Pumpkins!

I tried a few new pumpkin patterns since it is now Fall (my favorite time of year.)

The orange one is from a pattern called Lil Dollop Pumpkins.  It is free here. It is by Maria’s Blue Crayon. I used some old orange yarn I had that wasn’t very pliable.  I also ran out of it so I finished with a different shade.  I made the medium size. It is worked in a rectangle and then the ends are sewn together.  I like the texture of it and will make more with a softer yarn.

The two small pumpkins are crocheted but they are done to make them look knit. They are made with slip stitches. Even though they are small, they take some time since using the slip stitch doesn’t build the pattern very fast. The pattern is also free here.  The pattern is by Malloo knits.

The last one is called Spiral Pumpkin. It is free here.  It is designed by Nicki’s Homemade Crafts.  She used the new Caron X Pantone yarn by Yarnspirations. The yarn comes in a skein with 5 different colors looped togehter (they are separate mini skeins). Each set is $8 so a little spendy. I bought mine with a 50% off coupon at Michael’s. The yarn is amazing. It is so soft and nice to work with.  I ended up running short of my cream otherwise the pattern worked up great.  There are lots of color combinations that would be fun to do.

Blanket yarn again!

In August I finished a couple of more projects out of Bernat Blanket yarn.  When I saw the Eagle pattern, I had to buy it. It was so cute! The pattern actually uses 2 strands of worsted weight yarn held together so it is more ‘squatty’ then mine. I wanted to make it out of blanket yarn. I used a smaller crochet hook to get a tighter stitch. That made it harder and took me longer as my wrist got sore. I used a K hook.  Since I used different yarn than the pattern, I was careful as I made the pieces to make sure it looked ok.  I love how he turned out. The pattern is Spirit the Eagle Stuffie by Snappy Tots. You can purchase it on Ravelry here.

The teddy bear is made out of Bernat Blanket Tiny yarn.  I am not a fan of this yarn as it is hard to see the stitches because of the thinness of the yarn.  I had the red that I wanted to use up. I couldn’t return it because I had tried a few projects with it. I found this teddy bear pattern and decided to make it. It worked up pretty easily. I will probably make one or two more to use up the yarn.  I saw someone else use the plastic eyes and nose and liked how they turned out. The pattern has you stitch on the face and that doesn’t always go well for me.  The pattern is by Yarnspirations here.

Purses!

Bonnaroo Babe Boho Bag

Malia Bag

Malia Bag

Rover Circle Bag

Rover Circle Bag

Boho Purse

Boho Purse

I am the queen of procrastinating. I love crocheting but I don’t enjoy finishing projects.  Over the last week or so I finally finished these purses.  The Malia bag (blue one) I started back in March or April!

The small green one with fringe is called Bonnaroo Babe Boho Bag. It was a Crochet Along in July put on by Salty Pearl Crochet. You can find it here.  The pattern was free during the CAL but now is for sale on Ravelry. For some reason I was confused about how the base of the bag is crocheted. You start out with the flap and crochet right into making the base of the bag.  The pattern is written correctly, my brain just had a hard time picturing it as I was crocheting.   The purse worked up quickly.  I purchased the strap off of Amazon. I used Lion Brand 24/7 cotton.

The Malia Shoulder bag (light blue and white tote) was a CAL in the spring.  This pattern also used Lion Brand 24/7 cotton. It uses a smaller hook to make a tighter stitch. I really liked the pattern and how it worked up but I had to work on it in small installments as my hand got sore from the tight stitches and the stiffer yarn. The pattern is by Yarn Chai. You can find it on her blog here for free. I love how it turned out. Some of the people participating in the CAL made multiple bags. Not sure how they did it. She has really good instructions on sewing the base together to give you a structured bottom. She also gives good instructions on using grommets. It was my first time using grommets and I can see these coming in very handy for future projects.  I purchased some rope at Hobby Lobby to use for the straps.  My only issue with my straps is that they are more of an off-white and the yarn is a bright white.  I guess I have some OCD issues with it.

I have wanted to make the orange bag since I first saw the pattern. The bag is called Rover Circle Bag and is by Taylor Lynn Crochet. The pattern was posted for free on sewrella.com. (Quick note – her website tends to bog down my computer as there are lots of ads and pop-ups.) It took me awhile to find the yarn.  The yarn is Bernat Maker Big and I finally stumbled across it in JoAnn’s.  The bag works up super fast and has a nice stitch to give the bag a little dimension on the last round.  The yarn is interesting.  You don’t want to pull too tight as it is a fabric casing around nylon.  I found that the yellow color showed through so I tried to not pull the yarn tight and work with it loosely. The yarn did have a hard spot of the nylon stuck together like a rock.  I cut that part out and continued with the purse.  The purse did not use up the full skein of yarn.  I enjoyed making it but I don’t know what I would use the yarn for going forward.  I don’t think I would by it again. I purchased the strap at JoAnn’s.

The last bag is called Street Fair Crochet Boho Purse. It is free by MakeAndDoCrew.com. (There are lots of pop-ups here too.) This bag also used the Lion Brand 24/7 cotton yarn but it was doubled up.  This worked up quickly too.  The pattern is well written with photos included. If you prefer to use diagrams, you can purchase a pdf pattern.  I didn’t crochet the strap as I had a little problem understanding the instructions.  I also decided I liked the look of a purchased strap for it. I bought the strap off of Amazon.

So I am set with new purses for awhile. Which one to use first…

 

Gifts!

These are a few gifts I made for family this summer.  I had a niece get married in May.  I made this doily as part of her wedding present.  When I first started crocheting, I did a lot in thread.  The last 10 years or so I haven’t done as much.  I forgot how much I enjoy making things out of thread.  This doily pattern was in an old Magic Crochet magazine from 1993. The designer is Lucille Laflamme. I used size 10 thread and  size 6 steel crochet hook. What is nice about the Magic Crochet patterns is that they start the pattern written out and then refer you to the diagram. I think they have some of the best designed diagrams for crocheting.

The cow and cactus were a birthday present for a different niece.  Both are free patterns.  The cow is called Cow Tipping Toy by NeedleNoodles. Here it is a link to the pattern. I did not include the noisemaker since my niece was turning 21. I didn’t think she needed it 🙂  I enjoyed the pattern and liked how they had you work the legs. It is a nice small project

Cactus are popular right now.  This cactus is a free pattern from Yarnspirations. I used cotton yarn and it worked up quickly.  It is nice that you make soil for it so it just sets in the pot.  You don’t have to try and have the soil top attach to the clay pot.