Monday, January 19, 2009

CD Coaster Pattern and Finished Project

I’ve finished the Babies & Bears Sweater for my Grandson. It came out very cute but I’m not sure I would do it again. It was a bit complicated and it is not perfect. I added some yellow fishy buttons to finish it. I am somewhat pleased with the end result…….
Over the month, I have felt in need of more social interactions from fellow knitters. My full time job makes it difficult to join most knitting groups which are held during the week. Although the online community is great, it is not the same as communicating face to face with people. I found a new yarn shop about three weeks ago in a nearby town of Azusa, CA named “All About Yarn”. It is run by Veronika and Pillar. It is a tiny shop but the shop owners make the shop a warm intimate place open to the community crocheters and knitters. On the third Sunday afternoon of each month, from 3 to 6 pm. they have a knitting group open to anyone to come and just knit and chat. I went for the first time and found the group very friendly. Most of the knitters were beginners but the conversation was very comfortable sharing about family, children, grandchildren and schools, which many of us work for in some capacity or other. There was a group of about 6 or 7 of us.

I took my Milly Mop sweater to work on. I wanted to bring something that did not need much concentration to be able to join in conversation. The sleeves are finished. I am knitting on the back part of the sweater. I plan to dye the plain natural white fingering yarn once I complete the sweater. However, knitting stockinette for two hours without a break, was a little too much for me. When my forearms began to tire and ache, I had to stop and this gave me an excuse to browse around the store to see what kinds of yarn they had. There was an assortment of Acrylic worsted yarns for very reasonable prices ranging from $4 to $10 a skein. This was very appropriate for the community this shop is in which is in a residential area of medium to low income families. They had some Debbie Bliss yarns and Opal Sock Yarn, which of course, was more of the higher end in cost. I think a saw a few skeins of Noro, as well. I finally chose a couple of varigated skeins of Ella Rae Amity, an acylic/wool blend, that was soft and I thought would make a nice scarf.
Since I finished a project, I had a need to start a new one. I’ve been in need of some coasters, so I found my CD coaster pattern I redesigned based on a pattern I found online by Doris Carolyn Murphy that is no longer available online. This coaster is a nice gift and I see my family and friends still using them after many years. They absorb the condensation of iced drinks and protect tables from water rings and scratches.

Diana’s CD coaster pattern

Re-designed by Diana Hilton

Size G crochet hook
Red Heart Super saver worsted yarn or any worsted weight yarn.
A Compact Disk or DVD (5 in. diameter)


Chain(ch) 6. Join with a slip stitch(sl st) to form a ring.

Round 1: Ch 3. This will count as 1st dc (double crochet). 1 dc in next ch, 2 dc in each chain st (12 dc). Join with a sl st at the top of the ch 3.

Round 2: Ch 3 to count as first dc, dc in same st as joining in the previous row, 2 dc in each of the remaining 11 sts. Join with sl st (24 dc).

Round 3: Ch 3 to count as first dc;* 2dc in next dc; 1 dc in next dc*. Repeat between * * 10 times, ending with 2 dc in last st. Join with a sl st at the top of the ch 3.(36 dc)

Round 4: Ch 3 to count as first dc; 1 dc in the next dc; *2dc in next st; 1 dc in next two sts *; repeat * * 10 times, ending with 2dc in next st, 1 dc in last st.. Join with a sl st at the top of the ch 3. (48 st)

Round 5: Ch 3; dc in each st around. Join with sl st. (48 sts). This is the edge row.

Round 6: (Decrease row). Ch 3; Dc dec in next st as follow: *YO, insert hook in st and draw loop, YO, draw loop through two loops (there should be 2 loops left on needle), YO, insert hook in next st and draw loop, YO, draw through two loops, YO, draw through three loops( dc dec) ; 1dc in next two sts*. Repeat between ** 10 more times. Join with sl st.

Round 7: Insert CD into coaster now. Continue in row in Ch 3 ; *dc dec in next two sts; dc in next st * repeat between* * around to end. Join with sl st.

Round 8: Closing off coaster opening, ch 3; dc dec in next two sts around. Join with sl st and end off. Weave in tail.
Abreviations:
Ch: chain st (yarn over and through loop on needle)
Dc: double crochet (yarn over insert hook in stitch, yarn over, through 2 loops, yarn over, through two loops).
Dc dec: double crochet decrease (see instructions above).
Sl st: slip stitch (insert hook, yo and bring through both loops)

1 comment:

Kathleen said...

That CD Coaster is a great idea. I have a bunch of old CDs that I was wondering what to do with.