Sunday, October 19, 2008

I'm getting it!

Thanks to all of you who posted comments regarding Ravelry on my blog. Any help is much appreciated. I finally got my blog feed directed there! Thanks Stacey.



I finally figured out the difference between the queue and favorites! LOL! They seemed to mean the same to me but now I get it. I just need to figure out how to get other patterns I want to do listed. Then I will be straight!



Here is my latest and greatest! I just started this on Thursday!
It's called a cushy scatter rug and its for my master bathroom. It's supposed to be 24 X 60 inches. I have a ways to go but I'm off to a great start. I am using three strands of yarn and its very thick. The yarn colors are shown in the previous post. The Caron yarns. I'm using one of each color. I hope I purchased enough yarn!

I got the pattern from Wal Mart. It's the "Beginner's Guide Crochet Stitches & Easy Projects" by Leisure Arts Little books. I'm doing a cross stitch all through it. I've done in this book. This book is a must for a newbie!

I made scatter rug before using a goldish yarn with metallic threads all through it. I loved that rug but a previous feline roommate ruined it by urinating on it. I would wash it and she would do it over and over again. Needless to say she is no longer a roommate and I threw the rug away. It was a hard thing to do! Trust me!

Well I'm off to pack for my trip. I don't plan on taking this project since the skeins of yarn are so large. I would definitely have to check my luggage for a trip with it. I don't want to do that this week. Traveling light is a preference for me.

Chat with ya later!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Ravelry Musings...

O.K. I forgot to write about my Ravelry musings yesterday. I was on a roll with my finished project and it got in the way. LOL!

I've been browsing Ravelry for a while and trying to update things. I have a few questions for you ladies out there.

One, I have tons of yarn without labels.

I finally got an opportunity to sort it and put it into baggies. If you have noticed most of it has been made into balls. I do this while watching television in the evening. It helps keep my skeins from getting too tangled.
My question is how do you label your yarns in your yarn stash if you aren't sure of the amount? Most of this yarn is leftovers or extra yarn purchased. Some of it is a partial skein and others aren't. How do you handle this?

My second question would be your blog feed. I have my blog listed but it doesn't show in Ralvery. How do you get it to show in Ravelry. Is it the RSS feed? How do I learn my RSS feed?

My third question is how well do you know Ravelry? I'm learning a lot but there is so much it can be overwhelming! My group is hoping to create a group on Ravelry soon but there is so much we need to learn. Do you have any tips for me?

So far I have four projects listed and completed. I'm working on a new project now and I hope to have it listed by the weekend. Come check me out when you have the chance!

Here are some photos from my group called "Ewe Can Knit Too". We are meeting once a week now and I love it. I'm the only one who crochets regularly. They are all knitters but are considering dabbling into crochet since I finish my projects so much faster than they do! One member Kritina always teases me about my projects. I will start a new project and the following week she will ask me if I finished! LOL! I'm O.K. but not that good! LOL!

Here is Barb teaching a newbie how to cast on. This was kind of funny to watch because their were several people helping her and many different ways to do the cast on of course. I was getting confused watching them!This is a picture from my end of the table. We meet at Panera Bread Company in Plainfield, IL on Mondays and we just push three tables together and work it out. I love Panera Bread Company. Good food! Last week they brought around treats for us to try and the clerks are very nice to us.


Larisa is the one on the left with the dark hair and glasses. She is our organizer and she is great! We are working on creating our Ravelry group. I can't wait! One person who was close to me wasn't included in this picture but I will get her next time! LOL!

I'm on a yarn budget. I wasn't supposed to buy any yarn until next year since I have such a nice quantity as you can see above. However, when I received my JoAnn's flyer I noticed yarn was on sale. I needed yarn to make a rug for my master bathroom. I was going to wait until next year but when I saw the Caron one pound yarn for 2 for $9 I couldn't let that pass. I justified it by listed it as a household expense instead of a hobby expense! LOL! It's the accountant in me that did it! I bought six skeins because the rug is supposed to be 60 inches long using three strands of yarn. I'm mixing one of each color to get a varigated look. I wasn't sure how much was needed since I'm noting most patterns are in yards instead of weight. So I bought extra. I think I will have enough in one skein. If not I will return three!

I don't know if you saw the recent Interweave Crochet magazine for fall. It's the bomb! I love Interweave Crochet fall issue! It's definitely worth the price. I've already flagged five items I must make. One is of this beautiful Austen Lace Muffler. I think this is so cute! I wanted to do one so I bought Patons Bamboo silk yarn at JoAnn's. I thought I was getting the right weight but I didn't check until I got home. This yarns weight is a "3" and the pattern requires a "2" weight. I was a bit disappointed besides I wasn't sure if it was enough. It wasn't! So I returned this yarn and will wait until later to do this project if I can't find any in my stash. By the way this yarn is on sale at JoAnn's for $4 a skein. That's a good price. I really like how it feels too! Very soft!


Well I think that's enough for today!
Later chicas!



Monday, October 6, 2008

Crochet and Ravelry Musings

I've been very busy with my crochet group. Now that fall has begun we have decided to meet weekly. This was my suggestion. I find that I miss a lot of meetings with my work schedule. We are going to create a group on Ralvery too! I'm quite excited. Many members already added me to their friends list (It's mskasey for those of you who would like to add me too!).

As a group we decided to do a knit/crochet a-long. Remember I'm a crocheter not a knitter (which I will try after a few more crochet projects). Well I was the first one who started and first one finished. I decided to do this pattern by Moda Dea yarns.


This is a crocheted kimono. Kritina from our group brought a knitted kimono book to our meetings and suggested a knit/crochet a-long. They chose kimonos from the book and I searched the internet for this one. Here is my review.

This is the finished kimono

Close up details


Pattern - Moda Dea crochet kimono - leaflet


Yarn - Bernat Berella "4" the afghan yarn

Color - Burgundy


How much yarn used - about 6 1/8 skeins. The pattern suggests a Moda dea yarn but it was more per skein than I wanted to pay.


Cost of yarn - $1 a skein! I bought 9 just in case. I found it in the clearance aisle at Michaels'. I love a good bargin.


Level - easy


Started - September 29th


Ended - October 14th


Size - 36


Did it look like the picture - yes it did!


Were the instructions easy to follow - yes


What did I like about the pattern - very easy and quick to crochet


What did I dislike about the pattern - nothing was wrong with the pattern at all.

Would I crochet it again - definitely. I want to do it again for myself!


Changes made - I decided to crochet a belt instead of using ribbon like the pattern said to do. It's just a simple single crochet belt.


Would I recommend this pattern - Definitely! Very easy! Good for a beginner crocheter


I still need to wash and block it but I think you get the overall effect. I think it came out great and I can't wait to give it to my mom. I think she will love it! I'm excited!

More projects to come!

Toodle Loo!