Valentines Day Pattern Drafting!

Hey Everybody!
well, in all the hub bub and such and so getting ready for Christmas and that great big cross-country move I just made, I plum forgot about this simply gorgeous pattern for a valentine's day gift I'd wanted to make for my boyfriend. I saw this pattern on Coco Knits for free by linking it through my ravelry account, and absolutely fell in love with it!


Tragically, not only did I not have a set of DPNs in the correct size, but I had let time grow short! I decided - what's easier than buying a new set of needles and following directions? why, creating a crochet version of the same pattern, of course! little did I know the antics that would ensue!

However, here, after days of ripping out and figuring out a good stretchy cast on (wound up using a foundation single crochet tutorial from here)...



... is the pattern!

Smitten Heart - Crochet

Cuffs - make two. (tip! if you divide the yarn and work up two at once, you can try them on and see how large you would like to make the 'heart' portion of your smitten)

fsc: foundation single crochet
fpdc: front post double crochet
bpdc: back post double crochet
sc: single crochet
sl: slip stitch
sc2tog: single crochet 2 together (an invisible decrease)

fsc 15, join. ch2
1fpdc around next post, 1bpdc around next post. continue around to end, join with sl, chain 2. continue this round till 3 inches, or desired length (for me, 3 rounds is enough.

1sc in first stitch, 2sc in the next stitch (not the space)around till last stitch, 2sc in last stitch, join with sl, chain one.

1sc in each stitch. join with sl, chain one. repeat this round until the round top portion of the heart is as long as you like. 3 rounds of all 1sc in each stitch were what I used for the smitten in the example.

once you have worked up both cuffs as long as you would like them, cut off the yarn for one, leaving a 4 inch tail. next you'll be joining the two together.

joining

lay one cuff on top of the other, insert hook into the chain attached to yarn first - then into the chain stitch attached to the four inch tail. work one single crochet through both chains. single crochet the two cuffs together for 7 stitches. (tip! if you crochet over the tail, it will prevent having to go in and weave in the ends later)

sc in every stitch around the outside of the cuffs, NOT THE JOINING ROW.

2sctog, sc around till 2 before joining chain on opposite side, 2sctog, sc, 2sctog, sc around till 2 before chain stitch, 2sctog, join sl, ch 1.

sc around, ch1.

sc around, sc2tog in center of join once on each side. the rest of the piece is worked in a spiral.

sc2tog every 8th and 9th stitch. when the heart begins to taper to your desired length, switch to sc2tog every 5th and 6th stitch, then every 3rd and 4th stitch, until only 6 stitches remain. then sc2tog each stitch. when there are too few to work, hook them together, tie off and weave in the ends. you're all done!

this is the first pattern i've posted here, so let me know if you'd like any corections/additions!












My Current Project: Smitten Adaptation!

Test Post

Testing out the new sharing links!

Stashbusting for a Youngster! SBfaY #1:The Saga Begins...

Yarncrafting can be one of the most fun and creative activities - especially when one is snowed in, sick, injured or, if you are particularly lucky, all three at once!

Right now I am slowly working through a cache of baby yarn. how did I get all this baby yarn? Let me digress....

About 2 months ago my boyfriend's niece turned 1. Sadly, I was out of town, but offered to knit something and send it to her. "Great!" he said. Or maybe "Really? That would be great!" Or, more probably, "Great! That's really sweet, but don't put yourself out." At any rate, I had the go-ahead, but none of the size information. but hey! I could wing it, right?


Well, then I started shopping for yarn at the East Bay Depot for Creative Re-Use. If you live in the Bay Area and you haven't been there, you should definitely check it out. They take donations and sell at very reasonable rates - $2 for a complete skein and $1 for an 'incomplete' one.

I immediately grabbed some cute baby yarn, but hadn't decided what to make, and shortly called him again and asked questions like "What are her parents' favorite colors?" and "do they do the whole pink thing?" and "Do you have a measurement of her head?"

...Really? 'Do you have a measurement of her head?!' What was I saying! But alas, caught up in the whirl of new crafting challenge and a wealth of cheap quality yarn, I had become delirious.

That's why Ive decided to include the projects I've done in a SBfaY series (hehe, sounds like 'spiff-ay'). Each post gets a SBfaY tag, and will show the project, the pattern link and any alterations I made or the pattern itself (if it's one of my original designs).

Looking forward to the challenge, and prepare for the child-crafting frenzy to begin!

A New Year and its Resolutions

So, a new year is upon us once more, and a new year brings new resolutions. This is also the first year of a new decade, and that makes it the perfect opportunity to turn over a new leaf in a couple of major ways!

For starters, here are a few of my resolutions:
Update the blog at least once a week, and improve the networking systems
Draft new yarncraft patterns and publish them here and on Ravelry
Find new and exciting ways to organize and stash bust in efficient, cost effective and fun ways
Make new resources to make crafting fun and exciting for you, the reader!

What do you think? got any new resolutions for you and/or your crafting? comment and let me know about your ideas, and what you'd like to see on the blog this year!

Here are a few of my favorite resources so far:

Lion Brand Yarn's Blog Post "Resolutions for a New Year"

Psych Central's "10 Sure Ways to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions"

Associated Content's "New Year's Resolutions for Crafters"