on my hook

The most exciting thing to happen in the past weeks was the birth of my sweet grandson, two weeks early. He was born October 9, 5# 14 ozs. 19 1/4" long.

Here he is meeting his great-grandmother.

The past weeks have also been busy due to my mom's failing health. She is now on hospice care.

I've had some health issues of my own to deal with as well. It's been busy around here.

My hooks have perhaps not been as busy as normal but they haven't been idle either.

Here's what I've been working on.

Firstly, still working on the Season 16-17 scarf. I'm more than halfway done with this super long scarf.

I also was asked to make a baby afghan for another first time grandma. I decided to make a nameghan for this special guy. I deleted the last name to protect his privacy but it came out really well I thought.

I also worked on a pet snuggle with a new hook that my husband made for me. I'll have pictures of it soon.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

pet snuggle

I finished another pet snuggle. This one uses the seed stitch (sc, ch 1, sk 1) basically following the scarf pattern I have here.  I chained 56 with an I hook. I used Caron One Pound Sunflower. The finished snuggle is about 14" square.

Different hooks and different yarns will produce a different size project even when using the same foundation chain so I don't want to say if you chain this many you will get this size. There is also the matter of your personal tension. Thankfully in snuggles there is some play. They don't have to be an exact size.

I am also working on some cross-stitch squares. I was watching Sesame Street - yes, I know it's a kid show but my grandchild is expecting within the month so I'm preparing. :-) Anyway, I actually like Sesame Street and today's number was 7 so I decided to make 7 round squares. I'll take pictures for you tomorrow.


Happy crocheting!
Sandie

new hook and pet snuggle

A big surprise in my mail today. My friend Fran sent me a beautiful new crochet hook. My camera didn't catch the color very well but it's beautiful. It's an H hook which is the size I use most often. Thank you, Fran, for your thoughtfulness.

In other news I completed another pet snuggle.

For this snuggle, I chained 61 with an I hook. It's about 16 x 17 1/2". The yarn is Red Heart Super Saver Wedgewood which was donated to me for charity purposes. I think I have enough yarn for another one too.

[update] I forgot to say that the stitch is single crochet across. Ch 1 and turn at the end of each row. I generally use single crochet for pet snuggles so it can be closed, nothing to catch claws on.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

pet snuggle

I have finished another pet snuggle as I work through my leftover balls of yarn. This one uses the pinks.

At least one of these is Caron Natura soft pink.I'm not sure what the other two are.

The finished size of this one is 14 1/2" square. I chained 50 with an H hook and used single crochet across. Pretty simple. :-)

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

pet snuggle

One pet snuggle finished. This is leftover Red Heart Soft I think. That's a bit thinner yarn which I should have kept in mind when starting off.

The foundation chain is 50. It's a little smaller than the others I did. Finished size without an edging is about 13" x 14". I would prefer a couple inches more so I may add an edging around it.

I'm slowly sewing in the tails on the shortened S18 scarf. The suede leaves little pieces all over the place when you cut it. I think I may add a few more rows in perhaps the spice, then put an edging around it and call it done.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Red Heart Soft snuggle

Next snuggle up ... 

This one was made with Red Heart Soft leftovers. The foundation chain is 51. Finished size is about 15" square. I worked 2 rows of each color, carrying them up as long as possible.

Because each yarn reacts differently, it's difficult to get the same size finished product even using the same hook and worsted yarn each time. I've used an H hook for most of these. 

I also have a problem keeping an even tension with RHS for some reason. It's a different texture, a little thinner than many other worsteds, softer and shinier as well. The problem I have is not the yarn's fault. It's a nice yarn. I just need to concentrate of my tension when working it.

I had enough of the grape color to use it throughout, alternating it with the wine and grey.  I think it actually makes a nice visual and I think the animals will find it soft and comfy.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

pet snuggle

Another pet snuggle ...

For this snuggle, I worked two smaller pieces and joined them together. The finished size is about 15" x 16". 

I chained 26 for each small stripe with an H hook. I worked a single crochet edging around each stripe and then a reverse single crochet around the entire thing.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

pet snuggle

Another snuggle completed. This one uses three colors - white, navy, and turquoise. These were all large leftover balls so I don't know exactly what type or color name, but it is acrylic. I worked until I ran out of the yarn.

Finished size is about 15 1/2" x 17".

I chained 56 with an H hook. I didn't cut yarn until the end but rather carried the colors up, working one row of each color. That way when I came to the end of a row I always had a color there ready to be grabbed up. I edged with a single crochet with what I think was Red Heart Soft yarn, navy.

I am pleased with the result. 

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

more snuggles

I finished another pet snuggle yesterday. The blue one posted previously used a chain of 46 but it was double strand, one worsted and one fingering. It came out 17 x 16". The one I finished last night is single strand using a chain of 51. It came out 14 1/2" square.

I used my bright and colorful scrap balls for this one. I had several of the bright yellow in small balls so I spread them out.

I am hoping this will do as it's smaller than the other one. I'll have to get some input from the shelter as to what works best for them.


Happy crocheting!
Sandie

pergola and snuggles

Pergola. Finis!

Finished size is about 5" x 61"

Both front and back were made with the Big Value yarn, which is a very thin yarn. I'm not sure how much I used, but I know I finished a skein and started another.

The pattern is the Pergola scarf at Knit Picks.

Also finished is another pet snuggle. The first one I made went to our local animal shelter. This one will also be headed that way once I make a few more. They seemed happy to receive it.

The size is 17" x 16". I used one strand dark blue worsted and one strand light blue fingering yarns. I chained 46 for this one.

I also finished some pink and white cross-stitch squares. I had a few pink already made, made a few more pink and some white. These will eventually be a baby afghan but I may need to make more squares first.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

pet snuggle

I'm still working on the two slow-road projects, but *chuckle* started another one. I'm happy to say I also finished that new one. It's a pet snuggle made with leftover chunky balls of yarn and a J hook. There is no pattern to it. I just grabbed yarn from the bag and went to it. There was a good bit of Lion Brand Jiffy. You can see that in the red, orange and grape colors. The blue is double strand of Red Heart Soft. The edging yarn was donated by daughter.

Finished size is 16" x 17". I plan to check with our local animal shelter and see if they can use this type of item. If so, I'll tackle those leftover balls and make more. Yes, I still have LOTS of leftover balls.

I also have a few cross-stitch squares in pink. I may be able to get another afghan out of them with some creative thinking. :-) We'll see how that goes.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

scrap pillow and SHADA scarf completed

That multi-colored piece I was working on using my leftover balls has now become a pillow. You might call it a pet snuggle as I'm thinking to use it for the dogs since it can be removed and washed easily.

Having the color change right in the middle made it really easy to assemble the two sides and run a bit along the folded edge. See how I planned that? hahaha

In other news, I finally sewed the tails in on the SHADA Doctor Who scarf I finished about a month ago! Yay!

This scarf took about two to three weeks to make (post of May 16), barring those tails. It took two days to sew in all the tails.


Details. I chained 31 with an I (5.5mm) hook (single crochet) and followed the pattern at doctorwhoscarf.com (which is a knit pattern). The finished size is about 19' long and 9" wide.

Here is the yarn I used:
Purple - Vanna's Choice Purple
Camel - I Love This Yarn light taupe (2 skeins)
Mustard - Bernat Gypsy Gold
Rust - I Love This Yarn Terra Cotta
Grey - Vanna's Choice Taupe (2 skeins)
Greenish brown - Bernat Waverly Bark (2 skeins)
Bronze - Vanna's Choice Toffee (2 skeins)
Light grey -  ILTY greybeard (it's a little dark, but it's what I had)

I think that's about it. Now to finish the Season 18 I have begun in Lion Brand Suede!

Happy crocheting!
Sandie