Thursday, February 2, 2017

Off the hook....and needles

It has been so long since I have posted that I think my fingers are a bit rusty!  LOL  My first grandchild came to live with us about a year ago, which made me realize that I am not as young as I used to be!  We had to do some adjusting to our home school schedule and I had to do some adjusting to my sleep schedule and crafting fell to the wayside for quite some time.

 Now, however, I think I have found a "groove" for us and my fingers had been itching to pick up a hook or set of needles so before Christmas I managed to make a hat for 2 of my kids and one for my grandchild as well as a mermaid tail blanket.  I had forgotten what a great feeling it is when I complete those final stitches on a project!  So here is a peak at what I accomplished.



It isn't a great picture, but I hadn't really been thinking about sharing online when I was taking Christmas photos, so this is the best I got.  I was able to work it up in about a day.  I made it a few rounds longer since my son enjoys "slouchy" hats.  You can find the pattern, Bankhead, as a free Ravelry download here.












This was a fun knit project.It is called the Etta, also a free download from Ravelry.  Another horrible picture, I know.  It is knit on size 6 needles, and I used a Simply Soft yarn in brown.  I thought the finished fabric wasn't as fluid as I would have liked, but she loved it, and considering she has several brown outfits and hadn't a single brown hat, I think this worked out quite well for her!






I have to admit that this was my favorite hat this year.  I saw it on Pinterest and fell in love.  It isn't a free pattern so I spent several days searching for something similar that was free with no success.  So I broke down and purchased it.  It is called the Chouette and is also available on Ravelry.  The pattern calls for a chunky weight yarn, but I just held two strands of  Red Heart yarn together throughout.  I didn't get around to adding the button eyes before Christmas though.  This is definitely a warm hat!





This was my big project this Christmas season.  My oldest saw these all over social media and requested it for Christmas.  This one is crocheted and used 6 skeins of yarn (2 of each color).  If you can work a dc you can make this.  The designer even did a YouTube video for those who struggle with written directions!  It is a freebie also and can be found here.








My current projects include adding crochet edgings to fleece blankets that will be donated to a local foster care group and a knit shawl.  Oh how I have missed crafting!