Crocheting Again

For a long time I had stopped crocheting, knitting, quilting, sewing, "doing" much of anything in the "crafty" sense. In fact before last October/November I can't remember the last thing I made or when I made it. I think it may have been a crocheted hat but I wouldn't swear to it. But finally last fall, possibly in October, I made what Hal calls an "ear sweater" aka a "headband" in hunter orange, that's a very bright vivid orange for him to wear while deer hunting during rifle season. I used Red Heart's standard Super Saver acrylic yarn. Then somewhere online I read about "potato chip" or "ruffled" scarves. So I searched for some patterns and made this one:

Since I still have this one I just now took a new photo so here it is. Besides not being "ruffly" enough I think the colors are too pale and boring. It's some yarn I had left over from an afghan I made my grandmother a couple decades ago. It's laying on a prayer shawl my neighbor made for me a couple Christmas' ago. I wear her shawl around my house a lot.

I decided it was too simple and not ruffly enough so I found and made this second one: I used Lion Brand Homespun yarn for this in apple green and cherry blossom. I have a love/hate relationship with this yarn, it is pretty but horrible to work with but I keep on buying it.

This really would be better if I could find the photos I am sure I took but...

Then I decided to make a modified one for my neighbor, and of course I can't find that photo, either. But I did find photos of the 2 I made for her great grand daughters as I was at the party when they opened their gifts. The girls I think are about 4 years old. I have deleted their faces for anonymity. The yarn used for these 2 was again Red Heart super saver. The one I made for my neighbor was Caron's Simply Soft in a maroon and white.

From what I could tell everyone liked their gifts.

As I was now in the mood to keep crocheting I decided to try a shawl. I found this pattern at Red Heart. This turned out to be pretty easy once I figured out that the starting chain of 182 really needed to be 200. I chose Caron's Simply Soft acrylic in off-white. It took me about 3 weeks working on it now and then, mostly while watching TV. I had a little trouble with the edging because I added 7 rows to make it longer so it threw off the count but all in all I think it came out rather well.

I have now started another shawl in another pattern using that insufferable Homespun yarn. (What can I say, I'm a masochist!) Getting the right number of stitches for the first row into the starting chain was a wrestling match between me and the yarn. I lost count how many times I ripped out the first row to try again. The rows themselves are worked in a simple V stitch but it's not even half done yet as every so often the yarn and I have to have a skirmish. So I don't know when or if I'll show a picture of it, it depends on who wins the final battle, me or the Homespun.

I suppose I'd better get back to it now before it gathers enough strength to attack.