I have been crocheting for over 25 years now and just within the last few months I have been really getting into Tunisian crochet. I love the knit fabric it makes and I have been determined to create some baby garments that can rival their knit counterparts.
The problem is that there are not that many patterns or books available. I have been getting frustrated buying books that have MAYBE one pattern I can use and usually are not really what I had in mind.
So the next step I guess is to start creating my own patterns. I played around with a few different attempts and ideas and have now settled down with a fairly simple crocheted sweater. The pattern has a knit version done in a garter stitch that I am trying to imitate with a Tunisian Purl stitch. I have found that a detailed diagram of the garment with measurements is necessary so that the pieces of or the garment itself will be shaped and sized correctly.
I will post pictures Friday and explain my progression in more detail.
The three new grandbabies born last summer all celebrated first birthdays this summer 2011. To celebrate, I sewed an outfit for each and a matching doll for the girls. I thought I had captured pictures of all three outfits/sets but for now I only have one to share. This one is a dress for the youngest of the three born August 25th. She lives in Montana so I haven't been able to see her wear the outfit yet. And I forgot to take a picture of the doll. I will update my blog with pictures of all of these as soon as possible.
Not the best picture. I should have taken the picture of the dress hanging. And I didn't button the pinafore over the dress so you can't really see the effect. It's quite lovely and I cannot wait to see it on her.
I've been crocheting a lot lately. Here are some of my most recent projects. First is my new lunch bag. I love this thing. The design is simple yet effective and functional. It is made of two identicial pieces crocheted with thick, luscious cotton. And is washable! The pattern can be found in the August 2010 Crochet World magazine.
I used 12 oz of Bernat Handicrafter cotton and about a 3 oz ball of Lily Crochet Cotton to finish it off. And of course I used my favorite color combination: Blue & Yellow!
Next up is my new summer purse. The pattern is called "Puff Stitch Crowns Bag" and is available through e-patternscentral for $2.50 and is downloadable. The coolest way to purchase patterns. The top of the bag uses 48 lb. hemp and the bottom of the bag uses Lily crochet cotton in natural. The lining of the purse was a little difficult I thought because of the pattern instructions. After almost ruining my gorgeous quilt-store fabric, I ditched the pattern and figured it out for myself. Next time I would double the lining fabric and attach them wrong sides together so I had the right side of the fabric showing through the bag and inside the bag.
I recently participated in a Round Robin to make a crazy quilt pincushion base from felted wool. A dear lady in Austrailia hosted the Round Robin and organized the groups participating into 5 ladies each. The participants were from the US, Canada, and Austrailia. This picture is my finished pincushion. All of the embellishments were added by the wonderful ladies in my group.
I am so thrilled with the finished product and the experience of interacting this way with these wonderful ladies was wonderful. I feel like I've made some real friends even though we've never met. The shared love of fiber arts and the creative process tears down all borders and creates lasting relationships. I hope to participate in another Round Robin with these ladies very soon.
We just purchased our first digital camera and this is one of the first pictures we took with it so it's a little fuzzy as we have a lot to learn. But you can see the adorable koala bear, the colorful and 3 dimensional gum trees, and all the lovely stitching in the embroidered sunflowers and beading. I can't wait to frame this somehow and display it in my sewing room.
I saw these at Pioneer Woman's blog this morning and thought, "what a great idea!" They would be great for homeschooling moms and actually any mom for a variety of uses. Ree Drummond shares some of her ideas that I thought were pretty clever as well. They are available through be a friend to knit with and are only $33 for a set of 4. Not too bad a price I'm thinking. If anyone has any other ideas for how to use these, please post in the comments section. I'd love to hear them.
I finished my embellishing of Janet's base. I've mailed it to Sue in Western Australia. Here is a picture of the things I've added. The flowers were an experiment and I liked them so much I actually used them. Not sure if you can tell from the picture but they look very much like violets.
I just joined a round robin in which we are making a felted wool, crazy quilt pincushion. There are about 5 gals in each group and they are scattered over the US and Austrailia.
I finished my base and mailed it to my next person and look forward to receiving the base I will be embellishing.
Not sure if this picture will be clear enough but this is a picture of the base I made and mailed off.
Check out the blog to follow the Round Robin pieces.
My two youngest daughters gave me a set of 20 color coordinated fat quarters a few years ago and I finally got busy and completed this quilt top using only the fat quarters. I really loved the colors and patterns and did not want to introduce any new fabrics to the top. I managed to get 2 ten inch squares from each fat quarter in addition to 3 five and a half inch and one three and a half inch square from each. I used the 5 1/2 inch squares to make 15 four patch blocks. Together with the 40 ten inch blocks, I then had 55 ten inch blocks but I needed one more to make a top 7 blocks by 8 blocks. Making a nine-patch with the 3 1/2 squares did not make a 10 1/2 inch block which I thought it would (but I forgot there were two seam allowances to figure in and not one like the 4-patch). Anyway, I gathered up all my tiny little pieces and made one block called "The Frugal Patch" from Quilters Cache for the center block. I love the results.
Using a play on words, I named my quilt, "Nothing But The Fats" and have decided to buy enough fat quarters of a contrasting or neutral fabric for the backing to carry out the theme.
Do you crochet? If so, check out this free cool sock pattern from Paton's. I have been experimenting with crocheted sock patterns and have been disappointed with the results. Mostly because they stretch out as soon as you put them on and they don't bounce back. I've tried various yarns but I haven't tried this new yarn from Paton's. There are actually two new yarns; both contain a large percentage of wool and one has nylon as the 2nd fiber and the other new yarn by Paton's contains cotton as the 2nd fiber.
If the picture is any indication, this pattern with this yarn looks like what I've been aiming for. I can't wait to purchase the yarn and give them a try. If they meet my expectations, I'm going to be crocheting bunches for Chanukah presents.
I'm not sure how long this brand of wool has been available but this is the first time I've ever seen it and I love it. The colors are luscious and I cannot wait to crochet with it. It is very soft and the texture of the yarn is amazing.
I've been following Sarah London's blog and it is because of her gorgeous colors and patterns that I even started looking for vibrant colors of wool. I really wanted to scoop up some of her yarn in her amazing "colours" but they were just too expensive (mainly because it is shipped from Austrailia). This yarn by Debbie Stoller looks comparable and the price was in my range. I only bought 5 skeins this first time out and choosing the colors was difficult because they were all so gorgeous.
I've been crocheting for over 25 years now and this is my first pair of crocheted socks. The completed sock looks a little stretched because I tried it on - either my foot is too big for the size I made or the yarn doesn't bounce back like it's supposed to. Not sure why since it has nylon in it and I'm very disappointed. The cuff of the second sock is nice and even and the first sock's cuff looked just like it before I tried it on. I used Bernat Sox yarn and other crocheters testified that the socks they made did not stretch out of shape. So I'm a little discouraged. I'm not giving up though and will post pictures of my samples.
This summer we are expecting 3 new grandbabies so I've been busy sewing for all the expectant mothers and dreaming of when I get to hold each sweet bundle. The mothers are two of my daughters-in-law and my oldest daughter. I wanted to make one of these adorable rag quilts for each of them but do not know the gender of their babies. So I let them select which one of these they'd like. All chose the teddy bear but one wants it in the colors shown, one wants shades of white for all the patches, and the other wants her nursery in Winnie the Pooh so I decided to do a selection of pooh fabrics. There are some beautiful Pooh flannels out there now.
Well, I got about halfway done with the first one. Took me about 4 or 5 hours to pin and cut out - some of that time was selecting fabrics as there are about 12 different fabrics used. I always cut one day and sew the next; rarely do I do both in the same day or I get too discouraged. The sewing is very easy and fast because it is a rag quilt but preparing the patches for stitching is a little time-consuming. I spend a few minutes before stitching each one marking stitching and quilting lines. I chose a 100% all natural cotton batting and it adds just enough padding and softness to the flannels.
Simplicity has two other patterns for these types of quilts that are appropriate for older girls - I am planning on doing a ladybug for one of my daughters and a butterfly for the other but I think I am going to use fleece solids for the patches. Those should go a little faster as there are fewer patches and require no padding.
When you work full time and love to sew, you come to realize the truth in the song "Time in a Bottle" by Jim Croce. I wish we could save "time in a bottle" - time must be the biggest commodity of all. I have more ideas and plans than time unfortunately but I hope G-d gives me just enough 'time' to do the important ones before He calls me home. Ecclesiastes has a lot to say about time and re-emphasizes how fleeting it is.
Moses knew the value of time after watching the multitudes of the older Israelite people dying day after day as they wandered around in the wilderness. One of the Psalms was written by Moses and is actually a prayer - Psalm 90. Verse 12 says, "So teach us to count our days that we may present to you a heart of wisdom." A heart of wisdom "ponders life" whereas the contrasting "adulteress" heart does not (Proverbs 5:6). We need to be about the business of pondering life, allowing the light of the Holy Spirit to search out our hearts daily so we will be able and ready to present a heart of wisdom whenever the L-rd calls us. In Deuteronomy 30:19 Moses sums up his law-giving by instructing whoever would be wise enough to take heed - Choose Life so that you and your descendants may LIVE! We can choose life by choosing a life that honors G-d - by keeping His commandments which provide a fence of protection on this path that is treacherous at times. Praise be to the Most High for He instructs us in how to walk with Him.
Let your tongue declare His righteousness and His praise all day long. Psalm 35:28
