My new love...broomstick lace!

I've been experimenting with variations of the broomstick lace pattern. I can't help it. I love trying different multipliers and changing things up a bit. I was working the basic 4 loop stitch but with each row I finished the more irritated I became. It was floppy and the loops looked stupid. I wanted a sturdier finished product, one that could withstand multiple washings without wearing out.

I decided to try a 5 loop, but that still didn't do it for me. I went up to 8 loops and wow. I really liked how it looked. I should have taken a picture before I dismantled it. For the pattern I made for the main part of the blanket I used 7 loops because I'm weird and need patterns to be based off of odd numbers and primes. Don't ask, can't help it don't know. Anyway, I can't show you a picture of this yet because it is a gift for someone. Ahem. But, once the gift is given you will all enjoy basking in the glory of it because it is freaking gorgeous.

I was messing around with a new pattern for a shawl using broomstick lace. I finally got the pattern the way I wanted it. My first few attempts ended up loses stitches somehow (still can't figure out how that happened), but the newest is awesome. It's pretty, delicate and it goes really fast. Here's a picture of the tester I did in some lame white baby yarn:



I love the definition of the stitches and how the openings make a pattern as well as the stitches themselves. This makes me happy.

This, however, doesn't translate through boucle AT ALL. This is/was the boucle shawl's beginning few rows. (beautiful yarn, really)



The pattern doesn't translate at all. It looks like crap. So, lesson learned...if you care about stitch definition, even in the slightest, don't use boucle yarn. I've found that cotton yarn looks fabulous using the pattern though, so guess I'm using that.
I'm working on many, many, many projects at the moment. I have to finish some of these to make room for many more. :)

Projects and Me Being Stupid

Of course, I am stupid. This is widely known. Why am I specifically stupid? Well, I forgot to take a picture of the freaking AWESOME octopus I made for my husband's boss' daughter. Damn it! It was ADORABLE. Argh. Well, use your imagination for that one. :(

Other than being a moron, I was rather productive this weekend. I finished the scarf for my dad and one for my mom. My dad's looks just like the one for my brother-in-law (in previous blog) except it is charcoal. I am very proud of my mom's. The yarn is beautiful, the color is beautiful, and thanks to my overactive brain...the pattern is beautiful. I really like making cables but I wanted something reversible for her. So, I made cables on both sides of her scarf. The one side is a 6 row crossover cable:



The other side is two 4 row crossover cables:



You can see how the reverse side of a cable looks. With a little patient stretching and adjustments, you can line up the horizontal line rows to make them even. I think this scarf looks nice no matter how you flip it. I know she is going to love it.



I also decided to make my friend Jesse something cute. I've been seeing a lot more of her recently, so I thought, why not.



I overstuffed his little legs, and his head is almost too heavy (almost), but I thought he turned out well for a two hour project.

Christmas scarves are almost done! Only a few more to go...and a week to do it! :)

A Somewhat Productive Weekend...

I suppose I could have done a lot more with my weekend (like clean the house) but instead I made stuff! :P My sister's birthday was Saturday, so I decided to try my hand at a Jackalope. Yeah, that's right, Jackalope. She likes them (she is rather strange sometimes) so I thought I'd take a stab at it. Obviously, there are NO patterns out there for a Jackalope, so I made my own. Ha ha. Here's the end result:



Not too bad. At least I don't think it's bad. The antlers were a little too heavy for the poor little guy, so they drooped a lot. He still looks cute though. My sister loved him. :)

I am also making some scarves for some of my husband's coworkers. There is this sweet old man that works with him that I just love. He's super nice, and he loves cats! Plus, the guy works with a bunch of 19 year olds, and then my husband so...I thought he needed something nice. So, I made him a scarf and some cat toys. This is my first ever attempt at crossover cables. I think they turned out well.



Here's a better picture of the 6 row cables:



Why I started with the 6 row cable, I still don't know. The 4 row cable would have been much easier to start with, but hey! I like to go for the jugular.

With some leftovers, I also made a little hat for my cat, The Peach It. At first he wasn't pleased with the fashion accessory, but I think it grew on him.





He's too cute. My handsome boy! :) More on cables later...I plan on making more scarves with that awesome, awesome stitch.