Lauren's Hobby World

the prodigal returns

2011-06-04T13:43:00.000-07:00

well, no posts for 2 years, kinda bad.

However,

i have continued with my hobbies:

dancing - getting better at following and becoming a decent leader as well. Now assisting my instructor in beginning classes

knitting - started learning how to knit and I have made a cable scarf and a shawl with bobbles, will try a sleeveless cardigan next

Crochet - I have made several baby blankets for friends now as they keep having babies. I made one with big color stripes using pale blue, green and white from a baby yarn collection, one with yellow and teal in a catherine wheel pattern (looks like interconnected circles), and now a ripple with a raised line in brown green/blue and green/blue/white variegated yarn. All baby blanket are acrylic.

More crochet - I have also made another spiderweb afghan and i have started a pretty scarf that uses a simple mosaic crochet technique. Pictures will follow for at least some if not all of these projects.

Books - Still reading a lot of nonfiction. Recently finished the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Boy who Harnessed the Wind, Unbroken, and The Clockwork Universe. In Fiction, read The Help, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, re-read an AE Maxwell mystery called the Art of Survival, did a complete re-read of the Steven Brust Jhereg series in preparation fro Tiassa, then read Tiassa. Also started and caught up with the Maisie Dobbs series of mysteries. Saw Jaqueline Winspear at a book talk and got one of the books autographed.

Books I read recently

2009-05-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

Finally read 1421: The Year China Discovered the World after having it around for a while.

Also read the Moneypenny Diaries, a novel that purports to be a secret diary written by Ms. Moneypenny from the James Bond books and movies. It was light and enjoyable, a good beach read.

also reading the Starman Omnibus series of hardbacks from DC Comics. Very satisfying revamp of a classic second string Golden Age character. Good supporting cast, good reuse of established characters, and complete world-building that leaves you with a satisfied feeling after you finish the book, whuile still letting you feel like you want more.

Spiderweb Afghan

2009-05-20T12:25:00.000-07:00

The pattern is from Leisure Arts Leaflet 2508 - Quick Crochet Afghans Book Six from 1994. I used Lion Brand Homespun acrylic yarn in multiple colors to create this afghan. Colors used include Edwardian for the edging and final row, Regency, Colonial, Shaker and Nouveau for the rest of the afghan.

Cabled Scarf from Vogue Knitting Crocheted Scarves Two

2009-02-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

This scarf pattern was labeled Expert and is called Cabled Scarf. I used the same yarn that is in the hat from October. The pattern has a typo in the Row 3 directions. It took me a bit to determine that instead of BPtr around 2nd sk st, the 2d sk st actually meant BPtr around 1st sk st, then 2nd sk st.

Here is a photo:

Unfortunately in my photo the cabling does not show up well, probably because I used a multicolored yarn.

Reading List

2008-10-22T15:33:00.000-07:00

Reading Now:
The Irregulars - about Roald Dahl and how he spent WWII in DC spying for the Brits.

Interweave Crochet Project

2008-10-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

I made a hat using Front Post double Crochet and some wool yarn that I got on sale that was multicolored. I am pretty happy with how it turned out. Here is the photo:

Reading List

2008-10-01T17:14:00.001-07:00

Last week I read:

Infoquake
Uglies
Valor's Trial
Dragon and Liberator
Jhegaala

These were all Science Fiction novels, with Uglies and Dragon and Liberator being young adult books and Jhegaala technically a fantasy novel.
This week I have the following books lined up:

Zoe's Tale
Travels with Charley
Playing the Enemy : Nelson Mandela and the game that made a nation
Angry Wind : through Muslim black Africa by truck, bus, boat, and camel
Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Crochet
Jane Austen Book Club

Where my crochet is

2008-07-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

The hat I made for a friend has been safely delivered and here is the photo to prove it:

The original pic of the just finished hat looks like:

I had to alter the pattern to make the hat smaller as it came out too large with the yarn I was using.

working on a new hat with earflaps using the same yarn.

What I have read recently

2008-07-20T15:38:00.001-07:00

Android's Dream by John Scalzi
A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz
Hammered by Elizabeth Bear
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee

big clutch or small tote?

2008-05-10T17:13:00.000-07:00

I took this pattern from the Stitch n bitch Happy Hooker book and used this really neat 100% wool yarn from Takhi Stacy Charles. The yarn is called Ghost Print and is the 4105 color which is grey and white with a little black as well. The yarn varies the thickness and color throughout. I used the G hook called for in the pattern. I had to change the number of stitches across by subtracting 10 since it looked too wide otherwise, but I kept the opening for the handles the same.

Here is the finished bag:

Basketweave Scarf

2008-05-10T17:07:00.000-07:00

This scarf also comes from Crocheting for Dummies and uses a basketweave pattern. The yarn is a 15% wool/5% mohair/80% acrylic blend from Bernat Cloudspun in the color called slate blue. I had this yarn for over 20 years and had started several things with it, but I ended up ripping them out every time. I used an H hook. I think it may be a little wide and a little longer than the project called for, but it looks good. Here is a photo of my scarf:

2 Cloche style hats using the same pattern

2008-05-10T16:57:00.000-07:00

The following 2 hats were made using the same pattern from Crocheting for Dummies. The first hat was made using an acrylic yarn containing 3 colors using an H hook and following the directions exactly. Here is picture of the hat:

The second hat was made using Lion Brand Homespun acrylic which is bigger and bulkier, but also a multicolor yarn. I followed the pattern using an H hook but I changed the number of rows and how often I expanded and reduced the number of stitches since the hat was coming out too big and i wanted a 22 inch diameter. Here is a photo of the other hat:

Both hats only took a couple of evenings to create and the the pattern uses simple single and double crochet with increases and decreases.

Vogue Crocheted Scarves Two book

2008-04-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

I started making a scarf with some 76% wool/24% kid mohair blend yarn that I bought many years ago and never used. The yarn is from a french company called m. caulliez et delaoutre, C&D, Tourcoing, Paris. The yarn also says Chanteleine Celine on the label. This yarn is either a 1 (Super fine) or 2 (fine) asthe label shows a hook size of 4.

The scarf pattern is called Aqua Mesh, and has a rating of 2 bars for easy. I did not have the size c hook they wanted so I am using a D hook, the instructions also called for a kid mohair yarn: Alchemy Yarns of Transformation Promise in #34w Turquiose Pool with a weight number of 5 (bulky).

So far I have spent about 3 hours and I think I am halfway done. I will take a picture of the finished project. This will be my fifth project in the last year after not crocheting for over ten years. I will add the other projects in a later post.

Updated May 9: project is finished, took about 6.5 hours and here is a picture of the scarf: