Name Doilies: Christmas 2014

I made one of these for my parents 50th anniversary and the rest I made for Christmas. I think everyone liked them. The only problem is that I crochet so large that even though I used thin thread they still turned out rather big. So I couldn't frame them like I would have liked to because it would have cost a fortune. I cut out foam board(the stuff you use to post science fair projects), covered the boards with black material and then mounted the doily on the material. I figured the person I gave them to could either frame or attach a string to hang them if they would like. Here is the pattern book I used:

I mapped out each name onto graph paper using the letter patterns in this book.

Peppermint Throw

I absolutely love the way this throw turned out! Honestly I printed out a pattern and tried to make this but couldn't understand the pattern. I gave up on it for a while, but it just kept sticking in my mind. I thought I would try again and while looking for the pattern again I found a tutorial. The tutorial was absolutely WONDERFUL! I never once looked at the pattern after watching the tutorial. Step by step video instructions. Excellent!

Here is the Link:

http://thecrochetcrowd.com/peppermint-2/

Christmas 2014

I made 25 sets of these hand towel and dishcloth sets for Christmas this year. I gave each of my Bible Study women a set and then various other people I gave sets to. It took me about a month or so to complete all 25 sets. A lot of TV time! I enjoyed picking out the color combos and deciding who to give which ones to. I now have a bunch of leftover yarn that I am going to make hodgepodge ones for my kitchen.

Here are the sites I got the patterns from:

Dishcloth: http://heather-thegoodlife.blogspot.com/2010/10/29-stitches.html it is my favorite pattern because it is so simple. I've tried more elaborate patterns, but this one is perfect so I am going to stick with it in the future.

Hand Towel: http://peanutzmomspatternplace.blogspot.com/2009/04/hanging-towel-and-matching-dishcloth.html very simple as well. I had bought a book with several different patterns for these hanging towels but didn't like the way they were working up for some reason or other so I found this pattern and I really like it.

Hello Kitty-September 2014

I made this Hello Kitty Amigurumi stuffed animal for my granddaughter. I thought she turned out pretty cute. The directions called for the cheeks to be made out of the brads that you use for scrapbooking, but I couldn't find the color I liked so I made the cheeks out of felt. I think it still looks cute. The directions are considered "easy" for the most part. I did find the bow a little challenging and don't think I made it the way the directions called for, but in the end it turned out to my satisfaction so that is all that matters. I learned how to do an invisible single crochet decrease which I had never seen done. The directions for doing that were not in the book so I had to look it up on the computer. I found a Youtube video showing how to do it and now I am a pro!

I got the pattern for this Hello Kitty ballerina from this book sent to me from Quirk Book publishers:

I think I'll be making more of these "friends" in the future!

Elephant Lovey

I made this little lovey for a friends foster son. He is turning 1 this week. I thought this lovey turned out cute.

Pattern from this book that I purchased:

Flower afghan-August 2014

Made this for a friends daughter. Not very practical, but pretty and girlie. I got the flower pattern out of this book:

Then I wanted a blank square but couldn't find one in the book that I wanted to match with this so I just did this one. Then I alternated flower and plain squares to make the afghan. I thought it turned out pretty.

Avengers afghan August 2014

This is an afghan for a friends son. I messed up on it but am hoping nobody can tell :) The top of the A should line up all the way to the top but I didn't notice that until I was already finished and had tied off and tucked in ends. I wasn't going to tear it all out and if you aren't too picky I think it will be okay. I also miscounted in a couple of places so it ended sooner than it was meant to, but again I didn't figure anyone else would notice. Once again I got this chart off of the Happy Hooker Blog. The rest of the pattern is my own making and mistakes.