ugly but awesome gloves--you'll just have to trust me

So, my sister-in-law has started hosting a weekly party over on her quilting blog, where she invites (in her words) "the entire hand sewing / crafty / quilting / crochet / embroidery / ect, ect. ect. industry" to write up a post on something new that they've been trying that week, encouraging us all to keep fresh.  



 




Since I have been trying a few new things recently, I thought I'd participate.  So, here we go:


No picture on this one, but not long ago, I put together a proto-type of a convertible fingerless glove/mitten so that I could have access to my i-pod touch screen when I exercise in the cold weather.  To my joy, I used it this week and it worked like a charm!  


However, it is one UUUUGLYYYY little glove, and I only made one (since I only need to touch the i-pod screen with one hand).  So, no picture yet.  Still, I'm really pleased with the function.  Perhaps at some point I'll get some more made up (prettier) and list them in the etsy shop.  Only time will tell.  

* * *

And, since I need a picture to use to link up with Melissa's party, I'm going to count the baby afghan that I posted about a few weeks ago.  Sure, I didn't try it (new) this week, but I did figure out this week how to make it a little better and get a few pesky lines that were bugging me to fall into place a little better.  So I'm counting it.  No new photo though.  So, here's the same one, one more time.

   

A Sneak Peak

So, about a month ago, I saw this afghan on Pinterest.

So cute, right?  But the girl who made the afghan had made up the pattern, and hadn't ever gotten around to writing it down.  Apparently she is planning to do so (from what I can gather from the comments to the picture), but I got antsy and decided it would be the perfect baby blanket for one or both of my two most recently born nieces (at the time I started the blanket, neither niece had been born yet.  Now they are both here.)

So, I figured out a pattern of my own that looks somewhat close, I think.  Here's a sneak peak:




Now,  I've learned through my own experience that this blanket is a lot of work.  Actually, at the rate I'm going, those two nieces could very well be kindergartners. But, I'm enjoying it, so I'll see where it takes me for now.  Watch for semi-random updates on my progress, I'll try to post updates monthly or so.

. . . And, something tells me I'd better get going on something a little less intricate for the new nieces, no?

I've always wondered how to do this . . .

Maya at Little Treasures has posted an excellent tutorial on how to crochet the basics for a trim on an actual garment, bed sheets, curtains or blankets.

She's posted another (more basic, but why didn't I think of it?) tutorial on how to attach an already made trim onto a shirt (or anything else, really).

Soooo helpful.

I'm completely smitten with these

All photos courtesy of resurrection fern.

I'd love to say that I'll be making some of these soon, but alas, thread crochet is not my talent.  However, Margaret sells similar stones (and quality prints of similar stones) in her Etsy shop.  Beautiful.

housework was never so fun

As long as I'm in dishcloth mode, here are some patterns that I'd like to try sometime:

pattern here

pattern here.

pattern here.

pattern here.

pattern here.

Sound fun?  

I think so!

What have I been working on lately?

Why, I'm so glad you asked!




The Deets
Yarn used:  Peaches and Creme by Pisgah, and Sugar & Creme by Lily
Patterns used:  Various.  Generally found on the back of the yarn label, but some found through various e-mails, etc.
Television programs watched while completing these once my little girl is safely in bed and my husband is wrapped up in a project on the computer:  Murder She Wrote, Quantum Leap, White Collar, Master Chef, and In Plain Sight.

Next up, it's all slippers all the time.  Wa-hoo!

If only I could get caught up on dishcloths!

I love this flower rug.  Here's the pattern.

Is it Christmas already?

  

There's an absolute wealth of free crochet patterns here.  

How fun is that?

reward

I've been working on dishcloths, washcloths, and scrubbies lately.  Basically, I decided that it was time to consolidate all my cotton yarn (right now one tote, one large box, and two grocery bag's worth) into one tote and to do that by crocheting the additional into projects.  At this point I estimate that I'm about half-way done, and it's been so satisfying to see the nice stacks of dishcloths and scrubbies where there used to be bags of yarn overflowing.

As if that wasn't enough satisfaction, I woke up today to find myself in this perky summer treasury.  Sweet!

'Summer Daze' by novelessentials

Liquid Sunshine Gold Ba... KelleyGirls $495.00	Modern Summer Door Wrea... HeartfeltYarnW... $39.50	Summer at the Cottage -... StoriesDivinat... $13.50	Handmade Face Scrubbies... salutationscro... $13.50
Green Parasol 8 x 8 Pri... LolasRoom $20.00	Through the Grass-- Ori... MyCameraBag $14.99	Small Mermaid Purse ... saltybags $60.00	Spring Sunshine (Hand p... JessicaDoyle $175.00
Yellow Seersucker Fabri... knotandbow $8.00	sunshine lightofsomekin... $25.00	Little Sunny Earrings tamar $16.00	Sunshine Blossoming Flo... rubypress $10.00
Sunshine- A Beautiful B... fairladyfashio... $18.00	8 oz. Soy Mason Jar Can... MakingPerfectS... $8.00	TANGO - Authentic Beach... StoneAlone $16.50	Bright Sunshiny Day farouche $30.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

wrapped up in love

Of all the things I've ever crocheted, this is my favorite.  

Here's the story:

When I was around ten years old, three of my best friends learned to knit as part of a learning activity in their religious youth group.  I was jealous.  I had my own religious youth group, and I asked my leader if she would teach me how to knit, but she didn't know how.  She did know how to do plastic canvas stitching, and so she taught me that instead.  I enjoyed it, and made tissue box covers (roughly like this one) for my mother and both my grandmothers.  I'm grateful now that the leader took the time to teach me, and for the time that we spent together, working on this project.

Still, I longed to knit.

My mom, seeing my sadness offered to teach me to crochet (her mother had taught her when she was around my age).  I was thrilled.  She gave me some different options as to what I might make, and I chose to make a poncho.  It took me four years to finish that particular poncho, but it started me on what I think will turn out to be a life-long love.

Years later, after I had graduated from college and was starting into my professional life, my grandmother picked up crocheting again.  She worked on hats mainly.  At the time LDS Humanitarian services (we're Mormons, my grandmother and I) were collecting and distributing ski hats throughout the world, particularly in the poorer countries.  So, grandma made hats--lots of them.  She still made time to work on an afghan from time to time though.

One weekend, when I was down visiting her, grandma pulled me aside, showed me the afghan she'd been working on, and asked me a question about the stitch that she was using.  The afghan had started to take on a different form, and we found that she had inadvertently switched stitches along the way and that was causing the problem.  Fortunately it hadn't been going on long, and so getting things straightened around was a pretty easy fix.

A few years after that, my grandmother contracted leukemia, and shortly after that (at age 84 I think) she passed away.  To say the least, it was a sad time for me, and for my cousins, aunts, uncles and parents.   I know most people feel this way, but my grandmother was an extraordinary woman, and to have her life end, even at a fairly advanced age was really rough on all of us.

Shortly after the funeral, my mother presented me with half of the afghan pictured above, along with a few skeins of matching yarn.  Turns out that as my aunts and uncles were cleaning out the house, they found this unfinished project and decided that I should be the one to finish it.  So, I did.

Grandmother and I had different crochet grips and tensions, and if I turn the afghan over on the backside, I can still tell where she left off and I began.

I love that.  

Leftovers

What do you do with your leftover yarn?

Here are some ideas:

Sometimes I make flowers.

Other times I make scrap yarn afghans

This one is a sample of a scrap yarn afghan a la Charlotte.  I usually use two strands of rotating scrap yarn and one strand of constant yarn (in this case tan) throughout.  I've made probably five to seven of these, and I've found that they work GREAT for camping or picnic blankets.  Since they're just scrap yarn, I don't feel a need to keep them in pristine shape, so I don't get bent out of shape when they get dirty.

This smaller one is an afghan that my husband's grandmother started years ago.  After she passed on, it went to his mother, and a few months ago his mother passed it on to me.  I add a line here and there.

If I have leftover decorative or novelty yarn, I'll usually save it to use in packaging for my etsy sales.

My mom recently sent me a listing of some other ideas.  Here are some of my favorites.

A reader at favecrafts.com uses leftover snippets as pillow fill

A yarn ball wreath or yarn egg wreath is always fun.

Check these out here:

 And here:

 This apple is easy enough that a child can help, but still pretty darn cute. 

 

  Directions here.

This yarn art looks complicated, but once you look at the instructions, I think it might actually be do-able.

Any other ideas?