Swing Time

I've been wanting to make a coat for quite a while.  There are a lot of issues to do this, first is how to make it warm enough to actually wear during winter.  Since I live in the Northeast US, it will need to be pretty warm in order to be of any use.  Then there's the question of what style to make.  Since I'll be designing the coat myself, I want something that will be atractive but utilitarian.   The materials are no problem - I have a nice stash of Kool Wool, which is a bulky wool/acrylic blend which should be both warm and durable.  It's a nice blue/black which will make the coat wearable for business as well as casual.

I decided after some experiments with Tunisian (see previous posting) to use a Tunisian Simple Stitch because it is relatively dense and Tunisian allows the use of short rows for shaping.  This is especially important since I decided I wanted a swing coat which would require a large amount of shaping to get the "swing". 

I have added a hood for warmth, especially since the northern wind and snow can be quite brutal. 

The basic design is complete and I have started on construction.  I'll post more as the project progresses.

Definitely Not an Afghan

I just finished a Tunisian project - one of my first.  While Tunisian is also called Afghan stitch, it's not really feasible for making afghans.  This is a jacket that I made in a blue-variegated cotton slub with rayon stripes and trim.  I'm quite happy with the end product, although it took almost 2 weeks to complete, which is substantially longer than my crocheted projects.  My biggest problem right now is finding a good way to display and photogragh my finished objects for both here and my Ravelry site.  As soon as I can do that, I will probably set up an Etsy site or start selling on eBay.

By the way, the pictures in the background are some paintings that I did several years ago.  I don't really paint any more, but they make a nice background until I find a better way to capture my crocheted work.

Starting out on the Yellow Brick Road

After going through some life changes and figuring out that I wasn't really doing what I wanted to be doing, I had to make some decisions.  First, I had to admit that I didn't really enjoy the work I'd been doing for the last 20 years and decide it was time to make a change.  But what to do instead?  I hadn't ever given it much thought because I had always enjoyed my work.  But the world changes, times change and people change.  What was fun and challenging for us once becomes drudgery.

So I have decided to pursue more "free-form" endeavors and see what I can achieve in an area that I have long enjoyed for fun and personal reward.  That is, of course, crocheting.

An aunt of mine first taught me to crochet at the age of 12 or so.  Like many of my fellow crocheters, the first thing I learned to crochet was a Granny Square.  For many years I had to find my own way.  I knew almost no one else who crocheted and online social networking was non-existent at the time.  I had never followed a pattern or even bought a crochet magazine. I crocheted simple purses, belts and ponchos in high school, then "graduated" to sweaters and afghans in my 20's.  All of these were done without patterns and with much "frogging". 
   Over the years, I would put down my crochet hooks and stop for extended periods of time.  But I have always come back to it.  Now with all the resources at hand for joining virtual groups of like-minded individuals and surfing for new ideas, new patterns, and new expressions, I have decided to start a blog of my projects, my designs, and my efforts to make my hobby pay for itself (yarn is quite expensive these days, you know).

So here my adventure begins and hopefully, there will be those of you who will read it, comment, and hopefully contribute to the realization of my dream.