A couple of pictures of the current crochet projects.
DD in her scarf:
The soaker, still not sewn up, but with an extra layer I put in the main target area:
Sorry about the focus on these. I need to take more care with my pictures.
So I’m still on the same yarn, making more things for DD. I’ve mentioned a couple of times here that I want to make some wool soakers for her, and I even have some perfect wool for it, but here I am doing it first in acrylic! Apparently it should work…
I don’t know how well this is going to fit, but I think it’s on the big side, so she can grow into it. I haven’t started sewing it up, because I’m improvising a second, thicker layer for extra protection in the ‘wet zone’ (just a rectangle of DC (UK – SC in US) that isn’t in the pattern. It may be completely unnecessary, but for the first time I’d rather be safe than sorry!
If I’m really efficient I’ll get this finished for tomorrow, and get DD to model the moebius scarf at the same time!
NB Flickr have messed up their sharing feature, meaning that I can’t seem to get the URL for the actual picture, so I’m having to blog via Flickr, and then fix the post on WordPress. If there’s bizarre formatting in the post please refresh in a couple of minutes!
For the past couple of days I’ve been dithering about what to make from the giant ball of yarn my mother sent, especially considering it’s synthetic and the weather’s warming up here. It’s variegated like sock yarn often is, and so anything lacy was out – I’ve tried sock yarn lace before, and in my opinion it just looked like a mess.
So for now, since the weather’s gone cool again, I’m doing DD a moebius scarf. No ruffles so far, like I’ve done on the ones I’ve made myself, but I’m making it somewhat wider than she needs now (which is why I haven’t just bound off as you see it in the picture), so that she can use it next winter too. She’s asleep, so I don’t have a picture of it on, but I’m pleased so far.
I’m coming up with ideas for matching items too, until it gets too hot. Watch this space…
My mother sent me a very large ball of yarn, (400g/1200m Zettl Sensatione) and I’m trying to decide what to do with it.
Baby dwarfed by ball of yarn
(The baby is in the picture for scale – and because I like taking photos of her!)
I’m definitely not going to make a cushion out of it – I could use it for one of those as is! 
Suggestions?
I haven’t been doing all that much for NatCroMo/ItCroMo this year, but I will at least be voting in the Flamies, the Crochet Liberation Front‘s annual awards, and I’d recommend you do too. If you don’t know enough about the candidates to vote there’s a Voter’s Guide with links to the nominees’ websites for more information. People are encouraged to only vote in categories where they have a real opinion. Have fun with it. The awards will be announced on Monday April 18, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM CDT on the Getting Loopy Podcast and live at a special Red Carpet Event in Georgetown, Texas. Have fun!
I finished the dishcloth on the way to meet the recipient, and forgot to take a photo of it complete, but the one I took before is only missing a couple of rows. I need to get back to the shawl, and then I think it’s time to make something else for my little girl. Soakers would be useful, and I’m thinking a pair or two of longies would go well with a little denim dress we were given for her, until the weather warms up enough for her to go bare-legged. I wish I’d made her a little cowl already, as I can’t imagine putting a scarf on such a little neck, but if it hasn’t been really necessary yet this winter, I doubt it will be.
I was given some absolutely beautiful handspun, and I’m dithering about what to make of it. It’s too fine for a soaker (at least all the ones I’ve seen online are made with fairly thick yarns), but I could make her a skirt to go with it. Not sure would there be enough for a dress for her, but maybe…
Would it be too distracting from Pesach cleaning to go through my WIPs and decide what I’m doing with them?
I haven’t quite finished this, but it’s intended as a small gift for someone who’s done us a favour and is hopefully becoming a friend. I hope she’ll find a dishcloth useful!
I’ve done this pattern I don’t know how many times, but it’s still fun, memorable, easy and practical so it’s the long term staple.
So, here’s the shawl in progress. I’m making motifs from Edie Eckman‘s Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs, with some edging inspiration from Betty Barnden‘s The Crochet Stitch Bible and making a hodge-podge batwing shawl. I do find a little structural guidance useful in my freeform crochet work. (There are more pictures on the Ravelry project page.)
By the way, I’m really sorry if anyone was looking for a March NatCroMo/ItCroMo pattern from me this year, but between the new baby distraction meaning I didn’t come up with anything and then being offline even if I had it just wasn’t to be this year. The Party group on Ravelry is doing a Freeform daily CAL, however, which I’m hoping to join in on now that I’ve at least read all the email I missed (there are a lot of blog and forum posts still to catch up on, however).
Anyway, the current plan with the shawl is to continue the series of smaller motifs along the bottom, and then to do some more edging rows to give it more shape and coherence. I think the front sections could do with being longer, too, when the shawl is on.
This is intended as a gift for the wonderful doula who helped with DD’s birth. Without her, I’m quite sure we’d have ended up in surgery for a Caesarian, and I really really didn’t want one of those unnecessarily.
… of being offline for two weeks is that I read lots and got a good way through the shawl I finally started as a gift for the doula who significantly helped my labour go as well as it did. The downside was being out of touch with nearly everyone non-local, including the bloggers I like to read and the posts I wanted to write. (It’s especially annoying to have missed seeing a friend who was in the country for a few days.)
Anyway, I’ll aim to get progress pictures of the shawl up tomorrow. For now, here are the books I’m adding to the list:
March – International Crochet Month – is coming up, and if there’s anyone still here who enjoyed the CALs I hosted here for the last three years (Freeform in 2008 and 2009, and a mystery pattern in 2010) who has some thoughts or feedback on what you’d like me to do this year, I’d like to hear about it. Ideas from people who haven’t previously taken part are very welcome too, of course!
