Friday, March 28, 2014

FO Friday - Hair Tie Headband & Mug Rug/Cozy Projects

Happy Friday everyone!! I hope your week went great and your weekend is even better!!

This week I worked on a cute mug rug and cozy. I had found the pattern and idea on Pinterest. The tutorial is by Wink @ Tutsplus.com. It is a very simple pattern. The only thing I would recommend is that you have the mug nearby when you begin the cozy portion. By having the mug on hand you can adjust the cozy to match up with your mug as you crochet. I didn't do this and my cozy is a little wonky. I am still happy with it and how it turned out, but the next one I make I will keep the mug at arms length away to make sure it fits perfectly.

The cozy did a great job keeping my Chamomile Tea nice and warm!!




I also worked up a cute Hair Tie Headband! I have recently cut all my hair off and have an abundance of hair ties!! I thought about what I could do with them and came across a wonderful tutorial for a headband using hair ties! The tutorial is written by Kinga of My Hobby is Crochet. The tutorial and pattern is the Thread Headband. Kinga used crochet thread and so the look and texture is completely different than mine. I used Martha Stewart Cotton Hemp yarn which is much thicker. I was so glad that she included measurements for each section so I could adjust how many rows to fit the thicker yarn I was using.


I am still debating about adding a flower to the headband, but since I made it for my DD she gets to decide on the size and what kind. If she decides on a flower, I will make it with the ombre and teal colors shown in the left top corner. This headband is such a quick and easy pattern!! Kinga did a wonderful job with this tutorial and shared many pictures to help in each step. I am thinking the next one I make will be with a less dense yarn. There is no give in the cotton hemp which is why the hair tie is really necessary when making a headband out of this yarn. It gives that added stretch and give you need.

I am now thinking about another large project. I am considering another blanket and came across a beautiful project with a tutorial!! It is called the Primavera Flowers Granny. The tutorial is found on Dada's Place blog and written by Dragana Savkov-Bajic. The tutorial is very well written and includes terrific photos for each step. I love the color pallet she chose. I am in the process of searching for the best colors and yarn. I think that is my favorite step in deciding on a new project....the yarn search!!

Picture courtesy of Dada's Place Blog by Dragana Savkov-Bajic
Take a moment and hop over to Tami's Amis blog and check out better  other FOs!! Everyone have a great day and weekend!!

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Randomness and Ramblings

Hello all. I didn't complete any projects during my stay-cation last week. I started off strong on Monday, but just didn't have the patience to count and read a pattern the rest of the week. I also injured my knee during skiing on Thursday. So the rest of my week was pretty much icing and elevating my knee.

I did take a couple of pics while skiing and enjoyed the days I could get out and play.

Gorgeous Pine run at the Canyons.

Skiing through the Pines and enjoying the freshly falling snow!
Gorgeous view in the Pines, but with some large bumps to maneuver around.
Enjoyed a quick break taking in the fresh air and beautiful view.

The run that took out my knee!! This picture was day before. The day of my injury the bumps were double in size and icy.
I'm hoping for just a strained knee and not a torn ACL, but I did hear a pop. Which really stinks since my DD is scheduled for a meniscus repair next month. Definitely not good timing to get an injury myself!!

On a cooler note, my DS had his swearing in ceremony for the Air Force this past Saturday!! They had a really great ceremony at the Maverick Center during the Grizzlies' hockey game. I am so very proud of my son for choosing to serve his country. He will be the fourth generation on my husband's side of the family to serve in the Air Force and the second generation on my side. They prep their recruits now prior to shipping off to basic training. My DS meets with his recruiter once a month and they do physical drills, tour the base, and even give them a day with a TI. I think that is great way of weeding out recruits that are just not ready for such a huge commitment. I remember so many fellow airmen that washed out within the first week of basic.

I did start on a cute mug rug. I am using the pattern by Wink on Tutsplus.com. I will finish the mug rug today and begin the cute mug cozy. The following pic is from Tutsplus.com and what she made. Mine of course is a different color pallet. I will post finish project pics later this week!!

Picture courtesy of Wink's on Tutsplus.com
Enjoy the rest of your week!! I hope to post a FO this Friday!!

Friday, March 14, 2014

Echo Spring Petal Scarf - FO Friday

Happy Friday everyone! This week has seem to just drag by for me. Maybe because I begin my Stay-cation next week. Yep, taking time off from work and enjoying some local activities. It is Spring Gruv around our town, so plenty of live music and pond skiing happening next week.

I completed my Echo Spring Petal Scarf and added a couple of wooden buttons. It isn't a very long scarf because I did make it for the cooler months so no need for a thick wrap.



Enjoy your weekend!! I plan on tackling a few more projects next week.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Echo Spring Petal Scarf - WIP

Happy Wednesday everyone!! I am working on a new scarf but with an old pattern. I did the Spring Petals Scarf  before using the Lion Brand Ozark Forest Tweed yarn in this post. I decided to re-visit this pattern and use a lighter weight yarn. I chose the gorgeous Redheart Boutique Unforgettable yarn in the Echo colorway. Its variegated colors are beautiful with the mixture of green, grey, pink, and purple. They remind me of Spring so I went with a Spring-like pattern!

This pattern is a very simple pattern but can be a bugger starting the first row and not thinking you did something wrong. Once you get about 5 rows in, it begins to fill out better.



I do love how this yarn self-stripes.
 
 
Check out other fabulous WIPs over at Tami's Amis.

Friday, March 7, 2014

Dancing in Daisies Pillow

Hello all and a Happy Friday!! If you stopped by last week you read how I completed my Dancing in Daisies Blanket! Well, after completing it I had four extra daisies remaining. I decided to whip up a quick pillow with the left overs! I completely went off the cuff and figured it out as I went.

The front of pillow consist of 4 daisy squares. I kept the look of the flat braid join to match the blanket and joined them with this technique. I then did a half double crochet (hdc) stitch border in the honey and single crochet (sc) stitch in the medium blue. 




For the backside of the pillow I went with a traditional granny square with the hdc and sc stitches as the border. I also made a filler pillow out of a cream colored cotton fabric. I joined the two sides with the medium blue in two rows of single crochet.


I am very pleased with the end result!! This was a quick and easy project! I now have the pillow bug and will have to make more! One blogger that makes wonderful pillows is Lucy at Attic 24. She just completed some really colorful and bright cushions

I do love my earth tones and blues, but I am in need of some bright Spring colors. Time to check out my stash and see what bright colors I have...might need to go on a yarn shopping trip. ;-)

Everyone have a great weekend!