Turquoise Blue Crocheted Soft Scarf

This is the latest scarf project.  It's a silky soft yarn that is in fact acrylic but feels like silk.

Here's a better picture that shows the edging which is a ruffle.  The edging makes it look like a flower in the first picture, it was rolled up.

The end has a ruffle on each side, but it was folded over when I took the picture so it looks uneven.

It's all double stitch.  The yarn is Lion Brand Micro Spun, unltra soft microfiber sports weight.  This one was a gift for Nana but I still have quite a bit of this yarn left so I might make myself one, or something else with it.

Crochet Toy Minion

This is a Minion.  He's from the movie Despicable Me.  Funny movie, the minions are the bad guy's helpers.  He's not really a bad guy after all, and his helpers are not slaves.  I was looking for a different crochet project and came across a pattern online.  It was on the blog of a 14-year old girl who crochets and she created this pattern.  I think she did a great job.  Minions can have one eye or two, I liked the idea of two eyes.  Also, we think it looks like a twinkie.

I gave this one to Otter, although the beagle really wanted it!

I can't get the picture oriented correctly.  Also, I didn't realize that it was on a black background and his feet and hands don't show up!

Minions wear overalls, the entire piece is yellow and the overalls are a separate piece.

The eyes are regular googly eyes with a crocheted frame, and then a black crocheted strap but they are actually sewn on.

Acrylic yarn, single stitch.

Crochet Swiffer Mop Cover

I have a ceramic tile floor in the kitchen.  The best thing to clean it with is a swiffer.  However, the swiffer covers are scented (there is really no such thing as non-scented) and it sometimes bothers our allergies.  Also, they can be pricey to buy new ones.  They are similar to a baby wipe in feel & manufacture.  I've seen a pattern for a washable, reusable cover that was sewn but never quite got around to making one.  Then, last summer when I was visiting Froggy, I found a crocheted cover at a craft mall.  It was somewhere around $2.50, but I would have paid more for it.  I brought it home with intention of copying the pattern and making more.  But it got used (many times!) and even though it's not wool**, the yarn did mesh together enough that it was difficult to count stitches, etc., so I forgot about making more.  Then I found a pattern on line.  It was a little different, but I made one.  Then I realized that it didn't work, so I got out the one I bought last summer.  I frogged out some of what I'd made and then was able to copy the original one.

The pink camo is the one I bought last year.  The blue with multicolor spots is the one I made.

The one I made is a little bigger, but that is mostly because it's cotton yarn and it shrinks when washed.  They are slightly larger on one side, one side fits up over the swiffer.  They are washable and can be turned inside out, as both sides can be used.

Single stitch, back post.  And a lot of fun!

**Wool does what is called felting when it's washed in warm water.  Felting is exactly what it sounds like - the fibers will mesh together and it will resemble felt.  Felting makes it a thicker, stronger fabric.  Cotton doesn't felt exactly, but it does mesh together a bit.  Because I am allergic to wool, nothing I make will be felted.  This is cotton yarn, and it is strong yarn.

I made a second one, in yellow.  But I forgot to take a picture of it before I gave it to Sweetie for Mother's Day.  I'm trying to remember to take pictures.

**(EDITED)** Mason or Canning Jar Soap Pump

Bill got to help with this one!  Mostly because he said I would hurt myself with the drill press - keep in mind that he's the one who had to get his thumb stitched up a couple of years back because of the drill press!

This was a fun project.  It was fairly easy and cost effective (also known as cheap!).  I had the jars & lids already, the only thing I actually had to buy was the pump mechanism.  I got it at the dollar store, as part of a bottle of anti-bacterial hand cleaner.  The hand cleaner got poured into a big bottle I have of the stuff, the empty bottle was recycled and the pump part was re-used.

The easiest way to find the center of a circle is to trace & cut out a piece of paper. 

Fold it in half, then in half again which is 4ths, the center point should be the center of the circle.  I marked it with a sharpie marker.

Then Bill drilled the center hole, after first marking it with a nail because he thought he needed to in order to be able to see the center when he attached it to the drill press.

The finished lid.  It had to be smoothed off at this point, there were a few sharp points on the cut edges.  Also, the size of the hole needs to be the same size as the largest part of the pump that will be under the lid.  It needs to be as close to the same size as possible, in order to have a good seal.

I used a mason jar that I had on hand.

Bill had some JB Weld brand epoxy that he had, being an engineer means that you generally have every tool known to man and frequently in multiple quantities.  The pump needs to fit snug on the lid, and it needs to be attached so it won't come off.  He held the piece upside down after putting it through the hole, then he coated both the lid and the pump piece with the JB Weld.  It had to be held upside down for about 24 hours to cure, so it was hanging from my plant stand and attached with clothes pins.  After it was dry, I held it up to the jar, marked with a sharpie where I thought the bottom of the jar would be and cut just above it.  Which was actually a touch long, so I had to cut off another small piece.  It's cut at a slight angle.  It needs to be just above the bottom of the jar but not actually touching the bottom.  (Bill said that JB Weld is about the only thing out there that will stick to both plastic and metal.)

The pump tube is just barely off the bottom of the jar.

Filled with dish soap, the entire lid is on and it's now at my kitchen sink!

Even if I'd had to go buy the jar & lid, it would have been a fairly inexpensive project to make.  Vintage jars would be fun, also.

**EDIT**:  I strongly suggest that you coat the metal pieces with a shellac or laquer, a varnish might work as well.  This needs to be done on the inside parts of the ring as well as the inner, flat part of the lid.  The reason for this is because the metal will rust.  I didn't do this with mine, and it eventually rusted to the point where I had to throw the metal pieces out and make a new one.  You don't want to use anything too thick, or it will possibly keep the ring from fitting on to the screw threads on the jar.