Need a Rug, Make a Rug

I need a rug for the entry way to the apartment. I tried to buy one, but I got it home only to find out it was too small for the space and much too thick. The problem with this seemingly small entry is that three doors open on it. Any rug put here has to be fairly thin to allow these doors to open with interfering.

When my store bought option failed, I decided to crochet a rug with a cone of cotton that I have had laying around for far too long. I’m determined to decreased the yarn in my stash this year. Since most of it is back at the house and not here with me, I have no excuses for getting the small amount I do have made into projects.

I decided to improvise a pattern. I wanted something that would crochet up quickly but still give me enough cushion to wipe your feet and shield away some of the cold. And by making it, I have guaranteed that it is washable! That’s the most important bit. Store bought rugs are often too big and stiff to allow you to wash them or they have that rubber backing that eventually starts to peel off and can cause a bit of a headache in the washer when too much comes off.

I started with a chain of 160 and repeated this row pattern.

1 row sc

1 row dc

2 rows sc

1 row dc

The double crochets give you a stitch with some height that helps the progress move more quickly. The single crochets give you a tighter stitch that lends to the absorbency and warmth of the rug. I have forgotten the brand of the yarn, but it’s just a standard kitchen cotton that can be bought at the craft store.

Like so many of my larger cotton projects, I crocheted till the end of the yarn.

In the end, it was a little too small for the space I intended, and since the goal was to get rid of yarn, I didn’t want to buy more. So, I started moving it around the apartment to see where else it could go. My choices are the entry way, kitchen or bathroom. These places made the most sense.

After weaving in the ends and adding adhesive rug gripper to the bottom, this nice little homemade rug found it’s home in the kitchen.

I still need a rug for the entry way, but that has now become another project for another day.

A Good Start

I’m happy to say that my crafting life is off to a good start for 2013. Only Jared Flood can look at the shape below and think it’s going to make a good cardigan shape, but here it is.

I started this cardigan in April 2011. I wish I had finished it to wear during the fall but the construction on this is not the easiest process to go through….but very much worth it.

I love the banding and I love the finishing on the sleeves. I’m really impressed with the elegant simplicity of this piece. And considering how many shortcuts I took, it really is a foolproof design.

A couple of the changes I made from the pattern as written.

-I only used one size needle for the band and body. I didn’t want the band to draw up too much as I’ve seen with some cardigans. On a bigger body this is not always flattering.

-I pieced the pieces together as I finished them. the idea of knitting, blocking and then finding out one piece was a little short and trying to block it out was not my idea of fun. And I’m not fond of blocking on a piece like this anyway. Because it’s an open cardigan that is meant to drape without any body-hugging shaping, exact measurements are really not important.

One thing that I wish I had done was learn a more neat cast-on before starting this project. I’m tempted to pick up stitches and make an i-cord edge around the bottom. I’ll have to think on that a little as I’m enjoying wearing this too much to put it back on the needles.

Talk about a great start to the year! How is your new year shaping up so far?

The Last of the Books (Part 2)

Finishing up 2012. You can find Part 1

here

. Happy Reading!

 For Colored Girls

I have not seen this on stage. I have not seen the movie. I had never heard of it until the controversy of who was directing the movie surfaced. I don’t know how this passed me by considering how many plays I attended in college, but I attended a predominantly white university in the south. I can’t say thing has ever been shown on campus. It was an interview with the author that made me want to read the play. I read his on the Kindle, which is probably a mistake, as the formatting doesn’t line up correctly to what you would see with the printed play. That in conjunction with the dialect makes the piece difficult to get into. Also, the formatting changes about 40% (or so) into it so you get jarred almost a the point where you were able to get into the pacing of the dialogue. This is one of those pieces that really has the potential to make a big impact on you when you are young. Being older and wiser, I know these voices. I have seen these women; I have been some of these women. But twenty-year-old me or even seventeen-year-old me really could have learned so much from this. The most jarring and important point that was made was that while looking out for that stranger that would come along to rape us, we were unaware of the familiar faces, sometimes even of family, that would take on that role in our lives. And nowadays, our sons need to be given this same message; familiar predators are just as much a part of a boy’s life as it is a girl’s.

Lost Symbol

I am a huge Dan Brown fan and this book did not disappoint me at all. The mix of history, drama, mystery and intrigue are fascinating and I am constantly amazed at what this man’s mind can come up with. With other Dan Brown titles that I read, I kept up on the controversy surrounding it. It baffles me to see how upset the church (Catholic and otherwise) and the academics get at what I see as purely fiction. It is true that some pieces can be seen as historical fiction, but you have to take these reads as entertainment only and rely on established reference books for all the rest. Although, you can definitely find references to support whatever theory that suits your fancy. I did not look into the controversy surrounding the Lost Symbol, but sure there was plenty as Dan Brown has become a magnet for it. As fictional entertainment, I give this book high marks.

 Quitter

I was given this book at Blissdom 2012. Jon Acuff was one of the keynote speakers and the audience was given complimentary signed copies. Jon is such a great, great speaker and I was very much excited to read his book. I was not able to get to it immediately and I think that may have served to my advantage. It’s difficult to really give an honest opinion of a read so soon after having such an inspirational speech by the author. I am quite sure he hypnotized us all. With that said, this is still a very good book. It is very inspirational and gives very good tips and steps for preparing yourself to leave the job you have and step into the job/future that you want. What is really important to me is that Jon really stresses biblical responsibility. I am an engineer and I do enjoy being an engineer but I do feel like I’m meant to do something else…in time. One thing I an not crazy enough to do is step out without a plan or without a financial safety net. Jon’s path was not always well thought out, but he learned from it and is passing on those lessons to us. It’s hard for me to pinpoint exactly where this book fails for me, but something just doesn’t settle well. I will re-read this in the next year and update my review afterwards. I do recommend this for anyone that is actively dreaming of doing something else. Read it, revisit it, pray over it and be spiritually responsible about it.

 The Bookshop

I don’t remember what used bookstore I picked this book up from, but I’m so glad I did. This is an over-the-pond book set somewhere in England, which is an instant draw for me. I don’t know why I love all things British, but I do. And it involves a quaint little bookshop, which is an additional plus for me. I’m working right now in a very small town of about 2700 people and in a small town everyone knows everyone and everyone is in everyone’s business. This book was right along those lines. What is a person to do when the affluent in the town plot against them? There are still places in this world and definitely in this country just like this and I enjoyed seeing how the bookstore owner dealt with it all, although I think I would have been more forceful. Very quick read and I highly recommend it for the more open-culture-minded of us. (yes, I made up a new term) I do have friends to whom only American literature appeals so I wouldn’t recommend this to them.

 Lethal Legacy

 I love a good detective mystery but I have never really read them. My love for the genre has been rooted in tv shows and movies but I never really thought to read them. I feel very short sighted in saying that, but it may be because so many detective stories are derivative, even while maintaining their entertainment value. I could not predict the outcome of this story and that was quite intriguing to me. There were several twists turns that took me by surprise without being so over the top that I started to see the writing as implausible.

Five Little Pigs

I love Agatha Christie but I have never actually read any Agatha Christie books! A shame, I know! There is nothing new I could say about Agatha Christie. I am so late to game on reading her books, so I will leave the in depth reviews to others. What I can say is that I really enjoyed the story line and premise of the book. The tie in with the childhood story was very clever for the time this book was written. I will be moving on to read more Agatha Christie titles. I see a book/movie marathon in my future.