Meeting Old Friends for the First Time

Yesterday was a wonderful day!  My hubby and I got to meet one of my internet friends and her hubby.  We have been talking online for 5 or 6 years now.   It was wonderful.  We had breakfast at Cracker Barrel.  We talked for about 2 hours.  Then, of course, they had to get on the road back home. 

I hope someday all of us can get together in a central location and actually visit face to face.  That would be my dream vacation.

Here’s their pic:

Crochet THREAD Edging Tutorial

As I promised several friends, here is an easy Thread Crochet tutorial.  If you have never tried thread crochet, I hope you will find this tutorial an easy to do introduction to its many possibilities.

Materials:

#5 US crochet hook (1.90 mm)

#10 crochet cotton thread in your choice of color

Let’s begin:

Chain 5, work 9 triple crochets in 5th chain from hook.  Chain 5 and turn your work.

Skip 3 stitches and work 2 triple crochets in next stitch.

Chain 3, and work 2 triple crochets in NEXT stitch.  This creates a “V” stitch pattern.

Chain 5, and turn.

Work 9 triple crochets in chain 3 space of the “V” pattern. 

Chain 5 and turn your work.

Skip 3 stitches and work 2 triple crochets in next stitch.  Chain 3 and work 2 triple crochets in NEXT stitch. 

Chain 5 and turn.

Continue in this manner until the edging is as long as you want it.  Finish off.  Wash and block edging.  To block, pin edging to a cork or styrofoam board and let dry.  Sew the edging to whatever project you have in mind, such as a pillow case, hem of a dress, collar, etc.

Have fun!

Just a Few Zoo Pics

My youngest son and I went to our local zoo last weekend and took a few pics while we were there.  We love animals and had a wonderful time viewing the exhibits.

Front Half

 

Back Half

 

Head Shot

 

Crochet Shamrock Tutorial

This is a rather simple shamrock to make.  I used a lime green cotton yarn, but any color green, worsted weight yarn will do.

You will need:

Green worsted weight yarn

“H” or “I” hook

First, start with a “magic circle”.    Make a large loop with the tail end of your yarn, having the working yarn (yarn comming from the skein) OVER the tail end.  Make sure your tail end is about 6-8 inches long as you will be using this in the final stages.

Insert hook into the circle and grab the working yarn, pulling a loop through the circle.  Remeber to hold your magic circle securely with your extra 8 or 10 fingers.  

You will be working over the tail end yarn and the yarn of the magic circle as you create this shamrock.

Chain one.  Do 5 triple crochets in the loop. (yarn over the hook twice, go through the loop, grab the working yarn & pull it through; yarn over and pull through 2 loops, yarn over and pull through 2 loops, yarn over and pull through the final 2 loops).

Then  do a slip stitch in the magic circle.

Do 5 more triple crochets and then a slip stitch.  Repeat this one more time, so that you have a total of 3 petals, ending with a slip stitch.  Keep your hook in this stitch.

Now for the fun part!  Grab the tail end yarn with your left hand and hold the petal part securely with your right hand.  Pull the tail end yarn, tightly, until the hole in the center disappears.

Remember, I told you to leave your hook in that last stitch?  This is where you take the tail end yarn and the working yarn to make your stem.  Hold them together and chain 5 or 6.  Fasten off.  Ta Da!  You have made a Shamrock.

Have fun!

Cat Spit On My Hands

One of my cats seems to think I have the dirtiest hands in the universe.  Whenever he lays in my lap, he proceeds to lick my hands…every square inch of them.  Each bend, wrinkle and crevice gets a good licking.  Of course, this feels like someone taking sandpaper to my hands.   All dead skin cells are removed via his sandpaper tongue.

Yes, I let him “clean” my hands until he is content and purring happily.  And, Yes, Most Definitely, I DO wash my hand thoroughly when he is finished.

The one on right is the handwashing culprit.

Crochet Thread Flowers

I just wanted to show you that you can also make the flowers from the tutorials I have posted in thread crochet.  They will, of course, be much smaller, but sometimes you need a smaller flower. 

The larger flower (camelia) is approximately 2 inches across and the smaller one is approximately 1 inch.

FYI, I used a 1/2 inch plastic ring in this camelia.   You can also use different colors to make your flowers pop.

Joining the Second Skein of Yarn

My preferred method of joining a second skein of yarn to my project is the Russian Join.   I have used other methods, including tying the ends together, especially when using novelty yarns.  The Russian Join, however, provides a smooth transition from one skein to the next with only a slight thickening of the yarn at the join site.

You will need two yarn needles.   Thread the yarn needles, one with the remaining yarn of your project and one with the new yarn to be attached.

Overlap the yarns. 

Do a running stitch on each yarn end.

Pull the needles through on each side and then pull the tail ends through.

Snip the tail ends off, close to the end of the join.

Now you have a very strong join with plenty of yarn to finish your project.

Crochet/Knit on!

Crochet Leaf Tutorial

Since I have been doing a few flower tutorials, I thought it only proper to add a crochet leaft tutorial.  This is a simple leaf.

Materials:

“I” hook

Worsted weight yarn (again I used cotton)

Yarn needle

Chain 10 making sure you leave a long tail before you begin your chain.  You will use this tail to sew the leaf to your project.

SC in 2nd chain from hook and in the next 2 chains.  Then DC in the next 3 chains.  And then SC in the next three chains.

Now you are going to work on the other side of this chain.  SC in the space directly across from the last SC that you made.  SC in the next two spaces.  DC in the next 3 spaces.  SC in the next 3 spaces.  Join with a slip stitch to the top and secure the yarn.  Cut it about 10 – 12 inches out. 

You will have long pieces of yarn at each end of your leaf.  You will use these to sew the leaf to your project.

Don’t worry if you make a mistake in your leaf.  Your leaves should look a little different from each other.  No two leaves in nature are exactly alike.  Have fun.

Crochet SunFlower Tutorial

I think I’m getting carried away with crochet flower tutorials.

Here’s another one…a sunflower.

Materials:

“I” hook

Worsted weight yarn in brown and yellow (I used cotton yarn just because it was handy)

Chain 2.  SC in 2nd chain from hook.  Do 6 more SC in this chain for a total of  7 SC.  Slip stitch into top of first SC  to join and chain one.

SC in same space.  Then do 2 SC in each stitch around.  14 SC total.  ( If you have 15 SC, don’t worry about it.  You will just have one more petal to do than with 14 SC.)  Secure the yarn and cut it.

Attach yellow yarn with a slip stitch and chain 5.  SC in second chain from hook and in the remaining chains of the petal (4 SC total).  Join in next SC with a slip stitch and chain 5.  Repeat the SC for this petal.  Continue around the brown center until you have reached the first petal you made and join with a slip stitch in the base at the back of the first petal.

This is where you begin to crochet on the back of your flower.

Chain 7, SC in 2nd chain from hook and in each chain of the petal (6 SC total).  Slip stitch in the base of the next petal on the back.  Make sure you keep your front petals out of your way.  Chain 7, SC in 2nd chain from hook and in each remaining chain of the petal (6 SC total).  Continue around in this manner until you have reached your first 7 chain petal.  Join with a slip stitch and secure and cut yarn.  Weave in ends.

As you can see, the cotton yarn petals tend to curl quite a bit.  So the piece will need to be blocked.  To do this, thoroughly wet the sunflower with water.  Squeeze out the excess water and lay it on a flat surface.  Pull each petal into the position you want and allow to dry.  See the sunflower on the left?  That one has been blocked.  It still has some curl to the petals, but looks more natural.

These can be used for a variety of projects.  I would love to know how you use your flowers.

Crochet Camelia Tutorial

Here I am awake at 3:30 in the morning.  So I decided to do another crochet flower tutorial.  This is my own creation and it is easy.  I call it a crochet camelia because it reminds me of the camelias blooming in my yard.

Materials:

Size H crochet hook

DK weight yarn (light worsted)

3/4 inch plastic ring

Start with a slip knot on your hook.  Pass the hook through the plastic ring and make a SC.  Do 13 or 14 more SC in the the ring.  It really doesn’t matter how many you have as long as the ring is completely covered.

 

Slip stitch into first SC and chain 10.  Slip stitch into SAME SC to create the loop.  Then slip stitch into next SC, chain 10, slip stitch into same SC.  Repeat this around until you have 14 or 15 loops.

Now, do 15 DC (double crochet) in the next loop and in each loop around.  There will be NO chains or slip stitches between each group of DC. 

Slip stitch into first DC and secure.  Cut yarn. 

This flower can be used for any decorative attachment to your needle work, such as knitted or crocheted hats and scarfs, or purses, etc.   You can even add a decorative button or pompom to the center.