Scarf for the pumpkin season.

Another Christmas present to an older member of the family. This shorter version of a scarf was fun to make, as I tried out a new, to me, technique: The foundation stitch. Basically you make the foundation chain along with the first row, in one go. The pattern used was  this one from Purlbee.

There is a tutorial on how to make the foundation single crochet stitch. I had a go with the tutorial on a friday evening and after several attempts I gave up.  I think it was described in way too many details. I found an easier photo tutorial on you tube. 

In order for the scarf not to be too bulky, and be able to look a little more conservative, I added the little snippet on the back as a "lock" for the scarf. That makes it drape really beautiful.

Crochet has a ring of old fashioned to it, maybe because we tend to  associate it with our grandmothers. I still remember how my grandmother made chair covers for the armrests on her upholstered lounge chairs.  Probably not something we would spend too much time on today. The simple stitch here doesn't look one bit old fashioned, in my opinion, so maybe with all the fantastic new crochet designers out there, it will be possible to change the image of crochet. 

Fall projects

I tend to get a little bored if the projects I am working one is a little repetitive. Therefor I found that having the opportunity to switch between projects could work for me. Currently I am working on a men's cowl. It is based on  a pattern designed by Jeanette from the fantastic danish blog: Lutter Idyl. So far it has teached me to crochet the basket weave pattern which is beautiful, looks a lot like knit and purl blocks.

I have been searching the Internet for cool and contemporary crochet projects that doesn't look too much like something that was designed back in the 60'ies. That is really hard to find.  So when I was looking through my blog list on Friday night i stumbled upon a great blog post from PurlBee for another cowl.  What caught my attention was the way the blog post started out mentioning that crocheters all over the world has felt like Cinderella at the needlecraft ball. Where "Belle Knit" dances the night away and Crochet-erella" stays home and search for a modern design so she can be a part of all the festivities. It hit home, just what I have been thinking.  ...and on top of the the cowl looked amazing.  Along with this project was also the opportunity to try out another new crochet feature, that I have read about but never tried,  the foundation stitch, where you combine the foundation chain with the first row of stitches.
I spend the rest of Friday evening trying out this foundation stitch.  Purl Bee has a tutorial, and I tried to use it, but did not have any luck.  Googled foundation stick and found this website, Crochet Spot  that in my opinion described it a little easier.  It makes the edge of your project more even.

Last but not least I am working on a pair of fingerless gloves from Ros Badgers book, that I have mentioned before. The pattern is super easy so I wanted to try it out with a left over stash of soft red alpaca and merino, that I had in my basket.