crochet:: did you forget something?

Yes, you.

Y’all were supposed to remind me about the whole complicated amigurumi thing that drives me insane. After the AT-AT debacle, you promised to stop me before I accepted any special orders for complicated toys that pay me about 30 cents per hour.  Ok fine, you didn’t promise…but dammit I wish you would have reminded me.  We’ll just leave it at that.

Frigging adorable hedgehog with a very well written pattern, that you can find here.

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While working on said adorable hedgehog, I became quite stabby…

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If this were a gift for someone I love, well that would be a different story….

I am only charging a reasonable fee for the order and yet it took over 10 HOURS TO MAKE.

Not my idea of a winning business model…so once again I implore you to remind me that toys are not my thing.  Thank you, that is all.

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crochet:: the girlfriend afghan

It started in October-ish…maybe.  I’m not sure when really, but Alex’s girlfriend Hannah asked me this past fall to make her an afghan.  She wanted sharp chevrons, all greys & blues & white, in totally random order, and about ‘this big’ gestures completed the order.  I showed her a varied lot with every color of blue & grey that I had in the magical craft closet.  Then I sent her off packing to the yarn store with her chosen scrap samples to pick up the loot necessary to approximately get her ‘this big’ blankie done.  Of course my ball-park guess was wrong and we made 2 more trips for yarn…that’s my S.O.P. ~ guessing is not my forte.

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I finally finished 3+ months later…fast afghans are not my forte either apparently.

The basics on the “Girlfriend Afghan”

 “H” hook

Red Hart SS in white, grey heather, charcoal, and light blue

 Vanna’s Choice in aqua

Chain 229

Dc 3 tog, dc 10, 5 dc, dc 10, dc 5 tog across to end, dc 3 tog, ch 2 turn

17 color stripes of 4 rows, with 2 rows of white in between each

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Also, don’t mess with Hannah. Alex was given the evil eye for the minor infraction of not wanting his picture taken.

crochet:: i’ll never make it as a hand model

Man do I love these mitts!

Last year at the Kansas Barn Sale, I got the pleasure of purchasing a pair from Tamara over at Crochet With Tamara.  I was immediately smitten and wore them all winter long. So when she shared where she got the pattern, they ended up on my queued for me list.  And then I promptly let them jump to the front of the line.

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And while it is difficult to photograph your own chubby little hand, I had to share.

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If you want to make a pair, head over to Moogly Blog 🙂

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Happy day friend ~ thanks for stopping by!

crochet:: updating my old sky scarf

Back 2012, I made a sky scarf.

I never wore it because I made it too large and used yarn that was too heavy.

sky scoodie

This year I fixed it.

sky scoodie 2

I added a hood.

And I actually wore it.

crochet:: headwraps are all the rage

In my part of the world it’s pretty cold right now and we are headed for the longest short month of the year.  You know, when all you want is for the weather to break and February is super stubborn.

I’ve been using headwraps this winter, and even though I am a little slow to adopt the craze, I still think they have been the accessory to have this year.  I have a spare shoved into my bag at all times and they take up way less space than hats.  Which we all know, I do not wear.

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The free pattern for this headwrap can be found here.

I made mine with her Resilient Superwash wool.  PS ~ this is where I got all the sari silk recycled yarn a few months ago.

It’s a tad on the expensive side, but wowsers I love that wool.  I’ve been making socks with it, and 1 skein will make a pair of socks and a matching headwrap.

The other day, Miss Cortini came into work with this one and I thought it was pretty cute.

wrap 4

It looked like knitting, but it’s actually crochet.  It’s hdc behind the back loop (not a bphdc), so it pulls the top loops forward. Kind of interesting.

Naturally, I decided to make my own take on it.

wrap 1

wrap 2

Would you like another free pattern? A two-fer today, woot.

winter headwrap::

K hook

Lion Brand Homespun yarn

rnd 1 – ch 45, hdc in 3rd ch from hook, then hdc 41 to end, 4 hdc in beg ch, then hdc back down the opposite side of the ch and make 3 hdc in end (makes 4 on that end too) join, ch 2, do not turn (or work in continuous rounds ~ your choice)

rnd 2 thru 4 – tilt your work towards you so you can hdc in the loop behind the back loop (that’s what makes it look like a knit stitch) and continue on with behind the back loop hdc on the long sides; on the ends where you have 4 stitches on the previous row make dc, dc & tr, tr & dc, dc still working the loop behind the back loop

rnd 5 – continue on with the hdc st, but on the ends switch to dc& tr, tr & tr, tr & tr, tr & dc in those 4 end stitches

rnd 6 – switch to sl st in the loop behind the back loop, join and voila ~ done.

Add your favorite flower, or not.  Add a cluster of buttons instead, or any other embellishment, or not.

Then sew on a big button near one end to be your clasp.

Finally…snap a late night selfie when you get it done…image

Happy hooking 🙂

crochet:: my masterpiece is complete

And the funniest part?

I have stats.

21 months

145 colors

254+ hours

16,747 (approx) yards of yarn

And the most impressive stat of all…

244,896 stitches

Boom.

palette afghan before

~before washing~

palette afghan

~after 1st shrinking wash~

palette afghan lexi

We’re going to give it the 2nd shrinking wash today.  I fully expect that it will have decreased by 1/3 in size…but we absolutely love it.

This has been my ALL-TIME FAV afghan ever.

And I don’t usually say things like that, because let’s face it afghans take forever to make and if the stitch, yarn, or pattern is a bore/hassle/frustration, I’m just satisified the experience is over.  This one was pure bliss all the way around.

I loved the yarn:: Knit Picks Palette (they don’t pay me btw, but they have been PIVOTAL in changing my mind regarding fibre choice & I will most definitely purchasing from them again.  Just sharing my personal thought as a customer.)

I loved the stitch:: ch, sl st, dc (can you say mindless so I can watch seasons of Sons of Anarchy, Game of Thrones, and tons of football??)

I loved the pattern:: 14 round grannies/join as you go (I could always keep a square or 2 in my purse with me)

The finished product is exactly what I was looking for.  Warm and squishy, soft and cozy, and my very first large-scale 100% wool blanket.

I love it when a project is successful. I’ve decided this is a family heirloom.

My son asked me how much time & money I spent on it.  So I told him & showed him my stats.

Then he asked:: Why didn’t you just buy a new comforter?

He is no longer in the will.

crochet:: my deathstar pillow can beat up your deathstar pillow

Hellloooooo friends.

I’ve been doing some child’s-play.

That’s no stretch for me, amiright?!

crochet death star 1

I’ve started my making for Christmas.   When the weather is beautiful, I have a NEED to make art on the weekends.

I have a Star Wars obsessed nephew and  had no choice but to make one after I

 found this pattern through the most odd set of circumstances on fb,

Holla!

crochet death star

crochet:: me, in a hat, lol

I tried this slouchy beanie from Vickie Howell.

oct husker hat

~ as usual, a #NoBraSunday project on the deck with LOTS of tea ~

oct husker hat 2

As you can see I needed to use Husker colors for my friend, Miss Cortini.

And I must say that she looks much better in it than I do 😉

Great pattern btw, but I would suggest using a light weight yarn.  I used plain old RHSS and it turned out incredibly bulky and heavy, but then I never wear hats.

crochet:: move along nothing (new) to see here

More.Monster.Hats.

monster hats

Sweet friends keep ordering the same old stuff.  So I keep making the same old stuff.

Like em?  Yeah, can’t help ya with the pattern because it’s not mine.  I just got inspired by stuff I saw on Pinterest.  As for the Very Hungry Caterpillar, my post is here with the link to the original pattern. It’s free, but also, not mine.

car coasters purple

I’ve been making lots of car coasters too.  Again, not my pattern but a link to the free pattern is here.  I love purple.  Just thought you needed to know that too.

The next photo is from my phone with it tossed on the arm of my chair at like 11pm, so it is actually a square and not some mutant squiggly aberration.

dish cloth

And then, I tried a new dish cloth idea.  Hmmm, not sure if it’s a keeper.  Any thoughts?

crochet:: bonbon

My talented and very funny friend Jill shared this BonBon Hat pattern recently.  While she is in the throes of a southern hemisphere winter and I am in the opposite, I still felt the need to try out her pattern.  I fell in love with it.  So wonderfully squishy and thick and warm.  Oh, and she told me about the Clover pompom maker ~ definitely worth getting!!!  My BonBon experience has been fabulous.  And I need fabulous in my life every damn day.

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I also did not read her directions completely.  I was a skimmer.  This first attempt will definitely be for a toddler.  Adults do not have skinny heads.  The second one?  Well, it is just turning out fantastic and will be ready for wearing in November.

But for now, I am back to making car coasters and market bags and  group yarnbombing projects and you know, stuff.  My farmers’ market days are becoming a blur, but I am finally making a little money.   My Etsy shop has had visitors & purchasers galore.    So here is a BIG THANK YOU to my wonderful friends in our little Share Week Group ~ let’s do that again soon!

Have a ridiculously amazing day!