Black Curacao Shawl -> New Photos!

So for my grandma this Christmas I decided to crochet the "Blue Curacao Shawl" from the "Amazing Crochet Lace" book by Doris Chan. I bought the book several months ago and had not done a single project in it, mainly because at the time of the purchase I had not yet discovered my aversion to unoriginal projects. Don't get me wrong, the shawl is beautiful, the pattern was easy to read and I whipped it up in two days. My grandmother loves it. It's just the only thing that's different between my shawl and the shawl in the book.... is the color. I don't mind using other peoples patterns as long as I switch up the color, or use a different yarn... something to make the pattern more tailored to my tastes.... and not just another cookie cutter copy (I'm not even sure if that last cookie part makes sense but it sounds so great!). I have no photos of my grandmother modeling it yet, mainly because I finished the project about an hour after we exchanged presents and then I had to wet block it.


Don't mind the two tone background behind the shawl, I just needed two towels to stretch it out on. Happy Holidays!

Finals Over = Giraffe Hat MANIA!!!

Finally finals are over. Ugh. This week was one of the most intense weeks of my college career both mentally and physically. I can't even count how many allnighters I pulled, but currently I have no voice, a runny nose and I have been nauseous all day. The worst part is (yeah there is a worst part, I know, right... what am I going to pull out of my hat now? Kitten in a coma?) that I am hungry but am nauseous at the same time. Ok sort of anticlimactic, I know. But I haven't eaten since I ate fries with Rose yesterday at like 5. That's it, that was the last thing I ate. Ridiculous, I know. But you know, you have to look at the bright side of things. I'll be REALLY skinny if this keeps up. Or dead. You know one of the two.


So for I finished the Giraffe Hat I was making for Rose for Christmas and I think it came out pretty good. I'm currently working on finishing lining her matching scarf and then she will surely be the coolest kid at the playground. Or the Zoo. But at one of those locations she will win the prize for sure. Here she is doing her mad sexy 80s Giraffe mating dance:


Nice moves. Real nice. I know what your thinking. Well no I mean I know what you will be thinking after you stop thinking all those pervy things about Rose. The horns are too long. I keep thinking that too. Well actually I don't think that until I see them in photos and then I think it. Oh well, check out the sweet pompoms!

I will post photos of actual finished scarf later. I won't bore you with photos of like a corner of an unfinished scarf anymore. No, from now on... I'm a professional. Ok I gtg watch 30 Rock and try to eat something

Lining Hats

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, exams got hectic and also lately I haven't been really designing anything new crochet-wise. Mainly just crocheting up promised hats to friends based on the hat pattern I had previously posted here. I tweak them to make them more individual, like making the front flap more rounded, or the ear flaps larger/smaller, switching up colors, making them without stripes.... so on and so forth. But it's still basically the same hat. I am pretty sick of hats actually. The only thing that makes making them fun is lining them, which I have just started doing.
It's all because my little brother had been complaining that his Dragon hat is itchy, which surprised me because I never really found the Wool-Ease Thick and Quick that itchy for acrylic yarn. In fact I was a tad insulted and began to doubt my crocheting skills. Thoughts like "He was lying to me, he hates my hat!" and "I am a horrible horrible crocheter if I can't even crochet a hat for a five year old" invaded my mind and caused much torment and undoing of hats. Then after hanging around him for a few days during Thanksgiving I began to doubt my logic of "Saying it doesn't feel nice equals he hates it". Mainly because that would mean he hated his coat. He hated is shoes. His sweater, his mittens and even his underwear were offensive to him. The book called "A porcupine named fluffy" aroused the deepest sentiments of loathing in him for the pages were much MUCH too stiff. So that's when I decided to learn how to line hats. I don't think I could have done it without Norma and her easy online tutorial.
My first attempt was with my friend Sarah's Hat, but the lining wasn't fleece, it was actually jersey so it was a little difficult at first to size it correctly. I used light pink embroidery floss and a reverse backstitch (which I had to learn but am now obsessed with). I don't think it came out too bad. What do you think?

Hmmm in second thought that's not exactly the world's greatest photo of it. It looks sort of bunchy and not good. But look at the front of the hat that has that beautiful display of reverse back stitch seaming and not the back of the hat which displays what happens when I realize that width-wise I have some extra fabric but length wise its a bit short. Important thing is, is it fits well, its not baggy or too tight when on, and you can't see the lining from the outside except hopefully a hint of it when I finish the ear flaps. Also my second task is to figure out how to cut fabric in a trapezoid but with ear flaps shape. This is a bit complicated as it involved buying whole yards of fabric and not 1/4 yards like I do (I am an extremely broke college student! Don't judge me!).

This is how my little brother's hat is looking. Except a tad less orange. I see this is my slightly artistic shot in where I don't use flash. Nice. Wow its fuzzy too. For those people whose vitamin C daily intake I have just upped by 40%, you are welcome and also, do not worry this is the inside of the hat. THE HAT IS TURNED INSIDE OUT! Let me try to find a less fuzzy better close up of the seams I suspect I have. No No I do not. Never mind. Just imagine the most beautiful stitches you have ever seen, and I assure you, they are in/on that hat. Poetry in motion. Yay!