Annoying Knots

Don't you hate when you are sitting there relaxing crocheting along and all of the sudden you come along a huge knot in your skein of yarn? UGH!! Well this is the kind of day I am having today. It's a good thing I was close to the end of this granny square when I found it. I managed to pull enough yarn from the knot to finish the square before having to cut it. I will have to work on untangling it later.

Gifts for the TWINS :)

Here are a couple of crocheted baby blankets that my mother made for my twins due in November. She only recently learned to crochet and she is a fast learner! :) The blankets are adorable. There was no pattern for these, she just made them up herself. Pretty good for a newbie huh? Thanks mom! <3

Yellow Striped Baby Blanket

Green Striped Baby Blanket

Getting back to crochet!

So I know that I have been VERY inactive both here and on Facebook in the last month or so, but you all know why that is by now. I am feeling much better these days and have recently picked up the hook again. I am currently working on a baby blanket for one of my little jelly beans. I still have to make a second one for the second twin! :) I do have some older stuff I have made or that I was working on before the baby stuff came about and I will be sharing some of that stuff with you. I just have not felt like crocheting anything the last month or so... I just did not have the energy to even try to work on anything. It didn't stop me from thinking of new things to make though. I am happy to be back to crochet again, and I am excited to share my new ideas and projects with you! Thank you all for hanging in there and waiting for my return, it means a lot! I'm back! :)

Crystalites Crochet Hooks by Susan Bates (Review)

I just recently purchased a set of these Crystalites crochet hooks by Susan Bates from shopredheart.com. I was ordering some new yarn anyway and decided to grab these just to try something new. They only cost a few dollars. I had never used a plastic hooks before. I mostly use the aluminum ones.

There were things I liked about these hooks and things I didn't really like. One of the things I did like, was that each hook is a different translucent color. I have already memorized which color is which sized hook. I also liked that these hooks came with a clear plastic case with the sizes of each hook printed on the outside. So very easy to store and find the hook you are looking for. Something I didn't like about these, is that in the description it stated that the head of these hooks is designed to reduce wrist fatigue. I didn't get that effect when I used them. My wrist seems to tire just as fast as they do with my aluminum hooks. Another thing I didn't like about these hooks, was that my yarn did not smoothly run across the surface of them. It would almost catch on them at times and it actually got a little annoying. I only tried them with 100% acrylic yarn. I'm not sure if using a different yarn I might have had a different experience with that. One thing about these that I noticed is that they are slightly shorter than the aluminum hooks and even the bamboo hooks that I am used to. I had to adust the way I held my hooks. 

Overall I would rate these hooks a 3 out of 5. I will most likely continue to use my aluminum and bamboo hooks more than these. I think I will try to use a different yarn type with them just to see if they work any better with it. If I do that i may post an update about that. If any of you have used these and had better luck with different yarn types let me know. If anyone is interested in purchasing these hooks I found mine on shopredheart.com for around $7. Happy Crocheting!

Crochet Toilet Paper Cover

This is a crocheted toilet paper cover that I made for a request. She requested that it be made with a lighter purple color and that she did not have a preference for a specific kind of flower. Her bathroom theme is white and purple, so I went with a white flower. I decided to create a new type of flower just for this cover. I really really like it a lot. I cascaded the flowers across the top and down one side of the cover. I embroidered yellow centers onto the flower to add a touch of color. I added little green crochet spirals to bring out the colors of the whole thing. I thought it came out really pretty. She loved it too!

Here is a close up of the flowers I designed for this cover.

Side view of the cover.

My First Doily!

This is my very first crochet doily. This is my own design made with regular 4-ply yarn. I've never tried to make doilies before due to the fact they most are made with thread. I have bad eyes so working with such a small hook and thread is hard for me. I also noticed that most doilies look very hard and are for more advanced crocheters. My doily is a very simple design. I didn't quite know how I was going to make it or how big. I just kinda made it up. It's simple, but I like it. I think it's perfect for the coffee table or a small end table. I am probably putting it on my kitchen table with a vase on top. I didn't write up the pattern for this, but I will try to. When and if I do write up the pattern I will definitely share it.

Here's an up-close look at the design of the doily:

Spring Rose

This is the "Spring Rose" flower pattern by Teresa Richardson. I think this flower looks beautiful. The pattern was easy for the most part. I was confused at first about the shaping of the flower but thankfully Teresa posts videos on YouTube as well because watching the video helped me to figure out the rest of the pattern. I'm still glad I tried this one out although I don't think i'll be trying to make a lot of them. This one was a little too time consuming to me. Very beautiful flower though, excellent artwork! (Find the pattern here: http://crochet-mania.blogspot.com/2011/03/crochet-spring-rose.html )

April showers brings May flowers

One of my favorite things about Spring has always been all of the beautiful flowers. I am allergic to most of them, but I still love how beautiful they are. So what better way is there to enjoy the beauty of flowers without the watery eyes, runny nose, itchy throat and sneezing? Crochet flowers of course! LOL! I sound like a commercial. Anyway I have seen quite a few different crochet flower patterns before, but most of them just looked too difficult to me. Well, I decided to face my fears and go ahead and try a few of them. I was surprised to find out how easy and fun they were to make. I used scrap yarn to make all of my flowers. I think flowers are an excellent way to use up all of your left over yarn and they can be used for a number of different things too.

This one is the "Crochet Marigold Flower". This one is one of my favorites so far. It was a very easy pattern to follow and I think the flower is beautiful. (Find the pattern here: http://crochet-mania.blogspot.com/2008/04/crochet-marigold.html )

This one is the crochet "Ribbon Flower". I really love this one too! This pattern I found to be a little more difficult for me in the beginning, but once I figured it out I love it! The unique design of this flower is beautiful and I had fun making it. (Find the pattern here: http://crochet-mania.blogspot.com/2008/11/crochet-ribbon-flower.html )

This is the "Cheerful Crochet Flower". This is a beautiful flower pattern and another favorite. Very fun and easy to make. I will definitely be making more of these! (Find the pattern here: http://crochet-mania.blogspot.com/2009/05/cheerful-crochet-flower.html )

This is a crochet "Pansy". It's a very pretty flower and I enjoyed making it. It was also a very easy to follow pattern and it doesn't take much time to make. (Find the pattern here: http://crochet-mania.blogspot.com/2008/09/crochet-pansy-variation-2.html )

This one is the "Radiant Crochet Flower". This pattern was a little different to me. I liked doing it, but it wasn't my favorite. It had a new stitch or two that I had never tried before and I like to learn new things soI enjoyed that about it. Overall it was a very simple flower but still very pretty. (Find the pattern here: http://crochet-mania.blogspot.com/2010/02/radiant-crochet-flower.html )

Last but not least, this is the "Spring Bloom". This is an original pattern by me. After trying out all of the other patterns, i decided to try to come up with a unique flower pattern of my own. This is the result. I really like it. I did write up the pattern as I went along and I will share it with you in the free patterns section of this blog. it's a layered flower made in three separate parts and sewn together. I think it's beautiful! :)

I enjoyed making all of these beautiful spring flowers and look forward to tryout out a few more new patterns soon. I'll keep you all updated!

Precious Baby Blanket

Here is another blanket I have been working on. I don't really know what I'm doing with it when it's done though. This one is a baby blanket. I found the pattern for this blanket in the book 7-Day Afghans by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss. The pattern is called "Rippling Shells". I have changed it up a little to add some texture but for the most part I have kept it the same. I'm really enjoying it and I love the way it looks. I'm about a 3rd of the way done and I'm hoping I can finish it within the next month or two.

Here is a close up of the details:

So Far So Good (Ripple/Wave Afghan)

Well here it is. This is my ripple/wave afghan. I have only been working on it for a couple days but I'm really liking it. I would have had more completed by now but if you read my post from earlier then you know why I didn't get much done yesterday. I also had to pull some back out because I messed up in my 8th row and didn't realize it until my 11th row. Yeah that sucked! ...but leave it to me to mess up such an easy pattern LOL. Other than that it's going good. I'll keep you updated! Hopefully I get a lot of this done over the weekend.

Christmas Sweaters For My Boys

Yay!! Christmas Sweaters!! :D LOL. Ok here is one of 2 matching Christmas sweaters and hat sets I made for my two handsome little boys. This is yet another modified version of the Simple Baby Sweater pattern found by searching on YouTube for Mikeyssmail. He is a great teacher! As you can see I also added pockets on this one. (Not that a baby is really going to use pockets.. just thought it was really cute.) I just love changing up other peoples patterns to make them my own. There really are endless possibilities with the original pattern. Everyone has to start somewhere! I have been slowly creating my own patterns for things and it's so fun to do! Anyway back to the Christmas sweaters... I made these sweaters using Red Heart Super Saver yarn in colors 0319 Cherry Red, and 0316 Soft White. I used a size K hook on the sweater and a size I on the hat. Now I know a lot of people don't like to use this kind of yarn on something that will be touching the skin because it can be itchy, but all you have to do is put it through the wash a couple times and dry it on low heat and remove promptly. You may even want to take it out before it's completely dry. It makes it much softer.

I love the little pom pom on the top! :) I made this hat a little different than the other hats I designed, but really all I did was make it a little longer and fold it down.. and made a pom pom to sew on top. It came out super cute and goes really well with the sweater!

Rylan's Sweater "Cool Dude"

This is the sweater I made for my big boy Rylan. This is the same sweater pattern I modified for Elijah's "Blueberries n Chocolate" sweater. The hat was made from my own pattern. (I'm working on getting it posted. I'm not that good at writing down my patterns. Blah! ) I renamed this set "Cool Dude". Rylan thinks hats are called cool dudes LOL, so I thought it was a cute name for his sweater set. I created them with Caron Simply Soft yarn in colors Black 9727, and Grey Heather 9742. I used a size K hook for the sweater and a size I hook for the hat. This one is also very soft! Oh and one thing i changed with this one is that I added a couple of buttons. I didn't do that to Eli's. (If I get the chance I will also work on writing up my modified version of this sweater pattern.) Sweaters are so fun! :D

Baby Sweater for Baby Elijah "Blueberries n Chocolate"

Here is the matching sweater and hat set I made for my baby boy Elijah. It came out so cute and it really brings out those georgeous bright blue eyes of his. The sweater is a modified version of the "Simple Baby Sweater" pattern I learned watching Mikeyssmail on YouTube. (Much better than the first one I made. LOL.) The hat I made up myself. (I will try to post the pattern I use for most of the hats I make soon!) I have renamed this set "Blueberries n Chocolate" :) . They were both made with Caron Simply Soft Eco yarn in colors Blueberry Mist 0023 and Chocolate 0006. They are so soft! I used a size K hook for the sweater and a size I hook for the hat. This was very fun to make and I can't wait to make more of them.

I made a purse!!

This is a purse/handbag I made with my own original pattern. Although this isn't the first purse I have designed, it's the only one I really like and would actually use. All of the other purses I have designed were pretty flat and would not stand up on their own at all. (They usually were simply a big rectangle folded in half and sewn closed with a single chain strap. LOL! ) I'm proud of this one. It does stand on it's own flat bottom, has a thicker more supported strap, and has a very cute closure. The strap is not stiff but I still like it. I'm sure the pattern can probably be modified with some sort of store bought handle if you really wanted. I made this purse with Red Heart brand worsted weight 4 ply yarn in colors Black and Buff, and used a size I crochet hook. (The Lilac and White purse in the picture was made with a softer baby yarn i had left over from an old project. I made that one for my best friend Frances for her birthday last month.) I don't have the pattern ready for posting just yet, but it's something I will work on if anyone wants it.

Popcorn Potholder

This was a potholder I made a month or 2 ago. I was just learning how to do the popcorn stitch and decided to make it into my own pattern for a potholder. I thought it came out pretty cute. I made this with 4 ply worsted weight yarn and a size H crochet hook. I created the yellow area entirely with popcorn stitch and added a white ruffled edging with a little loop for hanging it up.

I started a new afghan...

So, I have started making a new ripple/wave afghan today for my son Rylan. I have never made one of these before and I'm really nervous about how it's going to turn out. So far I think it looks good, but we will see. The pattern seems so easy so I don't know what I could possibly do wrong. You never know though with me LOL. Well i'll post updates on my progress as I go. Keep your fingers crossed for me. :)