In a fit of sewing frustration I started looking for crochet patterns to start instead. I had two balls of chunky knit wool which I've been dying to do something with for absolutely ages, but it meant finding a nice loose pattern or anything I made with them would be too hot and itchy. As luck would have it I found exactly the right pattern and at the same time suddenly realised that it was my friend @CornishCalzone's 30th birthday in a couple of weeks. The pattern and colour of the yarn seemed perfect for her (and obviously a scarf is a really seasonal summer gift!) so I picked up my crochet hook and off I went...
It suddenly became very apparent that the pattern was wrong.
The diagram of the pattern looked right, but the stitches listed didn't correspond with the picture. I fannied about with it for a while before calling in the big guns - by way of my friend @CrochetedZombie. Lisa is an absolute badass with a crochet hook. I once asked her about a pattern I'd been working on for 45 minutes and it took her 5 minutes to get to the same point as me. The woman is a genius. If you doubt me then you've clearly never seen her projects on Ravelry.
Within a couple of minutes Lisa had fixed me up a pattern and I was good to go. For those who crochet, this is Lisa's take on the pattern:
Part 1. Ch 26, turn.
Part 2. Sc 2nd ch from hook, (ch 5, skip 5, Tr in next st, ch 5, skip 5, sc in next) repeat once.
Part 3. Ch 9, sc into top of tr, (ch 5, tr in to top of sc, Ch 5, sc in to top of tr) repeat once.
It was quick and easy (it's basically just made up of chain stitches) and I found it really easy to pick up whenever I had a spare few minutes. The hardest part was probably not taking it along to our weekly Stitch and Bitch sessions because Martha would see it! I'm not very good at having more than one project on the go (which I gather is unusual for crocheters) so I had to just sit on my hands instead for a couple of weeks!
It grew really rapidly, but being as I wasn't following a pattern I wasn't sure when to stop. I kept trying it on, but I wasn't sure how she'd wear scarves and so I thought it was far better to overestimate than end up with a too short scarf. The end product was p r e t t y l o n g (you'll see later)!
I finished sewing in the ends on the night before Martha's birthday. Perfect I thought! Now I can wrap it up.
The ends were annoying me a bit though. They kept curling over back on themselves and I didn't really have time to block it. What it really needed was a bit of weight on it...
...I had a sudden brainwave. Recently I'd been admiring the brilliant Lucy from Attic24's May Roses. I'd previously made her Crochet Flowers and was looking for an excuse to give the roses a go.
(If any of you are crocheters and are looking for some dead easy-to-follow patterns for flowers then these are both brilliant - as are all of Lucy's patterns to be honest)
So I got cracking with the first rose and found it nice and simple. Attaching it was easy too.
I was really pleased with the result. By now it had well gone 9pm and I suddenly realised that I needed to make and attach three more of these badboys... plus wrap it up! I had to step it up a crochet notch!
This photo was taken after midnight with bleary eyes and my first ever crochet blister on my thumb! That's the sign of a true crocheter that is. Now for attaching...
Remember that I told you it was a bit long earlier? I definitely went overboard on the length. She can wrap it round herself several times over!
Superlong!
I finished it around 1 a.m. and was dead pleased with the results! @CornishCalzone seemed to love it too, so I was pleased with that.
Oh and I can definitely say that I learnt a
valuable lesson - if you are going to do detailing then allow time in which to do it on top of the time you need for the bulk of the project. Don't be a dilbert and try and do it in a
couple of hours like me!
