Monday Crochet

Resourceful costumes that truly make the most of what you’ve got are the best in my book.  So when a certain vaguely lazy, and possibly-related-to-me hipsta decided he’d use his coke-bottle glasses, AA skinny jeans, and striped shirt to be a damn good, if less authentically nerdy, Waldo I eagerly came to the rescue when he lamented his lack of adequate world hiding headgear.  In case you’ve blacked out parts of your traumatizing childhood, this is what Waldo, and his hat, looks like:
Pulling out my handy dandy Stitch N Bitch bible (Yes, one day I SWEAR, I will find a new book but it’s hard when it’s just so damn reliable!), I found a pattern well suited for modification for my needs.  Ditching the A of the Anarchy Irony Hat, and using Vanna’s Choice White and a rather orangy red, I was able to replicate a rather seriously good Waldo hat.   The pattern is very simple, and I just did the white down to a good folding length, and switched to red at the turning up point.  And  since I wanted that very important ball on top to match the rest perfectly, I decided to make my own pom pom, which the bible also provided an excellent resource for.

This experience has taught me that maybe I would like to purchase my own “pom pom maker” which I believe would consist of two plastic sort of donut shaped things which one uses to wrap the yarn around a billion times before trimming.  As it were, all I had at my disposal was an sick pack formerly containing Hoegarten (so good!).  But despite the ramshackle nature of its birth, I was superbly pleased with the results.  As was its recipient, pictured below in his full on Waldo glory.

And why yes, I did dress up as Alice Cooper this year!  It seemed like the best way to use what the good lord gave me…

So it is finally, FINALLY finished. I am cutting this albatross from around my neck, I am relinquishing the search for the white whale, and I am giving up my pursuit of that sweet-voiced, flower-named lady. Well, really only one of those in an apt comparison, as I am not losing, nor giving up the fight. See, once I was little crocheting Christeen, wide-eyed and innocent, eagerly pumping out scarves and pretty puffs hats. I had talent! Life was easy! And so the story goes. But of course little Christeen wasn’t satisfied with her simple projects. She needed intricacies, commitment, complication! And thus began the age of the Temair Throw. Manageable at first, multiples of circular flower motifs, easily completed at home and on the go, with an intriguing amount of varied stitching. It was almost like the crazed circles and I were meant for each other. I soaked up the pure joy of the hours spent obsessing as my fingers moving around the complex petal patterns. But then, there was the inevitable. I finished my dependable and ingenious circles, the end was in sight. And of course, I then realized the ultimate fate of anyone who attempts the throw pattern. The grasshopper spent all summer merrily crocheting circles, while the industrious ant mentally prepared itself for the long winter of sewing the motifs together. It took a long time, not so much of actual sewing, but of getting over how boring I knew the sewing to be. I think I actually completed it in a few days. Space and time lost a little bit of meaning after this. But, here is my opus, the majestic physicality of numerous hours of my life. It did turn out really fabulous in that color.

I’ve been working on the Fat Bottom Bag with my beautiful San Fran yarn, and I’m just about done.  The handles I picked up at M&J Trimming ended up being too small so I ordered some lovely round ones from Joann.com.  I got them this week so hopefully this weekend I have some time to kick back and finish it up.  I’m also hoping to line the bag though, which may be a bit of a challenge for me.  I am not as adept at sewing…  But I’m hoping to work on that.

Christeen has been working on that Temair Throw, which I’m dying to see.  Come to think of it, she may have finished it already.  Too many Mondays have passed us by…

The Point, our Monday Crochet meeting place of choice, has sadly closed down – one of the reasons we’ve been so quiet…I miss going there after a long Monday at the office to drink some herbal tea (or coffee depending on the state of my mind) and relax with Christeen and whoever else wanted to join. Even when I didn’t get any work done, it was a routine I truly enjoyed.

The plan now is to pick a new spot, whether that be a coffee shop, cafe, or one of our homes, and get back into gear.  There are so many great crochet projects we want to tackle and we’re always dreaming of opening up shop under the Monday Crochet name.  Which is still a name that I completely adore

So here is a picture of the bolero I finished sometime, ages ago.

pretty bolero on my pretty back

I sweated, and bled, and trundled through this harrowing pattern, from stitch n’ bitch crochet, and conquered.  Victoriously,  I wore the intricate little thing to work, and basked in the light of everyone’s deep admiration and awe.  Upon removing it at the end of the day, I discovered that on the underside of the arms, where the front attaches to the back, below the sleeves, my hard work had already begun to unravel!  I frantically attempted resuscitation, but it was too late.  I left it on my shelf for a few weeks, before pulling it all apart in a fit of self-acceptance and confrontation.  I thought the connection was sort of weak when i was making it, but assumed the addition of the sleeves might save things.  Well, this was not the case.  Whether it was just the nature of the pattern, or the weight of the yarn I chose, I do not know.  But in the future, I will take care to reinforce that area.  And yes, I plan to make another one in the future, probably with different yarn, as banging out the same thing over again is not exactly the appeal of crochet for me.

But, I have decided to use the yarn I took out to finally start the Temair Throw pattern I purchased from lion brand yarn.  It is a collection of different sized circular, flower-shaped things which are then sewn together with tassels!  I’ve only done two so far, but am pretty excited.