Russian Join

I just tried my first Russian Join!  If you don't know how to do this, please click the link.  It will take you to another Blogspot blog with great pictures.  Thank you to Maria who posted this link on the Magic Ball discussion on Crochet Spot.

I am crocheting a Market Bag from 100% cotton worsted weight yarn.  The body of the bag is mesh.  Hiding the ends when joining the new ball is problematic in this situation, so I decided to try the Russian Join.

Russian Join

 Here is the chain loop containing the Russian Join:

 Here is the next round worked into the chain loop containing the Russian Join:

So, it isn't too obvious, and I won't have to weave in any ends.  I will post pix after I launder the bag, and will let you know how it holds up.  The cotton will shrink, so we'll see what happens.

Crochet as Meditation?

OK.  Now I know which other post is missing.  It went something like this:

Have you ever been crocheting, and found that the only things of which you are aware are the yarn, the hook, and the motion of your hands?  I have, many times.  Even if you do not deliberately practice meditation, you may have found yourself in this meditative state while you crochet.

I would like to recommend "Contemplative Crochet".  The author has written the book so that it doesn't matter to which religious practice you adhere, you can read the book and apply the principles to yourself.  Cindy includes projects you can make to remind yourself of the concept in each chapter, or to give as a gift.

Since I sometimes find myself in this meditative state, it is nice to know this happens to others, as well.

Ravelry.com

I just updated my projects on Ravelry.com.  If you aren't using Ravelry.com yet, I would recommend at least a quick look.  You can look at other people's yarn stashes, works-in-progress, finished projects, etc.  You might get some ideas for your next project, or find a special yarn in someone's stash that they are willing to sell.

My name on Ravelry.com is loriannj.  Look me up!

Prayer Shawl finally finished!

OK.  So a few months ago, a lady I know lost her 9-year-old niece to a very tragic car accident.  I offered to crochet a prayer shawl for her, and I expected to spend 3 days.  Well, it took me 3 months!!  When I was only a few stitches from completing the edging, I realized that the edging the designer came up with looked like a mistake to me.  I hated it!  I spent several days scouring Internet crochet sites and my own library.  Nothing looked like what I was envisioning, and I couldn't seem to come up with my own pattern - even I couldn't make it look right.

I used Caron Simply Soft, which is heavier than the recommended yarn, but I know from personal experience that when you sit still for 1+ hours, you get cold!  I wanted something heavy enough, as well as soft enough, to wear for hours while preserving body heat.

At Crochetspot.com, I finally found a ruffled edging, which I modified slightly.  I used the hanging shells pattern, which looks flat in the picture, but came out ruffled.  I used 6dc instead of 8dc, because I needed to save time and yarn.  It still ruffles and looks really pretty, as you can see in the pictures below.

Front

Right side

Left side

Bottom of the triangle detail

Collar detail

Back

Twin Birch Products crochet hook review

About half-way through a project, my only size I crochet hook mysteriously disappeared.  I think my cat may have decided it would make a good toy, but he refuses to confess.  So, utterly amazed that I don't have another size I hook in the place, I headed out to my local yarn store.

In my area, neither Jo-Ann's nor Michael's carries Takumi Bamboo crochet hooks, so I decided to check out the one and only yarn shop in the area.  No Takumi  Bamboo crochet hooks, but I did find a Twin Birch Products size I hook that looked interesting.

Size I Twin Birch Products crochet hook

The shift from hook to handle creates a natural stop so stitches can't go off the back end of the hook.

The hook is the normal diameter for a size I hook, of course.  The handle, however, is significantly larger in diameter.  This could be an advantage if you have arthritis, or some other difficulty holding a crochet hook.  The hook part of the shaft is a bit short, so the stitches can't slide around.  The wood is very smooth, and the hook is amazingly light weight.

What I don't like is how the acrylic yarn feels to me like it is sticking to the wood.  The yarn rubbing against the wood keeps squeaking, even though I'm not putting excessive tension on the yarn.  I have not experienced these problems with the Takumi Bamboo crochet hooks.  I will definitely be getting another Takumi Bamboo hook to replace the one I lost.  I just don't like the birchwood hook nearly as much.

If you've had any experience with Twin Birch products, please share.  I'd like to know if I'm the only one having issues.