Calypso Wrap

I recently whipped this up for a friend who is going through a rough time.  I had hoped the bright colors, reminiscent of the sunrise, might help brighten a dark time, and help her know that a new day is always on the horizon.  The pattern is the Calypso Shawl, and the yarn is Darn Good Yarn's Ombre Recycled Silk in Orange, Blue, and Purple.  The yarn is made from silk waste, that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

Cozy Silk Slippers & Mitts to fit with Apple Watch

Been feeling a little under the weather lately, and a friend pointed out that I should try to be good to myself, and rest up.  So I put aside my monster afghan crochet project, and whipped up a cuddly pair of silk slippers just for me.  The pattern is called Silk Mer-Slippers by Miranda Nippert.  It was originally designed for Darn Good Yarn's Silk Roving Worsted Yarn in a colorway reminiscent of mermaids, and utilizes a shell stitch, hence the name Mer-Slippers.  I used the same yarn in Crimson Fire instead, because I had 5 skeins of it on hand.  This project busted nearly 2 skeins of it from my stash!  The pattern is very quick; I did the first slipper Thursday night while watching tv, and the second on Friday afternoon, while curled up with some GBBO on Netflix. Since I'm still feeling tired, I plan to spend the afternoon on the couch again, and might make a pair of fingerless gloves to match it.  Or I might nap.   :D

I just finished up a pair of mitts to match my new slippers!  I love fingerless gloves and mitts, but they are always problematic with my Apple watch.  I created a little window in the left mitt, so I can still access my watch screen while I wear them. 

Sari Silk Wrapped Bangles

These were made for Powerhouseofthecell in the recent Fiber/Mixed Media Jewelry Swap.  Powerhouse mentioned liking bangle bracelets, which I've never really dabbled in before.  These were the result of some inspiration from her Pinterest, and my stash of recycled sari silk ribbon and yarn. 

The blue and the pink were each made from recycled silk cloth, and the green is from recycled silk yarn.  The cloth ones were also wrapped in wire, and have some Swarovski crystal beads sprinkled along them.  They felt a bit unfinished to me, so I called on [member]sheepBlue[/member] & [member]PerfectlyBohemian[/member] for advice.  The recommended a few charms to finish them off.  Incidentally, I believe the dinosaur charms actually came from sheep herself!

From the Ashes Silk Shawl

I finished a quick little summer shawl!  The pattern is the From the Ashes Shawl from Rachy Newin Designs.  I started it when I was called home unexpectedly for a family funeral.  (The pattern name seems somehow appropriate for such an event.)  I wanted something very small to work on, so I took just 1 skein of the 3 used in the piece, and uploaded the pattern PDF to my kindle.  The yarn, a few stitch marker, and hook all fit in a little zippered pouch that I could tuck in my purse while traveling. 

The yarn is Darn Good Yarn's Sport Weight Silk in colorway Popsicle.  I received 1 skein of it as a selection of the month in their subscription yarn club.  Later I received a second skein as a promotion they were running where you could add a surprise to your subscription box for just $5.  Since I now had two, I picked up a third skein later, so I'd have enough to make something light and lacy.  It is such a dream to work with.  It glides across your skin, and whatever the detergent they use on the yarn smells pleasant, but not overwhelming.  I found myself sometimes sniffing my project.  Is that weird?  Wait, never mind.  It's totally weird, but I don't care.

As for the pattern, I initially had a bit of trouble with it.  The directions per row are a dense block of text, and even with the text size turned up on my kindle, it was easy to get lost within the paragraph.  I did the first 8 rows easily enough, but by row 10 I could tell something was off.  I frogged and restitched rows 8-12 a few times, not quite figuring out what was wrong, and getting a bit frustrated.  Finally I decided to walk away for a little while.  I took a nice shower, did a few errands, and had some lunch.  Lo and behold, when I got back to my parents house, there had been an update on the pattern, and it now had a diagram!  The diagram made all the difference, and I discovered that I had simply missed an asterisk in row 10, leading to 2 too many stitches.  It also made me realize how far I've come with reading crochet diagrams over text directions!

Silk Flower Brocch

Now that this has found its way to its new home, I can finally share the silk flower brooch I made in Candie Cooper's silk class at the Adornments Retreat last month.  The lovely kittykill helped me out by watching over the Craft a Craftster Friend Doll Swap while I was away at the retreat, and so I knew I wanted to make her something while I was there.  When we started in on these awesome flowers, I knew I had to make this for her!  Each petal was rough cut from silk fabric and lace, then the edges were lightly singed with a butane torch to seal them, and create an organic look.  They were layered together, topped with an awesome piece of Vintaj brass, and a cool rhinestone embellishment, and fished with some dangling bits of chain.  I couldn't resist adding some crystal beads to the chain.

Silk Tassel Pendant

I got to attend the Adorments Retreat last week, where I was lucky enough to take two classes with Candie Cooper.  The first focused on using silk in jewelry making.  We made large scrappy fabric tassels out of silk, bits of chain, and lace; all topped with beautiful large Swarovski crystal beads and Vintaj findings.  We were given beautiful knotted crystal strands to hang them from.

 I'm not really a girl or pink person, and yet I can't help but love the results, and I've been wearing it nearly every day since.  :D

Silk Scale Mail Dice Bowl

I was at a loss as to what to make my husband for our anniversary this year.  It's our 12th, which is silk and linen.  He isn't into either for clothing or pj's as the internet suggests, but digging through my yarn stash I found some awesome silk yarn, and decided to make him a dice bowl for when he plays D&D.  I made up the pattern based on previous bowls I've created, and have included the pattern below for you.  It was created with a worsted weight (#4) silk roving from Darn Good Yarn, called Crimson Fire.  The scales came from the Ring Lord and are red, silver, and carbon.

Round 1: In Magic Ring, 6 sc.

Round 2: Sc increase in each st. (12 sc)

Round 3: 2 sc, sc around. (18 sc)

Round 4: 2 sc, sc in next two st around. (24 sc)

Round 5: 2 sc, sc in next three st around. (30 sc)

Round 6: 2 sc, sc in next four st around. (36 sc)

Round 7: 2 sc, sc in next five st around. (42 sc)

Round 8: 2 sc, sc in next six st around. (48 sc)

Round 9: Sc in back loop only, around. (48 sc)

Round 10 - 11: Sc in each st around. (48 sc)

Round 12: Do 1st round of scales.

Round 13: SC in each st around. (48 sc)

Round 14: Do 2nd round of scales.

Round 15: SC in each st around. (48 sc)

Round 16: Do 3rd round of scales.

Round 17: Sc in first st, sc two tog, sc in next 6 st, sc two tog; repeat around. (42 sc)

Round 18: Do a round of slip st along the outside edge of the bowl, to create a stronger lip.

Finish off, weave in ends.

Elise Shawl in Turquoise Silk

This shawl was made for jemimah in the Use the Good Stuff Swap, on Craftster.  I LOVE the excuse to look through my treasured pieces in my stash, and make something lovely for someone who will truly appreciate it.  The pattern is the Elise Shawl, and is a free download on Ravelry.  When I first saw it, I was a bit intimidated, as it looks intricate, but after an initial setup of 6 rows, you repeat the same two rows over and over until you get the size you want, then add a simple picot border. 

The yarn is Darn Good Yarn's sport weight silk in Caribbean Current.  I decided I wanted to highlight the purple and deep teal splotches in it, so I added some iridescent glass beads along the final row, in the picots and the single crochet directly above the previous double crochet post.

Blocked it came to 44" across and 22" deep at the center back, and I finished with just 12" of yarn leftover!

Good Stuff Baskets

These baskets were made for jemimah in the Use the Good Stuff Swap on Craftster, hosted by craftylittlemonkey.  The idea of the swap is that life is short, so we should use the treasured craft supplies we would otherwise hoard, while we can. 

While digging through my stash of silk yarns, I came across these two bright skeins from two months worth of Darn Good Yarn's monthly subscription box.  I poked around Ravelry, trying to find some inspiration from other crafters.  I saw an awesome post from user marianheart, where she combined the same two skeins I was trying to, into some baskets, based on a pattern for a floor pouf. 

I decided I wanted to make something similar, and so I wrote my own pattern, using what I think is the same stitch (alternating spike stitch), but changing the base to one I've made a million times for bags and bowls.  I made a large and a small basket out of the two skeins, and would have made a medium sized one if I had more yarn.  The patterns for both the big & small, and the nonexistent medium size, are written out below. 

**LARGE BASKET**
Rounds 1-7: Start with the Begonia, and crochet in the round, with 6 sc increases per row. (42 sc at end of round 7)

Row 8: Change to Machu Pichu (without cutting previous yarn - the spike stitches and the abundance of colors in the yarns help hide the jog between rows, which will be on the inside of the basket).  Do a row of sc in **back loop only** to start the sides.

Row 9: Change to Begonia (without cutting previous yarn); do a row of [alternating spike stitch][1].

Row 10: Change to Machu Pichu (without cutting previous yarn); do a row of alternating spike stitch.

Row 11-22: Continue doing rounds of alternating spike stitch, changing colors without cutting yarn, in each row.  You will end with Machu Pichu.

Row 23: Add a round of [decorative slip stitch][2] in Begonia.

Finish off, weave in ends.

**SMALL BOWL**
Rounds 1-5: Start with the Begonia, and crochet in the round, with 6 sc increases per row. (30 sc at end of round 5)

Row 6: Change to Machu Pichu (without cutting previous yarn - the spike stitches and the abundance of colors in the yarns help hide the jog between rows, which will be on the inside of the basket).  Do a row of sc in **back loop only** to start the sides.

Row 7: Change to Begonia (without cutting previous yarn); do a row of [alternating spike stitch][1].

Row 8: Change to Machu Pichu (without cutting previous yarn); do a row of alternating spike stitch.

Row 9-12: Continue doing rounds of alternating spike stitch, changing colors without cutting yarn, in each row.  You will end with Machu Pichu.

Row 13: Because I had more Machu Pichu than Begonia left, I did a final row of alternating spike stitch in Machu Pichu (so 2 rows in that color). 

Edging: Thread the remaining end of the Begonia on a yarn needle.  Run the needle up through the back of rows 12 & 13, to hide this longer jog.  Add a whip stitch along the top edge of the basket. 

Finish off, weave in ends.

If I had more yarn, I would do a medium size version, so here's a pattern for a medium size basket.

**MEDIUM BASKET**
Rounds 1-6: Start with the Begonia, and crochet in the round, with 6 sc increases per row. (36 sc at end of round 6)

Row 7: Change to Machu Pichu (without cutting previous yarn - the spike stitches and the abundance of colors in the yarns help hide the jog between rows, which will be on the inside of the basket).  Do a row of sc in **back loop only** to start the sides.

Row 9: Change to Begonia (without cutting previous yarn); do a row of [alternating spike stitch][1].

Row 10: Change to Machu Pichu (without cutting previous yarn); do a row of alternating spike stitch.

Row 11-18: Continue doing rounds of alternating spike stitch, changing colors without cutting yarn, in each row.  You will end with Begonia.

Row 19: Add a round of [decorative slip stitch][2] in Machu Pichu.

Finish off, weave in ends.

Purple Silk Sari Ribbon Bowl

This bowl was whipped up as an extra for LeapFeetFirst in the Asheville Adventure Swap.  It's made of sari silk ribbon yarn, that is made from worn out saris that would otherwise end up in landfills.  They are rescued, sliced, stitched, and dyed, and given new life as yarn.  Both colors came from Darn Good Yarn.  I'm not sure what the purple one is, since I bought it as part of a sample sale, and it didn't have any info with it, but the turquoise is their 'Indian Brushstrokes'.  The pattern was also from DGY, and came free in one of their yarn-of-the-month boxes.  It can be found in both knit and crochet HERE. 

Treasure Keeper Pouch

I received my Darn Good Yarn of the Month box yesterday. The pattern was so simple and cute that I whipped it right up after dinner last night!  It only took about 45 minutes while watching tv, and best part is that the yarn won't disappear into my stash since it was used right up.  I love how it accidentally stitched up with beautiful swirling stripes!  Sadly there wasn’t enough yarn to make the drawstring as the pattern indicated, so I used some purple leather cord and amber glass beads from my stash to finish it off.  Actually, I think I like the purple leather cord better than I would have liked the yarn chain.  The yarn is Darn Good Yarn's 'Darn Good Fancy Twist' in the colorway Pink Flamingo.  It's a worsted weight silk spun with a strand of black lace weight silk.

The pattern was in the box, and is simply called the Treasure Keeper Pouch.  It doesn't seem to be listed on their website, or I'd link to it.  It will go to a friend who has been playing D&D lately, to use as a dice bag.

Stash Busting Ear Warmers (For whenever winter finally arrives in the South)

While it is currently 64 degrees here in TN (in freakin' January), I am certain winter will eventually arrive.  So I decided to whip up an ear warmer for those early morning walks with the pup on the days that it's chilly.  The received a skein of grey speckled tweed silk Called Stormy Day, from Darn Good Yarn's month subscription box back in November, and looked for an ear warmer pattern that I would have enough for.  I found the Irving Ear Warmer pattern, and tried it in the grey silk, only to discover that 50 yards was really not even enough for 2/3 of the pattern!  So I frogged it, and dug through my stash for something I might have more of.  Turns out I had 2 skeins of the same yarn in Oceanic Blues that I bought from their sample sale a few months ago.  Plenty to remake the Irving pattern.  It's chunky and soft.  :)

It's somewhat hard to see in this picture, but by using front post dc and back post dc, the pattern creates ridged stripes. 

Since I really had my heart set on making something in grey, so I decided to see if I could do anything else with the Stormy Day skein.  I ended up making up my own pattern.  I simply chained enough stitches to go snugly around my head.  Then I added 2 more chains, and started doing rows of double crochet.  I managed 5 rows of dc, and ran out with just about 7" of yarn left, just enough to stitch the ends together.  Then I used the leftover Oceanic Blues to add 2 rows of decorative slip stitching through the first and 5th rows.  Yay for 2 quick and easy projects, and for busting some stash!

Wild Birds of Paradise Silk Scarf

This was a really quick little project.  I started it on Christmas Day, while waiting for all the rest of the family to arrive at my Mother in Law's house, and finished it last night.  The pattern is the Naturally Southern Scarf, and the yarn is Darn Good Yarn's DK weight silk, in Wild Birds of Paradise.  I had received a skein of it in their yarn subscription box, and loved it so much that I knew I wanted to make something larger with it.  When I checked my account, I had enough points saved up to get a $25 gift card, plus the lovely curiousfae sent me a $10 credit from them that she wasn't able to use, so I paid next to nothing for it.  I love the deep raspberry, teal and turquoise, and how they are offset by the bright cheerful yellow.  Also the silks used in their yarns are waste that would otherwise end up in a landfill, but DGY rescues them, and then provides fair wages to women in India & Nepal, allowing them to work from home and support their families. 

Silk Cloud Waves Shawl

This project has been in the works for a long time, and I'm thrilled to report it's finally done. 

Backstory: I bought the kit in March of 2016.  I had gotten pregnant in February and was over the moon excited.  When it came time for our first doctor's appointment, we were told it was an ectopic pregnancy, and that I would have to have emergency surgery that day to end it and save my life, and while they were at it they had to take out my right fallopian tube which was scarred, and would result in another ectopic if we tried again.  I was so shocked and devastated.  I wasn't allowed to DO anything afterwards, just rest on the couch.  I finally convinced Jim to let me crochet because I needed to do something or go out of my mind.  I browsed the web, and saw this shawl pattern from DGY, and bought it to give myself something to do.  But they didn't ship the kit for nearly 2 weeks, so by then I was back on my feet.  

At that point I threw myself into getting back to the gym and taking care of myself, and being the healthiest I could be, so that hopefully we could start trying again in a few months.  I couldn't look at the yarn, because it reminded me of the sadness.  But by December, I decided that maybe I should take it up, and use it as a way to work through my feelings and heal, and give a gift to myself in honor of the little life that never came to be.  

Since then I've worked on it in starts and stops.  Sometimes it makes me sad, other times it doesn't get to me at all, and sometimes I just forget about it.  But I've really pushed myself to finish it over the last few weeks.  When I finished the prescribed 100 rows, I had a bit of yarn left, so I repeated the pattern until I ran out, giving me 110 rows.  I like to say I literally gave this project 110%!  It's 75" long, by 24" wide. 

I am thrilled with how it came out, but don't think I'll be taking up a project with such a thin yarn and tiny hook again anytime soon.  It was tough on my hands.  The pattern is called Cloud Waves, and I bought it as part of a kit from Darn Good Yarn.  The yarn is their lace weight silk, in shade Enchanted Forest.    This was my first project that has needed blocking, and it certainly helped me get over my fear of blocking such a delicate piece.

Infinite Rainbow Scarf

A few weeks ago, I made a rainbow ripples neckwarmer from some silk roving yarn that I received in my monthly subscription box from Darn Good Yarn.  A friend saw me working on it, and freaked out over how much she liked the colors.  Clearly, it had to go to her!  But I wanted to add something like a hat to go with it, afraid the neckwarmer alone wouldn't go with anything else she might have, so I contacted DGY, and asked if I could buy another skein.  The customer service person directed me to their regular listing for their worsted weight silk roving, in 'watercolors'.  The picture didn't look exactly like my yarn, but I figured if customer service told me that was it, than that was it, and that perhaps someone working on the website had photoshopped the picture to look a bit more vivid. So I ordered 2 skeins.  When they arrived I was very sad that they were not at all the same color.   But rather than cry over spilled yarn, I decided to find a different way to use it up to make something bright and cheerful.  This is the result.  The pattern is the Dragonfly Infinity Scarf (aka Double V-Stitch Infinity scarf) by Alyssa on Undeniable Glitter.  Since I was working with a limited amount of yarn, I made it a bit narrower, just 3 full-shells in the middle and 2 half-shells on the ends.  Wrapped twice it sits up close to the neck, rather than hang down over your boobs, but is still plenty loose for comfort.

*Also, I just got new glasses, and I'm trying to get used to them.  Every time I see myself in them I think I look like me, but in some sort of disguise.  Like this is my Clark Kent look...

Long Hooded Cape

Finished!  I really love how my new cape came out.  I was worried about the length, because I'm very short, but it's perfect; warm but not cumbersome, coming to just below my knees.  If I were to do it again, I might find a way to have the arm slits start and end 2-3 rows earlier, because they do start just barely below my elbow, rather than at the elbow.  I was also concerned about the fit around the hips because the pattern is one size fits most and I'm a plus sized woman, but it is great.  Plenty of room without clinging, but not a giant tent of a garment either.

Some folks on Ravelry had expressed concern that the hood wouldn't be big or deep enough as directed, and mentioned various ways of making it larger.  The simplest of which was to go up a size or two in crochet hook.  Since I knew I was going to be close on how much yarn I had left, I decided to make it exactly as directed, and if it was too small, I could always go back and rehook it later without too much fuss.  I'm glad I did.  Once the edging was added the hood was a perfect depth, and I finished the project with about 1/2 of one skein of yarn left, out of the 20 balls I'd ordered.  I really liked the wool yarn, and would recommend it to anyone.  Warm and comforting in weight, without being overly heavy.

Test swatch for Silk Waves Shawl.

It took exactly 1 month to finish the cape, due to the fact I did a lot of extra crocheting to hook out my feelings over the tensions of this election season.  Now that I've finished it, I'm still geared up, so it's time for a new project.  A silk shawl to be precise.  I bought the pattern and yarn when I was laid up back in March, but they didn't ship my order for well over a week, so by the time I got it, I was all better, and onto other projects.  The pattern is the Silk Waves Shawl from Darn Good Yarn, made from their lace weight recycled silk yarn, in the color Enchanted Forest.  It's been a strange switch from the worsted wool and 6.5 hook, to the fingering silk and 3.25 hook.  It was like learning to crochet all over again yesterday as I worked on my test swatch. Since the swatch came out well, I have moved onto the actual shawl, and completed 2 rows yesterday afternoon.