Contagious Crochet, Part II

One of the first things I gleefully unpacked after our move was my yarn and crochet hooks. And after four months of being yarn-deprived, it's more like crack than crochet! I've been on a tear since then - whipping out cotton scrubby washcloths and trivets like no one's business. Well, except of course, that I'm about to post lots of pictures and totally make it your business. If you're interested, that is! :-)

I made my first flower trivets before Christmas, and they became gifts for LOTS of people, shown here wrapped around a small jar of crazy-good dill dip mix.

I also played with making a few small coordinated sets, each including a flower trivet and two washcloths. (One washcloth is a plain flat double crochet sheet, and the other is the nubby scrubby pattern that I came up with while recycling a failed bath scrubby!) These were considered highly experimental, and only distributed to a select few who I could trust with their honest but loving feedback.

Well, this time around, I've taken it up a notch and am now working on sets of five pieces. One round flower trivet, the same two square washcloths and two granny style washcloths as well. Ta da!!

The four square washcloths are my own patterns and design. The round flower trivet is made from a pattern by Maggie Weldon, of www.maggiescrochet.com.

The inspiration for this was finding the natural ecru cotton yarn on a huge 14 oz CONE and going :: Wow, I could make a TON of washcloths with this! And I totally am. :-)

My design philosophy has changed slightly, incorporating the brighter colors more as accents than as central elements. I've also tweaked the patterns some to achieve more uniformity of size through the set. I'm just having so much fun with these things it's getting a little ridiculous. So far I've knocked out five full sets - three of them in the new color scheme with blue/green, red/green and pink/purple.

I'm hoping to take them outside (in the new backyard!) and get some better photos soon. These were taken indoors, but will have to suffice for now.

Like 'em?  LOVE 'em?  Wanna get 'em in your colors?!  They are now available in my Etsy shop.  Woo hoo!  I'm happy to make a set just for you, as shown, or in pretty much any color combination you can think of.

They are 100% cotton, completely washable and reusable, so soft and gentle on your hands ... they will inspire more hand-dishwashing and counter-scrubbing than you can imagine, but totally in a good way.  :-)  Enjoy!

Visions of Spring Giveaway, by Irish Rose Creations

I'm not sure what to claim as "wish I'd thought of that" for this one ... doing a giveaway myself, or being able to offer such a spectacular prize!

The giveaway of mention is being offered by fellow Etsian Irish Rose Creations, and you can see all the details on her BLOG.  Short story is she'll be giving away THREE amazing "Ring of Roses" doilies (like the one above) to one lucky reader on March 8th.  (Full disclosure: I'm blogging about it here to get a few extra chances to win!)

If you have a moment, be sure to browse her shop - I've highlighted a few of my favorites below.  Her work really is amazing.  And she must be a much faster crocheter than I am ... no way I could offer a doily of that intricacy for less than $30 ... unless I only wanted to make 50-cents an hour!  Then again, I've only been crocheting for 18 months (give or take) and she's been doing it for 25 years.  I'll get there, eventually.  :-)

 

Tulip Patch Granny Square Afghan

This one is just so charming! And maybe it's because I'm in Michigan and getting ready for the spring flowers, but somehow this afghan is so hopeful - looking forward to new blooms!  I also really like the "quilty" quality of the block placement.  It really does look like a pieced quilt top, except it was pieced out of granny squares.

 

Crocheted Mint Green Lace Cross Bookmark

I don't generally go for crocheted bookmarks - which is odd since I like crocheted everything else!  But what strikes me about this one is how the shells come together almost like a butterfly motif, that is of course particularly apt for Easter.  I really like the packaging as well; it highlights the form and style of the item very nicely.

 

Shabby Shaded Blue Flower Appliques/Embellishments (Set of 2)

Again, the price point on this one blows my mind ... THREE dollars.  Are you kidding me?!  Either I'm greatly overestimating the amount of work required here, or I'm just way off base, but that seems crazy low to me.  I think these are just delightful!  Hmmm ... now to think of a new project where I could use them!  ♥

Contagious Crochet

Part of the 'problem' with crochet, apart from the relative cheapness and long shelf-life of yarn, is the abundance of free patterns to spark the imagination! I got started crocheting with a free pattern from Caron yarn for a heart motif cap - it's not listed any more, but there are lots of other great projects available. Plus you can always pick up a few new patterns down the yarn aisle of your favorite craft store, with the nice benefit of it being printed in color on handy-sized stock. (I've finally taken the step to organize my patterns and even have a small (5½ x 8½ in.) binder to put them in. Geeky good fun!!)

And of course, the ultimate idea-generator ... seeing things that other people have made and trying to duplicate them! Take, for instance, the crocheted bath pouf. I had seen several on Etsy that really intrigued me, but I couldn't bring myself to: 1) shell out for something that I 'easily' could make myself - ha!; or 2) buy something that I wasn't for sure I would like or not.  Free pattern to the rescue ... again!!  :-)

But I was 85% of the way complete with my very own bath pouf - and it looked spectacular! - when I realized that it was so dense that it would never really DRY between uses.  Since using a pre-dampened bath scrubby is unappealing (and I'm unlikely to actually launder it between every shower), I needed to find a way to un-make my nearly-pouf into something useful.  (Did I mention the other super-fabulous aspect of crochet? It's so easy to rip out and remake!)

So I un-made the pouf ... and created the washcloth/scrubby!  I've seen various patterns and examples of the crocheted dishcloth, but this one is from my very own imagination (not a pattern).  Even so, it turned out to be pretty close to 6" square, yay!  I did an alternating double crochet post pattern that gave some nice texture and scrubby areas, with bands of single crochet to add interest and make it work up a tiny bit faster.  :-)  (You can click to see a larger image.)

I was easily able to get this one made while watching the last two Doctor Who episodes; now that I know what I'm doing (and won't have to rip as many rows!) they should go faster.  And fun!!  :-)

Of course, that pushes all my other projects back down another rung on the to do list ... but that's a subject for another day!

Self-Diagnosed Craftitis

So, I'm starting to think there's nothing wrong with my to do list, per se, other than the fact that I keep putting things ON it! To wit, here I am 10 days before Christmas, weighing the implications of my new-found obsession with plarn ... the ultimate way to merge recycling and crochet!

You start with plastic bags, lots and lots of plastic bags. And through a nifty little process described HERE you can turn the bulk of the bag into a plastic yarn (hence "plarn"), and from there you're only limited by your imagination! My first goal is to make a mesh-style tote bag out of old plastic bags, and maybe just maybe actually have it finished in time for next summer's farmer's market.

Until then I'm going to keep using the Envirosax reusable bags that I already own and LOVE, and will faithfully mutilate any stray plastics that happen to wander into my house. It's fun shredding them at any rate, and yarn doesn't go bad. Plarn either, I'm guessing. :-)

I Can Really Crochet, Part II

The little brother just turned 30, and to mark the occasion I made him a "plant." :-) Can't take creative credit though, as I was following a pattern. But I did do all the work! And if I'd known at the beginning how many hours it was going to take me to reach the end ... I may very well have gotten him something different. Of course, I didn't, so now I am pleased to present to you the Super Mario Piranha Plant, Crochet Edition. :-)

First (Real) Hat - 3rd try is the charm!

So I did finally manage to make a real hat using an actual crochet stitch! Of course, it took me three tries, but I got there eventually. Fortunately crochet is easy to rip out, and then you can just keep re-doing it until it's right. :-) The above hat is the result - made with a single crochet stitch in a spiral pattern, and using yarn by Vanna White. (Who knew?! But it's good to see that she's diversifying her portfolio.)

I'd originally intended it to be a hat for my hubby, but the sizing never quite worked out (and he thought the hearts were somewhat girly, I suppose), so I finished it in a scalloped edge for myself. It's a little snug, and a little long, but it covers the head. Success! And evidently, it's also quite tasty. :-)

And they said it couldn't be done!

I've been teaching myself to crochet. So far I know three stitches: single, double, and half-double. And that's plenty, evidently! You can make a lot of things with just three stitches, so I've been having some fun.

I started the grand crochet experiment with a skein of yarn that my mom left at my house after doing some crafts with the girls. It seemed such a waste to let the yarn just sit there, and crochet only takes one hook - how hard could it be, I figured.

I started, where I start most things, on Google. :-) Found a page that described how to do the most basic of all crochet, the single crochet stitch, and I was off and running. At my local supermart I found a free (yay!) pattern for a hat using the single crochet stitch, and I was good to go! Figured I'd use the yarn I had on hand and the one crochet hook I purchased to make my brother a handcrafted hat and scarf set for Christmas.

So there I was, happily crocheting away ... except the further and further along I got, the more and more it was plainly evident that my creation did not look anything like the picture. But it did look vaguely hatish, so I kept doggedly on. (The scarf I'd already given up as a bad job and renamed it "scarflette" so it would sound intentional.) Finally I finished, tied the ends off, wrapped and shipped it. Merry Christmas!


Remarkably macho brother models the impossible hat and scarf. Um, scarflette!


So it serves the general "hat" function, in that it covers the head and whatnot, but it's not what I was thinking of making ... well, not exactly.

Come to find out, I'd not actually been doing crochet at all! The entire hat and scarf were constructed completely through the use of the slipstich. (D'oh!) And how did I figure this out? I was looking at an actual crochet book which helped me discern my error (and also why the hat didn't look right when finished). But what got me was their description of the slipstich, with the explanation that it cannot be used to create fabric. Ha! Guess I showed them.

"Did you crochet a coozie for the flashlight?"

me -- "Um, yes."

him -- "Why?"

me -- "Well, clearly because I could!"


"Let this be a light to you, when all other lights go out, even though you are trying to read, while your husband is trying to sleep!"

So welcome to the world of crochet! I've only been doing it for a couple months, but already obsessed. :-) I love that it can be very portable (unlike the sewing machine), and can also spawn lots of other projects. My mind is just spinning with ideas of things to make, patterns to create, and lots of new bags and goodies to sew to store them all in!

The last few months have not been super-productive, crafting-wise, but I'm hoping to get back in gear. Tons of flannel to whip up into baby sets for the shop: wraps, burp cloths, toys and the marvelous X-bag (post to come soon). Several things I'm working on with crochet that I want to list as well - mostly baby items. And a spattering of beaded baubles to toss in just to liven things up. I need to unload the fabric (and now yarn!) hordes ... so I can justify shopping for more things. :-)