Completed Project!

This project was not on my list of many WIPs. Instead I decided to hook up a quick beanie since the one I use everyday has become pretty loose and baggy.

This is a tried and true pattern. It is the Ginger Slouchy Hat by Kristina Olson. The only modifications I made were adding a pom pom and working up the brim differently. I did a ribbed brim compared to how she worked hers up. I did the brim separate and then joined it to the hat.

I used Cascade 220 Superwash sport yarn in colorways of natural, summer sky heather and doe skin heather. I love the pop of blue. I do need to purchase a true pom pom maker. I ended up using up almost a whole skein of the summer sky heather just in making the pom pom. It still isn't the best one I have ever made either. 

I was able to complete this project in one afternoon. It was nice to begin and finish a project in one day.

I have also started another project. I know I should have finished an old one, but this is an afghan throw using all those bright bold colored yarn my husband got me for Christmas.

I had written about finding a pattern that has some great textural stitches. Well I found it in the pattern by Rebecca Langford from Yarn + Chai called Henry's Baby Blanket.

This is pretty much the pattern throughout the blanket. I am loving the pattern and how easy it is, yet looks so intricate with great texture and detail.

The yarn I am using is Lion Brand Touch of Alpaca. It is a 3.5 ounce yarn weight that is 90% acrylic and 10% alpaca. So it is hooking up pretty thick and fluffy. I am planning on making my throw a lot longer than the pattern since I'm not making a baby blanket.

The Malia Shoulder Bag CAL has begun. First week is just hooking up the base and that to me is the most tedious part of any shoulder bag pattern. Lots of rows of single crochet. I am really looking forward to the second week set of instructions!! Once again Rebecca Langford of Yarn + Chai has curated a wonderful CAL. So glad I came across her post on Facebook.

I am going to finish sipping on my cup of coffee and then take my rambunctious little pup on a walk. We received a nice dusting of snow last night and they are calling for a total of 10 inches in the next 24 hours. Rango is biting at the bits to go and romp in the snow. I guess that is what I should expect from a Siberian Husky!!

Work that Stitch Wednesday

Hello everyone! To follow up on last week's post on a favorite stitch of mine, I would like to further examine the pattern Tree of Life and discuss another versatile stitch used in this pattern, the Bobble Stitch or Popcorn Stitch. This stitch is used in the flower portion of the afghan. This is the area of the afghan that divides the top from the bottom with rows of beautiful flowers.

Picture Courtesy of ArtyCaelitha at Ravelry.com

A very lovely raised texture stitch that can be a little tricky at first. The stitch begins with a double or triple crochet but you end up having 4 loops on your hook before completing the stitch. For us hookers we are kinda use to only two or three loops at once on our hook. I believe this is why knitting is so frustrating for me to learn. All Free Crochet has a great video tutorial by The Crochet Crowd on the Bobble Stitch.

Until next time, have a creative week!!

Winnie

Work that Stitch Wednesday

Hi everyone! Hope your week is going great and creative.

As a crocheter there are days and even weeks where I might not pick up my hook. Crocheting takes a lot of thinking and counting especially the more tricky stitches and patterns. Even though I might not be hooking up a project, I am still browsing through the internet and my books enjoying the art of crochet visually. It is amazing how a simple stitch can create an extraordinary piece of art from a hanging tapestry to a simple dish cloth. And yes I consider a dish cloth a piece of art as well as an elaborate tapestry.

I want to share with you a stitch that I find is simple yet can create amazing work. The post stitch is such an easy stitch yet very versatile. The post stitch is normally a double crochet stitch that you work around the previous row double crochet post. This stitch creates a ribbing look and can be used as a border to a brim on a hat. The post stitch can add a visual, texture look to any project. One of my favorite patterns that is based on the post stitch is the pattern found on Lion Brand called the Tree of Life.  This is a pattern that is on my list of projects to complete this year.

Picture courtesy of Lionbrand.com

Picture Courtesy of ArtyCaelitha at Ravelry.com

This is a great video tutorial for anyone who might be interested in this simple yet very versatile stitch, the Front and Back Post Stitch by the Crochet Side

Thanks for stopping by today and enjoy your week.

Be Creative,

Winnie

Spicy Diamond Blanket Progress & Scarves

Hi everyone!! Well I have been working on my diamond blanket for the past couple of days. I have all my orange full diamonds completed and now working on my mustard yellow ones. I am loving how they are working up!!

In the first picture you can actually see the mustard yellow color compared to the other two. I am going to work up all the full diamond ones in each color and then do the half diamond ones and so on and so forth.

You may remember me writing about hooking up a couple of items for my sister prior to her trip to Amsterdam. Well life does get in the way and I didn't complete the scarves in time for her trip but I have a couple of Christmas presents completed in March. Hey you gotta make those lemons into lemonade!!

Love how the cardinal red scarf turned out especially with the added row of buttons. I tried the Lion Brand Scarfie yarn for the blue denim one. My review on this yarn is that it is okay but I don;t think I will work with it again. I don't think the ombre affect really works and I prefer soft yarn for scarfs where this yarn is an acrylic mix that is on the rough side.

I ended up going with my own pattern for the Cardinal Scarf. I just did the Long Crossover Double Crochet stitch in a width I liked and length that I thought worked. The denim ombre scarf is the Estelle Button Cowl pattern by Fiber Flux. I made it into a scarf instead of a cowl.

Until next time everyone take care and stay creative!!

Cheers,

Winnie

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!

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!!

Rosie Posie Granny Squares

I am still working on some stash busting projects. I found a really cute granny square tutorial and just had to start whipping some up. I decided to keep at the stash busting even though I would have loved to gone yarn shopping. Sandra at Cherry Heart has so many gorgeous crochet items and she does a great tutorial on the Rosie Posie Granny Squares!

I have a lot of the Lemon Grass and Zinnia Lion Brand wool ease yarn, so I decided to make those two my main colors and use scraps for my centers. I haven't decided on the last row which squares up these cute little rounds. I don't know if I want it to be all the same color or mix up the colors. I figure I have plenty of time to decide and maybe by then my yarn stash will be replenished.

We received some Spring Snow last night!

Take a moment a check out other WIPs going on this week over at Tami's blog!! Enjoy the rest of your week!!

WIP Wednesday - Tunisian Crochet Scarf

Hello everyone! I have falling in love with a new crochet technique this week! Yes, Tunisian Crochet has been my new passion these past few days. I was sparked by it when The Crochet Crowd uploaded a new Tunisian Crochet Series. It is a 10 part video tutorial and Mikey Sellick is a great instructor. If you are interested in a learning a new technique, I suggest checking out these tutorials.

I love how the yarn works up in such a great texture. This scarf can definitely be reversible because of the distinct stitching pattern on the right side/working side of the scarf and the soft look of the wrong side/opposite side of the scarf.

I am using Lion Brand Amazing yarn which is 53% wool and 47% acrylic. It is the Cactus Flower color scheme which is a gorgeous blend of bright magenta, mustard, deep orange, and dark brown. These colors to me represent Autumn! This yarn is a very light weight worsted at only 1.75 oz, so very breakable and hard to unravel back with if you make a stitch mistake. I know because I had to frog back about 4 rows when I realized I had dropped a couple of stitches, well the yarn broke and I could not unravel anymore. The scarf is now 22 stitches wide compared to 24 stitches when I began, but I figure it won't be noticeable once it is wrapped around your neck. :-)

This gorgeous scarf will be a set that accompanies a really cute piece of headwear. You will have to see the duo once the scarf is complete. ;-)

On a different note, the snow has melted that we received last week and the temperatures have been in the upper 60s. Yesterday, the hubby and I went on a short bike ride. The single tracks on the Park City Mountain Resort are covered in gorgeous fall leaves. I would have taken a few pics of them but once I am biking up these trails I do not want to jump off my bike plus all I had was my cell phone. But once we made it to McPolin Farm I did take a moment to capture a quick mountainside pic of the changing colors. It was taken with my phone so not a great as it could be, but I also read that if you want to take pictures of fall leaves you need to take them when there is a slight overcast to really pick up their vibrant colors. As you can see, it was a very sunny afternoon!

 



I hope you all have a great week! Take a moment and check out other great WIPs over at Tami's blog.



WIP Wednesday - Yarn Love

Hello! I am still working on my African Flower Afghan. I haven't worked much on the Dancing in Daisies Blanket due to not yet finding the right color and texture for blocking the daisies. I also need more of the off white and yellow yarn to make more daisies. I calculated that I need about 80 more!

I have also put my Flower Collage on the back burner because I am now wanting a totally different color scheme! Plus the move has made it difficult to paint the canvas since all the paints and canvas are packed away in one of the many boxes I have still to unpack.

I did find the time to order some new yarn! Lion Brand has some great clearance sales on their website from time to time. This time it was 50% off for packages of 3 skeins! I just could not pass that deal up especially since the only places in town to purchase yarn is Wal-Mart or Michael's. They don't carry a very wide variety of Lion Brand.

 

It's a great variety of colors and textures! I have never crocheted using mohair yarn. It's the multi-blue in the left hand corner of the center picture. I am thinking a nice scarf will look so lovely in that color. I am also testing the organic hemp yarn which is the turquoise and oyster solid colors. Now I have to sneak them into my stash bins without the hubby noticing! LOL! Since we were moving I had them delivered to my office, so he has no clue. ;-)

 

Enjoy the rest of the Summer. Kids start back to school around here at the end of the month.

 

We did have a wild fire that started yesterday around  Lake Rockport which is about 10 miles away from Park City. It was caused by a lightning strike and then it was a very windy day and made it spread and leap. Prayers go out to anyone who lost a home and property. Luckily no casualties just homes and property which are replaceable.

 

Please check out other's who have some wonderful WIPs to share over at Tami's Amis blog!

FO Friday - Granny Square Scarf

Happy Friday!! I finished my scarf and it turned out great. I ended up using 3 balls of the Lion Brand Woodland Tweed. I could have used another half of a ball but decided not to. I didn't add buttons because I think it looked good without them.



I love the striped effect this yarn produces!



Everyone have a great weekend! Please hop over to Tami's Amis blog and check out other FOs for this week!

WIP Wednesday - Granny Square Scarf

Happy Wednesday!! A few weeks ago I was attempting to work on the sweet eleanor scarf. I had to frog what I had started and start over. I decided to attempt it again when I went on a car trip at the end of June. Well, this pattern takes a lot of counting and that is difficult to do when you are riding in a car with a talkative hubby! So I decided to just go simple and worked on a granny square scarf. I would have completed it during our road trip, but I only took along two balls of yarn! It needs probably another half of ball to complete it. It has sat on my crochet pile for the past couple of weeks and now it is time to finish it up.

I love this yarn. It is Woodlands Tweedstripes by Lion Brand. I love the blue accent color. I will add a couple of buttons at one end so it can become an infinity scarf.

I have also worked on the African Flower afghan by making more squares. I am almost out of the white yarn, so I will need to replenish my stock. Looking at what I have completed, I realize that the color scheme is pretty much blue, sienna, and white. I wasn't planning on a prominent blue look, but I do seem to have a lot of blue yarn in my stash.

I hope you all have a wonderful week. Maybe I will have this scarf completed and can post a FO on Friday! Please take a moment and hop over to Tami's Amis blog for many other WIP's!

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!

WIP Wednesday - Lacy Scarf

Hello everyone! I cannot believe it is Wednesday already! The weather was just beautiful all week until yesterday. The rain has come in and it is wet and cold. But on the bright side, there are so many pretty daffodils and tulips blooming. It's crazy how one day there is no flowers and then the next so many vibrant colors!

Historic Downtown Park City, Utah....picture courtesy of Historic Park City Utah webpage
I would have taken my own pics but the weather has been so rainy.
You can't help but love the vibrant orange and pinks in those gorgeous tulips!!

This week I have worked on my Simply Soft afghan and now working on the border! Yay!! I cannot wait to share its finish look. Hopefully by Friday it will be complete!

I came across a great sale at Michael's a couple of weeks ago. I picked up a couple skeins of Red Heart Soft yarn. It is a slight bit thicker than my go-to Caron Simply Soft yarn. I of course stuck with my favorite colors, blue and brown.

I have been itching to use it, so I decided to do up my quick go-to scarf pattern. It is a free downloadable pattern on lionbrand.com. If I use one color scheme, it takes maybe two hours to complete. Mainly because I prefer to make extra long scarves to achieve that double wrap look. It's a fairly simple pattern. This time I decided to try alternating colors, which has become pretty time consuming so far. I might play around with the color pattern and see what works for me. It is the Lion Brand Crochet Lacy Scarf pattern. I have made numerous scarves with this pattern. I sometimes make it into an infinity scarf or add decorative buttons. It is such a lovely look once complete. Here is my progress so far with this one:

Thanks for stopping by!! I am hoping to be able to post a completed Simply Soft Afghan on Friday!! I am crossing all fingers and toes to have it completed this week.

Please take a moment and hop over to  Tami's Amis and Other Creations: WIPW and check out other creative creations by fellow bloggers!!