Sunday Serenity #287

 These are the crochet projects my focus has been on since I finished my sister's gifts last Monday.  They are all gifts which need to be finished by the time I leave here on June 9th.

This first one is the mini diaper bag for my cousin's grandbaby who was born in November which is when I began this.  *sigh*

I learned the Catherine Wheel stitch off of a video on YouTube and had to start a project with it.  I'musing size 10 bamboo crochet thread in white and coral for the wheels and twig for the bottom.

I timed myself on a row of wheels tonight.  Each wheel is actually twice around--once for the bottom half and once for the top half.  Turns out it takes me well over an hour to put in an entire row of wheels.

Then I measured the height--which is two wheels taller tonight than in these pics taken Friday night--against a water bottle approximately the size of a baby bottle.

 Then I did the math.  It was going to mean six hours per day of the remainder of my visit.

My sister said that was not reasonable and I should consider switching to an easier stitch for part of it.  She is right and I'm considering.

I finished the bottom panel tonight and started crocheting it on.  I am tired of the ring twisting on me and the thread wrapping around the band.

While I'm crocheting the bottom on I will continue to contemplate my options for a redesign using a quicker stitch for some portion of the top.  Because if I don't finish this while I'm here I'll have to mail it if I want it to read them while the baby is still in diapers.

 This motif in lime green size 3 thread I am going to use in the side panel of a handbag.  I will make a second one of these and then surround them each with black chain mesh to make squares.

It took me only about four hours to make this approximately 8in motif.  So another four hours for the second one and I'm guessing another four hours to do both mesh.  I'm still deciding on how to connect the two sides and what kind of handle to make.

I have a bit of leeway in time with this one as I can still be working on it in the car on the way home if I need to since the intended recipient is not in this area.  But it is a grad gift so still needs to be done by mid June.

Mom's Mother's Day gift--the scarf done in hand painted lace weight silk thread--is still unfinished and must be done before I leave.

But it is nearly done.  I have stopped adding rows of the love knot stitch and am putting in a shell edge and am almost half way around with it.  Probably eight more hours will do it.

The shell or fan stitch I'm using is 4 double crochet, 1 chain , 4 double crochet inside a two chain loop that I crocheted around the entire edge first.

The weight of the edging helps to pull the mesh apart.  It tends to bunch so that the entire twelve inch width could be pulled through a ring no biggeer than a nickle