Day 288 and Calico

Over here in Ohio, I'm still using up the tribble-like accumulation of acrylic eyelash yarn. Happily some of it is of lovely natural looking colors. If it's going to look furry, I prefer colors that occur in fur.

I was also interesting in crocheting some of it. Fur yarn always amuses when knitted, but often loses the charm in crochet. Knitting isn't nearly as looped up and knotted as crochet is and all those knots trap the lashes and prevent them from fluffing up easily or sometimes at all! Remedy for the situation is to use a larger sized hook, and boy you really have to level that hook up to make a difference. I had to use a size P hook and 3 strands before the fur stayed as fluffy as I liked.

Day 287 and Bites

I'm still not good at colorwork, but when it's in chunks and squares I can handle it. Every color here has a bite of another color taken out of it.

Get ready for a recipe rather than a pattern!

Size M hook
Worsted weight yarn in various colors
Tapestry needle
(American abbreviations)

Chain 12. DC into the 4th and every following chain. (10 stitches, turning chain counts)
*Work 3 rows even. (chain 3, DC into second and every following stitch)
For the fourth row, chain 3, DC into the next 3 stitches. Work the first half of a DC into the next stitch changing color for the final loop. Finish the row in the new color.
Begin the next row in the new color, changing back to the original for the 5th-10th stitches.
Work 3 rows even.*

Repeat between the ** changing colors as you like. If you want to change the side the bite is on, just work 2 rows at the beginning of the block instead of 3.

Day 286 and Shawl

I was thinking that I would make a shawl collar without the attached sweater or cardigan. As I was sewing, it occurred to me that a shawl collar is actually nothing more than a moebius forced to stay flat at the front! If you have a moebius that you're no longer enamored with, maybe a couple of quick stitches to create a sharp front is enough to give it another season of wearability!
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I don't think a pattern is necessary, but the basic recipe is to make a very short scarf. Wrap it around your neck and overlap the edges so they match perfectly. Sew the two ends together as well as about an inch up each side and call it a day.

Day 285 and Desperation

I happened to have this partially finished item in my stores. The original maker apparently was making a housecoat or a driving coat with this crazy thick fabric (4 strands worsted on size 15 needles-- my hands hurt just thinking about making a full sized project that way!) but for one reason or another never finished. I gathered the partially done bits at a garage sale for just a dollar and have been putting off frogging the whole thing out of plain laziness.

Well today I went to work at my normal time and after 2 hours was told to head home and get rest because I was needed for a different shift later in the day. Extremely inconveniently, I did as I was told wondering how I'd manage to finish a scarf for today when I remembered these pieces. The back panel was roughly rectangular and all I had to do was bind off. I did just that and sewed the two opposite corners together for a very snug kerchief scarf.

Day 284 and Rachet

This is yet another way to make less yardage into something more. Interestingly, this scarf is really only half as wide as it appears. I cast on 20 stitches and worked for about 7 rows, then bound off 10 and finished the row. On the following row, I cast on 10 at the end.

So even though the scarf was 20 stitches wide, it can be a lot shorter as far as rows go and be a lot longer when draped. The big cast off areas cause the fabric to stretch and angle out for the length. Interesting!~!

Bonus: The big gaps fit together like cogs so a short scarf hooks onto it self and doesn't fall off.

Day 283 and Oomph

Okkay so enough fluffy novelty stuff is too much, right? Yet, I still have soooo muuuchhh left in my stash! I went with hairpin lace today. It doesn't use up as much yardage as straight crocheting or straight knitting so I was able to finish the whole thing with the scrappy bits of novelty without having to change textures partway. I gave it some substance by framing it with something smoother and in a highly contrasting color (ooo, silver!).

It took next to no time (about an hour and change with a P hook) making it a cinch for last minute gifting.

Day 282 and Striation

Same yarn as yesterday, different scarf! Taking advantage once again of the long color repeats but this time with crochet makes a much blockier looking result. Because crochet is made one tall stitch at a time, the color lands in chunks rather than stripes. An easy repeat like this shell stitch shows it off to good effect. Anything lacier and it might have looked much more disjointed in a much less appealing way, but you can't really know unless you try it. Maybe I will! I do have nearly three more months to go!