For St. Patrick's Day

Here is a little something I whipped up for St. Patrick's Day this year.

Not sure who the lucky recipient will be yet.

Personally I think a lighter shade of green for the inside would have been nicer but this is what it called for and also what I happened to have in my stash.

I also made a mat for the occasion using the Love and Money Loom.

Shrug for Rodeo

Here is my latest achievement.

This shrug is very simple and easy.

These days they are called shrugs.

We used to call them vests.

It is quick to work up.

It is also very flattering!

My kind of pattern.

The shawl pin is one I made in fine silver.

In honor of the Houston Livestock and Rodeo

which is going on right now.

My only issue was typos on the pattern.

Common but it was a free internet pattern so I am not fussing.

And then I wanted a hair scrunchie to match so whipped this one up.

This is a Bernat worsted weight yarn in Denim.

The only real mistake I made was showing it off to my daughter who loved it.

So I am giving her this one and will run out for more yarn to make another one for myself.

Oh yeah, twist my arm on that!  LOL

Why Block?

Blocking is sometimes a difficult concept to understand with out pictures.

I have posted photos of blocking in the past 

but it was not easy to see why you would need to 'block'.

So here are before and after photos of just a very light blocking.

Under other circumstances I might have gone for a stiffer look

But since this is a hair tie I felt that would not be needed.

It really does make a difference here.

A Plethora of Scarves

I had lots of fun with this quick crochet scarf in a scarf.

By adding an extra row I made this look like a spider pattern.

Since I love Halloween  this one was a particularly great version. 

This scarf was a terrific match to the yarn I used in the flower on this purse.

And I had leftover yarn from the purse itself so a great combination.

This was actually the first one I made.  

If you look closely the scarf has dragonflies on it.

Changing the yarn color makes it so versatile.

This is really addictive.

I wish I could share the pattern source 

however I ran across it online while I was out of town

and had no access to a printer so had to copy it 

by hand and failed to note the source.

Stick Weaving

While I have been waiting for the etimo crochet hook to arrive I pulled out

a kit I bought some time ago for stick weaving.

This is even easier than it looks!  

First time the weaving was uneven as I learned how taut to pull the yarn,

(then went back and read the directions).

Second try was spot on so I got out some fun yarn

 and dug a button out of the button jar and here is the result...

The bracelet idea was from this book by Sherri Haab 

although I already had the stick kit

and of course I modified the pattern somewhat.

Still a fun and fast new hobby!

Try it.  You'll like it.

Cowl

Cowl.

The Forevermore Cowl.

Finished.

At last.

One of those frustrating projects that just should not have been.

Frustrating, that is.

Because once my head was functioning properly

it really went smooth and rather quickly

and was an easy repeat pattern.

If I did not have such a long history with said cowl,

I would be tempted to make another in a finer yarn.

Maybe someday.

But not too soon.

I have already been working on scarves.

One completed,

another begun,

and yarn set out/purchased 

for two more.

Autumn Afghan

Finished a last.  The autumn afghan for myself. 

I love the bright colors and it is snuggly warm but seems like it took forever to finish.

I used the chain free method which is not that difficult to learn.  I just had lots of interruptions since this was worked on before Christmas.  The added bonus is that I broke down and bought myself new recliners and the dark chocolate color is a perfect match!

Scarves

The scarves are finished.  In plenty of time to mail!

Same pattern different yarns.  First I used Red Heart's Boutique Midnight in Misty.

Then I used Bernat's Alpaca in Indigo.

I may just send them both.  I still have some time to decide.  

The pattern is Chic Crochet Cloche & Scarf.

Wow, this was surprising.  This pattern is designed by Katherine Eng and is from the Coats and Clark's website (see the above link).  But when you bring up the pdf pattern it has the Red Heart website listed at the top.  However, on the Red Heart website the pattern by this same name and same author is completely different!  How strange is that?

Finished Blocking

Here is what the sweater looked like when I removed the towel.  Good job.  I let it finish drying.

You can see the pattern much better on the dress form.  The back:

And the front.  I added about 4 rows to the length.  Even though I am short I tend to like things longer and I think the design really called for it.

The cold front arrived last night so I should be able to wear it this week!!!

Blocking

I recently finished a sweater for myself but it needed blocking.  The pattern had directions for blocking that I had not seen before but since this was a kit with a mercerized cotton yarn that I do not generally use I felt I should give it a try.

"Lay it out as desired and place a damp towel on top.  Press down firmly and leave until towel is dry.  Then remove towel and leave until the sweater is dry."

Sounded easy enough.  And it was...  after I spent the entire afternoon cleaning the garage so I could set up the card table to lay this out.

But the weather was perfect for doing this much needed project and I feel so much better having  it finished.  Well, almost finished.  I have a few things for a top shelf that are waiting for my tall grandson to help me with.

It sure feels good to have things sorted and organized again.  And I just might have this new sweater finished in time for cooler weather!