Project Gallery September 2013

Sometimes you have to make the best of a bad thing—in this case, a beat-up cane that Carol just can’t

get rid of (until after her next hip replacement).  So she did the only thing she could do, she yarn bombed it.  She used a DK weight super-wash turquoise wool to crochet a fitted cover for the handle.  When she reached the forward edge of the handle, she put the covering on the handle and then crocheted in decreases to keep the handle in place.  The cane shank covering was crocheted separately in the round, with a bright red acrylic added for (very sharp) contrast.  When the proper length was achieved, it was threaded onto the cane from the bottom up.  The top edge was stitched to the handle covering.  The bottom tail was used to cinch the cane covering below the adjustment nut.  A pompom, carry cord and fringe were added to gussy it up a little.

Lisa crocheted this Doris Chan pattern, Draped In Lace, from the Spring 2013issue of Crochet! Magazine.  The yarn used was Simply Soft Light,  which the pattern called for.  In making this sort of lacy garment, picking the right size can be a problem as the design relies on gravity and a slinky yarn to provide drape, and therefore fit.  After working on this project for awhile, Lisa realized she should have picked a smaller size.  Oh, the things you learn while you work through a pattern!  We think it looks terrific.

Julie brought in some scarf projects that we featured in previous galleries.  The scarves were made from Bernat Mosaic acrylic yarn, which has some really nice color ways.  Julie wanted to soften up the fabric a little, so she soaked them in a solution of water and hair conditioner.  This worked very well.  The conditioner coats the fibers, same as it coats your hair, and makes them more manageable.  If you have a scratchy wool project, you might give conditioner a try.

Maxine brought in a bunch of tawashis, spiral scrubbies crocheted out of Sugar and Cream cotton yarn.  You can get two tawashis out of one skein. The pattern is free on Ravelry; it was originally written in Japenese with a stitch chart but the Ravelry pattern has been translated to English plus includes a link to a youtube video that gives you step-by-step for making them.

Joan finished a shell to go with the silk and linen shawl which was featured in the project gallery a few months ago.  The pattern design, an original by Joan, alternates hdc and sc stitches, with the result being a highly textured but light fabric that is dense enough to be worn without a camisole.  The nice thing about a two-piece project like this is that the two pieces can be worn separately or together, giving you a lot of mileage for your money.