I'm addicted to crafting. I freely admit it. So, whenever we take off on a trip, it's guaranteed that I have some crafting project stashed somewhere in my carry on bag or in my.
How we travel does make a difference for me. I'm more apt to take along a jewelry making project if we're driving than if we're flying. Flying usually means a small crocheting or knitting project is stashed in my checked baggage. Driving usually means multiple crafting projects, one for the drive to and from and usually one for the evenings after we return to where we're staying.
A few weeks ago, we drove to Cape Cod and back. We took two days to drive up and two days to drive back, and were on the cape for a week. I took several projects: a pair of socks (car), supplies to make hair scrunchies (car) and a chain maille bracelet project (evenings). We were so busy, that I made very little progress on any of the projects I took with me.
What are your favorite travel craft projects?
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Friday, April 5, 2013
Finishing the Never Ending Shawl
It feels like I've been knitting on this shawl forever, as in eternity forever. It's not because I don't like the pattern. It's my pattern and I'm very happy with it. It's the yarn, so I won't mention the manufacturer or the line. But this yarn sucks, and I don't say that very often! It's rough and bumpy, which would be fine if that were what it was advertised as, but it's advertised as soft and smooth. And OK, it's very cheap yarn, donated to our prayer shawl ministry, so really, complaining about it isn't very nice of me. But it is oh so human of me.
Since it is a prayer shawl, destined for a gentleman who is either very ill or who has just lost a very close loved one, I pray while I'm knitting for this unknown gentleman's intentions.
My travails with this yarn are finally over. I put the last stitch in the shawl and wove in the last yarn end. Now I need to block it, photograph it, polish the pattern instructions and share it with you. I'll put the link to the free pattern on Ravelry.
I'd love to hear from others who've had this same problem. I can't be the only one, can I?
Since it is a prayer shawl, destined for a gentleman who is either very ill or who has just lost a very close loved one, I pray while I'm knitting for this unknown gentleman's intentions.
My travails with this yarn are finally over. I put the last stitch in the shawl and wove in the last yarn end. Now I need to block it, photograph it, polish the pattern instructions and share it with you. I'll put the link to the free pattern on Ravelry.
I'd love to hear from others who've had this same problem. I can't be the only one, can I?
Sunday, July 15, 2012
My poor naked rope wreath
Thumb's healing nicely. I bend it and move it without too much pain. Time to wade into my craft room and grab some shelved projects.
I unpack the first project: my rope and shell wreaths for my front doors. Now, I start to rethink my original plan. Is the photo of my inspiration wreath in the project box? Of course not! And it's not in the craft inspirations folder on my PC. Peachy, just peachy.
Do I want all shells, a few shells, a few shells and some other decorations or something completely different? Should I take a chance and just do something, or ponder on options for a while and put this project back on the shelf?
I wrapped my wreath forms with rope. It's easy and forms a great base for many wreaths.
Assemble components: hot glue pad, hot glue gun (on low temp), low temp glue sticks, rope and wreath form.
Wrap the wreath form with the rope and secure with a bit of hot glue on the rope. Use too much or touch the glue gun tip on the wreath form, and it melts.
Wrap, wrap and wrap rope around the base until the base is covered. Trim the ends and match them up. You end up with a rope wrapped wreath base.
Voila! May I present my poor naked rope wreath? All wrapped up and no decorations to show. I should say wreaths as I have two of these blank slates to gussy up. I dreamed of seashell wreaths when I started, so I bought a gazillion seashells at the local dollar store to completely cover the rope on the front of the wreaths. Was it a formal style wreath that inspired me, with concentric circles of matching shells? Or was it a gorgeous hodgepodge of mismatched shells artistically applied to form a breathtaking creation? I can't recall.
Should I explore different options? Go light on the shells and driftwood and beach glass? Use small life rings, lighthouses and buoys for nautical wreaths? Add some cute bows and call call it a day? Forget the beach or nautical theme and go with something completely different? Or stay with an all shell design and just do it?
I'm off to knit a little and mull over my options. I'll post when I'm finished with the wreaths.
Friday, June 8, 2012
School Christmas Bazaar 2011
Since boredom is made worse by inactivity, I decided to finally get around to downloading and doing something with the photos I took at the 2011 School Christmas Bazaar. Ok, I confess it was mainly downloading as I really haven't done any editing or retouching of the photos.
So here are some of the crafts that I and other ladies in the church made for sale at the bazaar. I definitely did not do this by myself! I had a great co-chair, Stephanie and many of the ladies in our prayer shawl ministry worked hard on dish towels and other things. Stephanie created the origami ornaments as well as the wrapped yarn ornaments and the felt ornaments on the tree. Judy created the pasta angels. Sarah made the uber cute hair scrunchies. Elaine did the floral arrangements and mint jars. Judy's husband made some great wood pieces, one of which adorns my living room. And I know I missed some of the ladies who created things, so ladies, please forgive my very faulty memory. Each and every item was and is greatly appreciated! And as soon as I locate tutorials for the crafts, I'll post the links to them. I've seen tutorials for the kitchen towels, dish cloths and hair scrunchies on the web somewhere.
It's always inspiring to see what others create, and the bazaar was no different. I usually see these ladies at prayer shawl ministry, knitting and crocheting away on hats, scarves, lap robes and prayer shawls. I loved seeing the results of their other crafting.
So here are some of the crafts that I and other ladies in the church made for sale at the bazaar. I definitely did not do this by myself! I had a great co-chair, Stephanie and many of the ladies in our prayer shawl ministry worked hard on dish towels and other things. Stephanie created the origami ornaments as well as the wrapped yarn ornaments and the felt ornaments on the tree. Judy created the pasta angels. Sarah made the uber cute hair scrunchies. Elaine did the floral arrangements and mint jars. Judy's husband made some great wood pieces, one of which adorns my living room. And I know I missed some of the ladies who created things, so ladies, please forgive my very faulty memory. Each and every item was and is greatly appreciated! And as soon as I locate tutorials for the crafts, I'll post the links to them. I've seen tutorials for the kitchen towels, dish cloths and hair scrunchies on the web somewhere.
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| Kitchen Towels galore |
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| My flower pens and Sarah's hair scrunchies |
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| Dish Cloths - knitted and crocheted |
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| Judy's Pasta Angels |
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| Our tree filled with Stephanie's handcrafted ornaments. |
I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many talented women! They are truly a delight to be around. I'll post a photo of them very soon. They started working on items for this year's church bazaar as soon as we finished with last year's bazaar!
Happy Crafting!
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Getting back to crafting normal
Now that I'm learning to do things with a splint on my left thumb, I'm feeling more like my old self. I'm able to knit again, albeit English style instead of my usual continental style. The two LYS in my area are both having great sales this month, so I'll be stocking up on some yummy yarns. And my thumb is healing nicely, so I expect to have this smelly splint off very soon. Woohoo!
I'm almost finished with the English knitted version of Stefanie Japel's Lacy Keyhole Scarf from my Knit Labs Craftsy.com class. Photos to follow. Frankly, it's not as neatly knitted as my other projects, but at least I'm knitting something! I have to stop being such a perfectionist, don't I?
I've been doing some digital designing too, making some cards and candy bar wrappers. Once I get the photos uploaded and cleaned up, I'll post them so you can see what I've been up to.
Projects I'm planning include making a couple of wreaths for my front door, working on some machine embroidery designs for potholders for the church bazaar and a couple of digital scrapbook kits. The wreath making may have to wait until my thumb is fully healed, but the digital designing I can do with my mouse hand!
Happy Crafting!
I'm almost finished with the English knitted version of Stefanie Japel's Lacy Keyhole Scarf from my Knit Labs Craftsy.com class. Photos to follow. Frankly, it's not as neatly knitted as my other projects, but at least I'm knitting something! I have to stop being such a perfectionist, don't I?
I've been doing some digital designing too, making some cards and candy bar wrappers. Once I get the photos uploaded and cleaned up, I'll post them so you can see what I've been up to.
Projects I'm planning include making a couple of wreaths for my front door, working on some machine embroidery designs for potholders for the church bazaar and a couple of digital scrapbook kits. The wreath making may have to wait until my thumb is fully healed, but the digital designing I can do with my mouse hand!
Happy Crafting!
Friday, May 4, 2012
Thumbs, radiators and tomato sauce
I should be creating some fun table decorations and favors for the Celtic Tea on Sunday, but I'll be buying those instead, thanks to my broken left thumb. My ideas safely stashed in my crafting notebook and on Pinterest, I say to myself "Buck up, grit your teeth and just smile. Next year, you'll have lots of cute crafty things to post on this blog from your Celtic Tea preparations."
To cheer myself up, I'm visiting one of the local yarn stores today to sign up for tomorrow's aran afghan block a month knitting class. Now that I've been practicing my English style knitting and it's looking pretty good, I can take the class! Woohoo!
Ah, not so fast! My carefully planned Friday vanishes "Poof!" as my husband dashes into the house yelling for me to come and look at my car. Just peachy! Holding my breath, I trudge my way to the garage, only to find to my shock and horror rusty brown antifreeze pooling on the concrete underneath the front of my car. Again. We just did this in November, didn't we? Memory check. Yes, we did. The same stomach churning sight appeared in the pre-dawn, as I started to load my car with luggage to head to the airport for a trip to Chicago last November. Come to think of it, that rusty brown with the very light brownish grey of the concrete wasn't a bad color combo. Could work up as a cute shawl or sweater. Hmm...don't I have some rusty brown yarn in my stash?
Back to reality. One call to to the kind folks at AAA, one call to my stunned mechanic, one very helpful and nice tow truck driver who didn't even blink at the huge bag of yarn I had to get out of the backseat before he could hook up my car - his mother knits, and I sadly decide to skip the LYS class tomorrow and sign up for the next month's class, after I get my car back. It's not fair to have my husband chauffeur me to the LYS two days in a row. He's already driving me to and from the Celtic Tea on Sunday. And I don't want to consider the expense of a rental car right now.
I'll bide my time until next month's class by knitting a make-it-up-as-you-go scarf for the church bazaar out of light blue cotton and working on a pair of knit socks I've been working on off and on, using the instructions found on the sock yarn label. I'll keep things simple, shelve my other projects, until my left thumb is healed. Plus I need to start planning some cute machine embroidered pot holders for the church bazaar.
At last, my very apologetic mechanic calls me with the good news that the radiator is still under warranty. My checkbook and crafting budget breathe a huge sigh of relief! Things are looking up! My wonderful husband treats me to lunch at the local Italian eatery, and that raises my spirits even more. As my Italian Godmother always says, doesn't tomato sauce, oregano and garlic make almost everything better? Hmmm, maybe I need to rub spaghetti sauce on my broken thumb?
To cheer myself up, I'm visiting one of the local yarn stores today to sign up for tomorrow's aran afghan block a month knitting class. Now that I've been practicing my English style knitting and it's looking pretty good, I can take the class! Woohoo!
Ah, not so fast! My carefully planned Friday vanishes "Poof!" as my husband dashes into the house yelling for me to come and look at my car. Just peachy! Holding my breath, I trudge my way to the garage, only to find to my shock and horror rusty brown antifreeze pooling on the concrete underneath the front of my car. Again. We just did this in November, didn't we? Memory check. Yes, we did. The same stomach churning sight appeared in the pre-dawn, as I started to load my car with luggage to head to the airport for a trip to Chicago last November. Come to think of it, that rusty brown with the very light brownish grey of the concrete wasn't a bad color combo. Could work up as a cute shawl or sweater. Hmm...don't I have some rusty brown yarn in my stash?
Back to reality. One call to to the kind folks at AAA, one call to my stunned mechanic, one very helpful and nice tow truck driver who didn't even blink at the huge bag of yarn I had to get out of the backseat before he could hook up my car - his mother knits, and I sadly decide to skip the LYS class tomorrow and sign up for the next month's class, after I get my car back. It's not fair to have my husband chauffeur me to the LYS two days in a row. He's already driving me to and from the Celtic Tea on Sunday. And I don't want to consider the expense of a rental car right now.
I'll bide my time until next month's class by knitting a make-it-up-as-you-go scarf for the church bazaar out of light blue cotton and working on a pair of knit socks I've been working on off and on, using the instructions found on the sock yarn label. I'll keep things simple, shelve my other projects, until my left thumb is healed. Plus I need to start planning some cute machine embroidered pot holders for the church bazaar.
At last, my very apologetic mechanic calls me with the good news that the radiator is still under warranty. My checkbook and crafting budget breathe a huge sigh of relief! Things are looking up! My wonderful husband treats me to lunch at the local Italian eatery, and that raises my spirits even more. As my Italian Godmother always says, doesn't tomato sauce, oregano and garlic make almost everything better? Hmmm, maybe I need to rub spaghetti sauce on my broken thumb?
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Not breaking any knitting speed records
OK, so here I am with a broken left thumb, my left hand in a splint, and a knit-in at a local yarn shop (LYS) coming up soon. Now what? Ooh, I know! I'll learn to knit English style. I've seen some English knitters who just hold the left needle steady in their left hand. I can do that, right? Having knitted continental style since my Mom taught me to knit in early childhood - I remember knitting a scarf in first grade - this is quite a change for me. Holding yarn in my right hand feels so wrong, so alien, yet I know it's the thing to do to knit English style. Hey, I can do this!
After digging one handed through my yarn stash and knitting needle case, I snag a skein of worsted weight yarn and a pair of needles and off I go to cast on. Turns out, that was easier to type one handed than to actually cast those suckers on the needle. Ouch! OK, so a long tail cast on using my left hand is out of the question and I'm getting impatient, so scrap learning to do a long tail cast on using my right hand. 20 backwards loop cast on stitches later, say about 20 fumble fingered minutes later because I also use my left hand to do a backwards loop cast on, I'm ready to start with the knit stitch, English style. About 20 minutes after that, I finally have a neater row of stitches under my belt, having frogged the first fifty eleventy million wonky stitches until I finished the first row with some passable knit stitches on the needles. My left hand hurts, especially the thumb, so it's time for that nap I always promise myself and never take myself up on.
I manage some not so bad looking rows of garter stitch and I'm starting to feel like the next few weeks won't be so bad after all. Woohoo! Now I can get back to my make-it-up-as-you-go scarf! I'll upload some photos of my splinted hand and my works in progress later.
I'm also helping a friend design some graduation candy bar wrappers for her daughter's high school graduation. I'll share some of the wrappers with you as well.
After digging one handed through my yarn stash and knitting needle case, I snag a skein of worsted weight yarn and a pair of needles and off I go to cast on. Turns out, that was easier to type one handed than to actually cast those suckers on the needle. Ouch! OK, so a long tail cast on using my left hand is out of the question and I'm getting impatient, so scrap learning to do a long tail cast on using my right hand. 20 backwards loop cast on stitches later, say about 20 fumble fingered minutes later because I also use my left hand to do a backwards loop cast on, I'm ready to start with the knit stitch, English style. About 20 minutes after that, I finally have a neater row of stitches under my belt, having frogged the first fifty eleventy million wonky stitches until I finished the first row with some passable knit stitches on the needles. My left hand hurts, especially the thumb, so it's time for that nap I always promise myself and never take myself up on.
I manage some not so bad looking rows of garter stitch and I'm starting to feel like the next few weeks won't be so bad after all. Woohoo! Now I can get back to my make-it-up-as-you-go scarf! I'll upload some photos of my splinted hand and my works in progress later.
I'm also helping a friend design some graduation candy bar wrappers for her daughter's high school graduation. I'll share some of the wrappers with you as well.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Broken Thumb = No Crafting? No way!
Oh crafty nightmare! Ever ungraceful, I fell and broke my left thumb while reaching for a naughty SuluKitty last Sunday afternoon. And frankly, the idea of not crafting for 2+ weeks is not settling well with me.
And in the midst of my pain, here comes the rude awakening by the unspeakable joys of breaking your thumb, which include but are not limited to: figuring out how to pull up your pants with one hand and zip them, realizing you broke the thumb on your nose blowing hand, and teaching the cats that my splint is not the perfect chew toy or face rubbing utensil. Yee-ouch!
So, I'm off to discover crafty things I can do while my left thumb and hand heal. I'm open to suggestions for one handed crafting.
The nurse practitioner I saw Sunday afternoon didn't bat an eye when delivering the horrible news that I would have a brace on my left hand for at least two weeks. My husband said it would be good for me to rest. EEK! And just how am I supposed to watch TV or go on any car trip over about 15 minutes without knitting or crocheting or doing some other craft? How, I ask you? And two WHOLE weeks? That's an eternity in my crafting timeline! That's over a dozen hats and/or a couple of prayer shawls and/or tons of wire wrapped earrings, depending on how much crafting time I have in my week and how many NCIS and Big Bang Theory re-runs are on TV on a given day.
So, I'm off to discover crafty things I can do while my left thumb and hand heal. I'm open to suggestions for one handed crafting.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
My Poor, Sad, Neglected Blog No More
Don't you hate it when real life gets in the way of having crafty fun? Me too! That's why in the midst of getting tax stuff together, I decided to take an online knitting class. And I'm really having fun with it! Woohoo! Another excuse to buy more yarn, like I really need another excuse. Anytime is a great time to buy more yarn, right?
I'm taking Stefanie Japel's Knit Lab class on Craftsy.com. Talk about having a blast! Yes, Mom taught me to knit years ago, and what she didn't teach me, I taught myself. So, I wanted to take the class to help with my basic techniques and correct any bad knitting habits I have, 'cause I know I have some. And it just might get my mind off of wanting to add on to the house to accommodate my yarn collection.
So far, I'm pretty happy that most of my technique is just what Stephanie is teaching. Woohoo! And then, my dyslexia shows me that it extends to my knitting. Just peachy. I'm planted squarely in front of my monitor, watching Stephanie teach a stitch, noting every move of her fingers and absorbing her words of knitty wisdom. And even though she was right there on my monitor showing me exactly how to do it, I knitted those stitches completely backwards from what she clearly demonstrated on screen. Well, slap a dunce cap on my head and call me Miss Frog It 2012. It's quality TV time for me tonight, frogging part of my class project and re-knitting it so I get it right! Is it any wonder that I collect frogs?
For those of you who aren't familiar with the knitting term "to frog", it means to correct a mistake in knitting by ripping the yarn out of the stitches until you reach the place where you goofed up so you can correct your mistake and start again from that point. Some smart knitter figured out that rip it, rip it, rip it sounded an awful lot like something frogs say. The term stuck and Anonymous Knitter earned a place in the Knitting Hall of Fame.
If you are unfamiliar with a dunce cap, lucky you. Google it, get a good laugh and then come back here for more amusement. Judging from my husband's peals of laughter every night, I should headline comedy shows. I just don't see it, but at least he's amused.
I'm off to frog my project as soon as I can use the detecting skills I've learned while frogging projects to sleuth out where the cat stashed it. He waits until my attention is elsewhere, snags my knitting or other project and sneaks off to his favorite hiding place of the day. As I am easily distracted, he has lots of opportunities to indulge in feline thievery. If I'm very lucky, he'll leave himself a clue as to where he hid it, like a long tail of yarn poking out from behind the couch.
So, it's a good thing that I haven't seen much of this week's TV offerings yet. Frogging is always more palatable watching NCIS nab a bad guy or two, CSI figure out who dunnit from a drop of blood and a lipstick imprint, or what Olivia and Tracy are up to on Jerseylicious. Knitting and on demand TV were made for each other, right? Now where's that TV remote? Ah yes, in my knitting bag. See y'all later!
Disclaimer time: I will be a Craftsy.com affiliate soon. However, they are not sponsoring this blog post. This is my own doing. I thought about it, started writing it, and then discovered that they have an affiliate program.
PS: More updates and links to photos of my finished projects on Craftsy coming soon! Happy Crafting y'all!
I'm taking Stefanie Japel's Knit Lab class on Craftsy.com. Talk about having a blast! Yes, Mom taught me to knit years ago, and what she didn't teach me, I taught myself. So, I wanted to take the class to help with my basic techniques and correct any bad knitting habits I have, 'cause I know I have some. And it just might get my mind off of wanting to add on to the house to accommodate my yarn collection.
So far, I'm pretty happy that most of my technique is just what Stephanie is teaching. Woohoo! And then, my dyslexia shows me that it extends to my knitting. Just peachy. I'm planted squarely in front of my monitor, watching Stephanie teach a stitch, noting every move of her fingers and absorbing her words of knitty wisdom. And even though she was right there on my monitor showing me exactly how to do it, I knitted those stitches completely backwards from what she clearly demonstrated on screen. Well, slap a dunce cap on my head and call me Miss Frog It 2012. It's quality TV time for me tonight, frogging part of my class project and re-knitting it so I get it right! Is it any wonder that I collect frogs?
For those of you who aren't familiar with the knitting term "to frog", it means to correct a mistake in knitting by ripping the yarn out of the stitches until you reach the place where you goofed up so you can correct your mistake and start again from that point. Some smart knitter figured out that rip it, rip it, rip it sounded an awful lot like something frogs say. The term stuck and Anonymous Knitter earned a place in the Knitting Hall of Fame.
If you are unfamiliar with a dunce cap, lucky you. Google it, get a good laugh and then come back here for more amusement. Judging from my husband's peals of laughter every night, I should headline comedy shows. I just don't see it, but at least he's amused.
I'm off to frog my project as soon as I can use the detecting skills I've learned while frogging projects to sleuth out where the cat stashed it. He waits until my attention is elsewhere, snags my knitting or other project and sneaks off to his favorite hiding place of the day. As I am easily distracted, he has lots of opportunities to indulge in feline thievery. If I'm very lucky, he'll leave himself a clue as to where he hid it, like a long tail of yarn poking out from behind the couch.
So, it's a good thing that I haven't seen much of this week's TV offerings yet. Frogging is always more palatable watching NCIS nab a bad guy or two, CSI figure out who dunnit from a drop of blood and a lipstick imprint, or what Olivia and Tracy are up to on Jerseylicious. Knitting and on demand TV were made for each other, right? Now where's that TV remote? Ah yes, in my knitting bag. See y'all later!
Disclaimer time: I will be a Craftsy.com affiliate soon. However, they are not sponsoring this blog post. This is my own doing. I thought about it, started writing it, and then discovered that they have an affiliate program.
PS: More updates and links to photos of my finished projects on Craftsy coming soon! Happy Crafting y'all!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Catching up!
Wow! It's been a very busy April and May! June's here and it's also looking like a very busy month. Yikes! How will I ever get all of my craft projects finished, photographed and up on this blog?
Simple. I'm going to do it one project at a time!
Here are March's hats for the local soup kitchen.
I lost the yarn wrapper, but I can tell you that I used Homespun yarn for them (again.) I promise I used another yarn for April and May's hats. They'll be up on the blog shortly.
I'm also working on several other projects, including new wreaths for my front doors, crocheted bookmarks and bracelets from water bottles. I'm also working on demo items for the school's Christmas bazaar.
I'd better get back to cleaning off my kitchen table so I can get a little sewing done. Happy Crafting!
Simple. I'm going to do it one project at a time!
Here are March's hats for the local soup kitchen.
I lost the yarn wrapper, but I can tell you that I used Homespun yarn for them (again.) I promise I used another yarn for April and May's hats. They'll be up on the blog shortly.
I'm also working on several other projects, including new wreaths for my front doors, crocheted bookmarks and bracelets from water bottles. I'm also working on demo items for the school's Christmas bazaar.
I'd better get back to cleaning off my kitchen table so I can get a little sewing done. Happy Crafting!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Saint Patrick's Day Candy Bar Wrappers
How do you celebrate Saint Patrick's Day? It's one of my favorite holidays, outside of Christmas and Easter, so I love to decorate and give little gifts to my family and friends.
This year, I'm handing out candy bars. And they're wrapped in Saint Patrick's Day candy wrappers I designed. They really do look much better in person than in my photo. Get the free wrappers here on my scrapbooking and candy wrapper blog.
To add a touch of gold, I used a foil overwrap over the existing candy bar wrapper before I added my custom wrapper. While there are many places to get these, I get mine from Rich Fallon at http://foilman.com/.
You don't have to have a foil overwrap. Just print the candy bar wrappers and tape over the existing wrapper. If you use my designs, I'd love to see pictures of your finished products!
Erin Go Bragh!
Susan
aka That Crafty Redhead
This year, I'm handing out candy bars. And they're wrapped in Saint Patrick's Day candy wrappers I designed. They really do look much better in person than in my photo. Get the free wrappers here on my scrapbooking and candy wrapper blog.
To add a touch of gold, I used a foil overwrap over the existing candy bar wrapper before I added my custom wrapper. While there are many places to get these, I get mine from Rich Fallon at http://foilman.com/.
You don't have to have a foil overwrap. Just print the candy bar wrappers and tape over the existing wrapper. If you use my designs, I'd love to see pictures of your finished products!
Erin Go Bragh!
Susan
aka That Crafty Redhead
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
January and February Hats For Charity
It's March 1 and time for me to post pictures of the hats I crocheted for the local soup kitchen in February. And as I forgot to post pictures of January's hats earlier, I'm adding them here as well.
All 4 hats are crocheted using Homespun yarn by Lion Brand Yarn Company for all 4 hats. It's a nice bulky yarn in gorgeous colors. I used the Windsor shade for January and Lagoon for February.
January's hats are both medium adult size. I made a large adult hat and a small adult hat for February. Most of the hats I've made in the past for the soup kitchen are medium adult sized hats, which fit most adults, and that's what my pattern makes. I add or subtract an increase row to change the size. Thankfully, these hats work up fairly quickly, so my goal of making two hats per month for the soup kitchen is good for me.
I also finished a prayer shawl in late January. I'll post pictures as soon as I'm through polishing the pattern instructions. I'm knitting away on the next prayer shawl, and this time I'm documenting the pattern as I go. So far, I have designed the shawl patterns as I knit. I can follow a pattern, but I prefer to design on the fly!
Happy crafting!
Susan
All 4 hats are crocheted using Homespun yarn by Lion Brand Yarn Company for all 4 hats. It's a nice bulky yarn in gorgeous colors. I used the Windsor shade for January and Lagoon for February.
January Hats
February Hats
January's hats are both medium adult size. I made a large adult hat and a small adult hat for February. Most of the hats I've made in the past for the soup kitchen are medium adult sized hats, which fit most adults, and that's what my pattern makes. I add or subtract an increase row to change the size. Thankfully, these hats work up fairly quickly, so my goal of making two hats per month for the soup kitchen is good for me.
I also finished a prayer shawl in late January. I'll post pictures as soon as I'm through polishing the pattern instructions. I'm knitting away on the next prayer shawl, and this time I'm documenting the pattern as I go. So far, I have designed the shawl patterns as I knit. I can follow a pattern, but I prefer to design on the fly!
Happy crafting!
Susan
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Grandmother's Crocheted Hat
An old family crocheted hat pattern handed down from my grandmother.
I use this pattern to crochet hats for my family and to donate to my prayer shawl ministry's hats for the local soup kitchen campaign. My prayer shawl ministry group donated over 160 hats, knitted and crocheted, to the soup kitchen in December.
Yarn: Bulky yarn (1 skein) or use two strands of worsted weight yarn (2 skeins)
Crochet Hook: Size J or size needed for gauge
Gauge: 6 rows x 10 sts (double crochet) = 4" x 4"
Rd 1: Ch 4. Join.
Rd 2: Ch 3. 5 dc in loop. Join. (16 sts)
Rd 3: Ch 3. DC in join stitch
. 2 dc each remaining dc. Join. (32 sts)
Rd 4: Ch 3. * 2 dc in next dc. 1 dc in next dc. Rep from * to end.
Join. (48 sts)
Rds 5 - 14: Ch 3. 1 dc in each st to end. Join.
(Optional rolled brim)
Rds 15 - 17: Ch 3. 1 dc in each st to end. Join. Weave in yarn ends.
Add pompom or decorative edging such as shell or picots, if desired.
I used Lion Brand's Homespun in Windsor for the sample hat, which I'll give to the prayer shawl ministry. I can usually get two hats from one skein of the homespun using this pattern.
If you're using worsted weight yarn, use two strands together to form a bulkier yarn.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Back on Track
So maybe starting a craft blog in the midst of trying to find a job wasn't my smartest idea. Months with no blog posts doesn't showcase my dedication to crafting, does it?
Since deciding to be my own boss got me off of job hunting mode, the crafting muse has been bugging me to get started with this craft blog again. So, I'm back!
The cards for my mother-in-law were a hit! I didn't realize how thrilled she would be to get them! I ended up making 24 cards for her, all created from a card kit I bought years ago at a book fair.
Birthdays, anniversaries and Halloween loom on the card sending horizon, so I need to get my crafty self in design mode and get to work!
For the next set of cards, I'm going to skip the card making kit and use my scrapbooking and graphics tools to create them. I'll share some completed designs and a Halloween card making digital mini-kit with you.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Introduction
I am a crafter. I have a lifelong love of crafting, from making jewelry to quilting to tatting to knitting to scrapbooking to making my own cards. My wonderful Mother taught me the love of crafting at an early age. We made ornaments, cards, paper chains, flower bouquets, and jewelry. She taught us to crochet, knit, sew, tat, embroider and many other crafts. She showed us how to look at an item and see the construction and design skills that went into making that item.
As an event and wedding planner, I know I can save my clients money by showing them how to make some of the things they will use at their event or wedding, or by making the items myself. And I'm going to share my crafts with you.
I'm working on my first craft blog: cards for my mother-in-law to send to friends. So bookmark my blog and come back next week to see the cards and get the instructions to make your own cards!
Until then, I hope you craft a little each day!
Susan
As an event and wedding planner, I know I can save my clients money by showing them how to make some of the things they will use at their event or wedding, or by making the items myself. And I'm going to share my crafts with you.
I'm working on my first craft blog: cards for my mother-in-law to send to friends. So bookmark my blog and come back next week to see the cards and get the instructions to make your own cards!
Until then, I hope you craft a little each day!
Susan
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