Stitch Development – A Hooker's World

Cherish: Phase II

About Phase II

In the mornings when I awake and begin to crochet or knit with my morning cup of coffee while listening to the news, my legs remain warm under the blanket, Mojo providing additional warmth as he lies nestled between my legs. Meanwhile, my shoulders and neck are freezing…but, not anymore!

Designer Notes

Using the general crochet formual for a circle, calculated the number of edge stitches on the cowl, this time taking into consideration, the adjustment that had been made at the end of round one to accommodate evenly distributed petal/scale placement.

88 stitches.

Next I divided the number by eight for even increase distribution and started increasing to my shoulder width. At that point, I stopped increasing, hoping for a more immediate shaping, which did not develop, and ended with me frogging back to the last increase row.

Well, at least I am going to cherish this creation.

Cherish Cowl

Cherish Cowl: Phase 1

About The Project Name

cher·ish
verb

protect and care for (someone) lovingly
hold (something) dear

Cherish by The Association

About Cherish Cowl

The yarn for this project was gifted to me by a friend from first grade, whom’s mother pass last year. I thought I would make something for my friend, but her favorite color is purple, not pink. 😀

Dear God

Please inform Mrs. Yamamoto (Kat’s mom) – if she doesn’t know already – that her yarn stash has been discovered and is being converted into something practical for Hooker Leo, who is ever grateful to have extra yarn with with to research and develop, and keep warm.

I had seen a stitch previously on YouTube that I intrigued me. It is called Serpentine Stitch. However, I did not visualize an item – except an afghan – that would satisfactorily incorporate the stitch pattern. This led to a little research and development…and I came up with this petal-like, scale-like, biased texture by alternating a one-stitch shift/yarn-color change every other row.

After seeing the difference in size between wear-by-my-mother and wear-by-myself, I would have to size down the item for pattern writing. So Cherish cowl will certainly be cherished by me, a WIP (work, in progress), as I develop a poncho type item that will keep me warm in my orange garage-apartment.

About The Yarn

Caron Premium Acrylic

Care: Machine washable, warm water, any detergent. Machine dryable, regular cycle, needs no shaping.
Color: 2511 Rose
Content: 100% Premium Acrylic
Weight: 4, Worsted*

Caron DuPont Acrylic

Care: None
Color: 0029 Rose
Content: 100% DuPont Acrylic
Weight: 4, Worsted+

I love the fact that there are no laundry instructions on the yarn label. To me, it’s a nod to the old days when people just knew how to wash clothes! 😀

**Based on Yarn Label suggested hook I/needle 8 size*

+based on A Hooker’s Touch 😉

Mystery Achievement Afghan: Name

New Project Name: Mystery Achievement Afghan

I figured out how to interlock crochet in-the-round!

I wrote down what I’ve done so far, which is good because I am liking the design and it will be measure of how well my documentation skills are for this new method in case I want to write a pattern up.

Today, I might play around with digital designing to see what I can come up with and then see if I might go a different direction for the actual piece…a mystery! 😀

The name of this project is spiritually related and inspired…I was listening to music from my library, while composing this post and my interlock crochet progress and the three songs that impressed themselves into my memory are Mystery Achievement by The Pretenders, Snowball by DEVO and Trust by Me’Shell Ndegéocello.

I did “achieve” something really big – a “mystery” to me: interlock crochet in-the-round!

And I didn’t lose a love – sardonically speaking, I never had one to begin with 😉

As I had decided on Mystery Achievement, Trust had started, confirming my choice, and which was another good name.

I knew there was something I was going to add: The yarn I have been using for this afghan development is Michaels Loops & Threads Impeccable (Fiber Content: 100% Acrylic; Yarn Colors: 01044 True Grey & 01011 Soft Taupe; Yarn Weight: 4, Worsted)

Hound Dog Scarf: Gift

This is the one, from my original post, on which tahlenri commented…

The Name

Hound Dog by Elvis Presley

As I investigate crochet hound’s tooth stitching, I definitely had to give nod to the dog.

The Scarf

Dimensions: 5-inch Width x 66-inch Length

This is the scarf, from my original post, on which tahlenri commented, “I think your crocheted modified granite stitch was pretty convincing in yellow and violet.”

I’d have to agree with tahlenri, though I still might explore a little more. I have also crocheted some swatches with even different stitch pattern effects, but I digress.

Hound Dog is not a reversible pattern, as you’ll notice via quick jaunt through the small gallery for which Mergatroid gladly modeled.

Click and image to begin slide show and for enlargement of image.

Yarn

I am still using Michaels Loops & Threads Impeccable

Fiber Content: 100% Acrylic
Yarn Colors: 1005 White and 1040 Black
Yarn Weight: 4, Worsted

I may have to switch to brown and rust, or brown and white, or white and brown, or white and rust… 😀

Back to the scarf: the stitch pattern is a proprietary secret still, but I can tell you that it is based on a staggered griddle stitch. I like it because it is bigger, more staggered than the traditional griddle stitch suggestion, though the more testing I do, the simple suggestions work also, it’s just I can’t see it from that orientation. I used a US I/9 hook, and a foundation chain of 16+1 for a scarf width of approximately 5 inches; I crocheted until the scarf measured 66 inches in length.

I’ve Got You Under My Skin Scarf

I’ve Got You Under My Skin Scarf | USD $40.00

This is my second attempt at fine tuning the griddle stitch into a houndstooth pattern. Once again, I missed my original intention, but accidentally, and logically, crocheted out of pattern and came up with this stitch pattern, which, unlike Flock of Seagulls Scarf pattern, is not reversible. Still, I am determined to get a better houndstooth and through this iteration I have seen the error of my ways.

Again, this pattern is primarily a stitch pattern for advanced crocheters that are comfortable with carrying yarn and changing colors. I am indicating what I used to make my scarf, but please note this stitch pattern is flexible and may be used with any weight yarn and made to any size.

In this iteration, I have mirrored the stitch pattern, which has caused a different stitch pattern on each side: one side is Escher-esque in pattern and the other side resembles a houndstooth variation.

This scarf – measuring 60 (L) x 5 inches – took four days to complete and is closer to my new default scarf size: 66 (L) x 4 inches. I have purposefully blurred by detail shots to protect stitch definition – images are focused within the pattern. Again, I have used Michaels Loops & Threads Impeccable (Fiber Content: 100% Acrylic; Yarn Colors: 01040 Black and 01005 White; Yarn Weight: 4, Worsted).

The project name – I’ve Got You Under My Skin by Dinah Washington – comes from the fact that I still have houndstooth under my skin and hopefully, will not have any more brain farts before the next iteration.

~~Price: USD $40.00~~ 2018-08-14: removed from inventory; donated to charity