Hooked on Hooking

So, I saw that Blogger Beta had the option to have post labels, so that your archives can be sorted by category. Which caused me to switch. Overall I like it, but there are some glitches with things such as comments. Apparently, anyone with a Blogger account that isn't a Beta account can't post comments. This does not happen to people who do not have blogger accounts at all, or people who have Beta accounts. That really makes me sad, as I adore recieving comments. Who doesn't? Hopefully they will fix the bug soon, as I can't switch back to a non- Beta account. (A fact that they made me well aware of, it's my own fault for not reading the message boards in the help forums to see all the bugs people were experiencing first.) I'd say that if you had any questions about my experiences with blogger beta, to submit a comment, but as that may not work, I have started a thread on the crochetville message boards here . Feel free to post to it.

After finally learning to make hairpin lace, I decided to make a simple afghan to practice the strips. Overall, I like how it turned out, it makes a nice, light, throw. If I use it in an afghan again, though, I think that I will likely alternate it with strips of either sc's or dc's to make a more dense fabric. This ghan is going to end up donated to that fundraiser at work in place of the ripple one in an earlier post, since my mom has laid claim to the ripple.

For a very very very very very long time, I have wanted to make hairpin lace. I'm not sure why, it's just something that has always caught imagination. So, quite some time ago, I dutifully bought a hairpin lace room at my local craft store, and prepared for the joy of making strips of neat looking loops. Only, it didn't quite work out that way. No matter which instruction site I read, I just couldn't grasp the concept. In vain would I try to make sense of the instructions, making and utter mess on my little loom, before giving up in dispair. And then, today, I found this site . And for some reason, it actually got through my thick skull! Not too bad for a first attempt, eh?

I made this afghan from a pattern I found on a label of Bernat yarn. I liked it, because of the lacy look of the MC. You can get the pattern on the Bernat website here , but it does require that you be a member in order to view the pattern. This afghan was originally meant to be donated to a fund-raising silent auction at work for breast cancer, but I haven't heard whether it is still happening since I agreed to make the afghan for it. I will check when go in this week. If not, my mom saw it while it was in progress, and was kind of salivating over it, so I may have a Christmas present done early for her.

This bag is the result of my attempt to design my own "hobo-style" tote bag. I think it turned out pretty well, and overall, I am pleased with the results. I crocheted it using two strands of worsted weight yarn held together and a size 6.5 mm hook. I did not count my exact number of stitches, but here is the basic design concept that I used: Starting with the bottom of the bag, I made a starting chain of approx. 12. I made 2 sc in the 2nd ch from the hook, then 1 sc in next 9, 2 sc in last ch. Then, working in the bottom loops of starting chain, 2sc in next ch, 1 sc in each of next 9 ch, 2 sc in last chain, join to starting sc. I then crocheted several more rounds, increasing on the ends to make an oval base. When I had made a base the size I liked, I started the sides of the bag by: ch1, sc in same sp as where you joined last round of bottom, ch 3, sk next sc, *sc in next sc, ch3, sk 1 sc*. Repeat * to* to end. Join last ch3 to first sc body row: slip stitch into ch3 space,...

I used a modified version of the Navajo Afghan pattern to make this small throw pillow. It's a great pattern for using up scraps, particularly for something small like a throw pillow, as it only requires a small amount of each colour at a time. As well, the pattern calls for 4 colours, but really, you could use as many as you like and think look good together. I have worked the basic pattern in 2, 3 and 4 colours myself, and there's no reason why you couldn't use more. Because I was sewing the rectangle up to make a pillow, I decided to leave the ends loose, and just make sure they were sewn into the inside of the pillow. Lazy I know, but this pattern does leave a lot of ends to weave in, and that can get tedious.

Good-bye, my friend. I will miss you. The things we worked on together , the laughs and frustrations we shared. You were faithful and true, never balking no matter what task I put to you. Gliding through any yarn with ease. I could never have made many of the afghans, shawls, totes, or my first sweater project without you. Rest well old friend. your legend lives on with me.