Jacob's Ladder Crochet Pillow

I have completed one of my larger projects.  It is a pillow cover that was crocheted using Aunt Lydia's Classic Crochet Thread, a #10 Bedspread weight.  I have used 3 colors: Bridal Blue, Delft Blue and White.  The thread was purchased online at Herrschners.

The pattern was found online too. It is called Round Jacob's Ladder. I altered the pattern by using #10 thread instead of baby yarn.  I also made 2 complete rounds.  What I mean is that when the original pattern is completed you have 10 double crochets between the chains.  My pillow top was not big enough so I started the pattern again where there was 4 double crochet between chains and followed the pattern until once again I had 10 double crochets between chains.  It sound more complicated than it was.

I did this for two round doilies and then laced them together over a round pillow top with 1/4 inch white satin ribbon. Initially I was concerned because it looked like the center was going to cone once the chained loops were drawn up. Once it was washed and dried, however, the center laid nice and flat. There is a nice article about crocheting a flat circle in this blog post on Slugs On The Refridgerator. It was a "happy accident" when the laced chains doubled to fit just where the sides of the pillow are. 

 I was not following directions for color changes, so I decided to use the principles of the Fibonacci principal simplified. what I mean by that is each color was done in either 1, 3, or 5 rows. It is held in design theory that a Fibonacci sequence is thought to be more pleasing.  For those mathematicians and scientists out there, you can find a nice article about Fibonacci Numbers on Wikipedia. Each side of the pillow top is a different sequence of colors so they are not identical. I did start both sides with a white center and used a row of white between each color change.

I really like the pillow and it has found a home on my bed.

March 2012 CQ

I know. I am getting to this post a little late and it has been a while since I published a new post.  Sometimes, I just don't know where time goes.

Here is a picture of my March 2012 CQ project block.



March 2012 CQ Project

 It looks a little bare in the picture above, but I am crocheting some small butterflies to add to all of the blocks.  I mean to use the butterflies as a unifying concept.  You'll see what I mean later.

For me the best part of this block is the basket of flowers.  You should have seem me on breaks at work cutting out all those little white flowers from a salvaged piece of lace.  I do think they work rather well with the organza spider web roses.

The fan in the upper right hand corner was crocheted from size 20 crochet thread.  Size 10 is more common but I wanted a daintier feel and also I didn't want the finished fan to be too large.  It is really funny that the older I get, the worse my vision, the smaller the thread I want to use. The fan is decorated with bullion roses.  Mary Corbett of Needle n Thread has a nice video tutorial for the bullion rose. The seam treatment is done by whipping two rows of chain stitch which was featured in her series Stitch Play.

What isn't working so well is the V-stich hearts and what is supposed to be the overcast stitch on the lace. The hearts do not make a statement and the overcast stitch looks like a poor example of crochet. The white valley and peaks created with french knots and the pink straight stitch are bold enough in the right hand corner but would have looked better if more care had been taken with getting the original line better defined.

I still struggle with marking my fabric.  I have been using a variety of techniques such as tissue paper, waste canvas, marking pen and patterns. Different needs work better with different methods.  I should also mention that I have created a prick and pounce kit  but I haven't yet made any patterns to use with it.  One thing that concerns me is that the pattern needs to have enough space around it that loose powders are prevented from spilling onto the fabric.  I do have a couple of pages ready to go to the printer for printing on vellum.  I'll let you know how well it works for me.

Still More Butterflies

I am done with the Butterfly Bookmarks.  I have to admit that they did turn out very nice. Turn out is a good phrase for what I've done.  I have a set of 5 and so does my daughter.  I have 10 of them to contribute to the Arts and Craft Auction for United Way.  I have also given out so many that I forgot to count them.  Here's a photo of 5 in all the colors that I used.




Butterfly Set


The tassels are what put the finishing touch on these.  I used some of the cotton thread and added various ribbons that I had on hand. I picked up a tassel tool a long time ago and decided it was time to make the investment pay.  I don't remember how much I spent on it as I am sure it came from a Yard Sale of Thrift Store. I wouldn't call it a necessity, but it was fun.  Here is a picture of it.




Trim-It, a Tassel Tool


I was curious about the tool and did a search. I did not find this tool but I did find Crystalites Tassel Tool, Tassel Master,  and Tasselitt.

There was also an interesting Tassel Making Primer at Pretty Impressive Stuff. Did you know that you can make beautiful tassels out of fringe and cord?

The tassel makes the bookmark, well the word that comes to mind is flutter by.  This is a term that has been coined by Kelly Fletcher on her blog, Materialistic - A Blog about Stitching on a series of free butterfly designs for surface embroidery.  I love her work.  This is her 3rd set of patterns.  She has already released Jacobean Leaves and Bloomin' Marvelous.

While we are talking about butterfly patterns, I wanted to mention that last week I saw an e-Bay listing for the Butterfly Shade Pull that I listed in a previous post. I recognized the graphic used as it was taken right off the web site.  It had a minimum bid of $4.95 and free shipping.  I wonder how many times this seller has charged someone $5 to provide them with this link.  I think this is shameful!  I know that it is important to be an educated consumer, especially in a forum such as e-Bay.

I have put away this project.  The The Trim-It tool is in the sewing tool box.  The scissors, hooks and remaining threads and ribbon have been put away. BTW - I used 5 full skeins of #10 crochet thread. Now it is time to move ahead to the next project which is a CQ crochet case.

During the Basic CQ class hosted by StitchMap, I made two extra pieced blocks.  I have seamed them together.  Once I have finished embellishing them, I plan to make a crochet case.  Here is a photo of them as they are now:

Nearly Naked CQ Crochet Case

More Thrift Store Finds and More Butterflies

Some of my favorite memories are going to garage sales and thrift stores.  When my mother was still alive, we went out every Saturday morning.  We would end the day by going out for lunch.  We didn't need a lot of money.  Usually we would have about $20 each.  My mother always bought more than I did because she liked decorator items.  I was always looking for books or craft supplies.  I no longer have my mother to go with, but I know she would be happy to know that I still love to find a bargain.

Tuesday morning I had a doctor's appointment.  When I got there the receptionist told me I would need to reschedule because the doctor had an emergency.  Instead of wasting my time out, I stopped at a thrift store near the office.  I had a lot of fun.  Here is what I found.

Thrift Store finds 06/07/11

If you look close you will see that each bag is marked as $3.00.  Let me show you what was in each bag.

Tatting Threads




First I was able to find these tatting threads. 


I checked at Herrschners tatting threads and each one of these are going for $1.99.  I got 19 skeins for $3.00.





Floss on cards



 

This picture is of floss that has already been wound onto card bobbins.  There are approximately 40 cards. There was even an extra supply of bobbins.



Floss Skeins



And this picture is of the loose floss skeins.  I counted them at 71 skeins.  I was at Michael's the same day replenishing my red #321 and paid $.35 a skein.  At 71 skeins that is $24.85.  If you include the floss already wound there are 100 + skeins.  100 skeins would cost $35.00.  This floss cost me $6.00 for the two bags.

I also got 5 crochet hooks for $2.00 and 3 bobbins of lace for another $2.00   This was another great shopping experience.

Now for more butterflies....

I have been crocheting butterfly bookmarks.  They go together pretty fast and it seems like everyone who sees one wants one.  I didn't get pictures of all that I have made but here are two of the ones I have kept for myself.

Butterfly Bookmarks

This pattern looks really good in variegated thread.  I have made a dozen already and have plans for more.  In fact, at work each year there is an arts and crafts auction that is a United Way fundraiser.  I hope to have a dozen to include.  I need to have two more done by Saturday since my friend would like one for her  for birthda y!  Another friend wants one for her daughter's birthday.


This butterfly bookmark link will take you to the free pattern.


I found a nice tutorial on Bookmark Tassels on wikiHow.


Here are some more crocheted butterfly links:


Butterfly Handkerchiefs
Butterfly Shade Pulls
Dainty Butterfly
Fancy Crocheted Butterfly
Pineapple Butterfly
Small Crocheted Butterfly
Thread Butterfly


Progress on my Butterfly Pillowcases has slowed.  I have been spending my time finishing up an ornament for a summer swap.  I will have pictures of that next time after the recipient has received it.  I still plan to do this in chain stitch and it's variations.  I have been trying to achieve a consistent and uniform look to the chain stitch.  It does give the butterfly an interesting texture.  I am looking forward to having more of it done soon. Here is a current picture of the project .

Over on Stitchin Fingers, Pat Boggins is hosting a Post a Photo of Chain Stitch challenge.  You can see the photo's at the Chain Stitch Photo Link.

Theresa E.

Weaving In Ends 1298 Times

I have a finish!  My table runner or dresser scarf is finished.

  

I am very pleased with the result but feel a little sad that the project has ended. It's like that with a good book too. You invest some of yourself into the book and hate to lose touch with the characters. I've spent a lot of time with my project and it went everywhere with me. I considered this project my “take along” project. Most of the time a ball of thread, crochet hook and pair of scissors were all that was required, so the project was small and easily portable.  A lot of people would see me work on it and comment.

A work place friend of mine had commented on my runner when she saw me working on it in the lunch room. She complimented the piece but said she didn't personally like to work on projects where there are a lot of joins. Her words were, “It doesn't matter how careful you are, you can always see the joins”.

I did some research online. I wanted to find out how to properly weave in the ends of my yarn for a nice look and also so that the piece would last. One resource was Nex Stitch, where I found a video tutorial demonstrating the process of weaving in ends. This was an important part of the project.

This runner had 108 motifs. First there was the inner blue flower that had a start and ending piece of thread. Then a round of white with a start and end. Another round of blue with it's start and end. Then sewing on another center flower topped with a bead for two more starts and ends. The piece was a join as you go and added another start and finish to the number of threads needing to be woven in. That 's 12 times of weaving in ends per motif. The border had just one beginning and ending. I calculated that I had to weave in ends 1298 times.

I put the supplies I was using on this project away.  Soon it will be on to the next project.

Theresa E.

Blue and White Dresser Scarf

Have you ever noticed that the closer you get to finishing a project the more time and effort you spend to finish it?  That is where I am now.  I started this Blue and White Dresser Scarf in August of 2009.  It was a day spent at a theme park subsidized by work.  They gave out discounted ticket prices.  I knew that I was not going to run all over the park taking rides with my daughter and her friend so I decided to take a project.

The pattern for this scarf came from the Book, "Favorite Throws & Table Toppers to Crochet".  It is titled "Dapple Blossoms".  The original pattern is not made with just 2 colors.  It uses 7 colors.  I loved it with all the different colors but I am making this dresser scarf for my own bedroom.  I am using JP Coats Royale Classic Crochet Thread #10 on Bridal Blue and White.

Here is a close up. I love the join as you go pattern. I have about 20 more squares to add and then the pattern will have a white border around the whole piece. I am almost to the white border. Even though there are a lot of threads to bury, you cannot see the joins.  I know that the pattern is not going to come loose because I buried the threads going one way and then back another.

It is really pretty and everytime I work on it in public I get marvelous comments. 

I can hardly wait to finish because then I will get to work on a new project.  I'm thinking about some bookmarks.  I am also thinking about some new pillows.  I am hunting for just the right pattern.  It might be one of these patterns:

Cozy Cottage Crochet Popcorn Pillow

Fluted Cushion

Front Post Round Pillow

Irish Rose Pillow-ghan Square

Ruffles Pillow

Ruffle Rose Pillow

Squares and Fans Pillow

Theresa E.