Crochet Projects: Angora Cowl

Hello again!  Sorry I dropped the ball on regular posts - we've been busy having visitors, traveling, and trying to fit in as much as we can now that we're getting toward the end of our time in France.

Spring has finally come to stay, with sunny days in the mid-60s, so I've already put this new accessory away for the season.  It's an infinity scarf made of an angora-blend yarn.  I came across the yarn at the junk market around Christmas time.  It's an old yarn from the French brand Le Bouton d'Or.  The angora gives it a bit of a halo, and in case the photos didn't come out so well, it's a rusty red-orange color.

I had just under 3 skeins, and I found the pattern here.  I did 5 repeats of the pattern.  Enjoy the photos below, and let me know if you have any questions!

Spinning and Knitting Project: First Handspun Cowl

I'm excited to share with you my first completely finished project made with my own handspun yarn - a warm wool cowl.  This project was a long time in the making, which makes the end result that much more satisfying.  Here's the story of how this cowl came to be!

Knitting Projects: Cabled Headband

 With the leftover yarn from the cabled hat I made, I tried out a more complex cable pattern and made this warm headband.  I've enjoyed learning how to make cables - it makes the project more interesting to work on, but it's just knit stitches so it doesn't slow me down too much (as lots of ssk or psso might).  I used this pattern but I wasn't happy with how the edges were curling up, so I used this pattern's edging.  I've gotten so attached to my cabled hat that I'm not sure this headband will get much wear - perhaps I'll give it to a friend?

More photos below.

Knitting Projects: Another Cabled Hat

When I had finished the cabled hat for my sister, I made the mistake (or did I?) of wearing it out a couple times.  It was just so warm, and my husband was just so complimentary of it, that I decided to make one for myself, too.  I didn't finish it until just AFTER my family went back home, so my sis and I never had matching hats during the trip.  It's probably better that way.  Read on for more details and photos.

Knitting Projects: Cabled Hat

This is a much more recent project, a hat made for my sister for Christmas.  We were fortunate to have my family come visit us in France for Christmas - making the holidays away from home not just bearable, but an adventure!  We spent a week in our city of Montpellier, France, then we all traveled together in southern Germany for the second week.  As this Christmas was exceptional (and suitcase space was limited), we decided to keep gift-giving more simple.  Each person bought stocking stuffers for another person in the family, souvenirs and such that we found during our travels.  Great idea!

Crochet Projects: More Glittens, and Lining tutorial

This has perhaps been my most popular crochet project!  I first blogged about it here, and have made 8 pairs of these mittens now!  I made a pair for my mother-in-law for her birthday in December, this time adding a flannel lining.  This helped to keep out the wind and it made the inside much softer (the wool can tend to be a bit scratchy).  When I showed off this pair at work, I received three orders from coworkers!  Here are some photos of those, plus a brief explanation of how I did the lining (sorry no photos of that).

Knitting Project: Leg Warmers and Headband

Hey Everyone,
So sorry to have been so long in posting!  Indeed I have been very busy crafting - too busy to post!  With the holidays came hand-made gifts for just about everyone in the family.  A crocheted shrug for Mom, felted wool pillow for Dad, sewn linen cowl for my SIL, a paper-to-wood photo for my in-laws, upcycled sweater hat and mittens for my niece, and THESE knitted leg warmers for my sister.  Unfortunately, I missed photographing most of these projects, as they were usually immediately wrapped after I finished them.

I did get a chance to photograph my sister wearing her new leg warmers, as she wore them over to our house the other day!  By Christmas, I only had one done, so she waited patiently until last week for the other one.  To make it up to her, I also made her a warm headband out of the extra wool :-).

Sewing Projects: Felted Wool Mittens

I've gotten a bit of a reputation in my family for making handmade gifts.  This is great, because I think my family is starting to understand and appreciate all that goes in to a handmade gift - the thoughtfulness and the time especially.

It's been harder to make gifts for the men in my family, given that they don't particularly like to accessorize or decorate.  So when my brother-in-law says, 5 days before his birthday, that he'd love a homemade gift, I was a little stumped.  Normally I would knit or crochet something, but I didn't have the time.  Luckily this idea came to mind:  felted wool mittens.  Read on to learn how I made these.

Craft Projects: Map Wall Art and Fabric Flower Necklace

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!

The problem with Pinterest is that I've amassed a bunch of creative ideas for projects, but it's so hard to pull away from the computer and actually ACCOMPLISH any of them!  Two weeks ago, though, I was able to finish two Pinterest projects in one day.  Here they are:

Crochet Projects: Mother's Day Totes

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.

So for Mother's Day this year, I was really excited about another opportunity to make a homemade gift.  Both my mom and my mother-in-law really liked the Starling Handbag I made during the winter.  Why not make a springy-er version for each of them?

Sewing Projects: Infinity Scarf

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:

Crochet Projects: Tote Bag

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).

Crochet Projects: Glittens

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.

Crochet Projects: Warm Headband

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.

Crochet Projects: Simple Beret

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.

The hat took about 1 1/2 skeins of the yarn, which is unbelievably soft, with enough left over to make my sister-in-law a nice cowl for her birthday! If I can get a photo of that, perhaps I'll share soon.

Knitting Projects: "Grimace" Cowl

Thanks to my husband for the nickname of this cowl. He says the color reminds him of the McDonald's purple monster character. I guess I see his point...

Knitting and I do not always get along. I find it to be much slower and more repetitive (boring?) than crocheting, but to use new techniques (different stitch patterns, changing colors, etc.) is too intimidating to me. Crocheting just one stitch at a time makes much more sense to me! Also, making a knitting mistake or dropping a stitch stresses me out because I don't know how to fix it.

Crochet Projects: Convertible Cowl

This will be the first of a few wearable winter projects, made mostly for me and mostly out of left-over yarn. Also, this is my first (embarrassing) attempt at photographing myself wearing some of them. Let's just say my husband and I had a laugh at some of the expressionless, face-on shots which now rest in my laptop's recycle bin...

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!