Haiku Cardi crochet style

I decided to experiment with making a crochet version of the Haiku Cardi. For the fabric, I used the stitch pattern from the Genuine Pleasure Shawl, a free pattern designed by Jamie Swiatek, but just about any triangle shawl pattern with repeating rows would do because that is the base shape for the Haiku Cardi. 

The Genuine Pleasure Shawl has a 10-row pattern repeat, but it's easier to memorize than it sounds, so once you get into the rhythm of it, it becomes simple to read your stitches to figure out where you are as you go without having to constantly keep referring back to the pattern.

I made this to be a housecoat/bathrobe/dressing gown for our guest room, so I made the length a bit longer than I would for a regular cardigan, and I also added pockets to the front using the pockets from the Lazy Diamond Boho Pocket Shawl, a paid pattern designed by Crystal White-Van Cleemput, just because they work up quickly and look super cute.

Zoey Zebra Melly Teddy Ragdoll

I only made it through the first two parts of the free Zoey Zebra crochet-along before life got in the way and I regrettably had to set the project aside for a few months. By the time I was able to pick it up again, the free links were gone, so I decided to endeavor to finish the project by making the remaining pieces based on the designer Melanie Grobler's photos.

It was easy enough to approximate the legs by looking at the photos, but when it came to the ears, I decided to google around to find something similar that someone else had done and shared the steps. Why reinvent the wheel if I didn't have to, right? I used the ears from Jess Huff's Heidi the Horse free amigurumi pattern, which is also available at this link.

For the rose, I used the free 3D Rose pattern by Lisa Auch, which is also available at this link.

The eyes are 12mm black buttons from this set on Amazon.

Here is a link to my Ravelry project page.

Yarn tunnel

We now interrupt your regularly-scheduled scrolling to present to you this yarn tunnel.

Who doesn't love a great yarn tunnel? 😄 This yarn tunnel comes to you courtesy of my latest WIP, which will hopefully be finished soon, so I can share it with all y'all. Stay tuned!

 

Who's got next?!? 😂

Haiku Cardi revisited

I really like how well my first Haiku Cardi turned out. (See it in the blog post prior to this one, or at my Ravelry project page here.) 

Dye lots are still a thing, y'all - sigh

I wanted to make the pattern again, but this time I utilized garter stitch to emphasize the stitch definition in the triangle section and also to alleviate some issues I had before with the front placket and sleeve edges wanting to curl. The plackets in garter stitch lie much better without any additional persuasion (i.e., aggressive blocking).

I ended up with 275 stitches across the bottom after rejoining the fronts to the back, which is a few more than the pattern called for, but a minor difference like that doesn't really matter in a project like this.

On this project, I learned the hard way that dye lots are still a thing, which is unfortunate, because the only way I had access to this Denim colorway of Red Heart Super Saver was by buying it through the mail.

Left and right fronts done

Of course, I don't know anything about how companies like Red Heart mass-produce their yarn, but it seems to me that in the 21st century, with the preponderance of all things digital, that companies ought to be able to exert better control over their color reproduction, to the point where dye lots are no longer necessary. (I'm only talking here about BIG companies; naturally I wouldn't extend the same expectation onto smaller or indie yarn producers.)

My stockinette gauge

So, anyway, I very clearly was given a skein from a different dye lot, which cuts a visibly darker line at the top of the lower portion of this cardigan. Nothing to be done about it now, so I'll just consider it a "design feature." Bah-ha-haaaa.

Oops!

I also had an "oops!" moment after rejoining the fronts to the back to start working the "skirt" of the cardigan. You can see the "oops" in the above photo, where I accidentally got one row of the garter stitch pattern wrong. Le sigh!! It's OK, though ... not terribly noticeable.

Considering my ongoing chronic pain issues, coupled with the fact that I'm not a particularly fast knitter, I'm amazed that I was actually able to finish knitting two of these in less than four months. 😊 

As I said, I really like how well this project turned out, and using the garter stitch edgings worked particularly well. I'm going to enjoy wearing this.

Meet Pierre

A while back, I bought a Woobles kit for Pierre Penguin at my local little yarn shop, and today I finally made him. 😊

Isn't he adorable? Here's a link to my Ravelry project page, which has info about the yarn colors, etc. The kit comes with everything you need to crochet your own little Pierre, and if your local LYS doesn't carry the Woobles kits you can also buy them online, but you can also buy the Woobles Easy Peasy Yarn in 13 different, bright, amigurumi-ready colors on Amazon.

Pierre kind of reminds me of the old Weebles toys. Am I the only person who remembers the Weebles?? 😆