This Headband/ear-neck warmer has turned into a CAL, discussion here: 378.1
ok... so.. uh...Some of you remember the sc headband I recently made with Lion Homespun, starting with a foundation chain of 10, then sc into 2nd chain from hook, across=9sc. I saw this Lion Boucle that was a lot like their Homespun, but this light yellow color that just matched my sweater, (the color is more like the yellow in the backround behind my post) and so I bought it and made it wider, (start with 13ch, turn, sc in to 2nd loop from hook =12 sc across, using back loop only, till long enough to fig snuggly around head, which for me, was 36 rows. I love this because it really keeps my ears warm, without making my hair too hot under there and, unlike my wig head, I pull my hair BACK with it, so it's out of my face. This is the wide one, at 12 st across and covers the top of my head. (also, great for covering gray hair in your part, ha, ha) If you want it a thinner headband, do the foundation row of 10, which results in 9 sc st across, after turning and starting in the 2nd chain from hook.
These also make great neckwarmers! If all you have is WW, try 2 strands. This neckwarmer should stand away from your neck a bit, so as you have your head down, walking into the wind, your chin automatically goes down into it.
The boucle might even have been harder to work with than the Homespun, and a lot more expensive ....hmmmm... at any rate, this success has embrazened me even more, and so, I have decided to make a Homespun afghan. From what I've learned in my experience with Homespun, I know that I will get the count wrong, and often. I can't imagine crocheting across 150 stitches, just to find the count is off when you come to the end of the row. So, I'm sticking to what I can handle without having 'meltdown' when it goes ugly... How ugly can pulling out 12 sts be, ha, ha... So, I going to do this, and I'm calling it: Oh, I did want to mention that the plastic hooks I'm using (JoAnn Essentials with Sparkles) BLUE, size K, and they do seem to be easier to use with Homespun than the metal ones, for me.
Crochet an Afghan from Homespun, crazy?
Afghan For My Guy / My Guy's Afghan (Hubby)
Using JoAnn Craft Essential Acrylic Sparkly hooks, in BLUE, size K 10 1/2 (6 1/2mm) (seems smaller than a metal K)
Foundation row: Ch 13, ch 1, & turn.
(now working in back loops only)
Row 1: ch in 2nd loop from hook & across, for 12 st. Ch 1, turn.
Rows: 2-12: Ch 12 across. Ch 1, turn. (12 st)
With my own tension, this turns into a square block, which just happens to measure 5 1/4", for me.
My colors are, in 5 skeins each (making this up as I go):
302 Colonial (Dark Teal Blue + slight colors mixed in)
321 Williambsburg (mix of mostly med blue + white marbling)
309 Rococo (a marbled mix of tan + white)
309 Deco (a creamy white)
By working in the back loops only, you are creating a kind of ribbing, and it looks great running from side to side, or running vertically. I plan to lay the blocks so that each color makes a diagonal strip across the afghan. That will form by just laying out the colors every other one in rows, the same way a checkerboard looks, only with 3-4 colors, instead of just 2. I've seen this done is quilt squares all the time. The Deco color may or may not be used, that will be determined as I see how it looks. As for size, I guess I'm done when it looks big enough, or I run out of yarn, ha, ha!
More on the afghan here:
http://blogs.delphiforums.com/n/blogs/blog.aspx?sr=y&webtag=cozy_at_home&entry=96