Crocheted Infinity Scarf

A couple of years ago, I bought some yarn that I had not seen or used before.  It's Lago brand and it's very pretty.  It's also very small.  It sat in the stash until I rediscovered it a couple of months back.  I finally decided to use it and I picked an infinity scarf pattern.  I used the pattern on the mink yarn scarf and a scarf for Otter, but they were regular scarves.  I used a very small hook on this yarn since it's small gauge.  I finally finished it today.  It's double stitch and is about 75" long, then joined at the ends with single stitch.

It turned out well.

Close up of the stitches.  It's a silvery blue color.

While it did work, I don't think I really like this yarn.  It's a small gauge but it's not easy to work with.  I used both skeins I had as they are small, and I still have two more in another color.  I don't know if I'm going to use them on another one of these scarves or if I'm going to find something else to make.

Crochet Related Charity Project

Inmate Crochet Project

I think I'm going to see if yarn donations can be mailed to them, since this program is in TEXAS and I am not.

Spring Yarn Wreath Butterfly Butterflies Felt Flower Flowers

Major tendonitis issues at the moment in my right arm, so crochet is temporary not happening.

But I still find things to do!

This is the 2nd yarn wreath I've made.

I started with a styrofoam wreath.

I wrapped it with yarn.  I put a piece of double sided tape on the back of the wreath and that holds the yarn end in place for the first few wrap rounds.  As the yarn is wrapped, it has to be pulled tight periodically and also slipped down against the yarn that is already wrapped.  It needs to be snug so that there are no open spots where the wreath form shows through.

I decided to use felt for the decoration on this wreath.  Because I wanted flowers and a spring feel, I used several different colors.  I did not use all the colors that I bought, my flowers were originally going to be different and have leaves but I changed my mind on that.  I'm sure I'll find a use for it later on!

Probably any glue will work but I bought actual felt glue.

I found a stencil that had a flower shape I liked.

Because I wanted to use the shape as a pattern, I drew the petals and then I also drew the interior circle so that it would be one piece and also the inner circle so I would have a reference point for the hot glue later on.

Trim carefully and use sharp scissors!

I flipped it over because I did not want the lines to show!

I used three different sizes from the stencil.

I staggered the pieces largest to small and made sure that the edges were not even.  Then I used the felt glue to stick the layers together.

I also cut small circles out of yellow felt for the centers of my flowers.

I was originally going to make felt butterflies but I decided to go with feather butterflies instead.  They had wire sticks on the bottom but I pulled the wires out.

The next step was to get out the glue gun!

I placed the flowers on the wreath first and rearranged them until they were where I wanted them.

I glued each one on, one at a time and did not move the rest of them while I was gluing so that they would go on where I wanted them to.  Also, you could take a picture (cell phone or digital camera) to refer to while gluing.  The glue went on the back of the flowers in the center - which is where the center outlines were.

After the flowers were glued, I used the same process with the butterflies.

Sometimes butterflies are solitary bugs but my butterflies were a flock!

I may decide to get a ribbon in a green color similar to the yarn and attach it at the back with the glue gun as a hanger, but for the moment it's done!

March is Craft Month

(Not just crochet, but crochet is of course my favorite craft!)

Here are a few examples:

This is a photo of a shadow box in progress, I haven't posted it yet but it is finished.

Fabric lined tray.

Soap pump made from a caning jar.

Wooden bookshelf Bill made for the library books which always need a place to park.

Otter made this cat ears headband for one of her early cosplay attempts.

Fabric covered bulletin boad.

Fabric covered mouse pad.

All of these with the exception of the shadow box have either been on this blog or on the main blog.

Get crafting!

March is International Crochet Month!

My favorite month!  Not just for the crochet, it's also Otter's birthday on the last day of March.  But this post is about this:

Which means this:

(This is just a very small sample of my yarn stash)

(Yes, everywhere!)

(Yes, great pain.)

Just a few thoughts!

Fabric Material Covered Mouse Pad Mat Mousepad Mousemat

This was actually a very easy project.  It just took a few minutes start to finish.

I started with a cheap mouse pad, which cost less than $2.00.

I bought a small package of Heat N Bond.  Make sure you get the iron on kind!

It cost less than $2.00 as well.

Sorry the picture is sideways.  We have 2 irons and boards, one is for clothing and one is strictly for crafting.  That is not a necessary step, but it's easier not to have to worry about adhesive, etc., getting stuck on the iron and then transferring to the clothing.  Same thing for the board, we have a tabletop board which we use with the craft iron.  The craft iron is actually one that I've used for years to iron clothing but it's getting old and I bought a new one before the old one actually conks out since I've had that happen before.

I bought crochet printed fabric a while back, I've used it for a couple of things now.  I'm not sure what the cost is because I bought it several months ago and also I bought a lot because I've had things not be available when I wanted to get more.  It's cotton fabric, which has not been washed because of the types of projects I've used it for.  If it's for an actual sewing or clothing related project, then it would need to be washed first.  But so far, my projects have needed it to still be slightly stiff. 

You'll want to cut a piece of fabric slightly larger than the mouse pad.

The Heat N Bond will also need to be cut larger, I used the fabric as a template so it would be the right size but the fabric can be a little larger.

Place the Heat N Bond ADHESIVE SIDE DOWN ON THE BACK OF THE FABRIC, THE PAPER BACKING ON THE HEAT N BOND NEEDS TO BE FACING YOU.  Then just follow the directions on the package, in this case it was to warm the iron mid-way (no steam) and then place the iron down for 2 seconds and hold it at a slight pressure, then move it to the next section until the entire piece has been ironed.  At this point, you might need to put a napkin or piece of scrap material down so that the adhesive won't stick to the ironing board cover if it exceeds the size of the fabric you are using.  Let it cool completely, it will just take a few minutes.

Peel the backing off, it should come off easily and the back of the fabric will have a slight shiny appearance.

Then when the fabric piece has cooled down, lay it over the TOP SIDE of the mouse pad - be sure to put the adhesive down AND THE FRONT OR RIGHT SIDE OF THE FABRIC NEEDS TO BE FACING YOU.  I put the backing that came off of the Heat N Bond down underneath the mouse pad to protect the ironing board fabric cover.  Then follow the directions on the package again, in this case it was to hold the iron down for 6 seconds then move it over until the entire piece had been exposed to the hot iron.  Because this was a rubber piece and I didn't want it to melt, I counted to 6 seconds exactly and then lifted the iron to move it over.  I let it cool for a minute or so, then I flipped it over so that the back of the mouse pad was facing me.

I checked it gently at the corner and it looked like the fabric was adhered, if it isn't stuck down then just give it a few more seconds with the hot iron.

Then it was just a matter of cutting the excess fabric off.  I used a pair of very sharp scissors, but you could use an X-acto knife or similar sharp blade.  But you'll need to be sure you have it against a hard surface before you take a blade to it.  The excess fabric needs to be cut off right against the edge of the mouse pad.

Here's the finished product!  It was very easy to do and it works perfectly with my optical mouse.  This would make a great gift and it could be personalized to the person you wanted to give it to.