open diamond cowl

the final scarf in my scarf-a-lot triumvirate is a pattern i wrote. like i mentioned yesterday, i pick the yarn based on the person i’m doing the project for. and this scarf was for my mom—a bulky weight mustard yellow is perfect.

the problem was i had no pattern in mind, and a frustrating and fruitless search of ravelry, plus five or six different patterns started and then frogged led me to start thinking this wasn’t going to work. i like the look of bulky yarn, but i didn’t want something overly bulky if that even makes any sense.

so i finally scrapped all the pattern hunting, thought about what I wanted this to look like, and began crocheting.

i’m pretty stoked by the result. (yeah, i said stoked. so what)

it’s crocheted lengthwise, done in all half-double crochet, with some skipped stitches forming a subtle open diamond pattern to give it some interest.

at the very end i had a smidgen of yarn left, and squeezed out the little button tab closure as an added element for one side.

now here’s where i would share the pattern i wrote, because i was smart and efficient and took notes while i crocheted.

HA!

okay, so here’s where i would share the pattern i wrote, because i took pictures and worked up a sample and wrote it down later.

DOUBLE HA HA!

yeah…i tried to do that, but i realized there was a big error in my pattern. which may explain why i kept wrestling with last rows trying to keep my diamond pattern lined up. i’m not giving up…i’d like to make myself one of these. and when i get the pattern nailed down i’ll be back to share. 

in the meantime, i feel so bad…

oh hey! bonus! it’s awkward me, modeling the cowl before handing it off to my momma…

the crocus scarf

see, i told you these were relevant to spring.

as i was reminded yesterday by a kind commenter, i live in one area of the world that is approaching springtime. but there are large swathes of land where scarf-wearing is still de rigueur—nay, even necessary. you know—like the entire southern hemisphere, for instance.

ugh. how #firstworldproblems of me. i didn’t get my scarf tutorials on my blog fast enough, and now the area I’M in it’s spring! oh noooos!!! i feel so….northeast US-centric.

:/

anyway, moving on…this is another scarf pattern crocheted up for my mother-in-law.

pattern found on ravelry HERE, direct from the knitting daily website HERE, done in my favorite wallet-friendly caron simply soft yarn.

as usual, i changed it a bit—doing three repeats of the pattern vs. two (how it’s written). i also eliminated the edging, and opted for a simple single crochet border squaring off the three edges and following the bumps of the top edge.

it’s another scarf i was in love with, threatening to keep it. threatening who i’m not sure. myself, maybe? but it’s funny…i choose the pattern and the yarn with the person in mind. the entire time i’m working on it i’m thinking about that person. by the time i’ve finished—no matter how much i love the item—in my head it’s theirs. it belongs to them. and so it was with this scarf. i love it—the pattern, the color…but i could no more keep it for myself than i could walk into my mother-in-law’s closet and claim one of her shirts as my own. (her son, on the other hand…him i took. and i’m not giving back. so i’m not entirely sure my analogy works on all levels.)

is this normal with you other sewers/knitters/crocheters/quilters? i’ve only recently become secure enough to start giving the things i’ve made as gifts…so i’m wondering if this is kind of how everyone feels when they make a specific project for a specific someone. like—i love it, but it’s not mine to keep. let’s talk.

drops design scarf

okay can we just set aside for the moment that it’s april? i mean, if the weather doesn’t follow the calendar, why should my project sharing?

let’s pretend for a moment that it’s still the winter, maybe late january, and you’re still interested in crochet projects. because i have three scarves to share with you this week. and even if your sewing thoughts have turned to spring dresses and short sets, maybe you can just bookmark this for next fall, when you’re ready to cuddle up with a skein and a cuppa. k? k.

first up: this peacock blue scarf, based on a drops design pattern.

this scarf was a gift, so i had guinevere model it for some shots before handing it off. what i didn’t realize when i took the shots was that the settings on my camera were wonky, and so a lot of the photos came out blurry. and now the scarf is gone…so you must see blurry pictures.

pattern found on my ravelry HERE, and direct from the website HERE
yarn: caron simply soft in color ‘peacock’

the original pattern calls for the flower/grape cluster things to run the entire length of one side of the scarf, making it more like a wrap or shawl in my opinion. so i did three repeats of the pattern then turned it sideways and worked the lattice design for about 34”. then i made a separate section of three repeats of the cluster design and attached it on the other end.

it’s not perfect, you can see the seam where i joined the two sections if you look. but i couldn’t figure out a way to do it continuously without overtaxing my limited brain power (and crocheting knowledge). and honestly when you’re wearing the scarf it’s not noticeable at all.

i liked the idea of the design hanging down on the front. it also makes the scarf a little more lightweight than your average crochet/knit scarf. maybe this is a spring project after all?

the last thing i did was block the edges of the scarf. the cluster design gets pretty clumped up as you work it, so i wet it and pinned it flat to my ironing board and let it dry for a day. the caron yarn is acrylic, so it doesn’t take long to dry.

my instagram photo of this step was much more dramatic:

my biggest victory in this scarf? this is what the pattern looks like:

that’s right—it’s an actual crochet PATTERN. and it turns out, they’re really not that hard to read. it was my first time using one like this and i was pretty proud of myself for figuring it out. #supercrocheter