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South of the Border Prayer Shawl

Posted on July 3, 2009 by auburnchick

You might remember that a couple of months ago, a friend at church gave me this pile of yarn…with the Mexican Rainbow Shawl from the Prayer Shawl Companion book in mind.  We’re both making shawls for our church ministry and had fallen in love with this pattern.  She surprised me by buying the yarn for it!

Alas, try as I might, I couldn’t make the yarn work with the pattern!  The pattern is written for DK weight, and the Vanna’s Choice just did not want to play nice!

So, I frogged what I had done (the center section and two of the orange sides) and went back to the drawing board…finally deciding on La La’s Simple Shawl, which is a free download on Ravelry.

This pattern allowed me to incorporate each colored yarn and, IMHO, gives it a “South of the Border” feel.

Project Stats

Date Started – June 22
Date Completed – July 2

Yarn – Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice:
  • Rust – 17 yards
  • Scarlet – 34 yards
  • Eggplant – 55 yards
  • Colonial Blue – 76.5 yards
  • Olive -102 yards
  • Mustard – 229.5 yards

The pattern did not specify a bind-off, so I used EZ’s Sewn Cast Off.  I like this bind off because it’s stretchy and invisible.  And it’s easy (although tedious when you have 265 stitches!!).

Forgive the state of my hair.  I woke up this morning and rushed to dress so I could get Chicky to take pictures before she heads to the beach for the day…hence no shower and no tamed hair (not that this is possible with living in Florida and having naturally-curly hair)…

Filed under: Knitting | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

My First Prayer Shawl

Posted on May 7, 2009 by auburnchick

Did you notice the word “first” in the title of this post?

Yes, that’s because, as you know, I’ve recently become involved with my church’s new prayer shawl ministry.

Today I did the Happy Dance because I finished the first one!!!  And, it’s what I consider my “first” crochet project (I don’t count the little animals I’ve made).  This pattern had double crochet and half double crochet stitches.

Oh yeah, baby.  Bring it on!

Ok…so on to the pictures, and then I’ll give stats…

Here’s the pattern booklet that I bought at Joann’s:

I had fallen in love with this project (the picture from the book):

And here’s my finished project…

I had a hard time getting the hang of the edging.  I just couldn’t quite figure out where to insert my needle on the row ends, so two of the sides look a bit wonky.  The third side was a piece of cake because it was my cast on edge.  Here’s a close-up of the stitches and edging (the part I’m proud of):

I started on 4/27 and finished today (5/7).

I used a little under four skeins of Bernat Satin (the colorway is Sable).

The yarn is soft and very warm. It was a little bit thready…which was not super easy for a novice crocheter like myself, but I didn’t find myself doing battle, if you know what I mean.

All in all, a pretty easy project except for the edging, which I attribute to my lack of practice and not the pattern.

Filed under: crochet | Tagged: , , | 5 Comments »

I Didn’t Buy These, I Promise

Posted on May 6, 2009 by auburnchick

Two bags of yarn…that’s what I saw when I walked into the empty room at church.  It was Wednesday night…time for Bible study with the ladies.  When I began meeting with this group, I discovered that one of the ladies was a knitter.  She’s been knitting a little while but is not overly confident in herself yet, preferring to stick with the easiest stitches.  We’ve formed a friendship, and I’ve been encouraging her to try new patterns.

Any good knitting friend will, naturally, enable another.  She buys the newest issues of magazines, and I run out to get them.  She buys a new book, and I do the same.  I discover a fabulous yarn store in New Orleans, and she visits and spends $150.

It’s a friendship made in heaven.

When I saw the bags of yarn, I figured they belonged to her.  We’re always showing off our latest cast-ons and talking about upcoming projects.

When she walked in, she nonchalantly picked up the bags and deposited them on the table in front of me.

They were for me.  For a shawl I’ve been ogling in this book, recently purchased with a 40% coupon at Hobby Lobby:

The pattern is for a Mexican Shawl:

As I pulled the yarn out of the bags, I counted them…12 skeins of Vanna’s Choice…in six different colors!

I am so touched that she would do this for me.  She has been personally affected by the financial woes that many of us have…a husband who only recently became employed again after being laid off…a house up for sale…a son newly home from Iraq…

To do something like this with pure excitement on her face…

A true blessing.

And a relief that I can honestly tell the Mr. that I didn’t buy more yarn.

Filed under: Knitting | Tagged: , , | 4 Comments »

A New Hallelujah

Posted on May 6, 2009 by auburnchick

Last night I had a Prayer Shawl Ministry meeting at church.  During the drive, I popped in a new CD that Rooster bought me for my birthday.  It’s Michael W. Smith’s A New Hallelujah, and it’s fabulous!

This song, in particular, lifted my spirit and put me in a great mood to meet with the other ladies and, essentially, have what I imagine to be a “Knit Night.”  We chatted as we worked on our shawls and prayed over one in particular.  This shawl will be delivered in the next few days.

I hope you enjoy the song.

Filed under: Christian | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

Posted on April 28, 2009 by auburnchick

First of all, hats off to those of you who can crochet.

It’s not as easy as it looks.

Trust me.

I tried…for two solid days.

I already shared the picture of the prayer shawl I want to make for my church’s new ministry.  I knew it would be a challenge.  But I thought I could handle it.  I had, after all, just completed the Umagurumi Dolphin…

I alluded to this mystery project a few weeks ago.  It’s been gifted, so now I can share it!  You can purchase the pattern here.  The instructions are very easy and detailed.  The designer responds quickly to questions.  Kudos!

I used Bernat Softee Chunky in Grey Heather.  My friend, Rabbitrescuer, had a skein of the yarn in her stash, which she sent me free of charge (aren’t knitters just the best?!).  However, my gauge must have been tight because I RAN OUT!!!  Can you believe it?!  And I only had a few rounds of one fin and then one other fin left.  That’s it!

She bought me another skein, sent it to me, and I finished it last night.

Putting it together was interesting, but ultimately, I’m pleased with the result.  The tail fins are my favorite!!

If I had to do anything over, I would not have stuffed the body quite so much, but I would have added a bit more stuffing to the tail base.

Now, who was the lucky recipient of the dolphin?

Ms D, the Attendance lady I worked with.  I came home from lunch, took pictures of it, and gently placed it in the largest non-Christmas bag I could find, covering it with tissue paper to cover it.

I grew a bit nervous as I carried it in.  What would people think?  I mean, it’s LARGE!  It measures 19 1/2″ from nose to tail.  When I selected this pattern, I thought it would be something small she could set beside her computer.

NOT!

I’m not sure what she’s going to do with it, but I feel good about gifting it.  She’s a wonderful lady who deserves to be pampered with unexpected surprises.

With another project under my belt, I quickly moved on to the new shawl, having set down my Swallowtail Lace Shawl for the time being.  We need a break from each other.

I picked up the crochet needle and proceeded to do the chain stitches and slip stitch.  And then I stopped.

I didn’t know what to do from that point forward.

I googled and googled and found some really neat sites.  If you’re new to crocheting, I highly recommend NexStitch and Crochet ‘N’ More.   The second link provided me with much-needed information about how to read various parts of the pattern; however, I was still stuck on the actual execution of them.

A quick post on Ravelry led me to a very interesting discovery…

I’ve been crocheting incorrectly!

Instead of going through BOTH loops, I’ve only been crocheting through the back loop.

So that dolphin I made…yeah…wrong-O.

I gifted it anyhow.  Who would know?

This shawl will be a different story.  I’m gonna crochet it correctly.  However, I still had no clue what a chain space was or how to skip a double crochet stitch.

I spent the better part of the morning searching before finding this page.  My eyes were opened, and something “clicked.”  I struggled as I got comfortable with the crochet cadence, but now I’m actually enjoying it!

Here is my progress so far, after 12 rows…

I crocheted during three showings of The Great Gatsby, and the students looked on with interest.

If I can crochet, anybody can!  Just goes to show you that you can teach an old dog new tricks!!

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: | 3 Comments »

A Day Off

Posted on April 24, 2009 by auburnchick

You’ve just gotta love Fridays.  Especially when you have the day off.

Now, I could have easily slept in or stayed in my jammies.  In fact, Mr. AuburnChick commented, on his way to bed, that we could both sleep until 12 if we wanted.  He’s been working a lot of overtime and is exhausted.  However, I chose to get up, shower, and dress.

Rather than lying low…playing my day by ear, I actually have a plan.

I have to get the oil changed in my car.  We have another long car trip in a few weeks, so I need to make sure my vehicle is in proper working order.

I’m also on the hunt for Bernat Satin.  A couple of days ago, I used a 50% coupon at Joann’s to buy this pamphlet, which you can order from anniesattic.com:

My church is starting a prayer shawl ministry.  Knitting an entire shawl on my own seems a daunting task, so I’ve decided to try to crochet one.  I’ve heard that crocheting is faster than knitting.  One of the patterns in this booklet struck my eye.  I went to Joann’s several times, staring at the pattern but not purchasing the booklet until the fifith time I went to the store.  I finally caved and made the purchase.  This is the shawl I want to make:

My errands will also include the obligatory trip to the bank.  Chicky got paid yesterday, so I offered to deposit it for her.

And a day of errands wouldn’t be complete with a trip to Walmart.  I need to get new toothbrush heads, and Target didn’t have the specific brand when I was there a few days ago.

I know I have cleaning to do, but I do not plan on doing much.  A load of laundry is about to visit the washing machine.  But actual dusting or sweeping?  Nawwww.

I wanna have some fun!  I’m going to work on my Swallowtail Lace Shawl.  Last night, I finished the last pattern repeat and started the first start of the lace edging.  Ahhh…such a lovely pattern and a real joy to knit!

I’m also expecting a skein of yarn from my friend Rabbitrescuer.  I’m working on a project, and I ran out with two small parts to finish!!!!  It’s a gift for someone too!  Hopefully the mailman will be delivering it to me today!

You’ve just gotta love free days, eh?!

Filed under: Knitting, This-n-That | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

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