Yay! Another Crochet Project Done!

Last night I finished these for my daughter.  Both patterns are from the Lion Brand website.  They have a lot of free patterns for crocheting and knitting.   And the thing I like in particular is that there are often many reviews of the patterns posted by others who have tried them.  I find the reviews very useful since besides rating the patterns, users often include tips on how  they may have adjusted the pattern if it didn't seem to work for them.  Sometimes photos of finished projects are even posted.  You do have to register with the site to access the patterns, but it's free.

            

Here's my model, Beatrice, wearing the Morning Stroll Hat  and the pattern can be found here.  The instructions were simple and easy to follow.  The only two changes I made were adding a couple additional decreasing rows, since it seemed it was going to be a little large for the size of the band I needed to fit my daughter;  and I also added a row of double crochet to the band itself.  I thought it would give it a little bit of a softer stretch and feel around her head.

And here is Beatrice again, wearing the lacy Scalloped Cowl,  which can be found at LionBrand.com .   I was happy with the way it turned out but I did adjust this pattern by adding to the foundation chain.  The instructions say to chain 56, but after doing so, that seemed a bit small when I put it around my neck so I added 16 stitches figuring that it probably needed to be a multiple of 8, and it worked out fine.  These instructions were also fairly simple and easy to follow.  (These photos make it look more yellow-y than it is...it's more of an off white, creamy color.)   The nice thing about this cowl is that because of it's lacy-ness, it will be a great one to wear in the spring.  I think I might crochet more in different springy colors.

Head To Toe

WooHoo! I've finally finished something! besides dessert  I don't know what's been going on with me but I've been in some kind of weird funk when it comes to my creative side. It seems like lately, the past 6 months worth of lately, that no matter what project I've started it's been a big fail, for one reason or another. And boy, can that be discouraging. Hmm, maybe I've been in a persistence training program for which I didn't even realize I signed up.   Anywhoo...I've made progress, thank The Great Spirit of creation!

In the last couple days, two of the projects I've finished are for my out-of-state daughters. One is a crocheted beanie. I've only completed one other crocheted hat in my lifetime and that was an earflap hat for my son. For a long time now, I've been searching for a simple beanie for my girls with no success. I've tried several different patterns but none seemed to work, the problem being my inexperience, I'm sure. So, after a gazillion attempts I put the hat-crocheting-madness to bed for a bit. Well, with holidays and birthdays approaching, the alarm went off and I woke the monster!  This time I had an acceptable result.

The directions said to be careful not to let the foundation chain twist while joining the ends.   I tried many, many things to keep it straight but as soon as I'd get close to finishing the 1st row I could see it had twisted.  Which would have been great if I had been crocheting an infinity scarf.  I ripped and stitched more times than I care to say.  I have no idea how most people manage this but I ended up pinning my foundation chain to a bolster pillow form that I had in my closet.  It worked!  Ahh, yesss, relief.

I found a very easy flower pattern here at Anne Marie's Crochet Blog.  She has so many cute things there that I'm getting a cup of coffee and going back there after I finish this post.  For my first flower, I was happy with the way it turned out.  

I decided to use my friendly bolster as my beanie model.  I think she's quite photogenic for a wad of stuffing.  :)

                   

I'll have to give her a name.....Beatrice!   Yes, Beatrice Bolster.  That'll do.

Now for my slippers, yay!  I found an easy, easy, pattern here on Hectanooga1's YouTube channel.  I used her basic pattern and changed just a couple of things.  I made the sides a little taller and added a trim to the top edge.  

They look like booties in this photo, but they're not.  They stretch out on the foot and look more like the shape of a Mary Jane without the strap.  I wonder if the strap is the Jane part?  If so, then these are just Mary's.  :)  I'm planning on adding an embelishment to the top, but haven't picked one yet.  Flower, button, foofie fluffy ball?...I can't decide...too many choices for my over-crowded brain at the moment.

Ohh, it feels so good to finally finish a project!  Yippie Skippy, I got my groove back!  Now onto the next project.    

Love, Love, Love

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"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." ~John 15:13

Loving Wishes To All

     Early this morning, my 18yr. old daughter hopped on a plane and headed southwest where she'll be living, (for who knows how long) at least for the time being.  So, that makes 3 daughters now living out of state.  I miss them immensely.  But, I'm thankful that they are all happy and healthy and they have always been beautiful blessings to me. 

      I don't know if it's just my imagination, but candy hearts don't seem to be what they used to...I couldn't find one "Be Mine" or an "XOXO" or even just a plain old "Love" in the whole bag.  Call me old fashioned, but it seemed kinda strange to see "LOL" and "eMail Me" stamped on those little colored hearts.  And seriously, "Hey You" ?  We don't say "Hey, you!" to each other, seems a little rude.  :)

      I crocheted a few little red hearts for the kids.  I found a pattern at julie-k's blog.  Mine look basically the same as hers, but for some reason when I followed her pattern they came out almost round, so I changed it just a wee bit to make it more heart shaped.  I added a couple double crochets and an extra chain stitch.  They worked up so quick and easy and were fun to make.  :)  I am really enjoying crocheting.

Crocheted Soap Saver

Again, I followed one of traceyishh's tutorials posted on her YouTube channel.  It was for a Spa Loofah Soap Saver.  It was very easy to follow and it worked up pretty quickly.  I'm pretty much a new crocheter and I consider myself on the slow side, so I can only imagine how quick and easy this would be for someone who is experienced.

Making some as gifts for my daughters and sending them with a few bars of natural organic soap.

  I was happy with how it turned out, and I just love this Moss Stitch.  I've already started a washcloth using this same stitch and I'm really excited about how it's turning out.  

Crocheted Mary Jane Baby Booties

I have been looking for a Mary Jane Slippers pattern for adults and came across this video tutorial for Mary Jane Baby Booties on You Tube done by traceyishh.  Her tutorial was perfect for me - she went nice and slow and explained everything!  And being able to watch her crochet each step was also a big help.  Besides that, she has a lovely voice and pretty hands :)) which made it even more enjoyable to view.

Here's traceyishh's

Here's my attempt.

I know I did something wrong because mine turned out a little longer than hers but I was still happy with it.   Now I need to do it again to see if I can figure out where I went wrong.  I hope I can get this down since there are a few babies I'd like to make these for.

I have also just found traceyishh's blog, yay!  It's The Jilted Ballerina, and she does such beautiful yarn work and has links to all her tutorials and patterns there.  :)

Crochet Problems

I am slightly frustrated with my crocheting right now.  I have tried several different patterns for hats and none of them seem to be coming out as the pattern picture shows.  I even purchased a pattern online and have had quite a bit of difficulty with it.  I've been doing a lot of ripping out and restarting, and I'm not that quick of a crocheter so all this time spent with nothing to show for it is a little sad.  :( 

Sewing is so much quicker for certain things.  But, I do love crochet - not ready to give up on it yet.  I just wish I could find a "fool proof" pattern - if there is such a thing - for a nice slouch hat.  I'm going to keep looking and trying.  I've also been looking at slipper patterns and giving them a try.  Hopefully, I'll have more than dishcloths and scrubbies done soon - want to get some gifts ready but it's taking so long, grrrrrr.

Okay, going to dig in and try again.  

Crocheting Again

Wow, it's been a long time since I've been here.  Hard to keep up sometimes.  Anyway, I've been crocheting again.  I would like to do it more consistently, along with sewing. 

I still consider myself a beginner at crocheting. 

Here are couple things I've been working on lately.

The first is my Blue Bird.  I have fallen in love with many of the amigurumi animals, especially these cute little birds.  I was a little chicken at first to give it a try (pardon the pun), but I finally just dove in and did it.

These are all supposed to be single crochet and crazy enough I had forgotten how to do that most basic stitch.  So, I googled it and watched the first video I found on it.  The funny thing is though, that without my realizing it, they had showed the wrong way to do the stitch.  So, I did the whole bird in this other stitch, half way between a single crochet and a half double crochet, (not sure if it's even a stitch) and I was thinking that my bird seemed a lot bigger than the one with the instructions.  Now I know why, ha!  Oh well, I still think it turned out okay.  I kind of made my own tail, since the instructions I had didn't explain how to sew it on.  And I didn't have any of those "safety eyes" so I just embroidered the eyes on along with the beak instead of using felt.  For my first one, I was happy with it.  It quickly became my daughter's and she named it Bernard, and my other kids all want one now. 

I didn't completely follow the instructions from any one website, otherwise I'd post it here.  But, here is a link for the one that comes the closest to it at Bitter Sweet.  Her birds are adorable, and she does lovely work on so many other items.

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Here is my other crochet project, which I just started and finished last night.  It's a winter hat with ear and front flaps.

The hat looks orange in these pictures, but it's actually red and black.  I used Vanna's Choice 100% acrylic yarn from Lion Brand.  The pattern is the Earflap Hat  also from the Lion Brand website.  I wasn't completely happy with the pattern and I had to adjust it quite a bit, which was a feat for me since I'm such a novice crocheter, but in the end it didn't turn out too bad.  I'm not sure I would use this pattern again.  I am definitely looking for another earflap hat pattern though, because my other two kids would really like to have me make them one. 

And this is the VERY first time in my whole life I have made a pom pom.  It was so much fun!  And SO easy!  I am now looking for things I can use these on because I just want to keep making more and more, ha!!

Crochet Happines

It's funny how God arranges things. I took the food over to our Homeschool Friend who is recovering from surgery and got to visit with her a bit. She had broken her ankle and will be sitting in a wheel chair through most of her recovery, which must be so difficult because she is an active lady. Although, I know that it's often during these kinds of times that God blesses His children with life lessons and reminders of how it's good to be quiet and slow down. I'm sure God will bless her as she has blessed others.

Well, she was in the process of knitting a beee-yooh-tee-ful afghan. And as I was admiring it I mentioned how I've been trying to teach myself to crochet and she quickly and unexpectedly responded, "Well, come over later and I'll help you." Wow! How could I pass up that offer? So, I'm going over tomorrow afternoon and getting help with my crocheting. giggling and clapping hands I'm SOOO excited! Hee hee.

Poor Hubby and 1 of my daughters is sick with the stomach flu. Three of my other kids just got over it a little over a day ago. There is still 1 daughter and myself who have not had it...yet. :)