So I'm a new member on Pinterest, a very addicting site where people collect and show interesting things they've found on the Internet. I'm mostly looking at craft ideas and recipes, and there's a lot of cool ideas out there!
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| Acorn squash, watermelon, spaghetti squash, crookneck squash, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, banana peppers, and carrots! |
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| Look at these crazy colored carrots! |
This was a quick project which I gave to my dad as a Father's Day present. When a friend found an extra large Bodum french press in perfect condition at a garage sale, my husband had the great idea of giving it to my dad. However, it was missing the wrap which keeps the coffee hot. My dad has always been impressed with my crochet projects, but I have never made him anything. A crocheted french press cozy was the perfect homemade touch to the gift!
Since a close friend and neighbor has recently had a baby, I've really enjoyed making cute baby stuff for her! Baby things are super fast to make, and they use relatively little supplies. I had some left over yarn from my niece's baby blanket, so I put it to good use as a sweater and Mary Jane style shoes for our neighbor.
I just want to share with you a few of the photos I've taken since the world came back to life after winter. It's so refreshing to watch spring unfold in Holland, where daffodils and (of course) tulips and flowering trees abound!
In the last year, my appreciation for homemade gifts (both given and received) has increased very much. As a girl, I was always encouraged to make things to give to my mom and dad, particularly on Mother's and Father's days. Without any income (besides an allowance which our parents gave us anyway), time to spend personalizing a card was all me and my sister had to give.
It's been a few weeks! I've been so busy making things that I haven't had any time to post about them. I guess that's a good thing, although crafting under a time constraint is a little less than relaxing sometimes. Anyway, before the busyness of Mother's Day craft projects set in, I had time to make this infinity scarf. What's the bonus about this project, besides having a new wardrobe addition? It cost me nothing to make! Here's how: 
Perhaps my favorite project yet! I stumbled on this pattern from Lion Brand's website a few months ago. Knowing that a close friend is expecting a baby at the end of April, and also that she is planning a jungle-themed nursery, I knew this precious little elephant would be a perfect shower gift!
Just a few weeks ago I finished this tote bag as a project carry-all for craft night with my friends. This was a major stash-busting project- more so than I anticipated! I began with almost a full skein of some cheap medium-weight sage green yarn (I forget the brand) and a decent amount of some similar lavendar yarn. Then I found this pattern on the Lion Brand yarn website (one of my favorite places to find patterns, if you haven't noticed).
These began as a Christmas request from my sister-in-law for some long-cuffed convertible glove/mittens, also called "glittens" (or perhaps mloves). I made a bold decision while wandering around Target one night, thinking to myself that I could more easily make such a pair than I could find in a store, and for cheaper too! I left Target and went to Michaels, bought the perfect color yarn, then went home hoping that a free pattern existed. I was lucky to find this pattern, which with some slight adaptations turned out to be perfect! I was not so lucky with my yarn choice, though, as the Super Bulky yarn worked up to make oven-mitt sized gloves. Not good! So as I hinted in a previous post, that yarn became other things and I bought a new yarn. After my sister-in-law was so happy with her pair (she wears them every day!), my husband and then my mom requested a pair also. I do not have a photo of my sister-in-law's pair, but I will include details of what yarn I used and what changes I made to each set of glittens.
Before it gets too warm outside (and yay, spring seems to finally be around the corner!), I better share a few more of the cold-weather accessories I made this winter. This headband has already seen a lot of use- it's perfect for quick walks or longer cross-country ski trips, especially to wear with a pony tail. The back is tapered so you can move your head around without the headband slipping too much.
This project was one of the first of the season. I'd been hoping to make a hat which would be easier to wear without squishing all my hair flat. After I found this bamboo yarn, Bamboospun in Sea Blue, I was so excited to start the project! This helpful video from Threadbanger taught me everything I needed to know about making the hat. I basically followed the directions closely, but ended the hat with a row of double crochet to make the hat tighter and to add an interesting edge.
says the color reminds him of the McDonald's purple monster character. I guess I see his point...
Anyway, this cowl pattern is one that I adapted from Jaida Louisa's "half hour cowl". Instead of joining the beginning chain, I just crocheted one flat panel. To one end I added three buttons. That way, the cowl can be worn three different ways. There are no button holes, because the open pattern leaves more than enough space between stitches to fit the buttons. Sometimes I just wear the cowl with a long-sleeve t-shirt as an accessory. It can also be worn with a coat to keep your neck warm in the cold. And cowls are much less bulky than long scarves when worn under a coat. Great new trend!
The most recent homemade gift was some bath puppets for our niece's first birthday in January. The idea and pattern for these puppets came from Martha Stewart's website. I got the washcloths from TJ Maxx and the felt from Hobby Lobby. I wanted a more finished look for my puppets, so I made the pattern about 1/4 inch wider on all sides, then sewed 1/4 inch seams around and flipped it right-side out. The felt noses are glued on with fabric glue, and the eyes and pig's nostrils are just small french knots of embroidery floss. The kitty I came up with, and those ears were kind of a struggle! They are a smaller version of the pig's ears.
Another functional crochet project that I made recently is a basket to hold all my scrap yarn! I made one of these (in one solid color) for my mom for Christmas. This one is perhaps a little less attractive, but it was a great project for "busting" my stash a bit also- all of the yarns I used were really old!
As I type this, I am actually using the pillow that this post is about! About a month ago, I made this pillow as a wintery addition to the two green couch pillows we had. I learned how to do front and back post double crochet stitches, and I got to use a soft and fluffy cream yarn for it. For the back, I wanted something different than the pattern suggested, so I just made two panels of all double crochet which overlap on the back and fasten together with big buttons. The pillow is stuffed with another homemade pillow form.
Anyway, this winter I made a few coasters for our place, which has a nice blend of banged up antiques, thrift store finds, and a piece or two from Grandpa's collection. Using some old Lily Sugar 'n Cream yarn (in Ecru, if I had to guess the color), I made an assortment of random coasters. These were quick little projects to make in a sitting and to use up some extra yarn. I can't really account for where I found all these patterns (all free online somewhere), but I know that one I made up, one came from this website, and another came from this website.
To start out the crochet projects I have made this season, here is perhaps the most functional- a holder for all my crochet hooks! I finally got a bit bored with the plastic case the hooks came in, and the pattern for this holder by Allicrafts was perfect! The star pattern was really fun to do and very easy. I was a bit skeptical that my hooks would fit into the center of each star, but they did with just a little wiggling. My holder did turn out a bit on a diagonal, and I'm not sure why, but overall it works just fine.
So we have this couch. My husband saved it from being thrown out at the local rescue mission where he worked. After a summer of wear-n-tear from a bunch of day campers, the couch had a large hole in the top. But my husband adopted it. It spent a few days on a friend's lawn, then was squeezed into a small apartment, then into another, then into a spare room at the grandparents', then into a skinny old house (where it left some scuff marks on the wall), and finally into our townhouse. The hole has finally been fixed (yay for handy sewing skills!), and although I like to complain about how big it is and how black-leathery it is, truth be told I will miss it if it can't come with us to our next residence. To make the back cushions a bit more comfortable, last summer I made a couple of lumbar pillows (aha, the real subject of this post!). I always like to learn something new with each project, and with this one I learned how to sew piping into an edge seam. I still plan to put buttons on the backs to close them up better, but I have yet to figure out the button-holer on my new sewing machine. Until then, the pillows still work just fine.
Last summer, I set to the task of making our bedroom more cozy. To me, of course, this meant adding a decorative pillow (or two, or five) to the bed. To my husband, this seemed an unnecessary and undesirable addition to the room. Why add another step to making the bed? This pillow admittedly spends most of its time on the floor, as we rarely make our bed anyway, but it was still a fun project! And my husband doesn't mind it too much after all.
Along the lines of the last post with pressed flowers, last summer I pressed some fern leaves for a picture for our bedroom. Found while hiking on a weekend retreat to Cran Hill Ranch, the ferns are really pretty and they also have some sentimental value. The picture frame was $2 at a local thrift store, Bibles for Mexico, and I just flipped over the ugly picture that was in it and used it as the background for the ferns! Yet another cheap project!
This is just black construction paper, onto which I traced a bird image that I found online, then free-hand cut. I used an old frame that we already had, so again, cheap project! The only downside is that the frame's glass had cracked and I took it out. Now the flowers are starting to come unglued because they are not pressed in by glass. Although, I do kind of like the 3D effect!
