Monthly Archives: July 2014

About the Chroma Lollipop Yarn

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Knit Picks Chroma Lollipop

My post about Knit Picks Chroma Lollipop yarn (which I later turned into a Haruni shawl) has been one of my most popular – presumably due to the fact that Lollipop Chroma yarn is no longer available, and others are looking for it.

I’ve seen enough comments about it to pique my curiosity, so I dropped their customer service department a note. In their prompt and polite reply, I got bad news and good news.

Bad news first: Lollipop Chroma was discontinued (unexpectedly) because their yarn mill was “unable to continue reproducing the color.” 😦 Good news: They’re planning to offer “a new color that will be similar” – hopefully in the next catalog. 🙂

So there you have it. I’m wishing that I had stocked up when I had the chance, but here’s hoping the new color they have planned will be just as beautiful!

Ready or not…

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…it’s almost time to enter my knitting and crochet projects into this year’s fair contest. It looks like I’ll have 16 entries this year – down from last year’s 20, but still not too bad. 🙂 Here’s a peek at a few of my projects:

Victorian Romantic Pineapples 5

glitzshawl7

Circular Motif Shawl by Babycakes Creates

Nennir Scarf

Donna Spiral Doily

And now that I’ve cut myself off from making contest projects before this year’s deadline, I’m spending time on some fun projects with no pressure. I’m finally using my Blue Heron Rayon Metallic to make a shawl, and it… is… amazing. It just knits up beautifully. More on that project later!

Seaside Tote

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Here’s a project that’s perfect for summer – the Seaside tote! I created this one a couple of years ago using Lily Sugar’n Cream Ombres & Prints. I haven’t been able to find the name of the color way… anyone? Summer Splash is similar but includes yellow tones.

Seaside Tote

Instead of creating a round bottom as specified by the pattern, I modified the bag to have an oval bottom. To do so, I just used a free pattern I found for an oval rug to determine the structure/increases, then kept working it until I had the number of stitches I needed to begin on the sides. For additional strength, I then made a second oval and attached it inside the bag with a row of slip stitches.

Seaside Tote

I also added a row of single crocheted stitches to the edges of the straps to help prevent stretching and give them a nice finished look. The single crocheted edge actually continues around the top edge of the bag for additional reinforcement.

Seaside Tote