Earthbound Valkyrie

Oh, all sorts of stuff

02/13/2024 by Kriselda

NOTE: I mention and provide links to some products in this post, but I do not get any kind of commission, referral fee or other benefit from doing so. I just include it so you can find it if you like it.

It’s been a while since I posted, but I’ve had a lot going on. I’m starting to do kits for Annie’s Caring Crochet Kit Club. This is a really cool program they have where, for about $20 a month, you get a complete kit to make an item – usually things like shawls, chemotherapy caps, baby blankets and so on – which you then donate to a charity of your choice. If you don’t have a special one you want to donate to, they have a list of several that will gladly accept your gifts. Here’s a picture of the shawl that is this month’s item:

The “Notes in the Garden” Shawl from the Caring Crochet Kit Club at Annies

For those who don’t know, I’m Heathen, meaning I honor and follow the pre-Christian Norse gods, and lately, one in particular, Freyja, seems to be wanting my attention. Freyja is the goddess of a lot of things, including love. Not just romantic love, but all kinds of love, and I believe She is asking me to do this in Her name and honor, so I’m going to list the gifts as “Made for the Freyja’s Heart Collection by EarthboundValkyrie.”

If I’m ever able to make stuff good enough to sell – which I hope to do to help raise money to publish the books I’ve been writing – those I’d want to name in Frigga’s honor. Frigga is the goddess who is most associated with the home and with fiber arts, so those items would be “Made for the Frigga’s Hearth Collection by EarthboundValkyrie.”

I’m also working on a Block-of-the-Month Kit, also from Annie’s, where each month, I get patterns and yarn for 3 blocks of the afghan. Each block uses a different stitch, so you’ll get to learn and practice several stitches that you may not have used before. At the end of 10 months, I’ll have 30 blocks and will then learn how to stitch them together and do a finishing border. It’s a pretty afghan – I’m using the Plumberry colorway. Here’s a picture of that:

The Plumberry Block of the Month afghan from Annies Kit Club.

I’ve had to set aside the Moroccan Tiles Afghan for now because I’ve been having trouble counting stitches, and it’s really important to do that correctly on that pattern! I really can’t wait to get started on it again, but I want to get to feeling more steady in counting before I do.

I’m really learning a lot and am having a blast doing it!

Moroccan Tiles Afghan Update

01/21/2024 by Kriselda

Well, I restarted the Moroccan Tiles Afghan and have made some progress on it. Here’s how it looks currently. I’ve done the first 8 rounds so far. In the section I’m currently working on, there are a total of 15 rounds, so I’m making good progress on it, I think, and while it’s not perfect, I think it’s looking pretty nice so far!

Moroccan Tiles Afghan in Midnight Mosaic, Round 1-8.

Continuing with GSA

01/16/2024 by Kriselda

Working my way though the Granny Square Academy, I’m now on number 3, Back Betty. This one features the Back Loop Only (blo) technique. Here’s my first attempt at that one:

My first try at the Back Betty granny square, featuring the “back loop only (blo)” technique.

And here’s my 2nd try at the Skipping Sarah pattern. I posted my first try yesterday.

My 2nd try at Skipping Sarah, which teaches the skipping stitches technique

Beginnings

01/13/2024 by Kriselda

First, a quick note. When I mention places or people that I get things from, or provide links to products or whatever, I don’t get any benefit for doing so. I just include it in case you see/hear about something I’m doing or using and you’re interested in learning more about it.

So, with that said, I’m starting a couple of projects. One is to work through Shelly Husband’s Granny Square Academy workbooks – you can find her and her other materials at Spincushions. I’ve done the first two of the ten in book one so far. The first square, called Solid Sue, is very basic – it’s rounds of double crochet with a two-chain space at the corners. I’ve done two of it so far. The first try (teal and white) came out ok, and the 2nd one (all white) show some improvement.

Solid Sue – first attempt. It came out pretty much ok, but could be better.

Solid Sue, take two! A lot neater and just looks better overall.

The second one, called Skipping Sarah, kicked my ass for the better part of 2 days. I dunno what the problem was, but I just couldn’t get the hang of it. The only real difficulty is counting the stitches so you get the skipped stitches in the right place, but while I finally did get it done (teal and white) it’s pretty sloppy. Hopefully, I can post an improved version in a day or so.

Skipping Sarah. This is the one that kicked my ass. It’s still far too sloppy for my tastes, but I’ll be trying it again…

I also started work on my first attempt at my first major project – a Moroccan Tiles Afghan in Midnight Mosaic from Annie’s Kit Club. It’s a GORGEOUS 54″x 54″ afghan that has bright colors on a black background. Here’s a couple pictures of what it’s supposed to look like 🙂

View One of the Moroccan Tiles Afghan in Midnight Mosaic that I’m hoping to make

View Two of the Moroccan Tiles Afghan in Midnight Mosaic that I’m hoping to make

Below is what I got done on it tonight, which isn’t much. I need to start over because it’s supposed to be 3″ and I ended up with 3.5″, and also because it honestly looks like crap, and not just because it’s still got all the tails hanging all over it! But I got a chance to see some of the techniques it uses and how difficult it’s going to be for a rank beginner, and I think I’ll be able to manage it. I just need to get a lot neater, first.

The center medallion of the Moroccan Tiles Afghan. Needs to be a tiny bit smaller and a LOT neater.

I’m really enjoying crochet so far. I like the feel of the yarn over my finger, and I love the feeling of creating something tangible, that someone else can use. I can see why a lot of people describe it at a kind of meditation or a form of therapy. I’m finding it a nice way to honor Frigga, the Norse Goddess and Odin’s wife.

So, that’s where I am with it now. I’ll post again in a couple more days.

Welcome to my crochet blog

01/10/202401/10/2024 by Kriselda

Hello!

I’m Kriselda Gray. This site, at least initially, is to chronicle my learning how to crochet. Eventually, when I get to where I actually have tips to pass along or things I can teach, I’ll include that, also. In the meantime, here are some examples of my very earliest work. These are just practice swatches, but they’re the first things I’ve crocheted, and I’m putting them here to compare with my later work as I get better.

These swatches are done with absolute crap hooks and cotton yarn (Worsted yarns are by Loops & Threads, the DK yarns are from Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton.)