Hooked on Crocheted String Bags

Ever since my cousin gave me a pretty & compact reusable shopping tote from the States (a nylon Enviro-sack, I think), I've been obsessed with making a crocheted version.

The first I made is of a thread locally available in Manila called Raylon #8/3-ply. It's based on a free pattern by Deborah Erbach Burger of Crochet: The Extraordinary Realm.

This bag is so roomy, I was once able to fit a king-sized cotton blanket in it while shopping at an Earth Day bazaar. This feature I love: when turned inside out, the bottom of the bag serves as a pouch for the expandable mesh portion.

Recently at Tru Value I saw the Envirosack and other similar products; the lowest-priced ones go for P199 (about USD5.50). My mesh bag, which holds twice as much, costs about P75 (about USD 1.50) for materials.

Currently I'm trying out other patterns with different locally available materials like Monaco cotton twine, which is cheaper & probably sturdier, but also just a bit bulkier than Raylon, which has a soft drape, silky sheen and folds away smaller.

(Cross-posted from Making Time for Joy blog)

Olive Green Slippers by Mimi Alelis

Last December I am sure some of you saw my blog entry about a pair of plain cappuccino socks I made for crochet designer Mimi Alelis, here and on Ravelry. She made this lovely and snug-fitting pair of slippers for me in exchange, from my favorite color of mercerized cotton.

Here are the slippers, folded flat.

And here they are, on me:

Do they fall off when I walk? No. Are they comfortable? Yes. My feet are narrow and flat, and these manage to fit me EXACTLY. The amazing thing is that, after months of exchanging messages on Ravelry, Mimi and I met for the very first time at Chocolate Kiss coffee shop at the University of the Philippines campus last Wednesday, May 20th. I'd never met a needlecraft designer before! In my excitement, I forgot to bring a camera. *knocks head against wall*

Mimi arrived carrying a box of threads, and she showed me the front half of the kid's dress she had knit. I was knitting pen tubes, with small-repeat lace stitches. My mom joined us briefly. We chatted and chatted until sunset arrived.

One day perhaps our small group of friends should have a Stitch n' Bitch Diliman hangout. Nothing but knitting, crochet, needlecraft and talk. And coffee/tea/juice. Amy (Dreaming Knitter) wasn't feeling well that day, and new mommy Gene (geneinthebattle) was busy with newborn Una. Yes, I know, it's funny we can talk crafting all day without really noticing we're doing it. But I guess it's the same with guys and cars.

Wishlist items: A living room for 12. A clean bathroom. A coffeemaker. A shelf with pattern books. A plate of cookies. Friends, needles, fiber, chat.

Catching the Crochet Bug from Kindergarten

You can catch all sorts of bugs from preschool.

Early this year, hubby & I brought our daughter to Waldorf School for parent-toddler classes. It was a great experience for all of us. My daughter learned to bake bread, wash her cup & saucer, play with all-natural toys (read: no plastic, no cartoons). Her daddy... well, he learned how to make a pom-pom out of yarn & was mighty relieved he didn't have to do more. And me--I'll tell you now: working at corporate speed & efficiency isn't necessarily the best way to crochet a caterpillar.

At the end of the term, all the other parents had crocheted practically an entire nature diorama. Meanwhile, my sorry excuse for an invertebrate was still undergoing countless resurrections (2 weeks!). Then I had to grudgingly hand the caterpillar & the rest of the materials back to my daughter's teacher ('there, there...,' she murmured soothingly, prising the hook from my angsty grip...) Humbled, I was determined, henceforth, to create an entire forest of yarn creatures for my little girl. That's how I caught crochet bug.

That was 6 months ago. The forest of creatures hasn't materialized. Along the way, though, I've somehow finished 3 amigurumi, 6 easter eggs & cozies, 2 hook cases, 3 bags, 2 hats and a baby blanket. I taught myself Tunisian stitch, and how to read patterns from foreign books. Crochet calms me. That's the upside. The downside: some days, I get so engrossed I forget to be hungry, thirsty or sleepy. If it weren't for darlings hubby and baby, I'd probably crochet myself into a stupor.

Even worse: because of YAS, PAS & HAS/NAS (fellow addicts would understand) I somehow now own more hooks, books and yarn than I would openly admit to my hubby. Sometime ago he suggested we use my yarn stash as a baby bed instead of buying a new one. At which point my sister, Gravelcat, suggested I legalize my addiction at Ravelry. I think it's a good idea. I could use a new outfit, not more yarn, or more books, or more hooks.

But tell that to the marines, because the truth is out there: YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH, AND EVEN THEN YOU NEED EXTRA.

WIP: Prototype Ballet Slipper

Like I usually do on weekends, I surf Ravelry and other sites for free patterns within my skill level that appeal to me. Now that I basically have top-down basic socks well in hand, I wanted to try other shapes, like Pocketbook Slippers by Lisa Vienneau and Allison Barrett. The pattern is also available here. My feet are small and narrow, and while I haven't actually started that particular pattern, I also wanted to learn knitting toe-up basic socks.

The toe-up pattern here is a mishmash of things I've learned, which I wrote to fit my own foot. While I haven't done things scientifically (as in specifically write steps down row by row as I knit them, counting and all -- I only have a shorthand index card) I can at this point give you a basic outline if you want to modify something for your own foot.

Pattern Outline:

1) Magic cast-on from Knitty, using an 80cm circular needle.

2) Toe increases.

3) About an inch of stockinette rounds from toe increases. Or your preferred shoe entry depth.

4) Divide instep stitches into 3. Knit first third with first dpn, bind off middle third, knit last third with next dpn, place heel stitches on last dpn. Dpn 4 is the working needle.

5) For instep stitches, your selvedge will always begin with a slip 1, whether knitting or purling. Knit or purl heel as usual.

6) As you work try on the slipper. Slipper body should reach up to an inch before your heel ends. Leave stitches on instep dpns unworked.

7) Round heel shaping as usual.

8) Heel flap either plain or reinforced depending on your preference (not a very deep one for my foot).

9) When it's time to join the instep stitches to the heel flap, you will notice a gap that forms between the heel flap and the instep stitches. To address that, knit together (or skp) the last stitch on the heel flap and the first stitch on the instep needles nearest. Knit 1. Turn. Knit across and do the same thing on the other side (instead of skp, p2tog). Purl 1. Turn. And so on. Just keep doing this until you knit the last of the instep stitches and are working with only 2 needles instead of 4.

10) Bind off back of slipper. Instead of cutting the yarn, do a single crochet beginning from the last bind off loop. The single crochet will go around the selvedge of the slipper.

11) Use bright contrasting yarn, add details. Present crochet chain is 18". If you want it to go around the ankles, I suggest you crochet 30".

This slipper is made up of exactly one small ball of choco brown Red Heart worsted weight acrylic yarn, plus some contrast color for decor. It took me just under 4 hours. I had to knit AND unravel AND write shorthand, and do finishing carefully. Maybe less if I memorized it already.

Notes: For my foot cast on should be about 10+10 stitches on a circular. This one is 12+12, which makes for a wide square toe. Body stitches follow a 20 instep +20 heel total.

Rewriting as I blog before the lunch break. Will do the other slipper tonight after dinner. With the 30" chain to go around the ankle. Joy wants to wear it at the Little Gym when she plays with Lilo. Just to feel like Gymnast Mommy. As for Lilo, I still have to trace her foot. Hers will be a princessy pink.

I want to try the same thing with mercerized cotton, possibly 3 strands together. So excited!