Lacy Tank Top

This is the product of one of those free patterns at Michael's. I've been saving it for a few years and finally decided to make it. It calls for two whole 6 oz skeins of Caron Simply Soft and I had just picked up the last two clearanced balls of Rubine Red which I had been wanting to make something with for the longest time. Perfect.

I made the front and back using not even one whole skein! How was the pattern that far off? I don't know what to use the rest of the yarn for now, because I can't get anymore. Whatever.

I love the lacy shells on the bottom. They were really fun to make; I think it was only a 4 row repeat. It took me forever to find the right ribbon to match this top. It's a skinny silky tubular rope kind of ribbon. They untie a lot, but it looks really cute with a black tank top under it.

Half Circle Crop Top

Oh man was this top tricky. I had started making this top a few years ago with a ball of blue Lion Brand Baby Soft (which I didn't realized I used so much), but never finished it because I just wasn't feeling it.

The pattern in Jul/Aug 07 Crochet Today called for Red Heart Luster Sheen and I just really don't like that yarn. Poking around in the Yarn Outlet I found some Mahopac Yarn Mohegan. It's a beautiful linen/cotton blend. It came out great.

I had so much trouble trying to figure out how to sew all of the pieces together. You make the front and back half circles and the sleeves, then crochet around the neck and bottom. I took the pieces apart a few times before I finally got it. Then after I had finished everything, the next night Knit and Crochet Today! came on Create and they featured this piece. I was so upset, but after they finished with the tutorial, they never even discussed how to sew them together. And I really think the yarn I used looks better than the Luster Sheen.

The pattern has an option to add a skirt to make a dress. It's really gorgeous, but I think it would be pretty expensive to make. I think I used about 6 balls of the Mohegan.

Purple Tank

This is the third time I have made the Cupcake Top from Happy Hooker and I think I finally found the yarn for the fit I want. It's Lion Brand Yarn Baby Soft in Lavender. The five ounces crochet this top without the sleeves perfectly with no yarn left over. I don't like the fit of these sleeves because I think that they are too big and I like the top without them anyway.
The pattern is super quick to work up and pretty hott to wear!

Knit Bag

I found the pattern for this bag on the Drops website. It was incredibly easy to make using 10.5 dpns and 2 balls of a variagated di.ve yarn. The pleats were pretty easy; all you do is knit a few stitches together off two needles. The strap is seed stitch and that really helped strengthen it. I think that the Drops knit patterns are a whole lot easier than their crochet patterns.

I never lined the bag and am really upset about it because I still used it and stretched it out quite a bit. I will eventually line it. It's a great bag and a decent size. I love the way the yarn worked up. The colors are very jewel toned.

Lacy Shell Scarf

I remember that I saw this on a website somewhere and just jotted down the stitch pattern repeat. I used Lion Brand Yarn Soft Baby in white and an H hook. I had intended to give it to someone for Christmas but was running out of time. I did finally finish it after Christmas. My daughter and I went to the movies to see some silly movie where apes save a planet and it was the best project to take. The stitch repeat is really easy and since the scarft was white so I didn't have a problem seeing it.

It's really nice to wear because it is light and really soft. It's a little fancy so its a great holiday dress up scarf.

Kitchen Curtains

I bought an issue of Better Homes and Gardens Crochet issue a few years back and it had a pattern for a little lacy cotton bistro curtain. The colors were bright sunny yellow and royal bluish. I liked the style, but couldn't think of making them because of the colors. There is also a table runner and chair cushions to make a really cute set.

I recently painted my kitchen. It was a terrible brown color with gorgeous white cabinets. I had been using this kitchen for almost a year and decided to paint it and make it brighter. I painted the walls white corn and the cabinet doors key lime. It looks really vintage. The pattern popped into my head immediately. I didn't really want to use the variagated cotton, but it was the closest color that they had. After I finished, the color tones really did mesh well.

The actual making of the pattern was really simple. Shells and dc, ch 1 mesh. The size of the first curtain fit perfectly in my smaller window, but had to do a little sizing to increase the second one to fit into the larger window.

I used peaches and cream cotton and an H hook.

Magnolia Runner

Somewhere along the line I came across a pattern for a bedspread on LionBrand.com. It's the Magnolia Afghan using Homespun yarn. I loved the magnolias and wanted something to cover the plastic drawers I use to store all of my yarn and whatnot. I decided just to use the panel with the flower squares, sew them together, add a little trim, and crochet some beads around the edging. I used a couple of balls of Gold Red Heart super saver and an I hook. It took 5 squares to evenly drape to the floor after blocking.

You have to croche the magnolia first which is a bit tedious, but once you get the hang of it, the magnolias become octogons and you're done. You sew the sides together into a strip. The pattern for the triangles was absolutley absurd. I do not appreciate having to "evenly sc" around anything. It just never comes out right. I came up with an even more absurd method. I started at the base of the triangle (made by the octogaons being sewn together) and increased single crochet up the side edges. It came out pretty even. The edging is a basic dc, sk 1 sc, ch 1 rep with beads evenly spaced in the ch 1 sps around.

I still need to make another runner for the other set of plastic drawers but have been completely swamped with other projects and experiments! Another idea i had was to use a much lighter weight yarn and small glass beads to make a more delicate and fancy dinner table runner.

I'll get it done sometime this year!

Circle Doily

This is the product of a free Circle Medallion Doily pattern sheet from Hobby Lobby or some such place. I believe they used a Red Heart sock yarn that just came out, but I love this yarn and wanted to try it with the pattern. It' s beautifully spun sock weight yarn with a purple and blue color. It used to be my Nana's, so it's obviously discontinued and vintage. It was made in a small town in South Carolina, where I am from. I originally had about 20 of the 1 oz/28 g balls of it and have been using it quite a bit over the few years that I've had it. The label doesn't say how many yards are in each ball, so it's always a risk making a project.
The picture on the pattern had the doily in picture frames. I love the idea of that, but I don't think that this was the right yarn to put in a frame. I will do this pattern again, but will use a variagated yarn and maybe make a couple in solids.
This was a really easy pattern, with only about 7 or 8 rounds.

Turle Shell

I was searching for a pattern to use up some remaining Homepsun yarn and found this pattern on Crochet Me. I used the Homespun and a strand of RH Super Saver light grey. My daughter immediately wanted it and so did Jack! The pattern was incredibly difficult to follow. I would not make another one even if I had homespun.

Watermelon Skirt

I got this pattern from the Town and Country Twinkle Knits. I used huge size 19 circular needles and super bulky weight yarn that came on cones from a thrift store. I had exactly enough to finish this project. I actually researched Twinkle Knits when I was working on the skirt because the patterns are really confusing. The skirt looks nothing like it did on the model. The gauge was perfect. I love the colors but I don't think they are suitable for everyday wear. It's super bulky, but I might pull this out for a funky party someday. Maybe.

Boyfriend Sweater

This is my boyfriend sweater because I messed up the gauge on a substitute yarn. I found the perfect ball of Tweedle Dee yarn and carried it around until I could find the perfect thing to make with it. I came across the most basic stockinetter stitch sweater pattern in a Suss Collection pattern book. The pattern asked for two strands of Suss cotton. My gauge equation told me that it would come out right, but it came out super wide with too long sleeves and a gaping neck. I tightened up the neck with slip stitches around and left the wideness. The yarn is really warm and cozy as a wool/acrylic blend. The self-striping looks amazing.

This is one of my favorite sweaters ever.

Shell Cuff

The pattern for this cuff is from Crochet Today! March/April '08. I used Royal Crochet Thread size 3 and a D hook. I did not change colors for the shells because I didn't have another color thread in the same weight, however, I will be making another one with contrasting colors soon. I love green and pink together, so I was very happy to come across these buttons. The project took maybe 3 hours, only because it is very time consuming to make thirteen teensy little double trebles and not lose count every shell.

I love the look of this bracelet!

Lacy Flower Coasters

This pattern came from Crochet Today! March/April '08. I used one strand of Royale Crochet Thread Red size 3 and Aunt Lydia's Crochet Thread Black size 10 with a D Hook. They're super cute with only 6 Rounds and use less than one ball of each color.

Pinapple Doily

I got this pattern from one of those free pattern sheets from Michael's. It's a great project for anyone who wants to practice making pinapple's but doesn't have time to make a tablecloth. This looks wonderful on my side table to accent a small potted plant. Pineapples are slightly confusing to me, but there aren't too many. I think the doily looks a little gothic in black and gives a more modern, artsy look.
I used Aunt Lydia's crochet thread and a size 7 steel hook.

Scarf with Flower

This is a scarf from the Stitch N Bitch Happy Hooker. I added a flower to it. I wasn't really happy with the way the colors came out. It's always a risk when you get variagated yarn. I love the colors seperately. I used Red Heart Super Saver.

Baby Ripple Vertical

I have acquired quite a bit of baby yarn over time, whether from swaps or scrap or thrift store buys. Somehow I had enough yarn for a very adorable baby ripple. I did two repeats of 2 rows of white between 2 rows of colors. I think that it looks very nice with the ripples vertical rather than horizontal. The yarns are all various brands and the pattern a rep of 3 dc, 3dctog, 3 dc, 3 dc in next st. Its a really quick, colorful, and easy way to use scrap yarn!

Troy's Teddy Bear

I made this bear for my nephew, Troy. I got the pattern out of Crochet Today! Jan/Feb '09 issue. I used Red Heart Super Saver 5 oz.; color: Coffee Fleck. I really really wanted to use the yarn suggested in the pattern, Red Heart Fiesta, but every store that I went to was sold out of it for what seemed like weeks on end.

I like making stuffed animals, but am terrible at embroidery, so the nose and mouth are not to my satisfaction. Making the pieces was pretty simple. The patterns for each piece is so alike, that its very quick to crochet.

The gift was a little late for Christmas, but I think it will be a great keepsake in a stuffed animal hammock or on a shelf when he is tired of playing with it.