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!

Crochet Projects: Baby Blanket

Here's a pretty simple crochet baby blanket that I made for our then-soon-to-be-born nephew in September.  This was the first crochet project I've done in quite a while.  Since starting to spin, I've been inspired to try knitting again.  Although I love the process of crocheting, and I'm much better at fixing my mistakes, I do prefer the look of knitted things and how home-spun yarn seems to go further in a knitted project.  Nevertheless, for a large project like a blanket, crocheting is such a better, faster choice for me.  It was nice to learn a new stitch (the harlequin stitch) too!

I knew our nephew's bedroom would be nautical themed, so I chose a striped-ish pattern in nautical blue and white, with the gray to soften it a little.  The blue stripe is off-set from the middle just a bit, which makes it a bit more interesting and modern.  The pattern can be found here (you have to be a member of Bernat to see it).

It looks like he's enjoying it!  (Photo cred goes to my brother-in-law)

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).

Crochet Projects: French Press Cozy

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!

Crochet Projects: Jean Rug

 This started as another home decor project which just happened to include crocheting.  We've been wanting a rug for the back door, to catch all the dirt on our feet from going in and out, usually to sit and drink coffee outside or water our plants.  With several worn out pairs of jeans on hand, I searched for a rug pattern and found this tutorial.  A few days later, and my husband and I have a new rug.  My husband has named it "Jean Valjean", pronounced without the French accent of course, as he finished reading Les Miserables at the same time I finished the rug.  Here's my own version of a tutorial on how to make this rug:

Crochet Projects: Baby Sweater and Shoes

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.

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?

Crochet Projects: Baby Elephants

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!

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.

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!

Crochet Projects: Starling Handbag

A recent project, this one combines a few things I've been wanting to do:
(1) I finally get to try out futuregirl's Starling Handbag pattern.
(2) I get to use up the leftover yarn from my husband's glittens (post on those to come).
(3) I get to try felting.
(4) I get to use my sewing machine.
(5) I get to make something for me!

Crochet Projects: Stash Basket

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!

Crochet Projects: Pillow

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.

Crochet Projects: Coasters

The most common question we were asked when first married was something like "What are the little quirks that have come out now that you're living together?" I would usually say that I found out my husband is an avid dish rinser and meticulous dish washer (I'm so lucky, right?). Among other things were our differences between storing glasses upside-down or rightside-up, tucking or untucking the bottom of the sheets, just little things.

Another little difference is how my husband insists on using a coaster and how I can never seem to remember to. I think this goes back to our parents' habits; my husband's grandfather owned a prominent furniture company in Grand Rapids and therefore his family had many nice sentimental pieces, while my parents preferred to buy well-loved (and sometimes banged up) antique pieces.

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.

All the coasters turned out a bit different in size, which I like. And I've actually started to use them more often than not! Although, our coffee table is one of those banged up sorts that we've been meaning to refinish anyway...

Crochet Projects: Hook Holder

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.