Tag-Archive for » red heart super saver «

Aug

I’m feeling a little bit under the weather today as I’m coming down with a cold sick so don’t get too close to your screens peeps. So rather than updating my blog from my desk, I’ve dug out the old laptop, and folks, it is old. I’m currently lounging on the settee in my jim jams, medication on the table next to me, feeling very bleugh.

Mind you, it’s not all bad as my lovely postie brought me some goodies to cheer me up. Firstly, I received my copy of Jan Eaton’s 200 crochet blocks

Image of 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws and Afghans: Crochet Squares to Mix-and-Match

I’ve had a quick flick through and it is a wonderful collection of different crochet squares to mix and match for throws and blankets. I’m going to have sooooo much fun going through them, perfect for using up all those small balls of wall in my stash. I’ve noticed that there are quite a few charity organisations that ask for knitted or crochet blocks so that they can make up blankets to send off to those in need. What a brilliant idea and I shall definitely be participating, especially as I will be buying lots of yarn for future projects for my home and family.

I got another 4 issues of The Art of Crochet. That takes me up to issue 21. I have to say that I’m falling behind in making up the squares for the Vintage Style Throw. I seem to be a tad busy working on other projects at the moment. I’ve almost finished working on my Lucy Bag as seen on Attic24‘s blog.

As you can see I have completed the main body of the bag. I’m currently working on the handles. Here’s one almost done.

I’ve got another 2 rows to do to achieve the right width. Then, of course I need to do a second one.

My final package was of my yarn I bought off eBay. If you remember in a previous post, I mentioned that I was short some 20 odd pom poms to finish DD rug. I had a quick shuftie on eBay and found a seller in the US selling 3 balls for a mere $11.99 (£7.70). This was much cheaper than I originally paid. She also was selling some Red Heart Super Saver in Windsor Blue. 3 big 7oz balls for $9.99 (£6.41) which will be more than enough to make one of the 2 cushions that LJ wants to accompany her rug.

So for a total of $26.93 (£17.28) including postage I got myself what I feel is a bargain. Plus I’ll have lots of yarn left over for more projects.

Now all that’s left to wait on are LJ’s A Level results. Like thousands of anxious parents up and down the country, this time tomorrow we’ll find out the final outcome. Needless to say as the day has drawn nearer, she is starting to get panicky. Although she’s fairly confident she’ll get the grades she needs for Lincoln, there’s always that niggling fear of doubt playing in the back of her mind.

So tune in tomorrow when hopefully, I’ll be feeling a little bit better but more importantly, we can all celebrate Laura-Jayne’s success.

Category: Crochet Tags: 200 crochet blocks, attic24, crochet, jan eaton, lucy bag, red heart pomp-a-doodle, red heart super saver, the art of crochet Leave a Comment

Jul

Pom Pom Rug Part 1

Ruby

Hi again. As you all know by now my current WIP is the Pom Pom Rug. This was designed by Ellen Gormley and was featured in July August edition of Crochet Today

The pattern itself is very simple. A circular base using Red Heart Super Saver in Magenta.

Here’s a tension swatch of 3 rounds

As you can see it’s just treble crochet but worked in the back loops. This leaves the front loops to work the pom pom yarn through.
Here’s a closer view.

The finished base should measure 40″, but I think I can safely say now that I have a tendency to crochet a bit tight. My finished base measures 36″. Tension is the one key factor that you must knit or crochet to, especially if you are making garments. Now that I have more experience of crocheting this is something that I will have to keep in mind. However, for these sort of projects, it’s not too big a deal, so I’m glad I didn’t have to frog it and start again.

Here’s the finished base

The pattern said to use 3 skeins but I ended up using just under 2 skeins. Now Red Heart Saver is allegedly America’s best selling for the past 70 years. I must admit that it has quite a coarse feel to it, which, for this project, doesn’t really matter as you would need something hard wearing for the base. I’m not too sure whether it softens up in the wash, but I found it quite scratchy. Not the sort of yarn I would personally choose to use to make up a garment. But like, I said, it may come up nice and soft after a wash.

So, that’s the first stage of the process. It really didn’t take long to make up as the yarn is like an Aran and worked on a 6mm hook, it grew very quickly. Taking it to the local football match last Saturday gave me plenty of time to really plough through it. They’re only our local town’s footie team. They don’t really play very well, but DH, George videos all the home matches for the few fans that turn up and he also runs their website

OK, part 2 will follow later. Don’t forget that you can always have a peek at my Ravelry page to keep you updated with pictures and other queued projects.
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/girlyracer

Beware though if you are a knitter and/or crocheter, Ravelry should come with a warning

Category: Crochet Tags: pom pom rug, red heart pomp-a-doodle, red heart super saver, the art of crochet Leave a Comment

Jul

Next WIP

Ruby

Hello fellow yarnies. Some of you will know that my DD, Laura-Jayne is off to University this September. She’s off to Lincoln Uni to do an undergraduate course in English with Journalism. We’re just waiting nervously for her A Level results to come through. We’ve roughly, another 3 weeks to wait before we know the final outcome.

Like many 1st year undergraduates, she’ll be living on campus. The accommodation is basic but comfortable but they can’t decorate it with paints and wallpaper. In fact, they’re even strict on putting up posters on the walls. Only blue tack is allowed. So the only way to jazz up their rooms is for the students to accessorize with soft furnishings and personal effects. With this in mind I’ve been looking to hone my new crochet skills on different projects.

Last month I was in my local WHSmiths going through the craft magazines. Well, there’s loads for knitting and other crafts, but not much out there for crochet. But I did spot for the first time the US magazine Crochet Today

Whilst flicking through it I saw the pattern for the Pom Pom Rug. It’s a fair sized rug, 40″ diameter so it’ll be perfect for LJ’s dorm room.

Well, when I saw it I thought oooh yes. Showed it to LJ and she fell in love with it. Even the colours are her as she loves bright colours. So I checked for yarn and of course being a US magazine it uses US yarn. Not being too familiar with converting US to UK yarn I thought, blow it, I’ll buy it online from the States.

It uses 2 types of yarn. Red Heart Super Saver for the base. This is an Aran / 10 ply (8 wpi)

and Red Heart Pomp-a-Doodle for the top layer, which is a Super Bulky (5-6 wpi).

I got the Super Saver yarn on eBay really cheap, 3 x 7oz (198g) skeins with shipping cost me £16.38. The Pomp-a-Doodle was more expensive to buy as it retails at $4.99 for a 50g ball, plus I got hit with customs. I bought 10 balls in total, plus shipping and customs came to £74.87. So this rug is costing me, or, should I say DH £91.25.

Ooops surprise . Mind you, if you equate it to a comparable UK yarn, it’s probably only a little bit more than I would’ve forked out. I’m lucky that DH doesn’t mind and is quite understanding when it comes to my hobby purchases.