Sometimes, it's too Easy

You wouldn't guess it by looking at me, but my favorite thing to do at the gym is lift weights. I'm talking freeweights, baby--serious iron. (OK, by looking at me you wouldn't think I exercise at all, but that's beside the point.) I did upper-body work Tuesday, about half barbell & half dumbbell.

I used the 50lb barbell for most of what I did. I'm the only woman I've ever seen hoisting that sucker, or even the 40lb'er. I did some biceps curls with an EZ curl barbell, but it was only a 30lb'er. By then it was late enough in my workout that I couldn't use the 50lb anymore. And yet the 30lb felt too easy, as if I was wimping out.

The first time I had the cojones to do freeweights at this gym, I didn't know what weight to use, so I grabbed the lightest one--2olbs. I did a couple of curls with it and then re-racked it in disgust, because it was so easy it made me feel like an idiot. (Side note: this is the barbell I see other women with. I've never seen a gal with a heavier barbell at that gym. I'm sure they could handle it if they had any faith in themselves, but even the personal trainers--who should really know better--give women only the 20lb one.)

Anyway, I will now masterfully connect pumping iron to crocheting, because I rock like that.

My cousin Becky dropped by my cousin Maggie's (her sister) when I was over there tonight. She is pregnant again and due in December. This only enables me, y'know.

I promised her a baby blanket, amongst assorted other goodies. (Boy, the look she gave me when I waxed enthusiastic over getting to make sweaters!) I have a mostly-unused Pound of Love from Lion Brand in pale yellow, & I'm using this.

So, the question comes, what stitch pattern do I use? I know I don't have the patience to follow anyone else's pattern (though, of course, props to y'all who write 'em). So I'd have to come up with my own. And I opened up Notepad to write it down so I can post it to my free patterns site.

I intended to begin with to do horizontal stripes of a sort--plain DC interspersed with a lacier stitch. But this is a December baby, and it gets cold here in January/February time frame. So I wanted something not holey. Then I remembered a hat I'd made during Lent. Specifically, this one:
Alternating several double crochets with several single crochets, all on the same row, gives a sort of rippled look, without the pain in the rear that actual ripple patterns always give me. (I don't know why they do, but they do.)

So, I came up with a "pattern." And I WILL post it to my patterns site when I am done with the blanket, and I will call it the Lazy Ripple Baby Blanket. What I'm tempted to call it, on the other hand, is "The Dumbass Ripple Blankie", because that's what I feel like when I sit down to write this down as a pattern.

There are so many possible variations on this it's silly. If I remember right--I didn't write anything down at the time--the hat is 2 sc followed by 3 dc. The blanket is 3 sc followed by 3 dc. There are two ways to do this--either a multiple of 3 or a multiple of 6 (depending on whether you want it to end with sc or dc--a multiple of 3 but not 6 is necessary to end with the same stitch you start with), plus 1. You just sc in the scs and dc in the dcs. It's really that simple. I'm working with a starting chain of 121, which means I'm ending with 3 dcs. But you could do a starting chain with a multiple of four, five, or seven or more plus 1 (you always need 1 extra st when you start with a single crochet), and then do 5 sc followed by 5 dc, or you could have a multiple of 5 with an uneven breakdown, as with the hat.

It's so simple a pattern, just 3 rows, two of which are the pattern repeat (only different because of the starting stitch, which means a different number of turning chains). It's the crochet equivalent of the 20lb barbell. I can do it, but I feel silly doing it because it requires so little effort.

I'll post a picture of the blanket when I'm done; truthfully that's going to be the hardest part. Finishing the blanket. I tend to lose interest partway through blankets of any sort, but hopefully there's enough variation in this one to keep me entertained.

It's a head!

I was semi-participating in a virtual sewing/crocheting circle last night, so I took this picture of the mermaid I'm working on. The hair on this thing is a pain. It's a nice wool yarn that's two different-colored strands entwined, with some thicker slubs here & there of almost raw wool. So what I've been doing after sewing it in place is to unwind the strands and attack them with a hair brush to rough it up some. You can see that to the left in the picture; on the right is the way it starts out. Very cool-looking. I'm taking a break from that til I'm finished with the rest of it, as it's very tedious work.

I didn't post too much to the circle last night; I figured out early on that the problem with such virtual klatching is that I'd have to stop working to post. Not gonna happen. I should look into joining the local Craft Mafia, or see about scaring up a crochet/sewing/embroider circle locally. There might be such a thing; I just really don't want to join in on something knitting-dominated.

Anyway, I'm about to go back to working on my mermaid. Fair warning, it's going to be made to Shooter Jennings, Los Lonely Boys and maybe even some Steve Earle.

Dolls

My temp job has ended, but not before I developed the perfect doll. Well, perfect for me anyway; I like the size, the proportions, & the hands & feet. I still need to tweak some details, like the hair, and I haven't had much luck in writing a pattern, but those are minor details.

This is the first one I made; I gave it to Esther. I haven't changed the doll much from that way of making it. The major change is the way of attaching the arms; I finally figured out how to do it so they're attached in a more natural manner; on this doll one is sticking straight out because I sewed it on in the round & the other has some forward/backward motion because I pinched the starting end together & sewed it shut & then sewed it on the doll. I've since changed the method to have them 'hinged' up & down, with the free end sewn shut. (There was a very brief interlude where I crocheted the start end shut, but it make the arms too long.)
This is a bit of a close-up of the face. I actually haven't changed the way I do the face since this one. The eyes are simple rectangles, the lips a double-thickness line and then a little rectangle or triangle for the bottom lip. The nose is done in matching yarn, I also used it to trace around the eyes and add a little bit more detail.
One last picture of this doll, a close-up of the hair. I laid two long strands over the top of the head & backstitched them down. This isn't as sturdy as I'd like, so I took backstitches on the sides as much as there was room for, & I have refined this with each subsequent doll until the most recent one has almost all the hair sewn down on the sides as well.

This doll took all day to make, but I did finish the doll itself at work; I had to make the dress at home. The next day I made another doll for a neighbor child, which unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of. That doll I used a 4.25 mm hook for instead of the 4.0 mm used on this one. It is actually a significantly larger doll. I used a different hook size because of how much my hand hurt by the end of that first day, but it was worse the second day. The Clover Softouch hooks make all the difference. All subsequent dolls will be made with the 4.0 mm hook, as it gives a much nicer appearance overall.

I actually sold the third doll I made. As I was finishing up the second one, the gentleman who sits behind me asked if I could make a personalized one for his daughter. I quoted a price of $25, but browsing Etsy suggests any more should be priced higher. It's OK, though, I still think I got a good price. His daughter is of mixed-race, & he wanted one that looked a bit more like her, so I used tan yarn from Red Heart for the "skin" & Light & Lofty yarn in a sort of caramel color for the hair. I really love that yarn for hair, it should fray into something quite lovely. The final product was finished in just under half a day of work, & had a very nice tonal look going for it.

I don't have a photo of the finished project because I wasn't certain Tracey would be OK with it, but this is the doll without any clothes. I made a sundress for her all in single crochet so I could embroider on it. Not something I plan on doing in the future. Tracey loved it & I'm certain his daughter will as well.

I have a fourth doll almost finished, lacking merely an arm. I'll edit this post later today to post pix once I'm totally done. While working on this one I fell in love with the tan yarn & so the one I'm currently on uses the same color, & I've got a sort of brick colored yarn I'm using for the hair.

Most of these use Red Heart Super Saver yarn. Economical, & holds up well. Stash yarn, mostly. I bought some yarn from Michael's Friday evening, all wool, that I will use to make a mermaid. That and the doll I am working on currently will soon be up for sale at Etsy; I'll post here when they're listed.

Oh, & I'll have the pattern from the previous post up as soon as I locate the paper I wrote it on.

A couple of my work projects:

The jacket is from this pattern, from Bev's Country Cottage. You really can't beat Bev's patterns for instant gratification and newbie-friendliness. (I have a shirt from one of her patterns as well, just not with me to photograph at the moment.)

The dress uses the same neckline-shaping technique as the sweater (and a handful of other patterns). It is my own pattern, though. I'll put it up on my site shortly, as soon as I figure out the button issue. I'm calling it the Fiesta baby dress, as it reminds me strongly of the Mexican dresses for sale hereabouts.

Since it's sized for a newborn, the ruffle on the front does not go completely around. There's no ruffle on the back, in other words. It has always struck me that ruffles on the back cannot be comfortable for newborns to lay on. It will need a flat button for the same reason (comfort).

I have made both of these this week. In the past two days, in fact. I probably won't have this temp job for very long, but man it's good for my crocheting.

I love my job.

I am working outside the home again, temping in customer service. I'm working for Frost Bank, a big Texas bank, taking calls for commercial customers dealing with a new security system they've put in place starting Monday.

I didn't take anything to do last Thursday, which was my first day. I remedied that the next day. Friday, yesterday, & today, I made a baby blanket, a baby shirt, and half a baby sweater. The last two today. We are live, and we are taking calls, but we've got a decent amount of down-time in there. As I told Emile, one of my coworkers today, I have finally found a way to get paid for crocheting! I'll be crocheting tomorrow, & I'll remember this time to put a pair of scissors in my purse. It was heck sawing yarn off with a key.

Life is good. I might buy some yarn this payday.

New Blog/Site in the Links

My Recycled Bags.com

Wanna guess what it is? Bags of all type, crocheted from recycled materials. The front page right now has a VHS tape/ribbon yarn tote bag, plastic bag pot scrubbers, a granny square tote again out of plastic bags, & a recycled plastic grocery tote bag.

There are also tutorials (like on how to use VHS tape for yarn) and patterns--for the aforementioned grocery tote bag, for starters. Many of the projects are also for sale.

You can't go wrong with DIY recycling. (OK, ok, you can, but there's no fire involved in this, at least.)

Three for the price of one.

Remember this yarn? I finally used one of the skeins:
First, I made this shirt for Bobbie, using the aforementioned easiest sweater pattern. I used a K hook & a simple DC to keep it nice & airy for summer wear.

Then, I made this halter top for Linda:


I used one size hook (don't remember the size) for the bodice and a P hook for the bottom part. Again, just a simple double crochet for a lacy look.

Esther's was last, done while she was asleep. Which meant that I didn't get to fit it on her as well as I'd have liked. But it still fits quite well. Her halter is very, very simple. I just started out with 5 dc and increased at the beginning & end of every row for about five or six rows until it was wide enough & then went straight down until it was long enough. The whole thing was actually made in one piece, including the ruffles on the sides and the ties at top & bottom. I hate weaving in ends, which is why I did it that way. Esther's:



This is pretty much backless, which keeps it cool and makes nibbling on the adorable back a very easy thing. Oh, I used a K hook for the center part & an I for the ruffles & ties.

The girls wore their new tops to the Folklife Festival yesterday (one of Robert's customers gave him wristbands for us & under six was free). Well-slathered in sunscreen, they stayed relatively comfortable.

I still have some of the first skein of yarn left, and one more large skein as well. This is what I have planned for it:
It's a granny pentagon baby blanket. I was planning on a hexagon, but I couldn't get it to sit flat, so I switched to a pentagon. I plan on using up all the rest of the multicolored yarn and perhaps some white cotton yarn I have as well, if the multi doesn't get me a big enough blanket, though it probably will.

I'm also planning on giving in, joining the herd, & making the Baby It's Cold Outside jacket. My cousin Becky is pregnant yet again, & that gives me an excuse to make baby stuff.

Instant Gratification #2--Esther's Going to be so Happy

I made this a couple of nights ago & hid it in my closet until I could get batteries for my camera to take pictures.

It's obviously just a simple Barbie outfit. I like this type of Barbie because of the feet, which are natural looking. But that has nothing to do with crochet, so now I'll talk about the clothes.

The skirt...No clue what the yarn is. Some sort of cotton that was given to my mother & then to me. It's 20 stitches long, 8 hdcs followed by 12 dcs, which gave it the shaping; it's obviously worked sideways.

The shirt is a version of what I belive to be called "The Simplest Sweater in the World" or something of the sort. I cannot find the link to it right now, which is upsetting as I seriously want to give credit where it is due. It's the only truly one-piece sweater pattern I know of, and as is obvious from this picture it is adaptable to any size. I'll keep looking and give the sweater its own post--which it well deserves--as soon as I find it.

To let you know how much I love this sweater pattern, I am making a shirt for my eldest based off of it.

The reasoning behind this project, by the way, was simply to see what I could come up with in only about two hours' time. Usually I take a very long time to make anything, because I constantly frog it and start over. I am proud to say that I only frogged each of these pieces once. I undoubtedly would have messed around more without the self-imposed deadline. I'm going to do this more often, as the very pretty Flanders Poppy from my Memorial Day entry was also a spur-of-the-moment creation.

Overthinking is bad.

Cafe Press Store Now Open

I've opened a Crochet & Breastmilk Cafe Press store.

I have lots of advocacy stuff, mostly breastfeeding, but in my own special way there's plenty of stuff about crocheting as well. I spent tonight working on it. Everything there is 100% my own design, from the graphics to the words to how it's all put together.

Some examples:








The first one is my favorite. It's nearly impossible to read there, so here's a bigger version:
I actually did more calculations than that, but I had to cut it down so it would show up better on the products. That figure for formula is actually a lowball one. The brand-name stuff the hospitals get you hooked on costs more (I was thankfully only given formula for one kid, but it was the $20 a can stuff--not that I used it).

I like to put the cost equation in easy-to-understand terms. It came up at Mothering one time that a woman was trying to convince her husband it was a good idea to breastfeed, and that's when I did a little sleuthing & discovered you can buy a big-screen HDTV for the cost of a year's worth of formula (again, with that lowball figure).

But I don't care about televisions. I care about yarn.

Have you linked to me?

I want to beef up my blog roll. If by chance you have a link to my blog on yours & I don't have a link back, let me know & I'll add you in. For that matter, even if you're not linked to me, use the comments section to let me know about your blog & I'll check it out and see about adding it in.

Flanders Poppy

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Lt. Col. Dr. John McCrae, Canadian Army

To those men and women on Eternal Patrol: We salute your bravery and your sacrifice. Thank you.
To those they left behind: We grieve alongside you, and thank you for your bravery and your sacrifice.
To all others: Take time out to thank God that there are those willing to die for our freedoms, and so that others can have freedom as well.

Blue dress for Esther.

This is based off of the Baby Girl Sleeper Set from Crotiques. I think I've mentioned before that I'd avoided the pattern, though I found it cute, because there's not a gauge listed anywhere on it. I figured out while we were still in Hawaii that if I used a bigger hook along with worsted weight yarn, I can make Esther-sized dresses.

This particular incarnation uses Caron Perfect Match (you thought I was gonna say Simply Soft, didn't you?) and a J/6mm hook. I also used Alternate Double Crochet as the base for all my stitches, a V-st instead of 3-dc for the corners, and at the end of it all switched to treble crochet for the final shells. Other than that, I stayed pretty close to the original pattern, though of course Ilengthened it quite a bit to have a knee-length dress.

The cheap yarn makes it a bit stiff, but it's not uncomfortable & I truly believe it'll soften up quite a bit after washing.

Since the hook is so big for the yarn, and since the stitch pattern for the skirt is quite open, this is appropriate for spring/summer wear. I'm always kind of stymied by people saying that yarn arts are a winter time craft. I mean, they're so obviously not, but how do you refute such an obviously untrue statement when the person saying it deeply believes it? Interestingly enough, this was most recently said to me in a thread of FOs that featured two different non-clothing objects. 'Cause, yeah, when it gets really hot out there, you have to switch to a different purse or you'll be overheated.

KnitPro

KnitPro is "a web application that translates digital images into knit, crochet, needlepoint, and cross-stitch patterns." You're given a .PDF of your chart. Near as I can figure, they are 100% free, but there is a PayPal donate button, so if you can & you like it as much as I do, share the love.

Link here. I'm adding a link to my sidebar as well. Check it out.

This is the chart I made there (well, a screen shot, as I'm too stupid to upload actual files):
I made a chart of the International Breastfeeding Symbol developed through a contest at Mothering.com. In all honesty I'm not fond of the design It looks too much like a mother simply holding a baby. But as it was chosen by popular vote, I am obviously in the minority for wanting my breastfeeding symbol to look like breastfeeding!

I'm seriously going to crochet this, I'm just not sure when or what I'll do with the finished project. Maybe a mini-advocacy afghan, if I pair it with the runners-up. (I have some of them saved on my computer somewhere.

OK, just because I can, here's the one that was my favorite:
See, this one is much nicer, in my opinion. Not only does it have greater aesthetic appeal, it is obvious at a glance what it's supposed to represent. There you have mother, baby, and breast.

Maybe it's too white...

An interesting stitch

I know, that's rather large. I wanted to attempt to show the detail, though. They say that the devil is in the details, but I rather think that in this case Heaven is in the details.

This handy-dandy little stitch is linked treble crochet. It's a nice, tall stitch without the openness typical of treble crochet. I also find it easier, though slower, as you don't wrap the yarn around the hook twice. Instead you draw a loop up in two different places on the side of the previous stitch, and it leaves the pretty horizontal bars you can see in the picture above. (At least, I hope you can see them. It wasn't an easy picture to take. Too dark without the flash, too shiny with it.)

This is detail for the skirt I am making for Linda, as the last one I tried to make her came out too small. I am used to the weight of the yarn stretching the skirt out quite a bit; apparently that's not an issue if you use the chainless single crochet (Google it. You'll be glad you did.) The linked trebles actually aren't great for projects worked in the round, since there's a gap only between the first & last stitches, but I'm hoping it won't be noticeable when it's worn. It's such a pretty stitch, though, and it makes nice big stripes.

If you'll look on the left side of the screen, you'll see that I finally figured out how to have buttons for all the blogs I link to in this new version of Blogger (stupid me didn't think to check the format of the carried-over ones until just now). You'll also see a partially cut-off bar for Associated Content, which will shortly have a crochet article I wrote, and even now carries two other of my articles. Pretty cool, huh?

Quickie.

Yeah, it's odd to post again minutes after the last post. So sue me. I just found this blog, and I have to point it out to all my visitors who sew:

Wardrobe Refashion. It's just what it sounds like, only a little more complicated. Participants vow to not buy any new clothes for a period of time (at least 2 months). The idea is that instead you rework what you have, and also thrift-shop/garage sale finds, into a new wardrobe. Yay rejection of consumerism!

I love this one: 30-Minute Dress.

Yummy yarn goodness.

Arguably the best thing about being a conservative is that I can be unabashed in my love of Wal-Mart (I've never been able to afford to hate them, but that's another story). This is a salient crochet point because it allows me to sometimes get great deals on yarn.

To wit:
Isn't it gorgeous? Two big skeins of cottony goodness for $9. Total. A savings of $4 off the normal Wal-Mart price, and God only knows how much elsewhere.

I got this at a Wal-Mart on the south side, near my mother's house. It's not my usual style, being pink and orange and yellow and white, but it somehow manages to come together quite well.

The Wal-Marts near my house never seem to have stuff like this. The only Bernat I typically see at any WM, for that matter, is their baby yarn, and sometimes their novelty yarns. This was in a clearance section, and if I'd had the money I could have gotten two or three more skeins of this, or several of another color.

Take a look at this close-up:

Gorgeous, isn't it? It's going to make a cute toddler sundress or two.

Speaking of which! I totally forgot to show off the dresses I sewed for the older two:

That's the best picture I could get, & it was taken at the end of the night, thus the glassy looks. They love 'em, though, & they seem to be very comfortable.

I've still got it!

The ODD MOJO has returned. Maybe it's Fiesta that brings it out in me. I finally got another strange project completed (conceived & completed all in one day, yay me!). Presenting, the Choomp Ninja:
Robert named it thus; 'choomp' is our term for breastmilk (don't ask me why; I was still delirious from my first c-section when I coined it) and 'choomp ninja' is his nickname for Linda--the darling in the graphic at the top of this page. She has a habit of appearing out of nowhere and latching on.

Nevertheless, I have given this Choomp Ninja to Esther, and Linda and Bobbie have demanded their own, one red & one yellow. I'm not too sure about the yellow, it's not a very ninja-y color.

In future iterations I think I will make the legs in the same fashion as the arms, as they have a quite ninja-appropriate swirlyness to them. I really wanted to get this done in one sitting, so I decided to make limbs that wouldn't require stuffing.

The specs: this ninja was made with a 4.5mm hook (Clover's SofTouch, which I adore) using TLC essentials for the body & Caron Perfect Match for the face.

I'm really impressed with the newer Caron Perfect Match. I have some I bought years ago when we were living in Virginia & it's quite stiff. I bought enough back then to make an afghan with it--why the hell did I ever think I'd make an afghan? Anyhoo, the newer Caron Perfect Match, which I bought to make a head with, is much softer to the touch & more supple. It gives the very distinct impression that with a couple of washes it will become incredibly soft. (I have learned the value of repeated washes; it is only after about three years that my 450-thread-count sheets have earned their cost; they are now the most luxurious sheets imaginable.)

A note on the inspiration for this piece. I have StumbleUpon, an absolute must for anyone with Firefox, as I have said before. Of course one of my categories is arts & crafts, and it brought me to the Wee Ninja (Pocket Ninja) from Shawnimals.com. So if you or anyone you hold dear desires your own tiny ninja, look not to me but here instead. (And please note that my ninja is not meant to be ripoff or an exact copy of the Pocket Ninja; I was shown the photograph only in my Stumbling & used it as a jump-off point.)

Another textile art.

I posted this link originally at MamaDrama, but the Mamas there simply didn't get it. I think most of my visitors here will, what with almost all of us being insane fiber artists.

The Court of the Splendors of Fire and Ice.

It is Fiesta time once again in San Antonio. In addition to cheap beer, dancing with said cheap beer, cascarones, and stick food, Fiesta is all about the gowns.

There is just an amazing amount of artistry that goes into these dresses, especially the trains (which of course are the showpiece). I have no doubt an entire year's work goes into the embroidery of these dresses. They are brand-new every year, and it is always a great thing when an exhibition of the older ones is put on somewhere. (Usually you'll see them at the Witte, but I remember once seeing them in a display at North Star Mall--home of the iconic giant cowboy boots.)

Of course, it is a great honor to be chosen to wear one of these gowns; it's a daydream of many a young San Antonio chica, but of course unless you are from one of the city's richest families you'll never have a chance. Nonetheless, these women are our own royalty--along with King Antonio and El Rey Feo, and of course Miss Fiesta--and people camp out literally a week in advance for the Battle of the Flowers parade, which is your best chance to see them. (Side note: all public schools in the city close down on the day this parade takes place; it's that important!) Since these gowns are so elaborate they are very very heavy, and the women wear their most comfortable shoes underneath; therefore it is tradition to shout "Show us your sneaks!" as no one can get enough of the contrast of wearing athletic shoes with these gowns, apparently.

It is one of many things that make San Antonio San Antonio. Most of the year we are a huge tourist city, but for these ten days it's all about us. The mayor, Phil Hardberger, described it as the ten days we take a collective vacation from thinking. Of course, tourists do participate, and no one really minds, but it's by us & for us, which is quite refreshing.

I have got to make something weird!

I've been so sucked into doing proletarian things lately. I really enjoyed the hats project, but now they're mocking me with the need to weave in 40 little ends.

I need to do something odd. Or at least vaguely naughty. I'm just not sure what. I'm poring over Naughty Needles for inspiration (I know, it's knitting, but I can crochet anything you can knit).

I'm also sewing dresses for the older two munchkins. By hand, because I am insane and I think we left the sewing machine in Hawaii. (Yes, I know how pathetic it is that I apparently lost something that big, and no, we haven't finished unpacking yet.) Not that it's a particularly difficult project, as it involves a grand total of three seams. But it's two new dresses made for maybe $12 total, not a price you can beat!

Pattern up.

The pattern for the bottle cover is available here. The main pattern page is here, and it's always linked over to your left. I didn't make another bottle cover, 'cause, well, what the hell use do I have for bottle covers? None.

I did buy some more crochet hooks at Hobby Lobby today, and even another copy of Crochet! magazine, which purports to have maternity clothes in it.