It's Crochet Season!!

The heat index might be 100 degrees here in New Orleans, but I realize the rest of the northern hemisphere "might" have started cooling off by now.  I'm definitely seeing a pick up in crochet activity, so I figured it was time to get the yarn out of the attic, crank up the air conditioning, and start moving on some projects that have been hibernating during our 10-month long summer.  All for you, my fans.  You who live in cooler climates.  Hopefully a few sales will help accommodate for my higher electric bill to satisfy the masses with more patterns.  :)

So, what do you guys want this season?  Right now I'm working on a LYLAS cowl... yep, you heard right... Love You Like A Sister cowl.  It's actually two interlocking cowls that you can work on with a friend or simply make 2 and share with your non-crocheting best friend like me.

THAT should be coming soon.  But, what should come NEXT?  Give me some ideas.  I have a few, but I'd like the People to have a say.

Some ideas I'm contemplating right now:

• Another man scarf.  You guys seem to love these.  Maybe there aren't enough in the marketplace.  The new idea is more drapey, single-color, and light to show off a textured pattern.
• Fleur de lis beanie hat using cables.  I have yet to invent how this would actually work, but whatever will help my Saints, I will do...
• Poop bag holder for my fellow dog-owners.  I need some fun ideas for this though.  No serious poop bag holders here.
• Pillow cover with a textured scene, and eventually a complimentary set of squares that could be made into an afghan.

Which ones do you love/hate?  Any special requests?  Special requests that get made will get a free copy of that pattern or any other in my etsy shop.  :)

Phone Cozy

I had some leftover awesome-looking sari yarn and thought my phone looked cold even though I live in New Orleans. Alas, my creativity led me to do something about both problems at once.

 

Yarn:  I used Berocco Idol which is a variegated sari yarn.  It is theoretically bulky, but I found that it worked up more like an aran weight or heavy worsted weight yarn.  You can adjust the pattern to match your yarn weight (add/remove beginning chains and add/remove rows).

Materials:  Crochet hook size US H (5.0 mm) or appropriate size for your yarn, yarn needle (to weave in ends)

Abbreviations and Special Stitches 
ch = Chain 
dc = Double crochet
hdc = Half double crochet
sc = Single crochet
sc2tog = Single crochet 2 together
sl st = Slip stitch
st = Stitch 

Note:  Throughout pattern, the chains at the beginning of a row do not count as the first stitch.

Main Body (worked in the round)
Beginning chain:  Ch 10.
Row 1:  Sc 2nd ch from hook and across (in back loops).  Sc 3 more times in last ch.  Rotate to work back across in the front loops to the beg ch.  Sc 2 more times in the beg ch. (Net stitches:  4 total sc in the beginning and ending ch, and 2 sc on either side of each of the other ch for 24 total sc). Sl st to top of beginning sc.
Row 2:  Ch 1, sc in same st and around, sl st to top of beg sc (24 sc).
*** After row 2, test the size of your cozy by inserting your phone.  If it is too big, start over with a smaller beg ch.  If it is too small, start over with a larger beg ch.***

Row 3:  Repeat row 2.
Row 4:  Ch 2, hdc in same st and around, sl st to top of beg hdc (24 hdc).
Row 5:  Repeat row 2.
Row 6:  Ch 3, dc in same st and around, sl st to top of beg dc (24 dc).
Rows 7-14:  Repeat rows 3-6 two times.
Row 15:  Repeat row 2.  Do not fasten off - continue with Flap row 1...

Flap (worked flat)
Flap row 1:  Ch 1, sc in same st and next 9 st (10 sc).  Ch 2, turn.
Flap row 2:  Hdc across (10 hdc).  Ch 1, turn.
Flap rows 3-6:  Repeat rows 1-2 two times.
Flap row 7:  Sc across first 8 st then sc2tog in last 2 st (9 st).  Ch 1, turn.
Flap row 8:  Sc across first 7 st then sc2tog in last 2 st (8 st).  Ch 1, turn.
Flap row 9:  Sc across first 6 st then sc2tog in last 2 st (7 st).  Ch 1, turn.
Flap row 10:  Sc across first 5 st then sc2tog in last 2 st (6 st).  Ch 1, turn.
Flap row 11:  Sc across first 4 st then sc2tog in last 2 st (5 st).  Ch 1, turn.
Flap row 12:  Sc across first 3 st then sc2tog in last 2 st (4 st).  Ch 1, turn.
Flap row 13:  Sc across first 2 st then sc2tog in last 2 st (3 st).  Ch 1, turn.
Flap row 14:  Sc in first st then sc2tog (2 st).  Ch 1, turn.
Flap row 15:  Sc2tog.  Do not fasten off.  Make the wrap cord by chaining for about 1 yard.  Fasten off.  Keep end tail to tie off pom-pom.

Pom-Pom (See photos below)

1. You may want to practice with junk yarn first.  Cut a piece of yarn at least 6 inches long and set aside.  
2. Find an object whose circumference is a bit more than half of what you want the diameter of your pom-pom to be.  Wrap yarn around it many times (20+) and then cut the end. 
3. Carefully slip all the yarn off the object and use the previously cut yarn length to tie tightly across the middle of the loops.  Knot one side then loop back and knot the other side too for insurance.  
4. Now snip all the loops.  You will have a scraggly looking pom-pom like the one below:
5. Trim all the ends EXCEPT the ends of your knot yarn until you have a nice, even pom-pom.  
6. Tie the knot yarn to the tail of your wrap cord then weave in/trim all ends.

 

 

New pattern release: Andras Man Scarf

I just released the Andras man scarf pattern on both Etsy and Ravelry.  Here are the photos - and yes, that is my dad.  I wanted to make him a special Christmas present that was stylish and represented our culture.  I hope you enjoy it too!

Resolutions Update

Well, it's been two weeks since the start of the year, and it's time for an update.  As you might recall, I made a lot of resolutions (see them here).  I've already made some observations:

• 1000 miles of fitness in a year isn't too difficult for an active person.  This is good news because when you combine all of the resolutions I will need at least one winner so that I don't feel like a miserable failure.  
• No processed junk food is steering me in the right direction even though I've had one slip up thus far (and probably many more coming in the future).  I think the key is to recognize when these happen and what the causes are.  Slip up #1 was work stress.  Maybe the solution is to not work.  I guess that might cause some other problems though.
• I really enjoy writing, however there is no way I would continue to write without this resolution.  The problem is that "real life" gets in the way.  I think I am most appreciative of this resolution as it's forcing me to prioritize some of my unstructured time toward something that I enjoy.
• I really hate my disconnection resolution.  Really.  It's so hard!  I'm failing miserably even though I really want to try.  I can actually feel when I'm over-connecting and how it pulls away happiness, but I still do it like an addiction.  Maybe the first step is recognizing you have a problem?  If so, at least I have accomplished the first step.  What's the next step?  I could use some help here.  :)

2014: The year of Health and Discovery

This might be overkill, but I'm declaring some pretty big goals this year.  Actually, the goals are more like the results of what I am hoping to establish as systems or routines for being a happier person.  I don't want to say that my goal is to become a better person because that implies that I am not a good one.  As a society, we are starting to drift further and further away from the things that make us happy humans, so my goals, or systems, are focused on getting back to what matters.

Why systems and not just the goals?  Because my friend Courtney recently shared an article that made some sense to me which essentially says we might be more successful if we establish systems rather than goals - you can find the article here.

Data.  So, I'm a data geek, and I love numbers and spreadsheets.  I also want a nifty way to show people how I'm doing in achieving my goals (really systems but I have to make them into goals for everyone else to understand and track, and I'm not too intimidated by big goals after having done Ironman twice).  So, at the risk of exposing myself as too much of a data nerd, here is a Google spreadsheet that the whole world can view, and maybe even off-world beings if they have access to our interwebs, where you can track my progress on the big goals.  I even opened it up for commenting, so have at it!

And now, what you've been waiting for... here are my big goals (really systems):

HEALTH

• Complete 1,000 miles of fitness.  This can include running, walking, swimming, and maybe some biking though I will avoid using biking/cycling too much because then the goal would be too easy to game.  My friend Rob just completed his 1,000 miles of running goal for 2013.  I liked that idea, but I wanted to be inclusive of other sports.  Again, my goal is more to establish a regular system of fitness where I am eager to achieve a daily/weekly goal of miles.  This will be new to me because usually I use a specific race as an end goal for fitness.  Now, I want to try to achieve fitness just for fitness' sake.
• Don't eat processed junk food.  So, I'm not really going to track this one, but I generally want to get into the habit of not reaching for sweet or salty junk food that is processed.  I really don't even like it that much, so why do I continue reaching for it?  Because the food industry has made it addictive.  If you read closely, you know there is a big loophole here, but I think it's a good one - I can still eat homemade junk food.  This is great because I love baking, so I can still try my creations and be polite by eating other people's creations, and not deprive myself so much that I end up binging anytime the will power slips for a second (aka, I have a glass of wine).
• Limit virtual connection time to make more time for real conversation and partaking of actual life.  I've become more and more concerned about the impact of us being ultra-connected.  It looks like a few other folks are starting to recognize this and put it into better words.  This is an excellent video about how we are more connected yet more alone - yes, it's almost 20 minutes long, but I was pretty much glued to the screen after about 6 minutes (a bit of a slow lead up, but well worth it).  So, how am I going to work toward this?  I already downgraded my phone to an old-fashioned flip phone with no data.  Strange, but true.  I actually feel more free when I'm out of the house with no internet access.  I still have my wireless iPad mini as a crutch, but I usually don't carry it.  What else?  Only check social media 3 times per day.  When possible (depending on work issues), only check email 3 times per day.  Start my day listing what I need to achieve before coming anywhere close to the interwebs and email.  I had a bit of debate with myself about whether to put this goal in HEALTH or DISCOVERY.  I ended up with HEALTH because I think it will help so much with mental and social happiness that the DISCOVERY benefits will just feel like gravy.

DISCOVERY

• Write for 1 solid hour per week.  You are witnessing the result of most of the first hour of this goal.  How does it feel to be a part of the madness?  Anyway, I've always wanted to experiment more with writing, and I've read several articles/blogs that mention a key part of being a writer is just getting the words out - and, a simple, achievable way to do that is to simply require yourself to write every day.  I'm not trying to quit my day job, so I'm going to start out with just one solid hour per week, and see how that makes me feel through the year.  The writing does not have to be toward any particular purpose (like blogging), but can be anything - stream of conscious, stories, work-related, etc.  As long as I am close to constant-writing during that block of time.
• Release at least 1 crochet pattern per month on Ravelry and Etsy.  For a couple of years now, I've been selling patterns though not very seriously.  As I released a few more and opened my Etsy shop, I realized that this hobby could actually contribute more to my income which is great because I actually love all the aspects of this small business (like social media marketing, etc.).  The primary limit of this area of potential is simply the number of patterns that I have available.  So, by releasing at least one pattern per month, I can gradually grow this business while keeping it enjoyable.  Oh, and writing patterns does not count as writing time - it's much more mathematical and spacial conception applied to paper, not creative writing.

So there you have it.  My big, fat Greek-American goals for the year 2014.  Let me know what you think.  Cheers and Happy New year!