My July 2014 Knitting, Crocheting and Yarn Haul

Wanted to share with you my knitting and crocheting for the month of July. This is my very first pair of socks that I have made.  It is just a vanilla sock pattern with the after thought heel.  Loved the way they turned out.

This is a stuffed toy that I made for my son for his birthday.  It is called Paul Toadstool by Lalylala.com. He loved it.

This is another stuffed toy that I made for my son.  It is called Nanook the Husky by Lisa Beauchemin.  I did alter it a bit to make it into a wolf cub.  I love how it turned out.

Margaret

Crocheting, Knitting and Yarn for June 2014

This is my June progress in crocheting, knitting and sewing.  I also wanted to share my yarn haul from Joanns along with my new knitting needles.  Project bags can be purchased at my etsy shop and I will soon be adding more bags and  stitch markers.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/margaretscrafts

This is the giraffe that I made for my husband for his birthday, he loved it. We have an inside joke about giraffes.

The wolf cub is made for my youngest sons birthday next month.

This is the scarf that I finished for myself.  My first knitted project ever.

These are the stitch markers that I made to use in a new project.

Margaret

School Days 2-Page Scrapbook Layout

As this school year nears a end I wanted to share this page with you.  This was a very fun page to do. The diecuts were made using the Cricut with the Locker Talk cartridge.  Laying out your page before you glue everything down is great because it allows you to move things around, to add and subtract items before you glue.  The Alpha stickers were purchased from Target.  The notebook paper for the background was purchased from Hobby Lobby in their single paper section.

 

Margaret

What's in my crocheting bag?

I wanted to share with you what I have in my crocheting bag.  I have been trying out different bags to see which one works best for me and this one seems to be it.  I found this bag at Tuesday Morning for $14.99, it is a scrapbooking bag but with all the different pockets and compartments it works great for my take along crocheting bag.


Margaret

Birthday Card

I wanted to share a birthday card that I made for my oldest son.  I wanted it to be more masculine, so I did not want to use ribbon or lace.  I instead tried to use paper to have the same effect. Since I don't put their cards in envelopes I can make items that extend outside of the card.  I usually don't decorate the inside of their cards because my husband and I write a message to them there.  I also had fun using the wobble device.  It was very easy to use and I can't wait to use them again.

Margaret

April 2014 Crocheting

I have really been enjoying myself with crocheting.  I forgot how addicting it is.  I did my first adult garment, a sweater.  I think it really came out nice, I must admit that it did not turn out like I thought it would.  It came out really big, I did not know about gauging, and that is really important when making a garment.  I now have learned and it is not hard to figure out.  The pattern will tell you what size yarn and hook to use, but be sure to check the gauge.  Some people my crochet tighter than others so the gauge will tell you how many stitches per inch and how many rows per inch.  So if you want to use a different yarn and hook you have to figure out how many stitches per inch and how many rows per inch you need to make match then adjust your measurements.  Also if you stitch tight you may need to adjust your hook size.  I am done with the stitching but I still have a few threads to weave in, and still need to block it again.  This sweater I found in the Spring 2014 Crochet magazine, Page #22 "Uptown Chic Cardigan".  The yarn that I used is from Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller, Full o' Sheep 100% Peruvian Wool in Passionfruit.

The following two items did not require gauging.  Usually that is for garments.
The afghan is from a free tutorial from a blog, "Dada's Place" at dada4you.blogspot.com, and the block is "Primavera Flower Granny Square".  You have to go to her blog she is great.
The yarn that I am using is "Red Heart Shimmer" in Cherries Jubilee and Lime they are 97% Acrylic and 3% Metallic,  the "Caron Simply Soft" in White, Victorian Rose, Passion, Soft Pink and Orchid all are 100% Acrylic.  I'm also using "Bernat Satin" in Banana it is also 100% Acrylic.  I still need to make three more rows then add a border.

The last item that I worked on this month is a Amigurumi Dragon that I made for my oldest son for an upcoming birthday, he collects anything dragon related.  It's from a pattern that I purchased online at amigurumipatterns.net called "Grow, Baby Dragon".  This was my first stuffed animal but it won't be my last.  I had so much fun making it.  I have an ever growing list of the different ones that I want to make.  The yarn that I used for this item was from "Loops & Thread" Snuggly Wuggly in Pee Wee Prints and Fresh Green  both 100% Acrylic.

 

So for May I hope to have the afghan completed and a few more of these cute animals.

Margaret

My Yarn Storage and Organization

I wanted to share how I store and organize my crocheting supplies.  I just began crocheting again after over 25 years and found myself in need of storage and organization.  As I have a dog and a cat I wanted to make sure that I could keep my yarn clean and fur free, so I have to become creative.  I do love to organize on a budget so I had to come up with a few good ideas.  Along with the Sterilite containers I also found these items that could work.

These were Stackable storage containers that I found in several sizes but bought these two.  I had my husband drill a hole in the center for the yarn to pull through.  They work great.  I finally received my ball winder and made the yarn cakes with the center pull and they work great in these.  They were purchased at a local store called Marcs for $.99 and $1.49.

This is a bottle bag that I found at Family Dollar for only $7.00.  I use this for my on the go bag.  It is the perfect size.

This is a larger bag that I found at Tuesday Morning for $9.99.  It is a Singer sewing and craft bag.  I use this for my Work in Progress (WIP) items.  Right now I am working on a sweater.  It is made in 5 pieces so I store the pieces here and use the small bags to take a pieces that I am working on in.

 

Margaret