What on earth is a twiddle muff?

Well it is also called a sensory band, but that is such a dull name, probably thought up by a committee.
By any name it is a cylindrical band of crochet or knitting with different parts and bits sewn on. It is intended for Alzheimer's patients or others with dementia to hold and fidget or twiddle with.  I first saw one on a facebook group I follow.  Now I have made 11.

First batch. These were given to Hillcrest. They asked for more so ...

these they volunteered to pay for, but I will only charge what it cost me to make them.














And yes I know that does not add up to 11. I must have missed photoing the one I made first, for my mother.

Inspired, or nagged depending on your point of view, by a crochet mittens group on facebook; I have made a number of pairs of mittens this year. The first ones were, by request, for Rebecca: lined crochet mittens.

 These are "Unicorn" from the crochet mitten drive. Patons Canadians  100% superwash wool. (a goodwill find).

Handspun wool, pattern is a simplicity pattern from the '70s.










Then I got right into the program, although I did start a few and ripped them out this was my final result.

In more detail: Landscape

 Red Heard Comfort,white; and Lions one pound, taupe. These are quite warm due to the back and forth stitching which results in thick ridges between rows.
5mm hook

Same pattern and hook size, brown yarn was a bit thinner. but still a [4].








spike aka winter

These 2 pairs were done just the same except for the wrist. Shows the effect of different yarns!

then I moved on the patterns from books ( library):

I can't even remember the names of these two pairs.









And after all that when a pattern I wanted to see blocked me and asked me to sign in I just said  fergeduboutit and made two pairs without a pattern.

What I have learned is: there are at least 3 ways to make/attach thumbs, the hand can be made wrist up or fingers down, the ribbing can be made separately and attached or as an integral part of the hand, horizontally or vertically. Just making these changes alone, with a single stitch can give many different mitts..

For the last few years I have been making a "Christmas special" a decoration for my short list of card recipients who deserve more than just a card.
In 2014 I found this design

in a book and made seven of them.  There is also a Christmas tree on the left side. I only took this photo then finished them and sent them off. Not keeping one for myself!

This year I found this sweater pattern online:

Everyone needs an ugly Christmas sweater!

I got caught up in the idea, floating around in some circles, that it might be fun to crochet a pair of socks. One of the blogs I read released a new pattern, they look nice, even possible, but 4£! for a pattern! I could buy socks for that much. Nice ones! I did try a while ago and made some using a free ( probably from a book) pattern and cheap thrift store yarn.

Actually they are pretty weird looking but they make acceptable bed-socks for cold winter nights.
After trying a couple of versions I realized that crocheting socks is a clear sign of not enough to do.
So I switched to mittens. Perhaps I can find a victim to give these to. May need to line them if they are going to be useful in our normal winters. This year so far we are having an el nino winter and it is very pleasant indeed.

Beehive Canadiana 100% superwash wool. a thrift store find.

Three different batches of hand spun wool, all from New Zealand, 35+ years ago .

I have been interested to see that the post I did talking about the virus shawl I crocheted has had more views than any other. I guess the term virus is valid for that pattern. No more of that though, just non infectious crochet.
I made another shawl, entirely my own pattern. Well a couple of ideas from things I saw online and stitches from a "stitch bible" but still no one else worked on the pattern in any way

 It is too late to hang the shawl on the outside dryer, as it is away for the season.

 This is made with about 100  gm of acrylic/mohair blend. Two colours each found at a different thrift store in a different city and year.


The spun yarn was starting to accumulate so I made something with that too. This is 170 gm,  handspun and plied New Zealand wool which I have kept all these years. It was drum carded about 35 years ago, and spun this fall. The wool has lived with me in 6 houses and has crossed the width of North America twice ( after being shipped to me from a sheep farm in New Zealand in the late 1970s).

.It is very warm to wear!

I thought I would try a "test crochet" so signed up with a group on Ravelry, found a project that did not look too bad and gave it a whirl. Well what I have discovered is, if I choose some project I don't like I can just quit and rip it out. But if I am doing it as a test I feel constrained to continue and complete the project. The tester receives a free pattern, makes whatever, takes and posts digital photos and everyone is happy. At least in theory.
I had gauge issues with my projects ( set of 4 items) and had to make 3 gauge test squares moving down from 8mm and [4] yarn,  to 7mm and [3] yarn,  before I actually got the test square down to the size specified. The original called for 9mm and [3] yarn. Then when I actually crocheted the items, they are too small. And the stitch is unnecessarily complex, imho!

First item finished. I want to do other things, a shawl, a blanket, spinning, cookies, pottery. But I need to finish the other 3 pieces. One of which I have done but will have to comlpetely rip out and redo with a larger hook. And maybe a changed number of stitches too.

I think maybe I won't do this again! I do not need the aggravation just for a free pattern when there are so many others online and I can probably do any of these things without a pattern anyway.

Having succumbed to the virus...
Last week I heard for the first time about a shawl pattern with a controversial provenance.
It was a free pattern so as far as I can tell no one is losing money on this. There is a chart floating around and also a Ravelry  contributor is claiming it as her own. Others say it is very old and she just grabbed it. There are also totally unhelpful ( and copyrighted) videos where we watch someone crochet.
So to cause my tiny bit of trouble I decided to give it a try.
I used Bernat baby softee [3] and a 5mm hook. The chart is perfectly clear so away I went. And finished in just a few days. Except there was no border or edging on the chart and the only one I found online was boring, with just sc and the occasional picot. The shawl already has shells along the edge so there was no need to add shells. I researched possible borders then ended up using a simple one, modified from  the summer sprigs shawl (special picot) and added to my own base edge.

The Virus Shawl

Edge:
crochet to the end of third row of the four row repeat. Turn {each shell has 10 dc, wewill dc into the 1,4 7, and 10 dcof each shell as follows} ch2, dc in same st, * ch3 sk 2 dc, dc in next dc, special picot, sk 2 dc, dc in next dc,ch3, sk 2 dc, dc in next dc, sc in ch 4 sp. dc in first dc of next shell* repeat to end of row.
special picot: ch 4, sl st in 3rd ch from hook, ch1,

The picot is clearer while blocking but this is acrylic so the blocking relaxes after pins are removed.

Photos of finished cotton summer shawl with fancy edging.

The body of the shawl is double crochet with some v stitch rows for increase purposes. It seems to go on forever.

 

I have never done a border like this, it attaches sideways as you go.

 The pattern is Crescent Lace Shawl by Tian Connaughton in the summer 2015 Love of Crochet. I mostly behaved myself and followed directions. The hook recommended was 3.5mm and I used 3.75mm. I did not do as many rows as specified because it was big enough. I used a mystery cotton on a cone (thrift store find). The only information is a small tag on the inside saying 3000yds  2 ply. It is very fine and slubbed.

Finished a few things this week.
The Katniss cowl , using "inspiration" from two different sources is done and the photo has been approved by planned recipient!

As a change from something warm and practical I also made this:

Described as a summer cowl It is intended to be made in a much finer yarn, and would presumably then look much more "air-y".












And the really slow one, because this is made in a pattern appropriate yarn:

beginning to block. How are we supposed to block cotton anyway?
Detail:

I did not exactly time this but I do know that the last 90% or so was done while watching 4 Masterpiece Mystery s, and the entire rebroadcast of Ken Burns "The Civil War". It is forever going  to  remind me of that dolorous violin background music!

On a more practical note (no pun intended) I whipped up a warm neck cowl.
My pattern, drastically modifying one I found online.

And after all that I am back to making baby hats. Posting next time.

At the Regina Folk Festival craft booths I saw an item of crocheting that was very interesting. I thought, as I often do, I could make that. And usually that is the end of it, but this time I decided to give it a try. No photos just do this from memory. Well my memory is not that good, but it turns out the artisan has a website and a photo of a similar piece was online. Now I had a name for the item! Now I could google it and lo and behold it is one of the iconic accessories from a very popular and cult recent film. Naturally I am behind the times on this.
Now I can make this. "Vaguely inspired by" by way of Regina. Yarn from Goodwill in Calgary.

It may be a bit too symmetrical to be authentic, but I was actually aiming for useful. Fall bike riding?
Oh and its name? Hunter cowl.

Tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, snow peas, beans, potatoes, basil, apples, raspberries...
Which is why I haven't been as much with the hook, throw etc.

I did get a crescent moon shawl done. Or at least mostly done

The pattern is apparently in a book which is out of print and written in Japanese. I found a chart online and worked from there. There are two versions, one with dongles and the other with shell edging. I picked b. There are still two rounds to go from where I am here, one of 3- dc clusters and one of picots, but this is big enough already and I am happy enough with the way the edge looks so I think I will stop here. This has not been blocked but it already looks fine.
That pattern took concentration, lightand reading glasses.
While watching TV I have been doing easier crochet.

Not sure yet where, but these are for donations.

I have been puzzling* about why crochet is so dispersed. There are at least 2 major systems for describing the basic stitches ( UK and US), at least 3 sizeing systems for hooks ( UK, US, and metric) and seemingly unlimited number of names for more complex patterns.
I will see a "new fancy pattern" to make something "new" and "wow"  when I carefully read the instructions I find it is the same old stitch with a new name. And most of the names don't even relate to the appearance of the pattern.
Don't these people read basic crochet books? Do they think no one has made this stitch before? Are they scamming us, hoping we will think it is "new" when they actually copied it out of an old book?
Maggie Righetti wrote "Crocheting in plain english: the only book any crocheter will ever need". In it she points out that there really are not 500 different stitches, despite what some books imply. There are only so many places to put your hook, so many times you can wrap the yarn, so many directions to go.
I also like the Readers Digest Guide to needlework. It has a brief description of all the basics.
So when the stitch you are trying to sell me is in both of those, no it is not new, even if you have given it a new name!
Here is one example:
In RD there ia a stitch called bushy, and yes it is somewhat bushy, so reasonable name.  I have  a book called Crochet Stitch Bible, in it the same stitch is called Paris stitch, say what? Why Paris for goodness sake?
And on a blog it was called forget-me-not, and no it does not look like a flower.
This rant does not even take into account different stitches being called the same name. It is starting to remind me of why Linneus came up with his scientific nomenclature system!

Knitting seems to have an international naming system. Everyone knows what purl, knit, garter, stocking ( or stockinette) refers to.
Why is crochet so different.
I read today online somewhere that there are just 3 basic knitting stitches ( I am guessing knit, purl and ? I don't knit so I don't know the third one) and there are just 7 basic crochet stitches. I do crochet, quite a bit, and I have no idea which ones they meant!
When I am in charge of the world I will make us all do crochet the same way.  Metric hook sizing , US names for simple stitches, and no new  stitch descriptions unless you can show they are not in other mainline sources.
And if you are writing a pattern you will call the stitch by a recognised name. I am thinking here of something like the IUPAC organic chemistry naming system,which has logical rules based on structure.  ( actually this exact analogy just came to me. I think I may be on to something here. Can we get a committee together to work on this?)










* OK "banging my head on the wall" ,might be a better way to put it.

It is 16C today, a big and welcome change from the plus 30C we were having last week. It feels OK to touch yarn again!
So some crochet projects:

The all pink "lapghan" I had started last crochet update

I don't actually wear scarves, but I do like these scarf/shawl items and they do seem to be popular online. Currently I own 4, and want to give more away, several have already been given to ( hopefully) good homes.

Peach colour, with beads, my own pattern

 

Sea Foam scarf, inspired by Kat Goldin 'Spun Gold'

To keep someone's neck warm next winter, crochet cowls.

A bit tired of crocheting in cotton, and having finally used up almost all my cotton  stash, I have switched to acrylic crochet hats to give away. Possibly to Bissell Centre.

Now I think I will go and bake some cookies, while the temperature is reasonable!

A bit of everything this time!
Since the last post I have had company for a week, been out of town for 4 days and generally puttered around. but some things did get accomplished.

hook

well always some hooky

 A second shawl/scarf in a variegated white/pink/green/beige. This time I did not start with un-liked yarn and did not have to take it apart.

Not a selection of very narrow scarves!
These are the beginning of a strip afghan. Each will have a border, then the pieces will be joined together and an edging added.

 throw

These three have moved a few steps further along the path but I still have not glazed them. Can't decide what  want them to look like.

bake 

Every few weeks I make a batch of 8 loaves of bread. One of this weeks batch.

sew

On request I am trying scrubs hats. This is the best so far, it fits me, now to see if it fits the requester!

It is surprisingly hard to take a reasonable looking photo of a hat, without a head!





So there we are, all "crafts" checked in.