Just one more square

Just out of the blues, I decided to crochet a baby blanket... for nobody's baby! I was just in the mood, I guess. See, the whole story went like this:

I elf-ed for the 2006 RAOK and one of the persons in my list wanted an 8-in square for her friendship blanket (or afghan?) So I made one 8-in square using white, tan, and yellow. It is the most gorgeous thing ever to me as it looks like sunlight on a very nice day (I call it "Sunray" hehe) After I was done, I left it on my teddy bear's belly and the bear was clutching it for half a day. So cute!

My teddy bear looked like a poor kid without any toys but a piece of afghan square in his hands to play (he did look like that). I couldn't stand the poor baby having nothing to play, so I decided to make a little blanket...just for the bear. So far I have 4 10-in squares (I enlarge the 8-in pieces a little bit).

I expect the blanket to be a bit over 30 inches each side, just enough for the teddy bear. Call me crazy but teddy bears need blankets too!

I'm Hosting a CAL!

Woohoo! Finally one of my dreams came true! Now I'm hosting the Nordstrom Crochet Hobo Bag CAL

If you're a member of c'ville, please join this CAL. It's my first time hosting so I'm a bit nervous but everything should be fine. I'm learning each and everyday.

I have so many WIPs (work in progress) and WIMs (work in mind)

The WIPs are:
1. LB swing jacket: it's literally ages since I started that jacket. I guess the more I found out that I'm done, the less I want to finish. That's very sad sad sad!

2. A granny square blanket for my brother. I use this pattern from Erin Lindsey's blog to make the little one a blanket. My brother doesn't like to wear blanket because they're just plain heavy for him. Therefore I'm making one out of JoAnn's Rainbow Boucle'. It's growing nicely so far.

3. Baby Hobo bag: a smaller version of the pink bag.

The WIMs:

1. Another Hobo bag for my roomate, probably in brown.

2. A crochet long sleeve shirt for winter. I don't have the pattern and I don't know any nice patterns. If you happen to know one please let me know. Recently I got sick and lost some weight. So now almost all of my winter t-shirts from last year become big or really big. And I am a poor student. And I love to crochet my own clothes :)

3. A wrap shirt I saw in Betsey Johnson's website. It's simply gorgeous and I guess it'll be my first attempt to crochet with really small threads :D

Thanksgiving is next week and I'm not cooking a turkey! 2nd year in a row! I'll probably won't cook any turkey for the next 5 years, I'm not ready for the big bird :D

Crochet Hobo Bag

I saw this bag and it totally drove me crazy! For days! Can you imagine?


As alluring as it could be, I had to restrain myself from placing another order to Knitpicks. They have some really wonderful wool yarns that are so soft and easy to crochet. I placed my first and only order of Wool of the Andes chunky and was very delighted at the quality as well as the price. Lucky for me, I over-ordered and have enough yarn for this bag.

It is not a very difficult pattern to figure out at all. With my knowledge that is less than a grain of rice, I could manage to figure out the pattern :D (although I made a smaller scale bag and didn't turn out right)

So here it is, my inagural design that I finally managed to write down.

Crochet Hobo Bag
(inspired by the above Nordstrom bag)

Pattern written by Dao Lam

Materials:

2 skeins Wool of the Andes Chunky (www.knitpicks.com)

Hooks size K-11 (6.5mm), J-10 (6mm), and H-8 (5mm)

Tapestry needle to weave in ends

Lining fabrics of choice

One set of magnetic snaps

One purse handle (usually sold in a set of 2 but only need 1)

Ribbon of choice

Sewing threads that match color of yarn and lining (or invisible threads)

Instruction: Pay close attention to any changes in hook size that are indicated at the beginning of the row.

Row 1: use hook K-11 (6.5mm) ch 44

Row 2: from the fourth ch sp from hook, make three dc in the same sp, *sk 3 ch spaces, 4 dc in the next sp * until the end of the ch, make 3 ch, repeat * * on the back loop of the ch, ch 3, sl st to the 3^rd ch of the first ch3 sp to join. (22 ch4 clusters, 2 ch3 spaces)

Row 3: sl st 2 times, ch3 (counted as 1dc), 3dc in same space, [*sk 3dc spaces, 4dc in next dc* 10 times, 4dc in ch3 sp], repeat * * 11 times, 4dc in ch3 sp, sl st to the 3^rd ch of the first ch3 sp (24 ch4 clusters)

Row 4-12: sl st 2 times, ch 3, 3 dc in same sp, *sk 3dc spaces, 4dc in next dc* 23 times, sl st to the 3^rd ch of the first ch3 sp (24 ch4 clusters)

Row 13: sl st, 2 times ch 3, 2dc in same sp *sk 3dc sp, 3dc in next dc* 23 times, sl st to 3^rd ch of the first ch 3 sp (24 ch3 clusters)

Row 14: sl st, ch3, 2dc in same sp *sk 2dc sp, 3dc in next dc* 23 times, sl st to 3^rd ch from the first ch 3 sp (24 ch3 clusters)

Row 15: ch1, 1 sc, sc all over, sl st on top of the first sc to join (72 sc).

Row 16-17: use hook J-10 (6mm), ch1, 1sc, sc all over, sl st to join (72 sc).

Row 18: use hook H-8 (5mm), ch1, 1sc, sc all over, sl st to join (72 sc).

Leave enough yarn to weave in, cut off yarn, weave in all ends.

To line bag:

Double up fabric, put the body of the bag on top, and use a fabric pencil to draw the shape of the bag. Cut out fabric about ½ further away from the line, except the top leaves an extra 1inch.

If you have a serger, serge all the sides to avoid fraying.

Sew the sides together inside the drawing line (if you sew on the outside the lining will be bigger than the bag). Leave about 1 inch unsown.

Pull the liner inside out and attach the snaps as instructed by the package.

Fold the 1-inch on the top of the liner down to cover the back of the snaps, sew the liner to the crocheted bag.

Attach handle to the bag.

To finish up, use ribbon to weave around the ch3 clusters in row 14, make a small bow.

Click here for this pattern's Q&A

*This pattern will remain free and available on my blog as long as I see fit. Please do not use it for your own monetary gains by selling this pattern for money. Recreational use of this pattern, however, is encouraged.

Added 7/24/08: My big "thank you" to everyone who's been encouraging me and showing me some yarn lovin'. It is you who bring this pattern to live and for that, I salute you!

Added 7/27/08: I decided to change the name of this pattern to "Crochet Hobo Bag" with a note indicated that it was inspired from a bag sold at Nordstrom.






Crochet Hobo Bag by
Dao Lam is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.

Based on a work at
shortylamcrochet.blogspot.com.

My Second Swap: Halloween!

I was very happy today and didn't know why, just felt elated... that's all! There's a cute guy in my class who kept on talking to me and looked at me when I didn't look at him. He's cute though, so there's nothing wrong about that. I've been quiet in class, just get in, listen, and get out as soon as the class finishes (don't have parking permit mah, don't run then get a $20 ticket ah ) I don't know if it was my perfume or my raging hormone that turned his head

Came home and I saw a biggish parcel in my mailbox. My Halloween swap package finally arrived . I lugged the box upstair, wondering what my swap partner Danni made for me
And then when I opened, I found an afghan! When signing for the swap, I thought of receiving an afghan but the mod said it would be a lot of work. Then I replied that I would want something more appropriate (ie smaller). But Danni, she had to go all the way to fullfil my dream of receiving an afghan. I was flabergasted for a while and my nose started to feel tingling. I was about to cry!

She is so awesome: besides the afghan, she sent me 2 crochet magazines, a box of Godiva chocolate, a pair of warmest and softest socks ever, 2 skleins of Sugar and cream yarn, some envelope and stationary seals, a booklet of Monet cards, and her handwritten note. I was so touched! The best part is Tallahassee just got cold last night and today I am equipped with all the wonderful and cozy stuff Danni sent me

I swear this is better than love!

Originally posted on October 24, 2006

Fendi Bag

It went all the way back to when I first came to this forum that I saw this "Fendi CAL". But I came a little bit too late as the lady who distributed the pattern no longer did. So I said "what the heck, I can do this" and gathered some Bernat softee chunky yarn in pink and whip up something similar.

I made the body first as it was just sc all the way around. Then the flap was kinda trickier as I never did ruffles before. But I learned and frogged some couples of times. And it came out alright I guess.
Here's the pic:

I guess I'm getting good at copying things without the pattern thanks to c'ville. I'm so happy

Originally posted on September 22nd, 2006 in Crochetville

My First Swap

I have to say I'm addicted to crochet. Everytime I have that I don't invest on my research, I find myself with a hook in my right hand and some yarn in my left hand. Sometimes I'm wondering why I am so enthusiastic in my hobby, not my career?

As I already told you guys, I am now a villager of the ubercool Crochetville which entitles me to swap meets and random act of kindness. Swap meets are events where two (or more) villagers (those who have more than 40 posts) can exchange their crochet products and some extra goodies. And random act of kindness is like having a fairy godmother granting you everything in your wishlist. How cool is that?!

Anyhoo, I became a villager just in time to join the Fall Purse/Tote Swap and had tons of fun. My partner AJ in Wisconsin wanted to have a tote bag so I made her one in chocolate. I used my inspiration from a Chanel bag but it didn't turn out much Chanel as of ChaDao The fun part of the swap was when I tore my head out trying to figure out what she would like. It's like mind-reading I'm telling ya. The wonderful thing about AJ is she's very good in communicating via email so I didn't loose all my hair (see my last post for evidence hehe)

Some pics from Dao's camp:



The lovely tote by itself. It has those very nice orage bows on the side, a charm saying "Make a Wish", and beaded handles. The yarn is the same with those I used on my Choxie bag. Since it behaved very well on my Choxie, I decided to give it another go on this tote.


My camera couldn't get the words engraved in the charm. It said "Make a Wish"


Me in my pj holding the bag. Just for the purpose of scaling



I stole this pic straight from AJ's blog since I didn't have a pic of the tote and the goodies. The goodies include (bottom up, left to right): Nestle hot chocolate, Celestial Seasonings "Honey Lemon Gingsen Green Tea", Martha White strawberry cheesecake muffin mix, a magazine, pumpkin spice candle, beaded necklace, stencil, magnetic fridge note, and a pair of earrings.

I purposely chose the necklace and earrings to match the tote (as my nephew Phillip always said "Women are all about matching!"). I found those two in a tiny boutique in a very unexpected place: near an elementary school! I bet they are handmade (but not from mine).

Here are what AJ gave me. She's very kind to send me such a big box full of fun stuff. I didn't expect so many things in one box!


Everything in the box. She wrapped them very carefully, not like me stuffing everything in that USPS box.


Everything came out of the box. She gave me 2 skeins of yarn from Bernat Softee Chunky. How did she know they're my favorites? Another great mind-reader I guess!


The lovely bag by itself. She couldn't find a crochet pattern to her liking so she knitted me that one. AJ can both knit and crochet! How talented!


She gave me a fan, a crocheted breast cancer pin, and a bookmark (the heart thingie). I especially like the fan since it's supposed to bring good luck (Chinese feng sui or whatever it is). The nice thing about it is my grandma had one, mom has one, and now I have one Someone probably inherited grandma's sandalwood fan already. I'm sure mom still keeps her somewhere in her closet. And now I have mine.

Probably 10 years from today I can tell my kids not to play with mommy's fan because it's precious hehehe


This lady is very nice: she burned 2 CDs full of soothing music for me, gave me 2 crochet pattern booklets, and made me a placemat.


And besides, she gave me candles, bath gel, chocolate and hazelnut tea, and a perfumed sachet. My roomate and I are sharing the candles, placemat, and tea. The rest are mine, mine, mine!

I didn't know swapping can be so much fun when I entered the fall purse/tote swap. However, I came out having fun making and receiving stuff, and know one person in the forum.

To conclude, I consider myself lucky!

Originally posted on September 15th, 2006

Chocolate Pencil Skirt

I always fantasize of making a nice short skirt when I bumped into Josie's pencil skirt in crochetme. It took me more than a year to finally make a skirt out of the pattern. The event came when I had some leftover yarn from the bag swap and some from the shrug I made. And luckily I had enough yarn to whip up this baby.

The pencil skirt is around 13 inches which is short for me. Also as I don't have big hips, it looked very straight and boxy. Therefore I added some ruffles that I learned from the Patricia Pepe skirt CAL (thanks Svetlana!). Now I have my own skirt, very warm and cozy.

I pair it with the shrug I made

Back side, I'm "baby ain't got back"

Front side

Posted originally on September 6th, 2006 in Crochetville.

Patricia Pepe Skirt

I joined this CAL in crochetville in the end of July/mid August and had a lot of fun! Finished on August 14th, 2006.

Materials: Caron Simply Soft in Bone (5 skeins)
Hooks H-8 and J-10

Time: about 2 weeks

Still haven't had the lining!

A Shrug Tale

What would you do on a rainy day when the power is out? Usually, I would read, eat, then sleep. But today is a little bit unusual since I did all those three for one day already. I was under the weather yesterday with a head-pounding headache and a killing backache (for no reason!). So I stayed at home spending 1 day sleeping and I found out it's really hard to sleep when you have a backache (duh!).

Today is a little bit better but I still feel light-headed, but my back is better thanks to the hot mineral bath I took yesterday (note to thank JB for his departing gift).

For almost a week now, beside writing some ludicrous proposals (one was accepted, hurray!) and frustration I was crocheting this wonderful shrug. In fact, I was not working on it but it was working on me. Since crochet is so in right now, making crochet wearable items is hot (like Paris Hilton's "that's hot!"). But the truth is I started crocheting a long time ago but seriously making stuff since grad school. Somehow crochet gives me that serenity that I desperately need. It's like meditation with a hook and some yarns.

However, I didn't make any wearable items since I seriously started until a week ago I stumbled into crochetville. This one lady had a schematic for a shrug, which is a rectangular piece that you sew 2 ends to the length of your arms. Then it would look somehow like this:


By the way, that was my first attempt using the sweater stitch. However, it looks too bulky and doesn't give me coverage from the sides. Since Florida is hot, in summer I prefer to wear short sleeves or tank tops. But staying in the lab all the time makes my arms and shoulders cold. And I hate to wear a sweater as it covers my nice t-shirts (the common dilema of any woman)



That's how I look when it's very hot in Florida
See Hiennie, I took your advice and pin my hair
Since I didn't like what I had in the first picture (I painfully crocheted that shrug tube for 3 days ), I took it out. Very very sad, almost made me cry.



So I crocheted the whole rectangular piece again, this time using the shell stitch and did some modifications such as making the sleeve wider near the hands (tay ống loe) and putting some extra rows to cover the armpit areas. Anyways just look at the pictures and you'll get the idea.

The final product: shell-y and lacy...veli veli lice indeed

Nhí nhảnh như con cá cảnh

Điệu

With headband: same stitch but only the headband

The whole get-up: headband and shrug

Originally posted on June 28th, 2006

Choxie the Bag

I finally finished the thing that has worked me out for the last 2 days: a crochet bag! I saw a pattern in Crochetville and got really really inspired.

This is Donna's bag. It's lovely indeed! However, I don't want to have the same thing as hers so I set foot to search for a different pattern.

By the way, this is how a $200 bag looks:

Donna called hers "cable purse", the $200 one is called "cable bag" and mine is "Choxie"

Let's see:
yarn: $2.17
handles: $5.99
ribbons: $1.00
time: 2 days
to have a one of a kind bag: priceless!

Maybe I should open my own crochet business then?!

Originally posted in my Yahoo 360 blog on July 26, 2006.