The Divine Toque, or 'Heather Gives up and Starts Crocheting'

Uh so, there still hasn't been much...or any sewing going on in my life.  I'm completely living vicariously through you all, and also very much enjoying life in the Yukon.  Was at the Dawson City Music Festival this weekend, and let's just say there's a very good reason why I look so tired in the photo below.

Geez, do I ever look tired. Please excuse my face.

Even though I'm not sewing right now, I have started to pick up yarn projects.  I crocheted this hat recently, and plan to make a bunch more for [SPOILER] Christmas presents this year.  I really loved this pattern, the Divine Hat by Sarah Arnold.  It's the most popular crochet hat pattern over on Ravelry, and for good reason; it's super easy, quick to make, and looks great!  And being a free pattern doesn't hurt, either.

I love how it swirls!

I actually whipped off the first version of this hat the day I started it, but my tension was too tight and it was just too small.  I pulled the ENTIRE thing back and re-crocheted it.  Annoying, but worth the effort.  Keep your stitches loose if you plan to try this one out!  I've included more details on my Ravelry post, if you're a member (go friend me!).  I used the ever popular Cascade 220 wool, and boy am I in love!  Best of all, I found a great shop here in Whitehorse that sells it and a bunch of other lovely natural fibre yarn!  WOOT!!

I should probably apologize up front, since there's probably going to be a lot more yarn works in the coming months.  Between hats for Christmas, a class on knitting socks this fall, helping out make an airplane cozy this month, and a general lack of sewing space, sewing posts may be few and far between.  Sorry guys.  But stay tuned, because I do have a rather ambitious winter sewing plan in the works!

Happy sewing (and knitting, and crocheting, and whatever else charges up your creative juices)!

Taking it Easy (and a Giveaway Reminder!)

I admit, I'm not feeling up to much of anything today, but that's probably from the amount of cheerful wheaty beverages I drank last night in celebration of my birthday. Yay hangovers!

I'm probably just going to lounge about, watching movies and working on more crochet discs for this project. So much for my day of sewing. :/ Ah well, it was worth it for last night!

This is the view of the table next to me in the hospital waiting room while my Mom was in surgery. Kept me occupied, at least. Those heart pins are what I was talking about in this post.

And just a reminder, don't forget to go sign up for the Heather-is-Getting-Old Giveaway for this funky bit of fabric! I'll be making the draw tomorrow at 12 pm Winnipeg MB time. I'm willing to ship it anywhere, so everyone is welcome to sign up!

Crochet Hook Holder...Thing: A Belated Christmas Gift

This post is a long time in the making. Actually, not really, I've just procrastinated for way too long. Sorry Fuss!

Back before Christmas, a good friend of mine, Heather (Fuss), started up crocheting. Since I've been crocheting for most of my life, I of course felt the need to enable this new hobby and right away wanted to make something special as a Christmas gift. And what better than a crochet hook holder filled with all sorts of goodies?!


Of course, my procrastination genes popped up, and I didn't get it done in time for Christmas. One day in January, while chatting away in gmail, she mentioned that she'd bought herself a set of hooks and was planning to make herself a holder for them.

Cue panic.

Luckily it didn't take too long to finish up the gift, and off it went across Canada to her doorstep (or rather, postbox down the street). Her reaction was delightful and chronicled in her brand spanking new creative blog, FussWorks (go check it out! The pictures of her bunnies and dogs modeling things are adorable and their put-upon expressions hilarious).

The crochet hook holder was pretty easy to make. My quick and dirty schematics are shown above, and the hardest parts were 1) figuring out how long to make it, and 2) sewing all those straight parallel lines dividing the hook pockets. I sort of wung the first part, deciding that longer was better, because everyone winds up with way too many needles. For the second part, Sheila of the Marble Stash group suggested using a strip of painters tape and sewing next to it before shifting it over to sew the next line.

There's a lot of pockets. I cut a piece of fabric the length and height that I wanted for the hooks, and bound the top edge with a piece of straight-grain tape (is that what it's called? Non-bias bias tape made from the shell fabric) before basting the pocket piece to the inside fabric. I found the bound edge really helpful for keeping the hooks nestled tightly in the pockets. For the pockets themselves, I sort of just wung the spacing, going from widest to narrowest across the length. I figured this would give lots of space for different sized needles.

The pockets were probably the most fun part. I wanted to bring the pretty batik fabric I was using for the shell fabric inside the holder, and this was a great way to do it. I also wanted to line the pockets so that there would be no frayed edges.

The patch pockets with the flaps were easy to figure out, but the zippered pocket was a little big more work. If anyone is interested in a tutorial for making a zippered patch pocket, just let me know. I'd be glad to put one together. The lined inside is a nice touch.

Once all the pockets were attached to the inside fabric piece, I simply put it and the shell fabric right sides together, sandwiching the ribbon ties inside, and stitched around, leaving an opening to flip the whole thing right side out. A bit of top stitching around the edge, and c'est fini!

I'm super proud of how it turned out considering I was making it up as I went. It's a good thing I really like my buddy, because otherwise I would've kept it! Enjoy your crochet holder, Fuss. Happy crocheting!