Ugh, pooling

On November 12, 2024 By CarynIn Craft

I’m not a fan of color pooling, which is when a variegated yarn lines up as you knit or crochet and you get patches of color. Random, strangely shaped patches. I was in the craft store with my youngest doing a store walk to get some exercise and fill time, and a skein of brightly colored yarn called my name. (Walking a craft store makes for an expensive trip, just for future information.) I started making a beanie and then the colors pooled. Yuck. This is probably one of the worst examples of color pooling. I didn’t realize that they put the cool shades and warm shades together and I ended up with garish almost paisleys rather than a blended rainbow.

Photo description: rainbow skein of yarn with a label showing a nice blended rainbow blanket, with my crocheted hat with pooling rather than blending in reds and teals

Something this bold and in your face needs to be a beret rather than a beanie, so I kept going with the diameter. I made a stretchy band with ribbed single crochet, and there finally achieved a more pleasant to my eye color shift.

Photo description: band side of the same beret

I didn’t rip out the work, because everyone is different and there might be someone attracted to the fire and ice flames of the hat, and have the personality to pull off the bold beret. Or at least keep their head warm.

Looks like a muppet

On November 11, 2024November 8, 2024 By CarynIn Craft

I’ve come up with a worry worm pattern I prefer. I don’t really care for the flat head version, so I put the eyes on the end of the spiral, rather than making a separate head. I’ll share the pattern at the bottom, but I had to show you the familiar muppet face that serendipitously showed up on one worm.

Photo description: red crocheted worm with an orange nose and large googly eyes

I really like making these with a variegated yarn that has a medium length color change, because then the worm comes out in two, maybe three colors. Shorter color changes are OK, but not as dramatic. I have been filling waiting time making worry worms as a fundraiser for my chorus, as a gift for donations.

Photo description: box of crocheted worry worms in many colors with a poem, Lone Star Chorus logo and a QR code with the words “Thank you for donating to Lone Star Chorus, please take a worry worm!”

I came up with the poem, there are many varieties out there on the web, but I wanted one with singing. The poem is:

Tell it your worries, it won’t mind,

Sing it a song, it’ll find it devine.

Give it a hug, until you feel healed,

Tell it your troubles, its lips are sealed!

To make them, I use worsted weight yarn scraps or variegated yarn. Acrylic is best for this to avoid any natural fiber allergies. I use a size J hook, but different hook sizes will still make a worm, just in different sizes and densities.

I start with a crochet chain, and weave in the tail as I chain. Before you make a chain stitch, flip the tail between the hook and the working yarn, this will catch the end in the next chain stitch. The end will become the nose. Chain 30.

In the second chain from the hook, make 3 single crochets (or half double crochets if you want a thicker worm). Make three stitches in each chain stitch all the way along. The worm will naturally spiral on its own, but can be encouraged by twisting.

Cut the yarn about 8 inches from the end and pull the last loop out. Thread it on a yarn needle and run the needle under three stitches to form the head. Add a sew-on googly eye, run the needle through three more stitches and add a second eye. Weave in the end.

Worm achieved.

Petunia

On November 10, 2024 By CarynIn Garden

Walking into the grocery store just before Halloween, I saw these petunias that are such a dark purple as to appear almost black. I bought them and planted them in a container in the front of the house (one of the few places that gets some sun.)

Photo description: dark purple petunias in a teal container wet from the night’s rain

I have trouble with the words “petunia” and “pansy”, continuously getting them switched. Getting an actual petunia plant hasn’t helped. They are pretty though.

Softening

On November 9, 2024 By CarynIn Craft

I washed a load of crocheted hats with fabric softener and then dried them with a dryer sheet to get the inexpensive acrylic to soften up some. The technique works and the hats just need some labels and they’ll be ready for the chorus craft sale.

Photo description: washer tub full of crocheted hats in a variety of colors and shapes

Current hat count: 35. I’m almost through all the acrylic yarn.

Lace beret pattern

On November 8, 2024March 2, 2025 By CarynIn Craft

So I wrote up a pattern for my lace beret, and even tested the pattern with a second beret.

Materials: worsted weight yarn, size I hook, yarn needle

Terms:

ch – chain

sl st – slip stitch

sc – single crochet

scbl – single crochet in the back loop

sc2tog – sc two stitches together

dc – double crochet

CDCS – Chainless Double Crochet Start (I like Moogly’s method)

Row 1: ch 2, 20 dc in magic circle, sl st to first DC
Row 2: CDCS, dc, ch 2, *dc, dc, ch 2* repeat ** 9 more times, sl st to start (10 ch 2 spaces)
Row 3: Sl st to ch2 space, CDCS, dc, ch 2, 2 dc, *in next space 2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc* repeat ** 9 more times, sl st to start
Row 4: CDCS, *in next space (2dc, ch 2, 2dc), skip 2 dc, dc in next dc* repeat ** 8 more times, in next space (2dc, ch 2, 2dc), sl st to start
Row 5: CDCS, dc in same st, *in next space (2dc, ch 2, 2dc), skip 2 dc, 2 dc in next dc* repeat ** 8 more times, in next space (2dc, ch 2, 2dc), sl st to start
Row 6: CDCS, ch 1, dc in next st, *in next space (2dc, ch 2, 2dc), skip 2 dc, dc in next dc, ch 1, dc in next dc* repeat ** 8 more times, in next space (2dc, ch 2, 2dc), sl st to start
Row 7: sl st to 1 ch space, CDCS, ch 1, dc in same space, *in next space (3dc, ch 2, 3dc), in next ch 1 space, (dc, ch 1, dc)* repeat ** 8 more times, in next space (3dc, ch 2, 3dc), sl st to start
Row 8: sl st to 1 ch space, CDCS, dc, ch 1, 2dc in same space, *in next space (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc), in next ch 1 space, (2dc, ch 1, 2dc)* repeat ** 8 more times, in next space (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc), sl st to start
Row 9: sl st to 1 ch space, CDCS, dc, ch 1, 2 dc in same space, *in next space (2dc, ch 2, 2dc), in next ch 1 space, (2dc, ch 1, 2dc)* repeat ** 8 more times, in next space (2dc, ch 2, 2dc), sl st to start
Row 10: sl st to 1 ch space, CDCS, ch 1, dc in same space, *in next space (2dc, ch 2, 2dc), in next ch 1 space, (dc, ch 1, dc)* repeat ** 8 more times, in next space (2dc, ch 2, 2dc), sl st to start
Row 11: sl st to 1 ch space, CDCS, ch 1, dc in same space, *in next space (dc, ch 2, dc), in next ch 1 space, (dc, ch 1, dc)* repeat ** 8 more times, in next space (dc, ch 2, dc), sl st to start
Band: ch 8, turn. 7 sc, sc2tog, turn. *7 scbl, ch 1, turn. 7 scbl, sc2tog, turn.* repeat ** until beginning is reached. Stitch sides of band together, weave in ends.