Let's Try Something New

Inspiration! This guy Bob, nicknamed KnottyMale, makes some knockout stuff. Click the link and go see his work. I've admired his artistry for some time, and decided to try making a bag. A simple bag - how hard could it be?

Ok, it's not a flat surface like a blanket or a rug, but I bet I can figure it out. No, once again no patterns were made. I just made an excel file for the swirly design, and off I went. It was well under way, and got ripped out again and again to correct small issues. Then I decided that if it was worth doing at all, it was worth doing well. There does not seem to be such a thing as a practice piece when it comes to crochet. With all the time I was putting in to figuring this out, I wanted to have something nice at the end of it. So it all got ripped out again, down to the first row. Part of the issue was the inside of the bag. Why not get it to look nice? See the pretty row of purple stitches up the inside? They line up just so now. They don't show on the outside.

The handle was fun. Remember, I had never done this before. I have no idea how other people put on their handles, but mine is a continuous sort of thing. The handle or strap makes a half twist from one side of the bag to the other. That way, I could make the purple line that runs through the handle. Make sure it twists at the other end where it attaches again. Then you just follow it around the rim, over the handle, around the other rim, over the handle again, etc. until it looks like it is done.

Most of my work is crocheted back loop only. In this piece, the purple, ONLY the purple of the design is worked in both loops. This was an attempt to do away with the line that appears across work done back loop only. But I failed to take into account that that dreaded line shows up better the lighter the color of yarn. So although there is no 'line' in the purple design, you don't notice it. Maybe next time the body of the piece will be darker and the design in a lighter hue.

This is Caron One Pound Acrylic Worsted Weight, done with an I hook. It is tapestry crochet throughout, to make the fabric denser and sturdier. It covers the carried yarn quite well, I think. The spiral design is from Celtic Charted Designs by Co Spinhoven.

Black and White Celtic border

The pattern for this hat and scarf set is from a wonderful book: Celtic Charted Designs by Co Spinhoven. I love this book and turn to it often for inspiration and ideas.

The yarn is Sirdar Snowflake, polyester. The yarn took some getting used to, since it is very thin with tufts. I spent a lot of time looking for the stitch on the previous row to crochet into. Has anyone ever gone blind doing crochet work with teensy fluffy yarn?

Red and Yellow Stripes

Stripes! Sort of a Cat in the Hat sort of thing, eh? The colors were determined by the yarn on hand. Someone on Freecycle gave me several trash bags full of all kinds of yarn. Such luck! The hat is Tapestry Crochet, which makes it not as stretchy. The scarf is done in alternating rings of color. Next time I'll try doing the hat that way.

Wavy Experiment

Now that I have a knack for making hats, experimentation is the thing. Remember the yarn I received as a door prize at the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival? It is in various shades of blue, so another try with wave action seemed to be in order. This time, the waves are more random, which made the hat more of a challenge. But the hat fits, and is warmer than I would have thought. With the scarf, you'll be toasty until the temp gets down into the thirties or so.

Here you can see the waves a little better.