A New Crochet Project

Back in June, when Mick and I attended the craft show in Sydney I had an item to shop for.  Mum is knitting a blanket and needed a bigger circular knitting needle.  I hadn't been able to buy one locally. 

The night before we went to Sydney I was trawling the internet, looking at prices and what is around.  I then expanded what I was looking at and started looking at crochet scarves and shawls, as you do.  I had really enjoyed crocheting my simple scarf at the beginning of our holidays. (By the way, I've been wearing it lots this winter.)  I then started looking at yarns on line as well. Just browsing, not buying. That was that.....or so I thought.....

It took a bit of a look around the craft show to find the knitting needle, but we found one.  However, while looking we discovered several stalls selling beautiful yarn.  Coincidentally, one of the stalls was one of the websites I had been looking at the night before... and had the yarn I was looking at... and had a sample of the shawl I had been looking at made up in the yarn.......Of course you can see where this is going.....

The yarn is a cotton/acrylic blend and made in Turkey.  It has four strands and the colours change by one strand at a time, with tiny knots of that strand.

The pattern I had been looking at was the Virus Shawl.  It is a free pattern and there are a few Youtube tutorials.  There is also a version called the Virus Meets Granny Shawl and a fellow called Fiber Spider has the most detailed tutorial, over 3 parts.  It certainly makes it easy to learn the pattern.  Many versions are in 8-ply yarn, but this yarn is much finer, so I hope it will be nice and drapey to wear as a scarf.

I went with the Virus meets Granny version, just to create a bit of visual interest, and the granny sections are quick and easy to work.  Always a bonus for me.

I got started at the beginning of July.  The pattern is fairly easy, once you've seen the tutorial. The yarn is rather splitty, which means I have to take a bit extra care, but so worth it.

It has been something nice to work on when sitting in front of the heater.  The sewing room is shut off from the general living area of our house and gets rather cold, so it isn't really practical or pleasant to just duck in to do a few minutes' stitching, rather I need to get the room warm and make the best use of that time. Therefore, it was nice to have something else to work on.

Initially I had my project living in a plastic bag, but then I remembered the beautiful knitting bag I received from Oddbjorg in the Secret Santa Christmas Swap back in 2015.  It has been absolutely perfect for keeping things together and taking it along to work to do a little in my lunch breaks.  It is so nice to be using it.

This is where I am up to now.  I have to do another band of granny clusters and then another three rows of scallops and I think it will be finished.  Each row does take quite a bit of time now, so if I get a row done each day I'm happy.

The graduation of the colours isn't all that noticeable, but I think there will be enough yarn left on the ball to make a second version from the lighter part of the ball.

I've never blocked anything before, but this will definitely need it.  Something else to learn.

I haven't included this in my goals for August, as it isn't sewing, but I do hope to have it finished this month.  I'm really happy to say that I haven't created any new UFOs in the last year or so, and I intend to keep that record going.  Also, I want to get it finished while the pattern is still in my head.

I will then still have the other half of the ball of yarn to use for something else, probably something similar to this, but with some variation.  

Oh, and I bought another ball of Caron Cake yarn when it was on special, this time in a neutral colour palette.  I'm not sure what pattern I will use, but it will be something simple once again.  It would be nice to have it ready for next winter.

I just thought I'd show you where Mum is up to with her rug.  She has a nice little corner where she sits in the sun and knits and crochets.  (If she isn't knitting, she is crocheting tops on kitchen hand towels, having made about a hundred int the last year or so, all to raise funds for the church fete.)  Mum has made several of these rugs over the years using two yarns at a time.  She gets one yarn, generally a dark colour that she uses throughout and then adds in other colours, using up all sorts of scraps of yarn.

This time she is using a lovely blue that is on a cone.  It was quite a bit bigger than this when she started the rug.

Who knows where she got it from, but it is rather old and originally comes from a woollen mill in Ipswich Queensland.  I'm sure the mill will be long gone.

I'll never be as proficient in these crafts as Mum, who has made some beautiful things over the years and is always rather prolific, but it is nice to be having a bit of a go.