I don’t know if I’m just more in-tune to it lately, or if there really has been a surge in the popularity of granny squares these last few weeks, but ever since I started work on Eamonn’s blanket, I’m seeing them all over the place.  I had intended to show you this new blanket when it was finished, and then maybe give you a little overview of how it was done, but given this possible Granny Square Fever, I’m thinking that you might be in the mood to crochet along with me. Right This Very Minute.  What do you think?

I’m currently on the third column of what I plan to be a 10-row, 8-column blanket (I was on column two last weekend when I took these photos).  That’s eighty squares in all, resulting in a roughly 5′ x 4′ lap blanket.  It’s a little big for a lap blanket, but Eamonn wanted it to be large enough that he could sleep under it sometimes.

Today, I will talk a little bit about color choices, how to make a granny square, and how I’m assembling the squares.

Once the squares portion is done, I’ll come back with part two and show you how I am doing the border, and any other finishing touches that seem important.  Look for that in a month or two!

Required Skills

You don’t need a whole lot of crochet skills to pull this off.  If you can:

• make a slip knot
• chain
• slip stitch
• double-crochet

then you can do this.  And if you can’t do those things, there are many books out there than can help, as well as YouTube videos, and some great online classes.  I had a nice experience taking Linda’s Crafty Crochet Embellishments class.

Materials and Tools

Color Choices

What makes this blanket different than a generic stash-busting granny-square blanket is that I have been very purposeful with my color choices.  Any time I am arranging a collection of squares like this, I want them to look random without actually being random.

I started by asking Eamonn what color family he wanted for the blanket.  He chose bluish greens. (Like mother like son [and brother] I guess!)  I chose a nice little pile of aqua-adjacent colors to buy, and supplemented with some blues and greens from my stash.  We’ll call these the Main Colors (MC).

Then (and here is what I think is the key to making this blanket interesting), I picked out a couple of golds and a red.  I also supplemented with some golds and browns from my stash.  These colors are roughly opposite the blues and greens on the color wheel, making them complementary colors.  Their job is to add visual interest, but in a very controlled way.  We’ll call these the Accent Colors (AC).

Each square is built like so: three rounds of MC1, one round of AC, one round of MC2, one round of MC3.   Any of the available MC’s can been chosen to be MC1, MC2, or MC3, and the same goes for the available AC’s.  The only restriction is that the colors chosen for the current square can’t have been used in any of the adjacent squares on the blanket.  This last rule isn’t always possible to follow, but I have been giving it my best shot.

Essentially, each square has a large blue-green center, followed by a gold-red stripe, and two blue-green stripes.

[If you wanted to make a blanket in another MC family, say purple, just follow the same rules, using all purpley-pink colors for the centers and two outer stripes, and then look across the color wheel for the ACs, in this case yellowy-greens.]

Making a Granny Square

This is how I make them. If my efforts of reverse-engineering her collection are any indication, this is also how my grandmother made them.  (If you need to see it demonstrated, these YouTube videos by bethintx1 might help you, as they did me, when I was learning.)

MC1: make a slip knot and ch 4. Sl st into the first chain, making a ring.

Round 1: ch 3, 2 dc into the ring, ch 2, (3 dc into the ring, ch 2) 3 times, sl st to join to the 3rd chain st from the ring.

Round 2: ch 3, 2 dc into the space just below the chain, ch 2, 3 dc into the same space, ch 1, (3 dc into the next space, ch 2, 3 dc into the same space, ch 1) 3 times, sl st to join to the 3rd chain st from the previous round.

Round 3: ch 3, 2 dc into the space just below the chain, ch 1, (3 dc into the next space, ch 2, 3 dc into the same space, ch 1, 3 dc into the next space, ch 1) 3 times, 3 dc into the next space, ch 2, 3 dc into the same space, ch 1, sl st to join to the 3rd chain st from the previous round.

If you’ll notice, what you are really doing here is two sets of three dc’s separated by a ch 2 in every ch 2 space from the previous round, and one set of three dc’s surround by ch 1′s in every ch 1 space from the previous round.  All future rounds will follow this pattern.

Switch to AC. Last month I would have told you to start your new color with a slip knot and weave in the ends after the square was completed.  You can still do it that way, if you like, but I have to say that this YouTube video has changed my life. Perhaps that sounds a bit dramatic. Let’s just say that if you are ok with knots, you can learn how to make one that is super secure and allows you to join colors without ever having to weave in any ends. I’m all over that.

Round 4:  follow the same pattern as with the previous round.

Switch to MC2.

Round 5: follow the same pattern as with the previous rounds.

Switch to MC3.

If this is your first square, then you’ll crochet this round just like you’ve done all of the previous ones.

If this square is to be attached to one other, then crochet along your current side, turn the corner, crochet the second side, turn the corner, and crochet the third side up to the corner. Do the first half of the corner (3 dc, ch 1).  Attach to the blanket as shown below.

If this square is to be attached to two others, then crochet along your current side, turn the corner, and crochet the second side up to the corner. Do the first half of the corner (3 dc, ch 1) and attach the two sides to the two other squares as follows:

Place the current square directly below the older square.  Insert the hook into the rightmost corner space of the upper square and ch 1. 3 dc into the corner space of the current square. Continue crocheting across the top of the current square, inserting the hook into the corresponding space of the upper square each time you ch 1.

When you get to the next corner, ch 1 into the upper square, ch1 into the square to the left, and then continue crocheting down the left side of the current square, attaching it to the left square in the same manner as you had attached it to the square above.

Sarah London (of Granny Square Love fame) has a snappy flickr photo tutorial for joining squares, if you need to see it another way.

Complete your way around the current square.

Break the yarn, remove the hook, and pull the tail through the last remaining loop, pulling it tightly to create a knot.

Now there are only two tails to weave in.  I like to take care of that now, so that I’m not grumbling my way through 160 ends all at once when I’m done with the rest of the blanket.

So there you have it! Once you’ve made your first square, you should be an expert, as it’s the same several stitches over and over again. The variety of color keeps it interesting. In fact, choosing the colors for each square is one of my favorite parts.  Eamonn likes to help me with that, too.  It’s a great way to get the recipient involved in the making of the blanket, especially if he’s old enough to follow the color selection rules that you’ve laid out.

Meet me back here in a month or two, when all 80 squares have been completed, and I’ll show you how to make a border, and any other finishing touches we might want to add.  (I’ll add a link here, when it’s ready. If you’re reading this, and there’s no link, then I haven’t done the border tutorial yet.)

Oh! and please tell me if anything here is not well-explained, or if you notice an error in my pattern.  I really want this to make sense, so I will be happy to take the time to clarify any steps that need it!

Happy hooking

P.S. You can queue it up on Ravelry, if you are so inclined!

© Lisa Clarke

My kids have a real sense of awe about cities, since we spend so little time in them.  Mostly, we admire them from afar, enjoying the occasional New York skyline when we’re on our way to some other destination.  Once in a very great while, though, we do find ourselves smack dab in the middle of an actual city.

It’s funny. We’ve taken this Boston trip in previous Februaries, but I don’t remember the view being of much interest to the kids before.  This time, though, it was the main pre-bedtime attraction.

I turned the lights out, they propped their pillows up next to the window, and sat there for an hour, pointing out to each other all of the activity…  Even at 9:00 and 10:00 at night, there’s something going on. It’s quite a departure from our peaceful neighborhood at home!

I’m glad for the entertainment value of a change of scenery. I’m glad the boys seem to be asleep now. And I’m glad Neil is off doing whatever it is he does at sci-fi conventions.  Coexisting with two kids in a single room for two days has it’s blessings and it’s challenges. While it’s been mostly pleasant, I’m feeling worn out from the challenging bits and could really use the ME time.

On the agenda for tomorrow? Granny squares, Gather Here, and home sweet home!

© Lisa Clarke

The friendly people over at Simon and Schuster asked if I’d like to review the newly-revised and updated The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt. And I, being in the middle of knitting my third sweater in five months, happily said, “yes!”

I didn’t really know what to expect from this book. I just assumed it would be another lavishly-photographed project-based book (and there can never be too many of those, in my opinion). But no, this is quite a different animal.

Hiatt discusses every technique imaginable, in eight sections entitled:

1. Learning and Methods
2. Constructing a Fabric
3. Decorative Techniques
4. Special Fabrics
5. Stitch and Color Patterns
6. Pattern Design
7. Materials
8. Working a Project

She takes you from cast-on (in a dizzying number of ways) to bind-off, and everywhere in between, often using photographs and illustrations to help get the point across.

Learn to knit, purl, pick up stitches, do yarnovers for lace, make a basic cable, form pockets, make horizontal stripes…

Or try something unusual like Tunisian knitting, smocking, or seed-stitch cables.  They’re in there, too.

If you are looking to design your own pattern, or want to know how your substitutions will work in an existing pattern, Hiatt’s sections on fiber types and fabric care are not to be missed.

Did you know linen is stronger when wet, so there’s no need to fuss over it when washing it?  And that soiled cotton makes a tasty meal for silverfish?  And that the newer “superwash” wool actually includes a plastic resin coating to keep the wool from felting?

This is one seriously encyclopedic volume.  I mean, just look at it!  It’s two inches thick. (It takes a beating, too – I can’t tell you how many times one of my kids knocked it off the arm of the chair and onto the floor while I was contemplating this review…)

So what’s the verdict?  I don’t picture myself curling up with The Priciples of Knitting and a cup of tea on a Winter evening.  That said, it does serve a valuable purpose for knitters: especially those who like to try unfamiliar fibers and techniques.  I see it like The Joy of Cooking: an indispensable reference to keep on the shelf for those times when I need to know how to hard boil an egg do a three-needle bind-off.

Definitely worth owning.

The Principles of Knitting was published just yesterday, and is available all over the place, including Amazon.com. It’s available for Kindle, too, BTW, which could come in handy if you are debating the merits of one fiber over another while pawing through the displays at your local yarn shop…

© Lisa Clarke

Ta da! It’s finished.  Nice and quickly, too, relatively-speaking.  That’s what you get when you choose a pattern that uses bulky yarn and fat needles, and that’s precisely why I chose it!

I’ve now made three sweaters in five months, and I must say, at this moment I feel very much OVER knitting in general and sweater-knitting in particular.  So much so.  I am turning all of my evening-tv-time energy towards crochet now. Eamonn is getting his promised granny square blanket – I’m four squares in. 140 or so to go.

But back to this sweater…

Despite my frequent whining on Twitter, I found the knitting of this sweater to be relatively easy.  I had difficulty with the lace pattern, but I that can be chalked up to two things:

1. I had never done lace before. Ever.
2. I was paying more attention to the TV than I was to the pattern in front of me.

So, really my own fault.  I ripped out and re-knit that diamond lace section more times than I care to count, but once it was over, the rest of the sweater was pretty simple.  And I have to say that I did really appreciate the lace pattern being there.  I get bored easily, and the lace challenge was enough to keep me interested.

If I could change anything about the way I knit this, it would be the sleeves. They are so crazy wide, I think it really adds more bulk to my frame than it should.  I’d rip them out and reknit them, if there were an easy way, but given the raglan construction, I might as well start over, if I did that.  I’ll just live with them as-is, thankyouverymuch.

If I ever do make another one of these, I will knit eight fewer yoke rows (four fewer garter ridges).  That will make the sleeves a welcome two inches narrower, or so.  I can then just knit four extra stockinette rows above the diamonds, and four more below to make up the length. Eight extra knit rows in the sleeves, too.  I’d probably have to fiddle with the number of stitches in the back, left front and right front, so the width of the sweater wasn’t affected.

[You know, the idea of trying again with this is actually sounding appealing. Somebody please kick me in the head.]

Aside from the poofy sleeves, I am really happy with the way this turned out.  I thought it was knitting up too long in the torso, but it’s just perfect.  The sleeves, too, are a good length.

The button, I am not entirely sure about.  It wasn’t part of the pattern, but I wanted the ability to close the sweater in the front.  I am wondering if I’d like it more, if I chose a smaller button.  Or maybe one that blended in with the color of the sweater better.  Or, maybe it should be in a different position.  Perhaps there should be more of them?  A zipper maybe? What do you think?

The details

Pattern: Common Ground by Elizabeth Smith

Size: Large

Modifications: Added a button and a crochet chain loop

Yarn: Valley Yarns Northampton Bulky in Old Barn Red

© Lisa Clarke

I couldn’t shake it, so I gave in, started a couple of dye baths in the basement, and let the fabric soak while I printed the postage and got the packages safely delivered to the mailbox.

It’s nice to have a box of dye supplies in the basement for urges such as this.  I used Dharma Trading Company procion dyes in China Red and Royal Blue.  I’d have preferred a darker blue, but I went ahead with the royal blue in the interest of instant gratification.

The napkins soaked for their allotted time, I wrung them out, ran them through the washing machine and dryer, and soon enough, these stained napkins:

got this new lease on life:

So.  There’s a lot less white in my everyday napkins now, and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about that.  I kind of liked the white.  On the plus side, the stains are gone, and I won’t be embarrassed to put these out for guests.

The whole collection now:

If my sewing machine hadn’t been put away, I’d have also sewn a few new ones out of those extra fat quarters in the background.  I may still.

I wish this little exercise had made me want the striped fabric a little less, but no such luck.  The nice ladies at Fat Quarter Shop are sending me a small sample of the Panier de Fleurs woven so I can decide if the weight is something I’d like to see in a napkin.  I’m thinking, if I like it, I’ll pass on the expensive fat quarter bundle I was originally drooling over, and just get a few 1/2-yards of the most interesting stripes.  I can fill out the rest of the set with thrift shop and eBay finds.  I’ve already gotten a head start on that today in fact.

If I do end up doing a new stripey napkin set, I can relegate this over-dyed collection to party duty.  They actually coordinate really, really well with my primary-color party plates and cups.  That would be the perfect use for them.

(Uh oh. It really sounds like I’m talking myself into making a new set of napkins, doesn’t it?)

© Lisa Clarke

As you may know, we’ve been using cloth napkins around here since 2007.  I’ve gone a little loopy over them from time to time (the evidence can be found here, if you need some convincing).  I have an everyday set, and three seasonal sets of 20-25 coordinating prints each, and I change them out in January, May, September, and December.

I have been very happy with this setup.  Sure, all of those coordinating fat quarters were a little pricey when I first bought them. But most of these sets have been serving us well for four to five years, and are still going strong.  I’d rather not do the math (I like to avoid rude awakenings wherever possible) but I do feel some optimism that the benefits have outweighed the costs at this point.  Plus if we keep using the same four sets for the foreseeable future, the savings will just continue to grow.

So why bring this up now?

A few reasons, actually.  For one thing, there’s the state of my everyday napkins.  They get used the most out of all of the sets, and they are showing signs of wear.  I sorted through them today and discovered that of the original 25:

• four have gone missing – can’t find them anywhere
• twelve had visible stains
• nine are fine

(12 stained napkins)

(9 napkins still in nice shape)

(a few extra fat quarters)

Technically, I can deal with the missing ones by making some more. I have extra fabric from that collection.

And I’ve been thinking (for nearly a year now) that I could deal with the stained ones by over-dying them in navy blue and/or red.

So, problem solved, right?

Sure.  Sure, it would be, if I didn’t know about this  (“this” being French General’s Panier de Fleurs collection). I’m in love with the stripes, in particular, and the fact that there is blue in this collection.  Most of the French General fabric I have seen in the past has appealed to me, but it’s been all reds.  Red looks nice in my kitchen, but blue is really what belongs in there.  So now that there’s one of these collections with navy blue stripes? Swoon!

I have started daydreaming again about kitchen improvement.   About navy, cream, and red striped napkins alongside dark blue stoneware bowls.  About new curtains, new seat cushions, and a new apron.

Our kitchen has gone largely unchanged since we moved here 14 years ago.  The more I think about it, the more I want to splurge on that fabric, make some new napkins, rip down the old white+navy wallpaper, paint the kitchen navy blue, pull up the old white linoleum floor, put down some stone tile, or wood, replace the cabinets, get a new counter top…

The price tag on the striped fat quarters is hard enough to swallow on its own, but factor in the chain reaction of home improvement that could follow? Probably best to let this one go.  But, oh! the wanties are strong with this one.  Really really strong.

*sigh*  Think I’m going to try the over-dying thing on the old napkins.  I’m sure it will breathe new life into these designs.  It’s a shame that no amount of dye could make watercolor flowers and teapots look like vintagey stripes, though…

Darn you, French General, and your old-fashioned, European countryside charm!

© Lisa Clarke

January was…

• Cinnamon rolls on New Year’s Day
• A rekindled addiction to polymer-covered pens
• Cookies when Mom & Dad came to visit
• A new set of crochet hooks for me
• A flower-petal crown for my cabled hat
• Clayathon 2012
• A finished sweater for a nearly 12-year-old son
• The younger’s new cardboard friend
• The Stirling Hotel’s beautiful outdoor Christmas tree
• My Father-in-Law’s birthday
• A warm day to play
• 3rd Grade International Day

…and a full moon in the background.

© Lisa Clarke

I found this one barefoot and had to convince him that it wasn’t that warm yet.  We compromised on sandals.  These sandals he begged me not to throw away last September, insisting “they still fit, Mom!” (I may have to arrange for them to disappear…)

It was so beautiful today. I might have been tempted to think it was a lovely Spring afternoon, if not for the condition of the grass and the other plants in the front yard.

The world is still so brown. Still so the color of January. I’m not going to complain, though. How often do you get to play outside at this time of year, without bundling up? It reminded me of a lovely day four years ago. And I hear we may get another one tomorrow. Ooh, yes please!

–

On another, completely unrelated note, I’ve recently started watching Downton Abbey, and I am so enjoying it! I find I want to watch something similar during the week, between episodes. I tried Bleak House, and liked that one a lot, too. Just finished it today. Do any of you have any other suggestions? I’ve never really cared for this type of drama before, but I am finding myself thoroughly sucked in, and craving more!

© Lisa Clarke

Even those of us for whom the Internet constitutes an additional limb need to be unplugged now and then. Maybe I should say we especially need to be unplugged now and then. It’s nice to fill up the battery with some good old-fashioned face time.

So the last time we spoke, I was waxing poetic over ball point pens. Since then, I’ve decided to let some of them go. They’re up for grabs in the shop for a limited time. You might want to hurry, since I am prone to change my mind at any time and go back to hording them all for myself…

I’ve also put some crochet hooks back up for sale, both ready-to-ship and made-to-order. If you hesitated before, you might want to take a look now. I picked out a brand new set of nine patterns to choose from, and I also added another hook size, for those of you secretly lamenting the lack of #7s.

Aside from updating the shop, I’ve been slowly (oh, so very slowly, in itty bitty dribs and drabs) cleaning up the dining room, getting my work space back in order, and transforming the room from dumping ground back into potential eating area. My goal is to get it cleaned up to the point that it looks like a dining room once again, albeit one that has some clay supplies out on the table. Slowly but surely.

I’m also working on a new sweater for me. Have I mentioned that? I wanted a cardigan hoodie, but I wanted something that would work up relatively quickly, since I’ve pretty much had my fill of long term projects at this point. Mom and Dad gave me a WEBS gift card for Christmas, and I used it to get myself some Northampton Bulky in Old Barn Red. I’m making a Common Ground with it, and I have to say, it was working up very quickly. Until I got to the diamond lace pattern.

I’ll save the knitty gritty for its own post, but suffice it to say, there was a lot of un-knitting, re-knitting, counting, un-knitting, and re-knitting again. Being my first experience with lace, it was to be expected, but it was still a little frustrating.  I finally finished the lace pattern last night, although I really should have been done with it a few days ago. With that behind me, I have hopes of getting the sweater done by the weekend. Bulky yarn and big needles mean that it really does go very quickly when I’m not making mistakes!

So, I think we’re caught up now. I’ll try not to be such a stranger this week.  And thanks in advance for taking a peek into the shop!

© Lisa Clarke

Years ago, after a particularly prolific polymer clay kick, I had a wicker basket filled nearly to the top with clay-covered pens. It was wonderful! I’d run my fingers through them, dump them out, arrange and re-arrange them on the floor… sometimes by color, sometimes by pattern, sometimes in a gloriously long rainbow. But eventually I sold all but about ten of them, and it really wasn’t very much fun playing with ten pens.

I’m happy to report my pen-making mojo is back. Over the last month or so, I’ve added a nice selection to my supply. In fact, I made twenty four of them yesterday alone!

So now I can play with them by color (plum in this case)…

Or by pattern (triangles)…

Or I can set them up in a gloriously long rainbow.

Sweet. You know what, though? When I have them all laid out like this, I can clearly see underrepresented colors and patterns. It makes me want to sit down and crank out another few dozen to fill in the gaps.

Last night, after I sanded and buffed my last pen, I sat on the floor deliriously happy pushing them around into piles. Neil suggested ever so gently that I really ought to sell a few. What?? And diminish my supply?? Never!!

Well, that was what I said to him, but in actuality, I do know he is right. Sometime soon, I will open the shop for a few days and let these pens go to some good homes. For now, though, if you will excuse me, I have another rainbow to build.

[edited 1/25/12: the shop is open! fifty different pen varieties up for grabs! check it out.]

© Lisa Clarke

What am I talking about?  Why, Aidan’s sweater, of course.  Four months after I started it, I am done. DONE!

Last night, before I went to bed, I folded up the sweater neatly and left it as a surprise on the corner of his bed with a post-it note, telling him he should put on a sweater, if he woke up cold. When I got up this morning, I saw that he had taken my advice.

So glad he likes it

Don’t look too, too closely at this sweater, as it is fraught with little problems.  Structurally, it is fine (I hope) but there are some aesthetic issues that cropped up when I dropped and later recovered a stitch, or when I had some difficulty picking up stitches for the hood, or when I lost count of where I needed to be for the ribbing on the edge of the hood…

Oh, and there is one other minor issue: It’s HUGE on him.  I don’t know where my gauge went wrong, but somehow I managed to mis-measure something.  I mean, it is gigantic.  I could wear this sweater.  And let me tell you, short and skinny Aidan, and I, with my ample curves, are not even close in size to each other.

I’ve toyed with the idea of washing it and hoping for some shrinkage, but I don’t know if that’s a smart idea. Do any of you more experienced knitters have any thoughts you can share?

Leaving it as-is is certainly an option. Aidan likes his clothes big. Luckily.  But it might be nice to lose an inch or two all around and make it a better fit.

The details

Pattern: Hooded Sweatshirt from Knits Men Want by Bruce Weinstein

Modifications: None that I did on purpose except Aidan chose to eliminate the contrasting stripe.

Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers, color 9577

© Lisa Clarke

I’ve been staring at this mess for a few months now, periodically shoving aside enough things to make a work space, but never actually putting anything away. The only thing that stresses me out more than looking at that mess is the thought of cleaning it up. Which is why it stays there, and I mostly choose to spend my time in some other room.

Well, no more.

Usually when I return from the clayathon, I dump my supplies in a corner of the dining room, and don’t touch them for another six months or more.  The clayathon nearly always satisfies my polymer-related urges almost to the point of burn-out.  This time, though, it has rejuvenated me more than anything else, and I find myself feeling the urge to crank out more. More. MORE!

This, of course, would be easier to accomplish if my workspace didn’t look like a bomb went off in the middle of it.  It’s a pretty bomb of fabric, ribbons, thread, yarn, raw polymer, and recently-finished claythings, but a bomb nonetheless.

So yesterday I took a long hard look at the table, and decided that I need to be brutally honest with myself.  The first realization?  I’m not going to finish those quilts for the boys any time soon.  I’ve wanted to do it for months now, but I haven’t wanted it enough to take action.  So I admitted the fact to myself, and that allowed me to put away the sewing machine, the ironing board, the half-finished quilts, two tubs of sewing supplies, and miscellaneous fabrics and trims that were laying around.

What a relief that was.

It’s still pretty messy, as you can see above, but let me assure you it was much worse yesterday before the sewing stuff was retired.

This gives me new energy for tackling the rest of that mess.  I hope to get it done today or tomorrow at the latest, and then I can move forward with some fun plans, including a new videocast and teaching my son how to make clay-covered pens.  I may even combine the two…  stay tuned!

So, how does your workspace look these days?  Dealing with a mess, too?  Or are you one of those neat and tidy types?  And if you are a neat and tidy type, please tell me – what is that like?  Is it as blissful as it sounds?

© Lisa Clarke

If you don’t see the embedded video below, please click through here to view it. I promise the extra click is worth it.

If you find the idea of SOPA/PIPA frightening, please click the “Stop SOPA” ribbon on the top right-hand corner of my website (or go to americancensorship.org) and write to your congresspeople. It couldn’t be simpler. You give them your name and zip-code, and they will send a form letter to your representatives. It takes less than two minutes, and you don’t even have to come up with your own words. Not a US citizen? There is a petition you can sign, if you’d like to throw your support behind us.

I don’t discuss politics all that much on this blog, but this is important, and I hope you will join me in taking action. Thank you!

Edited to add: I just watched this TED talk by Clay Shirky. If you have an extra 13 minutes to spare, you might want to take a look at it, too. (video link is here, if the embedded player is not working)

© Lisa Clarke

I am home. Yay!

I had a great time, claying it up at the ‘thon as usual, but I am glad to be home. We moved to a new hotel this year, and while the work room was much improved over previous years (so spacious!) the hotel itself was on the creepy side. Apart from the ornate lobby, the place was pretty rundown. The heat in my room stopped working last night (it was 16 degrees outside!) and so I slept under three blankets, and I kept on my socks and my heavy wool sweater. Frigidity was a theme in that hotel. Just crossing the lobby from the elevators to the work room made me feel like a human icicle. I took a hot shower this morning, just to thaw myself out!

So it’s especially nice to be back home, sitting here in the family room next to a crackling fire, under the blankie of love.  The kids are doing homework and the husband is working on his magazine.  It’s all so cozy.  Warm.  Much appreciated.

Eamonn just asked me sweetly for some hot chocolate. How can I refuse? Must take a quick break.

Ok, hot chocolate duly made, and some Zen Tea for me. Now, what was I saying?

Oh, yes! Clayathon.  Less-than-stellar hotel aside, it was a great time as always. I wish I could have stayed another day, because I think I still have a few projects in me wanting to get out.  Here’s what I did manage to accomplish, if you’re curious:

First was the crochet hooks some of you ordered.  I particularly love this batch above my previous ones, because they are so shiny!  (Oooooh shiny!)  I sanded them as I always do, but this weekend I had access to a buffing machine, and I took advantage of it.

Next I worked on using up some of the leftover pieces I have been accumulating from all of the hook-making over the last several months.  I put several strips of the different patterns from the same color family together into one big sheet, and used the sheet to cover what I like to call these “crazy quilt pens.”

The rightmost 13 pens were done that way.  Then I took a break to make some new canes in a new color family (see below). I covered the leftmost four pens with the new canes, and then did 2 more crazy quilt pens with the new scraps I generated.

These aren’t finished yet.  They still need to be sanded and buffed. Maybe I’ll get to that mind-numbing job someday…

These are those new canes I  mentioned.  The one on the left is my usual Triangle design, and the rest of them are just kaleidoscopic experiments with what I had left of the colors I used for the triangles.  In a very uncharacteristic move, I just winged-it with the kaleidoscope canes, and probably couldn’t repeat them if I tried.

(Ok, I’ll be honest, I do remember exactly what I did to make these canes, but it’s only been a day and a half. I promise you, I won’t have a clue within a week.)

Late in the day yesterday, I switched from caning to do a little mokume gane. My mother-in-law had asked me to make her some replacement “stones” for a decorative object that had lost some of its pieces.  These came out just as I had envisioned.  Unfortunately, I envisioned the wrong colors.  Duh.  So, I will have to try again with greener blues and yellower browns.

My last project was this quickie.  Terri gave me a few channel bracelet blanks, which I filled with leftover pattern strips.  I was so thrilled to get these brass blanks, because they are perfect companions to the skinny mixed-metal bangles Neil gave me for Christmas this year.  It’s great to be able to add a little color to the stack, I think.

So that’s it! And once again I am consumed with the urge to get a buffing wheel for myself.  I mean, would you look at those shiny hooks?  No way can I get that look by hand.  I need to find an inexpensive bench grinder with a muslin wheel. Any tips from any of you who have one?

Let’s chat about this so I can put off my return to Real Life(TM) for a little while longer, k?

© Lisa Clarke

I just loved Eamonn’s Irish Hiking Hat so much, I spent much of the last month contemplating one for myself.  I found a lovely sea foam tweed on sale, and whipped this baby up in three nights.

I am much happier with the way the crown came out on this one.  I wanted to maintain the integrity of the purl columns from top to bottom, so I had to replace nearly all of the K2togs in the decrease rows with P2togs, like so:

1. P2, K2, P2tog, K6
2. P2, K2, P1, K6
3. P2, K1, P2tog, K6
4. P2, K1, P1, K6
5. P2, P2tog, K6
6. P3, K6
7. P1, P2tog, K6
8. P2, K6
9. P2tog, K6
10. P1, K6
11. P1, K2, K2tog, K2
12. P1, K5
13. P1, K1, K2tog, K2
14. P1, K1, K2tog, K1
15. P1, K2tog, K1
16. P1, K2tog
17. K2tog
18. K2tog

I had intended to also do another cable in there at row 8, but I forgot all about it once I got going.  I think it gives the crown kind of a flower petal look.  I like it.

Oh, I just reaaaaaaally love this hat!

Actually, let me amend that statement.  I do love it, but not when I am actually wearing it.  I’m not really too keen on the way it looks on me.

I think this experience confirms that I am just not a beanie person.

It’s ok.  I’m sure I will find someone, somewhere who would like to wear it.  I still need something for me to wear, though.  I’m thinking wurm.  If the beanie look doesn’t work for me, I might as well attempt slouchy!

© Lisa Clarke

Thank you for ordering crochet hooks this week!  I’m closing up the shop in a matter of minutes, and then I’m ordering my supplies and taking them down south to the Clayathon.  I can hardly wait for the weekend to begin. I’ve got several things I want to work on, mainly your hook orders and a few ideas I have for using up leftover patterned veneers.

I also want to thank you for your input on my last post. Holy cow. Next time I am looking to jump start conversation around here, I have to remember to ask you about shoes.  There are more comments on that post than any others in recent memory. By a long shot.

You ladies know your stuff! I ordered a pair of black Sanita clogs from eBay and with luck they will be here before my trip.  (I’ve written before about my difficulty buying expensive shoes, and my eBay solution, if you’re interested in that.)

I am just days away from finishing Aidan’s sweater.  Finally.  Six more inches on the hood, and I am DONE.  Just one itsy bitsy problem: the sweater fits me.  And I am built nothing like my beanpole of a son.

I’ll be back next week sometime, most likely, looking for help dealing with the giganticness of this sweater, but for now I am taking a quick detour into hat-making.  I just love Eamonn’s Irish Hiking Hat so much, and I decided I needed a tweedy pale aqua version for myself.

I don’t know about you, but when I decide I need a handknit for me, I feel like I need it yesterday.  I tried to force myself to finish the sweater first, but I lost that argument when I saw it is going to be chilly this weekend. I really need that hat so I can wear it to and from the Clayathon.  I couldn’t possibly grab any of the other hats around here that I may have used in the past.  Of course I couldn’t.

New shoes, new hat, new claythings… bring on the weekend!

© Lisa Clarke

Ok, who wants to help me be a little less winter-fashion-inept?

I am reasonably comfortable dressing myself in the warmer months, or pulling together an outfit around a pair of jeans, but in the winter, anything not jeans-based throws me for a loop.  I always end up feeling like I’ve chosen the wrong footwear and “frumpified” the whole outfit.

So here’s the challenge: Neil bought me the most comfortable pants ever for Christmas.  And when I say comfortable, I mean that I wore them for several days until Neil made me wash them. That comfortable.  I ordered a second (ok, and a third) pair last week so now in addition to my original charcoal gray pair, I have two black ones.  Here’s what they look like:

These are great flip-flop-wearing pants in my opinion, but that kind of weather is still several months off.  What do I do right now? It’s too cold to be without socks.  What kind of shoes work best here?

I could see dressing them up with some nice heels, a cotton blouse, a fine-gauge sweater, and a linen scarf for a night on the town, but that’s not what I’m after at the moment.  I want to wear them with a t-shirt, a nice hoodie, and… what? sneakers and tube socks? mary janes and argyle socks? black flats and gray socks?

The goal here is to be comfortable and casual without looking too dressed-up, too dressed-down, or 20 years older than I am.  Especially that last one.

Please educate me

© Lisa Clarke

Before Christmas I showed you how I went down a crazy path, and made a whole set of coordinating crochet hook handles for myself.  What I never told you was that I tried to use one of the hooks a few hours later, and it was terrible.

I’ve heard people say that they are fiercely loyal to the brand of hook they use, and that some brands just don’t work as well as others for them.  I accepted this, but thought it was kind of silly.  I mean, a hook is a hook, right?  Well, I just could not get that Boye size E to work for me.  I moved up a few sizes, and then down a few sizes, and none of them would obey my command.  I felt like a complete spaz using them – I was so surprised that I couldn’t make them work!

So there I was with a lovingly-made set of hooks that were useless to me. Useless!

Since then, I’ve worked little-by-little, in between holiday preparations and festivities, to make a whole new set for myself.  This time I covered Susan Bates hooks, which I have no problem using whatsoever.  Like the last set, I covered all of the handles in some variation of my Triangle cane pattern, making each of them coordinate with its own metal hook color.  Each hook was given Triangles in a different color scheme, and all of them are different from the ones I used on the original Boye hooks.

What can I say? It helps to have a sizable stash of canes to dip into when I need them!

My honest opinion is that the Boye hooks (on the right) are more attractive than the Bates hooks, when viewed all together like this.  But beauty doesn’t particularly matter when I can’t do so much as make a chain with them, I suppose.

So there it is – sixteen hooks.  And even after all that, I’m still in a hook-making mood.

Shocking, I know.

This coming weekend is the annual Clayathon, and I thought I’d make some more hooks – for you! 

I’ve re-opened the shop for a very short time, and you can place an order for a custom-made hook, just like you did at Christmas time.  I have a selection of nine different patterns to choose from so none of us gets bored with the same-old same-old (and by “none of us” I mean “me”).

Just like before, you can also order pens or shawl pins if you wish.

And if there’s anything else that I’ve ever made that you are dying to have, leave a comment!  My Clayathon time is largely unplanned and I might be able to arrange it.

Ok, so go order a hook if you like! And don’t wait too long… I have to stop taking orders noonish on Wednesday so that I have time to order the hooks I need before I leave for my trip!

Thanks

© Lisa Clarke

I started switching out the Christmas this week in the kitchen.  I always start with the kitchen – it’s the easiest room in the house.

All I have to do is swap out the linens: napkins, apron, and table mat.

Today, I also had to clean up the mess that had accumulated there, but, oh, it was so worth it.  The room looks 100 times brighter when there’s no clutter on the table top.

It makes me want to have company and serve them cookies.  So I did.

© Lisa Clarke

Tonight, being a weekend, there is no homework being done.  The fire has been lit, and the boys are playing Kirby together on the Wii.  This is a perfect time for me to get out the blog post I’ve had percolating all day.  Or so I’ve been thinking, until now.

You see, this Kirby game, for some reason, has got my kids all excited.  They are eager to share every little detail with me, and although I haven’t the slightest bit of interest whatsoever in this game, I have looked up every time they’ve said, “hey Mom, look at this” or “Mom, this is the cool part.”  I feel strongly that when we are all together like this, I shouldn’t be so fully engrossed in my own thing that they feel unimportant.  So I do my own thing, but I continue to remain available.

Tonight it’s not really working for me.  All of this Wii action is taking its toll on my ability to string together words into coherent thoughts.  These four simple paragraphs have taken half an hour to write.  I’ll be surprised if it’s not another thirty minutes still by the time I proofread the page and press “publish.”

I can barely remember what I even wanted to say here all day. It couldn’t have been that important, I suppose.  Something about blog housekeeping probably (new header, new avatar, blah blah blah).

Oh! I did want to tell you that I’ve put back an old feature I used to have (I’ve missed it): the list of top commentors and of links to the blog.  I really appreciate you being here, participating, and helping to build a sense of community.  I hope I can return the favor a small amount by sharing your links in my sidebar.

It’s the least I can do, really

Be sure to check it out – it’s at the bottom of the right sidebar.

Kirby is over now, and Eamonn is reading a Bad Kitty book aloud to me. I need to go give him my undivided attention. (Bad Kitty is far more interesting to me than Kirby, luckily.)

Have a lovely weekend!

© Lisa Clarke