A quick crochet project

My sister-in-law is expecting her first baby in April. We're all pretty excited about it.

She had her baby shower last Saturday (March 3rd) and I decided to make something for the baby.

I got on Pinterest and looked at all my pins for crochet, but didn't see anything I liked for a baby boy. So then I decided to look on Ravelry.

Bingo!

I looked at several things and finally decided to go with the Hudson Baby Blanket. It's an easy pattern and was a pretty quick stitch.........especially for me since I seem to always have too much to do and not enough time. Oh, and add to that that I decided to do this in the middle of February, completely ignoring that March was just a couple of weeks away.

Regardless, I got it done.

 

The pattern calls for Bernat Baby Blanket yarn, but my closest store didn't have that in the colors I needed. Instead, I opted for Bernat Maker Home Decor yarn in Pebble Beach and Aqua and crocheted with the two yarns together.

To package it for gift giving, I used a cake box with the clear opening in the lid.

I think she liked it.

Wait just a minute...................

How can I be out of yarn when I'm not done yet?

Isn't this supposed to work like not being out of money if I still have checks?

Brand new bag

Mama's got a brand new bag.  I made it myself but that makes it better. Right?

Here it is in the process of being made....

How to finish it? Decisions, decisions.

I'm happy with the final product.

I used the this pattern. It's really easy to follow and makes a cute bag.

A quick Valentine

I've been busy today making these hearts.

How cute is that? It's a tiny little heart, only about an inch. And the best part is,.,,,it's so quick and easy!!

You can find the instructions here.

Now go make some!!

Squared away

I know it's been forever, but this time it's actually not my fault. lol My computer contracted a couple of really nasty viruses. There were two different ones that are new that each did a lot of damage in completely different ways. We tried for a couple of days to make repairs to no avail. Then we took it to the computer doctor and after he spent a week trying to save it, we had to concede defeat and wipe the hard drive clean and start from square one. Not only did we have to reload all of the programs for work, we had to go back and retrieve (thank goodness we had carbonite) all of the files and pictures that were specific to my computer. At this point we've spent roughly three weeks trying to get things back to regular working order again, and I'm still finding little things here and there that we missed. It's just crazy.

In the meantime, I've managed to get all the pieces made for a sweater. Now it's time to join them all and see what I have. Wish me luck!

Boot Cuffs

I made these cuffs for my daughter, Kirsten, last year for Christmas. 

Or maybe I should say that I crocheted them, but didn't get the buttons sewn on until just recently.

How sad is that? The problem was that I couldn't find any buttons that I really liked. Frankly, I'm not crazy about these, but I figured I really should finish them so that she could have them.

It was a really quick and easy pattern, but I've since lost it. I've looked everywhere and just can't seem to find it - online or in print. If I come across it, I'll be sure to come back and post it here.

Another cloth...

I crocheted another wash cloth.

I don't think that was really what the pattern was intended for, but that's what I wanted it for.

It's a sunflower pattern. And, I should make note that it's not finished like the original pattern. And this time it's not because I just can't follow the instructions. It's because I was working on this in the car when we were taking the kids to spend the week with their grandparents. I was following along with the pattern on my phone. I found it on pinterest and I thought I had either liked or repinned the pattern. Well, it appears that I didn't do either of those things. I had made a mistake in counting somewhere along the way and when I went from my circle to a square I wound up with a pentagon. LOL So I pulled all of that out and then set it down. In the meantime, I closed the app on my phone without even thinking about it and lost the pattern. I tried searching everything I could think of and haven't been able to find it again so I had to do some of it by memory and then some of it I just had to make up.

But, here it is never the less. And, if I can't find the pattern again, it's totally one of a kind. But, it's a really nice pattern and I would like to give the designer her due credit and link back to the pattern in case someone else wants to make it. I'll keep looking and update here if/when I find it.

Just a little extra

Awhile back I bought a cute cotton dish towel at Target (my second home) that has red apples all over it. It's been sitting around waiting on me because I won't let anyone use it. But really, I've got a ton of old, stained dish towels to use. I want this one to just hang there and look pretty.

I'm sure you know what I mean!!

So, I finally got around to adding a little crochet trim to it.

Now, isn't that better?

Hopefully some day soon I can find where I put that towel bar that I bought to display some pretty kitchen towels. HA!

A Daisy'll do....

Over the weekend I had a few hours of time to myself (thank you mid-life hormone freak out that lets me sleep for only 4-5 hours) and I needed something quiet to occupy my time. Especially since I finished reading my book.

I had seen this pattern before and since I had bought some cotton thread I decided to look it up again and give it a go.

It worked up pretty quickly and I think it's cute. Which, of course, means I'll probably never use it to wash my dishes.

I did have a little problem making the instructions for the final round make sense in my head (but that is very likely just me.)

If you give it a try, I'd love to see your results!!

Wash Colths

I told you that I have still been crocheting. I've seen on other blogs where people go on about how much they've fallen in love with crocheted wash clothes. I had some yarn left over from the camisole I made and since it was 100% cotton, I decided to make up a couple of wash cloths.

The two white ones are cotton. I happened to be in Hobby Lobby and touched some bamboo yarn that was soooooo soft I had to have some. That's the red one.

I haven't used them yet. So far I just like looking at them all folded and stacked. Maybe I'm just afraid that I'll really like them and then I'll go crazy with making more and more. LOL I'm thinking they're a great way to use up left over yarn and to practice new stitches. If you make gauge swatches (which I never do--I'm bad that way) go ahead and make them big enough to use as a wash cloth later. Maybe now I should start doing that. lol

Crochet Camisole

I've been busy with crochet. I made this top.

Don't mind that it's too big on my skinny little model. It's for me, not her.

Look at her work it. LOL

I used 100% cotton yarn. I don't really know if it will shrink or not. I still need to wash and block it.

I got the pattern here. It really is a simple pattern with pretty results. If you think you'd like to branch into clothing with your crochet but have been afraid to try, this is a great pattern to start with.

The original pattern laces up the sides with ribbon. I didn't want it to lace so I decided to attach the second side as I went. I started at the bottom and worked my way up. When I got close to my last row at the top I found out I was misalligned on one side at the bottom. DRAT!! I had to pull it all out and start over. The second time around, I only attached on the one side as I went along. Once I was done, I attached the front and back along the other side. After all, what fun would it be to follow the directions and only have to make it once?

Handmade with love

For Mother's Day Kirsten (my daughter that is wild about crochet) made some jewelry for me.

She made both the necklace and the bracelet. She used two different patterns to make the necklace. I was really impressed that she did it all without any help.

I'd better get busy practicing my own skills or I won't be able to teach her anything more.

But then she can always teach me, right?

Joint project

One of my daughters (Kirsten) really likes crochet. I taught her some basic stuff and she made a few scarfs and is working on an afghan. I just have to say that the afghan is really long and she's doing it all in single crochet. By the time she's done with it, it's going to be too heavy for her to lift up onto her loft bed. LOL

Anyway, when we were at the library not too long ago she checked out a book on crochet and chose a bag to make.

She chose her own colors and got started on the bag right away.

I say it was a joint effort because there were a couple of rounds on the flowers where the instructions were pretty confusing so I did those. Then, she put all of the squares together and crocheted the rest of the bag.

We went to the quilting store and she picked out a fabric that I used to line the bag for her so that she could use it at school without pens and pencils falling through.

I had some concerns about the crochet on the strap being tight enough to hold much weight without stretching. After her first day of carrying it at school, she came home and said that it had stretched down to past her knees. LOL So, I took the excess and stitched it together to make a bow at the top and then lined the rest of the strap with the same fabric that the bag is lined with. It seems to be working and she's carrying the bag everyday.

I'm just so proud of her for stepping out and trying new things without being afraid of it being too hard.

Flower Pin

I made this pin the other night.

It's crocheted with some leftover yarn. The directions don't call for the felt leaves, but I thought it looked like it was missing something without them.

It was also really tough for me to use that button for the center. Do you do that? Have trouble using vintage buttons from your stash, I mean. I certainly do. And really, what's the point of buying all of the vintage buttons that I do, if I'm just going to go and buy new buttons every time I make something that needs a button?  Oh my gosh!!! I'm going to end up on Hoarders on day! lol

Anyway, I thought it looked pretty cute and it's a great little stash buster -- both yarn and buttons. Oh, and it's fast to make too. LOVE the quick projects.

I got the instructions from A Blade of Grass. She's got a lot of lovely knitting and crocheting (and free patterns too) on her blog. I stumbled across this pattern while perusing Ravelry.

New bracelet

I made this cute bracelet in a jiffy to wear at Addison's soccer tournament this weekend.

It's made from a strip of fabric cut from an old t-shirt and some pony beads. And when I say quick, I mean it. It took longer to string the beads than it did to crochet the bracelet. lol

You can see the tute for it over at The Stuff of Success.

She knotted hers together at the ends but I just left mine so that I could tie it in a bow when I wear it.

And, although it did look super cute and I got lots of complements, it didn't bring Addison's team any luck on the field. They lost all three games. As a matter of fact, they didn't even manage to score once over the weekend. *sigh*

Crochet beaded bracelet

Have you seen this bracelet at Nikki in Stitches?

(picture taken from her blog)

I absolutely love it!!

I tried making one this weekend, but mine didn't turn out anywhere as nice as hers. So I'll be pulling it all out and starting over again. I was finally starting to get the hang of it as I decided to quit. The beginning was just too bad to try to hide. lol

Quick project

I saw a great scarf at Dollar Store Crafts and knew I had to give it a try.


Of course I couldn't just follow her directions. Where's the challenge in that, right?


Anyway, I had some crochet thread that I had already strung a ton of beads onto for another project that I just never went any further with. So, I decided to use that to make a lighter, somewhat blingy-er scarf. (I'll make up words if I want to.....don't judge me. lol)

This is what I came up with.

Here's a closer picutre....

The scarf is super easy. It's just a bunch of strings of chain stitches all knotted together. I used 10 strings to put my scarf together. I only have two rows in it with beads on it. I didn't want too much. On the first row with beads I actually counted how many beads I was adding in each time and how many stitches between adding beads. I didn't do that at all on the second row.

I was going to add more than two rows, but a little way into my 3rd string of chain stitching the crochet thread was joined together on the ball and my beads wouldn't slide over it. I didn't have the will to re-string them so I decided that three rows was probably just too much. Don't you agree? lol

As usual, my girls are already fighting over who gets to have it. Little do they know this one is all mine.