hat and links

I got sidetracked yet again. I'm still making adult hats and prayer cloths, but there was a call put out for some baby hats. Since I had two skeins of Red Heart Kids periwinkle, I thought I'd make some of those. Now I wasn't sure just how big a newborn's head is - it's been a whole year since my grandson was that tiny! I guestimated and hope these will do.

They are different sizes. I worked at least one 12, 24, 36, 48 then even. Then I worked a couple to 36 and then even. I worked a couple 12, 24, 36, 42 and even. And I think I have a couple worked 12, 24, 36, 45. They are simple dc hats with a sc rim. I wasn't very creative but they should keep a little one's head warm and the color is really pretty. If I felt confident in the size I could put a pretty rim at the end but these may need to be curled up to fit. I'm just not sure. I used an H hook for these.

I did look at a couple of sizing charts so I think they will be good. Do I sound positive? LOL

In other news, are you following the Red Heart 12 weeks of Christmas? I always enjoy seeing what they will come up with.

Also, I received an email from a young lady associated with Sheru Knitting and Crochet. I checked out the web site and they have some very good video tutorials. One in particular that I looked at was on making the popcorn. She demonstrated two different methods in one video, one of which I had never seen. Since the popcorn stitch is not my favorite stitch to work, perhaps this new method will bring me into the fold. There are 5 videos concerning the popcorn.

Another site that caught my interst this week was Naztazia.com . I just love the cancer ribbon scarf and shawl patterns that she has up right now. It is on my list to try. You can make these in different colors to represent the different types of cancer.

That's all for now.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

hats

I do plan to work on more stitch-cation squares, but I got sidetracked - which I often do. LOL A skein just called to me to be made into a hat so that is what I did. Then I found a skein was a good size for a hat so I kept making them. I forgot to take pictures of the first group, but here are two that I did remember to photograph.

The hats are very plain and simple, mindless really.  Easy to work while watching TV. 

I used an adjustable ring for the beginning and put 12 dc in there. Then I increased as 24, 36, 48, 48, 60, 60, 72 stitches per round and then worked even. I added 4 rounds of sc at the brim. 

I used an H hook for these but I think I used an I hook on a couple of the previous ones. Depending on which yarn is used, to 72 stitches on round should give a medium size hat. The I hook would give a larger one, of course.

On one hat I do remember I decided it was too small and I added a round increasing half the number of stitches. That may have been the RH Soft as that is a thin worsted.

To begin each round, I used (ch 1, dc) as my first stitch. When I got back to the beginning, I worked a slip stitch into the dc not the ch-1 to end that round, and began the next round by working the (ch 1, dc). Clear as mud?

I think the grey is Vanna's Choice Charcoal Grey and the brown Vanna's Choice Honey. I'm working on one now in Knit Picks Brava Worsted Eggplant which is a deep purple. I'll try to remember to take a photo of that one, but really they all look the same except for color.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

cross stitched square

The next square of Stitch-cation that I chose to work is the Cross-stitched Square.

I used Red Heart Soft Wine and an I hook. In retrospect, I should have used the H hook for this one. You never know until you're done, eh?

The pattern is for 27 rows. I stopped at 12 cross-stitch rows and finished with a row of single crochet. The important part is making sure the edging has the right number of stitches.

Sometimes I think I should just give up crocheting. heh I carefully counted out the stitches to get the proper number for the edging. Finished it and sewed my tails in back and forth. THEN I realized I had put the edging on the wrong side. *hangs head in shame* I was so annoyed I put the square aside for the night. Today, I ripped back the edging and redid it. You can imagine how much fun that was to do! LOL  This was not the pattern's fault, but mine. I just didn't pay close enough attention.

After all was said and done, however, the square looks really nice. It is slightly larger than the other two, even stopping short of the suggested number of rows.

The Stitch-cation uses an H hook but if you notice the patterns, they use different hooks. I think this one used an F.

I might mention here that if you go to the Stitch-cation page, you can download the book with all the square links. It does NOT have the square instructions, just links to the pattern, videos, and also has some extra information. But it is useful to have in one place in your computer.

As I think I said in a previous post, Stitch-cation was done over last summer as a project with Mikey of the Crochet Crowd. I happened across a mention of it on Facebook and decided to give some of the squares a try. I've worked three so far and I really like the way they are coming out.

This square is not too difficult to do. Things to look out for include watching to make sure you don't shorten your cross-stitch and pull the shell in, and also that you don't start your next section in the last stitch from the previous one. Skip that stitch - you will see that a stitch is already there, and skip the next stitch. Your 2 dc will go into the next two stitches and then you cross over to catch the missed stitch. Don't miss your last stitch, which goes into your turning chain.

Of course, you should keep track of your size if you are making these to all go together. Mine have been coming out 10" although this one is slightly larger, It will still work with the others.

That's about it. This is a nice square. Think I might make another one.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

front post stitch square

I didn't rework the back loops only square but I did do the Front Post Double Crochet square of the Stitch-cation. When I looked through the list for this link I thought I'd made a mistake and worked the square incorrectly, but as it happens there are three different front post squares on this afghan. The FPdc is one and that is the one I worked.

Here is my FPdc square.

My square is 10" x 10". It is like a waffle stitch, thick and cushy. It is not too difficult a pattern to do, but new crocheters need to watch that they do not miss the front post stitch which is sort of pushed back on the working row, and also not to add stitches by working the front post stitch and then working a dc in that same stitch. The dc goes in every other stitch and the front post goes in every other stitch. 

The other thing is to know whether you are on a 2 dc start row or a fp start row (my words). If you pay attention, you shouldn't have any trouble. If you do, however, Mikey has a video demonstration. I didn't look at it, but he normally does an excellent job.

The yarn I used for this was Red Heart Soft Grape, just as I used in the other square. 

I have started the next square (for me) which is the Crossed Stitch Square using RHS Wine.I don't know if I'll have enough for two squares as I've used part of this skein for other projects. We shall see.


Happy crocheting!
Sandie

stitch-cation

I saw a note on Crochet Crowd's Facebook about something called Stitch-cation. Now perhaps I did read about this during the summer or maybe I completely missed it, but in any case I don't remember it.

If you are like me, you might want to have a look at the site and accompanying pattern links.
http://thecrochetcrowd.com/stitch-cation/

I decided this would be a good thing to make with all my single skeins. I completed a granny square and was almost done with a second single crochet through back loops square when my nail caught on one of the first rows. :-(  I ripped it completely and trimmed that nail! What a disappointment. 

There are 10 squares, 10" each. They use an "H" hook but I made mine with an "I" hook as I was using Red Heart Soft yarn which is a thin worsted. For the actual CAL one had to make 2 of each square and it was a contest I think. For my purposes I am just going to try a few of the patterns and those I like might end up in an afghan or more likely lapghan. 

Here is the granny square I made. It is worked turning each round. The last round is dc in each stitch. If you can do a granny square, you can do this. It's pretty simple. Instructions are laid out for every round.

That's all for now. I hope to make more squares from the Stitch-cation. I certainly have enough square patterns if I want to add others to it.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie