Meltintalle's Closet

• 6 skeins Herrschners Teddy Bear Brights


• size H hook

It's a simple ripple pattern. It worked up in about two weeks. It's nice and soft!

• The Inspiration


• Pattern referenced

Smaug



amount: 1.6 oz. worsted weight x 2
hook size: H

pros: warm, suitably impressive, what-you-call-something that has no right or left
cons: a chink in the under-armor just waiting to be pierced by a well aimed arrow...
further cons: bulky and I'd think the scales might get in the way of doing things, though it's not quite as bad once you've worn it for awhile

Kazul



amount: 1.2 oz. baby weight x 2
hook size: E
stitches used: chain, slip stitch, single crochet (in back loop only), double crochet
fancy names for stitches: crocodile stitch, granny stitch, picot

Notes: first row four scales second row three scales, extra half row of sc on the inner wrist to decrease

• Crochet 1-2-3 Issue #3; project eight


• 1 ounce Patrons Katrina "Dawn" yarn


• size J hook

I used a sort of novelty yarn that stretches a lot, so maybe that accounts for the overall success of whatever I did here... when I was done, and exclaiming over the fact that I'd used maybe a quarter of the estimated amount of yarn needed for the pattern, my mom was like, "But the pattern calls for worsted weight yarn." I have sisterly approval of the finished look, though, so it's all good.

The finished handwarmers are snug fitting, which I think/hope makes them warmer than my other pair which is very loose in comparison.

This pattern has a few bits where it mimics the look of knitting. I originally thought that it would be great to be able to do that because crochet is easier than knitting. (Now I think knitting might just take longer to learn.) In practice, however, I'm not totally sold on the idea.  and it is very important to count your stitches every row! The decorative pattern tended to hide a stitch. I think between all the times I ripped stuff out or started over because I'd picked up the wrong hook I managed to make the pair at least twice. 

• Hobbit necklace


• Quote bracelet


• http://anyalowery.blogspot.com/2012/12/bofurs-fingerless-gloves.html


• http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/03-green-autumn-druid-mittens

Do you know what I am thinking about now? You have three guesses, and I bet all of them will be right.

I am sad I didn't get right on creating a set of hobbits for Hobbit day because it just so happened that I actually went to part of an actual event.

Also, a Hobbit limerick for your amusement and someday I will end up caving to Tumblr...

This one was also made using a kit from Herrschners.com. Like the other one, the gauge is off, but I compensated for it this time. So now I have some leftover yarn from the kit; possibly enough for a matching sweater.

Since I wasn't crocheting like a madwoman, it felt like it took longer to complete this one. I started at the beginning of February, and here we are at the end of the month. Something like 20 minutes a stripe of colour? So... 31 stripes, plus another forty minutes on the border... 11 hours? It feels like more, so I'd take the estimate with a handful of salt. I'm probably forgetting something.

It was a wonderful idea--use scrap yarn of the same weight to create something more sophisticated than a potholder or wildly colorful scarf. A dip in a black dye bath would then render everything equal and I would have a black blazer.

Today, I weighed the crocheted pieces (front/back and two sleeves) and found they totaled 17.4 ounces dry. The directions on the bottle of Rit dye said to use 3 gallons of water for every pound of fabric. Well, only about two and half gallons of water fit in the pot if one left headroom for the project. But--close enough. The pieces went in and were immediately a lovely black color except for one pink/white ombre in which the pink turned a pretty purple. Ooooh, ah. However, in our experiments with using beet juice as a colorant, it had also dyed a lovely color that promptly washed out. Half an hour of standing over the hot stove later, my sister and I took the pot out to rise the blazer pieces. All the dye ran off the first piece, and we discovered I had forgotten to add salt.

A cup of salt and another half hour later, it still didn't keep the lovely black color. The dye did stain my hands when I wrung the sleeve to get excess water out--and left finger shaped marks that would probably disappear when the rest of the dye went in cold water.

Well, Rit did warn us. "Not recommended to dye acrylics." Of course, when one has inherited several stashes of yarn, what else would one expect the scraps to be? And all the 'nice' colors have been used in other scrap projects. *grumble*

I've left it in the pot--perhaps, if it soaks overnight...

But I'll be thinking of other options to make the blazer look better. Just in case the pessimist is right and it doesn't help.