It hasn’t been ALL clinics and doctors and tests around here. I’ve managed to squeeze in some yarn play too. And I’ve been meaning to talk about an exciting project that I’ve been working on for a while now.
Back in October, my wonderful friend Gail, from Straight Jacket Knitting and the ADHD Knitting group on Ravelry, was looking for help in converting some of her patterns from knit to crochet. After making sure she didn’t have any particular deadline in mind (hey, I’m slow, haha), I timidly offered to help out.
I started out small. I picked Gail’s Oh My! Baby Booties pattern to start out. I had to learn a new knitting trick on this. I’ve never picked up stitches before and I needed to for the knit version of these cute little booties. I knit the bootie from start to finish, then matched the gauge with the same yarn and some trial and error until I found the right hook for the task. Then it was time to figure out how to replicate the construction of the knit bootie in crochet. I think I did pretty good with it. Here’s a look at what I came up with:
I’m really happy with how closely I was able to match the knit version. You can find both the knit version and the crochet version on Ravelry now.
After I finished up with the booties, I chose a bigger project. I wanted to be able to work on one of Gail’s most popular patterns. I figured this would be the most helpful to her. After debating on a few, I chose to work on her Curbing Bag. I was intrigued by the curbs and wondered how to create them. I didn’t knit the entire bag in this case. I worked enough of the bag to understand the creation process and get a gauge comparison. Then I set about working on the crochet version.
This project was larger so it took longer but it also had to be put on hold a couple of times for the Knifty Knitter project dvd that I was lucky enough to participate in and then Christmas to-do’s had to be seen to. Gail has been so sweet and patient. She told me at the onset of this undertaking that she never has deadlines. Love that! 
I have to say I was excited to figure out how to create the curbs in crochet. It’s not really something I’ve ever seen done in the decade plus that I’ve been crocheting. I think the bag turned out super too. I do think that when I make another, I’m going to work with just 3 main colors – a dark shade and a light shade for each color. The curbing bag I created for this pattern was a stash buster and somewhat eclectic. It actually makes me think of the fabric rag rugs or baskets my Mom loves, lol. Anyway, here’s a look at what I came up with:
Not too shabby, right? This is a super sturdy bag. I need to reinforce the I-cord strap with some coordinating grosgrain ribbon because it’s rather stretchy but I’ll bet I could carry a bowling ball around in the bag with only minimal stretching of the main body, haha. I don’t have a bowling ball so I went with a beautiful loom and some yarn for the photo take, haha. Both the knit version and this crochet version for the Curbing Bag are now available on Ravelry too.
I’m still thinking on which project to tackle next. It needs to wait a little bit while I finish a cute granny square project so I have a while to mull it over
Have a great day!
