WIP Project Update!

I just wanted to take the time to post some WIP updates. I started my sweater Wednesday and here is its progress so far :D

Center Motif (in daylight :D)

First I made the lovely center motif during Knit Night.

Front panel, sleeve, and Lucky.

And by tonight I have the front and back done, and one sleeve. So one more sleeve to go and then all that's left are blocking and seaming...whoohoo! I think my cat approves so far.

I'm making the small so there are no side panels...I'm still hoping it will fit and not be too stretched. I'm the same measurements as the medium so I decided to make the small so I could get some ease. It looks like its suppose to be pretty snug in the pictures.

Also here is my granny bag as it is right now...I think it might have to wait until my sweater is crocheted though before it gets love again. At least all the squares are done. 

New Yarn for my CAL Project

I bought some new yarn today! As I have mentioned before I attend a local "Knitting Night" here and I enjoy it very much! I showed a few of the regular girls my new copy of Crochet Today from Jan/Feb and told them I was thinking about doing the sweater from the front cover. Seen here:

A few of them liked it so much they decided they wanted to do it with me! So next week we will all start making it together. I'll keep you updated on our progress and hopefully we'll get a cute group picture when we are all done. 

I decided against the recommended yarn (Stitch Nation Full O' Sheep) and went with the very similar Sheep(ish) by Vickie Howell in this lovely turquoise color. It took me a minute to figure out what I wanted but after much deliberation in the yarn isle I finally decided on this.  There are so many beautiful colors though I would have picked them all! But I don't have many blue things so I went with that. The yarn is 70% acrylic 30% wool as compared to the 100% Stitch Nation yarn but I thought the acrylic blend was softer. Plus wool tends to make me a bit itchy so maybe I'll be more comfortable with this yarn. The hubbie will be proud of me though I managed to wrangle up enough competitor coupons to wrack up a whole $8 in savings! Plus the coupons from my JoAnn's app. I love how they let you use more than one coupon! I feel like a real bargain hunter. In the end this sweater will only cost me about $21. 

You can see my project details on my Ravelry: http://ravel.me/Firecracker197/phs

What people think I do: Crochet Artists

These have been popular, and I thought it would be cute to make one about crocheting. :P All in good fun :D

WIP: Granny Bag

Please excuse my hipster picture, my iPhone doesn't take the best quality of picture so I figured I would spice it up a little.

A little while ago I got the idea to make a bag with squares. Not a totally original idea, but this will be from my head so I guess you can call it my own design. I hope the complimentary yellows and purples will turn out ok in the end. For now this is all you get, you'll have to wait until I'm done to see my plan for it.

FO: Purple Cowl

It's funny how much slower I am at "Knitting Night" than I am at home. I guess it has to do with all the talking I do! I whipped the rest of this up this afternoon. It only took me about 2 hours to finish. Just in time to take pictures before the sun came down.

So you can see the shape is basically a tube of curvy ripples. It came together pretty easy and now I can say I know how to do ripples! Too bad it was 80F here today and I was too warm after only wearing it for 10 minutes outside. One can only hope for a freeze in March or April...which is what tends to happen around here.

My Ravelry Project: http://ravel.me/Firecracker197/cbc

In my Queue: February

Hello all! Since it's the beginning of a new month I thought it might be a good idea to write a post about what I have in my "to do" list. Every month I'll try and write a post talking about what I'm thinking about working on and what I want to try for my next project. Maybe some of you might find some of these projects interesting and inspiring too!

Recently I've been really into Cardigans!

I've never made a fitted garment in crochet before. Up until this point my projects have been shawls, scarves, hats, cowls. Mostly accessories that don't need to be sized or shaped. I thought that my next step in my crochet adventure should be making a cardigan. I think it will be a new challenge for me and I know I'll learn some great things along the way!

Here are some patterns I've been eyeing.

1. Simply Crochet: This book by Robyn Chachula has been on my wish list for quite some time now. I might have to find an excuse to buy it pretty soon. It is a wonderful collection of patterns by many talented designers. I really love her Float Cardigan and the Spa Shawl Top by Doris Chan. I really think the lacy designs of the two cardigans would be fun to do. They would help me learn some new stitch patterns, and they might actually be wearable here in Texas all year round.

2. The Dahlia Top by LilyGo. This top looks so nice and lacy but it's construction still looks very fitted and solid. I'd probably be making myself crazy crocheting my first cardigan in fingering weight yarn, but boy would it be worth it! I really just love how beautiful this top is. It sure would be a great challenge!

3. Drops Design 119-22: Waistcoat. I've always been in love with Drops designs. This cardigan seems like a good way to get started with garments. The construction seems simple enough and I'm actually intrigued by the creativity of the design. Who would have ever thought that you could crochet a circle, add a back, and then boom! You  have a cute little cardigan. Perfect for wearing over tanks or dresses.

So those are my favorites for now! Plus I've still got my Trefoil Throw to finish, and an idea for a bag that I'm making up on my own that I would like to do! So we'll see what the future holds for me in February! Looking forward to it though!

WIP: Purple Cowl

I know a lot of people do WIP Wednesday posts...and I think most of my posts might end up being on Wednesday since that is knitting night for me at the local yarn shop, but I just can't hold myself to always posting on certain specific days. So we'll just try and do a WIP once a week ok? Haha.

Here's tonight's Knitting Night picture:

Its going to be a ripple type cowl. The pattern is here: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L0482.html?noImages=

The wonderful husband surprised me with this lovely yarn yesterday. I was having kind of a down day so he bought me some yarn to cheer me up! Yarn always makes me happy. This is Lion Brand Tweed Stripes in Orchid. I love purple! At first I was going to make the scarf that's on the label, but I decided I have made too many scarves for now. This cowl from the lion brand site will suit the yarn wonderfully I think. Now if it could just stop being 68 degrees every day I might actually get to wear it this winter.

FO: Items for Baby!

So for those of you who don't know, I have an extremely large family. Anyone who's parents were baby boomers might be able to relate to my situation. On my fathers side I have 9 aunts and uncles, on my mothers 8. Then add all their spouses, and children, plus grandparents and grand aunts and uncles. That's a lot of people! Some of my oldest cousins are starting to become grandparents! Most of my cousins on my fathers side are in their mid twenties now, at least the first half of them. I'm somewhere in the middle of the pack. So that means for the past few years between my cousins and I there have been lots of weddings!! So now the next phase has begun, queue the babies.

My oldest cousin got the ball rolling before all of us and his little boy is around 8 or 9 months old now. Then the other day I got an invitation to my cousin Sara's baby shower. I had to make something of course! I've been itching for a chance to make some adorable baby items for awhile now! I know not everyone has someone they know who will make a lovely baby afghan for them, and I think everyone should have one! Of course chances are equal she might end up with 5 but then who has too many baby blankets? So anyways that's my story and I hope Sara doesn't read this blog because she'll be ruining her surprise. Don't tell ok!

First I made a quick hat and booties using this pattern from Ravelry found here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/crochet-baby-warmers-set

I used some discontinued Berroco Lullaby yarn that I acquired and this was the perfect use for it! The nylon fibers make this hat so stretchy and soft! Perfect for a little baby! Its not as durable and washable as acrylic but for a hat and booties lets hope they don't get as much wear and tear. The pattern says it should fit all the way up to one year. It might be a little loose for a newborn but I'm sure it will fit for a majority of that first year! It's absolutely precious.

And finally my One-Pound baby blanket. Found here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/one-skein-baby-blanket

I made this from a 16oz skein of Caron International in cream. At first I was just going to leave it yellow but I couldn't resist adding the blue so I modified the border and added a puff stitch border instead. I think it turned out lovely. The worsted weight yarn and the cross-dc pattern helped this blanket come together pretty thick. It doesn't drape as well, but I can see it being a great blanket for when the baby plays on the floor. It should provide lots of padding! Since I kept it simple I was able to finish the blanket in 3 days, because the shower is only in a few weeks. I didn't want to start something too complicated out of fear that I wouldn't finish in time! Along the way I did find several patterns I will definitely have to make later when I have more time. 

You can find my Ravelry Projects here:

Blanket: http://ravel.me/Firecracker197/osbb

Warmer set: http://ravel.me/Firecracker197/cbws

WIP: Red Trefoil Throw

Ok I'm holding myself accountable now! Its been about 2 years since I started this throw. I started when I moved in with my boyfriend, who is now my husband, in an attempt to add some decor to his lovely bachelor pad. He has these leather couches which I have to admit are very nice, real leather, and comfy. But they are just so dang masculine. So I thought maybe red would go well with them to give them some color. I added the red pillows and put some red curtains up in the living room window. Then I though oh I'll make a nice throw with a simple pattern that wont take long, it will be my first blanket so I can be proud. Two anniversaries and a wedding later....I'm probably about half way through. But I'm going to finish it now! That's what matters right?

I'm using Caron Simply Soft as you can see in the picture, in beautiful Autumn Red. This yarn is great, I bout six skeins of it for probably less than $20. Its so soft and shiny and looks like silk! But its 100% acrylic, I don't know how they do it. I love to use this yarn when I can especially for big projects.

The pattern is free from Red Heart and you can find it here: http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/trefoil-throw

Nothing against the Red Heart yarn...they just don't sell a very good selection where I live. I would like to try the Eco Ways sometime, but all they have here is Super Saver.

So I'm going to try and finish this up sometime...I don't have any other started projects at the moment so I'm going to try and hold off on anything else until this is done. We will see...I still have to make something from Pinterest by the end of the month...but maybe I'll bake something this time.

FO: Squid Hat

So my friend finally got his squid hat today! He has been wanting one for awhile! He was really psyched to see this today. I'm glad he liked it. Hes just the kind of person to wear something like this too. He likes hats so I'm glad I could add one of my creations to his collection. He works with my husband at a video game company so he'll fit right in.

I got the pattern from Etsy as mentioned in my previous post: Squid Scoofie

Although I will note that I found the pattern did not exactly turn out like in her pictures. I believe that an I sized hook was too small, and if I were to ever make another one again I would probably try something bigger. The tentacles and hood came out smaller and less "chunky" than in the picture. Even though I used the same Berroco Vintage Chunky yarn as stated in the pattern. But oh well. Also I didn't add suckers on each tentacle because I don't have that kind of patience to make lots of little round circles. Making 12 for the clubbed ends was plenty for me :P

In the end I have to say it turned out good though. And judging from his reaction upon receiving the hat I don't think he cared haha.

Life, As I know it: Do you love Pinterest?! Join our Challenge!

Life, As I know it: Do you love Pinterest?! Join our Challenge!: It just totally rocks! Are YOU loving this Virtual pinboard as much as me? I thought so. A couple of weeks back at 3 o'clock in th...

So I've decided to join the Pinaddicts challenge! Since I am now a recent Pinaddict! I'm excited to search through boards and look for some fun things to make. This way I can expand my "craft collection" even further. You can do anything, baking, cooking, sewing, paper, anything as long as its a pin on Pinterest and you made it!

Go here to follow my pins: Tricia McIntosh

Check out the blog post I mentioned to join yourself!

Wedding Crafts: Memory Box

Well since the blog is called Craftopoly I thought it might be a good time to share some of my other crafty projects. So first is a project that was really special to me. For my wedding last November (on 11-11-11) in Kauai, Hawaii I did a few DIY projects, to save money, and because I wanted to have some personal touches. One of them was this nice little box for our guests to place their cards in.

I documented my process a little since it took me a few weekends to complete, so I'll go through it for you. Everything I used can be purchased at your local craft store. The box I used had hinges and a latch which I took off before painting. I put the hinges back on later, but left out the latch.

First I started out by painting the whole thing in dark blue. Then I dry brushed over that with light blue, white, and aqua, that I diluted with a little water. That's what gave it the weathered and multi-colored look. I liked the way that turned out because it really showed off the wood grain. I used acrylic craft paint and I made all the colors myself with only a bottle of blue, red, yellow, and white.

For the letters I took scrap booking letter stickers, (the kind that don't have white space around them) and placed them on the edge. Then I painted the edge with about 3 or 4 coats of white. After it dried I peeled off the stickers with a knife and ta-da! Perfect letters!

I also added the date on the back. The paint did bleed a little under the stickers, but I thought that added to the rustic look of it.

Then I painted the flowers on. I used a computer print out and some white carbon paper to trace an outline on the box and then I painted it in with some very small angled brushes.

I did the flowers on top the same way, and I also painted a border to extend the white a little onto the top because the white edges bled a little.

I also painted the entire inside of the box white, and added ribbons to keep it from opening all the way and tipping over. (I'll add some pictures of that when I get a chance)

So there it is! I'm very pleased with it! I loved doing this too. I might even make a few more in the future if I ever feel inspired again! Maybe for a friends wedding or something! It also serves a purpose after the wedding too because its so personalized. We are using it to keep all our keepsakes from the wedding, like my garter and the cork from the champagne. I guess its like a "memory" box now. We can open it up later and remember our day together :D

New Pictures!

It was so sunny and wonderful outside today that I had to take some pictures with my newly finished projects. You wouldn't believe it was January from the weather we have been having here in Texas! Its wonderful!

My Pink Cashmere Scarf

And my Raspberry Beret

And my lovely husband :D

Ana and Mark's Hats

Look at my lovely Sister-in-law and her boyfriend wearing the hats I made them for Christmas! I'm so happy they like them and they look great on them! Making items for other people is so rewarding! It's probably why I haven't sold anything! Since they live in Boulder, CO I'm hoping they will get good use out of them. 

This is the same cable hat and puff hat mentioned in my previous post. 

Raspberry Beret

Here is the lovely beret I made yesterday. This is the same sale yarn from before that I used to make the pink scarf. This one was the only skein left and I just couldn't leave it behind! I love the beautiful raspberry color. It was (almost) the right amount of yarn to make this hat.

I used a very interesting and new technique to create this hat, I really enjoyed it. Basically the reason why this hat looks the way it does is because this is actually the "wrong" side of the crochet. But using this technique the "wrong" side is actually the "right" side! It goes to show you that there are no hard rules for anything right! I actually half double crocheted through the back loop and the back horizontal bar of the hdc and it creates this look! On the inside there is a line on each row where the front loop was skipped, which might also look cool but in this case I liked this side better.

I found the pattern on Ravelry here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sun-ray-slouch and she explains the technique really well in the pattern.

I did find that the yarn I used, which was a DK just like the pattern says, might have been a little to small. I wasn't able to quite fit in the 5 rows of brimming out of my 127 yrds, but I just about made it. I was afraid at first that the hat would be too small but once I blocked it then it got a lot bigger. So I think it will all be ok in the end! I just think my hat will be a little more lacy than hers. Now that I think about it my yarn might be a DK but a baby DK? I'm unsure if that even exists and if there is a difference. But regardless I'm sure different yarn types always end up differently.

I'll have more pictures up once it dries :D

Pink Cashmere Scarf

I'm really loving this scarf! I bought this really nice cashmere yarn at the after Christmas sale at Holley's Yarn Shoppe here in Dallas. They only had three skeins left that were the same color so that's how I ended up with this lovely pink. I wouldn't normally pick pink but I'm glad I did because this scarf is absolutely adorable. The pattern and the yarn I used give it a nice stretch so it can wrap around your neck and keep you nice and warm! And of course I was so happy to get a fine yarn like this for 40% off it was really a steal! It's not very often I get to work with something this nice so this project was really special.

I found the pattern on Ravelry here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/urban-shells It seems to be quite the popular pattern! I love seeing all the different twists people put on it. Me, I just left it the way it was written, and I think it turned out very nicely. Ravelry is perfect when you have a few balls of stash yarn to use up, because it lets you search based on the amount of yarn needed for the pattern! That way you can see what you can make with what you have. Its really useful because before I always found myself wondering...oh I wonder if this will need more yarn. You don't want to get half way through your project and run out! Especially when using clearance yarn! 

You can find the details of this project on my Ravelry here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Firecracker197/urban-shells

Squid "Scoofie"

Source: etsy.com via Tricia on Pinterest

Even though I found this on What Not to Crochet my friend has been wanting a squid hat for awhile and now that I've seen this I'm really inspired to make one...now I just need to decide if I want to just buy the pattern or just figure it out myself...I guess I could always see how my try works out and if it goes horribly I can buy it then :P The idea of making it a hood/scarf is really cool though, my first thought was to make it kind of like a hat but the way this looks seems like it makes more sense. The creator of this on Etsy calls them "scoofies" haha how cute! Buy the pattern here: Kraken of the Sea

Also on a side note I finally got a Pintrest account today! I'm so excited! I love this site and I can already see myself going on it waaay too much. But what could be better than sharing pictures of adorable crafts! There's also delicious looking pictures of food and all sorts of inspiring things! I think I will definitely have plenty of project ideas now!

How To: Finger Crochet

Now isn't this great? I might have to try this some time, that blanket looks so warm!

Spiral Motif Shawl

Its finally done! It didn't actually take me that long really...about 3-4 days over the span of a week during my holiday. Its amazing what you can get done when you have nothing else to do! I have been excited about this piece since before I started it and I'm so happy that its done!!

I got the pattern from this wonderful book:



And I was so happy to get it! This was one of the books I had on my list of MUST HAVES for Christmas presents. Thank goodness for amazon wish lists! I had the yarn all ready to go on Christmas day ready to get started on this baby!
Here is a picture from when I was blocking it so you can get a better idea of the shape.

It's basically worked like a pyramid, starting with a row of 4 motifs and adding one each row. The awesome thing about Kristin's book though is that the whole technique of crocheting the peice is seamless! So you don't have to sew them together at the end you just join them all together as you go making multiple motifs all at the same time. Its wonderfuly brilliant! It's just the kind of thing I love about crochet, I love to do interesting patterns that come together in a challening yet creative way. In the end you get something totally unique. Her whole book is full of patterns using this same seamless motif technique and I can't wait to do some more! She has everything from shawls, to blankets, to scarves and hats!  

So there it is! I hope you like it as much as I do! Eventually I'll have to take some better pictures than this but my iPhone will have to do for now!

See the details of this project on Ravelry: http://ravel.me/Firecracker197/blshs