Chevron Scarf

I was hoping to slip one more crochet project in in my last 24 hours after finishing this last night.  But between sleep, appointments, shopping, tutoring... this is probably my last entry in the 2016 Holiday Stashdown Crochet-a-long, the Chevron Scarf.

The original is scrappy, and I was going to go that way, with a different color for each row, but I fell in love with the first six colors, and adding more colors seemed to take away from how much I liked it.  So I repeated the colors, and voila, here it is.

I think the original was 300 stitches long.  I went with 250.

I wanted to snap the photo in daylight, but being January, we're a little short of that... and, see above re time constraints of the last 24 hours.  But I need to have it posted today to get it in before the deadline, so this is it for now.  I may remember to get a better photo later.

And here's the daylight photo...

Rockskipper Wristers

Another quick project from the 2016 Holiday Stashdown CAL! Here are my Rockskipper Wristers.

There is a matching ear-warmer pattern in the CAL, but I don't think I'll get to that one, myself.

Fall Thicket Coaster

These one-day projects are great for catching up to get more entries in the stashdown CAL before the deadline! Still seven projects left, and seven days... I don't anticipate making them all this year, though, since I'm sure some will take longer than one day! Here is my Fall Thicket Coaster. 

Nice texture in that stitch!

Simplicity Phone Sleeve

Last night's project: Simplicity Phone Sleeve.  Another quick project from the 2016 Holiday Stashdown CAL.

I added the loop - could put a button on the front for a closure, or it can be used to hang on the charging cord or whatever.  Made this one to fit my SE, a few stitches narrower than the pattern.

Barley Star Stitch Cowl

Here is last night's project made for the 2016 Stashdown Crochet-a-long, the Barley Star Stitch Cowl.

The designer says she made hers in one hour!  I did not time myself, but it was several Grey's Anatomy episodes! My hands demand breaks once in a while, too, and then there was the unraveling two rows to crochet more tightly since I ran out of yarn two stitches before the end!

I don't know what this yarn is, it was given to me by a friend. A few adjustments... I used an N hook and my finished size is 11" x 8" lying flat. I was attempting to crochet loosely, since it calls for an M hook, and because it can be difficult to pull through six loops for the star stitch if it is tight, but note above about those last two rows!  It is crocheted flat and stitched into a tube, and I found my side edges uneven.  If I make another, I would ch 3 before the DC rows to open up that end.  And maybe find a better way to begin the star rows - that side ends up bumpy. Thankfully, the bumps are covered when the ends are whip-stitched together.

Fast and Furious... Persephone Beanie

The deadline looms for entering projects in the 2016 Holiday Stashdown CAL!  I won't get them all completed this year, but let's see how many I can do!

I actually completed this last week, just didn't get around to getting it posted.  This is the Persephone Beanie! 

I just love these buttons and was happy to have another project to use them on, making this match my Snowy Marble Infinity Scarf.

Another Mug Cozy!

Here is the second mug cozy from the 2016 Holiday Stashdown Crochet-a-long, the Candy Cane Stripe Mug Cozy.

I had a hard time deciding on a button, so put these two up for a vote on the Holiday Stashdown page. 

  The wooden one was chosen!

I adapted the pattern by reducing a row in each section to allow running the yarn up one side on color changes, and to keep the ridges created by back loop crochet all on the right side. And good thing, because even taking those rows out, the fit is a tad lose on this mug, and can't really be tightened because the only part that fits inside the handle is the button tab.  Need a larger mug! (or finer yarn or to crochet more tightly...)
This was a great scrap-buster as it used up a TINY ball of blue, a TINY ball of green, and two TINY balls of white... and a bit of white from a new skein (always good to have extra white on hand...). Could easily be made with a rainbow of scraps.

Wow That was Fast Cowl - Another CAL pattern

This is the last pattern posted in the 2016 Holiday Stashdown Crochet-a-long, but I have not kept up on all the patterns this year... I could still enter whatever I might finish by January 9 for their draws! 

The directions for the Wow That was Fast Cowl calls for jumbo yarn, making it a VERY fast project, but I used weights 5 and 6, so I had more stitches, more rows, but still completed it in an evening. Quick and easy!

This is some of the yarn I won in the 2015 Stashdown CAL from Red Heart.  They coordinate nicely, and work together in this stitch, even though they are different weights. The "Twilight" has a nice sparkle in it!

Stashdown CAL: Fete Gift Card Holder

A small project, perfect for using up smaller scraps of yarn!  Here is my Fete Gift Card Holder!

Stashdown CAL: Mug Cozy

Here is my Pico Drops Mug Cozy!

It attaches to the mug by simple chain loops over the handle from each direction!

Hadiya, "Gift"

This was my first Moxie rescue. 

Before.

During.  I braided her entire head in tiny braids like these, then poured boiling water over, to set the hair.  I left the front braids, but the rest of the hair is now very wavy. All the frizzy ends were trimmed off.

After.   She needs one more layer of shine on her eyes (varnish) still.

Her face is a combination of acrylic paint and Rembrandt Polycolor coloured pencils. I crocheted her sweater, and her reversible dress (awesome fabric thanks to my quilting friend!) is adapted from a dollsforall.com pattern.

Notice that her feet are not visible!  They are not completed yet!  She will also have a few more accessories added to her wardrobe before she is gifted!

Fall Challenge Doll

I entered a fall challenge with other doll rescuers, motivating me to COMPLETE a doll, including the shoes...  (always my biggest challenge)

Here is "before"

With very glittery lips and eyelids!

"After" The boots won a prize for "best shoe solution"!

A few more pics from her photo shoot.

Her face was a combination of acrylic paint and Rembrandt Polycolor coloured pencils. I crocheted the sweater, made the leggings from a ladies' sock, the purse from a doll skirt, and the boots from a cut-down pair of Bratz boots, built up with Fimo clay, and covered with faux suede fabric from a thrift store jacket, and felt.

Another teacher gone

Rodger Alexander was my violin teacher, both at school and privately, for the two years before I learned that the cello was what I REALLY wanted to play.  He also directed my high school orchestra and string ensemble my last year of high school.

When I began to teach cello, one of my first thoughts was, "How did Mr. Alexander teach when I first learned the violin at the age of 9?"  The answer was, he made it FUN!  I've tried to make sure that informed my own teaching of children.  I'm sure I'll never forget the swinging arm trick. 

I went to visit his orchestra class 20 years after I graduated.  His students all wanted to know... did he really used to have red hair?  Oh yes! Too bad the memorial video here with his obituary had all his younger-days pictures in black and white!

More memories can be found at this Facebook page.

Holiday Stashdown CAL: Snowy Marble Infinity Scarf

The original name for the pattern is Berries Jubilee Infinity Scarf, but mine in no way resembles berries.  Instead I named it for the buttons I added.  It can be worn as a single or double loop, or the buttons can be used to pull a single loop more tightly around the neck!

Holiday CAL: Jewels in the Grass

Here is my adapted "Sky and Sunshine" bag, child-sized!  I call it "Jewels in the Grass."

Made to coordinate with the earwarmer from my last post, they will travel together in a shoebox!

Holiday Stashdown CAL: Stronger Together Earwarmer

It's been a long time! Long story short (maybe another blog post) hand surgery kept me from crafting for a while.

I won't be able to complete all the patterns like I did last fall, but here is the first one completed for Fall 2016:a child sized Stronger Together Earwarmer 

 I love the stained glass effect!

  I added a single crochet edging to cover up the color changes which I just carried up the side.

Video of the Week: Goshu!

Find yourself an hour to enjoy this one!  The young kids will need someone to read the English subtitles, unless they know Japanese!

Here is the story of Goshu the Cellist, struggling to learn his Beethoven symphony part - the best cartoon cellist I've ever seen! Watch how the animals help him practice..

BONUS question for students: Which Beethoven Symphony are they playing? Answering this gets you TWO ENTRIES for our draw June 18! (Yes, write it on two slips of paper!)

And it's not too late to go back and watch any videos you missed and enter with answers from those!

Video of the Week: Dvorak Humoresque

This was a piece I didn't like much when I learned to play it on violin.  The parent of one of my cello students voiced that she was really looking forward to their daughter learning it, they loved that piece!  ???  Well, okay, I guess we all have our own tastes.  I don't have any recordings of my violin playing, and I suspect I was pushed through the repertoire at the speed at which I could learn the notes, never mind my other skills.  I know I never mastered violin vibrato, and my bow skills were probably still pretty limited when I learned it, I guess, so there was no gracefulness, just an odd staccato melody... so what was to like about Humoresque?

Then I saw (and heard) this recording!  No doubt it was this gracefulness, inflection, and singing which Dvorak intended, not the beginner violin sound!  So!  Students, work on those bowing skills to be able to make MUSIC of this and enjoy it as much as I do now!

Students:  How do you say this composer's name and in which of these categories does the music belong - Modern, Romantic, Classical, Baroque?

Video of the Week: Vivaldi for Siblings

Well, no, there's no evidence that Antonio Vivaldi wrote his Concerto for Two Cellos in G minor for siblings, but with so many siblings in our cello studio, I just thought I would dream of each set playing this together some day!  You can start now by listening!  :-) Not too far away for the Chan brothers!

Students: The music would fall into which of these categories - Modern, Romantic, Classical, Baroque?

Video of the Week: Legato String Crossing Technique

Okay folks, time for a teaching video again!  Here is Paul Katz of CelloBello.  http://cellobello.com/lessons/9

Students: Try this at home and show me at your lesson! Scroll over and read the Learn Think Feel Listen points, or print and read the pdf, and write one point from there that you find helpful on a slip of paper as your entry for the Cello Bello bag and pencils!

Take some time to read "How to use the lessons", look at the other lessons, interviews, etcetera while you're at CelloBello.  Paul Katz has been very generous to share all this with us, just for donations, let's not let it go to waste!