A birthday bunny!

Another gift I made and gave away recently is this sweet crochet amigarumi bunny made from another free Lion Brand pattern and two different colors of Wool-Ease yarn.

It was really fun to make, and it was equally fun to give it to one of my dear friends with an April birthday. I was also really happy to find a gift bag at Wal-Mart that nearly matches the gift, and a birthday napkin that I could make into a card.

I was so glad to see that it brought a smile to my friend's face when I gave it to her. I had hoped that it would. It still makes me smile to see the photo here.

An Afghan for a Special Young Man

My sister's oldest is graduating from college this spring, and his school colors are blue and white. So, I started work last winter on an afghan for him. I finished it at the start of this month.

I used a free pattern on the Lion Brand website, to crochet the afghan using two different colors of Wool-Ease yarn. It was really easy and fun, and I know that our nephew will enjoy this gift.

His maternal grandmother, my mother, would have made him an afghan or quilt, if she could have lived to see him graduate. So I guess this gift not only honors our graduate, but also memorializes my Mom.

I still remember Mom telling me one time how her grandson (this nephew) told her when he was 10 years old that he always slept better under one of his Nana's quilts (he and his sister always called her Nana), because it was like sleeping in her hug.

Cloche Hat and Scarf

My sister just sent me this photo to post on the blog. It's the cloche hat and scarf that I made for her birthday this year. It's not actually for the teddy bear. He's just serving as a very cooperative model for her photo.

I made the hat using a free online pattern from Lion Brand the scarf pattern came from a book by Debbie Stoller that I borrowed from the library...You know, it's been more than two year since I started crocheting again and nearly a year since I re-taught myself how to knit, and I've only needed to buy one pattern for crochet or knitting during that time. Most of my yarn has been from my mother's stash, though I did buy a few skeins this winter for various projects. But God has provided for all of this, and I am truly grateful. I love to be able to share gifts I make myself with family and friends.

Right now, I'm working on a project for myself. Some of that newly purchased yarn was a gift from a friend who gave me a JoAnn Fabrics gift card for Christmas last year. I used that gift to buy enough skeins of Wool-Ease in the Denim Twist color to make myself a sweater. It will be my first knit sweater, and I'm a little more than halfway done with it now. I work on it during lunch hours at the office, on long car rides, and sometimes during family gatherings when everyone is just sitting around watching a sporting event on TV. That sweater is the first and only pattern that I've chosen to buy. And it was only $1 to download from Lion Brand.

I have no business interests in Lion Brand personally, nor do I know anyone who works there, but I'd highly recommend their patterns and yarn, especially for beginners. I've had a few questions about things I hadn't done before as I've been working on this pattern, and each time it's only taken a matter of hours for someone at that company to write back in response to my emailed question with an answer that has made it possible for me to continue with my pattern. They really seem to care about making their customers successful in doing their projects. That's good business for them, of course, but good customer service is rare in this day and age. It's such a blessing when you find a company that really stands behind its products.

Failed Crochet Project

Well, I had to frog another crochet project. It's not the first time, and it won't be the last.

I tried to make the cloche hat that you see pictured to the right...probably three times now. I tried it once a couple of years ago using some navy yarn. That time, my cloche turned into a beret. It was so flat that I started decreasing my stitches as an attempt to make something other than a pancake--thus, a beret was born. My husband told me that he thinks it looks cute on me, but I haven't had the courage to wear it outside the house.

A few days ago, I tried this hat again, this time using some of the lovely red wool that I had left after finishing my Sweet Pea Shawl. I could just imagine how pretty that hat would look, especially if I used some darker red to add a little contrast to the flower. So I grabbed my hooks and yarn again on Sunday afternoon, but I soon found myself with another pancake on my hands.

Yesterday, over lunch at work, I frogged the new pancake and started the hat all over again. This time, using the same red wool, I adjusted the pattern a bit, trying to use a method my mother-in-law uses with success. She never uses a pattern. She just shapes the hat as she goes...increasing some rows and crocheting other rows with any increase to give it shape. Her hats always seem to turn out well.

For a while, my revised pattern looked like it would work. It was turning into more of a head shape than a pancake this time, but then I tried it on last night in front of a mirror...and saw the little point at the top of my head.

So today, as I started lunch here at work, I added a few more rows. Perhaps I was thinking that I could pull the hat into a better shape, smoothing the little point away somehow. But it soon became obvious that the point wouldn't go away. So I frogged my project again.

I'd still like to make a cloche hat, but I think I'd better buy the kind of yarn the pattern calls for the next time, rather than trying to use what I already have in my stash.

Creating with Fabric and Yarn

In addition to the cooking that I did at Dad's house last week, I had a lot of fun with my sewing machine and my crochet hooks.

First, I cut out and sewed two new blouses, and I cut out pieces to sew a six-gored skirt and a princess-line dress. I would have loved to have finished the skirt and dress, too, but I also wanted to take time to just visit with my Dad, who has been a widower since 2003 when my mother died.

I used my mother's sewing machine for the blouses, and I was so pleased that it still works so well. She let me use her machine when she was first teaching me to sew. I think she would have been really pleased to know that it was still being used. I set up the machine on the back porch of Dad's house so that I could keep my husband company while he was painting the deck. Even just the sound of that machine brought back memories.

The blouses I made were from McCall's pattern #5050. I don't have a digital camera yet, so I can't show a photo of my actual blouse here, but I've copied the image from the pattern company's website for you to see.

I did make some adjustments to the pattern, inspired by Tracy. I lengthened the sleeves of the short-sleeved version of the blouse so that they would come down to my elbows with the elastic casing. And I moved the casing that is currently just under the bust line down to my waist, because it looked more flattering there on me. In fact, I'm wearing it at work today over a pair of slim-fitting jeans. Again, I wish that I could post a photo of the actual blouse. Hopefully, when I finish the skirt and dress, I'll have my film developed so that I can scan a printed picture to post.

I also finished the pumpkin-colored poncho that I'm planning to give to my sister for Christmas this year. And I started a new crochet project for myself using a pattern in a book that I found in the library.

I can't endorse the book, unfortunately, because the author, though extremely gifted and creative, chose to use a lot of coarseness in the way that she presented her material. Unfortunately, like a lot of the world these days, she must have thought that she needed to be crass to make crochet seem more trendy and hip...I don't think that would have been necessary. Her designs really stand on their own. And though I'll never make some of them because they don't appeal to me, I love her pattern for the Sweet Pea Shawl, also shown above. The author's name is Debbie Stoller, if you're interested in giving it a try sometime. Her instructions are very clear and easy to understand.

I won!!!

What a wonderful surprise today! I checked my email over lunch here at work, and I discovered that I have won a yard of fabric from the Sew, Mama, Sew! blog! A few times over the past several months, I've signed up for their Free Fabric Friday drawing, but this will be the first time I've won anything...actually the first time I've won anything offered exclusively online!

It's not that I really need more fabric, of course. I have a large stash in my craft closet just waiting to be used. But I've been making more time to sew this year (a new year's resolution that I'm happy to say I've been keeping!), and this lovely fabric, called Sweet Peas Royal Blue from the Peas & Carrots collection by designer Sandy Klop of the American Jane company will be so much fun to use!

I guess that this is as good a time as any to mention some of the non-food-related projects I've been working on recently...I made three pleated tote bags using a wonderful pattern offered free by the author of the Artsy-Crafty Babe blog. I made one for myself and two for gifts for friends, and I'm planning to make at least one more for myself...perhaps using the lovely fabric that I won today!

I'm also crocheting a rust-colored Town & Country Poncho using a free pattern that I found on the Lion Brand yarn website. I made two ponchos for myself earlier this year, and I'm making this one for my sister...I'm trying to make a lot of my Christmas gifts again this year.

I also quilt, so I'm making bias binding for a couple of quilted wallhangings that I hope to finish soon. And finally, I started longing to do embroidery this summer, after seeing several pretty hand-embroidered projects posted on a number of other women's blogs. So I'm doing Sunbonnet Sue patterns that I traced onto muslin squares with plans to eventually make them into another quilted wallhanging--probably for my kitchen...I love crafting just as much as I love to cook!