| Swahaste tvahastam (from my hands to yours)

Bags full

January 29, 2011 in Crochet | Tags: Accessories, FOs, FOs - Crochet, Pattern Testing | 18 comments

For someone who hates most change and resists changing handbags for fear of forgetting to transfer something essential, I do love making bags, both knit and crochet. Then I give most of them away.

This one I made last year for a friend on Ravelry. No, I lie. I actually made it to test the pattern for the designer, and then the friend said she liked it. So we swapped. I hope she’s getting use out of it.

The yarn was Lion Brand Kitchen Cotton someone sent me in a RAK, with a 3.75 mm hook. I find the kitchen cotton sort of yarn is best suited for bags. It’s too thick for dishcloths and not nice enough for wearables. But it makes nice sturdy bags and purses.

The handles were a gift, too, and what makes me happiest about this bag, since I crocheted them in while making the bag, rather than sewing them in later. So no fiddling with needle and yarn after the fact!

Since it is styled as a Sunny Summer Tote, I suppose that would have been enough, but I decided to line it with some silk I bought. I added a pocket as well.

The pattern is simple enough and seamless, and works up quickly too. Here’s a close-up of what I did for the handles. I held the handles in position, and then made the sc inserting the hook into the hole meant for attachment (does it have a special name?) and around it into the row below and then finishing the sc in the usual way.

The primary reason I like bags is that they finish fast, I think. But somehow I usually make them with colours which mean I cannot use them like regular purses. Most of my accessories are black or brown so I don’t have to worry about matching them!

Next up is a pattern which has become very popular, being a knockoff of a designer bag, I believe. Yes, the Nordstrom bag. Another quick and easy pattern and easy to modify. That explains why it is so popular. I made several of these, with kitchen cotton, and some of the Russian cotton that saw me through many projects. The handles were gifts again. I haven’t found sources for anything other than bamboo handles here.

The one modification I made was to made the 4-dc shell into the space between the second and third dcs, rather than into the third dc as the pattern recommends, because somehow I didn’t feel that would be symmetrical. Again, I sc’d the handles into place, having to redo them a few times to get it right. I lined all three and they went to three sisters. Blessed if I can figure out why the text is not wrapping around this image.

Here’s my project page. I need to make more bags.

Update: I don’t know why I didn’t add this one earlier, but perhaps I didn’t because it was supposed to be a surprise for my friend who got the tote. So here is a picture, and more details in my Ravelry notebook.

The one that started it all.

Greetings

December 24, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: Uncategorized | 4 comments

The best of the season to you!

Inspired

December 6, 2010 in Knitting | Tags: Accessories, Decor, Doilies, FOs, FOs - Knitting, knit, knit lace parasol, lace, parasol, shawl | 15 comments

We had some unseasonal rain here in Hyderabad (where I’ve been visiting for the past few weeks). What I made will not protect against that. It’s entirely decorative, with very little practical application. Only the “Ooh” factor.

Doily on a frame

I’ve long been watching all the gorgeous crochet parasol patterns whenever I come across them, and been wanting to make one myself. I didn’t think I ever would. Then inspiration struck. I’ve been using this modified shawl as a tablecloth on the coffee table in Kochi. I removed it after Chandra began “cruising” (walking with support), because I was afraid she’d pull it off and fall. Not too many eyes view it anyway, or appreciate it. So I thought I’d put it on an umbrella frame a la crochet parasols.

I thought about finding a large enough empty frame, but didn’t. After coming here, though, I saw an old grandfatherly type of umbrella my father had, its original silk slightly moth-eaten, and it struck me as ideal for the purpose. From the thought to the deed took only as long as it took to sew the lace to the spokes, after ripping the silk from the frame. The central cast-on was sloppy enough to allow me to simply poke the top through. I wondered if I should let the excess lace droop around the spokes, but then decided against it.

Instead I ran some spare yarn through, tightened it, knotted it and wove the ends through. And there you have it.

Something I made that actually looks like art! I wish I could get a larger audience for it, though! I think not enough people noticed it in Chandra’s birthday party, stuck as it was over a light above the mouthwatering dinner spread. Plus I was too busy hostessing to point it out to people who’d appreciate it. I think I shall tell my mother to carry it around when she goes out in the summer. She was after all, partly responsible for me doing this, by asking if I could make a crochet parasol like one she saw at a saree exhibition once.

Side on

ETA: I only realised now that I haven’t linked to my Ravelry project page on this post. Remedying that right away.

Vicissitudes

November 29, 2010 in Crochet | Tags: FOs, FOs - Crochet, Pattern Testing, Wearables | 5 comments

A blog post from me after almost 6 months! Hope you’ve picked yourself up from the floor and haven’t hurt anything seriously. Things just got away from me, I’m afraid, and I just settled for recording my crochet/knitting progress on Ravelry, not that there was much to record, in any case. A combination of a growing baby and trying to do as many work assignments as possible (first, to replace my poor old iBook, and next to try and make enough for a trip to Malta next summer) meant I had little enthusiasm left for updating my blog.

What you see here is one of the few crochet projects I did complete, though I took a bit longer than I should have. It’s a test project for the designer, with yarn I bought in a destash from a friend.

The stitch pattern is fairly easy and you could memorise it in two repeats. What makes the (Rav link) Ashley Sweater (I wouldn’t call it a sweater, but then I’m not American – it’s a top) interesting is the neck detail of the folded back flap in a contrast colour.

Points of interest:
1. If I were to do it over, I’d choose to make it in the round and then split for the yoke, to save on the seaming of the sides. Even with the pattern repeat clearly marking the way, I wasn’t sure the seams wouldn’t pucker when I’d finished. Thankfully it didn’t but I don’t think that’s a reflection on my seaming skills, only a mad fluke.

2. Despite what the design says, I don’t think there is a “right side” and a “wrong side” to this pattern. Both look equally presentable, so doing it in the round wouldn’t make a difference to the appearance.

3. Trying to get the gauge specified in the pattern almost killed me, and where the original recommends a 4 mm hook, I used a 2.5 mm Clover. Only to have the actual garment gauge shrink compared to the swatch (doesn’t it always?). So I used the stitch counts for the 38″ finished bust size to suit my width (34″), and added one extra pattern repeat on the front before starting the sleeves, one extra repeat in the sleeves, one in the neck region and one more on the back after ending the sleeve section.

Even with all that, it shouldn’t have taken me so long, except I was demoralised by the gauge problem and couldn’t bear to take it up to finish. I have very little staying power or determination. In anything. Outside of staying up far too long to finish reading a pulpy novel.

4. The yarn (Rowan Linen Drape, now discontinued), came on those huge cardboard cones which lull you into thinking you have a mountain of yarn, when it’s mostly air. Good for my stashbusting, since using 9.5 skeins meant there’s a nice large hole in the stash. No knots in all those skeins. A trifle splitty, but not annoyingly so. A subtle shade, too. The only problem is the top weighs almost half a kilo. Perhaps wool would be lighter for the yardage, but then a holey woollen top would be impractical for all sorts of reasons. Acrylic might be a better bet (Indian acrylic, though, not the stiff and rough and thick foreign kind).

As always with crochet, I find it to give me a dense heavy fabric (though to be fair even my Crest of the Wave knit top is heavy – I never blogged that one!). So (a) I should rethink my instinct to use cotton or related heavy yarns (b) go down to no more than sportweight for crochet projects. Acrylic fingering weight, here I come!

I’d have loved to see how this yarn would work in a knit project, though.

5. I smartly bought a grey slip to wear under this, since I don’t want to be accused of obscenity again or prevented from wearing it in public (which both happened to me thanks to the husband and his mother for the abovementioned Crest of the Wave despite teaming it with a slip).

Which brings me to the other grievance, that having to wear so many layers makes this a difficult top to wear in the Cochin weather, where the temptation is to take as much off as possible, for as long through the year as possible. The same for the other top, making the whole rationale of choosing cotton (or linen-blend in this case) irrelevant.

So perhaps my next crochet wearable for me or Chandra will be acrylic. We shall see.

It was not to be.

June 18, 2010 in Knitting | Tags: Chandra, FOs, FOs - Knitting, Kids, Pattern Testing | 6 comments

I fell in love with this pattern when it first appeared on Ravelry, so you can imagine my joy when it came up for testing. No matter that I’d never done stranded colour work before or duplicate stitching, I jumped to volunteer for testing. I sent up a desperate appeal for India’s only cotton yarn (we’ve never heard of any other than threads) and a friend kindly volunteered to send me some. Which she duly did to me in Hyderabad and I set out to make the dress.

As you can see, the idea was a good one. Only, in the execution, user error crept in and the project was a fail. For several reasons, including: my first colour work, and it shows; it ended up too small even though I made it 6-months and Chandra was around 5 months old then and she is a small baby; I’m mortal afraid the red/maroon will run, so I’ve not even washed it; I don’t like the long floats from the duplicate stitch.

Pattern: Paisley Baby Dress by Mimi Kezer of Pastiche Knitwear (a Ravelry shop). There’s a matching hat. In addition to colour work and stranding and duplicate stitching, I also did my first picot edge hem.

Needles: 3.5mm

Yarn: Laura (the only cotton yarn sold in India for handknitting, as opposed to thread). It’s DK-ish. It’s fine, but not a luxury cotton, while not quite a dishcloth one either.

Time: About eight days, so it’s fairly easy, considering I’d never done a colourwork pattern before.

Size: Too small for Chandra

I have this now and don’t quite know what to do with it. For one, it’s small, for two, the colour might run (I know I should have tested for fastness before I used it, but I needed it in a hurry and was getting it from another city sight unseen, plus I needed it in a hurry!), for three I don’t like the long floats and finish of my duplicate stitching on the bodice and for four the stranding and the cotton make it a dense thing. I’m half tempted to sew up the bottom and turn it into a bag. Or maybe when my doll has a doll of her own she will use it for her wardrobe.

I’m thinking I might make it in acrylic, which would make it lighter and the elasticity of the yarn would make better looking stranding.

I knit both colours with my right hand for this project, but have since started using the left for one strand and knitting it continental, scooping the yarn with the RH needle in a motion which is very similar to crochet and therefore quite quick. I haven’t purled with it yet, so I cannot say how fast I’d be that way. I do not appear to have tension issues either. Much happier with the two strands kept apart than forever having to detangle (disentangle?) them.

Green and blue and grey all over

May 25, 2010 in Knitting | Tags: baby blanket, FOs, FOs - Knitting | 8 comments

Yes, I’ve decided to grace the Internet with my priceless writing again. (Such a shame not to have updated my blog for nearly two months now!)

I thought I’d show off this baby blanket I made while in Hyderabad (Now I’m back in Cochin. Life is not in a very happy place, but very little can or will be done about that).

I had from various friends this sport-ish weight cotton yarn, and despite being from different sources, it coordinated very well (except for the grey in my opinion, but I used it up anyway). I’ve long wanted to use it in a pattern like this or this (Rav link) or this or this. I like the idea of stockinette for my blankets, for invariably I’m working with stashed yarns in single skeins and stockinette uses less yarn than garter does. Also, garter would be denser and therefore not suitable for a warm weather baby, as most of my recipients have been so far.

There are lovely garter stitch patterns out there, and I’ve considered trying to convert them to stockinette, but apparently my geometry skills aren’t up to it (there is another project which has become a (what is that word I’m looking for…oh this mommy-brain is irritating!) let’s say, favourite, go-to when I take the baby out, but I discover I never blogged it). So I was dithering as usual. I only took cotton with me to Hyderabad (too many parentheses in this here post, but my mind’s like that nowadays – except for some mystifying wool, mystifying in the sense of “why?”) and made sure to have the Paton’s Grace with me. And the Schachenmayr nomotta Catania, which is the grey.

Yarn: As I said, 4 skeins of Paton’s Grace and one of the Catania. The yarns are almost identical, except the latter had a few yards less (despite what the label says). This led to some innovative re-designing (I used the variegated in the corners of the monochrome squares, to make it a ‘design feature’, as I ran out of the grey with only about 6 rows (about 30 stitches) to go).

Pattern: Found here (there’s a PDF also available). Continuing my quest for most acreage out of a single skein, however, I wanted to have a stockinette based border rather than a garter one. I like the old shale (or feather and fan according to some descriptions) pattern, but only found it in triangular shawls or rectangular stoles. I needed help in figuring out how to turn corners and increase, so for that I turned to this pattern (Rav link). The designer was kind enough to send me the updated version with charts included. With this in front of me, I nicely mangled the corners. I used an entire skein for the border. Instead of having a purl row, I knit a knit row.

I quite liked the mitred squares, with no seaming and stitch counts that reduced at every other row. I might even make another blanket this way.

Needle: 3.25mm. You can do the body on straights, but you’d need a circular for the border, whichever pattern you chose for it, unless you want to seam some rows at the end.

Time: Just over a month, but that was because I realised after making the third square that I’d picked up stitches wrongly and had to frog and redo that square. I think it was also in the wrong colour perhaps.

Size: At 29″ square, it’s a respectable size for a newborn to be swaddled in and decent enough to serve as a covering for later. (Going by my newborn, at least). If you actually used DK or worsted weight as you ought to, you’d have a proper sized blanket.

Extra: I loved the pattern and the possibilities it offers. Plus, no seams to sew! Plus, stashbusting! Only that a certain person sent me a bucketload of cotton yarn she was destashing since, so that particular goal was negated.

The blanket has now gone to live in New York with a Raveller friend whom I met when she visited Kerala last year, and who is having a baby any time now. I think the colour scheme goes with what they’ve chosen.

I hope to return for my next post much sooner than I’ve been doing. Until then, hang in there!

A false Fall

March 2, 2010 in Crochet | Tags: Accessories, Chandra, colour crochet, Decor, FOs, FOs - Crochet, Kids | 13 comments

I’ve never seen Fall (Autumn) myself, though we are supposed to have, in Indian tradition, 6 seasons (Vasant, Grishm, Varsha, Sharad, Hemant and Sisir), it’s usually only, mild, hot and hotter. Or damp, damper and dampest if you live in Kerala.

However, I do believe the colours I just chose for two projects are Fall colours, the colours of the foliage as it prepares to drop. I’ve wanted to break out of my comfort zone of inoffensive pastels and typical choices, so when I decided to make a couple of covers for the new TV at my parents’ home and the DVD player, I took my courage in my hands and chose these. I wasn’t sure how they’d work, but I think they do fine. (My mother did tease me though, “Would you wear a saree in these colours?” The answer to that I think would still be NO.)

I also took the opportunity to try two patterns I’ve had my eyes on for a while. The first of those was the diagonal box stitch (also called crazy stitch, I think). I found a good tutorial at Crochet Cabana here. Then there was the popular Wooleater blanket from Sarah London (who always has such gorgeous colours on her blog).

Yarn: Unnamed acrylic in sport weight, 5 different colours, about a hank each. The whole batch cost me Rs 88/-. Cheap!

Patterns: The Diagonal Box Stitch for the TV cover (above) and the Wooleater pattern for the smaller DVD player cover. I can now tick both of them off my list of crochet-to-do. Both are easier than they look and once you ‘get’ them, you don’t have to look at the instructions again.

Hook: 4.00mm

Time: The pieces themselves were quick, but the ends, oh my. There were around a 100 ends on the TV cover which I finally wove in while watching the Winter Olympic coverage. The DVD player cover had a few less, mainly because I used less yarn (the leftovers from the TV cover). The DVD cover ended up scrappy since I focused on using up the yarn rather than making sure the rows had only one colour. No problem, I wanted to use up all the yarn anyway. Great value for money.

Size: Didn’t really measure, but they are good for the purposes they were meant to serve.

Extra: Had teeny amounts of yarn left, some of which ended up in this:

It’s a hairband I made up in an hour, and it is adjustable. And yes, the baby is wearing a handknit, more of which later. Let me leave you with a link to Rima’s blog. Her use of colour inspires and amazes me.

Lace (whew).

February 14, 2010 in Knitting | Tags: Accessories, FOs, FOs - Knitting, lace, Pattern Testing | 7 comments

Sometimes I surprise myself with how deluded I can be. Something told me I’d be able to do this, despite having a fairly recently born baby and my natural indolence. So when the designer posted looking for testers, I jumped right in with both feet. I finished a week over schedule, but the designer was understanding.

Pattern: White Atlantic (Rav link) (well, mine is pink, but it was the only fingering weight I had in enough quantity) by Julia Riede. I can’t see if you can buy it outside Ravelry, I’m not sure how it works.

Yarn: Unbranded fingering weight acrylic, about 150 gms. The part I like about acrylic (in addition to its ubiquity) is that I can kill it once and for all after the piece is done. We aren’t looking for warmth, after all.

Needles: 2.75mm

Size: While the pattern is for a stole-width object, I ended up more scarf-ish. I could perhaps have gone up a needle size or two.

Time: About 4 weeks, but I wasn’t full time at it.

Extras: My first time making something which had a central provisional cast-on which you later undo and work the second half from. I used a crochet cast-on, of course. The improved method shown here. It’s become quite my favourite method when dealing with a larger number of stitches. It was also the first time I did the popular feather and fan pattern.

I found the body pattern slightly challenging, in the sense that I couldn’t work without a chart. I was also doubtful about the borders and edging, but a chat with Julia cleared that up.

I like to learn something with every project I make, so the working from the centre and the new stitch patterns in this made it worthwhile.

I must mention that being at home with my mom means I have no work to do, hence all the knitting I do. Just so you don’t think I’m superwoman or anything close.

Serenity

January 11, 2010 in Knitting | Tags: blanket, cables, Chandra, FO, FOs, FOs - Knitting, knit, lace | 21 comments

Motherhood might be supposed to confer serenity on the mother. Not on this one, sadly. However, that’s not something I want to dwell on in the blog, given that I blog so less as it is.

I did achieve Serenity, though, in the form of this blanket.

Pattern: Serenity (direct pdf download) by Laura Wilson-Martos (Rav link here). I think it was my largest knit lace, one that had been on my queue for a while (in my mind if not on Ravelry). It went very well, with only one or two unimportant typos (such as a misplaced bracket). I only flagged slightly in the eyelet section, tiring a bit of the endless-seeming yo k2tog, yo k2tog. Otherwise I like the pattern and wouldn’t mind a re-run. My project page is here. I like working lace from the centre. It gives you better control over how big the final product is, especially when your yarn is limited.

Yarn: Aslan Trends Class, a cotton-acrylic blend which has worn well in use and two handwashes. The yarn was a gift from a Rav friend who I met when she visited Kochi with her husband. White may be seen as foolhardy for a baby blanket, but we are using it as a show blanket, only used for public occasions. I like the feel of the yarn and the stitch definition but was not enamoured of the way the shiny strand causes the other strands to twist around it, creating what is called worming, I believe. Also, I had an issue with my stitch markers snagging on the yarn (for which I am close to a solution now, having found some neon-coloured smooth rubber bands; they are rather large, perhaps I will find some smaller ones at some point). I used nearly all of 4 skeins.

Needles: 4.5mm. I believe I was supposed to do the first few rows in a smaller gauge and then move to the larger, but I couldn’t be bothered. It doesn’t seem to have made a difference.

Size: 44″ square. It’s a good size for swaddling.

Time: Thick yarn makes for fast lace! About 3 weeks, perhaps because of the eyelet zone.

Extra: I’m proud of this FO. It’s gotten me several compliments as well.

I’m considering a crochet blanket but cannot settle on a pattern. I have this one and another knit blanket and feel my other craft should be represented as well. Either regular crochet or Tunisian…I have a sportweightish cotton which I lugged back and forth to Hyderabad a couple of times already. The days of travelling light are far behind me, I fear. The last two times I paid enough for excess baggage to almost buy another ticket.

Oh yes, I’m now at home in Hyderabad. Anyone dropping in?

We haz a model!

December 2, 2009 in Knitting | Tags: Chandra, FOs, FOs - Knitting, Kids | 16 comments

I’ve been making baby stuff for years now, as you will know if you’ve been reading my blog for a while. Rarely do I get to see the things I make on the intended recipient. Indeed, I have no way of knowing if they fit or are useful, even. But now I have a model for any knit/crochet objects I make in the future.

She’s called Chandra and was born on November 10th, as most of my Internet friends know by now, via Facebook or Ravelry. She’s wearing Pebble, which I made a couple of months ago.

Pattern: Pebble (and on Ravelry). Easy, quick and satisfying. I used some of the Russian cotton I still have and ended up with this size, which I could call newborn, I suppose. (My project page here.)

Yarn: Kamtex Khlopok (khlopok meaning cotton) from St. Petersburg. I got 6 balls of it with a lot of yardage and still have odd amounts left. Other projects from it include my Chakra purse, a Fat Bottom Bag, a cabled baby bib, another bib I find I didn’t blog about that I used the crochet trinity stitch for and improvised, and yet another baby bib that I made up from a pattern I saw somewhere (again unblogged). This yarn is a bit splitty, but looks fine when worked up and the yardage is enormous. Pebble’s been washed a couple of times and has worn well in the handwash-with-hot-water-and-Dettol plus dryer cycle.

Needles: 3.5mm (I use circulars whenever possible, my straights are mostly decorative now, I’m afraid.)

Time: Overnight.

Size: My newborn (who is on the petite side).

Extra: I learnt garter Kitchener to graft the one shoulder seam and was quite happy with the outcome. Not that I remember how to do it now, but it’s not scary any more.

I made it in blue, because well, the cotton yarn I had was blue, also, a teeny weeny bit of superstition in me, I suppose, that if I made it in the western boy tradition, I’d not jinx my chances of having a girl! It seems to have worked anyway.

I leave you with a picture of the unmodelled Pebble so you know how it looks. There’s another photo of Chandra in it on my Ravelry page or my Flickr stream.