Topic: Show me your Yarn part 4

[Wrennie]

Wrennie, are your arms getting worse?

no worse, no better.

  How is the KK tube scarf going?

It isn't. I put it down a while ago and havent had the gumption to pick it back up.

I'm sitting here darning socks now. I have to keep my big toenail cut shorter & more often.

And I just traded on another forum for a bunch of the yarn I use to make blind mice. So I have a summers worth of mice ahead of me too. Theyre good cause i can o a whole 1 before I can 'fel it' in my arms.
s.Oh! And Pixie just showed me a mini crocheted goldfish. I'm going to do one and see how it goes.

Goldfish pattern, scroll waaaaay down

[Triss]

Oh man Wrennie those fish are so cute!  Makes me wish I had a cat again.

[Carol]

Triss, I didn't mention that I reversed the colors on the afghan I did for Lincoln & Keri, from the one I did for 'Relle.  I also changed the small granny squares that even out the corners from white in 'Relle's to the 6 colors in Linc's.  Something different from the regular.  Has Patty shown you the pics of my hats and my crocheted winter jacket?  That jacket took me 3 months of steady crocheting to finish.

[Triss]

Yes, I saw both the hat and the jacket in the pics she showed me.  I love that jacket, I am guessing you followed a pattern for that one as well.  I am not the best at pattern reading, just kinda go by what looks right to me.  I was taught to crochet without a pattern and have done it that way since.  I am learning though... slowly.

[Patty S]

OK, let's show everyone else what you two are talking about.  When I was in Seattle last week, I just happened to take some pics of my pretty & talented sister, wearing her crocheted hat & winter jacket....
     

Closer up, so you can see the detail better...
     
     
I've never been able to sit still long enough to do needlework, but have always been in awe of Carol's ability to create such beautiful things from "balls of string"!   She has made everything from baby sweater sets & blankets, mittens/gloves & scarves, to table cloths & bedspreads... seemingly in her sleep, cuz she used to whip them out, one right after the other, before her hands started bothering her & she had to slow down.

When I was there last week, she showed me a pile of different hats that she made, & told me to pick one out... to keep!    The red hat that she's wearing in her pics has a bill on it, but that style didn't look quite right on me, so I chose this blue/black/white variegated tam.... & I LOVE it!
          
Thanx again, Sis! (I might mention that quite a few people saw her hat/scarf sets at the retirement community where she lives, & she made herself some extra Christmas money from the stack of orders she wound up with!)

You should see some of her "framable" needle work! (I think it's called Latch Hook?) Carol, if you have pics of any of those, please start a topic in the main "Hobbies" forum, & show them off!  OK?

I'll get both baby blankets side-by-side this week, & take a pic of them for you.

[Triss]

That is a beautiful hat as well Patty!  I Love it!

[Dianna]

Very talented sister you have there, Patty!

We will be looking forward to seeing more of your projects, Carol! 

[Carol]

Thanks for the kudos everyone.  Patty, that pic is crewel stitched.  Embroidery with yarns.  I have done some latch hook projects but don't have any for myself. I went thru a phase of counted cross stitched pics, mostly for my daughter's & son's homes. Folks, I used to give away anything I did, for Christmas, birthday, wedding, baby gifts.  Finally decided, in my advancing years, that it was my turn!!  So, I give very little away now. 

It was December 2006 when I started making hats to sell.  I happened to be crocheting a purple cap for myself, for my Red Hatters group in winter, when a woman saw me doing it in the doctors waiting room.  She asked me if I would take orders, so I told her $25.  She wanted one in Sea Hawk green!!  I found  lime green yarns & went from there.  From late Novemeber 2007 to February 2008 I counted 20 hats & 10 scarves & sold most for $30 apiece.  Never seemed to be able to save the money for anything special.  It all went back into more yarns!  It was left overs that I showed to Patty. 

As far as the jacket goes......I saw a pic of that jacket in a catalog & had to have it!  I finally found out that I had to order a $25 book to get the pattern.  It was worth it!!  It took me 3 months of steady crocheting to finish that project & this was my 4th year wearing it.  It has 11 colors in it & cost me around $100 for the yarns.  It should last my life time, or at least, it had better!

[Tina]

That is a very cool jacket. The kind of work I like to do. Is it lined?
I did a small child's jacket for my daughter (now 36). It was basically three layers thick and very warm. It went through several children in the family. I'm not sure where it ended up.
I was flying once from Rochester NY to NYC. They bumped me to first class in my ratty jeans and combat boots. I was crocheting a shawl during that flight and a woman next to me wanted to buy it for an outrageous amount. I didn't sell. It was the first thing I made for myself and I still have it (coffee stain and all) 30 years later. It was one of the easiest patterns I have ever made working in love knots from the wide end down to the point. Each row was shorter and shorter. So soothing to make. 

[Carol]

Tina, the jacket is not lined.  I thot it would have to be to be wind proof, but not necessarily so.  The pattern didn't call for a lining.  I tried to line it, at first, but didn't do it right, so pulled it out.  I like doing things that  would be considered tedious by some, but I like detail work.  Type B personality for sure.  Used to drive our mother wild cause I could sit for hours working on some project.  She's a type A personality.  She eventually got used to it!  I have a pattern for a toddlers dress & bonnet, made of love knots, so I'm familiar with the stitch.  You could have sold that shawl for the atrocious amount she offered & then done another one for you.

[Penny]

Hi Carol, do you have any pics that you could show us some of your work?

[Triss]

I would love to start selling my stuff but I never seem to have any extra around cuz I sure as heck enjoy giving it away more.  I still need to make a trip down to the NICU at our local hospital and deliver the premie hats I made this winter. 

I sure do not know how to do the detail work that you do Carol, but hopefully one day.  I am going to invest in some Seahawk colors, that is a great idea!

I had to smile about the personalities though cuz I flit from A to B... somethimes I can sit for hours and work on something and other times it drives me crazy and I have to do, do, do...  as I am off to do now.

[Wrennie]

Great work Carol. Show us more!

[Peggy]

Hi All,

The octopus that you liked:


is roughly based on this pattern:
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=114316.0


I am a beginner crocheter.... in that, I started crocheting as a teen, but hung it up really quickly. I had no patience at the time. I picked it back up about a year and a half ago, and am still learning stitches and counting, and reading patterns, etc.

I still have an independent, inpatient streak..which is not good in Crochet! LOL

Anyways, I wanted longer arms...and I looked for the eyes like the one on the pattern but didn't find them locally.  Considering this is going to a baby who will eventually put it in his mouth I opted to sew on a face.

The hat is basically a circle that I folded and sewed down so it would look like sailor hat.. (Ya right!!!)

The "dress" is one of my hair scrunchies that I make and just put it around the guys' waist. I didn't even sew it down, in case they want to make a boy octopede out of it.

The flower is a chain closed with a slip stitch and then lot's and lot's of shells until it ruffled and became a flower!  Then I sewed it down so baby couldn't tear it off.

Horrible instructions I know.. if you'd like a better instructions.. I can probably do a little better. But so much of that ended up being off the cuff.  I was working on it in the van when I went out with Clyde on the job.  I'd put the octopede up in the dash and we'd talk about how to "dress" him and how to make it cuter.  Clyde picked the red yarn for the hat...thought it might help the mouth stand out better. 

It's really funny... now my little girl wants one, and my big girl wants a pink one! 
So, that is that!!! Hugs, Peg

[Triss]

Thanks for that Peggy, it sure as heck is cute.  Looking forward to trying my hand at it and the pattern looks like one I can actually read!

[Penny]

That is so cute Peggy and that would be a  great Baby gift to give to someone (if only i could make one) 

[Triss]

I put together my first octopus project.  It turned out great, I just need to get eyes for it.  It just happens that our preschool class is doing a gift basket for the silent auction for the American Cancer Society and their theme is the beach.  One or two of these lil guys will be going into the basket as the boys contributions.

[Wrennie]

What perfect timing for the pattern and your preschools project!

[Dianna]

I can't wait to see your finished octopi, Triss. Peg's was so cute.

[Triss]

I cannot wait to get the eyes so I can finish them.  I have one all put together and another all stitched up but not stuffed and finally a 3rd in the works.  The kids all want one so I will be making these for a while.

[Triss]

I have been working int he evenings to get some octopuses completed.  I have done 3 so far and love the multi-colored one the best.  The kids claimed the yellow one which is ok with me since I think the head was too big.  The double orange one is going to the kids school and that leaves the purple one in need of a home.  I am working on a yellow/brown one now.

 
 

[Dianna]

Triss, all of those are adorable. It will be a lucky young'un that receives the purple one. Of course the kids and the school are lucky, too...

[Triss]

No one has dibs on it yet Dianna if you have a someone in mind.  There is a pink one waiting to be made in the basket as well.

[Penny]

Those are simply adorable Triss!

[Triss]

I just love them!  I finished up another one last night.  He is quite cute too.  Now I need to decide which one to take over to the school for the beach basket that Mikey and Charlie's teacher is making for the silent auction.