So you cant read, huh?

I don't ever mind making things for my family and friends, but I sometimes get bogged down with projects. No one ever wants a simple hat they always have to have some complex design that is going to take me weeks or even months to complete. Lets face is I don't have the time or the patients to make a blanket on a dead line no matter how simple the pattern is! I woke the other day to see that my Mom had sent me an email of a cool scarf she had seen. She even provided a link to the pattern. Hint much, Mom? lol I agreed to make it for her. I bought all the supplies yesterday and spent most of the day ciphering the most poorly written pattern I have ever paid for. I cannot get over how awful it is! The charts and written instructions are completely different from one another. I now have to figure out how to piece this whole thing together because I promised I would make her this scarf. I've been starting at the pattern all morning trying to figure out why it says to slip stitch when the picture of the product is clearly done in double crochet!!! I'll figure it out I always do.  SO, here I am angry at this pattern, and I get a text from my mom. Now my sister would like one too. Both my mother and sister know how to crochet, so I ask why she cant make one for her self. Simple answer, we cannot read a pattern. WHAT! Who cant read!?! I am going to break it down and explain how to read a pattern over this post. This is going to be a simple explanation of the basics.
 This is for you, Mom. :)

Pattern reading 101:

• Skill Level √

• Yarn type/weight √

• Basic Stitches√

• Chaining and how to count a Chain√

Skill Level:

Most patterns will tell you what level of skill you need to complete a project. Now skill level is tricky! There is no industry standard for level of skill. I always read through the list of stitches required to complete a project and decide if it is something I know already. If the main stitch is single crochet and it only has a few increases or decreases I would consider it to be Easy. It never hurts to challenge the mind, though. I do sometimes take on patterns I know will have me upset before I can complete them.

Yarn Type/Weight:

All patterns have a list of the yarn and yardage they used. Included is also the weight. You can substitute a yarn of similar likeness.

 Example: If the pattern says:

 Use 2 skein of Simply Soft in blue (315 yds) Medium/Worsted weight. 

 I know I can use any Worsted weight as long as I account for the yards needed. Always check your yardage! Another good idea is to always buy all the yarn needed to complete a project in advance. You don't want to run out of blue only to find out you cant find it anywhere!

Stitches:

Ch  Chain
ST stitch
SC single crochet
HDC half double crochet
DC double crochet
ST slip stitch
sc2tog single crochet 2 together (one decrease) May change for stitches ie dc or hdc
sc2 in one stitch (one increase) may change for stitches ie dc or hdc
(THIS IS ASSUMING YOU KNOW HOW TO COMPLETE EACH STITCH)

Chains:

Ok, now we are ready to crochet!  
Lets say the pattern reads:
1 skein Red Hart Super  Coral  (364 yrd) Medium/Worsted
Size I hook
Gauge is not important. ( on a side not I never worry about the Gauge unless I am making a sweater, gauge is just how many stitches are in x amount of inches. You can alter the gauge by changing hook size or tension on the yarn.)

Row1: CH22
We are going to Chain 22
Row2: HDC in the 2nd st from the hook, HDC in each st across (21 sts)
We are going to half double crochet in the second chain from our hook and then half double crochet all the way to the last stitch. 
Row3: CH1,turn,HDC across (21sts)
Row4-36: repeat Row3
Finish off and weave in all ends.

 

That is it... pretty simple. :)

Crochet from time's past and new projects

hats and afghan start

I've started on a few new things today. I am working on a new blanket, and I am also making hats for the homeless. I tried to rope my mom into helping me make hats with no luck. She said I live to far away for her to raid my yarn stash. :( I guess I am on my own. Its ok, I don't mind taking this project on my own. I am pretty excited that I can do something to help out. I will have to ship out my finished work to other states since it never gets cold here!
I had a co-worker as me to make her daughter a blanket. For those of you who know me, you know very well that I cannot seem to stick with a blanket. I have several blankets in the closet that are all 3/4 of the way done. I seem to be working this one up quickly so wish me luck. Maybe I will just work on it between things. I so desperately want to be an afghan maker!

My baby blanket

I was browsing though some forums today and someone mentioned a Mile a Minute blanket. The Mile a Minute is one of the reasons I crochet today. My Great Grandmother made me a blanket when I was a baby in this style. I grew up with a few of her afghans around the house. My mother always treasured them. They were the blankets that got kept away safe. You always saw them in the top of the closet but no one ever got to use them for fear that someone would hurt them. I'm sure my mom was wise in her actions, I after all was not a perfect child. Because my great grandmother loved to crochet, my mother took an interest in the craft. My mom can now whip up a baby blanket in an afternoon. I always envied my moms many crafting talents, and so I too now crochet. :)

3dc cluster for center

Frogging

I sometimes come up with amazingly brilliant ideas, or so I think they are. I can spend hours writing out a pattern that has been stuck in my head, drawing out a diagram on paper, and gathering all my needed supplies. It always works out the same way. I have a GREAT idea, and I can't perfectly translate it into crochet! I spend days reworking the same pattern, trying to wrestle out all the errors. 

I Crochet, I frog it, I Crochet, I frog it

 My Hunny thinks that I just need to have multiple projects going at once to take my mind off of one particularly frustrating project and work on another. I'm going to spend yet another day off reworking the same pattern, frogging it all, and reworking it again. :) I love crochet. Happy Wednesday!

chevy chevy chevrons!

So the other day I met this wonderfully sweet old lady that happened to know my family from church. I think she was the most beautiful person I have ever met. She is retired and spends all of her time crafting to raise money for various charities and organizations. Her and I got to talking and I told her that I absolutely LOVE to crochet. She was pretty amazed and excited to hear that the "younger generation" was keeping the craft alive. As she was getting ready to leave she asked me to help her carry some things to her car. She gave me a big hug and also a box of yarn. She explained that she has had it for quite some time and is running out of space. She really wanted me to have it so I could create something beautiful. I thanked her and drove home with a box of mystery loot. I was super excited. I love yuck vintage colors more than anything! Most of the box was jammed packed with colors from the 60's and 70's. Brands I have never heard of before. I wanted to create something with that vintage feel something I could love forever. I was flipping through some crochet books and came across a chevron patter. I made a few rows of it but I didn't really care for the updated and more modern pattern. So, I went back to the basics. I'm making a traditional chevron afghan just like grammy would. I'm putting that box of yarn to good use. I'm going to mix and match colors to my hearts content. I've only just begun, but I am very excited for the projects completion! What do you think?? 

Mosaics are easy? Tutorial

Rosie and I were trying to think up some fun project to do over the weekend. We often spend too much time playing video games or watching movies. It took us a while to come up with something, and we finally agreed on doing a mosaic.
 I figured it couldn't be that hard! Wrong!!
 I bought some awesome plates at my local thrift store and we got to hammering away.
 Smashing plates is both fun and easy. Our issue, inspiration. Everything you see online is made with perfectly cut tiles and created into amazingly complex designs. Lets face it I'm not artist!
After sitting for a few hours depressed over it all we came up with something great.
 The answer; don't expect to make something just let it become something!! :)

Tools needed

You will need some simple tools. Tiles or in our case some old plates found at good will($6). A hammer or two. Some tile nips(optional). Tile adhesive, fairly inexpensive and found at Home Depot ($10). Premixed grout also from Home Depot ($12). You will also need something to put a mosaic on. I had an old table laying around so that is what we used.

You definitely need a hunny to sand down the surface!!

 We took our plates out side and hammered the crap out of them. We used an old towel to wrap the plate in first to eliminate flying plate parts and it also made for an easy clean up. You just have to shake the towel in the trash and you're done! Since we used plates we had to sort out the broken bits. Its hard to grout around pieces that are raised, so we sorted out the flat pieces. The tile nips can be used to reshape any of the shards.
Since its blisteringly hot outside we set out a tarp in the living room and started piecing everything together. We used a pencil to shape a basic design and then we fit it all together like a puzzle. The goal, get the pieces to fit inside the lines without hanging over to leaving large gaps. 

Once we fit it all together we took off a few pieces at a time and scrapped on some tile glue. Its easy to rearrange things as you go and it isn't going to be perfect no matter how many times you re do it . The out come isn't too bad, but it also isn't the master piece I was wanting! Needless to say this project has been abandoned in the garage where it sits waiting to be completed. I say we did pretty well for our first attempt. Next time I'd chose a smaller surface since I have crafting ADD and all. :)

Its been a while

It has been a little while since we last posted. I guess sometimes you just get too caught up in life. I have a million worries to deal with at the moment. My family is moving back to CO, my job is stressful, my dad's health is shit bad, and I'm confused in the middle. I'm not sure if I have a permanent plan, at least not one I can share quite yet. In the mean time I'm trying to busy myself with a new project. I've picked my hook back up, and I've brushed up on my Tunisian Crochet. The plan is to work a simple yet awesome throw in various textured squares. :)

sigh

Sigh,, this happens every time. I watch some campy fantasy epic television show and the next thing I know I'm sitting on my stool staring into space feeling like something has gone terribly wrong. These show's all go the same way, the dweeby little hero is hoeing potatoes thinking about their dinner when the Kindly and very helpful wizard comes hobbling up to tell them that they are not actually a mindless peasant but the last child of a magical king who was smuggled into hiding with a nice farmer family and who's sacred destiny is to fight off the powerful and very evil dark lord who killed their good and just family. There is a small scuffle of a discussion as the dweeby hero denies the truth of this and foolishly insists on their peasanthood but after a bit where the kindly wizard shows them their true magical abilities and a birthmark on their left foot they troop off to the kind farmers who back the wizard up tearfully declaring that the dweeby hero will always be theirs in their hearts. Convinced at last the dweeby hero goes off with the wizard trains for a half an episode meets a dashing and mystery shrouded love interest and finally armed with their magic powers a sword of truth a potion from the wizard and the promise of forever from the aforementioned love interest they go to the dark fortress and face the evil lord where even though it's a tough fight and they might get a nasty cut on their arm or forehead they will survive and the scar makes them look that much better... all I want to know is where the Frick is MY sword of truth?! why is it that I am stuck proverbially hoeing potatoes forever just waiting for a kindly wizard to come and fix everything! I think this is one of my bigger problems that I feel this deep need for the epic and the ease of knowing what I'm supposed to do and having all the tools to do it. But real life isn't like that at all, the hero's aren't always perfect and ready for everything and the villains usually don't wear black just fake smiles to cover their darkness, and you can't wait around for a kindly wizard sometimes you just have to go out and get your own freaking sword of truth and find a story of your own to fit into!