Cables and double trebles

First things first, my adventures in crochet the last few days.

I got inspired by this image in a magazine.  You see Aunty Mum has been doing cables on the socks she has been knitting.  Finding this pattern meant I could do some crochet cables which would give us a kind of common purpose? I really wanted to do something different and the cables look so well, clever!

Cables are not something I have ever tried, the pattern looked simple and I thought it would make a nice ear warmer for the wee girl when she's playing hockey this winter and a hat just isn't really possible.

I popped up to Spotlight and purchased some Moda Vera Beetle on sale for $2.80 for a 50gm ball.  It's 50% acrylic and 50% cotton, I thought it would give good stitch definition and therefore show off the cables to best advantage.



And here it is.  I think the mishmash of colours while pretty and certainly approved of by the WG, doesn't really lend itself to show off the cable.

The pattern looked fairly wide so I made a slight adjustment to the pattern and made it slightly narrower by eliminating a couple of stitches on each side.  It's still enormously wide on the WG.  Heck it's wide on me.  I'm not sure how given that I used a slightly smaller hook than recommended and the recommended weight yarn.

I might have to try it again with a baby yarn and see how it works out.



Here it is sitting on my laptop keyboard to give you an idea of the scale.

So now I am making one with a single cable, having learned the principle of making a twisted cable.  It basically consists of double trebles and to get the twist, you miss the first 2 and crochet into the second 2, then go back to the first two.  Does that make sense?

When I have finished this one I shall write up the pattern seeing as I worked it out by myself.

Sorry for the quality of the picture my phone camera doesn't really capture it as well as it might.

Double trebles, much easier than I thought they would be!  I am no longer afraid of them!

And in other news, it is now Friday, the last day of the Holidays.  I do like having the children/young adults around but I am very much looking forward to them going back to the mall so I can get on with things.

So far we have been to the mall I don't know how many times, they've seen a couple of movies and they've been a few places.  Trouble is, they want me to keep them entertained and that is tiring.

Pencil Case or pouch

African flowers have been put aside briefly.  I had issues sewing them together for some reason, maybe I was tired? Who knows, but I needed a confidence booster and to do something I had been mentally planning.  I mentioned making the wee girl a pencil case and she got her stationery on Friday.

I had an idea for baby granny squares in a frame.  I also knew a pencil case would need a lining, or all the pens and pencils would fall out.  Sewing is not my forte, well not on a machine at any rate.  I've also never put a zip in anything, I confess when I was at school, I took the projects home to finish and persuaded my stepmother to do the hard stuff.

So I made six teeny tiny granny squares out of two tones of purple (the wee girls fav colour) and crocheted them together.  Then I crocheted a row of single crochet and a row of treble crochets in black.

Another row all around in the light purple trebles and fasten off.

Then two rows of the dark purple above and below to make it longer but not wider.

A row all around of singles.

I crocheted a rectangle the same size in trebles for the back and crocheted the two together with single crochet.

Then I made the lining.  I used some spare purple material remnants I purchased about 6 months ago for the WG to learn to sew on.  I cut it about the same size as the crochet pouch with the right side as the inside.  I sewed seams to prevent fraying, turned it and pinned the zip into place then sewed it on.  I don't have a zipper foot for my very simple machine, so that was a little difficult.  Then I sewed up the side seams and trimmed it.  I hand stitched it into the pouch so that the stitching didn't show too much on the outside.  It looks a little uneven but I think that adds to the charm.

The Wee Girl is very happy with the result.

The collection

The not so little people are back tomorrow, I'm heading northward early tomorrow to meet up with them in Whangarei.  I'm excited to have them back although the eldest is returning under a cloud.  I got his cellphone bill today.  We have an agreement where instead of allowance/pocket money I have a secondary number off my cellphone which is his phone on account, it's a system that has worked well for over a year and it's about teaching him to handle money/responsibility.  Well he went over his account limits in December by $500!!!  Yes you read that right!

We've had some communications about how disappointed I am in him and how he plans to make restitution.  He is very, VERY lucky that I keep my account in credit and that the amount still owing is something I can afford to pay, well not so much afford to, I am able to but I can think of a lot better things to spend that amount of money on than his phone bill.  I'm thinking he is going to be very, VERY busy when he gets home.  Far to busy to talk to his friends.  At least I have some time to think up suitable ways for him to make this up.

On to happier thoughts, the collection of exciting little things I have made for the Wee Girl while she has been away. 5 bracelets, 3 headbands and a hair tie.

The hair tie was easy and took about 20 minutes, I just crocheted slip stitch around a plain hair tie and then crocheted a single, a double and 4 treble stitches, then a double and a single, then started again to get the petal effect.  When it's on hair it looks like a double row of petals.

The pink hairband is a thinner version of the rainbow pattern in my accessorize post, with 8 instead of 12 rows.  The green head band is a crocheted ring of single and a row of trebles.  A little fiddly as you have to be very careful not to twist the foundation chain when you join it.

That consists of a foundation chain of 100, joined with a slipstitch to make a circle. A row of single crochet, a row of treble crochet and a row of single crochet then a row of slip stitch to finish.

I hope you are having a better day than me :)

Bracelet Tutorial

It takes me about an hour to make up one of these bracelets.  It's child sized, but you could easily make it adult sized by making a foundation chain large enough to fit your wrist and add a chain for turning.

I think it would be fab for a stall at a school or craft fair, you can turn them out fairly quickly if you know your crochet basics.

You will need:

Crochet cotton,  two colors. I am using 2 ply Milford Satin and the bracelet is about 8mm wide.

Crochet hook size 1.9 mm or 2mm if you prefer.

Strung beads.  I got a 2 metre string for $4 and I've made 3 of this kind of bracelet with plenty left over for more.  See picture.

A tapestry needle

A button






Chain 51

Row 2
start at the second chain from the end, double crochet to the end.

Row 3
Slip stitch to the end.

Chain 6 to 8 stitches to fit your button and join with a slip stitch to create your button loop on the end of the bracelet and tie off.

I hope that makes sense, I'm getting a kick out of my sparkly shatter nail polish in the loop picture LOL.

Ok back to business, now you need to weave in the ends and make it all tidy so that you can add the beads and button.

Thread the needle with your other colour.

Cut a length of bead to fit the bracelet leaving room at the opposite end to the loop for your button.

Line up your bead string in the centre of the bracelet on the right side.

Bring your needle up from the underneath (wrong side) of the bracelet and sew over the string in the space between the beads.  I only needed one stitch, you may need more if your beads are further apart.

Carry on to the end and secure on the wrong side.

Sew the button on the end.

et voila! One perfectly formed bracelet.