Fiber Monday

 

In Which I Did Some Crochet!

I've been working hard, lately, on Witchtober 2020. I'm a couple of days behind, but I'm still getting work done, and I'm proud of myself for that. I have sketches for the last 3 days (no "finished" inks, though), and I'm eager to get it on, but....

Today's not an Art day on the blog.

You're here about the yarn & hooks.

Some work on a shrug is afoot!

I mentioned that my sister was kind and gave me a pair of It's a Wrap! skeins, and I'm making use of the brighter color with this fun shell picot stitch. It's a six-row repeat (rows 2-7 of the pattern itself), with alternating shells and wide, loopy picots that I really enjoy working on.

As you can see, it's a fairly open design and may require a bit of blocking...

It's also a really fun design for this specific yarn, because the very separated strands and silky feel make the drape of this shell pattern infinitely more flexible than it would be in a more firm or fuzzy yarn. It looks great, too!

What's really fun is the color - you can't quite see it in the photos, but the yarn has gone from a very pale blue with a lot of white to more of an aqua color with less white, and as I continue, it will tend towards more greens and yellows! The overall feel will be somewhere between spring-like and oceanic, hence the shells, which can feel either floral or aquatic!

Alright, that'll about do it for me today - I've got some witches to draw, cheese to grill, and a shower to take lol.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday - Rockin the Progress

 

I Actually Got Some Work Done!!!

It's been a while since I worked on the Downton Abbey Lady Sibyl shrug, but I've been working on it today and yesterday, so here's a scrunched up progress shot for you!

It's not too much, but it's progress!

As you can see, it's still a bright shade of salmon, it's still lacy, and it's still not done, but never fear. With the power of video game music and moderate exercise, I am going to finish this!

This morning, I rediscovered my love of the Secret of Mana soundtrack - not the HD "Remaster" that blanded-up the music, either, the OG Soundtrack with it's completely insane boss battle theme.

Specifically "The Oracle", the theme for the Lich King.

This song absolutely slaps as the kids say.

And I may have been playing it for everything I do. Want to crochet for a full 15 minute block? Play the song. Want to get a good workout in? Play the song and move to it (stand like you're hip-firing a pair of chainguns and move to the music, it'll give you a good workout, I promise). Want to wake ALL THE WAY UP?! Play the song at top volume. You will not fall back asleep.

In a lot of ways, "The Oracle" is like MSG. It's like music on crack. It makes everything better. You have baby? Have baby listen to "The Oracle" it become better baby.

But seriously, that's been my day.

That and obsessively checking in on Baby Joey...

So how has your day been going? Get any work done on your own fiber projects? Get any writing or reading done? Seen any adorable animals, funny comedians, or cool games lately? Listen to any good music?

If not, then...

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Fiber Monday: Frazzled

In Which I Am... too busy for my own good

If you know me, you're probably aware that I have a very big problem with procrastination and a general lack of awareness. This is highly problematic in that it means that I take too long to start, finish, and talk about projects. It also means that it takes me forever to do normal tasks.

My oldest niece had her birthday on the 4th.

I just finished her present.

Can't tell what it is? That's okay, it's inside out.

I hope this shrug fits her and I hope she likes it. It's mostly open along the sleeves bc 1) I didn't know if i had enough yarn and 2) so that it can be worn when it's on the border between too cool and too warm.

Also, today I picked up a new 2.25mm hook, so I'll be back at the ol DA Lady Sibyl soon :)

See you guys later!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Fiber Monday 324: Ever Onward

In Which I Continue Making

Sometimes, it's hard not to get lost in the repetitive motion of a simple multi-row-repeat project like the DA Lady Sibyl or this soft rectangular something (will I have enough yarn for a shrug? Maybe?) based on a towel pattern from Lady Jay. So that is exactly what I've been doing this morning - progressing through soft garments and thinking about the next part of my book. Yesterday, I wrote just over 1k words, and I hope to get just as much done tonight, though we'll see. This might be a characterization day rather than a scene-to-scene day...

But today's not for writing (that's tomorrow lol), today is to show you my work with a hook and some yarn:

This is some sock yarn I found somewhere. Maybe it's Heart and Sole? I don't know.

I'm slowly increasing along one edge with every repeat because if it does become a shrug, it needs some body to it or it will only really fit my forearms, and I hate having open sleeves to the elbow. That sucks. I have another ball of the yarn, too, so it's a distinct possibility that Size 2 yarn + 4mm hook = a wearable garment. Even if said wearable garment is in bizarrely Eastery colors...

And the Lady Sibyl still grows slowly

I've added another half inch, but we'll see how much longer this takes...

I love the Red Hotdogs color on the lace weight yarn I'm using for the Lady Sibyl, but I do kind of wish I had a nice cloud gray or a sage green or a warm umber to make other versions out of. Maybe a silver color would be nice? Regardless, I'm very into rectangles-you-fold-and-sew-to-make-clothes right now.

I'll keep you all up to date on my progress with my silly little projects, and hopefully someday soon you'll see an item or two up for sale somewhere on here. I'm workin on it ;)

How are all of your guys' projects going? Are you sewing masks? Are you stitching clothes? Knitting socks? What's up out there?

I'd love to see or hear about the handcrafted projects you're working on, so feel free to tell me about them in the comments or something.

Go Enjoy Something, guys
FC

Fiber Monday 314: DA Lady Again

In Which I continue the work

Still working on that Shrug, guys. It's taking a loooooooooong time.

But I like the lighting on this image, at least...

I still hope to finish it in the next two months, which is possible, if I just focus on actually doing it instead of getting distracted every five minutes.

I hope you guys are keeping up with your creative endeavors, where possible. I hope you're staying inside when you can. I hope you're well.

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Fiber Monday 312: Progress and Patience

In Which I have made progress!

It's no secret that I'm an impatient person. I like things to happen on my time, regardless of who's doing them. I don't like waiting for anyone or anything.

It's also no secret that this is super hypocritical because I'm super extra lazy and late for everything.

So I try not to let my impatience take over. But boy, is it hard not to be impatient when you do two repeats of your pattern and it only increases things by about half an inch...

On the plus side, I'm a little less than a third of the way finished!

As impatient as I am, it's hard not to get discouraged, so I try to mitigate the tedium of a slow-growing project like this one by starting new, faster projects like this one:

And this is what two hours of work looks like.
Distracted work, no less!

So this new shawl, worked in a weird yarn that I know absolutely nothing about and couldn't identify if I tried, but which I adore, is a very, very quickly-worked one. I'm using a 3.75mm hook and it's... beautiful. Look at that colorway! It's actually a lot more brilliant in real life - that pink is closer to fuchsia than pastel, and the purple is almost electric! Lovely stuff.

It works so quickly because it's mostly chains, which, you know what? That's awesome. I hope someday to use this style of repeat on a rectangular piece of fabric. Maybe I could turn this repeat pattern into a cardigan, even? Who knows - crochet's versatile like that.

Right, I've got to get back to work, guys - these projects won't hook themselves, after all!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Fiber Monday 310: The Lady Grows Some More

In Which I've Done A Lot Of Work On A Lot Of Projects

I promise I worked on the shrug, but I've also been working on other projects, so it's not as impressive as it usually is :|

The Progress
also my feet lol

I've been working for a while on making some vintage lace to turn into a lovely choker, which I've finally finished (for the most part - I still have to weave in the ends and clip the extra string)!

The choker

I also get to practice my Blocking with this project, which is a first for me. I've never blocked before, so I hope I've done it more-or-less correctly and that it comes out well. I don't need it to be perfect - I just want it to work.

A closeup of the blocking. You can't really see it, but it's quite damp right now.

The other thing I'm working on (as winter wraps up, of course) is a snuggly brown sweater. It's a top-down affair in a thick worsted acrylic with a pattern from the Yarnspirations website. The pattern calls for zig-zags, but I think I'll just work down to where the pattern starts being solid (probably right at the armpits, tbh) and then make some sort of repeating pattern - maybe Fairisle, maybe something nerdy, idk. But for now, we're barely at the shoulders!

It's a much darker brown in real life. My phone eats color :(

So that's what I'm up to this week in projects! How about you guys? What are you up to?

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Fiber Monday 308: Speed Up Would Ya Lady?

In Which It's Slow Going

I promise, I worked on the shrug, it just doesn't really look like it. Between the thinness of the lace yarn and the fact that I probably only did one or two pattern repeats, it's not too much bigger than it was. I apologize for this. I blame my poor time management skills. Also the fact that I've been super distracted by writing lately.

Still, it's lookin good!!!

If a little hazy. And furry.

Since today is a high-allergy day, and since I live with a cat and have worked on this around dogs, it's full of pet fur, which is annoying and makes my nose burn. At least it looks like a beautiful day, and it's in the mid thirties for temperature (above freezing!). It's sunny and bright, but the sky is pale and the horizon is that off-blue color you get when the atmosphere is odd.

It's lovely.

I'll be heading out there soon, but I just wanted to reassure you all that I am, in fact, still working on this project.

Go Enjoy Something, guys!
FC

Fiber Monday 307: The Abbey Lady Groweth

In Which I Have Made A Little Progress!

So you'd think I'd be a lot further on this shrug by now, but I've been distracted/busy lately. I have no excuses, really. It's not that I haven't been crocheting, I've just been crocheting things that aren't the shrug lol!

I made my dad a crocheted rubber duck for his birthday because he works in IT, and when they have a problem, there's a process called "Rubber Ducking" where you talk through the problem and process out loud to an inanimate object (such as a duckie), which usually helps you figure out what's wrong.

I also started work on a sweater using some brown Caron Simply Soft, which I'm going to try striping with a dark green I was given for Christmas!

I'm also working on a piece of crocheted lace for a choker I'm making for someone. It's been a long couple months lol.

So of course I've fallen behind on the Lady Sybil shrug.

Still at about 3" long, though! That's not bad - that's about 20% completion!

It's going to take a few more weeks to finish the body of this project, and then it's sewing time! And after that I get to add a lacy border! Super excited about that, tbh!

As for the rest of the projects, we'll see how all of that goes :)

Today, the weather is hellishly miserable. I mentioned that we had a massive ice storm recently, right? Well, now it's 39℉ (4℃) and drizzly and gross out there. There was about an inch of uneven, slippery ice on the sidewalks last night (which was a pretty but snowy night), so that's probably a death trap right now. I'm still gonna go walking today, though, because I'm a badass and the weather has no hold on me (that's a lie, but one I'm going to keep telling myself lol).

I think that'll do it for me today, guys!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Fiber Monday 305: Slow Growth

In Which Everything Grows Slowly

I knew when I started the Downton Abbey Lady Sibyl Shrug that it would be slow going. I was using the wrong-sized yarn, the wrong-sized hook, and I was starting it at the same time as my novel project (which is going fairly well!). Still...

I'd hoped to have more than a single inch of the garment finished by this week.

Life intervened, however, and now I'm at about 0.75" finished, unblocked. At least I know now that it will take at least 16 pattern repeats to make the garment? Because it's supposed to be 15" wide (38cm). I have very wide arms, however, so it's probably going to be more like 16" (40.6cm) wide.

So it's probably going to be anywhere from 17 to 30 pattern repeats.

Why such a broad range? Because I absolutely stink at eyeballing progress.

Also, because I'll be fitting the garment as I near the end.

But What does all of this mean for future Fiber Mondays? It just means you'll be seeing a whole lot of this color yarn, really.

I've got more rows to complete, words to type, and food to consume and discuss, today, though, so I'll let you all go.

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Fiber Monday 236: Shrug

I've finished the Shrug i was working on as a side project

So when I'm working on something, I've usually got a few side projects going. It's one of the reasons things can take... ages. I've had the lovely Yvonne yarn from a local yarn maker for years, but I only recently started working on a project with it in earnest. The rich purple merino-silk blend makes this shrug one of the softest things I've ever made, while the pattern is one that is so simple I'll probably be using it for many other items - including, perhaps, the pumpkin set I'm planning to make next...

The pattern is based off of a pattern called "Fika" by CJ Brady designs, so if you're looking for instructions, I'd strongly suggest going to Ravelry and checking it out there. I really liked the way the stitching was kind of a shell but also kind of not, so it looked really cool!

As you can see, I made a long rectangle. here it is shown folded in half.
It's about 15" high by 30" wide (or 38cm x 76cm) with 5" (13cm) sewn in on either side for sleeves.

I loved this pattern. I don't wear cowls or infinity scarves, but boy if I did, this would be how I made it. It's so airy, but it's also so warm! This is perfect for a short-sleeved dress in early spring, or a cold-shoulder dress when it's a bit too cold for one. I would have needed a third ball of Yvonne to finish this as a long-sleeved shrug, or to add a proper edging around the inside, but sadly, Yvonne is out of manufacture, so I will have to content myself to its current state.

Which isn't hard. It's fantastic.

I stitched the sleeves shut inside out with a simple single-crochet row binding the edges together.
Then I turned the garment right-side-out to edge the sleeves!

Measuring the other sleeve before committing to the single-crochet.

The actual speed of making this whole shrug was shocking. Seriously, if I'd just worked on it every day, I probably could have made this within a week, which is incredible for a snail like me.

Finished before edging.
I had to do the finishing in the hall upstairs, since there was no room at the table
and I work better sitting in front of the project than with it up near my face.

I finished the edging on my bed.
The edging was a repetition of the Fika pattern proper, which is simple and fun!

The hardest part, however, was trying to get this thing on camera. I'm not much of a photographer to begin with, so I had to balance on tiptoe and try to snap this in the mirror awkwardly...

Well, you can see it. Mission accomplished?

It really is awkward, trying to photograph oneself without exposing one's face...

I did get a good detail on the sleeve, though!

In the end, I've settled on laying the finished shrug on the stairs to give you some idea of its wear.

Which, unfortunately, the flash completely botched - lol!

If you were wondering what a shrug was this whole time (and the photos aren't clear enough, for which I apologize), it's basically a tiny sweater that consists of a tube that's only sewn along the bottoms of the sleeves, left open in the middle, and worn to keep the upper arms toasty. Or fashionable.

I hope my experiments with this shrug have intrigued you enough to check out CJ's pattern on Ravelry so you can make your own garments based off of it!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC