Plarn Beach Bag

So if you haven't seen it yet, check out my tutorial on how to turn old plastic grocery bags into plarn:
http://craftdisasters.blogspot.com/2010/10/grocery-bag-yarn.html

This skein of plarn was made from  35 walmart bags, donated from April. The flower is Shop-N-Save bags from when I lived in Missouri and actually shopped there.

Hook: 11mm

Start by making a ch 14. Sc in the first st from the hook and in every st across. At the end, DO NOT TURN. make another 2 sc in the last st, which should bring you around to the back of the base ch. Sc in each st across. Work the remainder of the bag in a spiral until it is the desired shape. For the handles on this bag, I did a fdsc until it was the right length, sl st back onto the body of the bag, ch 1, and sc in each st of the fdsc row. The bind off, and re-attach for the next handle. The flower was improvised.

If you want the bottom of your bag to be bigger (rounder) on your first round of spiral, just do 2sc in each st as you go around the curves at the end. Want it even bigger? do 2sc in every other st on the next spiral round.

Its not a huge beach bag, but it goes over my shoulder, and it fits my towel, water bottle, tanning lotion, and a spare t-shirt and shorts.

Christmas in July (well, almost...)

I got one of my regular emails from HookedonCrochet.com and their topic was "Christmas Crochet Patterns". "WTF?!" I thought to myself - its not even July yet!

However, they made a good point - if you want to have enough time for a holiday afghan, you've got to get started now. Or at least you do when you're me.
I'm not planning to make anybody an afghan this year, but there were a few things I wanted to make, and a few things I think are cool. So here's some fun patterns should you decide to get started on your holiday crochet early.

Ornament Cover (to spruce up old/plain ornaments)
Jingle Bell Garland
Plarn Gift Bag

I am also looking for a way to display all of my holiday cards, so we'll see what I come up with for that.

Trash to Treasure: Gift Bows

So I found a  free e-book with some trash to treasure ideas. I wasn't terribly impressed with the majority of them, but this one sounded cute! I'm gonna have to try it!

http://www.favecrafts.com/Green-Crafting/Green-Crafting-Gift-Wrap-Bow

If you're interested in the full e-book, you can check out everything here:

http://www.favecrafts.com/Green-Crafting/12-thrifty-trash-to-treasure-crafts-eBook/ml/1

I like the bow and the apron crafts, but nothing else in there seemed to appeal to me. Maybe you'll enjoy it though.

Beary Cute Hat

This project was requested by my friend Elise, and I let her pick out the yarn at Joann's. It is BY FAR the softest, most cuddly yarn I have ever worked with. That said, it is painful to work with. You can't see stitched worth crap. And yet, its totally worth the hassle. I would totally reccomend it for a baby project any day.

Yarn: Red Heart Buttercup ( approx 1/2 Skein or 30 yrds)
Color: White Coral
Hook: 9mm (US-N)

Pattern:
Ch 6 and sl st to form a ring.
Rnd 1: Ch 3, then 13 dc into ring, sl st to top of the ch 3 to join
Rnd 2: Ch 3, then 2 dc into each st, sl st to top of the ch 3 to join
Rnd 3: Ch 3, *2 dc into next st, 1 dc into the following st* repeat from * to * until end of rnd. sl st to top of the ch 3 to join
Rnd 4+: Ch 3, dc into each st of round, sl st to top of the ch 3 to join
Once hat is the desired length, do one final round to tighten it up
Final Rnd: Ch 1, and place st marker or safety pin into this st, sc into each st of round, sl st to ch 1 sts that you marked. Fasten off.

To make each ear:
Ch 4, sl st to form ring
Row 1: Ch 3, 7 dc into ring. Push stitched into 1/2 circle and DO NOT JOIN
Row 1: Ch 3 and turn, 2 dc into each st of previous row. Fasten off.

Stitch ears onto hat in desired location using matching yarn and yarn needle.

The pattern is written for an adult size, however, choosing an appropriate yarn and using a sz 5.0mm hook you could easily make it child-sized.

Oven Mit of Win

So, as you've read, I've been trying to decorate my new place. My kitchen is green, and my only (well-worn) oven mit was red. This was not allowed. Found a pattern on ravlery for a cotton one. I read about it, and people said that it protected their hands quite well. So I made it. And it works great!

Yarn: 4 skeins of Sugar and Cream cotton, with plently left over for matching dishcloths.
Pattern and Hook as written.

http://www.bernat.com/pattern.php?PID=2243

Remember - no using RedHeart or other synthetic yarns with these! You don't want to melt the mit onto your pans!