For this post I'm going to share a crazy project that I just finished a couple of weeks ago. I get Crochet! Magazine in the mail. The front cover of the Autumn 2018 issue caught my eye.
I looked at the directions to see how they changed colors only to learn that the yarn changes itself, it is a self striping yarn. Oy, now what? So I decided to order 23 different colors. I ordered the first 23 colors that were on sale that day and different enough from each other. They came, I swatched, did some math and decided that a ball of about 9 yds would do one row of the body, nice.
I then commenced making the balls. I set up 2 chairs in the basement about 18 feet apart and took a walk, 9 times for each of the 23 balls of yarn. That adds up to about a mile and a half for all 23 balls. I had a dowel taped to the back of each chair and that's where the yarn rested until I was finished walking that ball. Once finished, I cut the strands at the end where I started my walk and made small hanks that contained 12, 9 yard strands. I wound the strands into balls. After I took a picture of all the tiny balls I divided them into different baggies for each part of the sweater. Based on my math there was going to be quite a bit left... Hmmm...
I started this project the first day of my Summer Break. Something new I did this year. I took a week off to work on only what I wanted to, not dishcloths or commission work or designs, unless I wanted to. My wonderful husband even decided that he would cook and clean. All I had to do was drive the children to and from the bus stop. Nice and thank you. It was great week and I will be doing this again for sure, maybe even multiple times a year.
I started this sweater at the library in Byers. It was taking more balls for each row than it should have and I hadn't even finished the increasing in the yoke. What was going on? I looked back to the directions and how many stitches are in each body row, oh...
The way this pattern is written it says at the end of each row you will have X number of double crochets, ok great, except that's only half the stitches in a row, as there is a single crochet for each double crochet. So I had based my math on the double crochet number. Ok, here we go. The yarn is already prepared, why go back now? I knew there was going to be a lot of spit and splice, that was one reason I went for so many color changes to begin with, no ends, but this much spit and splice? I wasn't really excited, but what else was I going to do with the yarn and I really wanted the sweater... Errr....
I pressed on, working on it each night, starting each night by splicing 6 balls together. I would have to do this a few more times depending on how long I worked. The good news, one ball would go around the sleeve, yea! As I came to the end of the yoke increases I tried the sweater on and didn't have to go as far as I originally thought. I made the extra large size. I followed the directions for number of rows and didn't measure as I went. Because I used yarn that is 100% wool I knew blocking would have to happen. Acrylic weighs about a third more than wool and therefore in the original design the sweater pulls itself down. Mine did not. Below you can see a couple of pictures before blocking.
I blocked it loosely using the measurements in the schematic and how open the stitch pattern should be looking at the pictures in the magazine. Link to the finished piece and more details.
I am pleased with the finished sweater. It was a difficult block and I have points in places that aren't cute. My BFF called me "Link", from Zelda, the first time I pulled the hood up. Having some experience with this yarn though and that the piece isn't being judged, I didn't fret about it. After some wearing the points won't be as obvious. The yarn came out so soft, as it always does. This is going to be a wonderful piece to wear, possibly through the winter this year. I don't think we are going to get much snow or very cold, but we'll see.
These post blocking pictures were taken outside of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science by my BFF. He tolerates my fiber so well. Honestly it's more than that, he encourages it too and benefits from it on occasion. BTW we had fun at the museum too.
After wearing it a couple of days I can already see the sleeve edges straightening out a bit and have decided I need to add pockets, I will do that this week and post a new picture in the post on October 1st. I will then cover how I did the pockets in detail with pictures in the next crochet post.
The only other crochet item I have been working on as of late is a poncho for BBF's niece. She will be 10 in October, but this poncho is for Christmas. Her birthday present will be a stuffed unicorn. The poncho is made 100% acrylic yarn. As I am allergic, I work on it for about an hour a day. Any more than that and I have to take meds that make me sleepy. I chose acrylic because even though she is a girl she is harder on things still, not so girly. She likes dolls, horses and fantasy so I think this poncho will be great for her.
It is a very simple pattern. Find Pattern here I gathered my yarn and got started. Later that night as I lie in bed I was thinking about it and couldn't figure out why the pattern called for so much yarn... Then about 2am I realized. "I'll bet i need to hold the yarn double." I checked that morning and sure enough, I had missed that line of the directions. So a ripping I went. I am using worsted weight yarn as it calls for but am using a larger hook; an "N" 9mm, which I don't need license to carry. Sorry I couldn't resist. So far so good. I have front and back finished, stitched together and have worked single crochets around the entire edge. I will start the hood tonight. It is being worked in her favorite color, purple. Link
Not crochet related but still yarn related, I posted a new pattern to Ravelry last week. They are knitted finger-less mitts. Worked in a fall color way with some owls and lace they are perfect for this time of year. New design Planning the release of another design this weekend, it is for sleeves that you can put on with any shirt to be just a bit warmer.
My next post is about spinning, mostly what I have planned for this year's Spinzilla, I am on team Spin-Off, so stay tuned. Until then happy stitching everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment