Catching Up

I just realized I had made a couple of  Prayer Shawls and not posted them.  Luckily I took pictures before I dropped them off at the church last week.

This is a shawl repeat-----I used this same  pattern with the same yarn a year or two ago. It was worth repeating, using I Love This Yarn in Ivory and a stitch pattern from an old Jamie yarn wrapper.  It has been my "go to" pattern for baby blankets for many years.

The next, also a pattern I have used before, is V Noel's V Stitch Prayer Shawl. You can find it on Ravelry.  Again, I used I Love This Yarn in Cappadocia, a wonderful gray with a subtle black and brown thread running through the stripe.  I really like the way this shawl turned out as it is suitable for either a woman or a man.

Until next time-----crochet on!

The New Caron Cakes Yarn- - a dream to work with

My V-Stitch Prayer Shawl using the new Caron Cakes yarn is finished!  My first time using this new yarn and it was a dream to work with, so soft and it flows through your fingers nicely.  The color changes in the yarn give the look of color blocking without the work of changing yarns.

Once again I used V.Noel's pattern, gets a little boring using the same crochet stitch but glad I stuck with it.  This is a large shawl and would be nice for either a lady or gentleman to wrap up in.

Until next time
BettyLou

V-Stitch Shawl by V Noel
Caron Cakes  Butter Cream - 2 1/2 cakes
K hook
22" 65"

Caron Cakes Fever

I caught the Caron Cake's fever and this is what my Prayer Shawl looks like using the first cake of Butter Cream wth a simple V stitch pattern by V Noel.  I like the feel of the yarn and using a K hook to give the shawl more drape.

Michael's had a beautiful display of the yarns when I went in last Saturday and I hope they still have a good selection left when I go in tomorrow.  A single cake would make a nice length scarf and the bright colors would be perfect to add some pizzaz to your winter coat.  Christmas will be here before we know it.

The camera doesn't lie, I just spotted an mistake in my shawl, see if you can find it.

Count you blessing and your stitches,
BettyLou

The Williston

Vane's Choice yarn is not my first choice for Prayer Shawl as it is a heavy weight #4 yarn but when it was in the sale bin at Joanns for $1.89, I quickly forgot about that.  I use a lot of Vanna's Choice for hats but not for projects that need some drape.

When I tried to use a J or even K hook the stitch pattern was too tight and did not have that soft feel you want for a Prayer Shawl.  In a light bulb moment I remembered that last year I had purchased a 7mm hook from the Webb's catalogue.  A 7mm is a tad larger than a K 6.5mm and smaller than the L 8mm and perfect for the yarn and pattern I was using.

Over the past year I have made several of the Three Triangles Shawl but for this project I used the Williston Shawl by Cynthia Miller, very similar but with four triangles.  It turned out to be perfect for the yarn and hook size.  The Williston Shawl pattern is on the Ravelry web site, a wonderful place to find both free and paid patterns, information about yarn, and designers. If you haven't joined, take a look, I think you like both the web site and the Williston Shawl pattern.

Williston Shawl
Knitter's Pride 7mm hook - Web's Yarn Store
Vanna's Choice - 6 skeins

Until next time, crochet on

BettyLou

I Am a Lazy Photographer!

I have been working (crocheting) a lot since the first of the year but have neglected to photograph many of my completed projects so I will attempt to bring you up to date in a few posts.

Along about the middle of January I thought "if I just made 10 hats a month, by the first of November I would have 100 hats to send to the shelter."  Easy enough, so I started making two hats a day.  When I had the ten finished, I just kept on going and by the 31st of January I had 30 completed.hats.  Since then I have brought that number up to 56.  Feels so good to have a head start on my hats, now just need to keep up with my ten a month commitment.  They are all packed in a tote and ready to go.

After the hat marathon I was ready to start on a new shawl-----enough of the hats for a while but still trying to stand by my New Year's resolution of using more of my stash.

With that in mind I made another Comfort Shawl with Lion Brand Homespun, a simple pattern using just half double crochet.  The next shaw in a dusty lavender yarn was perfect for V. Noel's V Stitch Prayer Shawl.  This is a free pattern on Ravelry and one I like a lot with just about any yarn.

Comfort Shawl Lion Brand free pattern
Homespun - Colonial Blue, 3 skeins
L hook

V Stitch Prayer Shawl, V Noel's free pattern on Ravelry
I Love This Yarn, Lavender Smoke  3 skeins
J hook

Until next time, crochet on,

Another Three Triangles-Dallas Cowboy Style

Last week I picked several skeins of I Love This Yarn in Graymist for another Three Triangles Shawl.  After working several inches or so, I realized that the color looked rather masculine so decided to add some navy blue stripes to compliment the gray.

A perfect shawl for a Dallas Cowboy fan, male or female, if you love the Cowboys your sure to like this Prayer Shawl.

Three Triangles Shawl
26" X 60"
I Love This Yarn, Graymist 2 skeins
Red Heart Super Savor, Soft Navy 1 skein
J Hook

Until next time, crochet on,

BettyLou

Pretty In Pink

                                  

                                 

The Three Triangles Shawl is a pattern I have made before and is great pattern for a Prayer Shawl as it is easy to keep on the shoulders and not too long in the back. It makes a nice shawl for someone confined to a wheelchair or to cover the shoulders while sitting in bed.

                                 

The only drawback is that it is a little boring since it is all done with double crochet.  This time I thought I would jazz it up a little by making three stripes in a variegated yarn.  I think it works.  The border came from a fellow Crocheters that I saw and Facebook, she used the border pattern from the Morning in the Meadow shawl.  I think it completes the shawl, thank you Jane O. for sharing your suggestion.

This would also work well with some color blocking as a great way to use up some of your stash.  A perfect shawl pattern for a new crocheter.

Three Triangles Shawl
Morning in the Meadow (border)
I Love This Yarn - Rosy Cheeks
Caron Jumbo - Rosewood
Hook - J
approx size  27"x 65"

Until next time, happy crocheting

BettyLou

1st Finish of 2016

My latest Prayer Shawl was intended as my final finish of 2015 but after working on it last night until the ball dropped in New York City marking the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, I was still a few rows short of completion.  So as I watched the Rose Bowl Parade this morning it became my first finish of 2016.  Hooray!

Using Red Heart Soft in Mid Blue, the Brambleberry pattern worked up into a nice shawl with wonderful drape.  I hesitate making triangle Prayer Shawls as I feel they could be uncomfortable for some with that deep V in the back, nevertheless this was such a pretty pattern repeat I was anxious to give it a try.  The pattern is easy and well written, you can find the link below.

Brambleberry Shawl pattern
Finished 36" X 60"
Red Heart Soft  4 skeins Mid Blue
J hook

Until next time, happy crocheting

BettyLou

For The Christmas Babies

Bonnie over at Sunset Family Living  host a challenge every year to make twelve hats for preemies or newborns and deliver them to you local hospital during the month of December.  Last year I contributed and this year decided to do the same.   Really the same----the same basic hat, the same yarn, and the same PipSqueak yarn for the trim.

This year I ran out of yarn after making eleven------one short-------- I like to use Deborah Norville's Everyday in red so a quick trip to Joann's was necessary.

The pattern is Little Monkeys Crochet pattern for her Super Simple Newborn Beanie, you can find the pattern Here.

Until next time,
BettyLou

End of The Year Finish

I have been eager to finish these two Prayer Shawls before the end of the year and today I delivered them to the church.  Hope they bring comfort to someone this Christmas.  The first is the Whimsey pattern in the leaflet Shawls and Wraps, using I Love theYarn in silver grey and a K hook.  With the simple pattern repeat the stitches just flew off my hook.

The second is one of my favorite patterns, Kathy Lashley's Wrapped in Warmth with Lion Brand Heartland in Olympia.  A beautiful blue that would flatter all skin tones.  This pattern is easy and makes a stunning shawl that just hugs your shoulders.

Until next time,