Well, yes… it’s been more than just one week since my last hygge CAL update. The thing is that we have come to the main part of the wrap. It is where the centrepiece of embroidery is going to be. And you need a background for that. I thought that it would be a matter of crocheting a number of rows, doing the embroidery, then doing another number of rows followed by more embroidery.
But I was wrong… it was 114 rows of single crochet split in two halves. And one separator. So this update covers the parts 5 and 6. I have to tell you that these have not been my favourite parts. I am definitely not a big fan of (US) single crochet for the simple reason that it takes so long.
All the seemingly endless rows of single crochet are made for a good cause, though, as they will form the base for a beautiful piece of embroidery.
When doing all the rows of part 5, I was accompanied by a cold. So, the box of tissues was next to me all the time!
And also this week I could do some rows outside in the sunshine! Yay!
As I mentioned, this time it was only making the base and one separator (I have chosen not to do the second separator at the end of the long base yet, but do that one when the embroidery is done. That way I can retain symmetry).
I would like to show you how I start my separator. The first stitch always is a bit fiddly. To make that first stitch a little bit easier, I roughly sew in the end to fixate it. The tip of the crochet hook marks the spot where I have to pull up the yarn.
Then you turn your work and pull up the first loop. You are now ready to start the surface crochet part.
That’s part 5… Oh, I still love those colours!
This kind of no-brain crochet does have another good thing. Hygge joined me on a party at the local yarn store.
We went there by train, so here we are waiting at the platform for the train to arrive. (Yes, we brought cake with us).
It was a very lovely afternoon, with a lot of delicious (and calorie rich) food and great company. I don’t need to explain that we all didn’t do a lot of crochet or knitting that afternoon, do I?
On our way back home I could make up for all the chatting a little bit and work a few rows of crochet.
The remaining rows were made at night in front of the TV.
To mark my progress I have attached pieces of scrap yarn on the side. Each piece of yarn marks 10 rows. This proved to work better for me that using the digital row counter.
I have to show you my new stitch marker:
Isn’t it cute? It is an old Dutch coin (or a replica) from the time before we switched to the Euro as our common currency in (most) European countries. Before 2002 in the Netherlands we used to pay with ‘Guilders’ (Gulden). The coin shown here had a value of 10 cents and was called a ‘Dubbeltje’ (don’t ask me why. Google will know). I’ve ordered it at Wol zo Eerlijk.
Now that the larger part of the wrap is finished, it is time to think about the back. All the ends do not look that pretty. I will, therefore, line it.
I bought fabric at a local fabric market. The market is called ‘Stoffenspektakel’ which can be best translated as ‘Feast of Fabrics’. It is held every few months and it is the perfect place if you are looking for fabrics and haberdashery because a lot of retailers are present then. I really like the word ‘haberdashery’ (literally meaning thread and ribbon). It is such a lovely English word. I resisted the temptation of buying a lot of (have to use it again) haberdashery this time. I did end up with a fair amount of fabric, though. Which brings me back to the hygge CAL.
These are the cute fabrics that I bought to line the back. They all are 150 cm wide and the wrap will be longer than that. So I have to figure out how to do a bit of patchwork. The combination of these three fabrics will look good I think.
Oh, those colours again…
On to the next part: a lot of cross stitches for the embroidery! (I have to confess that at the time of writing, I am already one week behind on schedule… but there were so many other things to do… will show soon!)
You’ll find all the details on this CAL in my first update!
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