Doily in my dreams!

OK, I've been anxiously awaiting the magical 40 posts over at Crochetville that let me participate in the swaps. I reached that level a few days ago, and first thing I did was find the swaps forum, only to see that the only available swap was for doilies. Doilies! The Mt. Everest of Thread.

Fine. I'm a strong person. I have given birth - twice. I have negotiated the New York Subway from Manhattan to Queens. I drove the length of the Baja Peninsula. I dove with sharks in chum-infested water. I can crochet a doily, dammit.

So, getting out my one steel hook (which I had bought in an optimistic yarn-induced frenzy), and a ball of size 10 thread, and a pattern down-loaded from Michaels, I commenced to drive myself crazy with a practice doily.



And here is the result. I'm not sure which thread this is, because I've had it for a while, and I threw the wrapper away. Now I need to do it again, only better, because this one doesn't exactly look like the pattern, and bigger, because this one is only about 5 inches across on a humid day. I need to invest in a doily book. And maybe I could replace that fraying dresser set I have in my bedroom. Because, oddly enough, call me crazy, it was... fun.

Shay Shrugs

I'm going nuts. All I want to do is crochet, and why not? When I can get pictures like these...






I loved some of the shrugs I've seen on line, and thought they'd be fun to make. So I talked it up to my daughter, showing her cool pictures and letting her pick out a color.

I used an idea I saw on Craftster via a post on Crochetville. Yes, that's round-a-bout, but that's how life is sometimes. I used LB Microspun in Coral, on a 4mm hook, which is smaller than the recommended size (5mm). I love how soft this yarn is, but it's kind of splitty, if that's a word.

For the headband, I adapted a bookmark pattern - using only 3 dcs instead of 7 in each ch 3 space. The flower came from, hmmmm, Lion Brand, maybe?

Anyway, I've got to stop crocheting so much - I have housework to do, and this is crazy week with kids. The last days of school for both DS and DD, last basketball game, last t-ball game, t-ball party, ballet recital, including one last class and a dress rehearsal. And all this while DH is away for the week. I need some sleep...

Shave Ice Tank

OK, for some reason, I've never been content to do things the easy way. I wanted to make a tank top for my daughter, but I couldn't be content to find a pattern and follow it. Nope, I had something in mind, so I would wing it. This is the result, and while it may not have been the easiest way to do it, I'm very happy with the result.


I used TLC Cotton Plus "Princess", with a 4mm hook for the body, and a 3.5mm hook for the straps. I LOVED working with this yarn - it was so soft and didn't curl up at the edges, or split, or anything else obnoxious. I crocheted this side to side, instead of top-down or bottom up, so it has a subtle striping that you can't really see in the pictures. I did a little shaping around the arms, since my daughter (as I am) is on the modest side, and wanted the neckline a bit higher.

I'm really happy with this - it's the first article of clothing that I've made, aside from masses of Barbie clothes when I was a kid.

The colors remind me of Hawaiian Shave Ice, so while I've never named a FO, I've been calling this the Shave Ice Tank.

Baby Blues

My niece just had a baby boy. It was a bit of a surprise, since she's only 16, but she's a wonderful, smart girl, and I'm crossing my fingers that things work out for her. She's had a rough time of it lately, with more hardship in the past 4 years than I've probably faced in my (considerably longer) life.

She's keeping the baby, and I went into a dithering tizzy - NOT a pretty sight - over what to crochet. I actually started two projects, which were rejected for being ridiculous, before settling on a very simple baby blanket. It's a lovely, light, soft blanket, with a somewhat open weave. I made it from Lion Brand Baby Clouds, so it will be washable, and I used this pattern.

I hope she likes it.

Instant Gratification

At this point, I'm really into little projects that take only a few hours or - literally - minutes to complete. There's such a sense of satisfaction to finishing something. And to be honest, I have so much to learn, that even small projects teach me a lot, and without a lot of time invested.

Like this coinpurse. My daughter wanted something to keep coins in, and I had some leftover black thread. For color, I used the black thread (size 3) along with leftover "Ocean" size 10 thread. It's single crocheted for strength and security (gotta keep those pennies safe!). I used a button that I found around the house, and voila, a coin purse.

All in less than an hour. Gotta love it.

Cell Phone Cozy

I'm playing catch up - this is a cell phone cozy I made. I really like it, even though it's a bit too big. But there are rumors swirling that I'll be getting a new cell phone soon, so I'm not in a hurry to make this over.

I made it in one piece, and my inexperience shows. I should have finished off, then slip stitched to start the tab that holds the phone in. Instead, I just stopped a row short and turned, which makes one side slightly higher than the other. Not a big deal, the thing works, but it offends my symetrical side.


Here's the work in progress - I started from the long skinny side, making it about the width of the phone, and as long as the front of the phone plus the bottom. Then I increased the rows (again - should have finished off!) to make them as wide as the phone's width plus twice the height. Then I added the tab, leaving a button hole. Then to finish, I sc'ed the sides together in a contrasting color. Cute, no? Well, no, but that's OK, I like it!

The bun cover that started it all...

OK, now that I'm getting the hang of this blogging thing, here's the bun cover that got me back into crochet. My daughter doesn't really have long enough hair to fill it entirely, but if I made it just big enough for her bun, well, it would be more like a button cover than a bun cover.

I made this with Royale Classic Crochet Thread, size 10, in "Ocean".

I used this pattern, if I remember right, but I skipped rounds 7 thru 10 (she really is kind of short on hair!).