how to: crochet jar cover in 3 easy steps

quick jar cover

This is what’s left of my outdoor garden. We did not have very good luck this year: no tomatoes and only one cucumber. My petunias were doing great until a big storm almost blew them out of the pot. Sadly, I didn’t notice the roots were above the soil until the whole thing was turning brown.

You know what is growing? My daughter’s little grass pot. She made this in summer camp and it’s the greenest, healthiest plant of the summer. The container is just a recycled plastic jar and I figured after almost two months, it finally deserved a proper cover.

How to Crochet a Jar Cover in 3 Easy Steps

Materials
worsted weight yarn
size G hook

Gauge is not important for this project.
Adjust your hook size for different yarn weight.

Step 1
Chain enough stitches so that the chain fits snugly around the jar. Join to make a circle.

Step 2
Single crochet around and around until you’ve got the height you want.

Step 3
You’re going to want an even top edge, so we’re going to pick a spot to start the top row. (You can use the tail as a guide and follow the line of stitches up if you want to be precise.) Slip stitch, chain one and single crochet around until you reach the chain one. Slip stitch into the chain one and finish off.

When you weave in your ends, use the tails to even up the bottom and top edges. You can see in the picture that my bottom edge isn’t perfect. Oh, well.

stash: This is a great project for using up leftover yarn. Because the rows spiral up, it’s not great for stripes. You’ll get a “jog” when you change colors.

thrifty thursday: mmm-mmm-mmm good

retro campbell's soup thermos

I’ve been looking for a Campbell’s soup thermos for a few months. Every once and awhile I’ll run across one, but it’s either too expensive or not in the greatest condition. I was so excited to find these very clean ones while shopping the east campus garage sales.

Now that the cooler weather has arrived, we’ve been doing a lot of picnic lunches. I had this idyllic vision of my daughter and I sitting on a blanket eating homemade soup and watching the leaves fall. In reality, she doesn’t like soup, so she eats her pb+j and I have an Amy’s burrito (which fits in the thermos perfectly, by the way).

thrifting: I find that just around the time I give up hope finding an item, the thrifty fairies drop one in my path.

project finished: recycled sweater blanket

turn a sweater into a blanket

I finished the petite afghan today and oh my is it ever thick and warm! I started with a large women’s bulky knit sweater and ended up with a 30 x 30 inch granny square.

The yarn was eleven untwisted plies and I used a K-10.5-6.5mm hook. The border is a round of half double crochets with three stitches in each corner.

turn a sweater into a blanket

I can’t decide if this is going on etsy or in my holiday gift pile. It would nice to have one finished gift to cross of my list!

project info: Original sweater and pattern details.

wardrobe refashion: simple knit jersey skirt hem

wardrobe refashion hem jersey skirt easy

So far this has been the easiest refashion ever. The original skirt was ankle length and had these weird suspender-like ties sewn inside the waist. I’m leaving the bottom edge unfinished to see if it adds a little interest to the plainness of the solid, straight style.

wardrobe refashion hem jersey skirt easy

Just in case it doesn’t turn out as I hope, I left myself an inch at the bottom to clean up and hem. So the top chalk line is where I want it to hit my leg and the bottom chalk line is my cut line. I simply cut at the bottom line and put it on to wear. That’s it. Oh, and I snipped those silly suspender things off.

I’ll keep you posted how the edge turns out after a few washes and if I decide to do a clean hem instead.

thrifted: another 99 cent sale skirt transformation

today…

Today I did not watch the news or any special coverage from nine years ago.

Today I gave my daughter extra hugs and kisses.

Today we colored, read books and played with dinosaurs.

Today I told her I loved her at least a million times.

Today I felt fear, sadness, shock, terror and loss all over again.

Today I remembered how our country can unite as Americans.

Today I am grateful for the brave passengers on Flight 93, who may have saved hundreds of lives in Washington, DC (including mine).

Today, and every day, I thank them.

giant ragweed

giant ragweed

This nasty weed greets me every morning my daughter goes to nature school. It’s a little taller than me, so I’m guessing it’s around six feet tall. Six feet!

Here’s a view of the walkway to school. Bella is that pink blur at the end of the path. She’s just over three feet tall, to give you some perspective.

giant ragweed

easy crochet projects

easy square crochet projects

My husband is teaching at a long weekend class, so not much has gotten done or will get done on the crafty front until next week. I’ve picked up two easy crochet UFOs and plan to have them completed by Monday. First one is done!

finished: The wool basket is ready for a lining. I’ve got some dark red canvas that I’m planning to use. It will be a paper napkin basket for our kitchen table (she says as she is currently making cloth napkins for her home ec class).

making progress: I’ve picked up the granny square blanket again. I’ll keep going until I run out of sweater yarn. I think it will make a nice, thick lap blanket. This will probably get the most attention over the weekend.

home ec class: reusable grocery tote

I know today is usually all about my creative space at the moment, but I’m working on the beach blanket and there isn’t much else to show you except a nice pretty fabric pic like this one. Instead, I’m sharing my third home ec project: a reusable grocery tote.

home ec class handmade reusable grocery tote

This project got me thinking about handles. I usually seam up the sides first, fold over and stitch the top hem, then add handles. This project changed the order: top hem, handles, side seams. I can definitely see the wisdom in doing the handles on a flat piece of fabric. It makes a lot of sense. But, I also really like how the top hem hides the side seams when folded over. It’s something to think about. (Yes, I do think about these things.)

home ec class handmade reusable grocery tote

I’m planning to make some heavy duty grocery totes for our weekly shopping because I’d like something with a square bottom. I love this for the Farmers’ Market, though. The fabric is totally appropriate!

stash: I’ve been holding on to this fabric for awhile and I can’t remember where I found it. I was saving it for a farmers’ market tote, so now I can cross that off my to-do list!