Winding yarn for crochet

Here in the Philippines, we don't have much variety of yarns to choose from for our crochet or knitting hobby. For those who are able to order yarn from abroad, or receive it as a gift, a hank of yarn is luxury!

In 2007, I received this special silk yarn from Argentina, from my friend Vik. Its so lovely! I'm still saving it until I'm sure I've got the right project...

For me, a hank of gorgeous yarn is just so nice to look at and so wonderful to feel, its like I don't want to turn it into something else! But if I really need to use it for a project, I'd have to wind it into a ball...
Winding yarn manually is easy once you get to practice it. A gadget isn't necessary, but if you have a swift and a yarn winder it would save you some time.
Note: Skeins of yarn are tied together at intervals to prevent tangling. Do not untie the skeins until you are ready to wind the yarn into balls.
Here are the simple steps to manually wind yarn.
First hang the skein on the back of a chair so the skein forms a circle, cut or untie the knots.

Pick up one end of the yarn and begin winding. You can follow the steps here, or do as I did:

I used the cardboard tube found at the center of the Cannon threads from my previous projects. If you can't find one, a toilet paper tube cut into half can also be used ;)

Wind the yarn evenly on the center of the cardboard, then continue winding diagonally, while slowly rotating the cardboard in the opposite direction.

Continue in the same manner, and you can see the yarn will form neatly into a ball.

In a few minutes, you're done!

Good to be Back!

Its been more than three months since my computer broke down...turned out, the computer is still ok and only the electrical outlet was defective! So now I had to change its location and plug it on another outlet. While doing that I rearranged furniture and stuff and also got to clean some neglected areas and corners of the house. I think that's a good way to start the year! However, much as I'd like to take control and put everything back to "normal", I didn't get so lucky...my older son got sick last week. He's now well but still on sick leave, and now my younger son is sick! I feel like getting sick myself, but I've got no time for that. Soon as my family is well, I'll be focusing on my crochet projects and designs. I'm so eager to get going again! I also have some tips and tricks that I haven't shared yet...
Meanwhile, that's a picture of me and my SIL last Christmas, featuring my own design using Cannon threads. I finished it a year ago. Pattern will be available in print, soon (I hope!)

The Year 2011 in Crochet Stuff

First of all, Happy New Year everyone! Thank you once again for your continued support :)

Its been a long while...I took a little trip down memory lane. I went to the Internet Archives and found a view of my old blog:
http://web.archive.org/web/20051231102443/http://mycrochetstuff.blogspot.com/

and here's a not so far away flashback:
http://web.archive.org/web/20080512203610/http://mycrochetstuff.blogspot.com/

Hmm...looks like not much has changed in appearance, since I started in 2005. But I did work on a lot of crochet stuff, when life didn't get in the way :p I have a lot more free patterns now, a lot more published patterns and more patterns for sale :)

Here are some statistics:

Blog followers: 304
Likes me on Facebook: 409
Ravelry Designs: 88
Ravelry Projects: 458
Free patterns: 34
Self-published patterns: 83
Printed patterns by Coats Manila Bay: 7
Published pattern in a magazine: 1
Published patterns in a book: 2
Published in Crochet Calendar: 5 yrs.
Total patterns sold on Ravelry since May 2008: xxx
Total patterns sold on Etsy since Nov 2007: xxx
Total blog visits since May 2005: 1,021,728
Total page views is 1,972,841
Blog advertising income received in 2011: $xxx.

Well, there's still a lot of room for improvement; I'm showing the numbers for comparison at the end of 2012. Hopefully I will get rich in 2012...haha!
As this year ends, I'm just thankful that I'm still doing what I love to do, and promise myself to devote more time to my designs and to teaching and sharing crochet whenever the opportunity comes.

Here's another look at my crochet designs and projects in 2011:

Striped Scarf with Knotted Fringe

Summer Shells Scarf
     free pattern

Lacey Shrug project

Crochet-covered button

     free pattern   

Summer Crochet Band  - free pattern

 

Mini Booties Souvenir

     free pattern

     Blooming Flower Motif Shrug

Flower Accent - free pattern

Coin Bracelet
     free pattern

Dachshund Amigurumi

   free pattern 

Puppy Cellphone Charm project

Scottish Terrier Amigurumi projects

Santa Dog Amigurumi projects

Christmas Star Ornament
     free pattern

I couldn't show here yet some designs I finished...hopefully those will be happily introduced in the coming months :)

Christmas Star Ornament - free pattern

Christmas Star Ornament

by Mimi Alelis, copyright 2011

Hang this star on your Christmas tree, or attach it on a present with your gift card.
This is my original design which was first made as a coaster in 2007.   

Materials:

Cotton thread, size 10, light yellow
Cotton thread, (about 3 yds), gold
Crochet hook size 1.5mm

Finished Measurement: Approximately 3 1/2 inches across at widest point

Star

Ch 4, join with sl st to form a ring.

Rnd 1: Ch 3 (counts as dc), 14 dc in ring, join with sl st to beginning ch 3. (15 dc)

Rnd 2: Ch 3, dc in same st, 2 dc in each dc around, join. (30 dc)

Rnd 3: Ch 4 (counts as dc and ch 1), dc in same st, *skip 1 dc, (dc, ch 1, dc) in next dc, repeat from * around, join. (45 dc)

Rnd 4: Ch 3, 3 dc in ch-1 space, * dc in next two dc, 3 dc in ch-1 space, repeat from * around, dc on last dc, join. (75 dc)

Rnd 5: * Ch 1, skip two sts, sc in next st, 2 sc in next, hdc in next, 2 dc in next, dc and tr in next, tr and dc in next, 2 dc in next, hdc in next, 2 sc in next, sc in next, ch 1, skip 2 sts, sl st in next st, repeat from * around.

Rnd 6: Ch 1, * sc in each of the next 3 sc, hdc in next st, 2 dc in next st, dc and tr in next, tr in next two sts, ch 2, tr in next two sts, tr and dc in next, 2 dc in next, hdc in next, sc in next 3 sts, sl st on sl st of previous rnd, repeat from * around. Fasten off light yellow. Attach gold thread in same st.

Rnd 7: With gold thread, * sl st in each of the 10 sts up one point, (2 sc, ch 2, 2 sc) in ch-2 space, sl st across each of the 10 sts down the point, sl st in between points, repeat from * around. Fasten off and weave in ends. Dampen and iron to shape. Attach thread for hanging on ch-2 sp at the tip.

Christmas Star Ornament

pattern and photos are original and copyrighted by 

Mimi Alelis

Quick and easy to crochet...

I've always wanted to do projects using the special yarns from crochet buddies from around the world. However I don't have enough time yet as of now to come up with projects that would make the most of the yarns. I could work on it one at a time though, being careful not to waste it on experiments and mistakes. So here's one that I came up with using Bheng's coin purse pattern. Its quick, easy, and turned out cute! The yarn is probably suede/chenille, and it came from Ulla in Sweden a few years ago.

More details here in my project page.

Meanwhile, I've been procrastinating a bit on projects and submissions that I needed to work on. Its the holiday rush that gets in the way :p

So while waiting for inspiration, I decided to work on a Christmas project. I hope you like it!

...pattern coming up next ;) 

Another dog ami and some more FOs...

Now I can show you another dog amigurumi that I recently made...This one's for Tina, whose dog Jetta inspired its creation :)
Actually, I used my basic pattern for a mini dog ami. The head and muzzle are the same as the  Dachshund ami, and the ears are the same as Molly ami. The body and paws are all the same, except for the color.
Btw, I used an inventive technique to add the white fur on the chest. I'll explain on my next post what I did, if anyone's interested...
Meanwhile, I'd like to share a couple more projects. I really haven't been crocheting much lately...but these ones came up instantly.
I saw a hibernating project, I forgot what I was attempting to make. There were three strands: 2 of crochet cotton thread, and 1 of a fine yarn with nubbs (unlabled, but looks like a natural fiber too). I thought it would make a nice chain necklace, and save me the trouble of having to sort it out again in my stash :p
It makes a simple accessory to match a low neckline top, also something light and cosy to wear.

The reason I went through my stash again, is to look for acrylic yarns to make hats to donate upon Judy's request. Since she asked for bright and colorful, these caps for kids are as colorful as I can manage, based on the available yarns that I had ;)