experiment with ridges

This barely makes an adequate yarmulke: I cut the sides too early and went in too fast. And the joining of rows is uneven.  But still it is striking look.

 +crochet geek

basket weave basket

Trying to use the basket stitch to make a basket.  This is the good view; the others have counting errors or show how the base does not flow smoothly into the wall.  This stitch, in this weight yarn and guage, not dense enough to make a very good basket (it is here stretched over a plastic container).

But the pattern is striking
+crochet geek
to whom be thanks

hat: tunisian in the round

Another hat almost from Crochet Geek (I lost the last few rows).  This is scaled down for a newborn (well, will be in March) using the chart dimensions from CG.  The preferred view is

It doesn't show errors as clearly as the other side, which was the side I actually worked on:

#crochetgeek

Yet another CG scarf.

This one was mostly chains but the connections made a nice pattern and a surprisingly warm and covering one in the infinity scarf (with Moebius twists again; I hope using the double chain will prevent this next time).

A better chain?

This is from some ancient craft magazine (Piecework in the early 2000s, even late 1990s?). The result is a band that does not roll and has even loops available for the next row, unlike regular base chains. It also gives a smoother, more finished edge.

Start with the usual slip knot, then chain one (the first A loop).  Insert the hook into the slip knot loop again and draw up a second loop (first B) onto the hook.  *Draw a loop through both loops on the hook, forming a new A.  Then insert hook through old B and draw up a new B on the hook*  Repeat between * to the desired length.  For a flat piece, draw the A and then chain as needed for the first row.  For a closed  circle, slip stitch A to the edging and then top loop to top loop, the  proceed as required.  

Scarves again

Thanks to the Crochet Geek on G+, I have gotten more into scarves. Here are three more or less from her.
The first one came as just a diagram that I had trouble converting ton work. She kindly redid the diagram -- twice! -- and I finally got the rhythm of it. Of course, with my sense of rhythm, there are a few flaws.somehow I added a twist so that the infinity scarf became a Möbius one as well. And somewhere I missed the step up to the next row and so turned the whole into a spiral. Still it is rather pretty and my wife likes it.




I had no trouble with this one, which ended up looking like the picture.



This one is my memory of a pattern which disappeared into the depths of G+, never to return. I don't think it is what the original intended, but I like it and am working on another version already.

mi prami la Crochet Geek
My favorite thing on G+ is Crochet Geek, who has a new pattern almost every morning.  Some don't interest me (I know no babies for booties, e.g.) but many are cute or clever or teach great techniques.  Or give me starts for "improvements".  Here are a few I've enjoyed and either improved or screwed up interestingly.

This was a shot at a waffle weave, but I misread the crucial line and so didn't get the strong differentiation of the original.  Better reading next time, but this isn't bad looking.

A couple of changes here: magic ring rather than ordinary ring (I wish I could remember who taught me that trick) and a sharper point .

By-the-book butterfly.

By-the-book flower, but I would like the lower petals (or whatever they are) to alternate with the upper ones rather than underlie them.  I tried that by screwed up elsewhere but finally got it right

Another trick from CG is the difference between working with whole loops or only the front loop or only the back.  When you alternate blocks of FLO with blocks of BLO you get a nice rib effect:

upside down hat.
I start at the crown and work down, adding stitches row by row.  And I usually end up with a hat that is too big or too small or has strange angles in it.  So, against the size problem, I started one at the edge and worked up.  The angles are worse, but the size is about right (though I won't use Tunisian crochet for the edge again -- no give).

Chemotherapy means hair loss, so one actual use for crocheted caps is a cover-up.  I made one for an autumn, who decided against it and another yet to be presented.

Summer time, so lighter hats called for (if any, of course)

We all make mistakes, but some turn out interesting.  I am not sure how I came to turn a hat around at a join and crochet a row backwards.  But I like the effect and have done it deliberately several times now for a terraced effect,

In a neat yarn shop in Monterey (name long lost, alas) I got two great things: the irl of Ravelry, the source for all things yarny and a view of a couple of baskets crocheted with two strands.  I went home and tried that and, while mine didn't stand up as well (loose stitches? lighter yarn? bad proportions?), I liked the look and tried a couple of hats that way.

Goodness, it's been a long time since I did anything here.  But I have kept on hookin' and this seems to be a time to catch up a bit.  For the most part, I have been into hats, giving many away as presents (cheap I am, since I have been using mostly left over yarns and do the work to keep from fiddling and driving wife 3 crazy.  So here are some hats at a Christmas party (not all ended up with the wearers)