Lacy Dishcloth

Here is yet another dishcloth I made for a Christmas gift (along with other cloths). This one worked up so quickly and was very easy. All the dishcloths and other items I made for my family in Maine for Christmas has been shipped out. I'm glad I was able to get it all done in time, however, I will be starting on next years gifts after the holidays. I was just a little stressed this year that I wouldn't be done in time. Next year, I'd like to make some clothing rather than dishcloths and small items like that, so that's why I need to start early.

I did this discloth with peaches and cream cotton yarn, that is usually what I use for my dishcloths. You can find the pattern for this dishcloth here.

Baby Hoodie

Here is a hoodie that I made for one of my great nieces. She is one and this would be just perfect for her. Another Christmas gift done! Time sure is flying by and Christmas will be here before we know it. I have only 1 more gift to do and then I can ship them all out to Maine! The last gift is for my great nephew who is 7 and he has been the hardest one to think of something for....All the gifts for my family in Maine (14 people total) are crocheted....and the 7 year old boy was the hardest to decide on. I think I've decided on a hackey sack and possible a alien space ship with some aliens if I can get the pattern for it.

I'm still planning on opening a shop selling all my crocheted items after the new year. That is my goal for 2008..........It would be great if word got around and people were coming to my store to buy my handmade items. I love crocheting, and although I have many family members to crochet for...it's still not enough people for all the items I want to crochet. I want to have a slew of different items from clothing to toys to trinkets.........

Dish Cloths

I've made some dish cloths for little "side" gifts for family members. I know my mother really likes them so I've made some for her. These were quite easy and are really pretty patterns.

This next one is the climbing shells dishcloth. I really like this one alot. You can use this pattern for so many things like scarfs, afghans...it's really a pretty pattern.

Socks..again

Well, my husband conviscated that last pair of socks I made since his older pair had given out and his feet were cold. So I had to do up another pair to replace the last pair which was a Christmas gift. I actually like the 2-toned pair better. I have one more pair to make and I think I will make that 2-toned as well.

Time is slipping away, but I'm making progress on my christmas list. I've been working every single night crocheting my fingers off...they are even feeling a bit sore and stiff in the morning, but I'm not letting that stop me.

Socks

Here is a pair of socks I crocheted for Christmas. It was actually a gift for my brother-in-law, however, my husband told me there was an emergency, and that he needed another pair of socks right away.......his older ones had worn out! I was just about done with this pair, feeling like I was making headway on my Christmas list!

Anyway, my husband got the socks and now I'm working on another pair for my brother-in-law. I will also be making a pair for my nephew. I have one sock done, 3 to go! I got the pattern for these socks
here.

Stocking Stuffers

Well, Christmas is getting so close and I am trying so hard to get items crocheted for gifts. There are so many things I want to make and I just hope I can make them all in the time left before Christmas. Problem is, most of the things I need to make are for family members out of state which means that gives me even less time to get them done since I will have to ship them out early.

What I am doing is just making small projects for everyone...I have so many family members that it would be impossible to make some thing big like sweaters and other items that take alot of time. So, small quick items are the theme for this holiday. I will desperately try harder next year to get things going earlier. In fact, I'd like to think I will start working on things right after the holidays for next year.

Anyway, these pocket kleenex holders are a small "side" gift for my mother, sister and 2 grown nieces. I am also making one for myself! I got the pattern here.

Candy Cane Lapghan

This is called a Candy Cane Lapghan. I just finished this last week. It really didn't take all that long to make. It's made with 2-tone circles and sewn in a way that makes the designs. I thought it was different and I love to make afghans. I've steered away from afghans for at least a year now mostly because I had my new nephew coming and I wanted to make him alot of things since I do love making baby items too!

I'm pretty much caught up with the baby items (until spring) so I want to get back into making more afghans. I like to make each of my 2 sons a new afghan every year. I haven't even started any for them this year yet, but I think I will browse the pattern sites and see if I can pick out a couple of afghans for them. I'm thinking the mile a minute afghans are supposed to be quick, so I may go that route. But I first have to get Christmas gifts done...Where am I going to find the time to do all of it???

Fingerless Mitts

Here is a pair of fingerless mittens that I made for my youngest son. I also ended up making a pair for my oldest son as well. Their hands get cold while playing on the computer and these keep them warm and leave their fingers free to move the mouse without it slipping.

I sent a picture of these to my mother and she showed my sister and my sister said she'd love a pair. Well, I made her a pair this weekend and just sent them out to her this afternoon...she has no idea I made her a pair, so I can't wait for her to get them. She's in Maine so I'm sure she'll get some good use out of them. I will probably make her some for Christmas as well. I also want to make myself a pair because my hands get cold while I crochet and with my fingers free, these would keep my hands warm so I can crochet in comfort!

I also hear these are becoming very popular with the young kids so I may make some to put on my "crochet store" when I get that up and running.

Elfin Stipes Sweater

I finished this sweater and hat finally! It's for my nephew who will be one in about 3 weeks. This sweater was so easy to make and it came out so cute. I found the pattern here

Now I am on my quest for my next "big" project. Right now I'm working on some dishcloths for Christmas. I will work on those while I search for my next project. I want to make a sweater for myself, but then I also want to make a vest to wear on christmas (I saw a few vests I liked).

I also have a bag I want to make for Christmas along with some cell phone holders. Too many projects, too little time!!!

Crochet Business

I've been thinking about this for a long time now and I think I'm finally going to do something about it. I want to open a store with the handmade items I make. I did it awhile back for a short time and did sell about 3-4 afghans, but really didnt' keep up with it.

I think after the holidays, I'm going to really get my store going. I already have many items that I have made that would go up for sale. Right now, I have to finish up birthday and Christmas gifts before I can get started on the store. Maybe over time, it can develop into something big, who knows.

As for right now, I am still working on the "Candy Cane" afghan which is almost done. After that is done, I will finish up the baby sweater for my nephew that I started. His 1 year birthday is after Thanksgiving so I want to get that sweater done in time for that. Then I also have a jogging suit for him which will be for Christmas, plus an afghan I want to make him as well as some other sweaters/clothes.

Hopefully the next time I post, I'll be able to show the "Candy Cane" afghan.

Another set of hands

For those of you that crochet, I'm sure you can relate..I need another set of hands. I am constantly looking at patterns and wanting to do almost every one I see. And it gets very frustrating because there are many that I would like to do for Christmas gifts, but I know I won't have time to do them all!!!

I now have a 2 baby sweaters, a baby jogging suit and an afghan in the works, all at the same time. I want them all done by Christmas besides another baby jogging suit, another baby sweater set, a bag, a few cell phone holders, some dish cloths and an afghan or two that I want to get done. I know it's not going to happen and it just makes me crazy!!!!!!!!!!!! Sometimes I just get so overwhelmed that I will sit and not work on any of them.......not knowing which one I want to work on!!!

I think what I need is more time...I need to quit my job so I can spend more time on my crocheting. Well, I guess that's not an option at this point.......boy..I can't wait for retirement!!!!

Winter Crochet

As I mentioned before, my favorite things to crochet are baby items and afghans. Well, I crocheted this winter gear for my nephew. I was so tired of using the same colors like green's and blues for him, so I wanted to use another color that I've never used before. I think gray was a good choice. This is made with Caron Simply soft, my favorite acrylic yarn. It's perfect for babies! I just hope I have tons of grandchildren!

I am still working on the baby jogging outfit and my crochet quilt. I hope to finish the jogging suit soon. I think though, it might be a tad too big for my nephew...he may have to wait a year for it to fit him.

Snowflake Afghan

This snowflake afghan is one of my favorites. It was really not that difficult to make and the outcome is just beautiful. I'm waiting for the right person and right occasion to give this afghan to. It's really a heavy warm afghan. I love the contrast of the burgandy and white yarns.

This afghan took me about 2 1/2 weeks to make. I wish I could remember where I got the pattern from. I believe it was a pattern online, but for the life of me, I can't find it anymore. I would like to make another one in a different color. I will have to look through my crochet magazines....maybe I am remembering wrong and I actually got it out of one of the pattern books I have. Ok, I'm off to search for the snowflake afghan!

Events Calendar

There are so many craft shows and events going on all over the country, especially this time of year. You can check here for any that might be in your area.

Tradition

In the last few years, I have crocheted my 2 boys an afghan every year. I have made this a new tradition, something for them to look forward to. I let them pick out the afghan they want and I make it for them usually by Christmas. This is one I made last year.

This year I will do the same, with only one small change. That will be that now my older son is driving, I'm going to make him a blanket to keep in his car. His car is black, so I think I will make him a gray one, or maybe gray and black. I will feel much better knowing he will have something warm if he should break down in the winter.

Too Hot to Crochet

It has been too hot to crochet lately but I know once the cooler weather gets here, I'm going to be itching to get that hook flying. I still have a couple of projects in the works, a baby jogging outfit and a crocheted quilt. The crocheted quilt has been slow going since it is made of 2" squares and I need 1061 of them, and then sewing them all together is very time consuming. And those ends I have to weave in...ugh! That is my least favorite thing to do is weave in those never-ending ends!! Anyway, here's an afghan I made a couple of years ago..I forget now what the pattern was called, but it was a vintage pattern and I wanted to give it a try. The vintage pattern is the dark yellow strips, then I added strips of just single crochet stitches. Kind of bland, but I'll try anything once!

Running out of yarn

One of the most frustrating things for me is to run out of yarn in the middle of a project, especially if it is a yarn that is not easily available. I started a baby jogging suit for my nephew and I bought the amount of yarn the pattern called for with 1/2 oz extra. I bought the yarn online since it was the only place I could find it and it was the only online store that I could find the right yarn (I will not mention the website here, although it's a very popular place to get yarn online).

Well, half way into the suit, I ran out of the yarn and went back to the online store I bought it from. Although this place requires a $40 minimum order (which I did have the first time around), I explained to the contact of that site that I needed just one more skein of yarn to finish my project, and that I had bought what the pattern suggested, but it was not enough and could I order that one skein, I would pay extra. They refused, and needless to say, I won't be doing business there anymore. Anyway, I looked on ebay and did find one person that had this particular yarn and I will be ordering it up right away. I'm so glad I was able to find it, and can finish the jogging suit. I will post a picture of that when completed.

Love to Crochet

Obviously, I love to crochet. I am creating this blog to share my obsession. I would like to share my projects, patterns and anything else pertaining to crocheting.

I have been crocheting for at least 30 years now. I started off with granny squares and really never attempted to do anything remotely challenging because following the patterns was very intimidating to me. Then one day I was getting tired of making granny square afghans and decided I wanted to make other things and realized there are so many things you can make with crochet. So, I was determined to learn to read patterns and I did. Of course there were mistakes along the way, but I learned from them and now I'm doing ok. My favorite items to make are baby items. Mainly clothing, so I get so excited when family members or friends are having babies. My second favorite thing to crochet is afghans. I love making all kinds of different afghans. My goal is to make every afghan I see that I like....I can dream can't I?

Here is a baby jacket I made for my 9 month old nephew. I actually made him 2 of these, the other one is a turqoisy color. These do up so quickly and was really fun to make.
You can get the pattern here