ARTFULLY SIMPLE AND ELEGANT

Here is the result of my attempt at the Artfully Simple Angled Scarf from Moogly. I used two skeins of Sirdar 4-ply cotton in grey dawn and a lovely button, all purchased at my local yarn shop, Odds & Sods. I have to admit that I am very pleased with this elegant scarf - that can also be worn as a shawl.

CROCHET BASKETS

You can find the free pattern below the photo.

CROCHET BASKETS

Size 4 mm crochet hook
Worsted weight cotton yarn

Bottom of basket
Make a magic ring.
Round 1: Sc 6 in magic ring, Do not join.
Round 2: Sc 2 in each sc from previous round. Do not join. (12 st)
Round 3: Sc 2 in first sc, sc 1 in next sc. Repeat 5 more times. Do not join. (18 st)
Round 4: Sc 2 in first sc, sc 1 in each of next 2 sc. Repeat 5 more times. Do not join. (24 st)
Round 5: Sc 2 in first sc, sc 1 in each of next 3 sc. Repeat 5 more times. Do not join. (30 st)
Round 6: Sc 2 in first sc, sc 1 in each of next 4 sc. Repeat 5 more times. Do not join. (36 st)
Round 7: Sc 2 in first sc, sc 1 in each of next 5 sc. Repeat 5 more times. Do not join. (42 st)
Round 8: Sc 2 in first sc, sc 1 in each of next 6 sc. Repeat 5 more times. Do not join. (48 st)
Round 9: Sc 2 in first sc, sc 1 in each of next 7 sc. Repeat 5 more times. Do not join. (54 st)
(End of increasing for small size. For medium, continue increase in the same manner to 66 stitches and for large to 78 stitches.)

Side of basket
Round 1: Working in back loops, sc1 in each sc around. Do not join. (54 st)
Round 2: Working in both loops (for this round and the rest), sc 1 in each sc. (54 st)
Round 3-4: Repeat round 2.
(For medium size, repeat round 2 two more times for a total of 6 rows of sc.
For large size, repeat round 2 four more times for a total of 8 rows of sc.)

Round 5: Sl st in first sc and ch 3. Dc 4 in same st. Remove hook from loop, insert hook in ch 3, replace loop from last dc on hook and pull through. Ch 1. *Dc in next st. Dc 5 in next stitch, remove hook from loop, insert hook in first of 5 dc, pull loop through. Ch 1. Repeat ending with dc in last stitch. (27 popcorns and 27 dc)
(For medium size, 33 popcorns and 33 dc. For large, 39 popcorns and 39 dc.)

Round 6 - 9: Repeat Round 2.
(For medium size, repeat round 2 two more times for a total of 6 rows of sc.
For large size, repeat round 2 four more times for a total of 8 rows of sc.)

Round 10: Repeat Round 5.

Round 11-12: Repeat Round 2. Join with sl st in first sc.

Round 13: Sl st all around. Fasten off and weave in ends.

MORE THAN A YARN STORE

Recently, a friend of mine told me about a yarn shop opening in our hometown. Pretty exciting news, as fellow knitters and crocheters will surely understand. Up to now, I was limited to purchasing yarn at the big retailers and big box craft stores - I could not wait to see what goodies I would find almost on my doorstep.

Well, I was in for a treat! On April 1st, day of the opening, I went searching for 43 Queen Street and to my disappointment, I found a real estate office... Double-checking the address on my phone, I see that I had missed that the entrance was on Chapel Street. Two minutes later, I see this:

Ah, ah! I found it! Not in any way turned off by the graffiti, I ventured inside and found the ultimate "girl cave"! A yarn shop with a knitting corner!

But also, lots of eye candy... Yarn everywhere! Yarn I had only dreamed about before, right there in front of me. I was in yarn heaven!

I went searching for the owner of this little paradise and found one of the most interesting person I had met in a long time: Rikki Rumball. As she proudly gave me a tour of her shop, I learned the story behind this shop and many of its treasures. But you will have to go visit and find out for yourself.

Odds & Sods Wool Shoppe is a lot more than a yarn store. It also carries work by local artists and crafters, all creatively displayed. After a few visits, I soon felt more like I was visiting a friend's house than browsing in a store. Apparently, many customers instinctively take their shoes off at the door.

When the weather warms up, watch for a new mural to beautify Chapel Street and the Odds and Sods sign to go up on Queen Street. A few others projects are also in the works, but I have been sworn to secrecy...

Odds & Sods is located in Bolton, Ontario, north-west of Toronto. They are opened from 11 am, Tuesday to Saturday. More information and directions are on their website at www.oddsandsods.org

A NEW ADDITION TO MY LIBRARY

Yesterday, I went out to a craft store to find a replacement for my favourite 5 mm hook, and I browsed through their book section while I was there. (And yes, I picked up a few balls of yarn, too.)

I have to say that, with all the resources offered for free online these days, I seldom buy any crochet or craft books. I also find that they tend to be repetitive and, since I already own a few reference books, don't offer anything new, not enough anyway to justify their purchase.

But yesterday was different. I came across this book, the four-colour crochet spiral on the cover initially catching my attention. The book is The Complete Photo Guide to Crochet, 2nd edition, by Margaret Hubert. I could not put in down, neither at the store nor at home.

Not only does it cover the basic techniques and stitches, it includes many stitches that I had never seen or heard of before. All the stitches and techniques are very well illustrated, with both a large colour photo and a chart, along with easy to follow instructions. A few patterns are also featured in the book.

My new favourite go-to book for stitches and inspiration!

SPRING IS IN THE AIR!

After a long, very long, and cold winter, I was looking forward to working with bright coloured yarn and making some fun spring items. I really enjoy making hats because you can experiment with stitches to create different textures. I thought some shells, alternating with v-stitches, would create a lovely airy texture for spring hats, and the DK weight yarn gives them an even more delicate look. Of course, spring hats must have some fun flowers and leaves, too! Here is my first spring hat in coral, just listed on Etsy. Available in size newborn to 10 years. More to come in different colours!

FIVE PETAL FLOWER

This is the flower I used for my Madly in Love! infinity scarf posted earlier. Click on Read more below to see the instructions.

THE CONCLUSION OF MADLY IN LOVE!

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I have been working on my very first CAL (Crochet-Along), the Madly in Love! infinity scarf from Moogly. I think that after more than 50 inches of puff stitches, I am getting pretty good at it. Part 2, revealed a very clever surprise from the designer! We split the scarf in three parts and braid them, then attach them to the main part with some decorative buttons. After spending a lot of time searching for buttons and not finding anything that I liked to go with the scarf, I decided to try something different. Instead of a contrasting colour, I chose a monochromatic look. I had three buttons that were an exact match to the melon colour of my yarn, but they were too small. So, I made some flowers with the leftover yarn placed the buttons on them. (I will give the pattern for the flower in a future post.) I turned the flowers, so that the wrong side was facing up, as that gave them a puffier look to complement all the lovely puff stitches of the scarf. 

PATTERN FOR V-STITCH INFINITY SCARF

Here is the pattern for the Infinity Scarf posted yesterday. I used chunky yarn and a 6.5 mm hook, but you can use any yarn. Just change the hook size according to the yarn used and chain multiples of 3 plus 7 for starting chain to obtain the desired width. Please click on the "Read more" link below to view pattern.