Market Bag

This project was several years in the making. I finished the hexagons just before a move, and they sat taunting me ever since.

I decided to just tackle it and get it done. Easier said than done! Decisions on how to join them were excruciating! After finally making a decision and starting the process, I got two-thirds of the way through and found a major error.

Sigh.

Take it out, fix it, less than 24 hours and it was done! Phew!

Pattern here. Ugly colors since I was using up what I had on hand. =)

Bead Necklace on wire

I've done Bead Crochet for some time now, but I haven't been brave enough to try straight, simple bead-on-wire necklaces. The wire was just too intimidating and ...final.

Well, I purchased the supplies, and it was time to dive in.

It's far from perfect but acceptable for a first attempt.

The whole concept opens up so many possibilities, though!

Hearts Doily

This was a fun and quick doily project for my sister's birthday.

Unfortunately, the picture doesn't do it justice. It's a beautiful bright red. The pattern was found here.

Skirts

I've been away for a bit.

One of the projects that kept me away was for a friend of mine that needed a whole new wardrobe for the next few months.

It's not the clearest picture, but here's what we accomplished:

Out of 15 items, only 3 were pre-existing items that needed alterations. Everything else was made by us (with extra help from my mother and her serger!).

Sorry, we were so busy working our tails off that there wasn't a lot of energy for process pictures. Your imagination can fill in the cutting, ironing, sewing, more pressing, modeling, altering, and one silly moment after 11:00 p.m. when we realized we'd been a little too generous with a piece of material, and it was big enough for both of us...

Mother's Day Card, 2013

One of the Mother's Day cards I made for this year:

The inside:

The back:

This card was made with a mish-mash of stamps from Stampin' Up! and Hobby Lobby.

Unfortunately, this post has been held for a couple months now because I forgot to take a picture of the other one until JUST after sealing it. Grrr. =( We were hoping to get a picture later that week, but it never happened. We'll see if we can snap a picture another time because I liked how it turned out! ;-)

Feeling Patriotic

Happy Independence Day, my fellow Americans!

More pictures of the blanket will appear after completion. ;-)

New Mama Card

Ever since I bought this stamp set, I've been so excited to use it!

...and then it sat...

...and sat...

...and waited...

...and now (years later), I've finally put the stamps together and made a card. It would have been a shame to waste that money on unused stamps, right?

Hmmm. Picture issues. Well, the back has a tiny pair of feet punched out of silver paper, and the words "Happy Waiting!" underneath.

I'm not always a big fan of puns, but I'm a big fan of saying "You go, girl!" The play on words worked for me. ;-)

Updates

Since I last posted, it's been a little crazy around here. We've had a weekend away for a training event with junior high students, we made a whirlwind trip from Wisconsin to North Carolina for a funeral, had a huge event involving a formal dinner (hubby cooked) and high school students acting out a mystery for adults and peers, and our first weekend available to actually be at home was spent with a sick hubby. No Mother's Day celebrations for us except enjoying what Mama's do best--taking care of family, right? I wouldn't trade that 'down-time' for anything!

Well, in spite of all the craziness, I have completed a lot of crafty projects! Some with paint, others with paper, and definitely a bit of crocheting.

While I work on actually getting pictures onto the computer, I have a question for you fellow crafters.

Have you ever packed for a trip and scaled back on your 'necessities' in order to make room for your crafts? Have you spent more time deciding which crafts to take than what clothing to take? Tell me all about it! I love to hear your stories!

"Pearl" Bracelet

Our son has been in an Ocean Odyssey class this semester. Each week, the students were given a list of homework assignments that would help them earn points. One week, he chose to use beads to make a 'pearl' bracelet for someone (the lesson that week was about shells, univalves/bivalves, pearls, etc.).

Even though this blog is mostly my crafty creations, it's time to show off a little highlight of a kiddo craft.

He started with the simple pearls, and then he decided that he wanted some extra color added into the mix.

For the 'clasp' part, he added a large bead to one end and a loop of elastic to the other end.

Unfortunately, we could have used one or two more beads because this ended up just a bit tight (you can sort of see the impression from where it was sitting a little higher on my wrist earlier), but that's ok! Maybe I'll have to try to undo that knot and add a couple at some point so it's a little easier to wear. I'm proud of him!

Mother's Day Cards

Interesting time of year in the U.S. for this post. That's what happens when you look through last year's photos! You suddenly find a project you forgot to post.

Nothing special, just some stamped cards. But since I'm never very creative about making original cards, I was pleased with the final product. One for my mom and one for my mother-in-law.

This was done with a Stampin' Up! set. I stamped the letters, trimmed them close, stuck them to the turquoise paper, trimmed that close, and stuck them to the card which I had already stamped to create a colorful background. Fun geometric look!

This one was also done with Stampin' Up! stamps. It is just a stamped image and ribbon with layers of purple, red, and silver paper. It's hard to see in the photo, but the silver has a nice matte shine to it.

Do you ever hand-make cards? Do you have an intense amount of guilt buying any when you know you could just make them if you'd planned ahead or had enough time? Some people are so talented at it that I'm often afraid mine won't measure up, but that's what keeps us trying, right?

Another Gift Scarf

I finished another gift scarf recently. It's the first Catherine's Wheel pattern I've done. One misread step caused great frustration, but it all worked out eventually.

Yarn used is some leftover Loops & Threads Impeccable in Lavender, Chocolate, and Cream.

The pattern can be found here.

I'm not a fan of fringe--it seems to get messy too quickly or get caught in things. Instead, I finished the edges with a strand of Chocolate and a strand of Lavender in 15-20 ch before a sl st back to the edge to form the loop. I've done this once before and have been very happy with the results.

It turned out to be quite thick and warm!

A scarf gift

A few weeks ago, a friend gave me a free tear-off pattern she had found at a craft store. She mostly knits (with the occasional crocheted edging), but she thought the scarf was so pretty that she'd hang onto it for me. It certainly was very elegant! I'd never worked with Patons Lace yarn before, so what a fun opportunity to whip something together, try out a new yarn, and share it with her!

This yarn is beautiful!!! The pattern calls for 2 colors--one neutral and one variegated. The variegated one was not in stock at our Michael's, so I replaced it with another one that seemed to have a similar look.

Final product:

OK, a little explanation is in order. I was about to rush out the door to deliver this when I realized I hadn't taken a photo! Bad blogger!! So I threw it on really quickly and had hubby snap a shot before I flew out of the house. I delivered the gift, she loved it, I got home and realized I should have flipped that part around my neck so that you could see the colors better. Oh well, haste makes waste, right?

Notice how the gradient of color is very gradual, and it highlights the dark/light tones at one end and the mid-range tones at the other end of the scarf. It's also done in two layers; that's why you see the ivory spiraling around the grays. So you start with 222 ch, then sc across. Then you do 2 trc in the back loop only and continue your rows. Once that's complete, you take the other color and do 2 trc in the remaining free loop of the first row of sc then continue with the rest of the rows. Even though this is a very thin yarn, the double layer makes it plenty warm without being too heavy.

The pattern can be found here at the bottom of the links.
Colors were Antique and Patina. Less than one skein of each.
Size G hook.

I'll definitely use this yarn again! Maybe Bonfire or Sachet... But first, another friend admired this so much before I gave it away that maybe I'll have to use my leftovers to make one for her. =)

Temperature Scarf

It's taking a bit of time to get caught up with blogs again, so maybe I'm a little slow in catching on to some popular projects. But once the idea of this one entered my mind, I can't stop thinking about it!

Source

It's a scarf that has one row (or more) every day according to the weather. You choose your location (where you live or a place you wish you lived or a city you'd love to visit) and keep track of the average temperature of each day. Then you choose your colors according to those temperatures. The 'or more' of each day's row comes in if there are notable weather conditions (like a blizzard, high winds, thunderstorms, tornado, etc.).

Basically, you will end up with a scarf that is over 365 rows and a beautiful transition of warm and cool colors!

Initially, I thought that this project should wait a little while since I've recently started my third Ugly Blanket (a newly created pattern, too!). But since the idea just keeps brewing in my head, I've decided on this: I will keep track of our weather (going back to January 1) and start a list in a notebook. I will gather scraps of yarn that I need for the various temperatures and pick up a skein here and there of colors I don't yet have. That way, I'm not going to end up buying a whole ton of yarn all at once, but I'll still have all that I'll need to make this project.

Now I just need to decide what kind of yarn I'll use. Red Heart or I Love This Yarn are good choices because of the variety of colors, but Caron Simply Soft would be nice and light-weight for something that could potentially end up with a lot of length and weight. Obviously, Bernat suggests their own brand, Bernat Satin; however, I don't have any of that on hand.

I'm really excited about this being a project that won't be too warm to work on in the summer, too! Is anyone else making this project this year? Or have you done it in the past?

A picture

A friend just sent this to me. It's a pretty good depiction of my life!

Perhaps if this was accepted for my driver's license picture, it would be more recognizable as being me. Seriously, I've had to 'reintroduce' myself over email to people as 'the crocheter' so they know who I am when they don't remember my name.

I love everything about this.

Now where can I buy those socks?

Lavender Butterfly

I loved this one so much, I almost had a little trouble parting with it when I sold it! In fact, I've considered buying another packet to make myself my own set to create a combo with a dress that I'd someday like to alter/adapt so it might actually look OK on me... hmmm, lots of qualifiers, so maybe it's not worth it yet. We'll see. It's not like there aren't 372 other projects that should get done first anyway.

Size 6/0 Seed Beads. Peaceful colors or something, but I just love it. Is the green a bizarre addition?

Purple, Pink, and Pearl

...with a touch of gold, but that doesn't start with 'P.'

"Never underestimate the power of alliteration, my friend."

10 points if you can identify that line.

And now I'm off track, before even really getting on track! I blame it on a lack of sleep.

Size 6/0 Seed Beads purchased in individual tubes. Try as I might, I couldn't get the picture to translate the real colors. But that is definitely a purple and not brown. I guess you'll have to trust me that it's prettier in real life (if you can trust me to have an unbiased opinion!).

Turquoise and Pearl Bead Crochet Necklace

These Size 10/0 beads were purchased in a tube. Usually, that's plenty to get a necklace and a bracelet, but for some reason, the turquoise just didn't have enough. So it became a longer necklace!

I've also started adding bead caps to the ends of my necklaces and bracelets. I love the finishing touch (even though I broke one of my great-grandmother's crochet hooks doing it a few days ago...).

Northern Lights Necklace and Bracelet

This Bead Crochet Necklace was a bit of an experiment. I've found many color packets of beads that I really like, but I know it just wouldn't make sense to separate out the colors of the Size 10/0 beads. So I thought I'd try to do something different with this one. I kept 2 rows of silver and one row of black together, and then randomly strung the aqua-variety beads.

I mostly like how it turned out. Next time, I wouldn't keep the black ones in the 'random' threading. It seems a bit too 'chicken pox' for me. I'd like to see how it would turn out with softer colors sometime, too.

Bib Necklace

There are tons of projects on my list that are completed or in-process that are just waiting to be posted!

Here's my most current 'in-process' project.

I was asked to make a bib necklace, and since I'm not 100% certain what she'd like, I'm trying several varieties and patterns until one pops out as perfectly adaptable to how I want to create it.

This went much faster than I expected. It's an unknown yarn/thread that was given to me. I used a Size F hook, and it was finished (minus assembly, clearly...) in one afternoon. Love it! I found the pattern here.

Slippers

While we were growing up, my mom would make us crocheted slippers. They were always so warm and cozy! I couldn't remember the pattern for sure, so I decided to try a different style for myself.

It was a quick and simple project and didn't take much more than an afternoon, but somehow I forgot how I did certain steps between slipper one and slipper two. Ha!

Small amounts of leftover yarn were perfect for the pattern. Add your own flower or embellishment, and voila!

Also, taking pictures of your own feet is harder than I thought it would be...

Sort of a funny choice of color combination, but winter in Wisconsin declares that all is fair for the sake of warmth!

(Anyone else have memories of 'ice skating' in your slippers on the kitchen floor with your siblings?)