Dresser Projects Update

You may recall a while back I posted about my over ambition in starting new projects before finishing the last. This resulted in dressers full of half done projects which I have come to call my "dresser projects". (So Many Projects!!! Post).

Now that a couple years have passed and I have pulled out many boxes from storage, I have been reunited with most of my Dresser Projects. Lately I've been relentlessly chipping away at old half done projects and finishing them off rather than starting new ones, however this has not depleted the number of Dresser Projects since the entry. Although I have finished off a few dresser projects, during the past couple years, while the dresser projects were stored away, I started a whole new set of dresser projects. So I am left with still, a whole lot of projects and not nearly as much time as I would like to complete them all.  Eventually they will all be completed... but who knows when that will happen! Here is an update on my Dresser Projects:

Small Afghans and Blocks:

Nice blue/grey/white afghan

Close up of pattern, interesting stitches

Blue/Grey ripple afghan, knitted blue squares

Pink hexagons and chunky pink and purple scraps

Off white aran blanket squares and green pinwheels

 Miscellaneous:

Knitted heart square. Will likely be a throw pillow at some point.

Not really crochet, but a dresser project none-the-less: a braided rug that I have been working on for probably near a decade. Well, to be honest I haven't worked on it in years, but the intention is there!

 Big Blankets:

Green Aran Blanket, still kicking around. No progress on this one.

It's been a little while since I've worked on this one (old Dresser Project) I do hope to get it done within the next year or so. I started this one several years ago, and the squares may pose a challenge once I start assembling due to change in tension/gauge over time. Hopefully it'll turn out alright though.

Settlers of Catan blanket

Settlers of Catan!! My favourite board game! I decided it would be neat to make a blanket of the game. I'm not sure what the finished product is going to look like, every time I think about it I come up with different ideas, but whatever way I chose I know it'll be kick-ass cause, you know, it's Settlers of Catan!!! :)

Soft green light weight blanket

Just a light weight blanket to throw on the couch during the summer months. I've taken this thing apart at LEAST 6 times because I would never right down what size hook I was using and my gauge was always way off. Maybe one day I'll end up finishing this darn thing...

Green wool-eater blanket

I *LOVE* the wool-eater pattern, so no surprise, I've started up a green wool-eater blanket. This one won't be fancy like the large blue one-piece, or the fall coloured wool-eater/babbette ones, but should still look great once finished, not to mention nice and warm :).

Fall coloured wool-eater/babbette blanket

Speaking of which, here is the fall coloured wool-eater/babbette blanket I've been working of for a few years now. I tend to take it out in the fall, work on it a whole bunch, then get discouraged at how wonky the gauge is and how long it's taking, then put it away until I forget how much it upset me (usually about a year) then take it out again next fall, hehe. Significant progress on it from the last time I mentioned it in this blog ("So Many Projects"). The great thing is that every year I find another couple new colours to add to it. I really love the colours :).

Solid blue bedspread

This is another old one that has been sitting around in the "unfinished" category for quite some time. This is the one I'm currently working on. I'm hoping to finish this one before the end of the year and use it on my bed for the colder winter months. I ran into a hiccup with this one. I had been working away on it over the last couple weeks and eventually realized that my gauge was wayyy off. Like an extra 6 inches per side. So I had to take it apart and lower my hook size. So far so good. I'm going to put an edging around it to try and hide the wobbly sides.




So that about sums up my current dresser projects. Well, the crochet/knitted ones anyway. I have a bunch of incomplete sewing and quilting projects kicking around, but that's an entry for another time.

Keep crafty everyone! And stay focused! :)

Pink and Yellow ZigZag Afghan

After visiting a friend for a couple weeks, I was sent home with a scrappy crafter's dream gift: a great big mystery bag of craft scraps! It's like Christmas! What will I find? My creativity goes into overdrive! I sorted the yarns to one side and the fabrics to another.

All the yarns from my "mystery bag"

While going through the yarns, I noticed there were enough pinks and yellows to make an afghan. I decided on a simple zigzag pattern. I tried to keep the width of the coloured rows varied while keeping a somewhat symmetrical pink-yellow pattern to keep the afghan visually balanced.

Pink and yellow yarns

This afghan was very quick to finish, only took about a month or so and was made completely out of the random discarded yarns from a friend (yarns are various weights, textures, and compositions). I *love* getting crafty!

Finished product (finished May 2013, pic taken Nov 2013)

Keep crafty everyone!

Hockey Blanket

     Anyone who spends a lot of time in an arena watching hockey (or other ice sports) knows that it can get pretty chilly, and if you are one of those people who is always cold (like me) you especially need some extra warmth while watching the games. 

     

     Since 2008 I've been attending my good friend Ken's hockey games and I quickly learned methods of keeping warm while watching.  In addition to my tea thermos and sweater I always bring a blanket.  It didn't take long for me to have a designated hockey blanket, however, after so many years of use (and thanks to my nibbly ratties (r.i.p.)) my hockey blanket accumulated a few holes that have been growing. While living in Fort Frances I wasn't too concerned since I had only the Lakers games and as a volunteer I was running around a bit which kept me warm, but now that I'm back in Ottawa with my friend Ken and hockey season is upon us, my hockey blanket needs to be patched up and ready for action.

     Last year I attempted to fix the afghan by sewing it with yarn, but that proved very ineffective.  So this time my plan of action involves patches on both sides of the blanket.  That way it will keep the blanket nice and warm it will keep the holes from ripping and getting bigger.  The patches are crocheted with similar colours and the same pattern as the afghan so it will match.

     It was a little tricky sewing the patches on, and the brown was a slightly different shade, but after the first patch I got the hang of it and managed to come out with something I was proud of. 

     The patches on both sides does make the blanket much bulkier in certain areas, but I feel it adds to it's overall character. I've been using this blanket as my hockey blanket for years now and would have hated to waste such a nice afghan just cause of a few holes.  

     I think this solution turned out really well. My trusty blanket is trusty and toasty once again!  

At Ken's first Snowflakes game of the season September 6th 2012

     For more pics of this project check out HN&S' facebook page here.

Keep Crafty Everyone, and to the avid arena watchers keep toasty!

Week 1: Half-Double Afghan

   The first week of the new year has passed and it's now time to start the weekly project posts. Enjoy!

Half-Double Afghan

    I started this project over the holidays and finished it within a couple weeks.  I didn't use a pattern, just a half-double variation stitch and randomly switched between green and brown. 

Half double afghan and kitty

Close up of the stitch and border

   I started this afghan with the idea of it being part of a set.  The set, when complete will consist of this afghan, a large full sized blanket and a pair of matching slippers.  I started the slippers first but when I got a pair of awesome slippers from my dad for Christmas I moved on to the afghan and put the slippers on hold.  But hopefully soon enough the matching slippers will be featured in a weekly project over the next few months.

Afghans are always kitty approved, no matter the kitty

Pattern:

Materials used:

• 6.00 mm crochet hook (size J/10)
• 3-4 skeins of "Medium Thyme" Red Heart Super Saver yarn (198g/7oz/333m)
• 3 skeins of "Coffee" Red Heart Super Saver yarn (198g/7oz/333m)

Main

I started with green and chained 82.  Then crocheted half double stitches interspersed with single crochets.

Base: Chain 82

Row 1: *yarn over, insert hook in 3rd chain from hook, yarn over, pull yarn through chain, yarn over and pull through all loops on hook (3). [This completes a half double.] Chain 1, skip next stitch Repeat * until the last two stitches. Half double crochet in both stitches (with no chain 1 in between). Turn

Row 2: Chain 3, *half double crochet in next chain 1 space, chain 1. Repeat from * till last two stitches. Half double crochet in first double crochet of previous row. Turn

Row 3: Chain 2, *half double crochet in next chain 1 space, chain 1. Repeat from * till last chain 1 space and stitch. Half double crochet in last chain 1 space, half double crochet in last stitch (with no chain 1 in between)

Repeat rows 2 and 3 for

10 rows green (starting with row 1 of pattern)
5 rows brown
10 rows green
10 rows brown
12 rows green
2 rows brown
8 rows green
4 rows brown
2 rows green
3 rows brown
2 rows green
10 rows brown
7 rows green
4 rows brown
4 rows green
2 rows brown
3 rows green
7 rows brown
2 rows green
2 rows brown
12 rows green
4 rows brown
8 rows green

Border 

With green join to anywhere on main afghan edge. Work half doubles all around afghan. On verticle edge, work stitches in row spaces, *1 half double in each 3 spaces then 2 half doubles in the 4th space, repeat from *till corner. 2 half doubles in corner space, chain 3, 2 half doubles in same space. 

For horizontal edge I did half doubles in each stitch, however this seemed to be too many stitches as my horizontal border is quite 'wavy'.  If I were to do it again, I would try a variation of 3 half doubles then 1 half double over 2 stitches.

For the half double border rows I did 2 green, 2 brown, 2 green then 1 final row of single crochet in green.

     I'm not all that great at writing out patterns from memory, so you'll have to bear with me over this year as I learn to eloquently write out instructions on my creations. But on the off chance this project inspires anyone to get crafty I'd love to hear about and better yet see a photo of your creation.  Leave a comment or leave me an email at Hookneedlespindle@gmail.com.

Keep Crafty everyone! See you next week!

Lakers Afghan

     For the past year and a bit I had been really wanting to make an afghan to donate to the Fort Frances Lakers in order to help them raise money, and finally, after completing my brother's birthday blanket I decided to dive right into it.  Having completed my brother's afghan in record time I felt confident I could keep the streak going and finish up the Lakers Afghan in no time, and though I may not have finished this one in record time, it is completed and I'm glad to see how wonderful it turned out.

I started out with the lettering for the logo

Then worked on the afghan background.... Of course Zija was all over it.

And more work on the lettering

Background finished, lettering almost done

Lettering finished! (no easy task)

Ready to scope out how big to make out the rest of the logo

Kitten just waiting for me to turn my back so she can pounce on a fresh afghan

This is how it starts.... two paws at a time 

Kitten caught!!

Logo placement, still needs to be sewn on

Friday the 16th, in the morning, sewing on the logo

And the afghan makes it to the first pre-season game!

      The Lakers Afghan is part of a Lakers raffle to be drawn on December 19th 2011 at the last Lakers home game before the holidays.  The draw will be for the Afghan and 2 chairs (seen in the above photo).  Tickets are 5$ each and ALL proceeds go directly to the Fort Frances Lakers.  The blanket was 100% donated :)  I am planning on having the Afghan available for custom order sales, however since it took up so much time to make, the price will be adjusted accordingly plus part of the proceeds will go to the Lakers.  Once I've crunched up all those numbers it will be up on my Etsy site and this one as well as the Facebook page.
     When it comes to labours of love, they are always long and arduous but ALWAYS well worth it in the end. :)

Updates

This is what HN&S has been up to this week,    
  

Crochet

    Lakers Afghan

     I've been hard at work focusing mostly on this project for the past week as it needed to be done for today.  The Fort Frances Lakers are the local Junior A hockey team.  They are part of the SIJHL and judging by the exhibition games we've recently had I think they are gonna kick some ass this year! :D.  I'm very glad I finally decided to dedicate myself to making up this blanket to donate in order to raise money for the team.  After over a year of "wanting" to do it, I finally got to it and set a date: it *MUST* be done for the first pre-season game.  Tonight is the first pre-season game and I'm finally done! If you are in the Fort Frances area, stop on by at the Ice For Kids arena to watch a good game of hockey and come see the beautiful afghan! The raffle will be going on until December, the fund-raising comity has decided to do the draw for Christmas.

     I have to say, I am INSANELY happy to be done with this afghan... I was really getting sick of working on it lol, but the satisfaction of seeing it completed and knowing it will raise money to help support our hockey team is well worth the effort.  Tomorrow I will have full post on the Lakers afghan and how it went at it's debut tonight at the arena.

Knitting

     New Slippers. 

     I haven't done much knitting this week. The past couple days I needed brief distractions from the Lakers Aghan so I started working on some slippers.  I've been 'tweaking' an old slipper pattern to make it more comfy and better fitted.  I haven't assembled them yet so I'm not sure how it'll will turn out.  I should know by this weekend and the slippers might be up on my site by the end of next week (assuming the 'tweaking' of the pattern worked).

Sewing

     New Series.

     I've not done too much sewing this week as I was more focused on my crochet project though I did do a little work on my new series and did TONS of computer work for it.  I've set release dates for the new series here, made up the free demo letters and made up the page that will be posted on the public release date.  I never realized just how much work needs to go into launching a new line!  But like the Lakers Afghan, I'm sure it'll be well worth it in the end.

     Now, for those of you who are waiting on the new series: here is a sneak peek! Every week until the public release date I'll post one random pic here in the weekly updates! They may be close ups of an actual product or just of the materials used. Hopefully they won't be too obvious.... or too confusing :) Enjoy!

It's Fall!

     Sure officially we are still 20 days away, but to me, in my mind September 1st has always signified fall!  And today is the perfect example: overcast, windy and chilly, leaves scattered all over my yard... It's a typical fall day.  This means a wonderful thing: Fall Projects Time!! Fall has beautiful brilliant colours and inspiration is everywhere! Be it for crochet, quilting or even painting! Though I do have a current fall crochet project on the go, it has proven very difficult and time consuming.  I started it 2 falls ago and have worked sporadically on it ever since.  Being a combination wool-eater and babette, this blanket I fear will take many more falls to complete.  That being said, my mind is vivid and excited to start new fall projects that can be completed in mere weeks or even days! Going through various online sites (including Google search "fall afghans") I've found a few projects that caught my eye and I may attempt in the next couple months.  Most of the ones I've found so far were from Etsy (searching handmade "fall afghans"), the links are in the captions.

I can no longer find the link for this one, I believe I had found it on Google search.
A quick and easy project for sure!

The seller on Etsy is selling the pattern here. 

This is one of my favs.  The Etsy seller labeled it "A Dash of Fall and a Splash of Christmas".

Again, the seller is selling the pattern here.

I really like the textured stitch on this one. Found here.

A cute and quick granny square afghan.  Found on Etsy, here.

I absolutely *LOVE* this one! Though it might be difficult without the pattern.  Item found here.

     Now the difficult part will be deciding which one to do :).  For the time being, the weather is too threatening to venture out to the yarn store when I could be comfy and cozy with tea in my mug and soup in my crock pot in my home.  Besides, I really should be working on some of my current dresser projects! :)

Peter's Birthday Blanket

     A couple years back when I was living in Ottawa, I asked my brother, Peter, if he'd like me to make him a blanket.  He flipped through my pattern books and picked out one he liked.  I marked it and waited for a time when I had enough money to buy new materials to make it.  Well things always tend to happen and the project fell to the side.

     Several months ago I had remembered the project and had some extra cash to put towards it so I bought the needed materials.  Unfortunately I just didn't have the time to dedicate to it.  So it sat in the corner in a bag waiting for me to find the time to pick it up and make it.  Well on Aug 6th 2011 I said to myself enough is enough and I got to it hoping to have it done by his birthday on the 17th.  So I got started that day and a miraculous thing happened: I finished a project!! Start to finished I touched only that blanket (aside for some occasional bag sewing), I worked tirelessly on it, early in the morning, throughout the afternoon and late at night. I finished the blanket in one week flat! That's right! I finished it on Friday the 12th.  Needless to say here, I'm quite proud of myself.  Even though it's wasn't one of my older dresser projects being finished off or even one that I get to keep and put in my pile, I'm still happy I got a project started and finished. (Not to mention AMAZED that I got it done THAT quickly!)

     The original pattern to this afghan is found in "(Leisure Arts Presents) Vanna's Favorite Crochet Gifts" on page 19 : Ebony & Ivory.  For more pics of the blanket click here. This blanket is now available to order (custom made to order in any desired colours) on my etsy site here.

     So Happy Birthday Peter!  I hope you enjoy the blueberry muffins and your new afghan!