First Frost - Both Blocks Done!

I actually finished the second block on Monday, but I couldn't get decent photos until Wednesday and I didn't feel like blogging until today.  I've been tired all week.  I think it is mostly because of Monday.  I had to drive down to Richmond to report for Jury Duty, and even thought I didn't get selected, I was exhausted when I got home, and I think it has taken me a while to recover.  The older I get the more I need my down time, and being around people just wears me out.

Here is a shot of the second block.

I've already completed the first block of the next set that I am doing, hopefully I will have pictures tomorrow.  I am cranking through them now.  Once I get all caught up on the blocks I will get back to my Little Mermaid shawl.  These blocks have been a nice change of pace.  Once I get caught up I am going to try and stay caught up.

Pattern:  First Frost by Melinda Miller, November 2011 Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month
Yarn:  Verve in Pale Wintergreen and Eggplant
Hook:  2.75 mm

First Frost - One Block Done!

I was on a roll yesterday.  After finishing up the second block of the Roses and Lace set, I wound the yarn for the next set.  This is the November 2011 block from the Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month Club, First Frost by Melinda Miller.  This block worked up very quickly.  I had fun doing the pie wedges.  Once I get this set done, I will have 5 more sets to do and then I will be all caught up.  The March 2013 set should be arriving in a week or two.

Pattern:  First Frost, November 2011 Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month
Yarn:  Verve in Pale Wintergreen and Eggplant
Hook:  2.75 mm

Roses and Lace - Both Blocks Done!

I finished up the second block yesterday and managed to be home early enough today to get a picture while there was still light.

Here is a shot of just the second block.

Pattern:  Roses and Lace by Melinda Miller, October 2011 Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month
Yarn:  Verve in Mulch and Compost
Hook:  2.75 mm

Roses and Lace - One Block Done!

After finishing up the second Patriot Star block I started on the next set of blocks in my Verve collection.  This is the October 2011 Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month set.  The central flower motif is very cool, a little bit of a pain to do, but very cool.  I can see using this motif again.  The colors are Mulch and Compost.  Definitely aptly named, but I kind of wondered about the color combination with the pattern name.  The final round calls for a long double crochet stitch, but I replaced that with a long single crochet.

Pattern:  Roses and Lace by Melinda Miller, October 2011 Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month
Yarn:  Verve in Mulch and Compost
Hook:  2.75 mm

Patriot Star - Both Blocks Done!

These blocks worked up quickly - rows of triple crochet will do that.  I really like the center motif, which looks more like a snowflake than a star.  I wasn't sure if I would like the long single crochet in the last row, but it provides a neat edge effect.

Pattern:  Patriot Star by Melinda Miller, June 2011 Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month
Yarn:  Verve in Red, White and Blue
Hook:  2.75 mm
 

Patriot Star - One Block Done!

This is the June 2011 Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month and was the oldest block in my unfinished pile. The oldest block now is from July 2011.  The yarn is Verve, a superwash Merino wool.  That is another advantage of this club, you get to work with different yarn bases that you might not otherwise work with.  I really like the color saturation of the Verve, and it is a firm yarn, with nice twist.  It should wear well.  Both blocks are done, but the other one is still blocking.

Pattern:  Patriot Star by Melinda Miller, June 2011 Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month
Yarn:  Verve in Red, White and Blue
Hook:  2.75 mm

But the really big news is that I bought a new computer.  You may recall that my Dell Mini died around the beginning of the year and I was using my Fujitsu Stylistic (a tablet PC) to do my blogging on, and while the handwriting recognition rocks, it was a little tiresome blogging on that computer, mostly because of the random spaces that would get put in to the text.  You see, I am old school, learned to type properly, and always like two spaces after a period and one space between words, so I would always have to go back and check my spacing.  It was just an annoyance.  The random corrections that would sneak in were annoying too, and having worked as a proof reader I am really sensitive to those kinds of mistakes.  Last weekend Fujitsu was having a sale, so I picked up a Fujitsu Lifebook, which is convertible.  It can be a laptop, complete with keyboard (yeah!) or you can rotate the screen around and turn it in to a tablet.  And, they now have touch capability, so I can use either a stylus or my fingers for navigation and basic functionality.  This new computer will also replace my creaky Dell desktop, which I have only been using to do my accounting on.  It will be nice to have all of my stuff on a single computer again, although I will still use my Stylistic, it is a really great computer.

The Little Mermaid - Clue 4 Done!

Clue 4 was a quick and easy one, a few rows of garter stitch setting off some lovely lace netting.  One of the reasons I like these mystery knit alongs is the way they break up big projects into manageable pieces, even when I do them long after the mystery has been revealed.

Pattern: The Little Mermaid by Janine le Cras
Yarn: The Unique Sheep Ling in Bliss
Needle: US 3 (3.25 mm)

The Little Mermaid - Clue 3 Done!

I started on this Clue yesterday but I had to tink back and start it over.  You see, I am constitutionally unable to knit an asymmetric lace pattern.  I just can't do it.  I made it through the first asymmetry on row 3, it was just a yarn over and a slip-slip-knit.  Such a little thing.  But when I got to row 7 there was that yawning space, 10 knit stitches where there should have been something else and I just couldn't go on, I could not force myself to knit another stitch.  So, I fired up my charting software and redid the center section to make it symmetrical.  Then I tinked back to row 4, figuring I could fix that first asymmetry with a little bit of surgery, which I did, and continued on my merry way.

Pattern: The Little Mermaid by Janine le Cras
Yarn: The Unique Sheep Ling in Bliss
Needle: US 3 (3.25 mm)

Pineapple Posey - Both Blocks Done!

And here are both blocks.

Pattern:  Pineapple Posey by Donna Kay Lacey
Yarn:  Pashmi
Hook:  2.75 mm

This finishes up all the Pashmi blocks that I have in my stash. 

Pineapple Posey - One Block Done!

Well, actually both blocks are done, but the second block is blocking.  This is the February 2013 block from The Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month Club - Pineapple Posey by Donna Kay Lacey.  The yarn is Pashmi in Amethyst and Natural.  The photo does not capture the purple at all, I'm thinking it is a limitation of the camera. I've noticed this before with certain colors.  The photo was taken in natural light with no flash.

Pattern:  Pineapple Posey by Donna Kay Lacey
Yarn:  Pashmi
Hook:  2.75 mm

Tanglewild - Both Blocks Done!

I cranked out another set of blocks this weekend.  Now I only have one more set of blocks in Pashmi to do and then I will start on the blocks in Verve.   I have done 17 of the 26 sets of blocks that I have received,  and really honed my crochet skills in the process.

Pattern:  Tanglewild by Donna Kay Lacey, October 2012 Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month
Yarn:  Pashmi in Gingerbread and Pumpkin Spice
Hook:  2.75 mm

Tanglewild - 1 Block Done

This is the October 2012 Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month, Tanglewild by Donna Kay Lacey.   The yarn is Pashmi in Gingerbread and Pumpkin Spice.  This pattern calls for starting with an adjustable loop.  I've seen a couple of different ways to do this, but sometimes things can be a bit fiddly and here is the method that I came up with.  First I cut a length of yarn long enough to form into a circle with enough overlap to hold the stitches and large enough to fit several fingers into.

In this instance I used a single crochet to start the first stitch, which tends to stabilize things nicely.   Once I've done all the stitches I pull both ends of my starting loop to cinch up the circle, secure the ends and weave them in, and voila!

This is actually the beginning of the second block, so, if you will excuse me, I am going to get back to my crocheting.

Pattern:  Tanglewild by Donna Kay Lacey
Yarn:  Pashmi in Gingerbread and Pumpkin Spice
Hook:  2.75 mm

The Little Mermaid - Clue 2 Done

It is nice to finally be making progress on this shawl.  It has been sitting in the bottom of a project bag for too long.  Even with a 40" needle I can only get the center triangle stretched out, but I am liking the colors and the beads.

It has been a while since I have worked with lace weight, there was a stretch when that was all I was knitting.  I guess I go through phases.  Right now I am mostly working crochet blocks, between working on my languishing projects.  The blocks are quick, fun projects that satisfy my need for something new without totally derailing me from the longer duration projects like this one.

Pattern: The Little Mermaid by Janine le Cras
Yarn: The Unique Sheep Ling in Bliss
 Needle: US 3 (3.25 mm)

Fare Thee Well - Both Blocks Done!

These are the June 2012 Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month - Fare Thee Well by Margaret MacInnis.  The yarn is Pashmi in Lemon and Lime.  I did add a couple of rounds to get them to block to 8 inches.  Now that I am using my gridded blocking board it is so easy to get them perfectly blocked.  I am not an extreme blocker - stretching yarn to within an inch of its life.  I stretch yarn sort of how you stretch a muscle - gently, but firmly, and don't ever try to make it do something it doesn't want to do.

Pattern: Fare Thee Well by Margaret MacInnis
Yarn: The Unique Sheep Pashmi
Hook: 2.75 mm

Beneath the Driven Snow - Both Blocks Done!

 And here are both blocks.

Pattern: Beneath the Driven Snow by Margaret MacInnis
Yarn: The Unique Sheep Pashmi
Hook: 2.75 mm

Beneath the Driven Snow - Block 1 Done

This is the January 2012 Block from The Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month Club.  The yarn is Pashmi, an 80/10/10 Merino/Cashmere/Nylon blend in Turquoise and Bisque.   The block came out small so I added a couple of rounds.  I finished up the first block this morning and the second block this afternoon.   By happy coincidence the February block came yesterday and it is also Pashmi, I now have 3 sets done and 3 to go in my Pashmi collection.

Pattern: Beneath the Driven Snow by Margaret MacInnis
Yarn: The Unique Sheep Pashmi
Hook: 2.75 mm

The Little Mermaid - Clue 1 Done

I left work a little bit early yesterday and stayed home today with a migraine.  Not so much pain today as fatigue, a little nausea, and a fuzzy brain.  I re-cast on The Little Mermaid last night, after a nap, and it took me at least an hour to figure out how I wanted to do that.  Fuzzy brain.  Definitely a fuzzy brain.  I finished up Clue 1 today and got two rows into Clue 2 before my brain gave out and I decided to crochet instead.

The yarn for this shawl is Ling, a 70/30 Merino/Silk blend.  This is the first project I have knit with it, and despite the proportions, it really feels like the silk dominates.  The color is Bliss and I was going for iridescent mermaid tail scales.  We'll see if the variegation works with the lace.

Patten: The Little Mermaid by Janine le Cras
Yarn: The Unique Sheep Ling
Needles: US 3 (3.25 mm)

Curmudgeon Blocks - Done!

I finished up the Curmudgeon blocks this weekend, which catches me up on all the blocks in Tinsel Toes that I have in my stash.   Now I have a stack of Tinsel Toes blocks waiting to be made into a throw.

Pattern:  Curmudgeon by Margaret MacInnis, The Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month Club - December 2012
Yarn: Tinsel Toes
Hook: 2.75 mm

Circles and Squares

I have two laceweight shawls in my works in progress, both of them Unique Sheep Mystery KALs, this one and Spirit of Guernsey.  This one has been languishing since September of 2011 and Spirit has been languishing since September of 2012 and today I think I finally figured out why - their shapes.  This one is a large square shawl and Spirit is a circular shawl and I just don't wear those shapes, so it is hard for me to get motivated to put all that effort into finishing them.  But the yarn is beautiful and the pattern is beautiful and I really don't want to just frog them and forget them.  Once I realized what was holding me back it occurred to me that I could simply modify the patterns and turn them into shawls that I would wear.

I decided to start with this one for a couple of reasons - the modifications should be relatively straight forward and it has been languishing the longest.  For this one I will just leave out one triangle, this will result in a shawl that will still drape nicely and should stay put while showing off the design.

Curmudgeon Blocks - 1 Block Done

This is the December 2012 block from The Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month Club.  The yarn is Tinsel Toes, their Merino/Tencel blend in Cranberry and Mistletoe.  I have no idea why it is called Curmudgeon, unless it is a comment on the holiday season.  Once I finish the second block I will have finished up all the Tinsel Toes blocks that I have and can work on the Pashmi blocks.

Pattern:  Curmudgeon by Margaret MacInnis, The Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month Club - December 2012
Yarn: Tinsel Toes
Hook: 2.75 mm

Luxe Mini Blocks

I was going so make 2 and 2, but somehow I made 3 and 1.  I blame it on the migraine that I had last Saturday.  This is the leftover yarn from the very first set of crochet blocks that I made.  Those blocks were called Cameo Flower by Melinda Miller and the colors are Pewter and Cornflower.  This motif is the small block from Mosaic Four-Patch also by Melinda Miller.  I used a 2.75 mm crochet hook.