Monthly Archives: May 2012

other crafts that start with C

winterwoods sampler

I ordered the Winterwoods Sampler from Posie Gets Cozy a little while ago, along with a couple of hoops and needles. I did some cross-stitch when I was a kid, but haven’t done it in years – this sampler just spoke to me though! I started it over the long weekend (Victoria Day here) and have been completely obsessed. Some days I didn’t even knit! The only downside for me is that it’s a bit messy what with the threads and chart and everything – I’m used to just plopping down on the couch with a ball of yarn.

wee kettle!

It’s just so pleasing. I do have a couple of small mistakes (missed a space, crossed the wrong way) but that’s okay. I’m over half done, so I need to start looking for a nice frame!

whoa, an FO!

Hey! I finished one of my crochet projects!

fun crochet cushion cover

I’ve had a sad, naked couch cushion for ages (well, not that naked – I put a bed pillowcase on it) and it was finally time to do something about it. I really love how this turned out, and I’ve always wanted to make more housewaresy stuff with my vast collection of yarn.

The front is a Wool-eater square, while the back is a granny square.

fun crochet cushion cover

Let me tell you, the granny square side was WAY faster than the Wool-eater side – all those extra loops in the Wool-eater really slow me down. The yarn is all Cascade 220, 2 skeins of the teal and little scrap half-or-third skeins of the yellows.

fun crochet cushion cover

I single crocheted the two sides together along three of the sides, holding the two pieces wrong sides together. For the last side, the opening, I single crocheted along the front and back separately, and added some chains to close it up.

fun crochet cushion cover

Super fun!

rip and re-crochet

Along with my Wool-eater obsession, I also started another crochet project – a ripple blanket. I’d bought a bunch of Cascade Eco Wool awhile ago with the plan of making a knitted blanket, but once the crochet took hold it only seemed natural to crochet it instead!

I started with a 5mm hook and a single strand.

crochet ripple, take 1

That didn’t really seem right though, so I ripped it all out (after finishing a whole huge ball of Eco wool!) and started again, this time with two strands of yarn and a 6.5mm hook.

crochet ripple, take 2

It’s going to take even more yarn than I’d bought, but that’s ok! It’s really nice and thick, and goes really quickly with the big hook. The only downside is that I can’t do as long in a sitting as with smaller yarn – the motions are pretty taxing on my wrist.

I also finally, finally got back to my spinning wheel after ages away from it!

breaking out the niddy noddy

I had this BRIGHT teal merino half spun up already, so it didn’t take too long to finish it up. It’s 420 yards of fingering weight 2-ply, and very soft.

long time coming

After that, I needed something quick from the wheel, so I grabbed a lone bump of Pear Tree Merino roving and spun that up really quick-and-dirty style. It’s very inconsistent, but really soft and fluffy. I love spinning long draw!

quick and fluffy

This one is 216 yards of 2ply worsted(ish) weight. Not sure what I’ll do with it, but for now I’ll just take the relaxation of sitting at the spinning wheel with something good on the tv.