4 posts tagged “crochet”
If you were to open up a business of your own, what would it be?
Submitted by beth.
My vision seems to have slight variations, but the theme remains the same. I would like to have some kind of yarn/craft store. Comfy couches and chairs would be available for those who want to come by and "Stitch & Bitch" for a while. Coffee & tea would be kept hot for my customers. There would be plenty of gorgeous yarn, needles, hooks, and accessories for my knitters and crocheters, every colour in the spectrum of DMC floss, aida cloth, needles and patterns for cross-stitchers, and maybe some space to sell handmade projects on consignment. I could also recruit my sister to sell me some of her own spun yarn from the sheep on her farm! I figure, if it is going to be a venture that I would have to totally immerse myself in, it should be something that I really love to do myself!
Maybe I would call it YARN OVER or A STITCH IN TIME.
Would YOU like to see something like that in your area?
Our good neighbour friends have a daughter that just turned 11 in December. Since her birthday was so close to Christmas, I decided to do something a little more special for her birthday. Jaelynn's parents had redecorated her room into an appropriate "tween" space with pink and brown as the two main colours. I thought it would be nice to have a lap blanket and a pillow to relax with on her bed while reading or doing homework. Turns out I ran out of time to do the matching cusion cover that I had planned, so I bought one of those heart-shaped fuzzy pillows from Wal-Mart. Turns out she loved both!
I used Bernat Satin yarn in Snow, Mocha, and Flamingo. The satin yarn gave the afghan a nice sheen and I think it was very appropriate for a girl no longer into "cuddle blankets". I followed this pattern and I think it turned out nicely. If you're wondering what my colour sequence was, it goes as follows:
1 row colour A, 2 rows colour B, 3 rows colour C, 4 rows colour A, 1 row colour B, 2 rows colour C, 3 rows colour A, 4 rows colour B, 1 row colour C, 2 rows colour A, 3 rows colour B, 4 rows colour C... and so on. It's a little hard to imagine while you're doing it, but I think that once its finished and all layed out, the pattern is noticable if you pay close enough attention, but not so obvious that it almost looks random. I also finished mine with a scalloped edge for a feminine touch.
As you can see by the size I did mine, Brianna was able to wrap it around her shoulders, and I could drape it over my legs while sitting in my rocker with my feet up. I'm actually doing this one again for another friend expecting a baby boy any day now. I'm followng a different colour pattern, and it is also looking great! I'll post pics when I'm done.
I found this pattern on a free crochet pattern website that I subscribed to, and I immediately thought that it looked easy enough that even I could do it. I went to my local Michael's and bought up all the yarn I would need for 3 ponchos and started work on Brianna's. As it turned out, I have a smaller-than-average pre-schooler because I practically finished the poncho and had to completely pull it apart and start over. It just fell off her. It's not like my guage was way out, I followed the size dimentions, but it ended up way too wide in the shoulders. Thankfully, it did not take long to make.
Anyway, I made some adjustments to the pattern and finished her poncho just as she was finishing up the school year. She was so proud of it! She wore it everywhere, and told anyone who would listen that I made it for her! I received a lot of compliments on it, so I felt good about making some for the twins. I tried Brianna's poncho on Ainsley, made another adjustment to the pattern and started the toddler size. I finished Kaitlyn's during our trip to Drumheller (you can get a lot of crocheting done in the back seat of a mini van on a road trip!), and started Ainsley's on the same trip. I wouldn't let Katie wear hers until Ainsley's was done to prevent fights, so they had to wait a bit.
I was quite pleased with how they turned out:
I used Lion Brand Boucle and Fun Fur yarn for all of the ponchos: "Sorbet" & "Raspberry" for Ainsley, "Parfait" and "Violet" (I think) for Kaitlyn, and "Jelly Bean" & "Red" for Brianna. They are incredibly warm, so I think they will be nice for the early fall when a jacket is too much.
To change the patterns to fit my girls, I made the panels for Brianna's measure 12x20" and the panels for the twins were 10x17. I also made coat hook loops on the inside neck line so that they can be hung up properly without having to push the coat hook through the stitching (I just made a foundation chain and sewed that on). One last change: I made the Fun Fur trim at the bottom two rows thick instead of one for the twins ponchos and I like it better that just one. Brianna wouldn't let me add to hers though!
Sorry about the pics... they were the best I could get at the time! :-)
I'm WWWWAAAAAYYYY behind in my blogging, so I'm just going to start at the beginning and work my way forward. On May 31st, I had a Help Whip Cancer fundraiser for the Pampered Chef. As a party favour, I crocheted these cute coffee cozies and gave them to my guests. I found the pattern here. I had to adjust the pattern a bit in order for the cozies to fit a Starbucks Vente cup and a Tim Horton's XL cup.
PS: The flowers were from my MIL for my daughter's new playhouse. They make a nice decoration!
