my first fingerless gloves

fingerless gloves seem a bit silly to me.  i mean, what is the point if your fingers are cold?   i need gloveless fingers or something cuz my fingers freeze before anything else.   my tomboy princess loves them though.   ok, i'll do it.

she chose a thicker yarn.   i included a picture of the yarn, label and hook i used.   one skein did one glove with maybe a yard left over, probably less.   

you know i don't know how to follow a pattern much less write one but here's the basics of what i did.   

chain 33

skip a chain and do a double, chain two and another double.   

skip a stitch and attach to the next stitch in your base chain.   repeat until the end of the row.

you will have several mountains.   ( i know i am super with technical terms)

for the next layer, place a chain in each high point of your mountains
half double in the back of the next stitch, just the back loop so you get that raised zig zag
and a double in the back loop of the center between the mountains. and so on

i did 11 sets of these two layers and in the last fill layer just crocheted to the first row to close the tube up.   remember to leave a space for the thumbs though. . . .yeah, i forgot on the second one.

this is a picture of the closing line from the inside and outside.   the inside has this seam and the outside looks continuous.     i was pretty impressed since i was making stuff up as i went along.

i still don't get fingerless gloves but i do like them because o can actually make them.   my friend wants a pair of piggy fingerless gloves.   i'll be working on that one here soon.

crochet horse bag

here we are again, another birthday party for my tomboy princess to go to.   have i mentioned that i really am at a loss for getting other kids presents?   this time i had a little help though.   friend books are pretty popular here so i had the girl's page with colors and hobbies etc to go from.  

first, my tomboy princess decided to crochet a bracelet for her friend.   she did pretty well.   she even crocheted beads into it!   so proud of my crocheting protege.

back to the birthday girl.   as with most little girls, she likes horses.   that's handy, i can draw a horse.   she also likes to read, you would think i would have made a bookmark then wouldn't you.   no way!   that's too easy!

instead, i made a book bag.   could have been super simple. . . until i got ahold of it.  

pant leg, stitch the end closed and add a handle. . . . . but then i had this big idea . .  .

use the crochet technique i've been patching pants with to put a horse head on it with long flowing mane and fancy stitching on the bottom.   

then once i got going on it, i decided to cover the stitching with more crochet and figured it needed a lining to 

protect the back of the stitching.

a couple of tips i picked up on the way through this project.   

draw a pattern on with a colored pencil.   i used a yellow and it worked fine.   the nice thing was that i could rub it off really easily so could change my mind as i went.  and i didn't have to keep checking where i was or try to figure out where to go next.   i just followed the lines.  

    

do your crocheting first.   make sure to tie everything off .    at the end of my lines i pulled the loop down through the fabric to the back, pulled the end through, and tied it off. 

for the lining, make your tube, put seam side to the inside and right side to the inside of the pant leg.    then, when you are done sewing and turn it, it puts the good side showing on the inside of the bag.   i sewed the end closed after that so i could reach through if i needed.  

when you stitch your handle on, make sure it's straight and not twisted. . . .i did and it still ended up twisted.       i have decided that it gives it character.   handmade things have flaws that make them individual and unique!   that's my spin on it.

snip the edges to fray them, doesn't take too long

i loved how it turned out!   it did take a fair few hours to do. . . like 20.   but if i make another, it probably won't take as long.   at least i'm hoping, because my princess would really like to have one as well.   so get yourself some good movies or audio books or something for this project.   it may have taken less time had i been able to just sit down and do it.   of course, i have kids, and house, and meals, and various catastrophes to attend in the midst of my crafting so that adds time to any project.   wouldn't life be boring without the distractions?  i'm enjoying the catastrophes while i have them, because someday, the house will be way too quiet without them.

even though i loved it, and the tomboy princess loved it, we were missing one approval - 

that's right -

this bag has been cat approved

now, it's official.

crochet scrubby wash mitt

i'm tweaking things again!

i love the little crochet scrubbies that are being pinned recently.   i tried it  and totally failed the first one i made.   it works but is too small.  i only had some smaller yarn and didn't make enough of an allowance for that in my attempt.   whatever, it washes dishes.   but, i wanted something i could wear to give me a bit more freedom.   i figured all i would have to do, is just make it bigger and longer and then not close both ends.

i'm not going to explain the basics of this since it is much better explained in this blog and video.   i also believe in giving credit to the ones who taught me or inspired me.    you should watch the video before you go ahead with i did.

http://reneeseastofeden.blogspot.de/2011/08/do-you-tawashi.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J84jxmGMV5Y

i used a u.s. I 9 or 5.50 mm hook.

i did 30 stitches so that i could get my hand in it.   i did about 36 rows.   sorry, i didn't count.   i just went until it would fit.   the stitches wide are how deep it will be and the rows will go around your hand.

i just used up some scratchy scraps, thus the multi-color mitt.   i had some thicker stuff for the first blue and white, then i found both ends of the next stuff and crocheted with it doubled.   then i ran out of that too, so i used three strands of some other stuff i had. 

i always foul it up when i do the joining to make a tube.

yes, i did it the wrong way first.   totally finished crocheting it together.   if you are struggling to get the ends of your rows to match up, struggling to get the ridges to match. . . your doing it the wrong way.   i did it 3 times before it finally got it to all match up and realized that it was rings instead of spirals.   my excuse is that i am sick.   that's my story, and i'm sticking to it.

the right way is to stitch the first row to the last row.   this is way easier since you are stitching matching numbers of stitches up, one row of 30 with another row of thirty.

after that, i ran another row of stitches around the end and then pulled the long end through that extra row to pull it up tight.   

that's the end if your making a mitt.    to make a scrubby, you need to make it shorter.   it will fold over and be like a half ball if you make it according to this pattern.

i'm actually going to make another one with one end closed and a draw string in the other end so that i can put a bar of soap in it and then hang it up to dry in the shower.   it's the crochet version of soap on a rope but i don't have to worry about little soap splinters.

i did this basically the same as the scrubby but , of course, tweaked.

i did the body of it the same, i used a smaller cotton yarn instead of the bulky scratchy stuff.   i used a size E hook and did 35 stitches, i think.   i just kept going until it was the length i wanted.   remember that the rows are the size a round.   at the bottom of my ring, i crocheted around one time.   this gave me a base to work off of for the bottom.   i made the corners with five stitches into one.   do that once on opposing sides.   to make the bottom, i did a flap coming up from one side and then attached it to the other side.   i just went back and forth in the back loop like you do in the body to make ridges.   it doesn't need to be wide, it's just for soap.   

on the top, i went around one time for a base to work off of.   then, i just did triple stitch all the way around.   this forms a large holes to pull the cord through for your gathered top.   my daughter used a little crochet loom for the rope.  i crocheted the ends together and done.   ok, you might want to lace it through your top first, before you go joining the ends.   minor details. 

c.a.d.h.d

i don't suffer from it.  i enjoy every moment of it!

i heart crochet

this was just fooling around.   no purpose, no holiday, well, valentine's, but no gifts this time.   just a bracelet for my tomboy princess.

 it's the basic heart pattern from here - http://saltforthespirit.blogspot.de/2009/02/itty-bitty-crochet-heart-tutorial.html

but i use really small hooks and split string to hook with.   anyway, just make a heart, then chain 8 and make another one.   just keep going until it's the length you want and chain long enough to make your loop for the hearts to go through and hold.  

crochet cuff links

trying to keep my ever more towering teen in clothes is really hard.   when i find a church shirt that fits, that i can afford, i don't pass it up.   this last one i got for him though, requires cuff links.   

dang!

ok, i had cuff links in the states, but not here.   

that's ok, i'm beginning to think i can crochet just about anything.   so far, so good.

one of my son's fav ties is bright pink.   so i started with some bright pink cuff links to go with it.   he loves them!   

here ya go-

 i crocheted a little ball, stuffed it tight with some cotton and then finished off the ball.   then i just kept going with a chain stitch but i chained one and then reached back into the side of the stitch to put in another stitch for a little more stability.   i did about five of those and then started another ball.  

i'm thinking i need to try my hand at something more intricate than a ball next.   it still has to be small enough to go through the holes, and sturdy enough to get mauled through the holes and then hold them together.
i'll keep you posted on what the next set of cuff links turns out to be.

siberian crochet hats

i learned this stitch from a pinterest link.   

pinterest!   yah!

this my first try with this stitch.   it it is lots of experimenting.    it ended up a little more coned at the top that i wanted but at this point, i wasn't worried about it.   it's a really nice thick stitch and has a little stretch to it, i thought it would be stiffer than it turned out.   i like the way it makes this see through of the other color.   my blonde curls likes to choose which color is out every day.

my tomboy princess wanted a ear warmer since she always has some crazy hair do and they don't usually fit in a hat.   she chose a thicker, variegated yarn for hers.   the variegated turned out really nice.   it was a little harder to keep track of at first but i got used to it in the first couple of rows.   it doesn't show the joins as much though.

here's the videos i used to learn the basics.   it might help to watch the vids first so you understand my pics.    then you can follow how i made this potholder into a hat.
http://siberianstitch.com/tutorial.html

i'm going to assume you have watched the video.
the stitch around the hat, the basic rows are like the video.   this is just to show how to change colors and continue in a circle instead of turning with a straight pot holder. 

i am pretty much referring to the colors i'm using because it's just easier to keep track of.
comment if i need to clarify something

i wanted a two color hat so i made my base row with both colors.   then i went around with the fisrt color.   here's where i had to get creative.   at the end of the first row, end your last stitch by reaching through the first stitch and pull through all three like the next pictures.

now, your going to pull the other color, (blue) through this loop (this color change is simple because you don't have blue row yet.)    

go the opposite direction around your base row.  

this is what it looks like if you don't go the opposite direction each time

after you finish going around your base with the second color, change colors again.

end your row as before.   reach through the outside of the last stitch, yarn over and pull through.   reach over and grab your other color, pull through and start with the opposite color.

your going to go around through the inside loops of both colors.   still pretty much doing like the video.   

at the end of this first time going through both colors, you get to change colors in a really specific way.   if you don't. it really shows.

 now, see the last stitch from the other color?    reach down through the inside of that last stitch and grab your other color, (blue here).  

 pull through the blue and orange and pull the orange, (color your leaving) tight.   

now, reach down through the inside of the first stitch you made of the other (orange) color and the stitch below it of the color your going to (blue), this should be the same loop you pulled the blue though to change colors.
 just remember to go the opposite direction as the row before it.   it kind of switches itself since your going down opposite sides.   once you get the hang of it, it's really easy.   

to close the hat off, just do some decreases, two stitches into one.   i did several rows and just put it on blonde curls head to see where i was.   then i decreased every 10 stitches for a couple of rows and then every eight until i got closer to the top and then i decreased every stitch . 

 i am working on a black and gray one now.   it's a thinner yarn so we'll see how well it works.      the darker color is harder to work with.  
i hope this made sense.   may your head and ears be warm.

free form crochet bracelet

i've been playing with this for a couple of months now.   one of those things i worked on here and there between other projects.  

 i was actually inspired by amber kane.  ( http://fabricatedends.blogspot.de/ )  she makes gorgeous scarves!   i love her work.   my favorites are her free form crocheted scarves.   i figured i'd try it out on a smaller scale.   like a size 15 hook and a separated string into a single thread smaller scale.   what can i say?   i love my tiny little hooks.

i love crocheting but i'm not great at it.   this was a complete experiment, as is most of what i do.   it isn't as flat or as even as i wanted, more ruffle than i wanted,  but what in life turns out exactly as you first envision it?

   

 i ended up with a bracelet that can be worn a couple of different ways.   you can have a loose look with the ball in the loop.    or a play it a bit closer with the ball into a loop in the bracelet itself.   i like bringing it in from the back so it flips the side up and gives it more depth.

next, i must make a ring to match it . . .and probably a necklace of some sort as well.   wheeee!

cool crochet

i snagged these photos from the link at the bottom.   i couldn't pin them so i just posted them here so i could find them again for my crochet inspiration

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/lanvin-cufflinks