Crochet Origami Bag

So, I stumbled across this pattern on Pinterest, and I loved the concept. I'm not a big fan of crochet bags, mainly because I hate having to line them. This pattern, however, is the perfect solution. The body of the bag is worked flat - it is seriously just a rectangle. You can make is as big or as small as you want, just keep in mind that you need a specific height/width ratio to get the bag to fold up correctly. Then you can line it by sewing a flat rectangle onto your flat crochet piece! Too easy.

Once you've got your lining sewn in, you fold up the bag and seam all of 2 seams. Then you can add whatever strap you want!

I think the striping really makes this bag pop, so I did the same thing, but I also added a simple shell stitch border (skip 2 sts, 6dc, sc into next st) around the whole thing. The strap was just a single row of dc's with the same shell stitch border along both edges.

Pattern: The Masa Bag
Hook: 6.5mm
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Passion, Dark Chocolate, and Autumn Maize (less than 1 skein of each)
Lining: Plain cotton fabric from the quilting dept at Joann's (I bought 2 quilters quarters because the line for the cutting counters was hellacious...)

Folding Instructions Here

Settlers of Catan Quilt

This was my first adventure into quilting, and I have to say, I am pretty proud of myself for this one! Lucky for me there are quite a few quilters in my family, so I had plenty of places to turn to for help.

If you've never played Catan, you really should check it out. Here's the game board I was working with:



I could have crochetted this project, and probably quickly too, but I loved the idea of capturing the pattern and picture of each hex. I got fabrics that really helped to accentuate the meadows, fields, and forests just like the tiles on the real game.

I did a lot of online searching for other projects, and there are quite a few other people who have done variations on this theme, but none that I fell in love with. I decided to try doing my own thing.

Each hex was 6" from side to side, with a 1/4" seam allowance on all sides. The finished quilt was 36" from side to side and 42" from corner to corner. I ended up putting little triangles around the edges so that I had flat sides to deal with when it came to adding the edging. I machine stitched the top pieces together, and then I hand-quilted it. I was planning to hand-quilt the edging on, but I was worried about it holding up to frequent washing, so in the end I machined the edging.

Ok! Here are the pictures!

Picked out the fabrics for the center!

Cut all the pieces and started assembling the top.

Top assembled, pinned out with batting and backing.

Quilting done, pinned on the edging.

DONE!

Granny Infinity Fringe Scarf

I love infinity scarves, and I love fringe - so here is a quick and easy pattern that combines the two!

Hook: 6.5mm
Yarn: Worsted [4] Caron Simply Soft in Pagoda (teal), Passion (fuscia), and Autumn Maize (tan)

Chain 92, slip stitch in first chain st to join.
Round 1: Chain 3, dc in each of the next 2 sts, *Ch 1 and skip the next ch, dc in each of the next 3 sts*. Repeat from * to * until you reach where you started.

DO NOT JOIN.
Here’s how it becomes an infinity pattern – instead of joining, swap to the underside or back side of the granny row you just made. If you’re not familiar with making an infinity pattern, you’re going to flatten your work as if you were going to join, but add ONE HALF twist in order to reach the back of your work. Normally when you join, this is the thing you’re trying to avoid, but today, go ahead and embrace it.

You’re basically making a moebius strip, and if you never made one of those in school, check out this video for the basics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y65oqN5_MqU


Ch1 and then 3 dc in the first ch1 gap (made when you skipped one ch st in the first half of this row) continue to *ch 1 then 3 dc in the next ch 1 gap* until you’re all the way back around at the first ch 3 you made at the beginning of the round. Sl st in the top of that ch 3 to join.

From here on, it is pretty simple.

Future Rounds:  Ch 3, 2dc in that ch 1 space. *Ch , 3dc in next ch 1 space* all the war around until you’re back where you started. Ch 1 and sl st into the top of the turning chain to join.

Stripes can be interesting, because they will always add onto the outside of the work. I did 4 complete rounds of teal, and then 1 round of my accent color.

I also added a fringe to mine. I cut pieces of yarn that were approx. 14” long, and then knotted them onto HALF of the edge (it actually goes all around the circle on one edge….though of course a moebius strip only really has one edge, so just keep adding fringe until you feel like you’ve got enough).

Gigi the Giraffe

Ok, so among all of the other works-in-progress, I DID manage to find time to make this adorable little critter for baby Enora's first birthday present!

The Gigi Pattern is a free download on Ravelry, so sign up if you haven't already!

Ok, so I was very bad about it, and I didn't write down the yarn, the hook, or ANYTHING! I think that I ended up using a 4.5mm hook, because I have NO idea where half of my hooks went! What is going on in the world?!

You came for the pictures of Gigi, so here they are!

I struggled a bit with attaching the head to the body. I really could not find an angle or arrangement that made me happy. I kinda went with it, and in the end, I added the mane to help hide the crazy neck angle thing (that you can sorta see from the side angle). I think it did the trick, though I wish I had decided to add a brown strand or two into the tail now.

Anyways, it seemed that Enora loves Gigi!

P.S.: Yes, I am still working away on my veil. I thought I had finally got to the point where I had the circumference done - so I pinned it on to a scrap piece of tulle to measure. And I discovered that after almost 18 FEET of lace still wasn't enough, I pretty much put it down. I still have to finish another 1.5 feet of lace for the first round, go over all 20 FEET of lace with a (simpler) round 2 of stitches, dye it to match the ivory of my dress, and sew it onto a final piece of ivory tulle. Hooooo Boy.

King-Sized Blanket

So, first and foremost, let me apologize for my long absence. It has been a CRAZY year thus far, and we're only at August!

I chose a pattern for my Lace Veil and I've been working slowly but surely away on that. I've also been busy with some home improvements. I re-did the laundry room so that I have an organized place to store ALL my bins and bins of yarn! Yay!

Anyways, all those other projects aside....

I bought the yarn for this project back at Michael's Black Friday Sale (that happens on Thanksgiving evening, instead of Black Friday). There is generally very little crowd, the deals are still incredible, and I picked up six Jumbo Skeins (744yds) of Red Heart for only $3 a piece, before my 30% Off coupon!

I know that I don't like making blankets, mainly because they take so long, but I figured that I could hold 2 strands of worsted weight yarn together to make a bulky strand, and work with a 10mm hook and it would go faster.

I planned to make a queen sized blanket, and even cast on with one of the stitches from The Complete Book of Crochet Stitches. Unfortunately, because the 2 strands I was working with were different colors, the color of the resulting stitches totally hid the pretty stitch pattern. Plus, it was a 3-row repeat pattern, which meant I spent half of my time looking up the pattern to see what row came next. I ended up shelving the project for the better part of six months.

Well, two weeks ago, the hubby and I decided that we needed a new mattress. Plus, if we're getting a new mattress, we should probably upgrade to a king-sized bed so that we have room for our 70lb German Shepherd bed hog.

"But if we get rid of the queen, we're going to need all new blankets!" I said, "and we've already got oodles of queen sized blankets for the guest-room!"

So, I pulled out the queen-sized blanket that I had started and frogged the whole thing. Yes, You heard me. I took 12" of beautiful queen sized blanket and I frogged it. And I cast on for a king.

And do you know what? I finished it. In 2 weeks. Booya!
I did end up having to hit the craft store for more yarn there at the end, but those 6 skeins would have easily finished a Queen Sized Blanket.

Ok, so here is what you came for:

Pattern: Shashaholic's Brain Dead Afghan
Hook: 10mm
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Aran and Coffee (744 yds per skein, 4 skeins Aran + 4 Skeins Coffee)
Notes: I LOVED this pattern! It was easy, it was simple, and it was QUICK!

I began with ch 228, and that was about 84" after the first row. By the time I finished 6" of pattern, it was only 66"! Oh no! So that became the height of the blanket, and I just kept going until I had sufficient width. At the end, I went over the first and last rows freehand to even them out (I didn't want the wavy edge) and I added 2 rows of hdc in just white + 3 rows of dc in the mixed colors just to add a little extra flair.

Find it on Ravelry!