The Lace Bowl!

I don't know if I've mentioned it on here, but I have been dying to make a lace bowl for the last 3-6 months (at least!). Yesterday at 11:00 AM, I used this doily from orientation 2011 (a long time ago) as my sacrificial lamb doily.

 I dipped it in liquid starch and draped it over this bowl (covered in saran wrap).

 The doily swelled up once starched and was kind of unwieldy, so I had to arrange it on the bowl

I removed the newspaper and saran wrap after 20 hours so that the excess starch wouldn't keep the edges of the bowl wet.

 

I lifted the bowl off the mould.

 Ta-da! The next picture is my favorite. Because it hangs downward, I used the bowl/newspaper interface to keep the scallops relatively even in height.

I love it!

BowL Love,
    Bow Girl

P.S. Many more to come!

The Scarf

This is a holiday gift for someone who probably doesn't read my blog. My special someone.
: ) He's Irish and I wanted to do something that would sort of play on a Celtic Knot.

At the start.

Now.

I hope he likes it! It's made from the yarn from my alpaca, Paco.

Bow Love, 

Bow Girl

Lobsterclaws!

I tried a new pattern that is called Lobsterclaw. It's a cable pattern I had to struggle to find on the internet.

I think it's cool. I tried a pattern sample with Paco's yarn. His yarn doesn't always cable well since it is variable in width, but I think it gives it a cool rustic look.

Bow Love,
Nicole

Ear warmer I started during Thanksgiving

It's super warm! Loving it so far.
I made up the pattern on my own. Cabling win.

Bow Love!

Thanksgiving was great!

Now for some harvest-themed lace. The wheat lace in progress:

Bow love.

Wheat Time!

Today I got an email from Peggy Smith. Everyone from Wash U knows her emails are super exciting. It means that you have a package awaiting.

I knew exactly what mine was. 1.55 miles of Aunt Lydia's Natural Colored Classic Cotton, lace weight. 

After I got home, I started some wheat lace... You can't really tell at this point, since the wheat stitches starts two rows after the one I left off with. 

My pictures came out really dark for some reason.

 The outermost round always looks uneven until the very end... 'Tis life.

Here's where I'm at right now. Looks uneven on the outer edge, yes. But the wheat is coming to fix all that!

Bow Love.

Go with what you know

I love lace. Here's some pics of my room, all decked out in lace I've made.

All my laces

 I invented this pattern on the plane to St. Louis just messing around. I didn't like it until I put it up and saw this photo.

Close up on an Irish Rose.

They say to go with what you know. I know lace, and I love it.

I get by with a little help from my friends

My friends from my apartment helped me get my yarn out of a knot so I could finish my hat. Thanks, friends!

Here's the hat. I love the pattern.

Finishing up.

That is me wearing it. Though I am not sure I look human here. 

View from the top.

Bow Love!

Crocheting up a storm this weekend.

I am making a cabled hat for the first time. Take a look-see. 

It's black, despite what the picture suggests. The stitch guard makes me laugh. I folded it flat to show off the pattern.

Crocheting Keeps Me Sane

Lost another family member. Crocheting gets me through. Here's my finished doily.

I wore a black bow today. I haven't worn a bow in a long time. It felt different.

Bow Love.

More Rounds.

Here is the doily as it progresses.

Bow Love,

Bow Girl

Change of plans.

I changed my halloween costume to be a strawberry. I realized that it would be cuter and ran with it. I showed my mom and she really liked it. All shall be revealed soon.

In other news, I started a new pineapple doily, pictured below.

Bow love,

       Bow Girl

Carrot Top

I decided to be a carrot for Halloween, and so I decided to make a carrot top. I am excited to reveal it. Halloween always sneaks up on me!

Bow love,
        Bow Girl

Ear Warmer!

I made a cabled ear warmer that looks sorta braided.

My birthday gift to myself!

The trio is finally united!

Here it is! The cowl and the hat I made last summer with my purple coat... The coat looks way darker than it is in real life... The lighting in my new apartment is not very similar to that of natural lighting.

Disclaimer: I had just gotten back from the gym in these photos.

Winter love!
- Bow Girl

Update on Cowl

I adore this pattern. Adore. It works up pretty quickly, too!

-Bow Girl

Pattern Levels

Long time no post... that is because it's been a while since I've really done any marathon crocheting that I can reveal. I have some secrets up my sleeve, but I can't show them until the recipients see them first!


For now, here is an update on my non-secret projects.

1) I am trying a new cable crochet pattern since I am done with the sham (see below). I have been doing more cable crochet now that I am sort of past my bow phase... I am maturing things with more complicated motifs, I guess. Although flowers aren't always easy.
This pattern was labeled as "expert" in level. I don't consider myself an "expert" at cable crochet, but I can't lie. I tackled this pattern no sweat.

Here are two pictures so far!

Those pink things are my fingertips. : D

2) Sham of a sham is done!

I haven't been totally idle. See!

Bow Love!
-Nicole

Coffee Cozy

Here are some coffee cozies I have made lately:

 my mom's in action

my dad's, which he hasn't seen it yet 

my dad's on a coffee cup

Beverage love,

          Bow Girl

Gifts for people who have Everything (with a capital E)/ Coffee Cozies

Everyone knows it is hard to find a gift for someone who has everything they could ever want or need or people who have unique taste. That is when I turn to my bag of crocheting tricks. I made my sister a scarf out of our alpaca Paco's wool once. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture in my haste to finish on time! I also made my mom a 4th of July table runner.

 I like the old-school Americana look for the fourth of July.

If my mom wants something, she usually gets it herself. What can I, as a low-income college student, afford to get my mom that she can't afford to get herself? Crocheting is basically the only worthwhile gifting skill I have. So I talked to my mom and we settled on a coffee cup cozy.

They take about... 30 minutes to an hour to make, depending on the intricacy of the pattern. For me personally, basket weaving takes me a bit longer. I adapted this pattern from a free online download. I like how it looks like a basket and is in a basket type of color.

It looks big here. Size comparison below

View from the top

For size comparison

Any coffee lovers out there with a few spare dollars? I would be more than happy to design something with you. They can have more than one color, zigzags, etc.
Get at me in the comments section.

Bow love,
         Bow Girl