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!

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.

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?

Go Pack Go!

This year is turning out to be a great year for Wisconsin sports. The Packers won the super bowl in February and continue to show domination with their 10-0 streak, the Brewers were the National League champions, the Badgers continue to keep the Wisconsin hype alive and the Bucks, well they're still in the NBA lockout... Anyhow it seems like almost every week at work there is a show-your-team-spirit day, where you can wear the apparel or colors of whatever team you're supporting that week. We had so many of these that I decided to make a Packers hat and scarf, since I was running out of T-shirts to wear. It was a very quick and simple pattern, using just a double crochet stitch. The last time I wore it to work, I received many compliments on it! However, when I went to lunch with a fellow HDH-er I apparently received looks from our waiter...

I don't see anything crazy about this ensemble!

With all our sports teams doing so well this year, this would be the perfect Christmas gift for someone were you can choose your own colors depending on the team you're recipient is supporting.

Now let's hope the Packer's get 11-0 on Thanksgiving!

Wedding Garter + Baby Headband

Earlier this month, a fellow HDHer got married, and I had the delight pleasure of being her Matron of Honor. Her wedding colors were navy with a touch of orange, so I had the perfect idea for her... crochet her a navy and orange garter, which would also be her something blue. It was a quick pattern I just put together and it couldn't have turned out better.

Doesn't the garter look nice on this model?

While I was finishing up on this project at the HDH meeting three days before her wedding, we discussed how this Wedding Garter would also make for a perfect baby headband. I personally think this is a great idea, to be able to reuse your own wedding garter for the next generation. What do you think?

A perfect 2-in-1 project for any bride!

Beard Heads

So while continuing our search to get us new T-shirts, I came across a site that also sold Beard Heads. Now I have never heard of them, but apparently they're kind of a big deal and sell for $30! Perhaps we can cross all the men off our Christmas list and get started on making some of these today!

Our HDH Christmas Presents

Merry Christmas from Hump Day Hookers! HC and myself got together one hump day and opted to use our spare yarn to make some cute little snowman ornaments, it was a great way to use left over yarn. The people I gave it to this year, absolutely loved it.

What you need to make your own:

Styrofoam Balls

White Yarn

Orange Felt and thread

Fabric Glue

Little balls

Green yarn to crochet the bow.

I think you can figure out how to assemble this and I don't really feel like blogging about it, so if you have any questions on the steps just comment below.

Hope this gives you some good ideas for next years' gifts. Next blog post - 2011!

A Lovely Christmas Gift

Last night I was at my parents baking Christmas cookies when my mom was reminded that she 'needed' to show me a gift that she received a few days ago (picture below).

A family friend of ours also loves to crochet and she had made this special snowman for my mom and dad as a Christmas/Thank you gift. I wish I would have taken a closer picture of the snowman's hat as it looked real cute close up. What Christmas gifts did you make for your family members this year??? STAY TUNED to see what the members of HDH made!

Grandma Projects

Yesterday was my grandma's 100th birthday, so I thought I'd write a blog about her, the one who first introduced me to crocheting, although she never taught me, she pretty much made it as cool as it could be. As a kid I always remember seeing her crochet (and occasionally knit - but I can forgive her on that) evertime I visited her. I was fascinated by her skill and speed, she is much better than I'll ever be. The sweaters she made were awesome, granted if I posted pictures you'd beg to differ... as a result of 80's and 90's fashion. But some items she made are timeless. In fact just the other day my mom gave me a huge bag filled with an afghan and matching pillow that I received from my very first Christmas. I was taken back by the smell of nostalgia as I opened it.... why can't my projects smell like that? I have countless pillowcases, doilies and blankets from her. And while she hasn't crocheted in about 8 years, I still aspire to be at her skill level.

Poodle Beer Cover

A few years ago my brother bought his house, and after days of deliberating 'what would be the perfect housewarming gift,' I came across a pattern in a magazine for a little poodle. I'm sure you've all seen a similiar project at your grandma's house where there was a poodle like this covering up the extra roll of toilet paper, but this is the ultimate housewarming gift for a man... a beer cover! I'm proud to say three years after giving him this crocheted project it's still displayed in his kitchen for friends to see, all of which have asked for one. This pattern can be found in the July/August 1997 issue of Hooked On Crochet! As you can see I also created a tiny little green scarf for this dog (just used a dc). This was the perfect touch since he had received this in the winter.

The perfect gift for a man's housewarming.