#Mashup – Crescent Moon

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The Yarn

Company/Store: Malabrigo Rios
Colorway: Label says UNK 5007 currently not listed on the site so I am unsure if this is a commonly available dye lot
Weight/Length: 100 grams/210 yards per skein, worsted weight
Material: 100% merino wool
Hook size used: 5.0 H

Admittedly its been awhile since I have been able to crochet a lot recently. New Job has been taking up much time every week so I am trying to get better and squeezing in crochet time when I can. Fortunately! I am finished with this fun crescent moon shape wrap that I made with some Malabrigo yarn I picked up at Stitches West back in February. I  wanted to try something a bit different than a standard scarf but since I didn’t have enough yarn to do something like a shawl or cardigan, I opted to look for a wrap in an interesting shape.

The Pattern

Name: Mezzaluna (Crescent Moon) Wrap (Ravelry Link)
Author:  Nancy P

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To clarify, since this pattern has a few iterations and versions, I used 2 of the included instructions. For the body of the scarf I follows the pattern titled Mezzaluna_Wrap_simplified_terms_by_Judy_OC. For the edging I followed the pattern titled Mezzaluna_Wrap_UK_English_Terms_by_dsweeney (Edging #2).

Once you figure out the repeat its pretty easy going for the body, and I like the look of the bobbles, not too many so it is not too heavy. The trim is a fun scalloped and picot trim. I added a row of sc around the entire piece prior to starting the trim on the outside edge.

I like how it turned out, the colors are so wonderful, reminds me of a watercolor painting of a flower garden. I have not blocked it yet, I am not sure if I think it needs it, it is soft and sturdy enough already.

Check out the finished item photos below, final measurements are around 56 inches in length from tip to tip, and at its thickest it is about 10 inches wide. I had 3 skeins of this yarn and have about a half a skein left so I am guessing around 500 yards total used.

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Thanks for stopping by! If you have any questions about this item or how I used the pattern, please leave a comment below!

Projects For Friends & Family

I decided to take some time this month to work on some project requests from friends and family that I have gotten over the last few weeks. So here is a collection of what I have made for them!

First up, my friend Rebecca (back in Sept!) asked for a cotton scarf for her and a hat/scarf combo for her cute 2yr old boy. They live in Atlanta so it does not get cold there much (except lately) and she does not like wool so we decided on the Lion Brand Cotton-Ease as the yarn of choice for the things I would make. She also asked for her scarf to be a striped chevron pattern. Not using any particular pattern for her scarf, I finally got the yarn in and this is my striped chevron scarf for her.

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It’s your standard 3 dc, dc3tog,  3dc, 3dc in 1 dc, repeat pattern and 2 rows of each color ending with purple on both sides. I really like the grape and the gray together. I used a 5.5 hook for all of the items I made from this yarn, so that made things easy too.

Onto her little kiddo, I wanted to keep a stripe theme for him too so I made a cute toddler size hat and scarf combo.

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The scarf was just a simple row of hdc’s and I alternated from using the back loop and front loop. Again, no special pattern used for this one either. The hat I followed the toddler size version of Sweet Stripes hat from over at moogly. So many great tutorials over there btw. I added a pom-pom to the hat cause it felt like it needed it. I followed a short and easy video on how to make them.

Since toddler size items are not as big as adult size items, I had extra yarn so I wanted to make another scarf for Rebecca using all 3 colors. I kept with the stripe theme once again and did a basic ruffle pattern like this one from Lion Brand (homespun is challenging to use for me so anyone that can make anything with it deserves a gold star from me!)

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They all go in the mail tomorrow so I do hope she likes them and sends me a photo of her and J in their new accessories!

Next was my Aunt who came out to see me at a recent craft fair and wanted a scarf since she and my Uncle are moving to South Korea soon! Crazy awesome adventure for them I am excited to hear about their time there and hope they fly back to visit as often as possible.

She wanted a scarf similar to this one but not a circle scarf. So since that exact yarn wasn’t available at the moment, I did have on hand that same Red Heard Boutique but in their Mosaic greens and blues color.

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I also used a pattern tested with this yarn by fellow blogger yarnaway  but made mine 2 clusters shorter since I only had 2 skeins and I did not want it to be that wide. The pattern and yarn go very well together and I love these colors so much I may end up doing one for myself sometime soon. I’ll be giving this to her soon before they leave.

My last current request came from my sister Val who needed a red and tan scarf to go with a new red peacoat she got recently.

I have had this scallop pattern in my favs on Ravelry for awhile so I thought I would try it for her. I used a larger hook than noted because I wanted it to be a bit more loose and slouchy. Luckily I already had the colors she wanted in stock from making a 49ers hat so I used some of my Caron Simply Soft to crochet this up quicker than I thought. I already sent it to her and she really liked it!

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Those are all my recent projects to kick off 2014! Now to focus on some more shop items and get ready for a vending event this Thursday!

Thanks for stopping by!

#Mashup – Monochrome Scarf

The Yarn

Company/Store: Tess Yarns (bought at the Feb 2013 Stitches West yarn show)
Colorway: Variegated white to light gray to medium grey (the label does not specify a name or #)
Weight/Length: Superwash Merino/570 yds
Material: 100% Wool

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I wish I had taken a photo of the yarn before I balled it up, it was beautiful, but I forgot so you will have to imagine these whites and grays looking like this prior to me winding it up.

Now I want this color too….

The Pattern

I tried about 6 or 7 different patterns before I opted to try something similar to the pattern I used for a few of my scarves already. I used the Aquatic Blossom pattern as my base and altered a few key elements.

First, instead of the foundation chain being [ch5, then tr in first ch, repeat] I shortened it to [ch3, then dc in first ch, repeat], this created a shorter star pattern that I like better for this yarn. I wanted it to not be too airy or be able to see through the stitches. For the rest of the pattern I followed it like normal but instead of triple crochets I used double crochets. It created this really neat ripple pattern with the stars and the color changing in parts also looks like wide stripes.

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So far I am liking this pattern, I have done 3 full rounds, it will be a circle scarf. 570 yards is a lot so I will see how thick I end up making this and maybe I will have some left over for a few bracelets or a headband hopefully. Either way I love this yarn and the monochrome colors, hence its name! More photos once its finished!

Final Stats

Size: 6 inches wide by 57 inches in total length, 8 total rows were made with this 1 row repeat pattern.
Yarn Used: I had a lot of yarn left over from this project so I also made a hat to go with it! So I can estimate that I used approximately 300 yards for the scarf. I love how it started to zig zag the colors as the rows were built. Very happy with how it came out, its light but warm!

This item is For Sale! Link to Etsy Product Listing!

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Thanks for stopping by!

#Mashup – Ocean Waves Scarf

I wanted to share another scarf project I am working on currently. I call it the Ocean Waves scarf as the pattern with this yarn reminds me of ocean waves lapping up on the shores of a sunny beach. Another yarn/pattern combo that I am super glad to have found.

The Yarn:

I found this beautiful Schaefer Yarn recently at a yarn shop called Imagine in Bemus Point, NY while visiting family for the 4th of July holiday. While there I learned that the owner of Schaefer Yarn retired and so the company went out of business in late 2012. However I snagged the last 2 skeins of yarn the store had and this was one of them. The color is noted as Julia Morgan however the photo better describes the colors, blues, aquas and sand colors.

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The Pattern:

I am following the pattern called Modulation (Ravelry Link) and I think its turning out really cool. The yarn transitions colors in a neat way that makes these zigzags which after the first few rows started looking like waves.

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Since the yarn is fingering its taking awhile to make but I have about 12 inches done so far and I am really liking how its going. So once  I am done I will post up a photo of the completed scarf! Hope you like it too!

Update 9/4/2013

My photo above has been featured on the Ravelry Page for this pattern! Super neat! Also I am still not finished but as soon as I am will post photos!

Update 11/4/2013

As I got near the end of the skein I had, I quickly realized that this scarf was not going to get too much longer than 40 inches, which I was originally very sad about, its about 34 inches long right now. By luck however I was browsing Ravelry’s stash pages for yarn and happened to find someone willing to sell 2 smaller skeins of this exact Schaefer yarn! What luck! I ordered them right away and they arrived this afternoon so this project is off the back burner and now something I hope to finish soon. I am so looking forward to finishing this as I love the colors. Here is an update shot with the additional yarn I got today.

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Final Stats

Size: 8 inches wide by 64 inches long
Yarn Used: 450 yards (all of original skein) + 250 approx of another skein totaling about 700 yards!

The first skein I bought was a full skein at 450 yards, I ran out of yarn around 40 inches in and was so sad that it might not get any longer! No fear! Ravelry to the rescue! I found someone who had 2 smaller skeins (320 yards each) of this exact yarn being sold as a pair and I snatched them up quick. I used almost all of another of the smaller skeins so I have 1 smaller skein left plus about 60 to 70 yards.

By far the longest it has ever taken me to finish a scarf (about 5 months) however I worked on it off and on, it was a great travel project, and factoring in having to get more yarn played a part too. However it is done and I cannot be more thrilled with how it looks!

I do admit the newer skeins I bought have a deeper aqua color than the original skein I bought so it does shift in color a tad a little over halfway through but I consider it more of a blend and it is not so drastic it looks off, so I am still super happy with it, below are finished pics!

This item is For Sale! Link to Etsy Product Listing!

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Thanks for stopping by!

Slant Stitch Scarf

I had pinned this pattern when I first began to learn how to crochet and I finally got back to it just last week. It is a pretty basic pattern using a slant stitch. See photo of the example used with a link to the pattern here:

Slant Stitch Scarf

Slant Stitch Scarf

I had a few colors of Red Heart – With Love yarn so I thought I would use them with this pattern. I wanted to change colors every few rows but not just simply one color to the next so I alternated colors, first with the SC row, then with the Slant Stitch row to create a type of gradient transition between the colors. See my example work in progress:

Slant Stitch 1

Slant Stitch 1

Here is another photo I am using 3 colors, the purple will be the main color for awhile and once I get close to the end I will transition back to blue, then back to the magenta color at the other end.

Slant Stitch 2

Slant Stitch 2

I followed the pattern exactly like it describes, I will just keep repeating row 2 & 3 (as noted in the pattern) for however long I need the scarf. This yarn is a bit thicker (or I think fluffy) than regular worsted weight yarn but I think it will make a great winter scarf once its done. I will update this post again with photos once its completed!

CroCreations Infinity Scarf Pattern

I was searching around the interwebs this past week for another scarf pattern that would be perfect for some chunky yarn I have that I bought at a yarn show by James C Brett. I very much wish I had bought more but I only ended up getting a skein of his MC28 color:

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The pattern I ended up using was a variation of Caron.com’s Bellflower Infinity Scarf by CroCreations. See the sample photo:

CroCreations Infinity Scarf

The only modification I made to the CroCreations version of this pattern was I added an extra set of Shells so it was a bit wider:

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CroCreations Scarf

I love the color blending and it seems to change equally between rows too which is really neat. I will post more photos once its longer!

Wishing all the Dads out there including mine a Happy Father’s Day!!

5/18/2013 – UPDATE

It is finished, here is a photo of the completed infinity scarf!

Finished CroCreations Scarf

Finished CroCreations Scarf

Two New Patterns

I tried 2 new patterns over the holiday weekend, the first is a pattern I found called Stashbuster by Sarahndipities. It us a super fun quick pattern you can make with anything, I am certainly going to use it again soon with all the leftover yarn I have like she recommends!

I made this into an infinity scarf too which makes it great warm wrap for cool to cold days. The yarn I used was a multi color acrylic yarn with reds, browns and dark magentas, reminds me of fall :)

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Infinity Shell Scarf

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Infinity Shell Scarf

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Infinity Shell Scarf

The other pattern I tried is called the Divine Hat  by the same person whose Cable Hat pattern I have followed and used already. It makes a spiral effect and looks really neat when its done, I especially like how the yarn I used almost makes rows of color too.

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Spiral Hat

Both are currently available for sale in my shop! Back to crocheting!

Newly Completed Items

Here are some photos of some newly completed items I have made. The first is a completed photo of the Afghan stitch scarf I was working on earlier. This scarf was super fun to make because both sides of the scarf are interesting and could be the ‘front’. Check out my shop listing for more detailed photos.

I also finished my Catherine Wheel Stitch hat. Also recently new to my shop, it turned out cute I like the alternating colors too.

I have used this stitch before but did not get a great photo of the hat so I did another using just navy blue but I plan to make more colors of this hat, it uses what is called a Butterfly Stitch, and I watched this video to give me a start, however I did not follow the pattern exactly to get the hat I made.

I will be posting an update with photos on my squares blanket, I have more colors done so look for that later this week!

Afghan Stitch Scarf

I was watching a video about how to do an Afghan Stitch and thought I could make a skinny scarf with the pattern using only 10 stitches across.

Here is the video:

Here is a photo of my scarf so far:

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I am really liking the texture this pattern makes, will probably add some fringe to the ends once its done too!