Planned pooling crochet scarves

Well I got 3 under my belt.  This is for sure not a project for the faint at heart.  They are challenging and very time consuming but the best part is, it's like the yarn is a puzzle to solve and you have to solve it most every stitch.  I have 3 up for sale right now and if you want you can get a better look at them here but if not you can just check out the pics and see if anything catch's your eye.  Since they are so time consuming I will not be accepting any orders for made to order ones for the holidays.  These 3 are ready to ship though if you know anyone who'd like to stay snuggly and stylish this winter.

Sneak peak at my newest offering at Crochet By Mel

I know I need much better pictures but I am just so thrilled to share with you all my latest planned pooling scarf.  These babies look easy but I am here to tell you they are not for the faint at heart.  Still there is some sort of odd sense of accomplishment at getting the yarn to do what I want it to do.  Kind of like a Soduku puzzle.  Check it out!

Still planning the pool

I must say it's not as easy as it looks.  There are so many helpful video's out there and facebook groups but even still its mostly trial and error.  Sure you can try and go off of what worked for someone else but if your tention is not the same as theirs it's not going to work for you.  And something that other's don't subscribe to but that I have run into is sure the yarn will work but some of them only work from the center pull, or from the outer pull.  So if at first you don't succeed, you might want to grab the other yarn tail and try it that way.  I love the argyle stitch it's very pretty but I think I am just going to have to frog this baby blanket and settle for scarves.  There is just too much having to frog back and grab a smaller or bigger hook and try again to get that color in that place at that time. . . it's all about being in the right place at the right time isn't it?  Today I mastered the zig zag and I think it's a bit easier than the argyle, and makes for a not overly bulky scarf.  I have seen some infinity scarves and cowls done up with the argyle and they are very pretty but for someone like me who has little to no neck they are just too bulky.  Of course I am not happy just learning the one way to pool, I have to learn all the ways.  Never stop learning.  When you do you start to grow old.  Let's face it old people are kind of depressing.  No one wants that.  That's why all the old people I surround myself with never stop learning and we learn from each other and it's a beautiful thing.  I am sure they teach me way more than I can teach them but still I can contribute some tid bits here and there.

So yes.  I am working on my first planned pooling scarf and hopefully it will be up soon my shop for purchase.  I don't even know what I should charge for it though because of all the hours of failed attempts if I charged by the hour it would probably never sell.  If you care to look around and don't want to wait for the color pooling items to show up you can feel free to click on this link but I should warn you I am in desperate need of "new" things.  With working so much I haven't had as much time as I'd like to make new things.  Unless you count the flowers.  I make many of those "new" things every day.  Some of them are really pretty.  I'm a very lucky girl to have such a fun job that's such a perfect fit.  I know a lot of people hate Mondays and dread going back to work but not this girl.  I actually smile on Mondays.  I hope you all have an awesome Monday too.

Adventures in planned pooling

If you don't know what planned pooling is yet you soon will as this technique has gone viral, very very fast.  It involves using variegated yarn and planning ahead what goes where so that the colors pool in just the right spots  Some yarns make plaid, some make this mess down here, and if you do it another way you can make stripes.  Of course I had to try it out for myself.  So I did.  And I am happy to say this only took me 2 tries.  Seems like most people have to rip it out and try again at least once so 2 tries isn't half bad, I will take it.  Be on the lookout for new planned pooling scarves and blankets in my shop, coming soon!

Irish crochet part 2

Well, I got started.  However I got another dress order so this project will have to wait.  It is slow going I will say that much but I think that the end result will be worth all the extra trouble.  Because the hook is so small the netting portion takes just about as long as making the actual motif's.  No wonder the Irish crochet wedding dresses are listed for 3,500 dollars!  I bet it would take a good crochet'er at least a  year to make it.  The pearls are just pearl headed pins they won't be on the finished project.

Between moving and the dress order though like I said. . .it must wait.  I will return oh Irish crochet. . .and when I do I will finish you :)

Irish Crochet

My latest challenge.  Too bad most the patterns are in Russian.  Some of them are in Chinese.  Since I can't read either of them I have to read the charts.  They are kind of hard to follow.  Very excited about the project though.  It's so pretty and delicate.  Here's hoping I can pull it off!

Are people really boycotting Target? Yes. Yes they are.

So I have heard a lot in the social media news about how that over priced trendy Target store is making bathrooms special for Transgender people.  Now I never understood why they had to do this because every store I ever went to had that little "family" bathroom where I could drag all my kids into the one stall bathroom and lock the door whenever anyone had to go so I could make sure everyone was safe and okay.  Being a mom of boys I didn't want to go with them to the boys room and I do not allow them to go by themselves for safety reasons so they liked going there since they wouldn't have to go in the ladies room.  Why can't transgender people use that one?  It's usually empty anyways and then they don't have to worry about what gender they associate with or think that they are.  Problem solved.  Right? Wrong.  Lets make transgender restrooms in all our stores for the .03% of the population that claims to be transgender.  So family groups and Christians and a whole bunch of other people said they are going to boycott the store.  I didn't believe it.  I mean who doesn't shop at Target?  I was more homesick for Target when I moved than I was for my old house.  So imagine my surprise when I went in for my weekly "Target" dose to see a virtual ghost town.  I got the 6th parking place in my lane and it was the first lane I drove into to get a spot.  6.  Normally I have to park all the way back in the back and walk about a mile just to get into the store.  Not this time.  I got spot 6.  The only part of the store that had maybe half of the normal amount of customers was the grocery section.  I did a lap around the store to check out the rest.  I counted 12 people.  IN THE WHOLE REST OF THE STORE.  The toy section, the clothes sections, electronics, everywhere was virtually empty.  And the people I did see had like one item in their carts.  This is in a pretty nice neighborhood.  Where doctors and lawyers and people with a large chunk of disposable income live.  And no one was there.  I did enjoy not having to wait at all to check out with my one box of cereal.  But if this keeps up I can't see them staying in business for very long, I mean just the costs to keep the lights on and pay the employees alone no way they made enough money today to do that.  The suspense is terrible. . . I hope it lasts.