five presents and only two of them were “small”. Let’s take a look at my creativity gallery, shall we?

For my mother I made this beautiful shawl using the Color Obsession pattern everyone was gaga over. (I do have some tips for this one in my project notes). After having the edging snap apart while blocking, I was able to come up with a fix and part of that was to add a crochet boarder with the same color as the base color.

The finished, fixed product

Another angle

For my father, I made a pair of socks using Solemate. I was really happy with this yarn because I tried one of them on to make sure the claims of the Outlast thread worked (I washed the socks, of course). My results left me satisfied and my dad said they kept his feet very warm. I used an adjusted pattern called “Treads” from the “Son of Stitch ‘N Bitch” book.

Snazzy socks

For a friend of mine, I made an extremely modified version of the “Sólás Caomh” baby blanket into a gigantic 6′x4.5′ blanket. It took a lot of yarn, but I was able to rock that thing like nobody’s business. I’m extremely proud of this thing and all of the crochet cable-ing I learned! Because of all the awesomeness I accomplished and modified with this pattern, I shall have to write up a review in the future.

The beautiful Irish sea!

For my brother, I made him two different hats. The first is one that I (mostly) made the year before – but I had to finish it to give it as a gift, so it counts! I modified the “Wise Old Owl Hat” pattern to have only one owl – you know, the strong, silent type.

Manly hoot

The other one I made for him was a hat from the pattern “Berruti“. This was the second time I made the hat and I think my eyes were getting cross because I made a lot of unnecessary mistakes on a cool, but easy pattern.

Ziggy Zag

I made notes and mods on all of these projects I’ve stored on my Ravelry notebook. I hope you take joy looking at my Christmas presents as I did giving them.

Back to my Radiance shawlette,
-Stacy C.

Well, it gets better. On my list are about 50 handmade Christmas cards. Yep, FIFTY! I have about half of them done. Will I get to the full count? Probably not.

But oddly enough, other than adrenaline stress, I’m not freaking out. What will get done, will get done and those who get – BE GRATEFUL!

So, if you’re making holiday items enjoy it. It’s ok if they don’t work out, it’s ok if they’re not perfect. The gift of yarn is awesome – tell them it’s an investment for their mental health future and to take up yarn crafting.

Beautiful Cowl-ness

I recently had to insert a project into my Christmas knitting extravaganza to make a birthday present. I needed something quick and cute and decided to make a cute cowl. I used used one of the cable patterns from the Sólás Caomh by Jodi Euchner and modified it to be cowl-friendly. I used some Lion Brand Yarn in Homespun Ambrosia to help me stash bust – it was the perfect hue for the birthday girl.

Faux Cable Cowl Pattern
Be sure to make your tension loose and be generous with the yarn being used in each stitch. If you pull tight and uniform, you will have a lot of gaps between the cables and it won’t feel so warm.

Using Bulky Yarn (weight 5) and a J hook (6 mm)
Glossary: BPdc – Back post double crochet; ch- Chain; dc – double crochet; FPdc/tr – Front post double crochet/triple crochet;
hdc – half double crochet; sk – skipped; sts – stitches
(Trebles used in this pattern are American terminology so you would wrap the yarn twice around the hook before making a stitch)

Loosely Ch22

Row 1 (WS): DC all stitches

Row 2 (cable row): Ch3 (count as first stitch here and throughout the pattern), DC 1 in the next stitch
*Sk next 3 sts
FPtr in the next 3 sts
Working in front of sts just made FPtr in 3 sk sts*
Repeat from * 3xs
Dc 2

Row 3: Ch 2, hdc 1 stitch
BPdc in 18 sts
Hdc 2

Row 4 (cable row): Ch 3, dc 1 stitch

A stylish Nanook

FPdc in next 3 sts
*Sk next 3 sts
FPtr in next 3 sts
Working behind sts just made FPtr in 3 skipped sts*
Repeat from * 2xs
FPdc in next 3 sts
Dc 2

Row 5: Repeat row 3

Row 6 (cable row): Ch 3, dc 1 stitch
*Sk next 3 sts
FPtr in next 3 sts
Working in front of sts just made FPtr in 3 sk sts*
Repeat * 3xs
Dc 2

Row 7: Ch 2, dc 1
BPdc 18 sts
Hdc 2

Row 8 (cable row): Ch 3, dc 1

The Birthday Girl strutting her handmade chic

FPdc in next 3 sts
*Sk next 3 sts
FPtr in next 3 sts
Working behind sts just made FPtr in 3 sk sts*
Repeat * 2xs
FPdc in next 3 sts
Dc 2

Row 9: Repeat row 7

Repeat rows 2-9 however many times you want. I did mine 12 times.
Finish – slip st ends together inside out to make a seam. Light blocking needed for this yarn.

A couple of other fun ideas you can do is end with multiple dc rows to sew buttons on and make it a cowl. I didn’t put a border on it because the scarf is just supposed to look like the interwoven cables. For those of you who HAVE to have some kind of gauge, a row should be about 1.5-2″ long for the right side and about 1-1.5″ long on a wrong side.

If you use this pattern, PLEASE, let me know what you think on my Ravelry pattern page. I really want to know how you peeps are rocking this design.

Workin’ my Crochet Creativity,
-Stacy C.

I know I’ve been away for a while and October didn’t give you nearly the number of posts I normally do in a given month. Two words “work” and “Sandy” amazing how those two things can really throw a monkey wrench in life. But I’m back and I found a lovely little tidbit on Pinterest (I was curious, it had been a few days, what had I missed?) that I have share and I’m excited to try!

I just got a few holes in a few of my store-bought sweaters and was thinking of figure out how to recycle the yarn, but then I came across this post on sweater repair from KnitPicks. While I still might recycle my yarn (the sweaters don’t fit so well anymore), it’s nice to know there is a way to  salvage those precious woolen knits. 

Now I just have to buy a needle felting kit and some roving yarn… This could be dangerous. 

Stay safe and warm and gather supplies for the next storm for the East Coast – a Nor’Easter! I’m not kidding, get more supplies because next week is also going to be a doozy. 

While illness and work may be keeping me away, I have a real doozy for you.

Here it goes, SSK is really k2tbl – BAM!

It’s faster and I just think it’s cool to point out.

I think someone just couldn’t get k2tbl or thought writing it was too long and created SSK. Sissies (hehee).

Working on the cutest sweater,
-Stacy C.

Anyway, I hope you like my show of card wonderfulness. On the plus side I am getting better at reducing card making time. Lately, I’ve been going for a simplistic design template. I find that less is more when it comes to cards and those are the ones that take your breath away (typically). Also, I don’t like to spend a lot of time making cards because when I get around to making what I need it’s kind of deadline sensitive. I was able to make four cards in about 2 hours and I’m pretty proud of that timing. If you’ve ever made a card you know that coming up with the concept, color and tool coordination, adjustments (and there always are) then assembly takes time and 30 minutes is pretty dang good.

As you can tell by lack of posts, I 86′d the weekly card idea pretty quickly; but I was just so proud of my results I couldn’t tamp down the naive hope! Hope you enjoy the mini-show because this is all you’re getting for a while:

Sweater knitting is calling my name,
-Stacy C.