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my creative space

I’ve been spending a lot of time with Country Living’s Crafting Vintage Style and have fallen in love with the thick and thin stripes of vintage tea towels.

Usually I see them with red stripes, but this book has a lot of blue inside its pages. I grabbed some navy and natural wool and started crocheting around some small plastic bottles destined for our recycling bin. This is the result.

vintage inspired crochet bud vase

I like that the bottles are plastic. I’m hoping to put some of these in my shop, and shipping will be less expensive than glass. I’m also hoping to get a picture with a real flower soon. Right now our garden is just starting to poke through the surface. I had to improvise for the photo.

Kirsty is rocking the blue and natural colors this week, too. Visit her blog for more creative spaces.

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tiny striped egg pattern

tiny crochet striped easter eggs

So here it is! After many eggs, I finally found the right hook/yarn combination that feels right. My first egg used a larger hook and Red Heart yarn. It was too big and looked a little lumpy. I finally settled on Plymouth Galway wool with a smaller hook. Both are labeled worsted weight, but the wool eggs seem less lumpy. Also, I decided on hdc instead of sc because I liked the width of the stripe better. I’m posting this in Ravelry. I can’t wait to see everyone’s eggs!

Tiny Striped Egg
worsted weight yarn
size D/3 (3.25mm) crochet hook
polyfil for stuffing
tapestry needle for weaving ends

ch: chain
hdc: half double crochet
hdcIncrease: half double crochet increase
hdcDecrease: half double crochet decrease
sl st: slip stitch

half double crochet increase: hdc twice in same stitch
half double crochet decrease: yarn over, hook through stitch, yarn over, pull through stitch, yarn over again, hook through next stitch, yarn over, pull through stitch, yarn over one more time, pull through all five loops

I carry the yarn up the inside with out breaking it for each stripe. Change colors at the slip stitch: hook through stitch, yarn over with new color, pull new yarn through stitch.

gauge: not important, but mine are about 1 1/2 x 2 1/4 inches finished

P=purple stripe, Y=yellow stripe

  • Make a magic ring.
  • R1 P: ch 2, hdc into loop 5 times, pull loop closed, join with sl st into second ch – 6 sts
  • R2 Y: ch 2, hdc in same st, hdcIncrease around, sl st into second ch – 12 sts
  • R3 P: ch 2, hdc in same st, hdc in next st, *hdcInc, hdc* around, sl st into second ch – 18 sts
  • R4 Y: ch 2, hdc in same st, hdc in next 2 sts, *hdcInc, hdc, hdc* around, sl st into second ch – 24 sts
  • R5 P: ch 2, hdc around, sl st into second chain – 24 sts
  • R6 Y: repeat R5
  • R7 P: ch 2, hdc, hdcDecrease, *hdc, hdc, hdcDecrease* around, sl st into second ch – 18 sts
  • R8 Y: ch 2, hdc around, sl st into second chain – 18 sts
  • R9 P: ch 2, hdcDecrease, *hdc, hdcDecrease* around, sl st into second ch – 12 sts
  • R8 Y: ch 2, hdc around, sl st into second chain – 12 sts
  • Stuff with polyfil
  • R10: hdcDecrease around, close up with tail, tie off both colors, bury ends inside with tapestry needle
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my creative space

crochet easter egg

In my creative space today I’m writing up a pattern for this little egg. My daughter has it in her head that Peter Cottontail is going to leave her striped eggs under her blanket Easter morning. She’s also very specific about the colors: yellow and pink, purple and yellow, orange and yellow, pink and purple. How on earth did she come up with this? Why, Easter stickers of course!

easter stickers

I should have the pattern up tomorrow or Friday, depending mostly on what she’s doing. I want this to be a surprise for her, so no egg crocheting or picture taking while she’s around.

Visit Kirsty’s blog for some more eggcellent creative spaces!

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another garden scarf!

birthday garden scarf

This was a gift for one of my daughter’s friends. The colors are so beautiful, it was hard not to keep it for myself! I decided to make it out of cotton because Spring is right around the corner. (Really! It is!) I hope she gets a lot of wear out of it before the weather turns warm.

birthday garden scarf

I’m still addicted to crocheting flowers, so I went through my stash and put all of my odds and ends in one bag for easy access. There were some colors that looked beautiful together, but I didn’t have enough for the whole scarf. I grabbed some natural cotton to help stretch the colors a little further.

stash: Just like a white t-shirt is to your wardrobe, natural colored yarn is a stash staple. It goes with everything, and you can dress it up or down, depending on your project.

pattern: I’ve had so many requests for this pattern. Sorry I forgot the link! It’s the Garden Scarf from Stitch ‘N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker.

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tiny four-leaf clover pattern

tiny crochet shamrock

I had this idea. The top of my tiny crochet hearts kind of look like half of a four-leaf clover. What if I added two more leaves and a stem?

tiny crochet shamrock

After a few tries, I finally got it. Hope they bring you some good luck!

Tiny Four-Leaf Clover Pattern
worsted weight yarn
size G/5 (4.25mm) crochet hook
tapestry needle for weaving ends

dc: double crochet
hdc: half double crochet
sc: single crochet
sl st: slip stitch

gauge: not important, but mine are about 1 1/2 inches across

Make a magic ring.
R1: chain 1, sc into loop 5 times, pull loop closed, join with sl st (5 stitches)
R2: It might be easier to take this stitch by stitch:
— chain 1, hdc, 3dc, hdc in first stitch
— sl st into second stitch, hdc, 3dc, hdc in that same stitch
— sl st into third stitch, chain 4, sc in second and third bump from hook,
    sl st into third st again*
— hdc, 3dc, hdc in fourth stitch
— sl st into fifth stitch, hdc, 3dc, hdc in that same stitch
— sl st into first chain 1

*You’re going into the bumps on the back of the chain, not the stitches on the front of the chain.

Some folks were having trouble getting the V shape on the top of the heart, so I hope adding this chain 1 helps. I take the end, weave it in on the back toward the tail and then tie them tightly together.

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my creative space

custom crochet hat

Well, look at that! Something that isn’t red! The blog has been looking kind of rosy these days, hasn’t it?

I have a cool story to go with my creative space today. One of my husband’s high school friends follows me on my facebook page. When I was posting all of those kids’ crochet hats, she asked if I could make one for her. Isn’t social networking awesome?

I went ahead and made an adult prototype first for myself. Yes, it’s red.

scallop crochet hat

My daughter really loves the scallops. After I am finished the yellow hat, it’s back to red for me. Matching mother and daughter hats. Love it!

Check out more creative spaces over at Kirsty’s blog. You’re sure to be inspired!

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thrifty find: crochet blanket

handmade thrifted crochet blanket

I miss posting about my thrifty finds, but there aren’t as many during the winter months. Most of my great scores come from church and garage sales, which generally happen in the spring and summer. Last week I went to Goodwill’s 99 cent sale looking for clothing and never expected to come home with this handmade blanket. It matches our walls, couch and carpet perfectly. And it is so warm! Just in time for another snowstorm.

The wooden tray on the ottoman was also a thrifty find from a few months ago, still with the tag! We don’t have a coffee table in this room, so we use it to hold drinks (and popcorn!) when we snuggle in front of the television.

thrifting: Blanket cost $6. Kind of expensive for me, but it’s just so perfect. Tray was $2.

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sweetheart zipper bag

sweetheart cosmetic bag

This fabric is a little more kitschy than my usual style, but I really love it. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and I wanted to make something fun. I couldn’t bring myself to cut into all of those cute hearts, so I used the entire piece for one big bag.

sweetheart cosmetic bag

Some would say it would be great for cosmetics, but it can easily hold two skeins of yarn and knitting/crochet notions. I used fleece for the interfacing, so it stands up on its own, but it’s still soft. I’m tempted to keep it, but right now I’ve got it up in the shop. (I can’t keep everything I make!)

thrifting: This fabric came from The Grandmother Stash, same as the pink eyelet quilt.

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red scarf finished!

red scarf project craft hope orphan foundation of america

I can’t believe it, but I am out of red acrylic yarn. I had to use some gray to finish this scarf. It turned out nicely: thick and warm. I think I’m going to add some tassels to the ends. I’m excited to finish this so far ahead of the Craft Hope deadline. Now, if I can only get it mailed out just as fast!

Finished dimensions: 76 x 5 inches.

thrifted stash: All of the red yarn from this scarf and these hats came from one big grab bag at the thrift store. I’ve still got some black and gray left. What a score for $4! And all of it is going to keeping students warm this winter. Makes me feel good!

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my creative space (a day late)

scarf, bunting and zipper bag

I can’t believe I missed the first Creative Space of 2010! I was so busy last night playing around with my “new yarn” that I totally forgot to write a blog post. Whoops!

My creative space for today, and most of this weekend, is filled with the color red and lots of pretty hearts. I’m making good progress on my red scarf for Craft Hope. I have to take pictures of a sweetheart zipper bag that I finished up yesterday. And last, but not least, I plan on making a Valentine’s Day bunting out of this tea towel.

I’ve been missing Kirsty’s Creative Spaces and I’m so glad she’s hosting them again. You really should check out all of the wonderful blogs listed!