Friday the 43rd

Happy Halloween!  This year, Mister went as something scary-awesome!  Enjoy year 3 of cat halloween costumes...

Got a yarn bomb in my temple...

Went to a comedy club Sat night in the East Village, and we passed by this.  Of course I had to snap some shots.  I think this is probably an Olek yarn bomb, but I don't know for sure.  The pics I saw of her grocery carts are different designs/colors. 

You probably know it drives me nuts when people confuse knitting with crochet (like confusing Phil Collins with Genesis), but I guess I get it.  Still, I am so surprised by how many legitimate articles about Olek's work call it knitting.  If I were an artist and crochet was my primary medium (which is basically true except I don't make a living off it), I would get "sick of tired" (Workaholics??) that pretty quickly.

Blanket Jackson

Good evening!  I am very excited to share a crochet blanket that I just made.  First I must give you a little history so you can understand why I am so thrilled.

Once upon a time, I was a volunteer at a hospital downtown as an outpatient greeter.  There were other volunteer opportunities, and one of them was to crochet blankets for preemies.  Time somehow got away from me; and six years later, I still had all three skeins of yarn they gave me, with two skeins attached to barely-started baby blankets.  I have been determined to make the blankets, but I always have more fun ideas that I get fixated on!  Long story boring, last Saturday I met up with Brooke & Christine to have a girls day.  Blankets don't require much concentration, so I brought my hospital yarn along.  YEY!  

Pictures, pattern, & materials below.

Edge folded over & border:

Stitch detail:

Full blanket (~22 sq inches):

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft (1 skein "soft green," 1 skein of a blue)
Hook:  G6/4.00MM

I started off with green, and ch 101.  Then I did alternating:
- 4 rows dc
- 3 rows of
(1) 2 sc, sk 1
(2 & 3) 2 sc between each 2 sc prior

I ran out of green and did the same pattern blue on either end to make it look semi normal.  I don't love it, but what can you do when you run out of free hospital yarn?  I finished with a border of 1 row sc, and 1 row reverse sc.  Um, can we talk about reverse sc...otherwise known as CRAB STITCH.  Holy crap, how am I just learning about this awesome stitch with an awesome Zoidberg-esque name.

Anyways, I still have 1.5 skeins of blue left so I am going to make another baby blanket.  I cannot believe this day has finally come.

Indian Summer

Yay!  I finally finished my first bathing suit! 

I have been wanting to make a really cool crochet one piece.  (Please reference swim suit inspiration post.)   I used this bikini pattern (the first one: Bikini Mimosa) as my basis for the top and the bottom.  Then I free-styled the middle portion using the same pattern as the waist.  I also had to improvise around the legs.  At first the bottoms were so small, but then I killed the fabric with our steamer, and they were huge!  I crocheted borders around the leg holes (decreasing stitches) to fill in some material gaps (didn't want a g-string!), and Marty literally did not believe it was the same bathing suit.  Killing fabric can change how the whole thing looks and fits, and is especially necessary if you plan on wearing it in water!  It's my favorite finishing technique.

I used E4/3.5MM hook with Lion Brand Micro Spun yarn.  

Also, I think everyone should take a moment to congratulate me on my bravery for posting these pictures on such a HIGH TRAFFIC blog (hahaha..?).  Sorry these are so dark too.  It's not exactly beach weather/season, although I did try unsuccessfully to figure out how to super-impose these pics onto a beach scene.  Maybe next summer I will actually wear this to the beach!

Yarn Bombed NYC

Don't you just love Olek?!  I am having a hard enough time finishing up this bathing suit I am working on!  Olek recently yarn bombed the cube in Astor Place.  She is so rad.  Crochet is so rad.  Knitting is for... hahaha.  

Source. Source.