Adventures in Running & Crafting

Moved to a new blog

2007-11-27T12:20:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! My sweet hubby bought me a .Mac account for my birthday so I have switched my blog over there. I'm leaving this one up for a little while until everyone updates their links.

Here's my new blog!

Tunisian Scarflet

2007-11-24T13:35:00.000-05:00

I designed this scarflet after seeing the infamous Pidge that sells online for upwards of $300. I loved the idea of a neck scarf and thought that I could create a beautiful scarflet with Tunisian crochet stitches. This project works up very fast. It is nice and thick due to the nature of Tunisian, which is created with a forward pass and return row.

Tunisian Scarflet

Materials:

- Heavy worsted weight yarn (I used 1 skein Lion Brand Organic Cotton)

- Tunisian/Afghan Crochet Hook, Size “I” or 5.5mm

- Two 1” buttons of your choosing

- Tapestry needle

Gauge: 14 stitches & 11 rows in stitch pattern = 4”x4”

Finished Size: 5”x25”

Important notes regarding Tunisian Crochet:

- If you don’t have experience with Tunisian Crochet, I highly recommend that you watch these great video tutorials at http://www.nexstitch.com/v_Tutorials.html

- I’ve found that Tunisian Crochet turns out best when worked loosely. If worked too tightly, it can be difficult to see where your stitches are & where to insert your hook.

- I recommend periodically counting the loops on your hook at the end of a forward pass to make sure you have the right number of stitches.

SPECIAL STITCHES

Basic Forward Pass (FP) & Return Row (RR):

Forward Pass - The first loop on hook counts as first stitch. Pull up a loop in all stitches of previous, or foundation, row, with the exception of the first vertical bar. For the last stitch of the forward pass, a cleaner edge will be made if you insert hook into the vertical bar and the bar behind it before pulling up loop. Leave all loops on the hook.

Return Row - YO and pull through one loop on hook. * YO and pull through two loops on hook* repeat from * to * until all but one loop is off the hook.

Tunisian Knit Stitch (TKS):

Insert hook from front to back through the front and back vertical bar, YO, pull up a loop

Tunisian Reverse Stitch (TRS):

Insert hook from backside of work and through center of front and back vertical bars, and out the backside, YO, pull up a loop

DIRECTIONS

Foundation Row: Ch 16 loosely. Skip first ch, then pull up a loop in the back bumps of each remaining ch across. Count here to be sure you have 16 loops on your hook. Now work a standard RR.

Row 1: Skip first vertical bar. * 1 TKS, 1 TRS, repeat from * across. Remember to work the last stitch as described above.

Work a standard RR.

Row 2: Skip first vertical bar. * 1 TRS, 1 TKS, repeat from * across. Remember to work the last stitch as described above.

Work a standard RR.

Continue to alternate Row 1 & Row 2 until scarf measures 24” in length.

Buttonhole Row:

FP - Skip first vertical bar. 1 TKS, 1 TRS, 1 TKS. Insert hook in next stitch as for the TRS, YO, pull up a loop then pull that loop through the next loop on your hook (this is a slip stitch bind off). Insert hook in next stitch as for the TKS, YO, pull up a loop then pull that loop through the next loop on your hook. Now work in the 1 TRS/1 TKS pattern for 6 more sts. Repeat the slip stitch bind off across the next 2 sts, then finish the last 3 sts in pattern.

It should look like this:

RR - YO and pull through one loop on hook. [YO and pull through two loops] 2 times, ch 2, [YO and pull through two loops] 6 times, ch 2, [YO and pull through two loops] 3 more times.

It should look like this:

Next Row: Skip first vertical bar. 1 TRS, 1 TKS, [pull up loop in back bump of next ch] 2 times, [1 TRS, 1 TKS] 3 times, [pull up loop in back bump of next ch] 2 times, 1 TRS, 1 TKS, 1 TKS.

Work a standard RR.

Final Row: Skip first vertical bar. * 1 TKS, 1 TRS, repeat from * across. Remember to work the last stitch as described above.

Work a standard RR

Bind Off Row: Skip first vertical bar. * Insert hook in next stitch as for the TKS, YO, pull up a loop then pull that loop through the next loop on your hook. Repeat from * to end until there is just one loop on your hook.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Attach buttons to correspond with button holes.

Golf Club Covers

2007-11-19T13:27:00.001-05:00

I finished these up this afternoon as a Christmas gift for DH. The cabled one is a Lion Brand pattern (my first cables). The second is a fair isle pattern from Vogue's Stitchionary. I was going to make a set of 3 but Tim doesn't have a 5 iron so I just made the two. The stripes on the ribbing indicate which club they go on :)

They are done in Patons Classic Wool Merino.

Palindrome!

2007-11-18T22:15:00.000-05:00

The Palindrome scarf is finally finished!!! Yay! I can't wait to see my MIL's reaction when I give it to her at Christmas. Now I just need to start on Tim's Palindrome. I've got so many WIPs right now, I really hope I can get everything done in time :)

Spike the Dragon

2007-11-15T15:28:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been testing this adorable dragon for Stormy over at Crochetville this past week. I had to improvise a little... I ran out of my main color so I had to shorten the legs and make her ears a different color. I also embroidered her eyes instead of using the acrylic kind since it will be a present for Isabella. All that said, I think she turned out pretty darn cute. She's a nice quick project, will be great for future last minute gifts.

What do I do?

2007-11-09T13:38:00.001-05:00

Ok, what the heck am I gonna do with all this yarn? I frogged a top that I had made for Isabella because it was WAY too big... now I'm stuck with roughly 5 skeins of this cotton with no project in mind...

Any ideas anyone? It's Lion Brang Organic Cotton... SOOOO soft and luxurious! I'd love to make a baby blanket but I don't think I have enough and I REALLY don't want to pay $7.99 a skien for more yarn. I was thinking maybe some legwarmers or something like that but I just can't make up my mind.

Set #2

2007-11-07T12:14:00.000-05:00

Well I promised I would update with pics as I get some of these hat/scarf sets done for my friend. I finished the pink set last night and now I'm starting on a knit hat like the one in my profile pic and a scarf to match. Those will probably take a little longer as I am still MUCH slower with my needles than with my hooks :)

Busy, busy!

2007-11-06T08:11:00.000-05:00

I got started on some hats and scarves for my friend Sarah's daughters yesterday. The first set is done! The hat is a heavily modified version of the rolled brim hat. The scarf is the "One Skein Scarf" from SnB: Happy Hooker. My lighting is terrible since it's rainy out today... I'll have to take better pics when it's nice and sunny :)

I'll keep the pics coming as I finish the other sets :)

Rave Run

2007-11-03T17:43:00.000-04:00

I just had to rave about my run this morning. It's been a while since I was able to get out there. It's been so darn hot I just had no motivation to run. Finally this morning it was in the upper 50's and I decided it was time to get back out there. I set out with Isabella in tow to Mt. Trashmore, a local park. They have a great 2 mile loop that is flat and easy. I ran a total of 4 miles in 38:29... it was GREAT! The whole time I'm listening to my iPod wondering why oh WHY did I not run for so long? Granted, by the end I was exhausted but I was so stinkin' proud of myself for doing it :)

Isabella had a great time too. She kept pointing at all the geese in the lake and screaming "goo! goo!" Now I'm super motivated to start training again. Hopefully I'll be ready for a few races by Spring :)

Can Cozy

2007-11-02T19:22:00.000-04:00

I whipped up this can cozy this afternoon since hubby stole my crocheted one to use at work. It was my first attempt at knitting in the round. I cast on 36 divided on 3 dpn's then worked in the 2x2 rib until it was the right height. Then I just decreased down to 6 stitches to form the bottom. I just used some leftover Sugar N' Cream in the Desert Rising colorway :)

Not too bad for my first try I think...

My first Palindrome scarf...

2007-11-02T08:42:00.000-04:00

I've been admiring this pattern for a while now. Trying to decide what to make my MIL for Christmas I decided to give this pattern a try. I love the yarn I chose... Patons SWS in the Natural Violet colorway. Anyway, here it is after the first few cable repeats...

It seems to be working up pretty fast. I hope to have it done this weekend :)

First Post

2007-11-02T07:20:00.001-04:00

Alas, I have finally hopped on the bandwagon... I've decided to blog.

A little about me... I'm a proud Navy wife and Mother to a beautiful 16 month old daughter, Isabella. We live in sunny Virginia Beach, VA.

Just a warning: this blog is likely to be overloaded with posts about running, knitting & crocheting... my passions. So if you're not into that kind of thing, this is probably not the blog you want to be reading.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read :)