Use it up

Being raised by Depression era parents, one of their mottos was "make it do, use it up, wear it out".

I'm using it up.

This is from yarn from my stash... Paton's Canadiana in School Bus Yellow, Deep Orange and Orange Salsa (discontinued variegated). Even more economical, all were bought on sale when Hobby Lobby was getting rid of their Canadiana. Too bad they no longer carry it.. I've gotten to love it.. it's a great yarn.




clickable

Stitches used:

Closed Shell (5dc), Wave, Star Stitch (also called Marguerite Stitch), Closed shell (6dc), Somerset Stitch, a stitch that I don't know the name of..kind of a spike stitch.., trinity stitch, forked halfdouble, Closed shell (5dc), Wave stitch, reverse wave, Catherines Wheel, a row to end the catherines wheel .. making an even row, star Stitch, two rows of sc, Odd forked Halfdoubles, a row of sc, then reverse sc around the edge and inside the handles.

Most of these can be found at various places on the web if you're not familiar with them. Others I got out of my Harmony Guides (300 crochet stitches and 220 more crochet stitches) books.

I'm still not quite satisfied with the handles on this one, but decided I'd go ahead and leave this and improvise something different for the next tote. Yes, there's another version of this brewing in my head.

What do ya'll think? Other than the bright colors.. hehehee.. can't miss this thing could ya?

I used about 1 skein of the yellow and orange and 1/2 skein of the variegated. I still have more yellow and orange and some green I bought on ebay.. a little more expensive than what I paid at HL.. but not much. Considering gas prices.. it was probably a huge bargain for me since HL is 40 miles away.

Yet another felted Waves of Color tote

Can you stand another one? I think I'm getting a little better at this. I'm beginning to learn how to adjust the stitches to get what results I want.... This one unintentionally turned out in a wedge shape.. which I kinda like!

All pics clickable of course.



stitch definition prefelting




Showing size of bag prefelting. (it probably shrank at least by 1/3..I need to get a pic with a sheet of paper to show the after size)



Post felting but pre shaving




After a Shave





The pattern is from one that was previously posted gratis on Crochetville.. however it's no longer available. At first just the pattern was taken down, but now, the whole thread where we discussed making of the bag is unavailable.

I'm hoping that this means that the designer is moving towards publishing. She's a very talented person and I hope that's what the disappearance of (all of her) patterns means.. and not something bad.

And I owe huge thanks to a couple of generous crocheters who sent me Paton's Leaf Green wool when I ran out at almost the end of the bag. THANK YOU LADIES!

Volvo in Crochet

No, that's not a typo. It's an inside joke. A friend is also considering making these and was overheard by another person.. and the overhearer wanted to know how my friend was going to crochet a Volvo. :D

As new readers of this blog may not know, I had cancer and surgery to cure it (hopefully) last year. Since then, I have become an advocate for women learning more about their bodies and how they function ie, what is normal and what isn't.

Through a board dedicated to women and cancer, I have met a woman in Australia who has been working for over 10 years on getting an International Gynecological Awareness Day started.

What does this have to do with crochet I can hear you thinking. Well, I recently ran across a pattern for crocheted Vulvas...and have made a bunch to send my friend in Australia as a teaching tool.

I have finally finished a whole skein of redheart baby pink making them and have pictures!! (click to see them larger)










The vulva pattern is here. She's a great designer and is offered to help with the pattern if I didn't understand any of it. She's such a great pattern writer that I got it right off. There is a small charge for the pattern, but it's very reasonable and she includes a great anatomy lesson with it.

The Uterus or Womb is here. It's also a very easy pattern. The only thing is that I wish there were ovaries included, but it shouldn't be hard to design some if someone wanted to do so. I think it would just be a couple of ovals (like tiny footballs).

There's another vulva pattern available on the web, for no charge, but it seems more difficult to create. The owner also used a slang term for it that I completely disagree with for educational purposes. We need to own the correct name and be proud of it. I will link to the pattern though, for those who cannot afford the small price of the first one.

I hope this will lead to others learning more about their bodies. I understand it can be a bit uncomfortable for some people and I respect that, but it is so important to know what we should look like so if (heaven forbid) an abnormality should arise, we can recognize it in time for early treatment and cure.

Thanks for visiting. I promise my next post will be more "normal".

This just makes me sick.