Wednesday, November 12, 2014

World's Biggest Stocking

Caron United is setting out to make the World's Biggest Stocking.

Join Us! Make the World's Biggest Stocking
Source


Anyone participating?

You knit or crochet a 36x36" blanket (following their pattern of a solid block or a 9-square pattern) using Caron United yarn. Mail it in, and they'll sew together the stocking. Once completed, they'll disassemble the parts and give the blankets to military families.

Care to join?

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Boys

You know you're surrounded by boys when this conversation pops out of nowhere:

"That's my favorite thing about butterflies...

File:Viceroy Butterfly.jpg
Source

...you get to spell 'butt'."

Yep.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Quick Doily

Here's a little doily I whipped up yesterday.


Hubby called it a little Sunburst Doily! It only measures 5" across. I blocked it with water, but no starch yet. I'm trying to decide if I want it for this one or not. But I'm happy with the cheery colors!

Pattern is from Olga at Lacy Crochet. Check out her other great patterns, too!

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Long-term projects

A friend was recently giving me a hard time because of how long a certain project was taking me. I had started it on February 25, and the last stitch was completed on August 3. Now, obviously, there were a lot of other projects that were done during that time, but the fact remains that it sat in my 'in-process' stack for several months. (That's not too bad considering the blanket that was 'back-burnered' for 4 years.)

After reading this story, I don't feel so bad anymore.
Source
Wow!!! Talk about incredible craftsmanship! Simply beautiful.

What's the longest you've ever worked on a project?

Monday, August 4, 2014

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!

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Second-Hand Store Find

I just picked this up the other day with the purpose of taking it apart and using the yarn.


I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was done holding 2 strands together, so I'll have even more yarn than I originally thought!

Now to decide what to make...

Monday, July 28, 2014

Turning your work

Which way do you turn your work?

According to Lion Brand, this is the correct way.
Source     

So I'm curious how many of us do it the 'correct' way and how many do it the 'incorrect' way.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Replacement Blankie

A friend recently contacted me with a desperate plea to crochet her son a replacement blanket. His had been so well-loved that it was literally tied in a knot just to hold it together so that he could continue to snuggle and smell his blanket.

We figured that if he could choose the colors, the transition from old to new would go more smoothly for him. I also hoped to find a pattern that would be similar to the first.

He chose his colors, and I chose some potential patterns. As it turned out, it was all very different from his original, but we still had high hopes that he would be pleased. We also knew that, as it had happened with an older sibling, the acceptance of a replacement would be a long process.

The final product with his choices of red, orange, and blue I Love This Yarn:
Yep, it's just as bright as it looks! What fun when kiddos choose something I never would have thought to put together!

The verdict:
"[His] blanket is awesome!!  Apparently he didn't need any time to get used to it either, he has been carrying it around and was excited to take it to bed with him.  He also wants me to watch it when he isn't able to because he doesn't want anything to happen to it or for [little brother] to drool on it.   "

Haha!!! Music to a crafter's ears.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

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.

Monday, July 14, 2014

Lovable Owl

Wow--I'm finding lots of projects that were overlooked when I was too busy to post (though obviously not too busy to crochet...hmmm, how does that work? ...one apparently always takes a priority.).

This was a February Mystery Crochet Along at Crochet Spot. It was fascinating to pick out colors and start to crochet parts not knowing how they'd be put together. =) But he turned out to be so fun!

Oh, how I loathe the stitching of everything together at the end!!! Still, I'm glad he's all finished up.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Spring into Summer CAL-Aloha Flower Anklet

I first tried this with medium yarn, as suggested. It was just too bulky for my liking.

The second attempt was done with thread and an additional flower to keep it an odd number (like floral arranging!). I was so pleased with how the variegated thread lined the colors up so well!

...nice tan line... =P

Monday, July 7, 2014

Spring into Summer CAL-Water Bottle Holder

This was a fun project, and super useful, too!

This fits standard water bottles, and even worked for my larger one. It's handy to have a way to throw your water bottle over your shoulder when you don't want to hang onto it all summer long.

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Spring into Summer CAL-Dishcloth

This pattern is called Absolutely Fast Dishcloth. It was certainly a quick project, but it wasn't 'absolutely fast' for me. Unfortunately, I'm kind of particular about my dishcloths. Am I the only one?

In fact, the term 'dishcloth' vs. 'washcloth' is an important distinction for me. Wow. What a freak, I know.

Regardless, there are certain 'cloths' that I will use for washing dishes and others that I'll use for wiping down counters or tables. What I use for washing dishes needs to be of medium size with fairly tight stitching.

This pattern looked to fit the medium requirement, but the stitches were obviously pretty loose. Treble crochet was used to make it 'Absolutely Fast.' It makes sense!

However, to fit my tight-stitch preference for washing dishes, I opted for a much smaller hook. It slightly changed the speed at which it came together and the look of the final product, but once I start using it at the sink, it will never look the same again anyway! =D


Monday, June 30, 2014

Spring into Summer CAL-Coasters

For some reason, I have 2 sets of Christmas/winter coasters, one set of fall coasters, and some Kansas City Chiefs coasters that were given to us as a housewarming gift from an uncle that is a huge KC fan. Nothing graces the coffee table as a 'summer' coaster. This project was a perfect fix.

They turned out so adorably that I was almost afraid to use them at first!

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Spring into Summer CAL-Bow

Embellishments are always nice to have around so that you can quickly add them to a finished project at the last minute.

How cute is this?
A little orange bow with a bright yellow center might be just the right addition to some of those chemo hats!

Monday, June 23, 2014

Spring into Summer CAL-Bookmark

Rachel at Crochet Spot is coordinating a Spring into Summer Crochet Along with several fun, quick, and simple summer projects. These have been perfect items for me to throw together while sitting outside enjoying the warm weather.

First up is a cute little bookmark out of some cotton yarn.

Lots of trouble with lighting that day...but the 'stem' is a lime green and white variegated that added a little fun to the flower colors.

What a perfect item for another perfect summer activity--reading!

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Remaining Chemo Hats

 I've been away from the computer a lot lately, so I've missed posting the rest of my hats and lots of other summer projects!

This first hat has a beautiful butterfly/bow look on the front. Pattern found here.

Two coordinating hats with a removable flower that matches either one. Patterns here and here.

This hat ended up being a little too tight around the brim, so I frogged it and made two new ones in its place. Hopefully I took pictures... ;-)

This is a SUPER soft yarn with very light pastel flecks in it. Pattern found here.

Ugh...this hat. I absolutely love this yarn. I've used it for other projects, and it's wonderful! So imagine my disappointment when pattern after pattern just wouldn't work! I eventually created something mostly based off of this pattern.

These hats were intended to be versatile for use with or without flower embellishments as well as allowing a variety of choices each day. It's gotten warm enough now that these are mostly useless for the time being, but that's OK! Hopefully as she continues to heal, these will just end up in the winter clothing bin!

Monday, April 28, 2014

Creative Corner

A little glimpse at my afternoon of creativity.


Here's hoping all goes well!

Thursday, April 24, 2014

More Chemo Hats

Well, her hair is officially coming out. We just took a batch of 10 hats to her, so she's excited about having a bunch of choices for each outfit each day!

Flapper Hat in pink with a gray trim and bow
This one is a little hard to see when it's not on a model, but the little brim makes it super cute. The ridges give it a little added fun.
Pattern was found here.

A simple granny-style pattern hat which ended up being a mash-up of various patterns I had.
I wasn't sure if she'd end up liking the patterns with a lot of open holes once her hair was gone, but I also knew that sometimes she'd probably want a lighter more airy hat once it gets hot out. This flower is not sewn on so she can put it on other hats or use the hat without the accessory.

And a fuzzy, fleecy pink hat. This was a crazy creation in my brain using a lot of V-stitches because I wasn't quite sure how much yarn I had. I was pretty happy with how it turned out, though! It's a little more of a snug style, so if her head/skin becomes sensitive and tender, it may not be a favorite, but for now, that hasn't become an issue for her. Due to the V-stitch, it is also another holey pattern, but the fluffy bulky yarn makes it less obvious.

And the last for today is a fun springy flowery hat. Finally got the camera and computer to play nice, and this one's color is still a little hard to see (or my screen just isn't clear enough). Anyway, it's a soft canary yellow and lavender. It's a bit more roomy, again to allow for potential sensitive skin issues.
This pattern was found here.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Chemo Hats

A friend of ours (5 years old) was just diagnosed with a serious cancer, so I've been making a bunch of chemo hats for her. Hopefully they'll keep her little head warm in this very cool spring, and keep the sun off her tender skin once summer hits.

After making the first two, her big sister confiscated the other one (it was 'her' color, and little sister was more than happy to share! ;-) ), so technically, this is the first of her hats.

(Still camera and photo issues so color isn't very true...)



This was made with Lion Brand Homestyle Yarn in Ambrosia (nice and soft for a sensitive head), with a purple flower embellishment.

I have a huge variety of patterns and soft yarns, so I'll be posting several as I go (5 more are already waiting photography!).

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Another Doily CAL-Friendship Doily

We're still waiting on pictures from last year's Doily CAL, aren't we? Ugh...what a huge project, a happy accomplishment, and well-received gift, but still no finished pictures posted! They'll make an appearance eventually.

In the meantime, I've started another one. March and April tend to be very busy months for us, but I was still super excited when Stitchy suggested another Doily CAL starting on April 17. Due to the busyness, it was best to start early and not wait.

I love this pattern so far! (FYI, there are a couple mistakes in the Special Stitches guide at the beginning so watch for that.)

Here it is as of Round 12 completed.
(It's currently back to the soft sage green color through Round 15. Sorry about the bad color. Still having picture troubles...)

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Quick Earrings

I'm still not sure if the pictures will be working on my computer, but here's an attempt anyway. =)


Here's a pair of earrings I put together tonight.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Ummm, no

Would you try this (if you had the balance/ability)?

On the Edge video

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Projects

I'm here! There are tons of projects just waiting to be posted, but my computer is having issues with the pictures. Grrrr. What's a blog post without pictures?

If a project is completed, but doesn't get blogged, did it really ever happen?

I leave you with that philosophical conundrum.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Doilies

Just before Christmas, I finally finished the Crochet Along doily from...April? Wow. A lot of projects crept in and took over. But it still turned out beautifully. I'll be posting it soon.

Since then, there was a nice little Snowflake Doily pattern that 'cleansed my doily palette' after the huge project.

After my short break from doilies, patterns now keep popping up that interest me.

Olga just posted a doily she completed, and I liked it's simple pattern and elegance. She linked to the pattern.
Free crochet pattern: heart motif doilie
Source-CoatsCrafts.co.uk
Unfortunately, it's a chart pattern! Why do I always steer clear of these? Maybe the whole picture is too overwhelming. Maybe reading and working round by round is a little more manageable. Maybe the symbols are too tiny and apt to make me lose my place.

Whatever it is, I probably won't be making this doily right now. But someday, I'm going to have to try it.

What is your preference? Written patterns or charts?

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Homemade Chicken Stock

Delightful!


There's nothing better on a cold day than that smell as it simmers away.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Soap Scrap Saver

Another quick project from the end of last week was the Soap Scrap Saver.

Insert your leftover bits of the bar of soap here:

pull the drawstring,
and scrub away!

Hmmm...this is looking a bit grenade-like.

Based off of this pattern.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Baby Cocoon

This is the other part of the crown gift.

Somehow, the pictures wouldn't capture the correct color AND the fuzzy texture, so you can use your imagination to combine the two. =)
The pattern came from this book.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Quick Queenly Crown

Here's my quick project for today. Hopefully another will be completed shortly.



This was a special order for a special delivery baby, and it was made based off of this pattern.

Lots of layers

We have a warm-up ahead!

I'm planning on staying indoors again today and working on a crochet project for my sister.
Right Now
Today
Tonight
Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
Mostly Clear
-13°F
FEELS LIKE -31°
5°
HIGH
-5°
LOW
Partly Cloudy
Dangerous wind chills. Limit outdoor exposure. (Courtesy Weather Channel)

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Perspective

We just restocked our Tylenol. Is it sad that I looked at the bottle and said to myself, "Oh! That will cover 25 headaches!"?

Just wondering.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Quick Project

Well, there have been many projects flying off my hooks since I last posted. It will take me a while to catch up! Recently, we had a nephew and a niece born into our family. Yay!!! Great excuse for baby projects galore! There have been Christmas gifts, doilies, my 2013 scarf, and special orders mixed in.

Here's a quick taste (and a bad photo) in the meantime. Hubby asked for this hat this afternoon, so naturally, I obliged.


50 points if you get the significance!