Christmas Ornament

This festive crochet covered ball is one of two that I made and gave to my friend Jan. 

I have just 2 more items to finish and this year's ornaments and gifts will be completed. I plan to have everything done this weekend and will then have over 2 weeks to enjoy the sights and sounds of this Christmas season. 

Foxy Stash Basket

This afternoon I finished crocheting this cute little stash basket. The pattern is a free download from Yarnspirations web site. Search for Foxy Stash Basket and it'll come up. 

The pattern calls for Sugar & Cream yarn but I couldn't find the colors I wanted locally so substituted Red Heart Super Saver yarn. The pattern listed finished size as 11" x 12". I suspect that height includes the ears. Mine finished at 10" x 11" including the ears. A size bigger crochet hook would make it a bit bigger. 

This will be a gift but I think that this project would go over well at a bazaar. I wouldn't mind having one myself.  Sounds like some more foxes are yet to be made. 

The basket stands pretty well on its own but a plastic container, pot or can placed inside would better hold what one wants to store in it. Depends on what it gets used for. 

Baby ABC Afghan

In looking through my yarn recently, I came upon a yarn label with an ABC afghan pattern on the back. It looked not only interesting but fun to do so I bought the needed yarn and was ready to get started. I used Bernat Baby Sport yarn and an aluminum G hook I had. I wanted to use larger than the D the pattern called for. The yarn is variegated with pink,  yellow, blue, green and white. I added a few extra rows at the top and bottom of each block row and the finished size is approx 35" x 47". At lest, that's what it measured when I laid it on the floor for the photo. 

This pattern uses 2 crochet stitches: single crochet and puff stitch. What a great gift this will make!

I'll keep the pattern as this is something I may want to do again. Mostly I just need the chart for the letters and a cross stitch alphabet chart would work if one needed to use it. 

Crochet Along

Here's what my block looks like after finishing the week 4 additions. There are still those loops in the corners to do something with and I'm thinking there will be more added to the center and the outside. But . . . We'll see. 

Crochet Along week 3

Week 3 of the crochet along on Yarnspirations had 2 rounds added to what had already been done. I think this will be the most complex crochet block I've ever done. The directions call for 20 blocks. I'm only doing 1 as I'm using yarn from some leftovers I have and would rather see what the end result will be prior to buying yarn. Also, I am focused on finishing some quilt projects and don't want to take time for an afghan right now. I do, however, like this challenge and I think I'll be making this afghan in the future. 

Right now, I'm just collecting the clues the the knit along as it calls for a bulky yarn and all I have is 4ply worsted weight. What clues I've made so far yield blocks about 1/2 of what the bulkier yarn would be. 

Crochet Afghan Mystery

Clue 2 of the Crochet Afghan Mystery on Yarnspirations is an addition to the granny square. It's a cross shape that extends beyond the corners of the granny square base. Very interesting. So far I like it and am finding it enjoyable as I learn how to enhance a basic granny square. I'm guessing that the finished product will look nothing like a granny square - not a traditional one anyway. 

Crochet Afghan Mystery

Clue 1 is a granny square - well, actually it's 20 of them. I only made 1 as I want to see what will be next before committing to doing all of them. The clues are on Yarnspirations and come out each Tuesday. 

Clue 2 came out today. It looks very interesting. Certainly something I haven't done before. 

Crochet covered Christmas Ornaments

Can you tell I'm behind on posting photos and projects. We've been traveling and some of the time we did not have access to Internet. It's been a busy month as we've been to Oklahoma for a family reunion and followed that with a trip to Alaska. Both were great trips!

For these ornaments, I used a pattern called "Elegant Ornaments" that I downloaded from Annie's Crafts. There are 6 patterns in this set of directions. These balls are the first ornament in the pattern set. My balls were smaller than the specified 2.5" so instead of using #10 crochet cotton, I used size 20 and it worked for my balls that were closer to 2". 

Doll Cradle Purse

I have some 5" dolls and doll clothes patterns but desired to make a cradle purse. After looking awhile for a pattern, I ordered a kit from Mary Maxim. This project worked up easily but the yarn is soft and didn't make as sturdy a cradle/purse base as I would prefer so next time I make one I'll likely use a firmer yarn for the bottom and sides of the cradle. The softer yarn will be fine for the purse top/cradle sides. 

Cradle/Purse open

Cradle/Purse Closed

Christmas crafts

I've been making little crocheted angels. I have 3 done and will make some more. The ribbon on this one is made from number 8 perle cotton. I chained 100 and then did 2 double crochet in each chain the length of the chain. This makes the ribbon gently curl. It's a bit fiddly to get tied into a bow but I like it much better than a satin ribbon bow. Now that I've got a couple with the variegated blue bows, I think I'll see what other colors I have.  The angel is about 4" tall and I put a large (1.5") jingle bell inside, tied just below the head. The recipient will be surprised to hear the sound if the bell as it isn't noticeable until the angel is picked up. I was pleased that I could find jingle bells this week. I found them at JoAnn's. guess I shouldn't have been surprised as the stores are now full of Halloween merchandise and will soon be full of Christmas items. These angels will be Christmas gifts. Once I get the gifts done, I may make a few for my quilt guild's bazaar. 

The pattern for this angel bell may be found on Pinterest at the following link. 

http://pinterest.com/pin/488781365779169063/

Reader - are you starting to think ahead to the holidays?  Handmade gifts need to be started soon. 

Stocking Ornaments

I decided to make some items for my quilt guild's bazaar this year. So I made some little granny square stockings. I made enough to sell but also kept back a few to use as gifts this Christmas season.

baby afghan

I started a baby afghan a few weeks ago to use up some yarn that I had left over from other projects. Now I have a baby gift ready when I need one. As there is considerably more pink than the other colors, this would probably be best for a girl.