Friday, June 28, 2013

FO Friday - Beginner's Triangle Shawl

TGIF!! I was going through my yarn stash this past weekend and came across a crocheted swatch block. And when I say a crocheted swatch block, I mean a two skein of Loop & Thread bulky yarn. I remember crocheting the large block just to get an idea of how soft and warm it would be to make a blanket out of the yarn. I, of course, never found it as marked down purchased more of the yarn to complete such a blanket. I decided to frog it and find a more useful way of using up 2 skeins of yarn. I thought the brand of yarn was the Homespun Lionbrand, but once I looked up the color and texture found it to be Loop & Thread Countryloom landscape.

While perusing the Lionbrand website patterns, I came across this quick and easy shawl pattern. It is called Beginner's Triangle Shawl and it is a really easy pattern. I was able to start one afternoon and finish up the next afternoon. I might have worked on it total for 3 hours.



These pictures just don't show the yarn color that great. It is a gorgeous mixture of blue, grey, and brown. It is also a very thick yarn. This shawl will keep me nice and warm this coming Autumn!

Please take a moment and check out Tami's Amis blog for more FO Friday's! Everyone have a great weekend!

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

WIP Wednesday - Jar Cosies, Flower Collage, & Scarf

Happy Wednesday!! I have a few WIPs on my plate. I am still working on the African Flower Afghan and Dancing in Daisies Blanket. I have decided to go with the light blue and brown Red Heart Soft yarn for the color scheme on the Dancing in Daisies Blanket. I tried a couple of other colors, but they just didn't pan out.

I was able to complete another jar cosie.


I still have two more jars to crochet cosies for. I am loving these quick crafty jar cosies. I am thinking of adding an applique to one of the jars. Maybe a flower or heart.


I have also steadily been working on the Flower Collage. I have added a couple more flowers and still working on some leaf ideas.

Placing the flowers on poster board to get an idea of placement and if I need anymore flowers.

Pretty red flower pattern with buttons. Croco Flower pattern by Bonita Patterns called for 7 petals but I like it with just 6 petals. I did make some sand colored ones with the 7 petals and they look nice.


I found this really pretty scarf pattern on Ravelry. It is called the Sweet Eleanor Scarf and designed by Quince Tart. It isn't a difficult pattern to follow, but (yeah a but) I think I messed up on it somewhere. So I will be frogging and retrying. I have a road trip scheduled at the end of the week and it will be my car ride project.

Take a moment and hop over to Tami's Amis blog to check out other Wednesday WIPs. Have a great week!!


Saturday, June 22, 2013

Pinterest Inspiration - Crochet Beaded Bracelet

Once again my interest has been peeked by a few pins I have seen on Pinterest. I came across a crochet beaded bracelet pin. The link sent me to Patternfish website where the pattern is by Diane L. Augustin.

Picture courtesy of Diane L. Augustine/Patternfish website

So being the cheap penny pincher person I am, I started perusing Ravelry and found a few free patterns.

Wind Rose Fiber Studio blog has a great tutorial for a Summer Cotton Crocheted bracelet.


Courtesy of Wind Rose Fiber Studio


I also found a purchasable pattern on Ravelry by Kimberly Dijkstra called jingle jangle crochet that provides 3 different crochet patterns. This pattern is the one I love:

 
 
So I have been inspired to venture into crochet jewelry making! I will have to ask assistance from my daughter when I begin these projects. She is our little jewelry maker in the family. I think she won't mind since she will be the intended owner of these.

Friday, June 21, 2013

FO Friday - Crochet Flower Potstand

I was cruising through Ravelry when I came across the Crochet Flower Potstand pattern by RubyRed Eclectic. It looked so darling. I did not realize how large it was going to be. It is about 12"x12".

You have to crochet two motifs and then crochet together. I tried to shortcut it with just doing one motif and then adding the single crochet out line of each petal, but it just didn't look right. Sometimes the pattern is just the way to go.


With this one I messed up on one of the motifs. I added an extra row/petal. So I made the extra part the hanger and will have to always keep this side up. Again watching TV and crocheting did not mix.
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I'm solo all weekend since the hubby is working and the kids are still visiting with their grandparents. I should be able to finish a few WIPs!!

Please take a moment and check out Tami's Amis blog. There are plenty of FOs to peruse through.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Summer Time Biking

Hi everyone. I am totally off topic today mainly because I have been really enjoying the summer biking Park City, UT has to offer. Yesterday the hubby and I went to Canyons Resort and biked part of the MId-Mountain Trail. It has some very rocky spots, but I will hibe (hike a bike) over anything that is too scary or technical for me. Enjoy a few photos from our ride!

My bike on the gondola heading to the top for a bike ride!
The Hubby and I enjoying our bike ride!!

This is a ski slope in the Winter, but look at all those gorgeous wildflowers!
Along the Mid-Mountain Trail.
Gorgeous Wildflowers along the path. To the right is a large open slope which in the winter is a ski run.


I didn't take any pics of the hard rocky spots because, like I said above, I am hibing at this point. It is very hard to want to take pics when you are pushing a bike up and over large rocks! Enjoy your Thursday! 



 



Wednesday, June 19, 2013

WIP Wednesday - Still Pushing Onward

Hello and Happy Wednesday!! I am still working on a few projects that seem to be very long-term.

African Flower Afghan project has really taken a backseat. I haven't made any new squares for it in the past month.

Dancing in Daisies Blanket is still a WIP. I have completed all the center daisies. I just haven't decided on the color scheme. I do love the brown and blue that I started with, but I'm thinking of a more denim blue to go with the brown. I'm also considering adding some black-eyed-susies to the mix for maybe the center portion of the blanket. Yes, a total WIP at this point.





Flower Collage is still a fun project. I have added a few crochet butterflies. I found a very easy pattern on Ravelry by Lindsay Haynie. They are so cute and quick to make.




I also decided to add some of the daisies to the collage. Tillie Tulip's Daisy Tutorial is still my go to daisy pattern. They just work up so quick and cute.


 
The next pattern I'm wanting to add to the collage is a few leaves. I just have to begin my research on Ravelry and Pinterest to find which patterns I like best. If anyone has a suggestion of a leaf pattern that they find easy and quick, please let me know in a comment.
 
I hope everyone has a wonderful week. Please take a moment and hop over to Tami's Amis blog to check out other WIP's!

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Crafty Saturday - Jars, Yarn & Buttons

Happy Saturday!! It has been great weather this week and weekend. I did a quick bike ride this morning with a friend. Once home I began the dreaded cleaning out of the refrigerator. Yuck!! While carrying a few expired jars of salsa and pickles to the recycle bin, I thought "I can use these for my many stash of buttons!" So out came some yarn I have been wanting to do something with but just didn't have enough to really use for any big or medium project.



 
A new home for a few of my buttons. One down, three more to go!! Have a fabulous weekend!!

Friday, June 14, 2013

FO Friday - Starburst Hotpad

I found this really nice pattern on Ravelry, but the instructions were in French. So I kept digging and found a blogger who had translated it into English. The Starburst Hotpad is a 5 motif pattern. It has a lot of sewing but well worth it.


 
 
Enjoy your weekend!! Take a moment and check out Tami's Amis Blog for other FO Fridays.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

WIP Wednesday - Flower Collage

Happy Wednesday! All is quiet in my household. My kids are visiting their grandparents for the next three weeks! My son's graduation went great on Friday. I, of course, cried like a baby. Now two more years and my daughter will take that journey.

My Son the Graduate and my daughter!!



I have been steadily working on the Crochet Flower Collage. I have found many great patterns for all sorts of flowers! It has been so much fun. I have to give credit where credit is due for all the many patterns so you must bare with me while I provide all the links and designers.



This tri-color flower pattern was found through Pinterest. Yes, my go-to-site for inspiration!! The creative blogger who shared the pattern and tutorial is Rosie Rogers. This link is the picture tutorial I used.





The flower brooch pattern was found on Ravelry. The designer is Annette Petavy. I did mess up while doing this one. There should be 5 blue petals, but watching TV at the same time got the best of me. I will just make sure the next one has all petals.

 I also found the crochet-spring-flower-garland-pattern on Ravelry. A Hermit's Wish is the designer and it is a recent upload to Ravelry.


This is a pretty quick pattern and the end result is fantastic!



 I love the large rose pattern too. It is a rather quick pattern with another gorgeous end product! I found this pattern on Ravelry as well. It is by Annoo Crochet. A very good tutorial that is easy to follow. (Sorry for no picture, but I couldn't get it to upload. I will have more flowers with more pattern links next week.)

I have a few more flowers I need to crochet in order for the collage to be exactly how I want it. I do plan on adding a few embellishments to some of the flowers. I have been constantly picking out buttons for this one and that one. I'm also thinking about adding some beads to a few. It's just so much "crafty" fun! Then the real fun will begin with painting the canvas and gluing the flowers and leaves! I'm enjoying this project so much I might have to make another!

Please take a moment and hop over to Tami's Amis blog. There are so many creative bloggers to enjoy. Check out what they are in the process of making!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Now let me get back to creating more beautiful flowers!





Monday, June 10, 2013

Why did I start a blog?

There are so many blogs out there today that pretty much cover all the same thing. I know that some of my own blog posts are linked to other blog posts with the same pattern and idea. So why start a blog that is like so many others? My blog is more of an online scrapbook of my projects to document where I found the pattern or inspiration. This scrapbook will be available for my children when they become an age where they will appreciate the process and thought that went into many of my crochet and quilt items.

As a young girl my mother was always sewing, crocheting or working on a needlework project. While I was young, though I admired the work my mother did, I did not really try and learn from her. My mother was kinda hard to learn from. Her patience was very short and she was a perfectionist when it came to her needlework. She tried to teach me to cross stitch at one time and because I could not make the back of my work as neat as the front, she gave up on tutoring me. Some people have the patience to teach, while others do not. Sadly, I took after my mother in the patience department.

My mother passed away when I was only 16. I know that if she was still alive today, she would have taught me her craft because as we age our patience seems to steady a bit. That being said, my children are at the age where they admire the projects I do, but they also do not have the patience or want to learn. I am trying to document my projects so that when they mature to an age of patience, they will as well take up my craft.

Blogging my projects with links and patterns will guide my children in the future on how to duplicate or elaborate their on projects. As I age I can not remember off the top of my head where I found a pattern or how to exactly do a certain stitch. So in the future whenever my daughter decides she wants to finally learn how to crochet, we can go to my blog and look over the steps and patterns I have documented. I do not know if my son will ever become a crafter, but you just never know. Also his future wife might want to know how to do some of the projects I have done.

So this is why I blog my projects, for the future generation.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

WIP Wednesday - Daisy Blanket & African Flower Afghan

Happy Wednesday! It has been a hectic week so far with family arriving for my son's graduation! I did get a quick bike ride in yesterday morning before all the visiting began!

Late afternoon we had a few deer visit the back reserves behind our condo!

I am currently still working on the Daisy Blanket and African Flower Afghan.

 
Look at all those pretty flowers!! I have just been in a flower making mood. Must be Spring Fever!
 
Well, time to get back to graduation prep! Everyone have a great week. Please take a moment to check out all the other wonderful WIPs over at Tami's Amis blog.

Monday, June 3, 2013

Pinterest Inspiration - Crochet Flower Collage Art

Hello! Sorry for being MIA these past 2 weeks. I have been recovering from an horrendous sinus infection/allergies and have not been very creative or productive. I am also very busy preparing for my son's high school graduation. He graduates on Friday and I am so very proud and happy for him. We are finally out of the four years of high school and now ready for the college adventure!!

Since I have not been able to be very creative these weeks, I have been enjoying my Pinterest time. I came across a great inspiration of making a crochet flower collage. I have been wrestling with the idea of framing a few granny squares as art work, but once I saw this I knew this is what I really want to do.


Picture Courtesy of TheHatandI from Ravelry
Floral Fantasy by Marken of The Hat and I pattern can be found on Ravelry. It is not a free pattern if you want to use this exact collage, but if you are like me, you have many flower patterns on hand that you can creatively come up with a wonderful collage. Here is also a link to Marken's Etsy shop. She has many whimsical and creative patterns to choose from.


Picture Courtesy of TheHatandI from Ravelry
Just had to share another beautiful picture of the Crochet Flower Collage!! Click on the pictures to get a better view of the flowers.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!