More to Crochet About

Hello! It's been a little while since I've shared my most recent crochet projects so I thought I do that today. I've been making a few smaller pieces and love that most of them can be made in an evening...instant gratification! 

(Pattern Source)

Since it's too hot to wear warm chunky scarves right now I decided to make this summery decorative one. I love this shade of green and the twisty curly design. I'm thinking of making another to wear together. Three would probably make it warm enough for winter...and imagine the color combinations! 

(Pattern Source)

I whipped up this little friendship bracelet for our niece who was here visiting last week. Wouldn't a few of these in different color combinations be fun too? The pattern is not in English but can be translated or you can just follow the pictures. 

(Pattern Source) 

Before we know it autumn will be here and as soon as I saw this adorable little crocheted pumpkin, I wanted to hook it! It's cuter than cute and I think a little trio of them would be perfect for displaying through the fall! 

Oreo claimed this one for his own! I suppose every black cat needs a pumpkin? ;) 

For my last project share...this frilly little Ball jar topper. Isn't it darling? And guess what? I'm getting to the point with my crocheting that I was able to create this on my own without a pattern. Pretty cool! I'm wondering if I should make a pattern/tutorial? Would you be interested? Leave me a comment....maybe if there's enough demand, I might. :)

I hope you enjoyed my projects and that you feel inspired to pick up a hook! Thanks to all you creative crocheters out there who so generously share these great patterns! The yarn for all these creations is Cascade's 100% Ultra Pima Cotton Yarn. I love that it's all natural and super soft. All these projects were also created with a Clover 3.75 mm F Hook.

Are there any knitters in the house? I've been trying to learn to knit these past few days and oh boy is it challenging! It's like learning to play a guitar or piano where all your fingers have to work together..... Tell me it gets easier? I really felt last night that my hands couldn't move the way they needed to for knitting or that my index finger wasn't long enough! Crochet seemed to be so much easier to learn. Do any of you do both crochet and knit? Any suggestions for me? 

Ode to Crochet

Every time I crochet something new I'm always amazed with the results! Do you ever get that feeling with your crafty projects? You stand back, take it in and feel so proud? For so long I wished I could crochet and make all the fun little things I'd find on Pinterest and now I can! 

This lovely little decor piece is a crochet embroidery hoop...you know those simple wood ones from the craft store? I used my favorite Cascade Ultra Pima Cotton Yarn and Clover 3.75 mm Crochet Hook. I found the pattern/instructions for making it here.

I also made my first cat toy last week. I wish I had taken a picture of Oreo playing with it...he was dragging it off to another room! This was created with a Raverly pattern that you can find here.

If you saw my crochet post from last week I told you about this book on Tunisian crochet. There's my first little swatch. Learning this reminded me of crocheting for the first time where I was all thumbs. My hands just wouldn't move the way they do now with a regular hook. Learning something new isn't always easy, but it is very rewarding and isn't that stitch pretty? 

Next on the list of things to learn is sewing. I have a sewing machine collecting dust in my craft room...not good! 

Anyway, enjoy your Monday!

Crochet Day

Over the weekend I finished my latest crochet project....this colorful sampler scarf. It started out to be a blanket, but I decided to make it into a scarf because I thought it was too fun and colorful not to!  I almost can't wait until winter to wear it! ;) I think I'll still make a blanket a little later. 

For this project I used Cascade's Ultra Pima 100% Cotton Yarn and a Clover 3.75 mm Crochet Hook

Thanks to Wooly Wonders Crochet's YouTube video tutorials, I was able to follow along on this project with relative ease. There we a few stitch samples that I messed up on and had to redo. Par for the crochet course! ;)

Aren't these colors and stitches fun? 

For some reason, my popcorn stitches didn't pop as much as I'd hoped. Do you see the little blue dots on the green strip. I'll have to play around with that next time and see if an extra stitch in the cluster helps.

So....I was so jazzed about my new scarf that I played hooky yesterday from my usual paper crafting projects and went to the store to buy some more hooks and yarn and the Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Tunisian Crochet.

Trying this new style of crochet was awkward...just like when I started crocheting. You have to practice to get it down and to get your hands to move the way you want! My hands were sore after learning the basic stitch! I was so tensely holding onto the hook! 

To give myself a break I picked up my regular crochet hook and made this little project that I pinned awhile back...a crochet votive candle holder or jar cozy.

I used the same hook size and cotton yarn as the scarf above...

...along with this Ravelry patterned found on Pinterest. 

It was a quick and easy project I did in just a couple hours. I think it would be perfect filled with treats and given as a gift. Oh....like a little spa jar with candle and couple bath products. Sounds delightful, huh?