A Second Year of Projects: Update 2

Ravelry Group

Apologies in advance for the lighting in some of these pictures. I wanted to finish my Year of Projects update in the evening, so bright and early Monday morning I can focus on getting final photos and posting new items into my Etsy shop.

Ribbed Kitchen Cloth

This is the first item I started this week and the first thing I finished. It's a modified version of a pattern from the Craftsy class Amazing Crochet Textures. It measures approximately 11.75 by 9.25". 

The goal is to make a small afghan out of squares by the end of this free mini-course, but I decided I wanted to break up the "squares" and turn them into something I could put in my Etsy shop.  I'll do a more in-depth review of this in a post about the entire Craftsy course.

Bailey Boot Cuffs

This is another free pattern which I got from Crochet Dreamz, but lacking in cute statement buttons I decided to forgo the button and decorative strap altogether.

They are super cute and I am looking forward to making these in multiple colors! I loved them so much I decided I'll be posting this item as "made to order" instead of made to ship, because I'm keeping the original pair.

The only down side is that I have a tendency to walk with my calves rubbing together, which stresses the wool yarn. I may have to switch to acrylic yarn, but then they will be machine washable and more user-friendly anyhow.

Coffee Cozies

These two coffee cozies are just a simple pattern I whipped up in the moment.

I made a chain based on the height I wanted the cozy to be, did a row of single crochets, and then repeatedly did rows of single crochets in back loops only until it was tall enough to wrap around a commercial coffee cup. I slip stitched the short sides together and did a round of single crochet on the top and bottom to prevent it from stretching too much.

YoP List Updates

Most recent changes are highlighted

Accessories 1/6
Fingerless Gloves 0/1
Miomi Slouch Hat 0/1
Silk & Lace Purse 0/1
Mittens (Pattern One, Pattern Two) 0.5/2
Bailey Boot Cuffs 1/1

Home Decor 3/6
Mustache Mug Cozy 0/1
Reusable Coffee Cozy 2/2
Set of Placemats 0/1
Wine Bottle Wrap 0/1
Kitchen Cloth 1/1

Stats
Objects Started: 4
Objects Finished: 3
Objects on Original List: 14
Objects on Current List: 17

A Year of Projects: Update 2

Official List Updates:

• Basket for Crochet Finished 7 July 2013
• (NEW) Technique: Reading Charts
• (NEW) Object: Diamonds in the Rough

Here's a brief summary of everything for the week, with a link to each post if you're curious about the details or just really don't want to work on Monday morning!

Tunisian Practice & Botched Basket

I made a small swatch of the Tunisian Simple Stitch before trying to make a basket, but all of the edges were curling so I clearly have some more practice to do before I can cross the Tunisian Simple Stitch off my list. I ended up tossing the basket.

Finished: Basket for Crochet

Yay! This basket turned out quite well and is my first finish for the year. It was my first time crocheting with multiple strands together and it was a little tricky, but I think it was just because my hook was a little on the small side. The handles aren't perfectly symmetrical either but that's probably because I was having a glass of wine.

WIP: City Neckwarmer

Crocheting is done, just need to buy buttons and attach the fastener.

WIP: Original Design Cape

This has a long way to go but I am crazy about this yarn, such a cool effect.

Working top-down, the cowl and tops of shoulders are done.

I flew home this weekend and I won't be back until the end of August, so it'll be a while before you see either of these WIPs finished. Not to worry, though, it gives me an excuse to start new projects!

Adventures with Tunisian Crochet

This was my very first time working with Tunisian crochet. I followed a very wonderful tutorial by Crochet the Day Away.

Tunisian Basic Stitch Swatch

I started with making a small swatch to get a feel for the basic stitch before I made any real projects. I loved the pattern (both right and wrong sides) and the stiffness in the created fabric, but even with crocheting in a fashion that would normally be quite loose, my stitches felt very tight.

Tunisian Basic Stitch Swatch

As you can see in this picture, the fabric was curling a lot. This was after I tried to tame it with a little tugging and flattering camera angles. I also think I skipped a stitch at the beginning. Oops. I figured it was time to try making something with this stitch, and since the pattern reminds me of baskets, I figured it's a perfect stitch to make a little basket for the powder room to hold extra rolls of toilet paper.

I am admittedly quite embarrassed to show this, erm, piece of work. It didn't turn out at all how I wanted. This was my first ever basket and I just improvised a pattern instead of following one. Despite the stiffness of the Tunisian basic stitch compared to normal crochet stitches, it was still quite flimsy and I had major curl-age on the sides! I didn't even bother weaving in the ends because I know this piece is probably just going to get tossed.

I wasn't paying close enough attention at the end and accidentally made my contrast side panels go in two different directions since one was attached directly onto the side and the other was attached onto the base. I'm also not a big fan of the yarn colors. I'm not really a camo girl, and while the only then-current colors in the powder room were white and black (I know, how brave), this just did not look nice. Since then we bought a gorgeous, deep red hand towel so if it wasn't out before, it is now!





I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong to make the pieces curl up, but I think I will have to revisit this project later once I get yarn that looks nice with the new hand towel. Next time I'm going to try using a bigger, non-Tunisian hook to get a looser tension. I think I'll go back to flat things like dish towels for mastering the basic Tunisian stitch and then make my powder room basket with a multiple-strands-together technique.

Finished: 3 Dishcloths

Here's what I finished up last week! These are all new stitches for me.

Dishcloth 1: Puff Stitch

Dishcloth 2: Basket Weave

Dishcloth 3: Nubby Scrubby

The basket weave cloth is definitely my favorite, and while the puff stitch is nice, it didn't really "puff" as much as I expected. It's still pretty flat. Let me know what you think! Do you have any tips?

WIP Up The Week: June 24

Here are my Works In Progress for the week! I have a couple other projects I'm not finished with yet, but I can't access them because I am moving Friday so they're all packed up in boxes! Boo.

Crocodile Dishcloth and Free Pattern

Last week I made a series of high-textured dishcloths, which you'll get to see in tomorrow's post, and I just knew the last one had to be the crocodile stitch. I've wanted to learn how to do this stitch since the first time I saw it, but through Google search and Ravelry, I couldn't find any dishcloth patterns made with it! So I went ahead and learned the stitch, and then unraveled it and started turning it into a dish cloth. I'll be sharing this pattern with you lovelies for free as soon as it's ready, so keep an eye out!

Workout Hat

This simple beanie is going to be my first sale ever! One of my boyfriend's workout buddies wanted a plain black beanie to work out in. I'm terrified it's going to be too large, I should have eyed up his hat size or even asking, instead of just guessing. It's basically done, it just needs to get finished off.







Sorry for the glowy phone-camera photos. That hat looks radioactive! Tell me what your WIPs are in the comments.