Shell Stitches 10111 and 11101

Well, we're nearing the end of this little experiment in shell stitches.  Today's offering includes 10111 (green) and 11101 (purple) are very solid and don't look very different from the original simple shell stitch.  There's nothing wrong with the stitches, but there's also nothing special with them either.  I don't think I'll reuse them, because there are so many other stitches available.

Stitch 10111:
Chain a multiple of 6 + 5
Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, (sk 2, [3 dc, ch 1, dc] in next ch, sk 2, sc) across, 3 dc in last ch
Row 2: ch 1, turn, sc, ([3 dc, ch 1, dc] in sc, sc in dc after ch 1 space) across, 3 dc in last sc

Repeat Row 2 for pattern

Stitch 11101:
Chain a multiple of 6 + 5
Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, (sk 2, [dc, ch 1, 3 dc] in next ch, sk 2, sc) across, [dc, ch 1, dc] in last ch
Row 2: ch 1, turn, sc, ([dc, ch 1, 3 dc] in sc, sc in dc before ch 1 space) across, [dc, ch 1, dc] in last sc

Repeat Row 2 for pattern

Christmas Gifts

Well Christmas has come and gone, I hope you had a merry one.  Now back to work!  Only 364 days til the next one!  It seems like we spend so much time making everything perfect, and then it's over so quickly.  Hopefully memories were made that will endure.

I thought I'd share what I crafted for Christmas this year.  (I couldn't earlier because my family wouldn't be surprised if I did!)  I gave up crafting for the men in my family a while ago because they don't wear scarves, or hats (at least crocheted ones), and they don't need warm socks or other such things where they live.,  So just my mom and my sister were the recipients of the results of my craftiness.

My mom had seen my shawls and liked the idea of a shawl, but not of a triangular one.  So, I made a rectangular one for her.  It came out great, and now I want to make one for myself too.

Here's the shawl pattern:
Chain 182, then work stitch 10.  Do 7 repeats of the stitch pattern ending with round 4.
Border:
Round 1: sc around, 3 sc in corner
Round 2: (sc, ch 3, sk 1) around, (sc, ch 3, sc) in corner

Final dimensions: 68"x 20"
I made this using Simply Soft yarn in Black and a J hook.  (This took just over 2 skeins.) 

My sister learned how to crochet a couple of months after I did (I taught her).  It didn't grab her like it did me, and she put it aside.  When I came home on vacation this summer, she asked me to teach her again because she wanted to crochet some more.  So, one evening of showing her the stitches again, and she was good to go.  Refreshers are so much easier than actual learning sessions.  Anyway, this time the crochet bug got her, and she's made dozens of scarves and is even working on her first blanket.

So for Christmas this year, I decided that she needed a tote bag for her crochet.  So I made a Fat Bag for her just like the one I use to cart my projects around.  Of course, I did modify the pattern a bit, mainly just making the handles shorter; my notes for this project are here.  These are particularly nice because it is fairly simple to sew fabric in as a lining, which keeps your hooks from falling through the bag.

I made this using Red Heart yarn in Cornmeal and a J hook.  (This pattern uses ~1.5 skeins.)

Shell Stitch 10101

I knew intuitively that this stitch would be good.  It has the same appearance as a normal shell stitch except you can actually see the individual stitches.  That alone makes it beautiful.  From a little further back, you can see the seemingly intricate network created by the stitch.  I like it because it is consistently solid throughout without being completely solid, if that makes any sense.  It's not a really dense stitch, but it is evenly covered, with no large holes.   I tested this out by making a baby blanket from it, which turned out great. 

Here's the stitch pattern:
Chain a multiple of 6 + 5
Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, (sk 2, [dc, ch 1, dc, ch 1, dc] in next ch, sk 2, sc) across, [dc, ch 1, dc] in last ch
Row 2: ch 1, turn, sc, ([dc, ch 1, dc, ch 1, dc] in sc, sc in middle dc) across, [dc, ch 1, dc] in last sc

Repeat Row 2 for pattern 

And here's the baby blanket pattern:
Chain 95, then work stitch 10101 until work is square.
Add this border to complete it:
Round 1: sc around, 3 sc in each corner
Round 2: dc around, 5 dc in each corner
Round 3: sc around, 3 sc in each corner
Round 4: (sc, ch 3, sk 1) around, (sc, ch 3, sc in same stitch) at corner

I made this with Bernat Baby Peach Blossom and a J hook. 

Shell Stitches 10011 and 11001

Continuing the shell stitch series, here are stitches 10011 (blue) and 11001 (green).  This pair of stitches looks neat because of the diagonal lines of holes throughout the fabric.  They are practically the same but for the edges.  Once again, I prefer the more solid edging of 10011.

Stitch 10011:
Chain a multiple of 6 + 5
Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, (sk 2, [2 dc, ch 2, dc] in next ch, sk 2, sc) across, 3 dc in last ch
Row 2: ch 1, turn, sc, ([2 dc, ch 2, dc] in sc, sc in ch 2 sp) across, 3 dc in last sc

Repeat Row 2 for pattern

Stitch 11001:
Chain a multiple of 6 + 5
Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, (sk 2, [dc, ch 2, 2 dc] in next ch, sk 2, sc) across, [dc, ch 1, dc] in last ch
Row 2: ch 1, turn, sc, ([dc, ch 2, 2 dc] in sc, sc in ch 2 sp) across, [dc, ch 1, dc] in last sc

Repeat Row 2 for pattern

Shell Stitch 10001

This variation is my favorite so far because it looks really neat, is really easy to do, and is distinctly different from all the rest.  Going through all of these stitches was worth it just to learn this stitch.  The fabric is a grid of square holes surrounded with two strands on all sides.  Since first trying out this stitch, I've made several scarves out of this stitch.  It's ideal for scarves because it's a little bit stretchy due to crocheting into spaces, which makes it more comfortable, but still solid enough to be warm.  If you're going to make a scarf, chaining 23 works great.

Without further ado:
Stitch 10001:
Chain a multiple of 6 + 5
Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, (sk 2, [dc, ch 3, dc] in next ch, sk 2, sc) across, [dc, ch 1, dc] in last ch
Row 2: ch 1, turn, sc, ([dc, ch 3, dc] in sc, sc in ch 3 space) across, [dc, ch 1, dc] in last sc

Repeat Row 2 for pattern

12th Man Blanket

Today is the last time this century that the date is repetitive.  12-12-12 has special meaning to Aggies because of the 12th Man.  At 12:12 central time, the War Hymn was broadcast on the radio and played everywhere. 

University of New Mexico game: September 5, 2009

In case you don't already know the history of the 12th Man here it goes:
On January 2, 1922, in Dallas, during the Dixie Classic, a forerunner of the Cotton Bowl, an Aggie, E. King Gill was called from the stands to suit up as a substitute.  Hence the phrase, 12th Man.

So basically, the Aggie football team was reduced down to 11 uninjured players.  There are 11 players on the field at any time, so if anyone else went down, there wouldn't have been anyone to replace them.  So, they called a student out of the stands to fill in as necessary.  No one else was injured, but he stood on the sideline the rest of the game, ready and willing to help his team.  Since then, the entire student section of Texas A&M stands for the whole game.  We are the home of the 12th Man.


On this most auspicious day for Aggieland and Aggies everywhere, I think it's an appropriate time to unveil my latest Aggie afghan.  I'm extremely happy with how it turned out, and I plan on keeping this one.

Here's the pattern:
Color pattern:
1 row white, (2 rows maroon, 2 rows of white) repeated, ending with 1 row of white.  The border is all maroon.

Chain 184, then work stitch 4 as written.
Border:
Round 1: sc around; 3 sc in corner
Round 2: dc around; 5 dc in corner
Round 3: sc around; 3 sc in corner
Round 4: dc around; 5 dc in corner
Round 5: sc around; 3 sc in corner


I made this with I Love this Yarn in Aubergine and White with a J hook.

Shell Stitches 01111 and 11110

The next entries in this series are stitches 01111 (brown) and 11110 (maroon).  These are so similar to the simple shell stitch, that there is little point in using them.  However, the maroon version does have some noticeable holes, particularly at the ends.  For this reason, I prefer the maroon version over the brown version.  The holes are the only thing that makes this at all interesting, and even then, it's still not that interesting.

Anyway, here they are:

Stitch 01111:
Chain a multiple of 6 + 5
Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, (sk 2, 4 dc in next ch, ch 1, sk 2, sc) across, 3 dc in last ch
Row 2: ch 1, turn, sc, (4 dc in sc, ch 1, sc in 2nd dc) across, 3 dc in last sc

Repeat Row 2 for pattern

Stitch 11110:
Chain a multiple of 6 + 5
Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, (ch 1, sk 2, 4 dc in next ch, sk 2, sc) across, [ch 1, 2 dc] in last ch
Row 2: ch 1, turn, sc, (ch 1, 4 dc in sc, sc in 3rd dc) across, [ch 1, 2 dc] in last sc

Repeat Row 2 for pattern

Shell Stitches 01101 and 10110

It's been a while since the last shell stitch post, and I really want to finish this, so here's the next one: stitches 01101 and 10110.  These are both easy to do, and, in my opinion, pretty.  I prefer the purple version (01101) to the green version (10110) because the edges are more consistent with the bulk of the work. 

Stitch 01101:
Chain a multiple of 6 + 5
Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, (sk 2, [dc, ch 1, 2 dc] in next ch, ch 1, sk 2, sc) across, [dc, ch 1, dc] in last ch
Row 2: ch 1, turn, sc, ([dc, ch 1, 2 dc] in sc, ch 1, sc in dc before ch 1 space) across, [dc, ch 1, dc] in last sc
Repeat Row 2 for pattern

Stitch 10110:
Chain a multiple of 6 + 5
Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, (ch 1, sk 2, [2 dc, ch 1, dc] in next ch, sk 2, sc) across, [ch 1, 2 dc] in last ch
Row 2: ch 1, turn, sc, (ch 1, [2 dc, ch 1, dc] in sc, sc in dc after ch 1 space) across, [ch 1, 2 dc] in last sc
Repeat Row 2 for pattern