FO Friday

Lately, I have been trying to finish a couple of my projects that I have been working on for a long time. In the meantime, I did this quick project. When I was at the mall a couple of days ago, I saw a headband with a flower attached. I immediately realized that it would not be that difficult to make one. I went home and crocheted the band using the double crochet stitch. I joined it into a circled using a slip stitch. I attached a flower I had made earlier when I was on a crochet flower kick. I used this pattern for the flower. I am very happy with how it turned out. Make sure to check out the other blogs that have made posts for FO friday.

Flash Mob in Copenhagen

I saw this video on a friend's Facebook page. I am a big music lover and had to share it. The Copenhagen Philharmonic did a flash mob at the Copenhagen Central Station on May 11, 2011.

Chanel Crochet Purse

One night, I was looking for makeup tutorials on YouTube. I had found this picture of makeup artist, Lisa Eldgridge holding this purse. It is by Chanel and costs $4525. It is from their summer 2010 collection. It is made using a crochet technique called broomstick lace. On Ravelry, many people were shocked that a crochet purse would cost so much. Other people thought paying over 4500 dollars on a purse was obscene and/or wrong. The price doesn’t bother me; if someone has the money, Why Not? So many crafters who sell their work under price themselves. This purse shows that some people are willing to pay top dollar for crochet or handmade items if marketed right

If you don’t have 4525 dollars to spend on a purse, a couple of people have figured out how to make a less expensive version. Here is a link to a bag someone made and posted on Ravelry. If you are interested in making your own version, someone else published a pattern of the purse. The author of the pattern doesn’t say what yarn she used. The person in the first example used Worsted weight yarn for the purse and lace weight for the flowers. I am thinking that you could also use crochet thread for the flowers. If you haven’t made flowers before, I would recommend making a few to practice first. Here is a a link to a group of tutorials on Broomstick lace from the Stitch Diva Studios website. I have also included a video tutorial from the Crochet Geek YouTube channel. I don’t know broomstick lace so I haven’t tried the pattern. If anyone makes this, let me know how it works.

WIP Wednesday

I am almost finished with the Short and Sweet. I just need to do the sleeves. I am hoping to do a FO Friday post this week about this project. I have been working on the Summer Top. I have made a lot of progress. This is a recent photo. The pattern is row after row of stockinette stitch. It is can be a boring pattern but it is relaxing and good for stress relief.

I just started this crochet shawl. I am using the yarn, Caron Country. I had bought the yarn a few years ago to make a tank top. I never made the tank top. After I abandoned the tank top pattern, I had 4 skeins of yarn that I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with. I had printed out this pattern several months ago. I wasn’t too excited about it but it was a good fit for the yarn. The pattern is from Naturallycaron.com. Now that I have started the pattern, I am really enjoying it. I like the color of the yarn and the lace pattern. To take a look at other projects, make sure to check out Tami’s Amis (http://tamisamis.blogspot.com/) website.

Crochet Skull

With Halloween coming, I started to think about Halloween themed projects. I have wanted to crochet a skull for some time. I had this crochet skull pattern from the book Craftivity . The book has a lot of great ideas. However, when I tried a couple of the patterns, I thought the instructions weren’t very clear or detailed enough. The skull itself didn’t take long to make. However, I found the wording in the pattern confusing. I don’t think I did the jaw right. The pattern instructions said to apply a mixture of glue and water to the finished project to stiffen the skull. I used Modge Podge instead. I brushed it on with on old paintbrush. I couldn’t be bothered with mixing glue and water together when Modge Podge is water based anyway. The skull turned out OK. If I made another one, I would probably use a lighter gauge yarn and a different pattern.

Fall in Northeastern Washington

This year is going by too fast. I wasn’t ready for summer to end. Now that I am in the middle of fall, I realize I like a lot of things about fall. The crisp, cool weather, hot cider, baking, and fall colors on the trees.

This past weekend, I went on a road trip with my dad to explore Pend Oreille County in Northeast Washington. I saw some beautiful scenery. The trees are starting to change color. It was perfect day weather wise.

I saw this old shed with a tree growing through it and an old barn along the side of the road. I love the look of barns and old broken down sheds. I had to stop to take a picture of this. I was fascinated with the tree growing out the top of the building.

Here is a closer look at the shed and the tree.

We also drove along part of the Pend Oreille River. It was a sunny day, so the lighting was very nice. I took this picture of the river with the mountains in the background.

Crochet in Fashion

Recently, I bought the Vogue fall fashion issue. In the magazine, I saw this picture of Stella Tennant wearing a crocheted sweater and top by Christopher Kane. Lately I have been seeing more fashion that uses crochet. This picture is a good example of that. I am honestly not crazy about the top and sweater Stella Tennant is wearing. But I like seeing crochet used in high fashion.

WIP Wednesday

For a while, I was spending most of my time on the Galaxy Top. I didn’t want to post a Wip Wednesday about it until I finished it. I finally finished the Galaxy Top last week and posted about it on last Friday. I decided not to do the shawl pattern. I wasn’t enjoying it much and I found the pattern confusing.

I decided to do this tank top pattern. It uses yarn I have had for a while. I wasn't sure how I wanted to use the yarn. I didn't pay enough attention to the yarn label before I started the project. I thought the yarn was worsted weight but is a dk weight. I managed to get gauge though. I also like the pattern. Of course, I am out of season, it is a summer top and it is now fall. I am hoping I can use it as a layering piece though. It is an easy pattern and good for knitting while I watch TV.

Before I started the summer top, I had a lot of trouble finding a knitting pattern I liked much. Now that it is fall, I am hoping I will be more inspired on knitting projects. I am thinking of knitting a sweater after I finish the summer top. I am making progress on the Short and Sweet. I am enjoying the pattern. I also have made some progress on the cable scarf. Here are recent picture of the scarf and jacket.