Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Face cloth/Wash cloth

After doing lots of projects for other people, I decided it was time to make myself something quick and simple. Fast enough to get done in an hour or so. I also wanted to try some face cloth and wash cloth patterns to decide if I want to make them as gifts.

This is done on Sugar 'n Cream Cotton yarn in swimming pool. V stitch on a F hook.

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Finished is about 9" x 7". I think I will make them smaller in the future. maybe 7" x 7". I believe a double strand would have made less visible holes in it. The real test is going to be when I use it in the shower tonight. :-D

ETA: I loved using this in the shower. I wouldn't recommend it as a face cloth but as a wash cloth, it's perfect.

I will definitely use the v stitch on some of my trade squares.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Quick Scissors Pouch and the Free Pattern

My grandmother gave me a bag saying it was perfect for a yarn bag. She was right. The only problem is that it does not have a pocket to hold the importants of crocheting like scissors and a hook. I decided to make a little holder, just large enough for my scissors and hook. Oh! And I’ll attach my scissors to the bag so I don't lose them, because I lose scissors all the time.

The whole thing took about an hour to make and attach.

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The pin is what I use to keep my work for unraveling when I stop for the evening. It's the perfect place to store it.

Materials:
a bit of yarn, I used Red Heart Super Saver
H hook or whatever you are comfy with
8” of cardboard


For the holder:

row1
ch 11, sc in the second ch from the hook and each ch across, ch up 1 and turn

row2
skip the first stitch and sc in each stitch to the end ch up 1 and turn

row 3-?
repeat row 2 until you have it twice the length you want it.
Mine ended up being 10 inches.

fold the piece in half and sc the two edges together, down one side, across the bottom and up the other side.

For the handle:

ch 20, then slst the end of the chain onto the opposite side of the pouch, then hdc in each chain to the end, slst to finish.

I did the chain through the strap of my bag so it would not have the possibility of coming off.

To stop the scissors from poking through, I took an 8” long x 2.5” wide piece of cardboard, folded it in half and put it inside of the pouch. If you have got anything priority mail from the USPS, that is about the best thing you can use for it and you’re recycling to boot.

weave in all the ends.

For the scissors holder:

ch as long as you want it to be plus 6 inches. I chained for 28 inches. Loop 3 inches through one hole of your scissors the slst in each ch to the end and past a few. repeat the same thing on the handle of the bag.

weave in ends

If anyone makes one, I would love, love, love to see pictures. Comment or email me with any questions.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

It's not so bad after all.

After working up an entire skein of the Red Heart Multi in Aspen Print, I'm ready to say:

It's not that bad.

On the skein, it's *shudder*. Worked up, it's nice. I spent several hours at my parents house hooking away on it and the colors match the room perfectly.

One skein of the Red Heart Multi (5oz skein), DC on a G (6-4.25MM) hook= 34" X 9.5" piece.

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Looks like I'll need 2 more skeins to finish the project.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

more yarn. surprised?

Last night, my Father calls and asks my to crochet a piece for the back of a couch that their dog keeps sitting on. After much talk about kinds of yarn, colors of yarn and care of the yarn I tell him what he should buy. Also, that that yarn is on sale this week.

I told him to buy Red Heart Super Saver because of how well it will hold up, no matter how many dog butts are on it.

What they want:

A piece 24" to 30" wide and 8' long.
A tight stitch.
A shell stitch boarder.

Simple. Which means I can mindless stitch away while watching CNN.

They ended up buying Red Heart Super Saver Multi in Aspen Print. Not a color I would ever buy for myself, but it matches their decor. I think it will look nice when worked up. But in the skein...I'm not liking the color.

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I'm debating on whether or not to put a bit of elastic in the ends so it will hold tight to the couch. I'll have to see how it all turns out.

Monday, May 14, 2007

5 point star flowers. small, very small.

My Grandmother gave me a bunch of knitting and crochet things that belonged to my Great Grandmother. This included lots of steel crochet hooks. The kind for making filet items. Doilies and such. I have never used them because their small size intimidated me. Tonight, I felt brave enough to being them out and give it a go. I wasn't going to go with a doilie as my first project on these tiny things. Recently, I tried a flower (on an 'E' hook with worsted weight yarn). It was quick and simple, I liked it. I decided that the flower would be a perfect starter project.

I did two. The larger one is on a size '0' hook and the smaller one is on a size '8' hook. The quarter is for size reference. All in all, I like them. The yarn I used wasn't the best (an older-much older skein of 3 ply Coats and Clark nylon baby yarn). I will give it another try with crochet thread.

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I scanned these. I think the darker background shows the work better but makes the flower a bit 'smashy' looking. Here is another scan sans the background.

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