When I work on a crochet project, I always tell myself that I am going to weave in the ends as I go. Unfortunately, that rarely happens! The project that I ‘m currently working on has many, many color changes. I’ve estimated that the end weaving alone will take me 15-20 hours. eeeeekkkk!!!! Fortunately, I can weave in ends while I am working.
This has been a really fun project and I am excited to have it start coming together. I enjoy crocheting the many sections together.
Oliver enjoys being able to hang out on a stack of crocheted octagons. 🙂
I can’t wait to share the completed project with you! Not long now!!!
The dreariness of this winter has really sapped my energy. I
desperately need some sunshine to recharge! Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like
I will get any for a while.
Despite the weeks upon weeks of cold, dark, dreary, rainy weather, at least I can work on colorful projects! I’ve spent most of my time working on beading projects and I’ve created some really neat pieces.
This daisy bracelet is beautiful! It is my own design. I absolutely love it and I had so much fun making it! I am working on a tutorial and will post it when I finish.
This bracelet turned out gorgeous! This was created from a pattern I purchased on Etsy. I really love the colors of this one:
I love this pattern in general and ended up making it in multiple colors.
These earrings were also made with superduos and I think they turned out really cute!
I wanted to create some pretty, colorful, dainty bracelets that would be great for stacking and at a lower price point. I made the beaded bracelets below using the ladder stitch and Miyuki Delica seed beads. The Miyuki Delicas are tiny and come in beautiful colors.
Though most of the past few weeks have been spent on beading, I did manage to get in some crochet time. I made two cute, retro, nylon, crocheted bags. I still need to block the front flaps, sew on the button and add a liner. I will post pictures of them when I am finished.
I have ordered the supplies for several new crochet projects and I can’t wait to get started on them.
Side note: I have been told that people tend to follow blogs that are heavy on pictures. I am terrible at taking pictures. I always have been. Even though mobile phones today have amazing cameras and photo editing capabilities, I still don’t seem to ever get around to taking pictures and when I do, they turn out horrible. If I didn’t feel the need to include pictures, I would write and post everyday!
I always feel the urge to purge during the month of January. This year we desperately need to purge our closets! We probably only wear 10% of what’s in there and there is nowhere to put anything new. I don’t know why we continue to hold on to hold on to clothes from decades ago!
I haven’t seen Marie Kondo on Netflix, and I really don’t know much about the KonMari method of decluttering; but I can tell you that all this clutter is NOT bringing me joy!
Since I love to make things, I am planning to do some serious upcycling this year! I have been scouring Pinterest for some good ways to upcycle some of our bazillion tshirts and I have found really creative things to do with them!
Tshirt Quilts. I have always wanted to make a tshirt quilt with my kids shirts from sports, clubs, etc. I can pretty much guarantee that is not going to happen in the near future, but I do intend to go ahead and start organizing the ones I want to keep specifically for this project. Here are some tutorials for making one. What a cool way to memorialize their childhood!
Throw Pillows This is the perfect gift idea for the members of the family who have a favorite sports team or concert shirt they can’t wear in public anymore but can’t bear to part with.
Rag Rugs. I have always loved the look of rag rugs. There are lots of rug tutorials online. Some require sewing braids togther and some are crocheted. These would make a great project for kids! They will be recycling, making an art project, getting something new for their rooms and learning a craft all in one, free project! What a brilliant thing to do with left over, worn out play clothes! Here is a tutorial that I like.
Cat Basket. We live with two cats who would really appreciate this project! I think all cats love getting in boxes, bags, containers and hiding. I was recently making a crocheted basket and I could not keep the cats out of it! Here is a cat basket I really like. The blog is in Finnish but can easily be translated.
Dog toy. I never would have thought of this had I not seen it on Pinterest; but what a brilliant idea! Dogs love to chew and play. Recycling an old, faded, torn up tshirt into a dog toy is perfect. My son recently joined the Army and our dog misses him. Using one of his old shirts seems like a great way for him to feel close to his best friend.
Yarn. This is something I will definitely be doing right away! There are so many neat projects that can be made with tshirt yarn. It is the perfect medium for crocheting things that need to be sturdy like rugs, baskets, bags, etc. and it works up very quickly. I can’t wait to get started crocheting!
I LOVE crocheted flowers and motifs. I especially love them when they are crocheted with thread; they are so dainty and pretty. I also LOVE color. All colors. Looking at beautiful colors makes me happy!!
One of the great things about crocheting these small motifs, is that I can actually finish them in one sitting! Which is especially good if you are like me and suffer from ADCD (Attention Deficit Crafting Disorder 😉 )
As much as I love making them, I had struggled with what I would do with them. And then I saw something that looked like a crocheted earring and I thought, ‘Brilliant’!! How completely brilliant! I can make these adorable motifs in every color imaginable and actually make something useful!
It was only available as a graph but I have converted it into a written pattern if you would like to give it a try! I use size 10 crochet thread and a .8 or 1.0 steel hook.
Chain 6. Join with a ss.
Chain 3 (counts as 1st DC). DC 19. SS to 1st DC. (20 DC).
Chain 3 (counts as 1st DC). DC in next DC from previous row.
Chain 2. DC in the next 2 DC. Chain 2. Continue around for a total of 20 DC. End with a chain 2 and SS into the first DC.
SS into the first chain 2 from previous row. Chain 3 (counts as first DC). DC, Chain 2, 2 DC into first chain 2 from previous row.
Continue 2 DC, Chain 2, 2 DC in each chain 2 around. SS into first chain 3 (40 DC).
SC. Chain 3, SS into first chain 2 from previous row. DC 6 into same chain 2. Skip DC, SS into next DC. 7 DC into next Chain 2, skip next DC, SC into next DC. Continue around, SS into first Chain 3. Weave in ends.
