German (Russian) Lace Tutorial Series 4

    Now we will get ready to start the repeats. From here on out, you will repeat the following steps to make your lace your desired length.
This is were you currently are:

You previously completed up to row 8 shown top left of above. The cluster section.

Now, following chart, work the first 4 rows of the cluster section again. Indicated inside the red brackets.

when you end the 4th row of repeat, ch 7, and ss into the top of the first dc of row 2 as indicated by blue arrow. You are working in direction of red arrow.

Now ch 3, and 12 dc back in ch 7 space.

ch 7 and dc in 7th dc from hook of previous row. Working again in direction of red arrow. Working on the section the red arrow is pointing to, ch 1, dc in next dc below, ch 1, and dc in next dc below. repeat until you have completed 6 dc.

ch 2, ss into top of dc of cluster from row 8 indicated by yellow arrow.Ch 2, dc into first ch 1 space of row before, working back up towards red arrow.

Now the chart indicates a picot here. See the circle at the tip of the first arrow at the bottom? But we wont do a picot now, since we ar going to join where this picot SHOULD be to where it is on the previous row.

see the 3 black arrows on the first chart above? These are where things are joined. Now follow these steps:

ss into first picot from row below, ch 1, dc into next ch 1 space, ss into second picot of row below, ch 1, dc into next ch 1 space of row below, ss into third picot, ch 1, dc into next ch 1 space of row below, now form a picot by chaining 3, ss back into tip of dc just completed, and ch 1, dc into next ch 1 space of row below, form a picot, and ch 1.

Now do 12 dc into ch 7 space directly to the right of the red arrow above , moving in the opposite direction of this red arrow.

beginning at red arrow, moving in direction of red arrow. Ch 7, dc in 7th dc from hook in row below.

Ch1, dc in next dc below, ch 1, dc, ch 1, dc, repeat till you have made 6 dc, ch 3 and turn to start back in direction of yellow arrow.

dc in first ch 1 space of row below, make a picot, dc in next ch 1 space, picot,ch 1, repeat until you have formed 5 picot, then ch 1, and make 12 dc into ch 7 space. End at green arrow at top of chart.

Now beginning at red arrow, ch 7, and dc in 7th dc from hook of row below. ch 1, dc in nect dc, and repeat until you have completed 6 dc. Ch 3 and work along yellow arrow in that direction. dc in first ch 1 space of row below, picot, ch 1, dc in next ch 1 space, picot, ch 1 and repeat until you have completed 5 dc with picots at the tip, 12 dc into ch 7 space, at begiining of green arrow, working in its direction now, ch 7 and dc in 7th dc from hook of row below, ch 1, dc,and repeat until you have completed 6 dc, and end at tip of green arrow.

Beginning at the end of the red arrow, ch 3 and crochet in direction of arrow. Dc in first ch 1 space of row below, make a picot, ch 1, repeat in next ch 1 space until you have completed 5 dc with picots at the tip, ch 1, then 12 dc into ch 7  space below. Ending at pointer of yellow arrow.

Now if you want to do it like the chart, skip the next blue step then go on. 3 dc into space indicated by green arrow.Ch 1.

Complete this step to do it like I did: 3 dc into space indicated by pointer of pink arrow. ch 1

Beginning at the red arrow, 3 dc into ch 3 space between clusters below at yellow arrow. ch 3, 3 dc in same space. working in direction of green arrow, ch 3, sc in 3rd ch below, ch 3, 3 dc into ch 3 space between clusters, ch 3, 3 dc. This completes row 5 of repeat as indicated on chart

Ch 4 and start row 6.

Beginning at red arrow, 3 dc in between clusters below, ch 3, 3 dc in same space. ch 5, 3 dc in next cluster space, ch 3, 3 dc into same space, ending at yellow arrow. Ch 1 and ss into 7th dc of 12 dc group as indicated by yellow arrow.,ch 2. 3 dc into space of cluster group, ch 3, sc into 3rd ch, ch 3 and 3 dc in between next cluster group. Ch 3, 3dc into same space. You have now completed row 7 of repeat.

ch 4, 3 dc in center of next cluster group, Ch 3, 3 dc in same space. Ch 5, 3 dc in next cluster group, ch 3, 3 dc in same space. You have now completed row 8 and we are FINALLY at the end of your first repeat.

To increase length of lace simply repeat this series. Congratulations, you now have a beautiful piece of lace. If your not happy, just pull it out and start over. Practice makes perfect. Its just string. Relax and enjoy the process. If you hve any questions about the pattern, comments, or requests, just leave me a comment below.

Motorcycle Ride In December? Your Kidding, Right?

       I was on the floor in sweats wrapping Christmas presents, when hubby came in the door, and said he was taking the Goldwing to town ( 1/2 hr away) to get some drill bits. Without even thinking, "well sure" came out of my mouth. I never pass up a ride. Admittedly it was 60 degrees out. we have gone when it was colder.

Good Lord! Where are the hot flashes when I need them? Noooooo.......I have to get them in the middle of the night.

German Lace Tutorial Series 3

      Well, its getting late, but I thought I would try and add a few more steps in. So here we go:

Now we are going to work our way back in the direction of the red arrow, beginning at the blue arrow.
Ch 3, dc in the first ch 1 space below. make a picot at the tip as you have done before. ch 1, dc in the next ch 1 space, and picot again. Ch 1, and repeat until you have completed 5 dc with picot's at the tip. End with ch 1. Do 12 dc into the next ch 7 space below, and ending at the tip of the red arrow.

Your piece should look like this.

Now ch 7 and turn. You will be working in the direction of the red arrow, beginning at the blue arrow.

dc in the 7th dc from the hook in the row below. ch 1, dc in the next dc, continue until you have 6 dc made, and with the dc. You will now be at the tip of the red arrow.

Now you will start at the blue arrow and work in the direction of the red arrow. Ch 3, and dc into first ch 1 space below. make a picot at the top, ch 1, then dc in next ch 1 space,picot and ch 1. Continue until you have 5 dc with picots, end with ch 1.

Complete 12 dc in ch 7 space below, and end at the tip of the red arrow.

Your piece now looks like the one above. 

THERE WILL BE AN OPTIONAL STEP HERE

Work the following part in black print, or skip this section and go immediately to the red print

According to the  chart above you will start at the blue arrow and work in the direction of the red arrow. 

Dc into the end of the 12 dc group as indicated by the green arrow. You may need to slide the group back a tad to make room. Then ch 2 and 3 dc back into ch 3 space between cluster group of row 4, ch 3, and 3 more dc in smae space to form another cluster group for row 5.

Your piece will look like this:

Note, I did not care for the way this last step layed. So I made a slight change. You can do it either way, But since we are also learning to read charts, I wanted to show you the way the chart indicated too. 

above in the chart method, you started with the 3 dc into the end of the 12 dc group as indicated by the red arrow in the green piece above. Instead, make this 3 dc group in the space indicated by the red arrow. No ch 2, and do 3 dc into ch 3 space between cluster group of row 4. Ch 3, and do 3 more dc in same space. Ch 3, sc into 3rd  ch of  row below. Ch 3 and do 3 dc into ch 3 space between cluster group of row 4 below. 3 more dc into same space. You have just completed row 5. 

I think this change makes it lay a little flatter, and a little nicer.

Now we will continue to follow the chart. Start at blue arrow, ch 4 and turn. Work in direction of red arrow. 3 dc into ch 3 space of cluster group below. Ch 3, 3 dc in same space. Ch 5 and 3 dc in ch 3 space of cluster group. Ch 3, 3 dc in same space. End at tip of red arrow.

According to chart above, ch 1 and ss into 7th dc of 12 dc group to right as indicated by red arrow. Ch 2, working in direction of blue arrow, 3 dc into ch3 space of cluster group. Ch 3, 3 dc back into same space. h 3, sc into 3rd chain below. Ch 3, 3 dc into ch 3 space of cluster group, ch 3, 3 dc back into same space. You have just completed row 7. 

This shows two repeats done. Tomorrow I will get a pic of just the first repeat in the blue. Congratulations, you are doing very well. You have gotten this far on a pretty complicated pattern. hang in there for the next series and you will learn how to join the first row of the next repeat to your last (8th) row.Then you will be able to start your next repeat, and make this baby as long as you need.

PS, The link for each series will be listed under the "Tutorials" tab above so you can easily go back and forth between them as you need.

German Lace Tutorial Series 2

   Well, I hope you werent too intimidated by series 1. Just keep at it, and reading the steps. It will click and you will have some beautiful lace to work with. Now for the next steps.

Beginning at the red arrow from previous steps, ch 3, and turn work to move in direction of blue arrow.

Now dc into first ch 1 space of row below. The circle at the tip of the dc symbol indicates you will make a picot at the tip of 5 dc. It is done as follows: ch 3, slip stitch (ss) back into top of last dc just completed.

Now dc into next ch 1 space, and make another picot. Contine until you have 5 dc with picot's as indicated by chart. Ch 1, and complete 12 dc into ch 7 space below. You will end at tip of blue arrow.

Your piece should look like the above pic. Click on it for a close-up view.

Now ch 7 beginning at blue arrow. Move in direction of red arrow, and dc into 7th dc of 12 dc group in row below. Dc into next dc, ch 1, dc in next dc, ch 1, and continue until you have completed 6 dc. End with 6th dc at tip of red arrow.

Now beginning at blue arrow in chart above, and moving in direction of red arrow, you will ch 3,and turn

Now you see the same pattern of 5 dc with picots at the tip again.

Dc in next ch 1 space below, ch 3, ss back into tip of previous dc completed, and ch 1, dc into next ch 1 space, picot, and repeat until you have 5 dc with picots. Ch 1, and 12 dc into ch 7 loop below, and end at tip of red arrow. Another segment completed.

Sorry for the blurred pic. I must have moved when I snapped. But your piece should look like this now. If not....its just thread....pull it out and practice again. Remember......Practice makes Perfect!

Beginning at blue arrow and working in direction of red arrow, ch 7, and dc into 7th dc from hook of previous row, ch 1, dc in next dc, and repeat until you have completed 6 dc with a ch 1 between. ending at tip of red arrow.

Your piece will now look like this.

Tutorial Series for Crocheted German Lace Edging

       I recently posted in Knitting Paradise forum with questions on how to figure out crochet charts, and this beautiful edging done with crochet thread. I used number 10 size.
http://www.katiagreen.ru/forum/download/file.php?id=4236
The above link should take you to the very talented designer's site.
NOTE: here is the corrected link to this pattern and many more:
http://www.liveinternet.ru/users/larisa_lebedeva/post241907107/

      I have never done crochet from charts before. Knitting from charts was a feat I learned last winter. I love to challenge myself with new things, and absolutely hate doing more than one of a design. Short attention span problem. Anyway, once I got this edging figured out with help, a few others have asked for a tutorial. So here we are. 

      I have crocheted since I was in grade school, and usually from my own patterns. Thats what I like about crochet, I know how to make it do what I want.This chart thingy was a little confusing to say the least, especially with this design.This takes some time, so it will have to be done in a mini series. I am trying to create the tutorial so that it not only teaches you how to make this edging, but also teaches you how to read charts,so if you do a search online for edging and find say a beautiful Japanese one, You wont be stumped by not being able to read Japanese. Google translator isnt much help here either.  I couldnt make heads or tails of a translated pattern. So grab a size 6 crochet hook, and some number 10 crochet thread, and lets get started.

  The "dots" you see in chart represent chain (ch) stitches. The long bars with a slight slash across are dc, and circles (you will see later) are picot. The straight lines with no slash are single crochet (sc).

 Starting at the bottom right, chain  16. Then double crochet (dc) in 4th chain from hook. Then do 2 more dc in same ch stitch. Ch 3, and do 3 more dc in next ch stitch. To create a cluster group. Now  ch 3 and single crochet (sc) in 5th chain from previous dc. ( note the line between the cluster groups that doesnt have a dash thru it)  Then ch 3 and 3 dc in 5th chain from last sc. Ch 3, and do  3 dc in last chain.This completes row 1 and you should be at the left corner of the chart above. Your piece should look like this:

You can click on pic for a close-up view.

*Now ch 4 and turn piece. Do 3 dc in ch 3 space between cluster group. ch 3, then 3 more dc in same space. Now ch 5 and dc in next ch 3 space of next cluster group. do 2 more dc for a group of 3, then ch 3, and do 3 more dc in same space.* 

#Now ch 4 and turn. 3 dc in next ch 3 space between cluster group, ch 3, and 3 more dc in same space. ch 3, sc in 3rd chain of ch 5 below. ch 3 and 3 dc in ch 3 space of next cluster group.# This completes row row 3.

Now repeat from * to * above to complete row 4.  Ch 7 as in first chart above. Then slip stitch (ss)  into 1st dc of row 2 below as shown in diagram directly above.

Your piece should look like this now:

This pic taken just before joining the long ch 7.

Now ch 3 as in diagram from chart above, and then 12 dc into the loop made by the ch 7, going in the direction of the red arrow above. It will then look like the above pic.

In chart above you will see the dots at top right indicating you now need to ch 7 and hold so that you will be crocheting in the direction of the top red arrow.Then dc into 7th c of the 12 dc row below, where the yellow arrow indicates.( You now see the dots in between each of the dc symbols indicating you will ch 1 between each dc. ) Now ch 1, and dc in the next dc below, ch 1, and repeat so you have 6 dc going in direction of bottom red arrow. This is what your piece will look like now:

Now look at chart below:

according to above chart, you will now ch 2 and slip stitch into first ch of beginning foundation ch as shown by yellow arrow. Then at small red arrow at bottom left you see you will ch 3. Now dc into first ch 1 space between dc's of row below, indicated by long bottom red arrow. Now the chart shows the dc symbols with a circle on the tip (looks like a straight pin). This means you will form a picot at the tip of the dc's indicated. Five of them actually. So now ch 3 and slipstitch into top of dc, ch 1 and dc into next ch 1 space below, again ch 3 and ss into top of that dc, and ch 1 again forming another picot. Repeat these so you have 5 dc with a picot at the tip and a ch 1 between each. ch 1 after last dc and picot. 

Moving in direction of bottom , right, red arrow.

Your piece will now look like the piece above.

Now do 12 dc into ch 7 loop.

Your piece now looks like pic above.

Now according to chart above, you see you will ch 7, then dc into 7th dc of row below as indicated by the yellow arrow. Working in the direction of the red arrow. Here again you see the dots between the dc symbols indicating a ch one between each. So after the first dc, ch  1, then dc in dc below, ch 1, and repeat for a total of 6 dc.

PS: I think Google translator made a mistake in showing me this was a German lace, because now it says its Russian, and I believe that seems more accurate. I would change the title of posts, but I am afraid that would mess up the links for people following.

Making Plans For The 2013 Garden

        Well, I have been itching to get back into the garden again.......already. It did so poorly last year due to the drought conditions. I have started researching the seeds I want for next years garden. On this page I am going to keep track of what I am planning on growing next year to help me remember what I want to keep growing from year to year, and to track performance. Thats the only way I can keep notes and not lose them,lol.
        I recently found Osborne Seed company and made the following purchase:
BEANS
1. Pole Bean, Stringless Blue Lake S7
2. Pole Bean, Fortex   I cant wait to try this one, I have read lots of great comments and high praise from  those growing them in the forums

Fortex bean courtesy of Osborne Seed

3. Bush Bean, Lewis    Last yr I grew a late planting of bush bean Jade. It did very well, and tasted very
        good. It was a thin mild tasting bean. I still may purchase them again, but wanted to try some others.

Tomato:
These seeds I already have, I dont know which or how many of these I will start  yet.
1. Ananas Noir
2. Campbell's seeds
3. Burpee Big Boy
4. Beefsteak
5. Early Girl
6. Ladybug
7. Isis Candy
8. Mortgage Lifter
9. Black Krim
10. Brandywine
11. Black Plum
12. Sungold Cherry
13. Big Sungold Select
14. Giant Belgium
15. Caspian Pink
16. Heirloom Chianti Rose
17. Big Beef
18. Marvel Stripe
19. Green Zebra
20. Pineapple
21. Beefy Boy
22. Parks Whopper

Tomato Brandywine Red courtesy of Osborne Seed

Those I am considering ordering:
1. Kelloggs breakfast
2. Ultimate Opener
3. Country Taste
4. Opalka....can't wait to try this herloom paste with all the rave reviews
5. Marianna's Peace
6. Omar's Lebanese
7. Stupice