Nautilus Shawl

Oh my freaking god, this is the most "frustrating and annoying and what the hell am I making here and why" project. 

Let me sum up:

I hated those ruffle scarves and scoured the Ravelry database to see if I could find a pattern that would use the yarn a better way. I found a pretty shawl pattern, both crochet and knit versions, and thought I would try it. 

For three days straight, I kept knitting and frogging, hooking and frogging, looking everywhere for some reason why the pattern just wasn't flipping working. I still have no idea what went wrong, but I found someone who made a Youtube video about it and contacted them and they sent me the pattern for free, which was nice. 

It got off to a rocky start, with some kind of weirdness in the center, but then the spiral started and I was SO pleased with myself ... until I crocheted the fabric to itself and had to pull out about 6 feet of it. I went back to it, and kept going until I reached the edge and discovered ...

... it was tiny. Like, really tiny. Big enough only to drape over an accept table. It won't really go over my shoulders. Thank the heavens I didn't pull out all the scarves, just the pink and gray one. 

What I ended up with is pretty, but it needs to be like three feet longer. I might be able to rearrange it into some kind of belly dance hip scarf, but even then, I don't really want it, despite the color way being exactly what I wear. 

METHOD:
I don't even know. I tried to follow the pattern, but who knows. 

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
Never buy yarn you don't LOVE and never take the pattern dimensions at face value. 

Crochet Headband (Ribbed Headband with Button)

This was the first official project in the "Startup Library Crochet" class both on Great Courses and on Bluprint. I had to take it apart a couple of times because I'm learning to crochet and so the stitches aren't very orderly and uniform yet, but finally I managed to get a piece that looks roughly like what the instructor made. My yarn was thicker than hers so the piece is a little bigger, but I still think it's wearable. I didn't add the button yet because I don't have one I particularly like. 

METHOD:
Done in LionBrand Wool Ease Thick and Quick, from the "Fisherman" color in my stash. 

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
1. Single and Half Double Crochet stitches. Yay for me, learning something new (although technically I've tried crochet in the past but it didn't "stick." 

2. This yarn is insanely thick and working with an oversized crochet hook is crazy awkward. 

3. Now I will be able to crochet my own stuff! 

New Classes! And a Crochet Necklace

Because there just wasn't enough to do on The Great Courses Plus (lol) I signed up for Bluprint, since I thought I might actually teach myself to crochet while we're on the self-isolation from Covid-19. I went for quite a while without knitting or doing anything particularly crafty, so it's kind of fun to pick up these old skills and learn some new ones.  

METHOD:
There was a demonstration on Bluprint that showed a long crocheted chain that someone looped and added beads to. I had some spun yarn that I got from Bevin that I didn't know what to do with, so I figured it might make an interesting necklace. I chained all of it, looped it, and then added way too many beads. 

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
How to do chain stitch in crochet. 

New Year's Resolutions

(YES, I WILL get pictures up of all these things. I don't know what's taking so long!)

For years I've been telling myself I'm going to learn to crochet. Like a lot of knitters, I have a love-hate relationship with crochet. I love the way it looks but I hate the thought of actually wasting knitting time to learn to do it.

I'm tired of relying on my mom to do the crochet finishing on stuff. So I decided, for 4 hours a week, I'm going to practice crochet.

Here's what I got for an hour of my time last night:


Sigh.

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In other news, I just signed up for the TKGA's correspondence course "Basics Basics Basics," which is supposed to help you get ready for the Master Knitter level 1 course. Yay! I got some money for Christmas, and I couldn't think of a better way to spend it! I can't wait for the first class. I know I have a problem with binding off too tight (see the Cowboy Poncho for a great example of that!)

***

I have three UFOs in the basket right now, and they've been lingering there for way too long. I need to weave in the ends and do the fringe for the cowboy poncho, finish the edges on my eggplant cardigan (which is ANCIENT now), and finish the stockinette "Vintage" coat -- and either con my mom into crocheting the cuffs, or learn to do them myself.

Too much to do, and I want to start a new project!!! But I won't let myself do anything new until I only have 2 UFOs in the basket. The cardigan is the easiest to finish, but I dread the thought of picking up 180+ stitches. Plus, I need buttons, but I guess I need to make a trip to Joanns anyway. It's been at least 2 weeks since I've been there.:)