9 posts tagged “to-do”

I had two thoughts, browsing through Ravelry the other day:
1) "Gosh, those lace shawls are so beautiful. I should make a lace shawl."
2) "I should crochet something; I haven't crocheted anything in a while."

(#2 was not entirely true - I made Malu's Digital Pet Shop Cozy. But that was so tiny it almost doesn't count. Anyways.)

At some point, it dawned on me that I could merge Thought #1 and Thought #2, and crochet a lace shawl. So I went looking about for a pattern...and came up dry.

Almost all crochet shawl patterns out there are written for worsted-weight yarn, in stitch patterns I wouldn't entirely describe as lace, and certainly not what I was looking for. Filet crochet shawls are out there, but not quite what I had in mind for this project; I'm looking for the same kind of break-your-heart-beautiful OMGYOUMADETHAT??? lace shawl knitters make. Most of the really lacy ones are done in Love Knot stitch, and I've been there, done that, got the globs of hair I ripped out...

Almost all crocheted lace patterns out there are for doilies, meaning they're a little bit on the small side for use as a shawl by anyone larger than a Cabbage Patch Doll. Those that are not for doilies seem to be for tablecloths and bedspreads.

So, I'm kind of making up my own, I guess. And my brain is drifting in a couple different directions...

I could adapt a doily pattern into a round or half-round shawl. I'm smart, dammit! I'd just need to make it...really big! I've seen some doily patterns the last couple days that might not even be too hard to do it with.

I could adapt a tablecloth or bedspread into a square or triangular shawl. Hexagons would make a nice triangular shawl, and I've seen some very nice squares, too. But would that just scream "Wow, she's wearing a piece of a tablecloth"?

I could...umm...give Irish lace a try - there was one book on the Antique Pattern Library that worked out to "Irish Crochet For Dummies", so I wouldn't be stuck with instructions that assumed you knew how to do it. And I might even finish a whole shawl in my lifetime...given all that area to be filled in with mesh done in teeny tiny thread, I understand why back in the day, they sold "Irish Lace Netting" to which you could sew your motifs and edging and be done with it. :)

I'm not in any hurry to do this, mind you - I've got the sweater to finish, and I should probably actually work on my cross-stitch projects a bit. But it's been rolling around the back of my brain this weekend.

1) Finish the MSAL. DONE!!!!
2) Finish the needlecase (It's all felted, just need to make it up...)
3) Finish Daughter's poncho.
4) TW's Knotwork Bookmark DONE!!!! Fastest TW project ever. 16 days, probably about 35 hours of stitching. MIght try it again in another color scheme.
5)

sexyscholar's art. (In progress.)
6) TW's Tradewinds (I should be able to finish it this year, unless I turn up with another project-of-obligation that eats my whole year like the birth sampler did last year.
7) Finish kitting up the projects in my stash that I started kitting up. DONE!!!! with the caveat that some of the "kits" might need more floss than I put in them. One project turned out to not go with the fabric I had, so I'll have to buy more, gosh darnit. The hard part of this was getting up the nerve to cut into one of the large pieces of linen I picked up for the express purpose of cutting up.
8) Knit myself a pair of Fuzzy Feet.
9) Knit myself a Bombshell from Big Girl Knits.

Maybe I set my bar too low. Although Hubby points out that I've got plenty of non-stitching-related projects to finish, too.

1) Finish the MSAL. (Within sight...) DONE!!!!
2) Finish the needlecase (It's all felted, just need to make it up...)
3) Finish Daughter's poncho.
4) TW's Knotwork Bookmark (the inner knotwork loop is done, and that's the most complicated part.)
5)

sexyscholar's art. (I know what I'm making her, and it will make her laugh, but I have to figure out how to do it.)
6) TW's Tradewinds (I should be able to finish it this year, unless I turn up with another project-of-obligation that eats my whole year like the birth sampler did last year.
7) Finish kitting up the projects in my stash that I started kitting up.
8) Knit myself a pair of Fuzzy Feet.
9) Knit myself a Bombshell from Big Girl Knits.

Anything else is gravy.

I have the yarn to make my FuzzyFeet - I got the Lamb's Pride worsted in amethyst. There will probably be enough that Daughter will also get a pair of purple slippers out of the deal - an adult set takes a teense over 1 skein, so it seems reasonable that a child's will take a teense under.

Still need to score a set of 10.5 dpn's and a 10.5 circular - which is ironic, given that the very first needle I ever knit with was a 10.5 circular.

Might also want to look into a set of those iron-on slipper grippers I've seen somewhere. I didn't like the slipper sole the yarn store had on display.

I wonder if I could get Hubby to build me a blocking board. Or, failing that, build myself one. I gather it's a matter of tacking fabric with a one-inch check pattern to a piece of homosote board; I can tack fabric. :)

I have found a pattern for a knitted rectangle that does not turn into a scarf or a dishcloth.

Patons has conveniently provided instructions for turning their Classic Wool into a felted needlecase. I was thinking, "I could use a needlecase", because Yet Another Obstacle that plagued me when I knitted before was my needles getting separated and/or mangled when thrown into my project bag.

I have three balls of Rosewood - a black/off-white/pink variegated. I think it'll be my next project...

Meijer has Lion Brand Colorwaves on sale this week for $3.99/skein. The yarn for the shawlponchosweaterthingie will run me $24 instead of $36. I think I know what I'm taking on my impending road trip. :)

I'm acquiring projects faster than I'm stitching them. I hardly made a dent in the cross-stitch projects I picked up at the Stitch-N-Time Super Bowl sale last year. (Two friends unexpectedly spawning didn't help there, but...)

Left over from this year, that I have the stuff to make:
- TW's Knotwork Bookmark freebie.
- A University of Michigan T-shirt.
- A project from Michael's with some coral and shells
- Another snowman scene from Better Homes & Gardens Cross-Stitch Christmas. (I like snowmen. Hubby's Nana likes santas. We should buy Christmas project books and divvy them up...)
- Still plugging away at Tradewinds, for some value of "plugging".
- Still plugging away at the butterflies, for some value of "plugging".
- Little House Needleworks "Willow Tree Inn" (it's a little way down the page on the link.)
- TW's Tapestry Cat (got the kit on clearance, knowing I wouldn't start it for years...)
- A second copy of L&L's 1993 Christmas Angel. Ain't she beautiful? I made one last year. I wanted to make a second, and give one to my mom, one to my mother-in-law.

I want to make...
- A blankie for Daughter. It will be pink. Hubby thinks it might include some variant on fun fur.
- Leisure Arts "63 Squares" afghan - and oh my gosh there's 63 more?!?!?!
- From Interweave Crochet:
The hoodie
The Colorwaves topper
The tweed clutch purse
The "oversized pullover"
The "Fifth Avenue Jacket"
The zig-zag skirt (my reward for shrinking? :) )
The "Prism Shawl" if I can either find a good substitute yarn or bring myself to fork out $80 for the one it specifies.
- A red toss pillow to go with the green one I made.
- Something out of that handspun I got at Art Fair.

I need to make...
- The dang curtains for the living room.

I must also leave the (hopeful) option open that Hubby's brother and sister-in-law will bring a bundle of joy into their lives. I've kind of started an "on spec" blankie.

I think if I shop at the Stitch-n-Time Super Bowl sale again this year, it will be to socialize, and at most pick up a Q-Snap...unless they've got TW's Tea Scene. :)

While I napped today, I had a vivid, vivid dream.

I had a vivid, vivid dream about crocheting. Specifically, crocheting this sweater-shawl-thingie. I was evidently having trouble with the base chain-sc combo stitch used in the first row. And I was using JoAnn Sensations Rainbow Boucle, in red, instead of Colorwaves...which might not be a bad idea since the yarn's much, much cheaper, but I'm not sure how good a substitute it is. The dream was vivid enough that I felt the need to ask Hubby if I'd bought the yarn for that and hidden it from him. (I haven't.) I think I might make it in the red shades of Colorwaves...or Lion Brand says you can substitute Homespun for Colorwaves, again much cheaper, and a million billion color choices instead of eight. (And it sounds like the base chain - sc combo really is a pain to do with boucle yarn.)

Actually there's about five patterns from that magazine I intend to make, if I can find a good yarn, and another four I'd do if my body type were more appropriate for the patterns.

I am grounded from buying yarn at the moment - Hubby wants me to finish framing all the stray cross-stitch projects I have around the house. But I think if I'm going to have vivid, vivid dreams about crocheting a particular item, that's going to be first on the To Do list once I'm not grounded from buying yarn... and done with the Christmas presents I'm cross-stitching. One sledding teddy bear more or less down, four to go. Whee.