Wednesday, March 9, 2011

W.I.P. Wednesday--March 9th

Hello and greetings to all of my readers! I'm so happy that several new folks have found my blog, and I'm looking forward to picking a winner of the giveaway on Sunday! You can enter anytime up till 5 pm eastern time on Sunday. That's 5 pm daylight saving time by the way--those of you in the US, don't forget to "spring forward" this weekend. I hate losing that hour of sleep but I love having it stay light later in the evening.

So it's Work-in-Progress Wednesday here, and this week I can show you the start of my new prayer shawl:

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I think this is the first one I've made that is worked lengthwise--starting off with "chain 190" was a little intimidating! And with such long rows it's taking a while for the pattern to show itself, but I hope to make more progress on it now that I'm getting familiar with the pattern. It's a free pattern too, you can get it here.

And here's a close-up of one of my favorite crochet helpful hints:

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When I stop working on something, I put a locking stitch marker in the live loop, and slip on an alphabet bead with the letter of the hook size I'm using. This way I don't misplace the hook, my work won't unravel, and I know what the hook size is! It's SO helpful to me since I can't rely on my memory for squat anymore, and I may not be using the hook size in the pattern--this way I always know which hook to pick up.

Oh, I also have an FO (finished object) to show you--my shamrock garland, adorning my desk at work!

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It came out pretty cute I think!

I'll wrap up this WIP Wednesday post with the VERY BEST work-in-progress that I have seen this week:

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The very first blooms of the year in my garden--Mother Nature is definitely working on spring, and I am soooo thankful!

Have a wonderful day!

Julie

6 comments:

Shanti said...

I LOVE your prayer shawl and specially your tip! I've already knew it, but I haven't use it... I really need to buy those alphabet beads because every time I change projects I forgot which hook I was using and it's a pain to figure it out!
Congrats on your blooms! are awsome!

Mindy said...

Love the shawl!

The shamrocks are so cute and festive.

And flowers?!?!?!! Gorgeous. Not quite peeking out around here yet. =)

paula said...

LOVE the idea for keeping track of the hook you are using.

I MUST start that . . . . then, maybe, I won't lose my hooks when I leave them in the piece when I go to something else.

Teresa Kasner said...

I absolutely ADORE the Shamrock garland, it's adorable! Good job, you!

Hugs from Oregon, USA -- Teresa :-)

Marsha Cooper said...

We just use a simple pattern on the prayer shawls that we make at church, so I'm going to save the pattern you are using. This last one I made was my first one to go lengthwise as well.
Love the shamrock decoration and what a neat idea. Now that we have our home, I'm going to try to make things like that to decorate around the house for various holidays too.

The Craft Attic said...

I am in love with your shawl, such a lovely shade of green, how wide will you make it?? I will have a look at the pattern and maybe even have a go - been very busy working lately, very litle time for crafting :-(