Recent projects #2

I've been a bit quiet of late. Not because I haven't had anything to post about, but more through shame. I'm reluctant to post about projects I've finished when I still feel guilty about not finishing the present I was making for the lovely Lisa's 30th birthday months ago. Lisa - I'm really sorry! I promise you'll get it before Christmas...

I've been being fairly experimental, trying to learn new techniques:

This, believe it or not, is supposed to be a sand dollar...


I've also been mucking about with recycled yarn and made a few crochet scrubbies:


I also messed about with colour work (don't look too closely - it's fairly rubbish) with this Charles Rennie Mackintosh sample:


In terms of garments I was pleased with these:

This 'Mudstone' shawl used the Old Shale* stitch and some lovely soft merino tweed wool that my marvellous brother bought me for my birthday this year. It now resides in my office where it routinely keeps me warm when the university fails to put the heating on.

(* According to one of the Earth Science profs here, there is no such rock as shale - they are all mudstones...)


This Urchin beret used to be a cardigan. (Note also my new favourite t-shirt.)


These Maggie arm/hand warmers are also made from the other tweed bought by Stef for my birthday. My very first invisible joins. I feel quite proud.


And finally, the Wispa cardigan. It cost me about 50 cents to buy the crappy acrylic fibre at a sale in the Anna Templeton Centre. It's not perfect, and if I do it again I'd make several changes, but overall not bad...


I have a few other things on the go (not least the mystery late birthday present), including my first pair of socks and my first lace. However, I appear to have destroyed my hands in making my Halloween costume for next Friday, and I'm only about a quarter of the way through. Doh!

Designing my own crochet

Well, it was only a matter of time! I've been inspired by a knitted cardie I've seen to attempt to turn it into a crochet version with some amendments...

The fabulous original pattern is the February lady sweater (which itself is a grown up version of a baby-pattern).

As I can't do gull stitch in crochet I'm going to go old school and attempt crochet CABLES!! I've never done it before so am very keen indeed. Trouble is that I still have two UFOs (unfinished objects to any of you non-wool fiends), but I've also seen the perfect yarn for it in Flabberdeen in "Wool for Ewe" in Rosemount. Cue a very poor sketch...

I'm off work for a while so I'm going to use the time to a) finish the UFOs and b) start this little number. If it's successful I'll post the pattern on here and on Ravelry. I might even attempt a version in crochet symbols. I'm a glutton for punishment clearly, as well as a huge geek ;o)