Crochet-Along: Cowl... FINISHED!

Remember this cowl I was working on for Rachel's Crochet-Along at Maybe Matilda?

Well... I finished it! :)

When I started working on this project, I had no idea what a cowl was for. I thought it was just decorative. I didn't know how it was supposed to keep you warm because it pretty much just covers your neck. As I was taking pictures earlier... I was sweating! So yeah, it does keep you warm. Hot, if you're in the Pacific. In spite of the cold weather brought by the two typhoons that hit us recently, it's still too hot for scarves and cowls. I still like it though. And I can use it inside the office, where, for some reason, it gets unbearably cold sometimes. Yes... inside. Or maybe give it to my sister... she has been asking for it since she saw me making it. We'll see.

Oh and um... in case you noticed... yep, I was a big Titanic, the movie, fan. And I will not be lying when I saw I must have seen it around 30 times already.

Go ahead, laugh... gag... and pity my husband (he complains everytime he sees me watching it AGAIN) ;)

I am linking up to the following link parties:

Craft-O-Maniac Monday at Craft-O-Maniac | Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T | Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do | A Round Tuit @ Creating My Way to Success | Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative | Amaze Me Monday at Dittle Dattle | A Marvelous Mess at Marvelously Messy | Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes | Pink Hippo Party at Pinkapotamus | Sundae Scoop at I heart Naptime | Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming | Not Baaad Sundays at Lamb Around | Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff | Take-A-Look Tuesdayt at Sugar Bee Crafts | Handmade Tuesday at Ladybug Blessings | Tuesday To-Do Party at The Blackberry Vine | Homemade Projects at Tip Junkie | Link Party at Running with Glitter | Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog | Tuesday Confessional Link Party at Confessions of a Stay at Home Mommy | Turquoise Lovin at Sweet Little Gals | Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims | Show Me What Ya Got at Not JUST a Housewife |

Crochet-Along: Cowl Progress

I think I'm doing well. I didn't finish the 12 inches I was supposed to last Friday. I ended up unravelling several times due to some mistakes I made. But I was able to make up for it all weekend while watching my daughter play all day. Here's what I have now:

Yep, I have 26 inches. Halfway there! 

The pattern said I should have 52 inches. But Rachel said we can adjust to fit our style and I may have to do that. You see, the yarn I'm using is acryllic... it's not very soft so my cowl, is errr... NOT cowling. It's a little stiff. And this is the only type of yarn you can buy around here so I don't have a choice. After I'm done, I will have to find some way to use this. I love the color...

And I'm just happy it looks like the ones posted on Maybe Matilda's Flickr group. 

Which means I was able to follow the pattern... and I know how to crochet! YEY!!! And given my attention span (short), I decided now is the perfect time to squeeze in learning how to knit as well...

So last weekend, in between crocheting and watching my daughter, I was reading a book about knitting and trying very hard to understand what it was saying. I had to let my husband read it and understand it for me (he's better at following instructions and manuals) and then explain to me in detail what I should be doing. I'm not really making anything... I'm just knitting a square (that's all I know how to make for now... I haven't gotten the hang of adding or reducing stitches yet) and I'll just figure out what to use it for when I'm done. I'm just practicing because as it is, I keep dropping my knitting needles and ruining my stitches X( 

Ok, back to finishing that cowl for me!

Friday Photos - I am trying

Before I post my Friday Photo for today, let me give a brief explanation for my blogging absence. It can pretty much be summed up by one word:

WORK.

I wish I can say that I have projects lined up which I will be posting soon. But the truth is, I've been too busy at work to think about doing anything much when I get home. When I get home, I just want to rest my mind and body. I'm just... tired. All the time. 

But...

I am trying to learn something new. 

This photo is not particularly beautiful. It just shows you what I'm hoping to try. I say 'hoping' because I joined the Crochet-Along at Maybe Matilda, and we're supposed to have 12 inches of our cowl by today... and well, my photo pretty much showed you what I have.

I'm hitting a lot of stumbling blocks lately.., with my project at work, and this one. I don't want to bore you all with my project at work, so let me share a little about my attempting-to-crochet-along project.

Rachel's first lesson for her crochet-along was choosing yarn. Stumbling Block number one. I tried to follow what her guest Sarah said. On the yarn available here... I couldn't find any indication as to their weight. I bought the only yarn available anyway and hope that will work. I am totally feeling Karen's issues with finding yarn here in Manila.

Stumbling block number two. My crochet hook. I pretty much took the sales person's recommendation on which hook to get based on the yarn I bought. It turned out to be too small. I can't even make a decent chain stitch with it. So I decided to get the biggest hook they have which they are calling a size 'Number 1'. Whatever. But it does work with the yarn I bought so all good now. 

Stumbling block number 3. How do I hold the yarn to keep it in place and to get the correct tension??? I tried Rachel's method but it keeps slipping. My sister crochets and she showed me how she does it. She told me it gets easier with practice. I hope she's right. 

In spite of all my issues... I WILL DO THIS! And I will have 12 inches of this cowl done before Friday ends in my time zone!!! 

- take deep breaths - 

Ok, let's look at how to do those chain stitches again.