crochet

A few weeks ago, I came down with a horrible cold and all I felt like doing was cocooning myself on the couch with some yarn, my hooks and Netflix. I'm pretty much a beginner, so I followed some easy patterns to get the movement and rhythm of stitching down. Azalea is modeling my first hat, above. I like that she had been wearing it everyday at school. 

Here's another hat, but I modified the pattern to give it a mushroom shape. I think it looks better on me.

I used a really pretty yarn called Malabrigo for this hat. I also tried out a coral pattern called hyperbolic crochet for the flower. The bronze star button set in the middle is one I carved. The flower was a lot of fun and I could see how folks get addicted to making those big crocheted coral reef displays (seeing those really got me interested in the sculptural aspects of crochet).

My latest project is this lace shawl made with Malabrigo yarn in alpaca and mohair. It's super soft and warm even though it's made of a really open star design. 

I'm finally getting over this never ending cold, but I feel a bit rueful about it. I was so enjoying sitting for hours with a project and not feeling even remotely guilty about it!