Crochet Angel

I know that my blog says Knitting and Other Stuff, and I guess this qualifies as "other stuff". On Saturday I was out and about and I stopped by this little gift shop at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo called Little Lace Lady. The shop has scrapbooking supplies, rubber stamps, and a little of everything. It even has a few cross stitch kits, and some fat quarter fabrics. As I went in the door, there were some tote bags hanging on a rack. I love tote bags, and a particular one caught my eye. It was just a very small bag that had been sewn out of some mauve colored pastel cotton fabrics. The inside was lined with a coordinating fabric, and on one side of the outside of the bag, the maker had attached a really pretty crocheted angel doily made from crochet cotten size 10. It was so pretty and delicate looking. Sort of Victorian looking, really. I looked at the price tag and it was $24.95. Well, knowing that I have so much fabric stash at home and a pattern for a tote bag just about that size, I thought to myself "I can make that." The only other problem was that I had to find a crochet angel pattern. Then, I remembered when Chie had sent me a really pretty angel dishcloth. It looked almost like the one that was attached to the tote bag in the store.

I went home and looked up the pattern. It's here: Crochet Angel Pattern. The only thing I did differently was to use the pattern for Angel #2 and crochet 44 stitches (instead of 24) around a 1" plastic ring. I used cotton crochet no. 10 and it was Spring Maid, or something similar, in a cream color. I used a steel crochet hook size 0. It took several starts and restarts, but once I figured it out, the angel came out so intricate looking. And so pretty. I'm really pleased with the way it came out. I made one in white and one in the cream color. Double click the picture to see it bigger.


Crochet Angel

I think I'm going to make a little bag like the one I saw in the gift shop, or I may crochet a few more and make a wall hanging. They are so quick to make that making a Victorian looking quilted wall hanging would be pretty quick too.

I must go now. Hubby is having a touch of a stomach virus today and is not feeling well. I guess it's that stuff that's going around everywhere. More later.

Longing for Spring

I started getting sick on Wednesday afternoon after lunch. My throat got sore and lasted until Friday. Then it went away and I felt pretty good, thinking that maybe I got off light. Then yesterday afternoon I started coughing and coughing and am still coughing. I sick of it, and it's only been one day. I'm afraid this is only the beginning. I know there are some other folks who have been dealing with it alot longer than that.

Hubby and I have been lounging around watching Oscar month on Turner Classic Movies. While I'm doing that, of course, it means that I can get some knitting time in. I knit until I get really tired and then I take a nap. I finished the pink Fun Fur scarf. By the way, the color is Raspberry. I started another Fun Fur scarf in black. My boss was wearing a black one the other day and I just loved it, so naturally I decided I needed one too. I'm almost finished with that one, and then I'm going to start yet another one in Caribbean. It's a pretty spring like color that I have never seen before. I have several things I can wear with it. When I'm on so much cold and cough medication, the garter stitch that I use to knit the Fun Fur scarves is just the right kid of mindless knitting that I need right now.

I'm longing for spring. These cold, dark winter days are getting me down. Physically and mentally. I have been thinking about flowering trees and shrubs. I would love to have a tulip tree. I think another name for it is a tulip magnolia of some kind. The blossoms on them are like tulips and they are beautiful. My mother-in-law has one in her yard and I'm so envious. I want one really badly. I'm sure my local garden center has them. First, we have to get our yard back in shape from the construction of the sunroom. There are many things left to do outside. The construction crew still has to come back and finish up some things before we can even begin to clean and landscape the yard again. Right now it just looks like an ugly old construction site.

Scarves

I've been on a scarf kick lately. I finished my first Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf and I made another one in Noro Silk Garden. That yarn was ok, but I wasn't thrilled with the feel of it in my hands while I was knitting, although the color came out great, but seemed a little artificial and not a natural looking color. I went to my LYS and bought some superwash merino wool in a variegated color to make another one. This yarn feels much softer than the Noro, even though it is wool. I like the fact that it can be washed and dried flat, whereas the Noro instructions say to dry clean it. I'm thinking about giving these scarves as Christmas gifts and I just don't want to give someone a gift that needs special treatment.

Last night I cast on for a Fun Fur scarf using a pretty pink color. I don't have the label with me, so I can't tell you the color number. It's not a light pink and it's not the hot pink color, but sort of in between, and it's a really pretty pink that I like. I think I'm keeping this scarf for myself since I gave the other ones I made as Christmas gifts. The scarf knits up pretty quickly. I'm already almost half finished with it. The pattern is on the Lion Brand web site, but I can tell you what it is. The original pattern says to cast on 22 stitches using a size 11 needle and just knit in garter stitch (knit every row) until the scarf is as long as you want it. I used two skeins of the Fun Fur. This time I cast on only 15 stitches and it makes a little bit thinner scarf, but that's ok. It's a light, fun scarf.