Crocheted Caps or Hats

This is my latest project.  The first one is what Otter gave Bill for Christmas.  It's camo patterned yarn, it's a little lighter than it looks in the picture.  Also, because of the way the two hats are laid out, they don't look like the same shape but they are identical except for color.

I made two for Christmas presents.

This is the second one.  Otter gave it to Sweetie for Christmas.  The yarn is called Candy Corn and it's part of Red Heart's softer yarn series.

They were easy & fun.  They didn't take too long, maybe an hour with interruptions (there are always interruptions!).

I made Bill's over a period of two days, the only time I had to crochet was on two Saturdays.  I had to wait until he was taking a nap.  I got most of his cap done, but then he woke up and I had to quickly hide it.  Then he didn't nap anymore that day, so I thought I could get it done during the week.  Of course, that was a very busy week and it was the next Saturday before I could finish it.  He kept dozing off on the couch, so I thoughtfully suggested that he might want a nap.  As soon as he headed off to bed and I heard him snore, I grabbed the hat, yarn and my hook and finished up.  I had no way of knowing if it would actually fit him, so I stood in front of the bathroom mirror and tried it on myself!

That afternoon, I got Sweetie's cap done.  It was much easier, as I could work on it in front of Bill and it went much quicker.  Imagine that!  I had attempted caps before, but the pattern wasn't very good and I didn't like the way they turned out.  This pattern was excellent.  Bill asked me if I was sure that it would work, since I'd had hat issues before - I told him that I'd already made a hat with this pattern and I knew it would work.  I just didn't tell him that it was his and I'd just finished it!  :)

Since these pictures were taken, I've made myself one with the yarn I called Marble.  Iit matches my scarf, which has already been posted.  Mine is a larger gauge yarn so it's not as many rows, but it is still the same size.  I haven't gotten pictures of it yet.  Also, Otter wants one to match her black & white scarf and I found some black & white variegated yarn to use for it.

They are simple patterns, all double stitch.

Ripple Afghan Status Report

This is the start of the afghan, the first row.  It's a foundation chain with double stitches as the first row.  You can sort-of see the ripple pattern, which is caused by way the stitches are made.  Also visible in the top of the picture is part of my knee, and a beagle foot!

This is the same afghan, but now it's up to 24 rows.  The tails are still visible, I won't weave them back into the body until I'm through.  Which will be whenever I decide it's long enough, but won't be any time soon!

I'm really pleased with the way it's turning out.  I'll post updates on it again.

Fleece Scarf

(I didn't realize that the picture wasn't really clear when we took it.)

Anyway.  This is Otter's latest sewing project.  It's a fleece scarf.  She made it for BF's Christmas present.  It's about 58" long, she was aiming for 60 - 65" but the day we went to buy the fleece happened to be the day that the store had fleece on sale for 50% off, and the pickings were slim.  It's a nice chocolate brown color, about 5 - 6" wide.  I think it will be really warm.

Otter made the pattern up herself out of some thin posterboard we have, then she got busy with the sewing machine.  It took her a couple of hours, start to finish.  The end seam is hand sewn.

Soft Colors Scarf

This is the second of the two gift projects I made.  This one was for Toadles' wife.

Her favorite color is purple, but I made a couple of solid purple things for her previously.  I wanted something that included purple but had other colors as well and I wanted soft, feminine colors for her.  This is actually yarn sold for baby projects, but it worked wonderfully for this.  It is a very soft yarn.  Lavender, yellow, blue, pink and white are the colors in this.

It's triple stitch on a foundation chain.  This is my "standard" scarf pattern, but it's one of my favorite patterns to make.  It's very quick and easy, as well as a whole lot of fun.  5 rows of triple stitch, it was a fast scarf to make.  I made it in a couple of hours.

A closer picture of the stitches.  Sorry it's a little blurry!

Fall Colors Scarf

This is one of the two projects that I've recently done but not posted, although I have mentioned that I made a couple of items for gifts.  Here's the first one:

This was a gift for Bill's mom.  It is all horizontal single stitch.  It's some of the yarn I bought on clearance after lusting after it for months.  This took about 1 1/2 skeins, single stitch looks wonderful and is very dense but it uses more yarn for larger projects.

I really love these colors.  They remind me of Fall leaves.

Here's a closer shot of the stitches.  I don't remember how many rows, but there were a lot.  Probably around 20.  It took me most of one day to make this.

More Crochet Throw Pillows

These are the latest pillows.  These are all for the living room, the couch and loveseat are brown leather so I went with brown shades.  They are all granny squares, triple stitch and are the same on both sides.  They were fun and used some of the stash.  But I still have plenty of yarn!

They are white pillow forms that have a fabric cover sewn on.  The two lighter ones have a tan color, the other two have a darker brown fabric.

I have another throw pillow planned, it's going to be in camo yarn and will be for the bed.  It will be the same shade as the previous camo pillow but a different stitch entirely.  Soon, but not yet.  It's one of my projects for when I get frustrated at the length of time the afghan is taking and need a quicker project.  I have started the afghan but won't post pictures yet.  I will have a series of pictures for it, in various stages of construction.

Marble Scarf

I found this yarn in San Antonio last summer, when I was visiting Froggy.  At the time, I was thinking that it might make a good scarf but it was such a fantastic yarn that I bought it without really knowing what I wanted to make.  It was $13 for the skein, which is a little higher than some yarns but in the grand scheme of yarn-related things, it's not a bad price.  It was a larger ball and in colors that I don't normally wear - oranges & pinks mostly, with some blue, lavender and cream colors.  But it was very soft and fluffy and I knew it was coming home with me as soon as I saw it.  I have since seen the brand in the local yarn specialty store, but they don't have a large selection of it and didn't have any colors I really liked.  Yesterday, I finally made up my mind and decided that yes, it was going to be a scarf.  I made it in one day, it took me a couple of hours and my shoulders & hands are still sore and cramped - but it was so worth it!  I haven't fringed the ends and I'm not sure that I'm going to.  I still have plenty of this yarn left.

This is the yarn, after I made the scarf.  It's hard to tell the size, but there is still quite a bit left.  Sorry that it's blurry, it's also on the brown leather couch so it might not look as bright as it actually is.

It's the "standard" size I make, about 60" long.  5 rows, triple stitch.

A close-up of the stitches, again sorry it's blurry!

The yarn is by James C. Brett.  Brett uses a number as opposed to a color name, this one is MC4.  Brett is based in Yorkshire, as in England.  I'm not sure, but I think the yarn is a relatively new yarn to this country.  Or at least I haven't seen it before.  I found it in SA months before I ever saw it in my area.

The specific style is Marble, chunky weight.  It's 100% acrylic, but it feels like silk.  It's about the softest yarn I've ever found that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and works well with crochet, although I think it's probably intended for knitting.  It's machine washable, which is nice since some yarns just don't work in the washing machine.  It's lovely and I'm seriously considering using it for the afghan I have planned for the (very) near future.

Black & White Crocheted Scarf

 A while back, the middle of the summer actually, Otter asked me to make her another scarf.  After several trips to look at yarn, she finally decided on black & white.  But she wanted sideways stripes instead of lengthwise.  I started the scarf and then realized that I'd forgotten to count stitches and after several rows of black & white color changes, I wound up frogging the entire thing and starting over.  And this time, I made sure that my rows were al lthe same size!  It was a pretty basic mistake, but it meant that Bill's blanket would be getting some black & white yarn on it since I now had several pieces of black & white yarn in varying but small sizes.  Here's the finished result of the second attempt:

Close up of the stitches.  There are 15 across and it's 3 rows of each color.  Well, it was supposed to be - a few of the sets are actually more than three rows because I wasn't paying attention!

This picture was taken before I got finished tailing it.  Tailing means that all the little end tails are woven back into the body of the piece so that they don't show.  Tailing sometimes takes longer than the actual work to make the piece, especially with small sections like this.

A slightly better close up of the stitches.  It's all single stitch which is fast and easy, but smaller.  Otter didn't want fringe on this one.  I enjoyed making it, but I prefer the lengthwise, triple stitch scarf that I usually make.  Just because it's easier!  But I did enjoy this one and I'm pleased with how it turned out.  Once I got my brain engaged, that is.

Wooden Book Shelf

Someone gave Bill a bunch of scrap wood.  It's actually in pretty good shape, most of it is usable.  He had to take nails out of a few boards, but that was about it.

It's no secret that Otter and I practically live at the library.  We usually have more books than we can carry.  That's not the problem.  The problem is where do we put them when we get them home?  And, how do we keep them straight in terms of due dates?

I decided we needed a small bookshelf.  I looked at a couple of thrift stores with no luck.  Then Bill brought home all this wood and decided he wanted to make one for us.

Here is the construction, more or less in order!  Any captions will be beneath the pictures they are describing.

Nailed and glued together, wood filler on the few spots that needed it.  There weren't too many places that needed filling in, mostly just to cover the nails and just a couple of minor spots.

One of his many toys - in this case it was holding the backing on while the glue dried because Bill was afraid it would bend.  The backing is a piece of paneling he's had forever and never had a use for.  Until now!

First coat of stain.

2nd coat of stain.

Close-up of the shelf, with the 2nd coat of stain.

The side, witht he 2nd and final coat of stain.  And a lot of other junk!

The finished product!  I can't remember, but I think it's around 26" tall.  The books are usually stacked on it "the right way" - backs out and not piled.  At the moment, mine are on the top shelf and Otter's books are on the bottom.  But we usually read each other's books, so they don't stay that way.  It's working out great, it's just the right size and we have figured out a system to keep newer books from getting mixed up with older books - we usually have a lot of late fines!

It only took Bill a couple of days to build this, the staining process probably took longer than the actual construction.

Turquoise Blue & Brown Prayer Shawl

This is the latest prayer shawl I've made.  This is the one that is for someone that has been dealing with a serious illness and I've been anxious to get it finished so I could send it to her.  Of course, that means that I've had all sorts of interruptions but I'm finally finished with it.

Otter (in her Batman shirt) is my model.  This picture is darker than I'd like, it's a beautiful shade of turquoise blue with chocolate brown and has some silver highlights.

A close-up of the stitches.

It's the same pattern as the previous prayer shawls, foundation chain and the rows are a combination of double crochet with chain stitches.  It's about 60" long and about 18 - 20" wide.  It's Red Heart yarn, Red Heart has some new yarns that are very soft and not as rough as their standard acrylic yarn.  It was very silky and I enjoyed working with this yarn.  I chose it because of the color and general soft feel, then I realized that it was good old Red Heart.  I'm glad that Red Heart is jumping into the "better yarn" market.

Froggy's Quilted & Appliqued Wall Hanging

This is what Froggy gave me when I visited her last week.  It's machine and hand sewed as well as appliqued.  It's a wall hanging, about 20" x 15".  It has a polka dotted background, the edging is bright  yellow with assorted colors on the front.  The center attraction is an appliqued armadillo with a heart on his shell, a Texas flag and flowers including bluebonnets.  The corners have a button, the bottom two are lavender butterflies and the top two are yellow stars.

Froggy obviously put a lot of work into this and I've very happy with it.  Now, we just have to decide where to hang it.  Bill wants it on one wall and I want it on another one!  We both want it in the bedroom, it works really well in there with the quilts we already have and we both like it a lot.

Here's the full piece.

Armadillo!  They are very special creatures to Texans.  Yes, sometimes we do call them speedbumps!  But this little guy is so cute.

Sorry about the string that shows!  It is a stray thread that I didn't notice until just now.  It's not attached, it just landed on the star.

The flag!  And a close up bluebonnet.

Crochet Tote Bag

I made this several months ago, actually I think about a year ago, for Froggy.  At the time, she was learning knitting and I thought that a crochet bag for knitting would be good.  There is a joke about crocheters and knitters not getting along.

It's all single stitch, 5 different yarns.  The bag is basically a very long rectangle, then it's folded to where the two ends are together.  It's stitched together at the sides with a couple of rows of single stitch, possibly 3 rows - like I said, it's been a while since I made this one!  The bottom is lavender, the two sides are pink on the lower half and maroon on the top half.  Both sides are the same.

The handles are single stitch as well and attached on each side with single stitching.  I can't remember if the handles are double or not, but it seems like they are.  (After I looked at the picture, they are a single layer and not double.  I should have made them double as they would have been stronger.  It seems like I intended to make them double but apparently I didn't!).

It's decorated with two crocheted flowers in pink camo which matches the side stitching.

Here's a closer shot of one of the flowers, but it's a little blurry:

I didn't think to measure the bag, I took the picture when I was there last week.

At the time, it was an experiment to see if the side stitching worked like I thought it would.  It did work, and I have used that technique a few times on other projects.

Of course, Froggy gave up on knitting (at leat for a while) but she can use this bag for a lot of other things such as her quilting.

Also, there is a dog story connected with the pink camo.  I absolutely fell in love with the color when I first saw the yarn and hadn't used it much when I started this project.  I had the yarn ball sitting on the lower shelf of the sofa table and Frasier found it.  Which I discovered when I looked out the kitchen window.  And realized that he'd done what he's known for:  taken it outside.  In the rain and left it there.  I was infuriated, but I should have known better than to leave it down in his reach.  The yarn was pretty wet and I also discovered that it smelled like Frasier's breath - which can be fairly bad.  So I tossed it, went to Michael's on my lunch hour and bought a new skein.  And I don't leave anything like that down where he can get to it anymore, it's all in either my crates in the closet or in my ever-expanding collection of tote bags.

Crocheted Soap Holder Bath Scrubbie

This is my latest crochet project.  It only took me a few minutes to make it.  It's a holder for a bar of soap, it's actually a scrubby.  The soap stays inside it and it is used as a wash cloth or scrubby.  This one is made with acrylic yarn, but it could also be made with cotton yarn possibly.  It's a combination of chain stitch and double stitch.  It's held closed with a chain stitch drawstring.

I made this one as a prototype, and Otter was my test subject.  She said that it worked great, she used it and had no complaints.

Crocheted Pot Holders (Edited) (And Added To!)

I started a collection for Froggy a couple of years ago.  I went with something that could be functional but was also decorative.  Crocheted Pot Holders.  I've given her a couple of them over the last few months but I don't necessarily have pictures of them.  I am trying to remember to take pictures of things as I make them.

Here's a few:

Beehive.  With bees.

This one was fun, although the bees are smaller than I'd like.

Candy Corn.  (Or pie, as Froggy thought!)

I didn't have a pattern for this one, I never could find one I really liked.  So I just made a triangle!

Kitty Cat.

This was made from a circular pattern that was actually for something else, I added my own details.  Meow!  The reverse side looks like a curly tail, which is how the yarn just happened to work out.

This was also one that I didn't have a pattern for, besides the heart.  But the heart pattern was actually for something else and I improvised so it could be used as a pot holder.

Chocolate Pop Tart.  Because if it's not chocolate, it's not good!

I think all of these are single stitch.  They are start with a foundation chain and then a certain number of rows, the round ones involve counting stitches but they are fun even though I don't like to count.

They were fun and quick.  I have a few more that I didn't get pictures of, including two cookies and a bear's head that is still under construction but is similar to the cat's face.

EDIT:  I think I may have a few pictures of the earlier pot holders I made for Froggy.  I'll do a separate post with them in the next few days.

2ND EDIT ADDED TO:

I spent a few days in Texas with Froggy.  I got pictures of some of the earlier pot holders I made for her.  She has been using them.  Here they are:

Watermileon slice.  This one was made as a circle, then folded in half and stitched together at the edges.  It was a lot of fun.  I think it was triple stitch, but it's been several months and I can't remember for sure.  It might be double stitch.

This is an orange slice, I was never happy with it but Froggy likes it so I'm not complaining!  It's been used, as you can tell by the stains on it.  Which is a good thing, they can be decorative but they are also meant to be used.

Kitty Cat Ears Headband

This is what Otter made for the anime convention she went to a week ago.  This is actually the set that she made for BF, he was a good sport about it and wore them.  They are brown felt, 2 layers with a layer of posterboard between them for stiffness.  The lighter inner color is tan acrylic paint, two coats with a little extra touch up.  The headband was one that she got at Hobby Lobby, it's covered in a brown satin-type fabric.  The ears were hot-glued on and I had to help her with that because the headband had to be held in the shape of the wearer's head for that step.  Basically, Otter covered her head with a hand towel and then a sheet of wax paper.  Then she put the headband on her head over that and I took the glue gun to it.  She had to hold it on her head for a few minutes, long enough for the glue to harden and cool.  It actually looked pretty good "in person" and held up well.  The fuzzy thing on the side of the picture is one of the tails - it was a feathered boa that was hot-glued to a pinback so it could be attached.

Blue & Green Triple Stitch Crochet Scarf (EDITED)

Ignore the fact that this picture was taken on top of my washing machine!  It was the closest spot with a light colored background.

This is my standard scarf pattern, it's a foundation chain with 5 rows of triple stitch.  The yarn is blue & green variegated with some transition colors including a yellowish green and teal.  It's very pretty and I have a little left so I'll have to find another project for it.  It's Red Heart Kids yarn, which is softer than their regular yarn and it was very easy to work with.  I can't remember the name of it for anything, but it's a one-word title and is ocean or water related.  I'll eventually remember, and then I'll post it on here.  (EDIT:  The color is called Beach).

This is the entire scarf.  It's just over 60" long, the fringes on the ends are 9" but are doubled so they only extend about 4".

This is a close-up of the stitches.  The colors in this yarn are absolutely beautiful.  It's a gift for my friend Virginia, I asked her for her two favorite colors and she said green & blue.  All she knows is that I'm crocheting something for her, but not what it is.  She doesn't have internet access so I think I'm safe posting it on here before I actually give it to her.

It was an easy project, it only takes me a couple of hours start to finish on these.  I've made several of them  and they are quick.  I really enjoyed making this one.

Fun Crochet Project - Dog Clothes!

On the main blog, I've discussed our dogs in more detail.  Otter's dog is a beagle, Maggie is her name and she's a typical beagle - crazy.  Maggie came to us as a 2-year old dog, she had belonged to a "little old lady" who passed away and that meant a re-homing for Maggie.  Aside from the fact that beagles are extremely energetic little furrballs which isn't what you'd expect in an older person's pet, Maggie loves to be dressed up and we think that her previous person probably dressed her up on a regular basis.  Maggie has a few bandanas and one "dress", which she will bring to us quite often and gets very excited when her clothing gets put on her.  Maybe it's a good memory for her, I don't know how much dogs can remember since they are very much in the moment, but it's fun.

So, Otter and I decided that Maggie needed something else for her wardrobe.  Otter requested a cape and I had the perfect yarn for it.  Pink Camo just seems to fit Maggie Moo's personality.

This is the entire cape, after we put it on the dog and she ran around for a few minutes.  Then she went to sleep, and she seemed pretty comfortable!

This is a close-up of the flowers.  They are easy to make, they are a combination of half-double stitch, double stitch and triple stitch.

I made a ruffle at the top, which actually covers Maggie's Princess collar when she's in an upright position.  Ruffles are easy, this one is double stitch.

After I took the picture, I realized that the last flower is off-center a little bit.  I'll get that fixed, it's sewn on to the cape so it will only take me a couple of minutes to do that.

The cape is single stitch, with chain stitch ties at the front and under the belly.