Single Crochet Entrelac
After making two projects in tunisian entrelac I considered that topic ‘mastered’ (ha!) and moved on to experimenting with single crochet entrelac. This piece is a cloth of some variety and was most definitely an experiment.
1. Just like tunisian entrelac I made one long chain to work all of my squares into. For this cloth I wanted to make three large squares, 10×10, so I started with a chain of 61 (any multiple of 20+1 will work). (It actually turned out to be 10×11 since you need an odd number, but that amount of chains still holds.)
2. Single crochet in the second chain from the hook and the next 9 chains (10 sc). Then slip stitch into the following 2 chains (one to end this row, the second to start the next row).
3. Turn. Single crochet in 10 stitches across. Ch 1.
4. Turn. Single crochet in 10 stitches across. Slip stitch in the next two chains.
Repeat rows 3 and 4 four more times (11 sc rows total) except skip the final slip stitch. This completes the first square. Repeat from row 2 for each square (start row 2 in the same chain as your final slip stitch rather than the 2nd chain from hook).
Once you have 3 squares (or whatever you decided), finish off that color. Start your new color in the top right stitch of your first square. Just as before, follow the instructions from row 2, but you will be stitching into sc rather than chains. I decreased to two squares for this color, but you could do the same number again if for your last square you only used row 3 (the standard single crochet square). Finish off your second color and repeat once more to make a row of one, filling in the open space between the two squares you just made.
My original plan was to then turn the entire piece around and repeat the same thing on the other side (2 squares color B, 1 square color A), giving me a checked 3×3 square. However, I was running out of yarn and in the mood to play, so I decided to fill in the gaps and make a triangle. I am sorry to report that I don’t remember where I started, quite possibly in the middle and then going back to add the ends in afterwards. But, the basic premise is to start with the full 10 stitches and then decrease by 1 each row until the final row is just a slip stitch.
To get the triangle which doesn’t have a square to work up from, ch 11, sc in 10 ch across (starting at 2nd from hook), slip stitch to the appropriate row and continue as usual. In fact, this method would work from the beginning, there is no need to make a long chain to start, simply chain 11, work a single crochet square, chain 10 more and work a single crochet in that, repeating until you have as many squares as you like. Then for the next square follow the instructions above.
I like this method since you don’t have to change colors nearly as often as if you made all of these square separately, and I’m sure it could easily be adapted for different pattern squares that you just connected as you worked!
Memorial Day Weekend
College friends are visiting, the weather is beautiful and yesterday there were zombies and teams with nerf guns wandering Boston. Crafting and blogging have been put on hold for the moment, but I should be able to get together a post on my single crochet entrelac cloth for tomorrow during the down time. I hope you’re enjoying your weekend!
Five Things Friday
I’m frequently amazed how much my mood is changed by the weather, the sun came out, the temperatures rose and life is good. I have friends from college visiting for the weekend and I’m really looking forward to a fun three days of hanging out and exploring the area. Hopefully we’ll get to several restaurants on my list, plus some museums and parks!
This week was a productive one:
1.) Last Saturday I built a shelf to hold all of my craft supplies! I’ve been spending the week admiring it and filling it with all the random items that didn’t have a home. Plus I realized that the white shelf abutting a white wall makes a perfect photo background, although I’ll still use my pillowcase sometimes since I like the texture.
2.) I finally started (and finished!) the entrelac bag that I’ve been planning for ages.
3.) I thought I would try out single crochet entrelac using some undyed cotton yarn, but quickly realized I didn’t have enough for the project I envisioned. The piece became doubly educational since I figured out how to do single crochet entrelac and how to add triangles to the squares. I’ll do a full post on that for Monday.
4.) I listed sets of coasters and placemats on etsy that are pretty in pink, bright for summer and reminiscent of watermelon!
5.) Yesterday I spent a couple hours sitting outside, sipping iced chai and eating a muffin while chatting with a friend. I suffered the consequences of extended exposure to pollen today but it was most definitely worth it.
May is Bike Month!
Last Friday (May 20) was Bike to Work Day. The high school I work at rewarded students who biked or walked to school (and arrived on time!) with breakfast. Since Friday was just like every other day last week, it was raining and generally icky out, so we celebrated again on Monday!
Grist.org shares a great video about biking to work.
I have walked to work every day this school year except for a few times when I had to drive somewhere during or after school and once when I was running late and wasn’t up to facing the ice rink the sidewalks had become. Even when I plan to go out with co-workers at the end of the day I get a ride from someone else and usually we all pile into one car. Back in September, my students were surprised to see me walking, my parents didn’t think I’d make it through the winter (and we had a doozy of a snow season this year!) and co-workers felt badly when they drove past. But I just keep telling everyone- I like walking, it wakes me up and I get to actually experience the outdoors for a few moments. I pay attention to the weather now, but even if it suddenly changes I have galoshes and a poncho stashed in the closet so I’m prepared for anything.
When I want to go somewhere a little bit further away I’d love to tell you that I bike there, but since moving to Salem that’s only happened once. I hope that once allergy season ends I’ll start taking short rides and hopefully by the end of the summer I’ll be biking all around town!
The one time I did bike somewhere was to the train. I love taking the train! For the three summers that I worked on my masters at BU I took the train every day. I had to leave 2 hours before lecture began, but I would have spent all that time in traffic if I’d been driving and the train is so much better. I enjoy crocheting on the train- I feel doubly productive traveling and creating at once, plus people often ask about what I’m making. My favorite moment remains the day that a woman asked if she could watch me, then sat mesmerized by the hook and yarn dancing together.
What’s your favorite mode of transportation?
Summer Table Setting
I was in Michael’s one day (always a dangerous place to be) and saw this adorable bright pink yarn on clearance. I’m not usually one for pink, but I’ll always take good quality yarn on clearance. I’m so glad I did because I just love what I’ve made with it so far:
Don’t the placemats remind you of watermelon and checked picnic table cloths all at once?
Both sets are available for purchase now:
Pink and White Round Crochet Coasters
Treasury Tuesday: Salem Etsians
Last Sunday I met with some local Etsy sellers. We have formed a team called Salem Etsians and are proud to represent Salem, MA on Etsy. We have plans for a craft crawl June 10 as a part of Etsy’s craft party, check out meetup to find a party near you! While waiting to see what everyone brings to the party I decided to check out all of their Etsy shops. Here are some of my favorite items from members of the team:
‘Salem Etsians’ by TintedGreen
A treasury featuring members of the Salem Etsians team. All featured shops are located in Salem, MA.
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Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.
Are you planning on participating in a craft party? If there isn’t one near you just ask your local craft store, I bet they’d love to host one!
Building Blocks: Constructing a Wide Shelf
I recently had some space open up in my apartment and immediately realized it was the perfect opportunity to expand my craft corner into a corner plus a shelf. Last weekend I headed to the target website and started researching. Once I saw that they carried Way Basics I figured I would get some combination of shelves and/or cubes to start building my eco-friendly craft organization system. Of course, I neglected to notice that they are only available online, so after circling the store multiple times (why are the shelves in 3 different sections?) I determined I didn’t like anything they had, but I wanted something like this:
I returned home frustrated and headed back to the internet. I still couldn’t find anything I liked online (plus shipping a shelf is seriously expensive), so I switched to searching for tutorials on building a shelf. Again I couldn’t find anything appealing – does no one make wide shelves? – although this tetris shelf looks seriously fun (just not so practical). Not to be deterred, I set about making my own plans. I quickly became so enthralled that I lost track of time and was up far too late playing with keynote (the mac version of powerpoint) and considering structural integrity.
On Friday I mentioned to a co-worker that I would be building a shelf on Saturday, and after remarking how awesome it is that I’m not worried about my nails (the kind some people paint- I prefer worrying about the kind that go with a hammer) he offered to help. Saturday morning he and his girlfriend drove up and we all headed to home depot. The store employee cautioned us that it wasn’t going to be as easy at it looked when I proudly showed him the blueprints, but we were determined and so he showed us several options. The melamine seemed the easiest to work with: it came in dimensions that matched the plans and we were able to get a lot of finished edges plus a couple plain shelves to paint fun colors. We calculated, recalculated (having two math majors was a plus) and then got the wood cut. While we were contemplating screw sizes we decided to lay the whole thing out to make sure it worked (a real benefit of those wide aisles!). Doing so allowed us to figure out that it would be easier to have the bottom divider cut short rather than sanding all of them down. One less item on our to-do list!
Step one: Spray paint the unfinished shelves. I have leftover spray paint from another project so we had a whole rainbow of colors to choose from. My favorite colors are blue and green so I started with those. Turns out this particle board is seriously absorbent and the green just couldn’t hang on. We went with red instead with much better results (barring the part where we ran out and had to return to home depot, or really my awesome friends returned while I made them lunch).
Step two: After the paint had dried we began assembly. Armed with levels, measuring tape, brackets, screws and a drill we set to work. Starting at the top we connected the sides and the first divider. Working on carpet wasn’t easy but we would have been seriously cramped in the kitchen (or bathroom!) and those are the only non-carpeted areas I have. Next comes the red shelf, the boards were slightly bowed so the level was put to good work. I decided to make 2 one foot compartments on the ends so that if I decide to buy fabric drawers they will fit perfectly in those sections. Then came the blue shelf (also bowed) and finally the last divider. 16 brackets and 64 screws later I had a stable shelf! It’s far sturdier than I anticipated and I love it.
Step three: (Haven’t actually done this yet) Touch ups- we ended up with two cut edges at the top, plus a bit of unfinished wood is showing on the dividers, thanks to the carpet and the curved shelves. Those will need to be painted white. And then the whole surface should be wiped down to clean up all the marks from cutting/transporting/building. For now just pretend you can’t see them, that’s what I’m doing!
Step four: Fill it up with all of the items that have been tucked in the corner, under the bed, squished between things and overall inaccessible! If you compare this picture to the one from my Craft Room Envy post you’ll see many of the same items, just spread out and easy to get to!
(click on the photo to zoom in)
Entrelac Lotus
All the blog gurus say that it’s important to write about what people want to read. Since I’ve only had one comment and no other way to communicate with you, I looked at my search terms. So far, four people have found my blog via search and they’ve searched for the following:
- channel islands knitting illegal fishing
- opposites crafts
- how to do an entrelac square
- how to make single crochet enterlac
5 Things Friday
If you live on the east coast, then you know that it’s been a seriously dreary week. My Wordless Wednesday post was of bright blue skies since I needed a reminder that they existed behind all of the rain/clouds/fog which have dominated this week. This week’s five things were certainly influenced by the weather.
1. It rained so much that my morning walk turned into an obstacle course of avoiding puddles (especially that deceptively deep one which offers the potential for sinking and being splashed by passing cars) and the slugs that seem to be multiplying like crazy.
Even the geese were confused by the rain- they thought that the tennis courts were a great spot to set up for the day.
2. I got some work done on a new coaster design while proctoring the state test (MCAS) for 6 hours this week. I think I want to felt them before selling, but I haven’t decided for sure. Do you have a preference?
3. I listed two new items on my Etsy shop. First, the felted bowl I wrote about Monday. Then, the hemp basket I described yesterday. I have some bright coasters and placemats ready too, those would have been good for this dreary week!
4. Since I was stuck inside, I worked on updating this blog. The layout is new since last week, I really like the green, plus it’s nice and clean. And I added the “Etsy Shop” page. It’s up at the top next to “About.” Go ahead, read all about me, and then check out the awesome products I have for sale. It took a bit of finagling to make the page work, but I’m happy enough with it.
5. I was very sad to learn that Pom discontinued their glass containers for tea. They claim it’s the greener choice but I’m just not buying it. I was really looking forward to making a nice vase from one. Instead, I bought a random plastic bottle that was skinny enough to fit in the entrelac piece I’d made. Last night I cut the top off (after my brilliant insight to use a rubberband to make sure my circle would be level) and this evening I hope to finish the cover for this upcycled vase.
That’s about it for this week. What have you accomplished over the past 7 days?
Again, thanks to Allison for the “5 Things Friday” theme.
Tinted Green Crafts 