Continue reading “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
“Does anybody really know what time it is?
“Does anybody really care?
“If so, I can’t imagine why.
“We’ve all got time enough to die.
Tag: Orange
What Difference Does It Make?
The Name
What Difference Does It Make? by The Smiths
I thought I was knitting along just fine and dandy until I noticed I had missed a stitch and thrown my seed stitch pattern off…grr! After making a stitch and resuming, my second thought was “what difference does it make?” No one will “see” the errors, especially with such a busy yarn?
The Cowl
Dimensions: 26-inch diameter x 5.5-inch width
Knit cast on 80 on a US 15-24-inch needle, and worked seed stitch throughout. Purl bind off.
The Yarn
Lion Brand Jiffy Thick & Quick
Color: 208 Rocky Mountains; Content: 100% Acrylic; Weight: 6, Super Bulky
Under The Bridge: On da Hook
I saw the Caron Big Cake Carry-All Bag One Skein Wonder pattern in my All Crochet Patterns eNewsletter last week and really liked the design technique, involving a little bit of origami.
I dive into my stash revealed some acrylic rug yarn, most likely super bulky weight. Good opportunity to rid myself of it, but unsure about amount of super bulky yarns in my stash. I know I have some Lion Brand Homespun, but I think that is bulky. Oh well, I can always leave as a UFO until such time I acquire more super bulky yarns. It could happen…just read what happened with Like A Prayer.
I am crocheting this using a US K, which seems smaller than what one would normally use for super bulky; this leads me to believe I can use the LB Homespun, without checking.
Final distribution of this project remains undetermined, as to gift, self or charity.
Pussycat Meow
The Name
Pussycat Meow by Deee-Lite
Another tush that needs some cush!
The Tush Cush
Dimensions: 15 inches square
This time I created in double crochet for faster turnaround. It still took just as long as the single crochet, only because I had to recall to memory my Solid Granny Square pattern. Maybe I better write it down before dementia sets in.
Yarn
Caron Simply Soft
Color: Black; Content: 100% Acrylic; Weight: 4, Worsted
Red Heart Super Saver
Color: Yellow*; Content: 100% Acrylic; Weight: 4, Worsted
Those are the only two I could come close to guessing. All other yarns – red, orange, green-purple multicolor, red-blue multicolor, tan, pink, brown – were deemed by me, as worsted and man-made fibers, except the gold lace crocheted together with the black Caron.
Man! I Feel Like A Woman!: Off da Hook
The Name
Man! I Feel Like A Woman! by Shania Twain
Originally I was calling this Money Can’t Buy It, but when this name popped up, I changed names.
The Bag
Dimensions: 8 x 14-inch base; 13-inch height
My original idea was a new project bag. The reason: I could be wrong, but I feel like my mother, who sews, does a less than stellar job when she is working on something that is not her own because I hate to think that she would be as messy with her own stuff. The lining she sewed into my first project bag is coming undone.
When I thought about making the new bag, I wanted something like my Cost Plus World Market (CPWM), which I love for color and carrying ease. Once I developed the bag bottom, I decided that I was going to make a cover for my CPWM bag. To begin the sides, I crocheted around the posts of my last round and worked up.
About halfway through I change my mind, preferring a strap long enough for me to hang the bag cross-body over my shoulder. So, having finished the height I started the flap, made long enough to cover the top of a full bag.
Now my bag needed structure, so I crocheted a seam on each corner. The first one was a bit wonky, but once I realized my mistake, I focused on the other three, which are fine.
As for the strap, it took my mind a minute or two to decide how I was going to work this. Despite having added corner seams for structure, the bag still seemed like it needed more shaping. I was going to try and create a folding dart on the side by crocheting seams diagonally from the corner and up the center, but that seemed more difficult than I wanted to experiment. I finally decided that decreasing the strap from the width of the bag to my desired shoulder strap width on either side would be easier. And because I wanted cleaner seams between bag and strap, I crocheted each side separately and seamed at the top to join.
When I tried the bag on – full – to model it for myself, I noticed that the strap was stretching way too much, leaving the bag just above my knees. My first thought was that I needed to line the bag. Hesitating to ask my mom for assistance and not really wanting to hand sew a strap lining, I decided to slip stitch the strap-length on either side; this worked!
I am still not crazy about the flap and think it needs a blue trim to distinguish it from the bag. Additionally, I am now noticing the straps on the CPWM bag go all the way down to the bottom, easing weight distribution and providing better strap strength; that would have help my bag, but interrupted the beautiful chartreuse and orange stripes! I think I may go the extra mile and line the bag.
The Yarn
Unknown Neon Orange
Color: Agent Orange*
Content: Man-made fiber, per burn test
Weight: 4, Worsted+
Unknown Neon Yellow
Color: Chartreuse Charlene*
Content: Man-made fiber, per burn test
Weight: 4, Worsted+
Lily The Original Sugar ‘n Cream
Color: 18114 Indigo
Content: 100% USA Grown Cotton
Weight: 4, Worsted
Both yarns were purchased at my first Newton’s Yarn Country parking lot sale, back in about 2014. I never used them or even had an idea what to make from them until this bag. Now I will consume both cones in more bags. I don’t know how I got the idea that they were both cotton – natural fibers – but that is why I chose to mix with cotton. Another surprise: both the fluorescent-colored yarns were not a steady worsted weight strand; the strand varied in thickness/thinness. It created – what I refer to as – a corn cob texture which I actually like.
Red Hill Mining Town
The Name
Red Hill Mining Town by U2
The last “red” song in my music library. Unfortunately, I still have more of the red natural fiber yarn.
The Scarf
Dimensions: approximately 88-inch length x 2.5-inch width
This time I did, what I think is called – a brioche knit in a 1 x 1 rib.
The Yarn
Unknown Red, Orange, Pink 1, Pink 2, Mahogany, Taupe
All yarns burn tested. Unknown Pink 2 was the only yarn that was a man-made fiber; all others were natural fibers. Too bad I didn’t test before incorporating into scarf. Unfortunately, because I was in a dispassionate phase, I incorporated it despite being thinner than the other five yarns.
My apathy seems to be worsening as I continue to try and rid myself of this red yarn. I think adding to this is the fact that while I am crocheting/knitting for charity, I feel like I am crocheting/knitting without purpose. I think after I rid myself of this red yarn, I will work on something for me.
Designer Notes
First of all, I think I cast on and bound off wrong. I used both strands when I should have only used one color.
Domino Dancing Shawl
Domino Dancing Shawl
The Name
Domino Dancing by Pet Shop Boys
Explanation can be found here.
The Shawl
Dimensions: 55-inch wingspan x 24-inch depth
The Yarn
Unknown
Care: Wash warm. Hang dry.+
Color: White with a Blue, Red, Yellow, Orange, Green thread
Content: Man-made fiber, per burn test
Weight: 2, Sport/Baby
Classic Elite Imagine
Care: Dry clean only.
Color: 9258
Content: 53% Cotton, 47% Rayon
Weight: 3, DK
Lion Brand Fun Fur
Care: Machine washable and dryable.
Color: 109 Sapphire
Content: 100% Polyester
Weight: 5, Bulky
Designer Notes
Another surprise in crescent shawl shape development. I had started with my basic crochet circle pattern, this time in double crochet versus single crochet, but the horizon was not meeting my standards. By chance I discovered by starting my shape with twice as many stitches, I was achieving a better horizon. Finally, I inserted enough stitches for seven sections versus six and I was on my way.
The hard part was inserting the eyelets because I was dealing with an odd number of sections which forced one-sided increases per section. I worked in pattern as long as I could, changing it up at the end with increased half double crochet rows.
The addition of the red Classic Elite Imagine and the sapphire Lion Brand Fun Fur, was an after-thought and impulsive move because they just happened into my line of sight. The Classic Elite was actually a size bigger, but I thought the eyelet row would cover up the change in yarn weight. Knowing I was going to end with the fun fur, I felt doubly assured. In the end, there is slight puckering, but I think with wear it will wear out.
