crochet: granny square potholders

last year about this time i was completely stoked about a 52 week granny square project that i'd heard about.  i had collected cotton yarn in all the colors of the rainbow and my pink metallic E hook was ready.  i was a crocheting machine through january and february, then basketball season was done and so was i.  i made a half-hearted attempt to catch up in late spring, but meh.  i was then, of course, left with a pile of grannies without a purpose taunting me for the rest of the year.  by december first when i was wanting to get all my loose ends from 2014 tied up, they were really giving my ocd tendencies fits every time i saw them. i finally had a moment of yarn lucidity right after christmas.  i would make a doll blanket for one of my nieces with the bulk of them and potholders with the ones whose color palettes didn't quite blend with the rest.

i finally knocked the potholders out yesterday.  since the granny squares were already done and i wasn't bothering tying up the literal loose ends, they came together really quickly.  i just double crocheted around the edges of each set of matching squares and added a little loopy on one side.  (this one is in my college colors - i still love my seminoles!).  they turned out so kitschy cute!

i tried to be creative with my project photos a la kate ulman of foxs lane.  i have quite a bit of work to do in that department.  this pic is my favorite, though.  how adorable is the photobombing kitty and his shadow tea towel peeking around the potholder in my kitchen linen drawer?  (this one is in my morning high school's colors - i'm not teaching there anymore, so i'm going to gift it to a coworker).   

i was thinking today that i want to try to cook paella this year.  wouldn't that be lovely in my cast iron skillet?  (this one is my afternoon, current, high school and the one that g will go to).

so what did i learn from my 2014 goal setting?  obviously, i like instant gratification, at least in my crafting.  or maybe when i'm as old as my grandma was when she crocheted afghans and sewed quilts non-stop, then i'll have the time and inclination to do the same.  for now, i'm sticking to short term crafty goals.  yep.

crocheted easter baskets

the easter bunny has been busy!  the holiday bug bit (fairly last minute) again and i managed to whip out a few of these little easter baskets for a few little friends.  i finished five to deliver today and need to make three more for monday.

i think they turned out so so cute!  i followed this pattern that i found on pinterest.  the bottom of the bowl i followed exactly and then for the sides i modified the stitch to the one i used for my dishclothes to give the bowls more of a basket weave effect. 

 

if you're looking for a quickie handmade easter project, these would fit the bill. each bowl took me about an hour to crochet and was made with scrap yarn.

 

the details:

100% cotton medium weight yarn
size E crochet hook (i love those tight stitches)
* for the bottom of the bowl, i completed through step 8 (48 stitches), the edge was then 7 rows tall plus the finishing row.  my completed bowls measure 3 inches across and 2 inches high
*i found the hello kitty bunny eggs in the easter section at target

hoppy easter, ya'll!

52 weeks: january squares

i'm five weeks into my 52 week project and loving it!  how fun are these squares?  and looking at them, i am totally amazed that i can document my life in color.  radical!

i'm making two squares per week to ensure that my granny square afghan fits the queen size bed with room to spare.  go big or go home!  for the second square, i'm simply reversing my color sequence for variety (or in the case of the black one, flipping the colors).

week two:  my seminoles played in the rose bowl and winning the national championship!  i actually stress crocheted these during the game.  and ironically, it was the first national championship game that i've ever watched them play in as i was living in guatemala in 1993 and in honduras in 1999.

week three:  represents my kitty, chichi.  she's grey and white with green eyes and a little pink nose.

week four:  martin luther king, jr's birthday.  i so appreciate the way he lived his life.

week five:  coming home (basketball homecoming) at my morning high school.  go bears!

i know the color mix when they are all together is rather outlandish, but i like it.  i just love color.  i mean, who doesn't love opening up a 64 count box of crayolas?

i'm going to enjoy watching this stack grow this year.  :)

crochet: dishclothes

to say that i am quite pleased with myself would be putting it mildly.  aren't these cute!!!  squeal!  i mentioned earlier this month that it's my plan to stay in the christmas crafting mode, making gifts, decorations, and holiday pages all year long. hot off the hook, a set of crocheted dishclothes for my niece.  the only problem with christmas crafting in january is that it is a long way till december.  no way can i hold on to these for 11 months.  i think i will have to send them to her for her birthday in april.  ha!

this was the perfect little pattern (mine started with a chain of 33) to work on mindlessly during basketball practice.  so simple and easy!  and it makes this great nubby texture that i was going for.  i knew my niece liked grey, but i wanted to jazz them up a bit.  the pink one was my first and i used this pin for color inspiration.  in my first attempt, i tried to single crochet around the entire thing.  i guess you can imagine that with the high contrast between the hot pink and grey, this showed off every little imperfection down the sides in dramatic technicolor.  i ripped that out and then decided to go with the "dipped" look that is so popular now.  much better results.

i must admit that my first dishcloth attempt met with poor results.  actually, i would say that i was traumatized.  i had bought a tunesian crochet hook and was attempting to learn this style of crochet.  i had to take out the base chain six times. SIX.  i'm a fan of tight tidy crochet stitches with a small hook.  the tunesian crochet hook was way fat and i had to make a way loose chain stitch to be able to come back in for the foundation row.  ugh.  i hated it.  (and swore profusely in my mind.  how wrong is that?  crochet is supposed to be relaxing!).  then after i FINALLY got the first set of rows done, it had curled in on itself like a dead centipede. the chain stitch was still too tight compared to the huge stitches that tunesian crochet hook was making me make.  ugh.  i took it all out. again. sigh. and then i made the messiest sloppiest chain i could muster. and tried one more time. and ew.  all i have to say is it's a good thing i'm working on a purging the house and sending the unwanted/unneeded items to goodwill. good-bye tunesian crochet hook.

this.  is much more my style.

52 weeks: 104 + 4 granny squares

oh!  i have been so excited about this project ever since i discovered it back in the early summer.  i have been dusting off my crochet skills and collecting cotton yarn ever since and anxiously awaiting the new year so i could get started.  the idea is to crochet a granny square each week, choosing the colors based on the season, a holiday, or a major even that might be happening at the time.

i finally began practicing squares in earnest in mid-december.  the one on the right is a vintage granny square pattern from 1891.  i crocheted it in the lighter weight cotton-ish yarn as i thought i might make a little doll blanket for my niece.  it is lovely and delicate, but i decided i wanted to go with the traditional granny square for my 52 week design.  the cammo square to the left is my practice square for that one.  the patterns i read didn't really make sense to me, especially since i wanted to be able to make some rows continuous (without cutting my yarn and starting with a new color), so i modified it just a tiny bit.  it seems to be working well for me now.  and i guess you noticed that my 52 week project has quickly turned into three projects.  ha!  that's usually how it works with me.

next i had to think about dimensions.  in the background you see one of my grandmother's granny square afgans.  she used acrylic yarn and a larger crochet hook than the one i use.  her squares measure 9 inches across while mine measure 6.  hmmm.  ok!  so i'll make two granny squares a week!  problem solved and project made bigger!  hurrah!  and then i'll have to make four extra in the end as 52 x 2 = 104 which does not work well for aligning rows and columns of granny squares so the completed afghan turns out perfectly rectangular.  52 x 2 + 4 = 108 and 9 x 12 = 108.  yes, that will work nicely!  by my calculations, my afghan should be approximately 4.5 feet x 6 feet.

i chose my colors this week based on the weather.  we had a chance of snow.  i was thinking winter whites and blues, but then realized that pantone's color of the year would be perfect!  the finished square reminds me of my beloved pansies.  i've decided my second square each week will be an exact reversal of my original color choices.  isn't it amazing how different the two squares look, even though they were made from the exact same colors.  that seems like a lovely analogy for life in general; how the smallest decisions can effect the pattern that our life takes.  profound.

top squares are made from 4-ply 100% cotton with a size E crochet hook.  sugar n' cream cornflower, grape, and white, and bernat seaspray.  bottom left is also 4-ply 100% cotton with a size E crochet hook.  sugar n' cream renegade.  the small square is light (3) weight 55% cotton/ 45% acrylic with a size D crochet hook.  cotton-ish by bernat in cotton gin, grey t-shirt, spinning ginny, and cotton field.

traditional granny square pattern (modified by me):

round 1: chain 6, slip stitch to form ring, *chain 5, 3 double crochet in ring, chain 2, 3 double crochet in ring, chain 2, 3 double crochet in ring, chain 2, 2 double crochet in ring, slip stitch to opening formed by chain *chain 5.

round 2: (either continue with same color, or slip stitch a new color to a corner hole) chain 5, 3 double crochet in corner hole, chain 1, 3 double crochet in side hole, chain 1, 3 double crochet in corner hole, chain 2, 3 double crochet in same corner hole, chain 1 . . . continue this pattern around square.  in the end you will again just need to put two double crochet in the corner you started and slip stitch onto your chain 5 to complete that round.

rounds 3 and on:  more of the same!

and look!  my granny square forecast was correct!  we had snow flurries this morning as i was completeing the second one.  :)

crochet: purple monster dude

oh the cute!  i think this is something that unites us crafters.  the ability to take childlike delight in our creations.  i just can't help myself!  look what i made!  isn't he cute?  i squeal.  :)

i wish i could say that i wrote down a little pattern to share, but alas, i crocheted him at the lake this summer and there was no paper and pencil involved.  and that was oh so long ago.  my memory does not serve.  but definitely if i make another one . . .

the main hang-up with finishing was sewing the zipper in the coin purse.  i learned a lot.  and i need more practice.  ha.

i do remember that i used bernat cotton-ish yarn that i picked up at joann's.  i love this stuff.  it's my favorite yarn right now.  it's a cotton/acrylic blend that feels so good.  definitely more on the cotton-ish side.  it's also very light-weight.  like baby yarn weight, but not baby-ish.  g picked out the colors.  it was fun making a little handmade treat for him.

summer crocheting

well. i was majorly in the mood to crochet this summer.  go figure.  i always thought crochet was a fall winter "sport."  i only use cotton though, so that's a cooler at least.  seriously though, have you noticed how cool crochet has gotten these days?  i don't remember crochet being this hip since i was a child back in the 80's.  part of my acquaintance with this obsession is due to one sheepish girl's blog.  i can't remember now how i stumbled upon her blog, but i enjoy it immensely.  i've also been having trouble resisting simply crochet magazine.  it's by the publishers of mollie makes magazine, another that i've been having trouble resisting.  their projects are so doable and so fresh and appealing.

anyhoo.  this was my first summer project.  a set of cheerful coasters for the coffee table.  g and his little friends eat there quite often, so these are coming in handy.  when i first started crocheting up a storm back in the 80's, i would make this and that without patterns.  sculpting with yarn, if you will.  so far, i've reverted back to that tendency.  hopefully, i will actually use a pattern from one of my new magazines this fall.

i am apparently a crochet on the go type girl.  i spent many happy hours crocheting by the canal while the boys fished on our florida trip.  and look!  i have finally figured out what to do with my grandmother's old bundt pan.  it makes a perfect crochet project keeper.

this is a quick snap of my second summer project.  a little coin purse that my mother claimed as soon as i finished hand stitching the zipper in.  i decided i didn't like the hand stitched zipper.  my stitching doesn't look tidy at all, and it takes too much time.  i also realized that i need to loosen up my starting chain.  i like nice tight crochet stitches, so i use a smaller hook than suggested on projects, but i definitely needed to loosen up just a bit on the starting chain so the bottom wouldn't curl up like that.

here is take two of the coin purse. i found this awesome lighter weight cotton/acrylic blend.  it's called cotton-ish by bernat.  i found it on an endcap at joann's and fell in love.  and luckily i was able to get the whole selection at 40% off.  joann's was having their coupon commotion sale at the time.  i grabbed what i could with the in-store flyer, went back for more with the circular i got in the mail, and then my dear friend tammy grabbed me the last few colors with her leftover coupons.  major score!  isn't that just a happy pictures!  an added perk of the lighter weight yarn is that the weave is thin enough for machine stitching of the zipper.  unfortunately, i have yet to perfect my machine stitching on crochet technique.  i'll keep you posted.

i also snagged that tunesian crochet hook.  i'm kind of anxious to try that after seeing a lovely dishcloth on a blog or in a magazine somewhere.  i just forget where.  i swear, summer seems like such a blur since school started back.

and i will end with a public service announcement.  holding a kitty in your lap while wearing shorts can be dangerous.  holding a kitty in your lap while wearing shorts and crocheting can be VERY dangerous.  happy crocheting!  :)

retro crocheted bookworm - with a green pompom tail!

g:  what is it?
me:  it's a worm.
g:  is it a dr. seuss worm?
me:  i guess.
g:  it's butt is inflated.

do any of you remember these?  probably all the children of the 80's, right?  i just remember them being so popular when i was a kid.

when i was making my pom pom garland, g wanted me to make a green pom pom for it.  i explained to him that i was going with a sky motif, but he said he still wanted a green pom pom.  i made him this bookworm from my childhood to appease him.

to create him:
chain 65, double crochet in third chain from hook, 2 more double crochet in same stitch, 3 double crochets in each of the next 11 stitches.  slip stitch to the spiral.  weave through excess yarn and trim off.  add pom pom tail and google eyes.

drum roll please . . . pom pom garland! finally!

let's just pretend that there's a nice vintage window, an artsy canvas, and maybe some greenery in that big empty void above the fireplace, shall we?  unless you're sherri and then you can feel sorry for me and rush right over to help me deal with the starkness that is the barren looming wall.  it frightens me.

but the pom pom garland now, how cute is that?  i finally made one!  hooray!  i've been talking about it, at least to myself, since november.  finally, finally, TODAY i made it!  happy happy happy!  (i'm going to see duck dynasty at lipscomb university tomorrow ;).

love how it turned out.  it reminds me of the summer sky (and my current toenail colors).  and this color combo is good till october 1st, right?

the vintage bundt pan that belonged to my grandmother made a good pom pom supply receptacle.

supplies:
sugar'n spice denim twists 4 ply cotton yarn (a little over 2 skeins)
sugar'n spice yellow 4 ply cotton yarn (a little less than 1 skein)
fishing twine
seed beads
plastic sewing needle
cardboard
scissors

my mom used to have plastic rings that she made pom poms on.  i guess i haven't lifted those from her house yet.  i went with the old school cardboard method.  the blue pom poms were wrapped on two inch wide cardstock and the yellow pom poms were wrapped on three inch wide cardstock.  i didn't pay attention to how many times i wrapped each one; i just wrapped them good and thick like.

then i carefully slipped the wrapped yarn off then end and tied a piece of yarn around the middle as tight as i could get it.  i then cut all the loops.

pom poms made on cardboard are in dire need of a trim as they will be having a seriously bad hair day.  i held each one on the sides with the short threads so the long threads were flattened out together and then trimmed those long bits all the way around for a more nicely rounded pom pom.

i think acrylic yarn and a real plastic ring pom pom maker would give better results, but i really like the organic loosey goosey look of these.

i probably used about 12 feet of fishing twine.  the pom poms are spaced approximately four inches apart.  i used a platic sewing needle to stick the twine through the center of each to string them up.  they will slip along the twine, so i anchored them with seed beads.  tie a bead onto the twine in approximately 4 inches from the edge of the previous pom pom, string another pom pom on so it rest on the bead.  then tie another seed bead on the twine so it is hidden in the yarn fluff.  continue along till all the pom poms are strung.  then enjoy the adorable bit of fluffy happiness you've created!  :)

crocheted sproutling bookmark

this weekend i finally started the pompom garland that i'd intended to start last november.  originally it was going to be red and green for christmas, which morphed into red and pink for valentine's day, then green for st. patrick's day, then black for never (kidding).  finally it is yellow and blue for sunshine and happiness.  i'm going gangbusters and have already made two pompoms.  i'm fast, right?  ha!  g wanted me to add green to it, but i patiently yet firmly explained to him that i was going for a sky motif and green was more an earthy thing.  he still wanted a green pompom, so i ended up crocheting him this little sproutling bookmark.  i had seen one made from silk leaves a while back and cataloged it in my mind for a cute crochet project.  who knew i would actually do it?!  it was quick and easy and i whipped it out before church this morning.

here are the directions.  please bear in mind that i am not a professional crocheter, having only had rudimentary instructions from my mother at the tender age of eight.

supplies:
sugar'n cream 100% cotton yarn, medium weight (4)
26 gauge gold wire
jewel tag
size E crochet hook
plastic darning needle
sewing needle

directions:
chain 60, turn, *slip stitch in second chain from hook, single stitch in next, half stitch in next, double stitch in next three, half stitch in next, single stitch in next, slip stitch in next, on opposite side (of the part you already crocheted), slip stitch (across from last slip stitch), single stitch in next, half stitch in next, double stitch in next three, half stitch in next, single stitch in next, slip stitch in next, chain 1, cut and tie off.*

slip stitch onto original project at base of first leaf, chain 10, turn, repeat from * to * above.

unweave thread  at base of chain to create the sproutling's roots.  use darning needle to weave all other dangling threads into project.

fold wire end over sewing needle then use the sewing needle to weave the wire up through the chain stem and in one leaf.  cut wire, fold ends over, and weave into project.  weave a second small piece of wire on the under sides of both leaves.  cut wire, fold ends over and weave into project.

add jewel tag.  i have written "read" on one side and "grow" on the other.

26 gauge wire is thin and weak, but it was what i happened to have on hand.  if i were to purchase wire exclusively for this project i would most likely choose a slightly heavier gauge and in green if it was available.

g declared his new bookmark "awesome!" and wants another for his librarian.  library day is thursday; i think i can do that!

and lookie at our cucumber sproutlings!  they're about to unfurl their first sets of big plant leaves!  so cute!