I did it! I finished the little sweater. I was really pleased with the pattern and my yarn choice. My only wish is that I could have blocked it before the shower. Oh, well. I’m sure no one else noticed.
details: Every Day is a New Sweater Day and Aunt Lydia’s denim quick crochet cotton from my thrifted stash.
Check out other finished projects over at the Fave Crafts blog.
In my creative space today is a crazy idea. I’m thinking of making a baby sweater for a shower on Saturday. Yes, this Saturday. (I told you it was crazy.)
It also looks incredibly small. So small, in fact, that I dug out one of my daughter’s infant sweaters for comparison. You know what? It is the right size, and my daughter really was that tiny. Oh, my!
pattern: Every Day is a New Sweater Day from Yarny Days. If you are new to her blog, take a moment and look around. Her work is beautiful!
After the hustle and bustle of making things for others during the holiday season, my usual resolution is to make more things for myself.
This year that is going to have to wait. I’ve got a custom order for 12 of these cute coasters in red. Four down and eight to go!
Do you have any crafty resolutions for 2011? Share them in the comments!
I made these wrist warmers for our mail carrier. She is awesome. We ship and receive a lot of mail packages and she always comes to our door, even in below zero temps. I know she has to keep her fingertips exposed, so I thought wrist warmers would be a nice gift.
The pattern as written fits an average size woman’s wrist. If you need it bigger or smaller (for a guy or child), whip out your tape measure and adjust the measurements accordingly. I measured around my knuckles, not including my thumb, and rounded down to 7 inches for a snug fit.
Materials
any yarn (I used bulky yarn to make the project go fast)
corresponding size hook (I used size I)
DC: double crochet
SC: single crochet
tip: I tend to make my first chain really tight no matter how hard I try to keep it loose. To compensate for this, I chain and dc my first row with a hook size larger. That keeps my edges consistent for Step 6.
Step 1
Crochet a gauge swatch in double crochet. I know some people hate making these, but it’s really not that hard, so just do it. Figure out how many stitches you have in an inch, then figure out the following:
A = gauge x 8 1/2
B = gauge x 2
C = gauge x 4
My gauge was 3 1/2 stitches per inch. I’ll put my numbers in parentheses in case you find the letters confusing.
Step 2
Chain A. (30)
Step 3
DC back and forth for six inches.
note: You’ll notice that I don’t chain at the beginning of each row. I use faux double crochets instead. They really make your edges much neater.
Step 4
Make the thumb opening: DC B (7), chain B (7), skip B (7), dc to end of the row.
Step 5
DC across, including chain stitches, and continue back and forth until piece measures 7 inches.
Step 6
SC the last row and your first chain row together to make a tube. Cut yarn, weave ends and turn inside out.
Step 7
Repeat for the other hand, but change Step 4 to the following:
Make the thumb opening: DC until C (14) stitches remain, chain B (7), skip B (7), DC B (7).
stash: I used recycled sweater yarn for these. It’s a soft acrylic that’s machine washable. I may need to make a pair for myself, too!
* * * * * Congratulations to the giveaway winner Shana Putnam! * * * * *
Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Day is one of my favorite times of year. I love participating: both in the giving away part and the entering for giveaways part.
If you are new to my blog, let me tell you a little bit about this vase. I love to use recycled goods in my work. I’ve made a few of these. The plastic container has been rescued from my very own recycle bin. The yarn is from the big spool of wool. I talk about it a lot. It’s a big spool.
You don’t have to do anything fancy to enter my giveaway — just leave a comment on this post. I’d love it if you follow my rss feed or follow me over on my facebook page. I’d also love to hear about your handmade holiday plans. Are you making anything special?
Don’t forget to visit Sew, Mama, Sew! for tons of other great giveaways. (They’ll be posted on Monday morning.)
Mine will close Midnight, Central Time, December 17th. I’ll ship internationally, so everyone is welcome to enter!
In my creative space today I am blocking little wool stars. Can we talk about the miracle of blocking for a minute? With just a few pins and a spray bottle of water, I can make flowery-looking granny stars all pretty and pointy.
project notes: Yarn from the Big Spool of Wool, pattern from the The Royal Sisters.
I’m sorry my pictures aren’t the greatest for this post. The sun went down too early today. I can’t wait for the winter solstice. I just can’t get my photo-taking act together before dinnertime. I might try and retake the photos over the weekend.
This is the same pattern I used for the tiny baseball bookmarks, without the little top of course. If you want to do baseballs, I recommend marking the curves with a disappearing ink pen before embroidering the red stitches. It really helps!
Tiny Crochet Ornament Bookmark Pattern
worsted weight yarn (I used Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece)
size F/5 (3.75mm) and D/3 (3.25mm) crochet hooks
tapestry needle for weaving ends
small bead
sl st: slip stitch
sc: single crochet
inc: 2 sc in one stitch
gauge: not important, but mine is about 1 1/2 inches wide
ornament
With larger hook, make a magic ring.
R1: 6 sc into ring
Ornament worked as a spiral. Place marker to keep track of rounds.
R2: inc in each stitch around
R3: *inc, sc* around
R4: *2 sc, inc* around until last two stitches. Sl st in last two stitches.
R5: sc in first stitch, change to smaller hook, chain 55, add bead, chain 5
Finishing: cut yarn, tie knot, thread end back through bead, tie double knot, trim close to knot.
ornament top
R1: pick up stitches at top of ornament as follows: pick up and chain 1, *pick up and sc* three times, turn work
R2: chain 1, sc 3
Finishing: cut yarn, add a little loop between middle two stitches while weaving in ends
These work up really fast and add a nice handmade touch to book gifts this holiday season. I’ve got a lot of books on my list for Santa — better make a few more just for myself. Enjoy!
stash: These only take a tiny bit of yarn. You can definitely go stash diving for this project!
So many little baseballs. Seventeen, in fact. They turned out cuter than I imagined. Don’t you just love when that happens? I first posted about these in my creative space. I haven’t forgotten that I promised a pattern. Maybe by the end of this week? In the form of a Christmas ornament?
recycle: White yarn unraveled from a sweater. Red yarn left over from chromium star blanket.
My Land’s End Share the Warmth squares are due at the end of the week. I didn’t finish as many as I would have liked. My wrists are feeling better — thank you for all of the well wishes — but the past few weeks have been slow-going.
Before this project I had three squares finished. I completed six for this particular project. That leaves three more before the end of the year to make my goal of one a month for 2010.
Have you been working on any charity projects?
Check out other finished projects over at the Fave Crafts blog.
In my creative space today, I’m slowly getting back into my crochet groove. These little circles are actually baseball bookmarks for party favors. I’m thinking they would make cute Christmas ornament bookmarks — something handmade to go along with a book as a gift. Pattern coming soon.
More creative spaces over at Kirsty’s blog. Enjoy the crafty goodness!
recycle: Bookmarks made from last week’s sweater yarn.