Tag: yarn

crochet:: the week in afghans…day 5

How do I use up leftover stash at my house?  An ugly blankie.

heavy weight ugly blankie 1

This one is great for grabbing random skeins 3 at a time.  I think it would make an awesome ombre afghan if it was planned out.  Yeah, I don’t always plan so much.  And I had a baby.  All my friends were having babies.  I had LOTS of pastels left over.

heavy weight ugly blankie 2

If you want to make one:

heavyweight ugly blankie:

M or N hook

lots of scrap yarn, like LOTS

holding 3 strands together, chain desired length.

row 1 – dc in 5th ch from hook, * skip 1 ch then dc, ch, dc in next stitch (V st). Repeat  from * to end.  (make dc in last ch) Ch 3, turn.

row 2 – dc in same st, then dc, ch, dc in each ch 1 sp across, dc at end, ch 3, turn.

Keep adding in random yarn as you run out and make as many rows as you want.

This ends our week in afghans friends.

Next on the docket: pasties

You’ll love ‘em.

crochet:: in search of a hat

Doesn’t this child look like a doll?

(Minus the red-eye.  Just pretend that isn’t ruining the photo.  Pretty please.)

So cute…and the hat is fab too.

In fact, the hat is so fab that I am in search of a pattern to crochet one for a little boy that will be arriving in a few months.

At the craft show a couple of weeks ago, my preggers crafty pal from Ta Da! Workshop fell deeply, madly in love with this hat and suggested that it would make a lovely baby shower gift for *cough* somebody.  I, of course, must oblige.

Anyone have this pattern that they are willing to share?  Or know what brand the yarn might be?

crochet:: cowl scarf

 The clock is ticking on my craft show and I need items that work up quickly.  Nailed it!

…and not even nailed it like this:

not my photo

because I know, I know…I have a habit of often ending up as THAT GIRL…

Taking Husker gear to the show was high on my priority list this year. I really like cowl scarves, no tangling up with purse handles, no trailing behind you when the wind blows…and of course, team colors are always a big hit in the Husker Nation.  News flash: I was just told these are not in fact called cowl scarves anymore, they are now called ‘gators’.  Go figure, I’d never heard of that one.  And yes, I know I look like THAT GIRL, but it’s still 90 degrees here and I wasn’t going to pretend that it’s blizzard season yet.

I’m testing a new-to-me-yarn and loving it.  A local store, the only one with yarn in a 15 mile radius, is closing and I got an awesome deal on a bunch of super bulky Lion Brand Hometown USA yarn.

Lion Brand recommends an N hook, and I sped through 2 cowl scarves in less than 3 hours.  I can do this!!!!

Have a ridiculously amazing day!

crochet:: yarny little friends

I fell in love with these little Rainbow Kids.

Aren’t they just a-frickin-dorable??

So first off, I want to thank Maryanne (one of the woolhog chicks) for the inspiration.

They’re so cute that I just can’t stop making them and sharing them with my friends’ kids!

And if you know me at all ~ you are 100% correct ~ I cannot resist naming each and every one of them.

crochet:: little WiPs = done

Just a couple of small projects this week…

~not really a practical wearable considering how often I wash my hands~

~I finished some forgotten dishcloths found at the bottom of one of my baskets~

And other than that…I got nuthin.

My creativity has been on vacation since last week (or longer).  My son is trying to hijack a bolster pillow form that I had big plans for.  I was finally going to make use of this aqua blue yarn, and he wants the pillow for himself in red & black after seeing my dishcloths.  Of course I will give in, I’m the mom.  That’s what we do.

We always take the burnt toast 🙂

I’m thinking of this pillow instead with the aqua yarn because someday my living room will look like this.  Yeah right.  But a girl can dream…

The weekend is almost here, wishing your’s to be ridiculously amazing.

Thanks for stopping by.

PS – IYBD is coming soon.  Are you ready?  (pssst ~ it’s June 9th so you still have time to join the fun!)

crochet:: getting organized

I’ve spent my free time lately getting organized in my she-cave.

I’m needing a name for it…but I can work on that later,  ya know…once the room has more personality.

I’ll spare you the details of the before pictures when it was really bad.

Let’s just say at one point the door was not able to open and stacks were about 3 feet high.

I just couldn’t handle the toy-box-o-shame  toy-box-o yarn any longer and something HAD to be done.  Once it’s all cleaned up ~ I get to re-design my magical craft closet.   I can’t wait to rip out the shelving and start fresh.  Then to re-decorate and paint and find new curtains…

 I’m really digging this whole she-cave thing and I plan on making a totally girly room that NO ONE in the house wants to even enter.  This insures that I will have uninterrupted time with no boys.  It’s like a freakin club house that has a big NO BOYS ALLOWED sign on the door and that suits me just fine.   It’s like I get my own room after 20 years of not being able to use the bathroom without somebody walking in and starting a conversation as if that’s NORMAL!!!  Moms never get 2 seconds to themselves and I for one, am being selfish and getting some now instead of waiting till hell freezes over.

I have taken over 3/4s of the closet too.

Ooooh-Rah!

(however you spell it ~ I’m married to a Marine so I guess that’s how I need to say “Hells Yeah!”)

He is still using the top shelf just because he is tall and I expect to kick his silly butt out of it too.

 It’s only a matter of time.

crochet:: mojo returns! (just like a corny movie sequel)

Hey Y’all!

I found my crochet-mojo and I’m a happy hooker again 🙂

My new neighbor brought these over just because she knows I’m totally addicted to all things yarny.

Vintage apple potholders, yay!

How sweet was that?

I was amazed because such a short time ago I was looking for a pattern like this.   Ask and you shall receive!  Now I have something to study to make my own strawberries, and I have 2 apples already made for me.  Kinda cool!  And the little wormies are detachable, so I think my niece and nephew will enjoy seeing them too.

Please click this link to purchase the pattern in my Ravelry shop

So my hooker-mojo has me seeing socks.  The seasons are hurdling towards winter here on the Great Plains and I really like my first pair of home-grown footies.  I have started a new pair and purchased enough yarn to make 4 more pair.  They are soooo much more comfy-cozy than the store bought types.

I also found this great book and I have all 4 planned out.  I’ll soon be the sock queen, I hope!

Have a lovely weekend and make your day ridiculously amazing (because no one will do it for you)!

Thanks for stopping by 🙂

crochet:: a study on hooks and other random crap

I believe I am in need of an intervention.

Is there a 12-step program for this???

I am afraid I am becoming a yarn-hoarder.

Isn’t admitting you have a problem the first step?

~some of today’s purchase~

~the next big thing project yarn~

~and a  totally cool idea for a kid’s room in the making…

with the yummiest beads I have ever seen!~

I love glitter!

If being a yarn-hoarder wasn’t bad enough, I am also showing distinct signs of being a hook-snob as well.

I have lots of hooks.  I liken it to the way a man has 30 different wrenches.

The right tool for the job as my husband says.

But my junk just takes up less space. REALLY IT DOES!

At least I don’t need an entire garage for my crap.

I can fit all, most, some of it in my childhood toybox…there are only 2 layers I think, but it is kind of like trying to touch the bottom of the deep end of the pool…

(can ya tell it is had been through 3 kids worth of toys and is over 40 years old with those scratches?)

and my end table that holds a deceiving quantity of yarny goodness…and the big glass jar of scraps…

oh yeah, and the closet in the office, but we are NOT discussing that right now.

So anyway, back to the hooks…

Here is what I have observed in my 30+ years of being a hooker.

boye = acrylic

bates = wool, cotton & other natural fibres

steel = these are the leatherman tool for hookers – they can do nearly anything and can even replace a needle in a pinch

wood/bamboo = very comfortable for almost any fibre

plastic = yuk (only used when I absolutely have to – face it, who can really find a “Q” sized hook in anything but plastic?  Because if I did find one,  I would actually buy it JUST IN CASE.  I only use the “Q” about once every 10 years, but I would be willing to part with that blue plastic POS to have a shiny aluminum table leg or tree limb carved into a hook)

See how I inserted some useful information there?

And if all that weren’t bad enough, I am contemplating spinning.

Rumplestilskin I am not…and although I would love to learn to spin (I have even dreamt about it), I am truly trying to fight the good fight and resist.

I am losing that fight.

I have been googling sheep husbandry and organic dyes.

It is only a matter of time until I try spinning hay into gold…

Someone needs to intervene, really and truly.

crochet:: too many WiPs

I am one of those people that if left to my own devices with too many irons in the fire, I am overwhelmed and do not function well.  I have been left to my own devices too much lately.

Too many WiPs and nothing finished.  AAAAARGH!

These are merely some of the works in progress I currently have on the hook.

(I also have some up-cycled bracelets that are kinda cute and I will share them a little later.)

Hex-in-a-square…all I can say is yuk.  Not liking it so much.

If it really becomes the flip side of the hawaiian granny pillow, it will always be the backside, hidden against the couch.

I do not excel a these hexagons.  I don’t see myself making this one again.  Buh-bye pattern…

As for the little pink squiggles…

those are iPad sleeves made with my super-simple laptop sleeve pattern.

iPad sleeve tip::

if you do not own said iPad, merely cut a piece of strong cardboard (7 1/4” x 9 1/4”) as a template

I am trying a new-to-me brand of cotton yarn, and I am quite impressed with the quality.

It’s Lion Brand Cotton Ease.

Good stuff.

So, on that note I am off to try to finish something.

Typing hands can’t work a hook…and my friend’s iPad is getting cold.

Thanks for stopping by 🙂

Edited to add::  

I’m adding this by popular demand and for all the nice people who have pinned my stuff on Pinterest, here are some directions to get you started.  Thanks for visiting 🙂

3-D hexagon::

This is based on a vintage pattern, and is much smaller than my photos above. By all means, please feel free to share tips in the comments if you find a way to make it larger.  I’m getting tons visitors from Pinterest who would love the know your secrets if you can get it to lay flat after the 9th row.

pattern notes::

* US terms

* fptr = front post triple crochet

* ch after joining counts as first stitch throughout pattern

* for multi-color version use 2 rows per color, change colors every other row

Ch 3, join with sl st to make ring or use a magic ring (my preferred method for this one)

Rnd 1 – Ch 3, work 11 dc in ring, join with sl st (12 dc)

Rnd 2 – Ch 3, dc in same st, then 2 dc in each dc, join with sl st (24 dc)

Rnd 3 – Ch 1, * 2 sc in next dc, sc in next dc, skip next dc but work 1 fptr around corresponding dc 2 rows below, sc in next dc. repeat from * 5 more times, join with sl st (30 sc & 6 fptr)

Rnd 4 – Ch 3, dc in same st, 2 dc in next st, dc in each of next 3 sts, * 2 dc in each of the next 2 sts for corner, dc in each of next 3 sts.  Repeat from * 4 more times, join with sl st (42 dc)

Rnd 5 – Ch 1, * sc in next dc, 2 sc in next dc for corner, sc in each of next 2 dc, fptr around each of next 3 sts 2 rows below.  Repeat from * 5 more times, join with sl st (30 sc & 18 fptr)

Rnd 6 – Ch 3, dc in next st, * 3 dc in next st for corner, dc in each of next 7 sts.  Repeat from * 5 more times ending last repeat with dc in each of last 5 sts, join sl st (60 dc)

Rnd 7 – Ch 1, sc in each of next 2 dc, * 3 sc in next dc for corner, sc in each of next 2 dc, fptr around each of next 5 sts 2 rows below, sc in each of next 2 dc.  Repeat from * 5 more times ending with 5 fptr, join with sl st (42 sc & 30 fptr)

Rnd 8 – Ch 3, dc in each of next 2 sts, * 3 dc in next st for corner, dc in each of next 11 sts.  Repeat from * 5 more times, ending last repeat with dc in last 8 sts, join with sl st (84 dc)

Rnd 9 – Ch 1, sc in each of next 3 dc, * 3 sc in next dc form corner, sc in each of next 3 dc, fptr around each of next 7 sts 2 rows below, sc in each of next 3 dc.  Repeat from * 5 more times, ending last repeat with 7 fptr, join with sl st (54 sc & 42 fptr)

Rnd 10 – Ch 1, sc in each st around working 3 sc in corners, join with sl st, finish off (108 sc)