Wasatch Autumn Shawl

Hello everyone! Hopefully everyone is being blessed with some cooler weather with cool crisp Autumn in the air. I must say that Autumn is my favorite season of the year. I just love the changing colors that surrounds me here in the Wasatch Mountains. All the vibrant reds, burnt oranges, and bright yellows!! So I had to make a shawl that represented the Autumn Foliage this time of year.

I used Lion Brand Heartland yarn which is 100% Acrylic but has a very soft feel to it. I used the vibrant yellow colorway of Yellowstone; the burnt orange colorway of Yosemite; a pretty bark colorway of Big Bend; and then finished it off with the deep dark earth brown colorway of Sequoia. I will admit the Sequoia was a happy mistake. I had ran out of the Big Bend and thought I had purchased the yarn at Michael's but instead I had ordered it from Craftsy. So of course Michael's did not have the Big Bend colorway but the Sequoia and I decided to take the chance of using the darker brown. I only had a couple of more rows that needed the brown. I decided to border the complete Triangle Shawl in the darker brown and then added a couple of rows of it also in the edging. I loved how it turned out. To me it has a little bit of a 70's vibe to it with the yellow and dark brown, but it represents the colors of my Autumn.

In the process of blocking...because the yarn is 100% acrylic I just pinned it out and sprayed some
 water on it in order to set the edging. And yes I was cheap and used card board as my base to block on.

I'm happy with this one and feel that it showcases the colors of the Wasatch Mountains in Autumn. Just a little collage of our Autumn colors here in the Wasatch!

I went with the Beginner's Triangle Shawl pattern that you can find for free on Lion Brand's website. For the edging I used Doris Chan's edging pattern from her All Shawl pattern. I did have to do some modifications to the tip/bottom portion of my shawl because her shawl is worked top to bottom and the Beginner's Triangle Shawl pattern is worked bottom to top. I think it turned out great and love the extra umph the tip has.

Love the end result and very happy with the colors!!

Until next time!! Enjoy the cooler weather!

Linen Stitch Afghan

I finally completed my Linen Stitch Afghan!! I can say that this was a fun project and it turned out so comfy and cozy!

For the border I kept it simple with the oatmeal white as single crochet all around then the heather gray in a half double crochet and the denim blue I did in a crab stitch to keep the border from unraveling. The afghan ended up measuring 56 inches X 69 inches. The perfect size for curling up on the couch watching a good movie or reading a great book not to mention for working up a new crochet project as well!!

Enjoy your weekend! We have a long weekend for Labor Day and my son is in town for a visit. We will be heading out for some golf soon so I need to go start getting ready!!

Completed Projects!!

I don't know what got into me this summer but I really dove into a lot of projects. First off I had been eye balling a lot of crochet bag patterns ever since I picked my hook and yarn back up 6 years ago. When I was able to actually work up a crochet bag that allowed me access to so many other hookers to ask questions along the way, I definitely jumped at the opportunity. After completing my first crochet bag, my daughter asked me to do one up for her plus I just wanted to do a smaller version as well.

My daughter loved the oceanspray blue color I used in my bag but wanted a gray color as her main color. So I used Stone and Oceanspray as her colors. I did the shell stitching in alternate colors to give a striping effect. I also did the base with some striping as well. I couldn't believe my luck when I found a chevron print in the exact matching blue! I added some silver buttons to each of the flower centers. To add a little extra color I used a very colorful button as the closure button. I added a strip of fabric to the strap to keep it from stretching and also did a border of crab stitch to give it a cord like look around the strap. My daughter loves it and has unpacked her batman bag that she used everyday and is now using this one. I don't know how long that will last because how can you give up Batman!!

I decided to try just using 4 flower squares on this one. It worked up so quickly because I didn't make a separate base but instead whip stitched the bottom together. So it is more like a messenger bag. I also decided to make two straps. I embellished the top with a stripe of white single crochet and added a cute butterfly button.

While waiting on fabric order and the nerve to finally sew in the liners for the bags, I decided to work up a quick Fall Cowl. I used the All Grown Up Cowl pattern by Tamara Kelly. I had the recommended yarn on hand since it was the same as I used on the Wildflower Shoulder Bag. I just made my colors more Fall. I loved how it turned out and it is large enough to also pull down over my shoulders as a shoulder wrap.

I then decided I needed a nice wrap for this Fall as well and set out working up a triangle shawl. The pattern was a solid color but I wanted some pops of color so I improvised and added a few rows here and there of different colors. I also doubled the size so it would be a nice warm and cozy wrap. For the border I decided on a cute picot edge that I found by Attic 24 on her Granny Stripe Blanket. A very simple stitch but adds just enough to the edge to make it not so boring! I think my colors are more reflective of Winter!

I used Lion Brand Heartland yarn in Glacier Bay and Olympic as well as Red Heart Soft in Heather Gray. I still have some of this yarn in each color left and might make a slouchy beanie to go with it. Believe it or not this was a really quick project. It is such a non-thinking pattern that you can actually watch TV and crochet at the same time! My daughter is eyeing it for herself and I might get to use it maybe one time once the cooler air arrives! It is a pretty easy project that I might have to work one up in more fall colors. I do love some burnt orange and yellow!!

I can say that I did experiment with some new crochet stitches on these projects. Learning how to crochet a base on a bag was great. I also learned a couple of new stitches while working on the cowl. I learned the half double crochet foundation stitch. This stitch has become such a great one to have. I now use it to begin almost all of the my projects that call for a chain and foundation stitch. I also learned the shallow post stitch. This stitch really gives a cool stitch line effect to your work. I then learned the picot stitch. I do love learning new techniques that boost the average to just a little more!

I became reacquainted with my sewing machine as well. I have to tell ya that bad boy had been put away for so long that I had to look up a tutorial on how to thread it!! Then I had to look up a tutorial on how to reset my tension. Let's put it this way my google search on my touchpad is filled with Brother XL-2600i tutorials!! But I figured it out and am so glad I took the extra time and steps to add liners to all of my bags. I even added a liner to my bag. I need to add fabric to my strap as well and plan on doing that this week.

That gorgeous ball of yarn is for a new CAL I have signed up for. More about that in a later post!!

It is September and the leaves on the mountains are starting to change. Enjoy your week and check back later this week for an update on my Linen Stitch Afghan!!