March Marches On!

Hard to believe it is almost April.  The first quarter of the year is almost gone, and it literally flew by.  We have been very busy since we had the electrical "innards" of the house redone late in January.  A lot of stuff had to be moved around which gave us a chance to sort some things out and throw and give away a bunch of items we had not looked at in ages.   The Vietnam Vets in our area are quick and efficient in picking up discards.

There is still a lot more work to be done; a lot more stuff to be sorted.   We discovered many old photo albums, which are great for re-purposing, although a lot of those will have to be trashed  because we are both an "only child" and have no  family or children.  No family problems either.  What we hear from friends and their families often sounds like we aren't missing much. 

Recently,  I ordered about 14 back issues of "Cloth Paper Scissors" which has been  keeping me up nights reading and thinking about all kinds of projects I want to do.  I love this magazine and their news letters and savor the creativity and the artists and original and fun ideas they feature.  There is a lot of inspiration in those pages. Check them out, and also their umbrella company: Interweave

I saw a picture of a helix  or wave like scarf,  a while ago, I believe in Knitting Daily,  one of the other newsletters to which I  subscribe,  I liked the way it curled at the edges but I do not like big knitting projects.   A while back I was crocheting something which caused  a helix effect, and I decided to crochet a "wave like" scarf similar in shape as the picture below.

I managed to finish it in two nights,  along with a small scarf for the daughter of a girl friend.  The weather is perfect for indoor activities right now.  It has been raining in sheets and one day we had a record  6.34 inches!    Not the type of weather I like to go out in, even though I have those great Tretorn rubber boots.  They are grey and have a lovely soft lambswool lining,  Great for jumping in puddles!  And they keep your feet dry and comfortable.  No wonder I have been making so many scarves this winter: for Southern California is has been unseasonably chilly and wet!

The picture of the helix or wave scarf on the left is from Interweave.

On the right is the little scarf I made for Sasha:  it is open weave double crochet in every other stitch (like the one I made in "how do I do that", in off white, and then I made "ribbons" of one row double crochet in that "hairy" yarn, and wove them through the holes with at the ends two tassles.


The pictures of my helix scarf are unfortunately not too clear.  It was made with less than one skein of old Red Heart black acrylic yarn and a huge, M13 0.9mm,  crochet hook.  So the project went fast.  I crocheted very loosely.  Started with 150 loose chain stitches.  First row: double crochet in each stitch,  Second row:  chain 2,  in fourth hole or opening below the 4th stitch from start:  4 dc in same opening, skip next 2 stitches but  "chain 2; again 4 dc in third opening, skip next two, chain 2, 4 dc next opening " repeat between " and " until the end.  Third Row: Do the same on the other side of the First Row, chain 2 , opposite of 4 dc of Second Row make 4 dc in the same opening,  skip 2  chain 2, the 4 double crochets,  again made in the same hole or opening as Second Row - mirror image until the end.  Fourth row:  4 chain stitches then "4 double crochet in space between 2 and 2 dc of Third Row, ch2, 4 dc in space below the  CHAIN TWO, of the Third Row,  chain 2" repeat until end.  Fifth Row, do the same, in mirror image on the other side. 

 

As you add the last two rows, the work starts to become a curling helix.  You could probably add another 2 rows too it if you are using thinner yarn or like a bigger scarf.  With the big crochet hook it goes very fast.

Above I wove some pearls through the openings. You could weave ribbons or different color threads as well.   And remember too:  after the first row of dc  to ONLY crochet in openings below or between the stitches, not in the actual loop or opening IN any stitch.  On the other hand, there is no rule against doing that.  It will make it probably a bit looser.

☯

~ Tranquility and Tolerance ~