Temperature Blanket - The Beginning

I have a new project in the works!

I know many of you may have seen information floating around about creating temperature blankets.  I looked into it, and decided that it would be a great project for 2017.  :)

For those who aren't familiar with the concept, a temperature blanket is based off of the daily high temperatures for the year.  In my case, each row will correspond to the recorded high temperature of the day in my hometown.  Since I'm running with the recorded temperatures for 2017, this will end up being a year-long project.  I think I can handle crocheting a row a day!

Anyway, here's the color chart I have set up for the project:

• 0-10*F - White (Caron Simply Soft)
• 11-20*F - Soft Blue (Caron Simply Soft)
• 21-30*F - Mid Blue (Red Heart Soft)
• 31-40*F - Turquoise (Red Heart Soft)
• 41-50*F - Deep Sea (Red Heart Soft)
• 51-60*F - Guacamole (Red Heart Soft)
• 61-70*F - Sunshine (Caron Simply Soft)
• 71-80*F - Tangerine (Red Heart Soft)
• 81-90*F - Really Red (Red Heart Soft)
• 91-100*F - Berry (Red Heart Soft)

I'm looking forward to seeing how things end up turning out!

Adventures in Drop-Spinning

I've taken a small break from crochet work to do some more drop-spinning.  I'm actually really excited about it, partially because I have a new drop-spindle that I ordered from a great local business!  I first learned of them (Shepherd's Custom Woodworking) when I went to the Mid-Ohio Fiber Fair back in August.  If you want to check out what they offer (they have a lot of great knitting and crochet accessories) check out their Etsy shop, or their Facebook page.

Anyway, I'm back to playing with my fiber stash, and it's great!  Once I get things spun up and plyed appropriately, I'll share photos.

*If you're looking to order/buy fiber, check out these businesses.  I love what they have to offer.
Dyed in the Wool Biz - They offer lots of great rovings and a fiber of the month club.  They're also a great learning resource for spinning and weaving.  One of the owners was actually the one who taught me how to drop-spin!  

Unplanned Peacock Studio - So much to offer, and it's all gorgeous!  They have hand-dyed, hand-spun yarns available, as well as hand-dyed fiber that you can spin yourself.  There are tons of great colorways available!

Christi's Just for Ewe - This lovely lady is located in Marblehead, Ohio.  She has a great little yarn shop, art retreat, a gift shop, and a few resident sheep that provide the fiber she sells.  She has a great variety of product, from hand-dyed and hand-spun yarns to some of the higher end offerings like Noro.  If you ever happen to be up on the lakeshore, she's definitely a great place to check out!

Commission in Progress!

Time flies when you're having fun!  I've been keeping myself busy this winter with commission work.  I have a lovely afghan in progress for a friend, and I think it's going to be awesome when finished.

The first steps - 1/18/15

She said she wanted neon pink and black, so I went out yarn shopping and got her okay on this color combination.  As I started work on the afghan for her, I realized that if I stuck to just the above 3 colors, I would have to get more yarn.  I'm a bit lazy, so I wanted to avoid that.

There's almost a full color pattern established! - 1/25/15

I found the purple and blue colors buried in my yarn stash.  They were leftovers from another project, and as luck would have it, they matched the variegated yarn!

It's getting there - 2/11/15

I was hoping to have things completed by Valentine's Day, but I just started working full-time again at the beginning of February.  I'm hoping that working on this in the evenings and over the weekend will mean it gets finished before March hits.  We'll see.  ^_^

Winter Projects

I can't believe it's already almost the end of January!  Time flies when you're having fun, I guess.  To anyone who follows my postings, I'm terribly sorry for the lack of updates since the fall.  Life has been hectic, and the crafting and blogging managed to fall by the wayside in the process.  I'm renewing my efforts to post more regularly with updates and photos of projects, so please don't give up on me!

I have a couple of fun projects in the works right now.  I have two friends who requested scarves, so I have two different scarf projects in process.  It's fun for me, because I get to work with two vastly different yarn types for two special people.  I'm hoping both finished projects are a huge hit!

I will definitely update with photos and progress as soon as I can.  Thank you all for your patience and support!  Happyn crafting!

Suncatcher Dishcloths

I found a great pattern for dishcloths via Craftsy.com!  They are so pretty!  I will post more photos soon.

 

My first two suncatcher dishcloths

Current Projects

It's been entirely too long since I last updated!  There are still several projects that are ongoing.  I've been terrible about working on anything lately, partly due to being busy with a new job.

Anyway, here's a list of what I have in progress!

- Crochet -
Garden shawl
Card bag
Sparkle mitts
Hexagon throw

- Knit -
Cool tone scarf

- Sewing -
Drawstring bag

I have a lot to do!  My goal is to finish as many of these as possible before Labor Day.   We shall see how I do.

Hat and Glove Set

This is an older project of mine, but one I'm fond of.  Last winter, I crocheted a set of fingerless gloves and a matching hat for myself.  Here are photos of the finished set!

Fingerless Gloves

Double crocheted Hat

Finished Hat and Glove set

More Card Bag Progress

The first of the two card bags is finished!  I'm happy to share a photo of the finished product, and the friend who commissioned the entire project is extremely happy with the first of the two crocheted bags.

Finished bag, complete with a button to keep it closed!

The bag itself is a modification of another pattern I found online awhile ago.  I will share the original pattern when I complete the entire project.  As for this bag, all I did was alternate single and double crochet stitches to create the pattern/texture of the bag.  It creates a tight enough pattern that the bag doesn't really need to have a lining, which is awesome.

I'm also happy to report that the second bag is coming along nicely.  I believe I'll have a finished product by the end of the week, as long as I don't slack off at all!

Front panel of the second bag

Overall, I think things are going well with my crochet projects.  With a new job starting on April 1st, keeping up with things may end up being a bit difficult.  I hope to keep updating and sharing crafted goodness with everyone despite the job and its demands.

 

Crochet Card Bag - In Progress

Once again, I have a lovely project in progress.  This time, it's a commission for a good friend of mine!

A while back, I experimented with a scaled down version of a crochet tote pattern I found online.  The result ended up being a nice little clutch style bag that I use to hold playing cards.  I showed this little bag off to a friend of mine who fell in love with it and asked if I would make a couple of them for her.  So, we made a trip to our local JoAnn Fabrics for supplies, and here we are!

It's really a simple project and I'm quite happy with how it's turning out.  I've included some progress pictures below.

Front and Back panels of the card bag

Close up of stitching for the body of the bag and the decorative border

Pre-assembly of the finished product

 This is actually getting pretty close to being finished already!  There's just the gusset, assembly, and finishing touches to go on this first bag.  Photos of both crochet bags and a bonus sewing project will be added when I'm done with them.  ^_^  Happy crafting!

Crochet Shawl

Finally!  After all of this time I remembered to take pictures and post the finished result of the shawl I was working on!  I'm happy to report that it was a smashing success.  ^_^

Full view of the finished product

The only difficult part for me with this project was remembering to keep stitch markers handy so I could keep track of my stitches.  Stitch count really is important for this piece, so don't be silly like I was in the beginning.  You can only recount your stitches so many times before it drives you crazy.

Closer view of stitching and border

The border was a little bit difficult as well, but only on the edges where I couldn't match up stitch for stitch.  Again, patience and stitch markers are your friends here.  Overall, I give this pattern high marks for the finished product.  Now I just need an outfit to wear it with!