Pined it, Made it, it worked!

This project, like so many of mine, was something I made over a year ago, Feb 2012.  During one of our gatherings on a Wed. night at my house I decided I was going to try making something I had seen on Pinterest.  I had some yarn left over from a previous project so I only had to buy some ribbon for the ends.  The tutorial I followed is called "The knotted headband."  I like to think of it as a Celtic knot.

 

The tutorial is great, it was very easy to follow, had clear instructions and pictures, and was true to the final product.  Best of all this was a quick project, I would say no longer than 1 hour to complete the entire thing.  You can find the tutorial here: http://youseriouslymadethat.blogspot.com/2011/02/knotted-headband.html

 

 

One week I decided to wear my knotted headband to dance class.  Everyone loved it, I got many compliments and when I told everyone I made it they seemed surprised. A few people asked me to make headbands for them as well and I happily said yes.

 

 The light pink headband was the first one I made.  I was able to make the second one, a dance class request, with the same spool of ribbon as my original.

 

This is a progress picture of another one I'm working on.  I will have to go pick out another spool of ribbon to finish it.

 

For more great projects like this be sure to follow my "Too legit to knit" board on Pinterest here: http://pinterest.com/hccarroll/

 

Another Blanket for Guendie

So it's been quite some time since our last post, not because we haven't been busy crocheting, but because all of our lives have been quite full.  We've all been working on making gifts for the babies that are entering/have recently entered our families... something must be in the water!  Anyhow, I thought I'd send a quick blog out here before I get too sidetracked with taking care of baby.  After making two afghans for Guendie I wanted to make a real special afghan for her.  I bought some cute pink and variant yarn and started on a new stitch.  After about 4 incredibly long rows, I wasn't happy with how it was turning out and after showing Marvin it, he said it looked a little old lady, so that project went to scrap.  I then realized that I have a pattern I really like, one that I've used three times before on afghans and twice on scarves... I would make my baby version of the Classic Style Afghan from this blog I posted a few years back.  I originally started with just pink, blue and white, but after crocheting those three colors together realized it looked a little too patriotic, so I went to the store and bought a purple skein.  This pattern was great because it only used 2 skeins of white and 1 skein of each color (in Jo Ann Sensations Cuddle brand).

Baby Afghan and Headband

With a little of the leftover yarn I made a baby headband to match the style of this blanket and then created the flower I did for my cousin's headband last year (read how to make it in this old blog).  I still have some extra yarn in these colors so I'll probably make more headbands as little Guendie grows.

Christmas-time Crochet

It's that time of year again where everyone is putting out their holiday decorations and/or making some new ones.  Last night was my company's internal holiday party and everyone really got in the spirit of things.  A co-worker of mine had asked me to crochet her a Christmas Wreath.  She gave me some green yarn and I was able to make the wreath below for her.

A simple wreath

For the pattern all I did was crochet a chain that I thought would be a good side for the inside of the wreath.  I then did a double crochet in each chain and joined.  For row two I did a double crochet in two stitches followed by 2 double crochets in the next one, and repeated till the end and joined.  And for the last row I did a double crochet in five stitches followed by 2 double crochets in the next one and again repeated till the end and joined.  Luckily I was at HDH making this and good ole Ethel had some red yarn for me to use and weave in to give this otherwise bland wreath some character.

I gave the finished product to my friend and she put it with the rest of her decorations. 

Then later in the day our holiday party started so I was walking around the agency keeping my eye open for some crocheted gems... I was surprised that there were so many items this year!  Here were some of the most memorable crocheted items I could find:

Large crocheted Santa that someone's mother-in-law made

In the area that decorated with a '70s theme they threw lots of crocheted afghans everywhere.

Here's another crazy Santa, his hat and face are crocheted..

Pink Monkey Pattern

With Baby Guendie coming to us in a little under 4 months, I have a list of lots of projects I want to work on for her.  With one afghan out of the way, I thought it was time to make a little stuffed animal for her.  I really wanted to make this, since Marvin and I want to take monthly pictures of our baby with a stuffed animal to see how much she grows each month (and if it's something I've made I feel it will be more special.)

After picking out a monkey theme for her room I found this pattern on pinterest and knew I'd have to make it for her.  Overall I really enjoyed this pattern, it was clear and easy to follow.  Using only single crochets, slip stitches, and decreased single crochets.  I was just about to post that my mouth didn't turn out as pictured in the pattern, but this could have been fixed by easily adding a few extra rows to make it bigger.  Now after I re-read the pattern I see that I actually WAS supposed to do that... whoops!  At the time I saw it was smaller, but thought that a monkey's mouth can look like that... sort of like Curious George, so I decided on assembling the mouth to the head as is.

Guendie's little pink monkey.

I promised my little niece that I'd make her one in blue, so I'll have to do that in a couple months after I get all these baby things done. 

Baby Boy Afghan

It appears to be baby season again... so after I created this baby girl afghan, I started on a baby boy afghan.  I got the pattern online from Redheart.com, it's the "Crochet Aran Afghan" an intermediate pattern.  The pattern itself was fairly easy, however I did not like the bobble stitch in this pattern.  With previous bobbles I haven't had an issue with them, but if you give this one a try, perhaps you'll see what I mean.  If not, it might just be me. 

Another nice three dimensional pattern.

Overall I enjoyed this pattern, however the edges got a little wavy, and the border didn't really help that.  I again made this one that the baby can grow into through their toddler years. I'm glad to be done with this pattern so I can start work on my pink monkey!

The finished product.

Halloween Crochet Ideas

Looking for some crocheted Halloween Ideas?  Try renting/buying Nicki Trench’s book SuperScary Crochet: 35 Gruesome Patterns to Sink your Hook Into, which boasts that ‘these toys and accessories are murderously macabre rather than the usual cute and cuddly.’ I recently rented this book from my local library to see what kind of fun decorations could be made for this upcoming season. While I don’t think I have time to work on any of these little projects this year, I thought I’d share them with the rest of you. It’s a fun little pattern book to pick up because each of the patterns has a little story behind how the object you’re crocheting has become haunted or evil!

Here’s a picture of ‘Willy the Wily Wolf’ scarf from her book, this would definitely be a conversation starter.

Or perhaps you could make this pattern...

Make this pattern from the book, "Bubbles In Trouble."

There are a bunch of other great ideas in the book too, from making the killer tomatoes to more creeped out dolls and vampires.

Prayer Shawl Ministry Afghans

Two weeks ago when I went to church, we decided to go to the my husband's old church since his retired pastor was coming back to do the sermon.  While there I noticed a large rack of quality afghans at the entry way, as well as a handful more near the pulpit. 

This greeted me as I entered the church.

I opened my church bulletin and saw that they had a 'Prayer Shawl Ministry' going on.  It mentioned that 'as each shawl is being made, the person will be praying for the recipient.' I thought this was a nice idea and perhaps one day I can make one of these.  However, upon further reading this bulletin I saw that these could be made for any reason (medical, death, celebration of engagement, birth of a baby, divorce, illness, jail, loneliness, celebrate a friend).  So perhaps we're all making these prayer shawls already.  Because with each project I create I'm thinking about the person I'm making it for... I just need to add a prayer in there too :)

Baby Bobble Afghan

For my birthday this year, my mother-in-law got me a huge bag full of Red Heart Super Saver Yarn.  I received the basic colors - pink, yellow, blue and green.  Since there again appears to be a boom in people who are pregnant near me, I decided I would make a pink and yellow and then a blue and green afghan. So I went to my local library to pick out some new crochet books since I wanted a new pattern.  For my pink and yellow afghan I wanted to use the Baby Bobbles pattern from Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Crochet.  For me this pattern was perfect, because it had the bobbles that I love to make while adding a new spin on the overall appearance of the afghan.

I liked the little bobbles and small v-stiches it created in the different color for yarn each row.

As you can probably tell from my previous posts, I usually aim to not change yarn.  It's one of my least favorite things to do.  The afghan is done and then I need to spend hours sewing in the ends... yuck!  So when I saw that this pattern changed yarn at the end of each row, but had a fringe for them all instead of being sewn in, I thought I'd give this pattern a try.

It took awhile to cut all the fringe,but it was definitely easier than weaving in each end!

This pattern came out to be 40"x50" with the fringe, so it will allow the baby I give it to, to grow into it through its toddler years.  I also loved this pattern because it was a relatively quick pattern that was easy to follow.  One row of bobbles and single crochets, then next row just double crochet and then repeat till you reach your desired size.

Final result, ready to gift!

I have a good chunk of pink and yellow yarn left that I hope to make an Owl hat with it.  The pattern seems relatively easy, but I first need to finish my green and blue afghan that I just started.  So hopefully I'll be able to post about that one soon and then get started on the hat!

What in Yarnation - Toilet Decor

So I had the pleasure of going out to lunch with a fellow HDHer today, who reminded me that today is the last day of August and hence the last day to blog for it.  Unfortunately I had to finish my work day and then immediately get in my car and drive 3 hours away.  Currently half way through this drive, I again realize I have limited hours left to get this done.  So this is one of those moments where I'm thankful to have a smart phone. I've been taking crochet photos with it for quite some time now, and luckily have an awesome gem that I MUST share with the people of the internet... Another What In Yarnation blog, but this time about their most intimate of spaces, the bathroom. While visiting my dear friend in MN, I was again was able to stop at What in Yarnation, only at their new location. It was even more amazing than last time. Again they offered an abundance of crocheted and knitted projects all over the place. However my favorite craft of theirs that was on display was the one on their toilet. I was in awe of their craftsmanship of this purple decor with a beautiful white border (pictured), that i just needed to share this with the world. If you visit this place be sure to check it out. It was another great visit, complete with long walks to a bridge, sand volleyball and only two of the four out-of-towners getting poison ivy.  Crochet your bathrooms up with some amazing toilet decor, HDHers

Gift from Grandma

I'm writing this blog a little overdue (ok like 8 months overdue) but I'm still writing because it is something close to my heart.

One of my inspirations for starting to crochet has been my Nana.  For years and years I have memories of visiting my Nana and watching her crochet the same afghan pattern.  She always made it in a creme color solid, no stripes.  She left a 2" fringe on each row cutting off the yarn at each end.  It was this solid pattern that worked into the row below to make a raised diamond pattern when the afghan is finished.

I loved watching Nana work on the afghans, her fingers moved so fast it was like the yarn knew exactly where to go.  She had made so many of these, she didn't use a pattern, and often didn't seem to pay attention to what she was doing.  She had been taught the pattern years ago from her husbands, sisters, cousin in law... or something like that. Over the years it seemed like she had made one for almost everyone she knew.  This ones going to my sisters niece out east, that one went to my sister in California, the next ones going to my friend down the roads daughter.

I had asked her several times if she would teach me how to make one but she had this way of changing the subject before giving me an answer, I guess not this year.  A few years back my sister was given one for her birthday. I was so envious, for years I admired this afghan and now she got one.

Well finally my time came. The Christmas of 2011 was Hazel's year for the afghan.  The family was un-wrapping gifts at Nana's as is the tradition.  I opened up a gift bag, pulled away the tissue and saw the cream colored yarn, the diamond pattern and knew that was it!  Thanks Nana, maybe one day I can learn to make the same afghan.

Blankets, Booties and a Giraffe!

Baby Gift for my soon-to-be niece!

Earlier this month I mentioned that I made a baby afghan using the "Round the Block" pattern from the book Oh Baby, Crochet! for my soon-to-be niece.  For this afghan I chose to use a variant yarn that was Pink and Green.  However before I knew what gender this baby was going to be a started working on a gender-neutral afghan that was white, yellow and green.  I wanted to try a new pattern so I rented the book The Complete Book of Crochet Stitches from my local library.  After searching through the book I found pattern 373 that offered a puff stitch (which I love to make) as well as a v-stitch similar to a previous project I made for my niece on my husbands side of the family.

Close up of Pattern 373 and the baby booties I made.

I also wanted to make a pair of booties for my new niece, so I searched online and found a pattern in the book Crochet Precious Baby Booties.  (Fun Fact - I'm not sure if Amazon knows, but if you search inside this book you can get a bunch of the patterns in this book for free!)  So I decided to follow the 'Ribbed Booties' pattern which I really enjoyed crocheting as it was relatively easy to make.  I liked this stitch so much that I would like to try this ribbed look on an afghan.  It also was nice to use two different yarns without having to cut and sew in the ends each row since you don't cut your yarn until the very end!

Then I found this pin on Pinterest for a crocheted giraffe.  I had to make this for my niece since I knew her parents were going for a animal/african themed baby room.  I realized early on that I would need a safety pin to mark where each round started since otherwise I would find that I'd lost my place.  I did notice a few issues with this pattern, but any experienced crocheter could figure out how to handle these problems. The pattern was nice enough to tell me how many stitches each round should be, but I did notice in a few instances that the number counts were incorrect.  The pattern also didn't tell me how to make the eyes, but I just made 4ch and then sc into those and created little balls for each of the eyes.  I'm sure you could use buttons if you didn't feel comfortable making them.  This pattern also failed to explain how to assemble, but one can make the correct assumptions as to where to put the legs, arms, head, horns, ears etc by looking at the pictures on the pattern page.  If I were to make this pattern again I would definitely try adding some pipe cleaner in the neck, since the finished project is top heavy.  However this just gives my gift a little character as he's the Eeyore of giraffes!  Overall I was quite thrilled with the finished project and yesterday my brother and sister-in-law loved it at their shower. 

Don't you want to make one?

During yesterday's baby shower, I felt my family and I need a pintervention, because as my sister-in-law kept opening gifts we would shout, 'that's on pinterest!'  In fact two of my other very crafty cousins replicated this pin and did a great job!

They said this was a bit tedious, but definitely worth it!

Door County Yarning it up!

This past weekend I had the pleasure of taking a trip up to Door County.  I always keep my eye open for crocheted or knitted items that I haven’t seen before that perhaps myself or a fellow HDHer could replicate.  The first unique item I came across was a knitted Soap Cozie which sold for $8.95.  While I’m used to using a loofah, this might be something fun to try since bar soap is usually cheaper.  This cozie was made with Microbial wool, and it stated that it would make your soap last longer, and exfoliate gently.  I’m sure this pouch could easily be made using a single or double crochet and you could add any other stitch you want to give it a little design.   

This could be a warm and fuzzy gift.

Then I came across crocheted necklaces that sold for $16, at a local boutique.  I was immediately drawn to these necklaces since I actually own some of the yarn similar to three of these designs.  A yarn of which I hate since everytime I buy it, I forgot that even though these yarns look fun and cute it's horrible for me to crochet with since I can’t see my stitches. These necklaces however, appear to be made using just a chain stitch which would be uber easy.  I’ll definitely give this design a try once I finish my current project.

These also would make for cute gifts, that don't look old lady like!

It’s always fun to find crocheted treasures in everyday life.

A Weekend in Crochet Town - Guest Blog Entry!

I believe my official title is Honorary Hump Day Hooker, but you can call me Saffron.  I live about 5 hours away from the Hump Day Hooker Headquarters.  So, back in February I was able to visit Crochet Town.  (My permanent residence is Procrastinationville, hence the blog being written in April.)  First stop was a coffee shop for Hooking in public. 

 
I brought yarn that I had bought about a year ago, see the ‘What in Yarnation!’ blog.  It was a very thick wool yarn and I used the stitch that Loretta taught me.  It is a very complicated stitch… it is so complicated that I cannot even tell you the name of it.  However, I think Hazel calls it a double stitch.  I originally intended to make a scarf and wear it many different ways. I actually had this pin in mind when creating it.  However, once I started crocheting the most complicated of all shapes, a skinny rectangle; I realized that the yarn was too thick.  I would not be able to tie this scarf in a bow tie any time soon.

Second stop was my nephew’s basketball tournament.  I continued making my scarf not really knowing where it was headed.  I did know that I had at least three hours to decide though.  Therefore, I just kept crocheting.  During these three hours, I learned that Crochet Town is a very mean place.  I was mocked by my mother, father, sister, and husband.  Apparently being 26 and crocheting in public is frowned upon.  I even had to take time away from my crocheting to try and convince my 10-year-old nephew that I was not pregnant.  Apparently, public crocheting is an activity for pregnant women.  My younger nephew and I quickly made up and he became my official yarn feeder, unrolling my yarn and feeding it to me so I can be the most efficient of crocheters.

The time quickly passed and I was running out of yarn.  So I get a stroke of genius!  (I have a vacation home in Modest City.)  Infinity scarf, have you seen these?  Basically, it is a glorified circle; but it is perfect.  The scarf is too thick to tie in any way, so I sewed the ends close.  Once I finished it I started modeling it for the crowd at the basketball game.  All of a sudden, I was the envy of every mother old enough to have a child in 8th grade, including my sister.  My mother, father, and husband also had a change of heart.  Even both of my nephews thought I was cool again!  Of course, my older nephew seemed slightly upset that I was crocheting during his basketball game, but he got over it once he saw my cool new scarf!

After the basketball game, it was back to Procrastinationville.  I was very warm thanks to my scarf.  I even have some extra yarn, enough to make a matching hat.  I have my project for 2013!

Notice the pointing toes.  I learned from America’s Next Top Model that it makes my legs look longer.  Even though my legs look a mile long, the true star of this photo is the infinity scarf!

 I scare myself sometimes.

  My husband, Parley, showing an alternative way of wearing my infinity scarf.

Baby Blanket & Headband

Imagine a baby where the bear is.

A few months ago I rented a book from my local library called Oh Baby, Crochet!, and there were lots of cute patterns in there.  I rented this book so I could stockpile some baby blankets for when my friends started having babies.  Turns out the day this book came in was the day I found out my brother and his wife were expecting a baby, followed by a cousin just a few weeks later!  I immediately flagged one of that patterns titled “Merry Go ‘Round the Block” since it had a neat 3 dimensional look, (using mostly a dc and a modified dc stitch), and made one for my  brother.  It was such a quick and simple pattern I decided to also make one for our cousin, since I knew it looked like a nice quality blanket. 

It's great when a cute pattern is easy!

I had some leftover yarn from that blanket and knew I wanted to make a little matching headband with a nice big flower on it.  I was keeping my eye open on pinterest for things that might pop out as a cute flower pattern, and finally I found a real cute pattern, only thing it was in Russian. Luckily the Google Translate button translated most of the words and there were picture diagrams to make sure I was making the correct stitches.  After I made this flower I decided to just crochet a single crochet band with about 4 rows to attach the flower to, and added a jeweled button to the center of the flower to give it more baby pizzazz!

Isn't this just pizzazz-y?

At the end of this month I'll be posting another blog about the stuff I made for the other future baby, as I'm waiting to have their shower.

Winter Janboree - Downtown Waukesha

Last month, Hazel and myself went to the Waukesha Winter Janboree for a geocaching event!  We enjoyed the delicious breakfast of pancakes, applesauce and bacon and then were on our merry way.

 

We were excited!

After we found our 18 caches, we walked around downtown Waukesha to see all the ice sculptures that were being made.  (Sadly all the yarn-bombing artwork from the summer had been removed.)  It was a rather warm and sunny day so unfortunately some of the sculptures were melting as they were being created. 

 At a Penguin freezer

Anyhow we continued walking around downtown and we spotted a store with some very cute crocheted projects inside. There was a nice hat and a necklace.  It's always nice when you can find some crocheted work in your everyday life. 

Hazel wants to make this hat with fun-fur.

Let us know if you've found any cute crocheted projects near you!

From A Land Down Under - Tea Cozy

While on my trip to Australia last month I noticed that crochet is very 'in' over there like it is here. A lot of our styles are the same so I was excited when I came across a crocheted tea cozy at a local coffee shop, as I hadn't seen anything like that in the United States. It was so cute with all the loops and the big bright orange flower... I always like when you can incorporate things other than yarn to a project.

I definitely enjoyed that this was a "groovy" tea cozy!

So if you know someone who loves tea and always brings it out at a get-together, perhaps this would be the perfect gift idea for them. I found a few cute patterns here, and you could always modify one to add a cute flower with fun bright loops.

Remember 101 Years

How do you remember 101 years? My grandma passed away last Sunday at the age of 101. This was something that she had been praying for since I was a kid, so it was sweet that she finally made it home. However, that doesn't make it any easier for us left here. Even though she was showing signs of dementia she always would remember me. ...Until looking through pictures, I hadn't realized that my grandma hadn't worn her glasses the last few years of her life, I'd like to think that perhaps this is why she always asked who I was? She couldn't see me.

Anyhow in addition to losing my grandma who was my last living grandparent (aside from in-laws), I feel like I've had to say goodbye to my link to such a historic past. At a 101 she lived through so much, even though she never went to school past fifth grade or learned to drive a car. She endured the loss of an infant child, the years of unknown separation with her husband due to the war in Europe, and then came over to America to essentially have her family be work-slaves for a year while paying back the farmer who allowed them to them enter this country.

As a kid I didn't realize that she had such a hard past, I just thought she liked to stay home knit, crochet, sew, cook, clean, garden and mow the lawn. She's the one who first intrigued my mind with the beauty of crocheting and all things yarn. She created endless afghans and doilies for all of her family and it's nice that we each get something like that to hold onto.

I had previously written the Grandma Projects blog about her,
where I talked all about her skill of yarn.

At the funeral last week, each of her daughter's families created a poster board with pictures of Oma in our life. One cousin, stepped above and beyond by creating the board above. She put one of Oma's doilies and necklaces on the board and then scrapbooked photos of other things she made and loved on there as well. It was a great way to really connect with who Oma was.

It's hard to say goodbye, but I'm glad that I can keep the crocheting part of her alive.

From A Land Down Under - Ugg boots

I recently took a trip over to Australia where I was immersed with all their culture and style. Despite being their summer where the average temperature was in the 80's and 90's, the Australian made Ugg boot was everywhere. While I didn't see anyone wearing them, the stores were full of them. When I was at one of these stores, I noticed how they modified the Ugg boot with a rather stylish crocheted ruffle around the calf portion of the boot.

I took the above picture and then checked my camera screen to see the picture. Right away I was distracted over the sign underneath the boots - "Genuine Australian Kangaroo Scrotum $29.99." A few things immediately crossed my mind:

1) Genuine Kangaroo Scrotum, why would anyone want this?
2) It costs $29.99?!? Again, why would anyone want this?
3) This must be a cultural thing, and these crocheted embellished boots must be in prime real estate at this store!

So do you think the GENUINE AUSTRALIAN KANGAROO SCROTUM, helps to sell these enhanced Ugg boots? I certainly do!

V-Stitch Afghan

A few months ago my sister-in-law got me a bunch of yarn at a local garage sale. I think it was about 12 skeins total, however there were only 3 of each kind and color of yarn, which meant my projects couldn't be the huge afghans I'm used to making. That's probably a good thing since they take so long to make and I really don't need any more blankets. So I decided to make my niece a small child's blanket with the yarn her mother got me and give it to her for her third birthday, which was yesterday. For this project I decided to use Red Heart's Banana Berry (blue-green) yarn since she loves green so much. This was a super quick afghan to make as it used a V-stitch which allows you to crochet in a space versus a stitch... therefore you fly through the project.

I enjoyed the way the variant yarn created it's own pattern.

I didn't get to see my niece open this gift, but I heard that she wanted to sleep with when she went to bed last night!

For Our Men

It's that time of year to make gifts for all the Lederhosen wearing men in your life! While at the Milwaukee Holiday Folk Fair 2 weeks ago, we enjoyed checking out the quality work on these babies!

Hallo Süße!!

We would have enjoyed it more if they were crocheted, but it does give us the idea to whip these up for those males that are closest to our hearts. So who's going to make some?