The Monsterpiece Doily, Round 12 & Some Crochet

Man, this round is taking forever. I feel like I should be done tatting it, but I'm only about half way around. I have, however, taken a few breaks from tatting, so that is probably a big part of why I'm not done with this round. I went on a camping trip last weekend with my dad, his girlfriend and my brother so I didn't get any tatting done then. The doily isn't exactly a portable item anymore, and I didn't want to risk it getting damaged, dirty or smokey smelling. I took the socks I've been slowly working on and some crochet projects. I ended up working on the crochet projects. As it happens, I continued working on crochet projects for most of this past week. I also discovered a new crochet technique which I'll hopefully get to.

Not really much to say about the Monsterpiece Doily.

As you can see, I am almost halfway around the doily. As I said, it's taking forever to complete. On the plus side, I have the pattern memorized for the most part so I don't have to constantly look at my written notes now. Since I'm waiting for a book arrive, I hope to continue working on the doily. Thread stats: Manuela no. 20 colour #a055.

On the crochet front, I managed to finish or almost finish several projects. The first is a cycling cap. It looked kinda cool, but I don't know if I will actually wear it though.

This isn't quite finished. I need to stop at a fabric store to get some interfacing to stiffen the brim. If/when I get to that point, I'll share a photo of it being worn. I used some Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Superwash yarn in Camel Heather. The pattern is on Ravelry/loveknitting.com by Emma of Steel and Stitch.

The next item are crocheted Beer Cozies.

I don't know if it was me or what, but pattern didn't quite work for me. The cozy on the left is made as the pattern is written, using two strands of worsted weight cotton yarn and a 4 mm hook. It is way too big. I may wrong, but I don't think the size of beer/pop cans differs significantly between the US and Canada. The can I used is 355 ml which is equal to 12 ounces, which I think is a standard can size. The cozy on the right is made following the pattern with an extra row using one strand of cotton yarn and a 3.5 mm hook. It fits the cans perfectly, though it is not as thick as the other one. I'll probably have another go at this pattern later, as I do like it and it would make great guy friendly gifts. I used Bernat Cot'n Corn yarn for the cozy on the left and Bernat Handicrafter yarn for the blue one. The pattern is by Pan and can be found on Crafty here.

The last crochet item is more of a sneak peek of more to come.

Yes, they are coasters, but its how they are made that is special. They were made using the technique of "Hard Crochet". That is, using specific yarns and a very specific hook size (2.75 mm) to create a crocheted fabric that is stiff and can hold its shape without the used of stiffeners. The coaster on the left isn't quite right, as my gauge was out, and the coaster isn't as stiff as it should be. The one on the right is in the right gauge range. Both coasters were made using Red Heart Super Saver yarn. The technique comes from the book Hard Crochet by Mark Dittrick. You can see the book on Amazon here. I came across the book accidentally-I think Amazon actually suggested it to me. I'll go into more detail another time, but if you are curious and want to learn more, Sandy Marie of Mom's Crochet has been working on modernizing the technique. You can find her hard crochet tutorial here. She has several patterns available using the technique, including the coasters above, and you will see another one of her designs once I get the yarn. I also have many ideas for this technique too and will of course try some of the patterns from the book when it arrives. Stay tuned.

That's it for now. I'll try and post a few photos from my camping trip in my next post. I got a pretty bad sunburn which I'm still nursing. Till next time.

Tatting Hiatus 2016: What I Have Been Up To, Part 2 Crochet

As promised, here is part two of my post about what I have been up to while not working on the Monsterpiece Doily. This is about the crocheted projects I have been working on. For the record, these were done a few weeks ago when I started my short break from tatting. I've been working on knitting projects this week, and will hopefully continue to do so until the end of the weekend.

The first couple of crocheted projects are, of course slippers. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I go through a lot of slippers as I don't really care for socks, and I'm not a fan of bare foot.

I'm trying to move out of my colour comfort zone with these. The top pair, the ones I'm currently wearing, are made using Lion Brand Fun Fur in the "Tropical" colourway. I don't need to say that I used Lion Brand "Red" Fun Fur for the second pair. Both used Patons Classic Wool in red. If you're new to my blog, these slippers are made using two strands of wool yarn and one strand of fur or eyelash yarn together. The finished slippers are felted or fulled in the washing machine to shrink them and make them all warm and comfy. I love making these!

These next two projects are part of my Mom's Mother's Day present. I will be giving them to her this weekend. Mother's Day was last Sunday here in North America.

The first project is a crocheted cactus and succulent garden. It utilized patterns from June Gilbank from her shop PlanetJune.  She has two collections of four different cacti each and two more collections of four succulents each. If you buy all four, you can mix and match between 16 plants. She also a large and small pot pattern in each collection to make your own customized garden. This was pretty easy to follow and lots of fun to make. I won't link to the collections directly in case the links stop working but they are in the Flowers and Plants part of the crochet pattern section. The link to June's shop is above.

The second project is a crocheted Primrose, another one of June's patterns. For some reason the colours are not quite right in the photos. The primrose flowers are a dusty rose. This was also pretty easy to crochet. If you haven't seen June's patterns before, she make mostly amigurumi style animals and plants/flowers. I love her designs and have purchased a number of them. Most are stuck in my to be crocheted list for one reason or another. Most, I think, need eyes purchased in order to make them and I just haven't done it yet. Hopefully I will get them crocheted.

That's about it for now. Since I posted twice in less than a week, I probably won't post again for a week or two. Unless something important happens or I get a lot done. Anyway, till next time.

Crochet Football Coaster: 2015 Crafty Football Blog Hop

It's that time of year again. Time for the Crafty Blog Hop! Instead of something tatted, I decided to make something crocheted this year. It might allow more people to actually follow along. For anyone not familiar with a blog hop, each participant creates a tutorial that they share on their blog. At the bottom of this post (and the posts of each participant) are links to the other participants. Make sure you check out their tutorials as well. There will be a new participant each day, so be sure to check this post often (ie: daily!) to see a new tutorial until the end of next week.

Probably because footballs are pretty easy to make in many different crafts, I made a football again.

I'm not really a fan of patterns turned into tutorials, but here we go anyway.

Crocheted Football Coaster ©2015 Jeff Hamilton

Materials

You will need:

Worsted weight yarn in two colour (team colours would be great but brown and white work well)
Size H / 5.0 mm crochet hook
Stitch marker, safety pin, or even a scrap of contrasting coloured yarn
Scissors, yarn needle
Felt to back coaster (optional-I didn't do it but you are welcome to if you want)

I used Bernat Super Saver yarn in Tea Leaf and Bernat Cot'n Corn in Oatmeal for the green/white coaster for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The brown/white coaster used Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool in brown (I lost the label) and Bernat Cot'n Corn in Oatmeal. I used yarn from my stash since I didn't want to buy anymore. I should have used a brighter coloured green for my Rider coaster.

The finished coaster is about 6 inches by 4 inches. Gauge isn't really important for this project. If anyone is curious, the brown coaster above is a little different (and larger) than then the one I'm going to share below. I tweaked the pattern as I went during the photo shoot. If you find any errors, please let me know. It works for me, but I've memorized the pattern and any possible errors.

OK. Let's begin.

Abbreviations (US):

Sc     =  Single Crochet
Hdc  =  Half Double Crochet
Dc    =  Double Crochet
Sl st  = Slip stitch
Trc   = Treble (Triple) Crochet
Ch(s)    = Chain(s)
St(s) = Stitch(es)
**    = Marks sections of stitches that are repeated

Starting with round 2, you'll want to mark the first stitch so you know where to join. Also, the ch 1 at the start does not count as a stitch.

Round 1: Using your main colour, start with a magic ring. Ch 1, make 6 sc in ring and close ring. Join with sl st to top of first sc. Ch 1. (6 sc)

You can learn the magic ring technique from here: www.planetjune.com/magicring . This isn't essential to the pattern, I just find it looks better. Feel free to substitute Ch 2, 6 sc in 2nd chain from hook if desired. Join with sl st to top of first sc. Ch 1.

Round 2: 2 sc in each st around.  Join with sl st to top of first sc. Ch 1. (12 sc)

Round 3:  *2 sc in next st. 1 sc in next st*. Rep between ** around. Join with sl st to top of first sc. Ch 1. (18 sc)

Round 4: *2 sc in next st. 1 sc in next 2 sts*. Rep between ** around. Join with sl st to top of first sc. Ch 1. (24 sc)

Round 5: *2 sc in next st. 1 sc in next 3 sts*. Rep between ** around. Join with st st to top of first sc. Ch 1. (30 sc)

Round 6: 2 sc in next st. 1 sc in next 4 sts. 2 sc in next st. 1 hdc in next st. 1 dc in     next 3 sts. 2 trc in next st. 1 dc in next 3 sts. 1 hdc in next st. 2 sc in next st. 1 sc in next 4 sts. 2 sc in next st. 1 hdc in next st. 1 dc in next 3 sts. 2 trc in next st. 1 dc in next 3 sts. 1 hdc in next st. Join with sl st to top of first sc. Ch 1. (36 st).

Round 7: 2 sc in next st. 1 sc in next 5 sts. 2 sc in next st. 1 hdc in next 2 sts. 1 dc in next 3 st. 1 dc, 1 trc, 1 dc in next st. 1 dc in next 3 sts. 1 hdc in next 2 sts. 2 sc in next st. 1 sc in next 5 sts. 2 sc in next st. 1 hdc in next 2 sts. 1 dc in next 3 st. 1 dc, 1 trc, 1 dc in next st. 1 dc in next 3 sts. 1 hdc in next 2 sts. Join with sl st to top of first sc. Fasten off. (44 st)

Football Stripes (Make 2)

With your second (contrasting) colour ch 10. Sc in second ch from hook and in next 3 chs. 2 sc in next ch. 1 sc in the remaining 4 chs. Fasten off leaving a long tail.

Assembly

You should have your crocheted football coaster and two stripes finished.  Awesome! Feel free to hide the yarn ends on the coaster either now or after you have added the stripes. Position one stripe onto one end, doesn't matter which side you start; I started with the left stripe. Position the stripe across round 6, so the pointed part of round 7 is mostly visible. It doesn't have to be exact; the stripe should fit across the football almost perfectly, so just play around and see where you like it. You'll want to leave space in the middle of the coaster for glasses, mugs, cans, etc.

Using one or both yarn ends, sew the stripe as best you can onto the coaster. It doesn't have to be perfect, just make sure it is attached securely.  Repeat for the other stripe. Hide the yarn ends after you are done to make it less frustrating for the next step.

Embroidering The Stitches

This is pretty basic embroidery, if you can even call it that! The positioning is up to you. I had them across the centre on the brown coaster and higher up on the green one. The stitches are fairly flat so they shouldn't cause any issues with glasses, etc, placed on top of them. Attach a length of white (or contrasting colour) yarn at approximately round 4 and take a long straight stitch across the coaster to the opposite side and take the yarn down at approximately round 4. Anchor the yarn and come up though the same stitch as you went down. Hopefully that makes sense.

Take another long straight stitch roughly across the same stitch as before and go down in the same spot you started at. Anchor the yarn underneath and come up again. Take a third straight stitch again across the two previous stitches as before. You should end up with a three yarn wide straight stitch.

With the yarn still underneath the coaster, come up about one quarter of the way and slightly above the long stitch from before. Go across the long stitch and come down a little below the long stitch. Repeat twice more making the stitches approximately equally spaced apart. Hopefully that all made sense. Hide the final end, or all of them if you haven't already. Now would be the time to back the coaster with felt, if you desire.

There, you should have a football coaster of your very own! Enjoy! Much like the last Crafty Football Blog Hop I participated in, which you can find here: click here, I made a green football coaster for my local CFL team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Who, um, aren't doing so well right now. Come on guys!

Here is what everyone else has done for the 2015 Crafty Blog Hop. Check back everyday until the end of next week as a new participant will appear each day.