Summer Sprigs Lace Scarf in a Special Colorway from A Good Yarn Sarasota

It's done! It's done! It's finally done! Can you tell I'm excited? The lace weight shawl that I have been working on is blocked up and aired out. I made this shawl to test out a special colorway, Cabbage Patch, produced by Dream in Color for A Good Yarn Sarasota. I think it was perfect for this project and I was very pleased with the yarn.

I followed this pattern by Esther Chandler. I have followed one of her patterns before, something I just remembered. I was a touch confused in a few places, so I fudged and hoped for the best a few times :) Overall the pattern is a good one, and the finished product is delightful. Plus, I am super grateful for free patterns, especially since I know what goes into writing one.

Without further ado, here's my Summer Sprigs!

Little Leaves Scarf

It sure feels great to bust some stash, especially with a project that works up lickety-split. This Little Leaves Scarf pattern by Marta Chrzanowska was a perfect break from my long-term projects. The leaves are so cute! The vine reminds me of those Nintendo vine stalks that grow into the sky. I used up two skeins of Patons Peruvian Wool but you could really use any yarn for this project. Working it up in thread and starching it could make a cool bookmark. In DK weight it could be a sweet, slender scarflette. In super bulky with the leaf pattern repeated it could be a nice throw blanket.

I made this scarf long for wrapping, about five and a half feet. I also lightly steam blocked it for crisp edges. Now it's all prepped and pretty in my Etsy shop.

The Secret Garden Baby Blanket

Pattern releases are an exercise in delayed gratification. After I come up with an idea it can take between one and three months for the pattern to be written, error checked, and tested. Only then can I release it with confidence. I've been waiting for this pattern to be ready, and today it is! I am pleased to show you The Secret Garden Baby Blanket, based on the beloved children's book by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

The pattern is now available on Ravelry and Craftsy, and the sample blanket is listed on Etsy. As for me, I'm finishing another pattern today to start the process all over again!

Crochet Morning Glory Garland

Remember when I told you I had more info on fun collaborative crochet projects? Well, a group of yarnies in the UK is working on the coolest project ever... a world-record breaking yarn bomb!

 The Craft Club is working hard to gather over 4,000 crochet items for a massive yarn bomb in Essex County. They are accepting submissions from all over the place, so you can get in on it too! The contact email for details on where to send your crochet items is thecraftclubyarnbombers@gmail.com.

The massive art piece will first see the light of day at Metal's Green Village Festival, a craft fair, on July 12th. Make sure to get your stuff to them before then if you want it to be seen by the thousands of folks who attend. Keep in mind that it may take 10 to 14 days for your package to reach them depending on where you are in the world, setting a closer deadline of the last week of June. Then on August 25th the yarn bomb will make a special appearance at a local children's hospice to delight families and care workers.

I am so charmed by this project! The theme of the project is a magical garden. Take a look at the event poster to the left for ideas about what to make. I am going to be working up a few fun patterns from my Ravelry queue and hope to send my package out by the end of the week. However, that just isn't enough for me. I mean, a magical garden??? How freaking awesome is that?! The gears got to turning today and soon enough I had written a brand new pattern in honor of the event. It's my Morning Glory Garland! I'm sharing it with you here on the blog this time in case you want to work it up for the cause or just for fun. The pattern follows after these pictures.

I used about 1/5 to 1/4 of a skein each of Vanna's Choice Solids in green, white, and purple. Keep in mind you will need more yarn if your project is longer than mine, which is relatively short. I used a 5mm crochet hook to make this project. However, you can use whatever yarn you may have on hand and a hook that is .5 to 1 mm smaller than the yarn recommends. Gauge is not important for this project.

Tip: Do not weave in any of the green ends as you go. We'll talk about them in the finishing section of the pattern.

Vine
With green, work any number of foundation single crochet stitches until your vine is the desired length. As an alternative to fsc, simply work up a chain to the desired length, turn, then work 1 sc into the back loop of each ch across starting in the second ch from the hook. If you'd feel more comfortable with an actual number, make your vine a multiple of 8 sts.

Ch 1, turn. Sl st into each st down the vine until you get to a good spot for a leaf. How far down you go is completely up to you (I worked down about 8 sts).

Ch 16. Starting in the fifth ch from the hook, work 1 sc into each back loop until you reach the original vine again. You have just made one leaf stem. Starting in the next un-worked st, continue working sl sts down the vine until you reach a good spot for a flower.

To make a flower stem, ch 8. Starting in the fifth ch from the hook, work 1 sc into each back loop until you reach the original vine, just as you did with the leaf stem.

Continue in this manner until you reach the end of your vine. I ended up with three leaf stems and two flower stems. You can add as many leaves and flowers as you want and put them as close together or as far apart as you like. If you're working on a multiple of 8 and want your leaves and flowers to be regularly spaced, simply work a stem after every eighth sl st. Your stems might curl a bit like mine did. Fasten off.

Leaves
You will work 1 leaf into the circle at the end of each long leaf stem. You formed these circles when you skipped 4 sts while working into the back loops of the chain, and you can see the circle in the flower stem picture above.

Working from right to left with the right (correct) side facing, attach green to the circle with a sl st. Ch 4. Work 5 tr into the circle, then 2 dc. Ch 2. Work 2 more dc into the circle, then 5 more tr. Ch 4 and sl st into the circle. Fasten off. Tug on the leaf a bit to shape it. Repeat these instructions for every long leaf stem.

Flower Caps
You will now be working into the circles at the ends of the flower stems, just as you worked into the leaf stem circles before.

Attach green to the circle with a sl st. Ch 1. Work [1 sc, ch 4] four times. Work 1 more sc. Sl st into the first sc to join. Fasten off leaving an 8 inch tail for sewing. Repeat these steps for every flower stem. Set vine aside.

Morning Glory Flower
The flower is worked with right side facing the whole way, no turning. The first part of the flower is worked in spiral rounds. 

With white, start with magic circle. Alternatively, ch 2 and work Round 1 into the second ch from the hook.
Round 1: Work 5 sc into the ring. (5)
Round 2: Work 1 sc into each st. (5)
Round 3: *Work 1 sc into next st, then 2 sc into the following st*, rep from * one more time. Work 1 more sc. (7)
Round 4: Work 1 sc into each st. (7)
Round 5: *Work 2 sc into next st, then 1 sc into the following st*, rep from * two times. Work 1 more sc. (10)
Round 6: Work 2 sc into each st. (20)
Work 1 sl st to join the round. We will no longer be working in a spiral. We will, however, still continue working with right side facing. Each ch 3 counts as a st.
Round 7: *Ch 3, work 1 dc in next st, ch 3, sl st into next st, work 1 sc in following*, rep from * four times. (25, plus an extra sl st)
Work 1 sl st in next st. Fasten off white.
Attach purple with a sl st in any sc.
Round 8: Ch 3. Work 2 dc in same st as ch 3. Skip ch 3, sl st into the top of the following dc. To complete the round, work 3 dc into each sc and 1 sl st into each dc. Sl st in first dc (not the ch 3, even though it counts as a st) to join. (20)
Round 9: Ch 3. Work 2 dc into the same st as the ch 3. Work 3 dc into each remaining st around. Sl st into first dc (not the ch 3) to join. (57)
Fasten off and weave in all ends of the flower. Make as many flowers as you have flower stems/caps.

Finishing
Flip each flower inside out so that the right (side) is on the inside of the flower and the wrong side is on the outside of the flower. Push your pointer finger into the center of each flower and scrunch the petal with your other hand to encourage a slight ripple. Place the white butt of a flower in the center of the first flower cap. Sew the cap onto the flower with the leftover green tail.

Finally, time to get to those green ends! A real morning glory plant has thin wisps of vines all over it. To recreate that look I used a yarn needle to artfully wind my green ends around and through the stitches of my vine after making sure the attached end was secure. I didn't use a particular method, I just messed around! If you'd prefer a cleaner look, you can weave in all of your ends as usual.

I'd love to see your Morning Glory Garlands! I'll be listing this pattern on Ravelry if you'd like to add a project page. Also, if you're going to send some stuff to The Craft Club for their yarn bomb, tell us about it in the comments!

'Apelila Headpiece

In addition to the two crochet/knitting groups I attend each week in real life, I am also a member of several online crochet communities. The one I'm most active in, r/crochet, is having an Aloha April Contest this month. Since Alex grew up in Hawaii and some of our fondest memories are those we made during our 2013 visit to Oahu and the Big Island, I knew I had to participate. One of the users there, SassySSS, is an amazing crocheter who is super generous. She's offering delightful prizes to the contest winners. The only rule is that the project must be made with 200 grams of yarn or less. My project ended up being an amalgamation of two different patterns plus a good deal of my own imagining. I call it my 'Apelila Headpiece, or "April Headpiece".

 

The plumeria pattern is available for free on June Gilbank's website. The idea for the headpiece came from this pattern, but I didn't end up using any of the instructions. Instead, I made up my own leaves and white flowers. The white flowers are meant to be stephanotis, the dark leaves are maile and the light leaves are 'olapa.

Is it weird that I don't really care whether or not I place in the contest? I had fun crocheting and that's all that matters. Normally I'm a freestyle girl in both crochet and poetry and like choose my projects based on things that inspire me, but sometimes it's nice to be constrained as I would when writing a haiku or similar. It was a fun change to fit someone else's theme.

This contest has been so fun that I really want to pay it forward and host my own contest on r/crochet sometime soon. I'll let you know when and if I do that. :)

Sleepy Panda Baby Set

Pandas are rare and special. It's hard not to love those sweet, cuddly, beautiful animals. You know what else is special? Infancy. It's such a short time and yet so meaningful. Babies are like little sponges, absorbing information about the world around them and learning new things about their own bodies every day. Did you know that babies flail their arms and legs because their brain is working hard to cement only the strongest motor connections? All of the flailing movements slowly become more deliberate as the weak connections are dropped and the strong connections are reinforced. Amazing!

Here's a baby set sure to delight panda lovers everywhere, the Sleepy Panda Baby Set. I was originally going to put a panda applique on the blanket, but my amazing genius of a husband stopped me and said "No, the baby should be the panda." Indeed!

The Sleepy Panda Baby Set pattern can be found on Ravelry and Craftsy.

Men's Crochet and Basketweave Scarf

An area that could use a lot of development is crochet menswear. It can sometimes be difficult to find a pattern that is more masculine to wear or to create. Of course gentlemen should feel free to wear whatever they like in whatever color they enjoy, but the simple styles that many men prefer are hard to come across. I am the sort of person who believes that anyone should be able to crochet without fear of judgement, whatever your gender or age. Sometimes folks run into opposition from clueless jerks who portend that crochet is only practiced, and should only be practiced, by little old ladies. Not true! Just like colors, crochet is for everyone! Perhaps an explanation for the lack of masculine patterns is the lack of variety in fashion for men in general. It seems to me that in every store I visit women have more clothing options.

One stitch that I have found works well for masculine items is the basketweave stitch. It is bold and clean. I decided to make a basketweave scarf for my dear husband.

 

The fabric is very cushion-y and flexible. I have heard some people claim that no crochet can hope to rival the flexibility of knitting. To them I say, meet the basketweave! For this particular scarf I used wool.

What are your favorite stitches and patterns for men?

Update: By request, there is now a tutorial for the basketweave stitch.

Homespun Granny Square Baby Blanket

Ah, Homespun. Both a gift and a curse to crochet. This yarn makes a nice finished product that is soft, attractive, glossy, and best of all quite washable! It is ideal for blankets and baby projects for those reasons. However...it is such a pain to work with! The zigzag texture of the yarn is created by a thin thread that is wrapped around the body of the yarn. This thread's main goal in life is to impede the process by getting caught on your crochet hook. Ugh! For me, it's always a struggle weighing the pros and cons of using Homespun.

Having been gifted three skeins by a family friend, I decided to use the yarn in a traditional granny square baby blanket. The simplicity of the blanket made working with the yarn a little less hellish.

To make a traditional granny square, start by forming a ring - chain four and slip stitch together. Alternatively you could use a magic circle, which I prefer and will explain in another post. Chain 3 to count as the first double crochet. Next do 2 double crochet stitches into the ring. Chain 2, 3 double crochet, chain 2, 3 double crochet, chain 2, 3 double crochet. Complete the first round with a slip stitch into the top of the turning chain. You should have something that looks roughly like this:

Congratulations! You have completed the most difficult part of the granny square. It's true! Next, do two slip stitches across your first two double crochet stitches. Time for round two! Chain 3, do 2 dc into the first corner chain space, chain 2, do 3 more dc into the same corner chain. Chain 1. Into the next corner chain, do 3dc, chain 2, 3dc, then ch 1 again. Finish the round in this manner until you reach your turning chain, then slip stitch to join. Simply slip stitch across the first two dc of the second round, chain 3 again to count as the first dc, and off you go! Every time you reach a corner do 3dc+ch2+3dc+ch1, and every time you reach a ch 1 space do 3dc+ch1. Slip stitch across at the end of each row then round and round and round you go! You can make the blanket as big or as small as you like.

I gave this blanket to a friend of mine for her newborn son. It was well received, and she even used it as a photo prop in her son's professional baby pictures. What an honor!

Happy stitching!