Crochet Dragon Wing

I don't crochet very often as I prefer the fabric knit produces.

I did find a great video tutorial to make a dragon wing shawl from the always fabulous Fiber Spider so I wanted to give this one a try. I used one ball (about 100 grams) of fingering weight sock yarn from my collection and a size 3.25 mm crochet hook (US-D). The directions were easy to follow and I soon had the row repeat down and used the project as a take-along for awhile. I like the finished shawl. I may have to try to design a couple boomerang shape shawls of my own.

Yarn: Sock yarn of unknown make/manufacturer, if I had to guess, it would be some Kroy Sock
Clover crochet hook: Clover 3672 Amour Crochet Hook Set, 10 sizes
Blocking mats: Balance From Puzzle Exercise Mat with EVA Foam Interlocking Tiles
Blocking wires: Knit Picks Lace Blocking Wires & T-Pins
Knit blockers: Knitter's Pride Knit Blockers & Pin Kit

Open Wide Pouches

I was asked to lead a group project during the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild retreat. I've never done such a thing, but I decided to take the leap. We'll be making a pouch using the Open Wide Zippered Pouch tutorial designed by Anna of Noodlehead. The above is a closeup of the quilting on a fun Dr. Who print.

To give everyone the best look at the steps, I needed to make a bunch of bags. That means I cut or pieced enough outer bag panels to make several bags and loaded up the long arm. This is a quick way to quilt several small things at the same time. I make my bags a little bigger than the medium by cutting the panels to 12" by 12". This makes a great size to carry a one-two ball of yarn knitting project like a shawl or a pair of socks. 

Why do I need so many? Each one is only partially constructed, meaning you can get a good look at the construction up to that point. It also means I'll have several projects to finish during the retreat which is a win in my book.

It is possible everyone I know will be getting a pouch as a mid-winter gift.

Giving Up: A Knitting Story

It isn't often I give up on a project. Often, I would rather finish a project than rip out mistakes and try again. Sadly, this time I just didn't have it in me to keep working on a shawl project.

Why? Mostly because I have a real problem following directions blindly. I know, why am I fooling around with mystery projects if I'm not willing to follow directions blindly? Because I like to challenge myself. This time, it didn't work out.

I jumped on the bandwagon when Stephen West put out his latest mystery knit along Speckle and Pop. I even knit a fade swatch to make sure I was close on gauge, something I rarely do when knitting shawls. I figured it would be a good idea because Stephen likes to build one section onto the last and this was my first real foray into a fade.

I started with great excitement.

I quickly fell behind and had not quite finished clue number one when clue number two hit the streets.

I definitely wasn't ready when the last clue came out and I was still struggling with clue number two. In the end, I ripped out clue number two and decided clue number one was good enough. I don't like to admit defeat but sometimes that is just what it is.

I learned more about what I like and don't like about knit construction. I learned I really like to play with short rows and the fade thing is fun. I'm not a fan of closing the gaps on short rows when I think I know how to do it better. I'm not a fan of stitch patterns that have a knit one, purl one, row. I would rather not knit at all than have to (k1, p1) on every wrong-side row.

Did I learn a thing or two about knitting? Absolutely! I am I unhappy with the result? Not really. I learned a couple things about myself as a knitter and that is always a good thing.

Am I discouraged? Absolutely not. I think I'm going to try to make Stephen's Royally Striped next. That's ambitious. Besides, I still have all this yarn.

Close to You Shawl

I always have a couple projects going on. This was my portable project for about a month.

I started it in late September when I went on a business trip to Portland, OR. Casting on while waiting for the first flight is how I like to start any trip.

I finished the bind off this past weekend.

And got it blocked. I did not use the picot bind off as written in the pattern. I'm not a fan of the picot bind off.

Pattern: Close To You, free pattern available on Ravelry
Yarn: Snallygaster Fibers