Who-Who's There?

This week, I decided to join in on a Halloween Mystery Crochet A-Long (MCAL). This is my first color-work hat and I'm glad that I have had the practice because a blanket that I'm going to be working on, soon, for my husband is also color work. What I mean by color work is that I will be using more than two colors and carrying the yarn through the project, as if I were making a tapestry.

I love the cute little owls in their hats and the pumpkins that circle the top of the hat! I am worried that I followed the pattern wrong because I was under the impression that this hat was supposed to be a beanie. It is too tall for that. My husband says that it could be a slouch. Which, it could very well be. Because it was a Mystery CAL, we were not told what we would be making and we have no idea what it is supposed to look like. I left off a few rows, at the end because I was starting to worry. The pattern mentioned something about tails and I wasn't sure if there was supposed to be some sort of tassle at the top or what. So, I left that part off.

I am anxious to see how the other projects turned out.

Have you ever done a Mystery _____ A-Long? Does it ever make you nervous to not know how it is supposed to look at the end?

Feel free to leave a comment below and check out my other posts.

Remember, you are beautiful and well loved.

Fans, Fences and Lace

 This week, I have been doing a lot of work on a couple of shawls since I left my pattern notebook and my swap blanket in the back of a friend's vehicle from our road trip. The above picture is from a dark purple "Cascading Lace Shawl". I downloaded this pattern for $2USD and I must say that I absolutely love the way it works up. Although the pattern is written completely out, row by row, it is a repeating pattern. I found that I like who complete the pattern is because I don't have to go back and count my rows, and how many times I have completed rows 1-9. I can simply continue on through the pattern and know that I'm at row 32. I don't feel as lost as I sometimes do with repeated patterns.

This next shawl that I'm working on is another experiment of mine. I like how open it is and it is an easy work up, as well. I'm using Red Heart's Super Saver Solids "Frosty Green" for this shawl.

Both shawls are going to become rectangular shawls.

Also, I have been looking up on a new ambition, somewhat related to crochet but doesn't have much to do with yarn. I've been looking on Etsy and E-bay at the beaded crochet stitch markers and admiring them. Some of the prices seem a bit high but I love how unique they are. My husband used to dabble in beading jewelry and I do believe that he still has some beads I might be able to use. I think I'm going to invest in some "Lobster Claws" (clippy things), some beading pins and a pair of needle nosed plier and try my hand at making some of these beauties! Of course, when I do start, I will post my adventures with beading on here as well.

What are you working on right now?  Any new ambitions?
Feel free to check out my other posts and leave a comment below. I always love hearing from you.

Remember that you are beautiful and well loved!

Corban's Winter Hat (Free Pattern)

 

I must have been hit by the inspiration arrow, lately. Here is another free pattern download!

I don't have a very creative title for this one but the person I designed this for is one crafty dude so his name may be just the ticket, even though most of you do not know him. My brother-in-law wears hats often. For Christmas, I usually make him a couple of winter hats so that he can wear them to school and when one gets dirty, he still has another one. 

Last year I made him a replica of one that he lost in the mall when we were trying to find him a suit for our wedding. He was so distraught over losing the hat and so happy when he received the replica. Corban is very quick to say what is on his mind and often times it is funny and I try not to laugh when I shouldn't. 

This design, I almost did not write out because it is a basic hat pattern with an addition. I don't remember the last time that I looked at a basic winter hat pattern but I've been making winter hats for a couple of years. I know that I misplaced the one I used for my first couple of hats and I just started doing my own thing. It is a basic double stitch hat with a band running across the front and a button.

I decided to add the band because I didn't want it to seem too plain with just the one color of yarn I was using. For this hat, I used Lion Brand's Homespun "Gothic" yarn. It is dark purple with a touch of black. Purple happens to be Corban's favorite color and since he is now entering high school, I decided to make him a hat that is more adult but still had a touch of flavor. I found a few black buttons that didn't have a flower design and chose the one in the picture.

I must say that I am quite proud of this design, no matter how simple.

I hope that you are able to enjoy it as much as I do and as much as Corban will, come Christmas. Now, to make him a "Creeper" hat to go with the scarf that I made him last year.

What do you think of the added flavor to the hat? Does it look like something a teenage boy would wear? 

Remember, you are beautiful and well loved.

The Turtle Shuffle

I just finished the Turtle Shuffle Scarf design and the scarf itself. The design is a free download from my store in Ravelry and I intend to keep it a free download. I call it the Turtle Shuffle because if you look at the stitches you can kind of see little turtles shuffling along to keep you or your loved one warm in the winter months. The single crochet acts as the head or tail of the turtle and the double crochets act as the shell. I can also see little feet under the shells.

I came up with the name one my walk to work. I remembered, for some strange reason, a movie that my husband and I watched a while back, when we first started dating. I don't remember which movie it was but it had kids and there was this one boy that the others wouldn't let in past the front gate unless he did the "Truffle Shuffle". I feel so bad for the boy.

Anyhow, I was going through a list of words because I didn't like the way "Turtle Scarf" sounded and "Turtle Neck" is already taken and I don't know many people who like the suffocating feeling of the constrictive shirts. When this scene popped into my head I laughed and said "Turtle Shuffle". I thought of a few other titles that I can't remember now because this one just seemed to stick.

So, there you have it. A free crochet pattern design and a finished Christmas gift. Now,  I have three scarf gifts finished. I have seven more to go but I think that I'm going to start on some hats. To be honest, I'm getting bored of scarves and I have just as many hats and earwarmers to complete.

I am still working on one of the three shawls. I actually like how it is coming along. I will write a post about it, later.

Both of my blankets are actually on pause for the moment. I thought I had enough yarn for the afghan swap one but I'm about ten rows short of an afghan. So, another trip to the yarn aisle and I should be set on that one, but we shall see if I can get that yarn on Thursday. The other blanket's design is sitting in our friend's vehicle. I accidentally left that and the unfinished swap blanket when we went for a drive to pick up a really cool, antique sewing machine desk...thing.

Feel free to check out some of my other blog posts and leave a comment below. I always enjoy hearing from you.

Remember that you are beautiful and well loved.

To Make A Hole, You Must Start Digging

After a couple of slight panic attacks over Christmas, which isn't for another couple of months, and writing a list of gifts to make (which can be found in my earlier post, Dear Santa, May I Borrow Some Elves?) I have begun to make somewhat of a dent.

So far I have made 2/10 Scarves. I am in the middle of designing a third.

I used a basic Double Crochet stitch for one scarf:

and I used the "Strawberry Wine Cable Scarf" Pattern for the second:

I also made a couple of colorful headbands with some yarn gifted to me by Nina:

The yarn is 50% Soy Silk and 50% wool. South West Trading Company, Karaoke-299
 I also used the Double Shell Headband Pattern, which is a free pattern, for these two.
I absolutely loved the yarn for this and I'm going to look into getting more yarn. The Soy Silk tones down the wool's scratchiness. Wool doesn't usually make me itch but some wools do seem a little rough. This one is so soft and smooth, I wish you could feel it through the screen!

I am about 40 rows away from being finished with a blanket that I have been working on for a while. My goal is to have that finished by the end of this month. To do that, I want to try to crochet at least 5 rows a day (starting tomorrow because I work all day today). If I kept to this, I should have it finished by the 25th of September. Then I could concentrate on finishing the design for the hubby's blanket and the rest of the smaller projects.

The scarves will only take me a couple hours each, if I use patterns that I already have, and stop designing new ones. The shawls will take a little longer. Which, I started on one shawl and I'm really loving the pattern. I will make a new post about that, since this one is already stuffed with pictures. 

So, right now, I am working on  a new scarf design, a shawl, and a blanket. I want to finish this scarf and another scarf before I switch over to hats. 

Please remember that you are beautiful and well loved. 

Rememberance of 9/11

September 11, 2001 is the day that America will never be able to forget. The date is already inscribed in our history books and the tragedy is already explained to those who are too young to remember. It was a day that all hearts broke, in unison. Fear and anger struck America as innocence was lost in the crashing towers and the pentagon.

I, myself, do not remember 9/11. I would have just turned eleven and I think I would have been in the sixth grade. My brother tells me that we went to a private school. I don't remember that either. I had a brain tumor and I suppose that there was a lot that I missed. Even the sound of a hundred-thousand breaking hearts did not wake me. For that, I feel guilty.

I do remember 9/11/2002. I remember the panic that I felt when I saw the planes crashing on the news. I remember crying and thinking that it was happening then. I remember the sound of the silent shatter of my heart as I watched the planes fly into the Pentagon and people falling from the towers. I remember wondering why my family wasn't hurt by it and I didn't realize that it had already happened. While all of America's shattered hearts had been mended together and a fire lit to protect what was left, I was left to mend mine, a year later, alone.

I remember the horror. I remember the heartbreak. I remember the loneliness. I remember where I was and what I was doing, a year later. I remember going to high school and the same question every year, "Where were you on 9/11/2001?".

My heart still breaks for everyone we lost in those tragedies, in the planes and in the war that began in response.

Dear Santa, May I Borrow Some Elves?

I finally sat down (during a lunch break) and wrote down a list of projects that I need to start and complete before Christmas comes around. Yes, it is only September but I'm sure all you crafters know just how long it takes to make something special for someone. I glanced at my list, today and I'm starting to wish that I hadn't written everything out.

So far (I usually end up adding things) I have:

Two afghans- one is for a swap and needs to be finished by December 1st, I'm about halfway finished; the other is still in the process of having the pattern written. Eighty rows are written, still have about 108 rows more.

A "Stitch" hat for my neice.

Ten winter hats

Three Earwarmers

Three Shawls

Six ornaments

Ten scarves

Nine potholders

Four dishcloths

and possibly a third blanket but I'm not sure I'll have that much time.

Since I have started crocheting, one person has received a blanket each year. The first year it was my dad and step mom, the second was my mother in law, this year it will be my husband and I'm thinking next year will be my brother in law, once I figure out what he likes. Now that he is in high school, I don't know if he still wants the Star Wars things or if he wants things to be  a little more grown up.

Which makes it difficult for this Christmas, for him. Last year I made him a "Creeper" scarf from Minecraft. Last year he was in middle school. This year, he is in high school and I'm not sure what he wants.

Out of all the projects that I need to do, I have the blanket for my afghan swap started and...yeah, just that. Well, I may have one scarf and an earwarmer finished...depending on if I want to give away my prototypes of the Strawberry Wine patterns.

Every year, my list gets longer. I'm just going to have to start crocheting for Christmas 365 days ahead of time.

In all of the chaos, remember: You are beautiful and well loved.
 

Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Lose

Thank you for the encouraging comments on my last post. I really do appreciate them. I'm not sure why I felt so obsolete but you are absolutely right! Even if she makes gifts and makes more than I can, the gifts that I make for people will always be unique just as the ones my mother makes. I have always felt at ease when I gift things I make because they are unique (and can't be returned). So, thank you for encouraging me when I was in a bit of a funk.

Since the last post, I have been working hard. Yesterday was my first day off in seven days and I worked over 40 hours. Yay! I have been working on some new designs and updating the Country Squares Market Bag.

I love the four square base of the market bag but I'm not happy with how the rest of the bag turned out. It doesn't seem sturdy and even though I wasn't increasing my stitches it seemed as if the sides were expanding. So, although I said the revision would be up this past weekend, it is still a work in progress. I need to figure out the sides of the bag. This pattern will probably end up being seaparate from the Country Squares because I am thinking that only the base will be made with the same pattern. Thankfully, I have my trusty stitch book that my hubby gifted me for my birthday. That should help a bit.

Anyway, here's the base:

Now, I did finally write the pattern for the Strawberry Wine Ear Warmer! This is a free pattern download from Ravelry. The scarf is still being tested but is up for sale. The ear warmer will remain a free pattern.

Because I still have some yarn left over from the scarf and ear warmer set, I am going to try my hand at some fingerless gloves. Before I do that, I need to actually, successfully make a pair of fingerless gloves.

If you know any good patterns for crochet fingerless gloves, feel free to let me know in the comments below!
I always love hearing from you and thank you, again, for your encouragement.

Remember, you are beautiful and well loved.