They're like little bullseyes or something

Now that school's back in session I'll be spending less time at my office, which should translate to more internet time at home, which means I'll have access to my photos, which means pretty not-text-only updates! Yay!

Last month a friend of mine had a birthday, so I crocheted her some coasters as a present:





It was my first time changing colors on a project (I seriously don't know how I haven't done it before now), so there's a bit of a jog when I switch. They're made with Lion Wool-Ease which I had left over from another project and a size G (4mm) hook. Here's the pattern, which is fairly basic if you know how to crochet in a circle because that's pretty much what I did.

Super-Easy Birthday Coasters
Lion Brand Wool-Ease Worsted (80% acrylic/20% wool; 3 oz/85 g; 197 yds/180 m)
A: Blue Heather - 1 skein or color of your choice
B: White - 1 skein or color of your choice

US G/6 (4.0mm) crochet hook

With A, ch 2. Make 11 dc in second ch from hook, sl st to join (12 sts).
Rnd 1: Switch to B. Ch 3, dc in same st. 2 Dc in each dc around, sl st to join (24 sts).
Rnd 2: Switch to A. Ch 3, 2 dc in next st. *Dc in next dc, 2 dc in next dc* around, sl st to join (36 sts).
Rnd 3: Switch to B. Ch 3, dc in next st, 2 dc in next st. *Dc in next 2 sts, 2 dc in next st* around, sl st to join (48 sts). Fasten off.

Also, a random thought completely unrelated to crafting: M&Ms Speck-tacular Eggs are a bit disconcerting. They look like peanut M&Ms but when bitten into they're just solid chocolate. Where's the peanut??

Checking in

I've been busy doing nothing at work for the past month or so, which means that I spend a lot of time online at my office. As a result, I haven't been on the computer much at home, which is where all my photos are. The point is, I'm still making things, just not posting the results.

My recent Buffy addiction has now spread to Angel (yeah yeah, just a few years late on those, I know), so in order to combine hours of watching tv and productivity, I've been crocheting afghan squares for Warm Up America!. It's also a good way to thin out the stash before I head home at the end of the summer, I'm already sweating how I'll get everything home. As much as I try to use it up, I somehow keep buying more....

Status Report

Ok, ok, so I've been a bit neglectful. I actually haven't been crafting too much this month in order to give my wrists a break, they were pretty sore after all the work I did in February. Well, that and I've been super-addicted to Buffy the Vampire Slayer recently. Not that I can't knit and watch tv at the same time, I've just chosen not to, for the aforementioned wrist ailment. I do have a few FOs and some WIPs that I should have pictures of soon.

Oh, and as for my dilemma in the previous post, I figured out a solution that I'm not sure why I didn't think of before: instead of yarn, I slipped the held stitches onto circulars. Worked like a charm!

Random Thought 3/12

I have come to the conclusion that patterns which involve placing a large number of stitches on waste yarn annoy me. It's tedious slipping them all to the yarn, and equally tedious to return the held stitches to the needle. I'm so totally sticking to armwarmers instead of gloves from now on.

Ahh, natural light!

I mentioned that I ran out of yarn while making a hat but never actually posted photos of the finished product. Here it is:




Look, I actually took them outside! Much better lighting than anywhere in my house, that's for sure.

The hat is made from Motohiro Premium Merino (100% wool) using the A Rose is a Rose pattern. For the accent I used a 100% cotton yarn purchased last summer and the Star Flower Pin pattern, although I stitched it to the hat rather than using a pin and added a bead to the center.

Continuing on that review

After working two weeks solid on a project using Lion Suede, I can now make a more detailed review. The rugburn feeling was indeed caused by over-knitting, I got the same feeling from my trusted Wool-Ease as well.

What I did notice about Suede is that it's a very "sticky" yarn; that is, it likes to cling to the needles and itself. This is both a blessing and a curse: it's difficult to drop stitches, and if you do, it probably won't unravel too far. On the other hand, it takes a bit of effort to slide stitches up the needle, and if you need to frog it, sometimes it snags and can break.

Another odd quirk about it is that it needs to be held taut in order to keep the stitches neat, otherwise they tend to be a bit saggy. My natural knitting style is fast and loose, so having to concentrate on my tension slowed me down a bit.

A very brief yarn review

I like how Lion brand Lion Suede feels when it's knitted up, but I'm not so sure I like knitting with it. I feel like it's giving me a rug burn on my middle finger as I feed the yarn through my hand. Of course, this could just be from over-use after all the crocheting I did this weekend.