A Thrifty Take a Crafty Christmas Ball

A Thrifty Take a Crafty Christmas Ball

Original Video Tutorial By Mikey from the Crochet Crowd .... Please note this is not my pattern only the changes I made find Mikey's Tutorials for the different size Christmas balls using standard round plastic balls here ------> http://thecrochetcrowd.com/christmas-balls-crochet-patterns/

My Finished Hand-Made Christmas Ball/Babble

So as I mentioned in comments on the video tutorials for the "Christmas Balls" I attempted to make mine with no actual ball ... (In both and attempt to go green and save money …. Yes even only a dollar or two that it might cost in the Dollar Tree)

These are the changes I made to the pattern .........

1)      I Used Red Heart Super Saver – Ocean Yarn

2)      Size 5 Crochet Hook

a.       Not this made for a bit ball but I wanted it bigger for my first try at this.

3)      Things You Need

a.       1 Sock

                                                               i.      I used one of my kids unmatched socks rolled into a ball (though any piece of fabric rolled into a ball would work.

b.      Fabric Softener Sheets

                                                               i.      ) I than used fabric softener sheets (you can either recycled ones already used by saved them after them come of the dryer; they will not have as much of a smell but they work just as well for holding the shape or you can use brand new one.

c.       You can add Essential Oils or Herbs inside when making it such as Cinnamon or Vanilla to help give it a nice scent for the year. *Optional of Course*

I rolled the sock into a ball as you see above.  After the sock was rolled into a ball I wrapped it in several fabric sheets till I was happy with the size.  I measured my ball and followed Mikey's tutorial for the size that was closes to the measurements I had.

To give mine a little flare I used a piece of contrasting white yarn and a tapestry needle and wrote out Christmas 2014 near the bottom.  You could use this method to add all types of things such as Snowflakes, Years, Names and So Much More ....

~Hint~ This is a peak of the inside of the work ... note its ok if it is a mess it will not be seen so do not sweat over making stunning working on the back/inside since it will all be hidden inside the ball.

while it is not the best lettering I do not think it came out badly

And that's it .... Hope you found this to be interest and understandable.  Please leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts and opinions!

Kitchen Gift Set

So I know I have not done a blog in sometime I have been working on several things.  One of them being this kitchen gift set for a friend.  Right now there is a towel holder, towel and dishcloth and I will be starting a pot holder or two here soon.

This first pic shows the towel holder that is meant to hang off a kitchen stove and a dishcloth that could also be used as a pot holder  if preferred.

 Next we have a close up version of the towel holder.  As you can see the folder over part is big enough to wrap around several different things in the kitchen.  The loops is all free hand without any type of ring.  While it works fine this way I think a loop/ring would have been a better chose to help keep it's shape better.  I am thinking about trying spray starch to see if it will help it keep its shape some.

 This is a close up of the dish cloth but as mentioned above it could also be used as a small pot holder if the person wishes.  The pattern is very simple and can be found on Annie's Learn to Crochet Video.  A few extra lines have been added to make it a tad bigger then the original pattern calls for.

Even though I have only done one C2C item, and that was a baby blanket for a boy, I have been hooked on the fun stitch that works up quickly and looks great.  So I decided to make a smaller version of the C2C (Corner to Corner) blanket to make a hand towel to go with my kitchen gift set.  No pattern was used on this I just worked the C2C out till I felt it was a decent side and then I started to decrease.  No fancy boarder has been added it is just single crochet (sc) all the way around.

Right now there is only these three pieces to the set but I will be doing more to it soon.  I would like to make it at least a four piece set but I think five or six pieces would be nicer.  Perhaps 1 dishcloths, 1 hot pads, 1 towel, 1 towel holder, and 1 pot holders for the main pieces.  I can always add 2 of any of those items as well to make it a much bigger set.  The yarn is 100% cotton since that is the best thing to use in the kitchen.  

Another Try At A Sweet & Sassy Hat

So after my first attempt at a Sweet & Sassy hat, from the Annie's Online Crochet class turned out so big with my gauge being so off I decided to try it again.  My second attempt came out so much better then my first one.  It fits beautiful and the colors I picked blend together really well.

The hot pink brings out the girlie in the hat while the black edging rocks a more edgy feel to really scream GIRL POWER!

Once again my mini model is showing off my creation!  She is too cute and only charges me hugs to model my stuff for me!  Can't beat that!

Mother Day Creations ....

MOTHER'S DAY 2014 CREATIONS

So since money was so tight I made three handmade gifts for my mother for Mother's Day.  One was a bird house I painted (but I forgot to snap a pic of it before giving it to her) the second was this very simple case for her glasses.  My mother likes to wear magnifying glasses she buys all kinds of crazy looking ones, normally from the dollar tree, so she need something to keep them in so they do not get so scratched up when sitting on the bottom of her purse.  I did it in a light blue since I know she loves all shades of blue.

The third and final gift was a Tech Coozie for her Kindle Fire.  Again the idea behind this was to protect it when she took it out and about with her.

Besides these gifts we both used our gift certificates we had saved up from around Xmas/Yule and went to Panera Bread for lunch and then to see the new Captain America movie.  All in all it was a good Mother's Day, much better then Mother's Day's past *smirks*

Annie's Learn-to Crochet Online Class - Patten 3: The Sweet & Sassy Hat

Annie's Learn-to Crochet Online Class - Patten 3: The Sweet & Sassy Hat

So this is the third pattern Ellen teaches you how to do in "Annie's Learn-To-Crochet Online Class" and my take on it.

First of all I wanted to to do it for my daughter, so I picked her favorite color and bought the weight 4 Red Heart Yarn (you can get for like $2.49 a skein at your local Wal-Mart)  I made sure to measure her head but when I did I got a size of 21.5 inches so I decided to go up to 22 inches, and while I made sure to check my gauge several times while making the pattern, it is too big.  In my opinion it is better to go down a size instead of up since it does stretch a little, but I am learning it does also depend on how you crochet (i.e. - Loose or Tight Stitches).  So be careful, when doing your measurements and make sure you get tighter on the head and do not measure loose because the person you are making it for has a full head of hair!

As you can see, somewhat, I decided to try to get creative and add in a second color to make the flower really pop.  Which it does!  But, I was not careful in my placement of the flower is when it is on it kind of looks like a funny looking horn to me.  :)

While I am not at all happy with the outcome of this project I did follow all of the instruction as well as the gauge so I am at least proud of that.  This is a must retry!

Annie's Learn-to-Crochet Online Class - Project 1: Halloween Dish Cloth Set

Halloween Dish Cloth Set (Could also be used as kitchen placemats)

This was my first part of the "Annie's Online Classes - Learning How to Crochet"

A bit about Annie's Online Classes.  First of all it does cost a tad bit of money to take, but the prices are not that bad in my opinion plus if you sign up for their e-mail you can get discounts to help you save.  All of the main stitches are taught via online videos as well as five patterns, that the instructor will walk you step-by-step through making.  For anyone who is interested in checking out what classes they offer in several areas which can be found here ----> http://www.anniescatalog.com/onlineclasses/index.html

I choice to do the pattern in orange and black because they were yarn colors I had on hand and I did not have nor want to spend the money to buy new yarn to make this project.  After I made the first one (which was the one with the black border) I felt it looked out of place and was lonely and needed a friend.  Plus I had leftover yarn, but not enough to do the black border again, thus the orange one was born!

I personal do not care for this set, but I rarely seem to like anything I have made lately.

 Do you think this would have been less horrible had I of done it in different colors?  Or do you think the Halloween set is a cute set to pull out around the Holiday and than pack back up and shovel in storage for the other 11 months out of the year?  Do you think this would look good in other Holiday themed colors such as Red/Green for A Christmas/Yule set?

I Would Love to Hear Everyone's Comments & Feedback!

A Ruffled Scarf

This is another one of my creations while trying to learn how to crochet.  I joined a monthly club call "Annie's Hook and Needle Club" which you can find here if you are interested in checking it out.
                                                                                 ---->      http://www.hookandneedleclub.com/

In the first shipment you are given two skeins of yarn, one red and one white and instructions on how to put two scarfs together using either crochet or knitting.  This is the white one which is called a "Ruffled Scarf" it was actually not only easy to make I was able to put it together pretty quickly.  The stunning little girl modeling my scarf is my daughter who is 9 whom I call "Shortie".

Another Little Corner of the Net just for some of my Creations .....

After Loobyloo's (Hayley) suggestion I decided to make my own little blog stop dedicated to my creations.  While there will be a mix of things on here I image they will mostly be of jewelry and crocheted items.  Please stop in and drop me a comment on anything you see, feedback no matter the kind is always welcome so I can improve on my skills.

For now let me share some "Past Crocheted Creations"......

So my very first attempt at crochet I used the basic single crochet stitch and made my mother a set of cup holders to help protect the oak coffee table she had just bought.  This was done about April or May of 2013.

My second attempt at crochet came a few months later in August of 2013.  I wanted to make my daughter a scarf, so I sat down and did my own pattern for it ... using just single crochet and double crochet back and forth with two rows of single crochet as the board.  I went on youtube to find out how to make the flower and while it is huge I do not think it turned out too bad for my very first attempt.

Next up was a baby blanket I made for my very best friend's new addition to the family.  I worked this up through the winter months and it took me about two or three months to finish it, I was happy to say I did get it finished in time for her to have it for baby Teagan's birth.  For my third attempt I used a mix of sugar and cream yarn with double and single crochet stitches and my own version of shell stitches for the board (which was just a single, half double, double, half double, single all the way around).  She was very happy with it and Teagan looks cute as can be wrapped up in it.

For my forth attempt at crocheting I am working on a Frilly scarf pattern called "Ruffled Scarf" it is my first attempt at following a pattern .... so stay tuned and we shall see how it turns out!!!