not-quite-S: hands not idle

The past two months have been...interesting. Is it something in the air or the water? Is it the violent solar flares I keep hearing about? It's been a whirlwind that included bumps and bruises and worries and a huge mistake, and I am only recently feeling recovered.

I kept my hands busy throughout, in an attempt to keep some form of normal routine going. This week, I'm going to show you the projects that don't fall into the S category - that is, none of them are scarves, shawls, socks, or sweaters. I'll get back to showing those next week.

Mom and I both worked on crocheted blankets while she and Steve were here for the holidays. She finished up a zig zag blanket I'd barely started I don't know how long ago:

And I got it into my head to do a crochet version of the Moderne Log Cabin Blanket. I got this idea because while I like the look of the knitted version, committing to that much garter stitch has always given me pause, not to mention hearing and reading complaints from people about how bloody long it takes to make. It required some gauge swatches and math (and a false start that had to be ripped out) to figure out a crochet version, but it turned out well. I adjusted the pattern a bit to suit the color placement (the color inspiration came from a sweater I've had for years), which was easy since the whole thing is made up of blocks that attach to other blocks.

A few people have mentioned that it looks like a Mondrian painting. I wish I'd thought of that sooner because I would have outlined all the blocks in black.

The cats like both blankets:

I also made a quick cowl out of some handspun yarn that owldaughter sent me (yes, she spun it herself):

It's a blend of blue-faced Leicester wool and hand-dyed tussah silk.

I'd made a cowl out of it soon after she sent it to me, but I had the feeling the pattern I'd chosen hadn't done justice to the yarn. Eventually, I unraveled it and started looking for another pattern. I finally found Anne Hanson's Poinsettia pattern, and it was off to the races. It only took a few hours to make, and I'm pleased with how it turned out:

I think the pattern shows off the yarn a lot better.

I also have enough left over yarn to make another cowl. I have quite a few possibilities saved in my ravelry queue.

Warning: There will be a small parade of brightly colored socks next week.