Shell Purse with Flower

            I really need to get back to finishing my daughter’s sweater that I shared (WIP Sweater) a few weeks ago, but I find that sometimes when I’ve been working a while on a bigger project, I have the need to work on something else.  For a change of pace, I put the finishing touches on this purse I started a few months ago (yes, me getting bored with a project in the middle of it and picking up something else is a common thing around here haha). 

            The purse is in Red Heart yarn, color Burgundy, and the flower is in Red Heart, color Aran.  I used the same flower pattern that I used here: Daughter's Crochet Poncho.  For the flower, you will need to know these stitches:

            Single crochet

            Double crochet

            Half double crochet

            Half Treble crochet    

            Treble crochet

            Picot

This adorable purse pattern came from: Tangled Happy.  The purse portion is worked in a double crochet shell pattern, and the handle is in single crochet, so this is a great project if you are just beginning.

This purse, I’m planning to give to my niece, who is 5-years-old.  I think it is a great size for her!  It ended up being about 6.5” in height:

…and around 8” in width.

           

            I’m planning to make one for my daughter, but will try making it a little smaller.  This wouldn’t be huge for my 2-year-old, but I’d just prefer something a little more compact for her.  

            

           Hope this has inspired you to create something special for those little girls in your life.  I look forward to playing with color combinations with this pattern.  

Fruit Punch Afghan

            I’m still working on my daughter’s sweater (you can view my progress here: WIP Crochet Sweater), so since I can’t share that with you today, I thought I would share something I’ve made in the past.

            A cousin of mine got married in 2012, and I made this afghan for him and his bride.  I think traditionally, a Bridal afghan is created in white, off-white/cream, etc., but I wanted this to be more personal for them.  Since I wanted it to be a surprise, I did a little recon a few months before their wedding and learned that his bride planned to use a different color dress for each of her attendants, and that they were bright, beautiful colors.  I just so happened to notice this variegated yarn soon after I began my search for yarn colors, which matches some of her bridesmaid’s dress almost perfectly!  It is Red Heart With Love, color: Fruit Punch, and I believe this required 8 full skeins of yarn, and most of a 9^th one.  I think it may have been discontinued though, because I could not find it on the Red Heart website. 

            Here is a close up of the stitches:

The pattern is very simple and flexible.  This is the one I used: The Afghan Squared

It is made holding two strands of yarn together, so even though it is a somewhat open design, it is thicker and very warm.  This pattern is usually completed in several different colors, or a minimum of 2-3 colors, which creates a wonderful affect.  It would be an excellent afghan for your yarn scraps.  However, I was going for colors that would be special to them, and I was pressed for time, so I stayed with one yarn color.  Another thing I love about this pattern—you can continue to crochet until you’ve achieved the size afghan you’d like.  The pattern begins in the center, and you continue to work the sets of 3 dc’s all the way around, increasing in each row.

            I did a simple border around the afghan to finish.  The photos truly do not do justice to the beauty of the afghan.  I had a hard time getting a photo that looked okay for some reason, but you can get an idea here:

            The Fruit Punch yarn is one you just have to see in person.  I hope you enjoyed a view of this afghan and it has inspired you to go create something special as well.  That is one of the things that I find so beautiful about crocheting, or making anything by hand—it’s the ability to create something that is sentimental to the recipient in a number of ways.  When my cousin’s bride opened the afghan, she said it gave her chills because her grandmother had made something for her with similar colors when she was a little girl.  It was a wonderful reward for all the many hours of work that I put forth. 

            If you would like to see more of the crochet ideas I like, view my Crochet board on Pinterest.  Blessings to each of you!

WIP Crochet Sweater

            I taught myself to crochet in 2000 and I have completed many, many projects since that time but I have never attempted a piece of clothing—not once.  For some reason, I have felt a little intimidated by the thought of making clothes.  Truthfully, I often enjoy projects that require minimal thought and row counting, or having to follow a pattern closely.  Finding time to crochet is a struggle some times, so I usually lean towards something I can easily pick up and complete a few rows on without having to spend precious time remembering where I left off.

            However, now that I have a daughter I have this urge to make her handmade clothes and I hate that didn’t force myself to find time to do this sooner, when she was smaller but I’m not going to focus on that.  Although we’re in the month of March now, it seems winter is still in full swing since we received another ice storm, with snow on top of it this week.  The princess is firmly in a size 2T top and can wear some 3T’s, but since winter is hopefully on its way out, I’ve decided to make this sweater a size 3T, hoping she doesn’t grow out of it by next winter before she has the chance to wear it a little.  Either way it’s a good way for me to practice.  Think I just need to get better about planning my projects.  For me, the best way to ensure that I finish some winter clothes for my children is not to start in the winter.  So maybe I’ll remember to start this summer.

            I searched through many patterns to find one that met my criteria that I mentioned above, and chose the Eloise Sweater from Moogly Blog.  Right now, I am working on the “skirt” portion, and I’m almost finished.  Probably today or tomorrow, I’ll begin on the yoke.  The original Eloise Sweater pictured is in gray with lovely rainbow stripes but I didn’t have all of that yarn on hand, or at least not colors I thought would work well together.  I wanted to use what I had, and wanted something a little more girly so I am working this in a fun pink and simple cream.  Right now, I’m trying to decide whether I’ll do the yoke in pink or cream.  I had originally thought pink, but I’m considering using the cream instead.  Here is my progress so far:

            Look forward to sharing the completed sweater with you!  What are some of your favorite sweater or clothing patterns?
            Tuesday's I link up with Time Warp Wife for Titus 2sday's.  

            Today I have linked to my Infinity Scarf Complete post.  Check it out and contact me to order your own today!  Blessings!

Another Infinity Scarf

            In December I shared an Infinity Scarf with you that I loved.  I finished another one shortly after that and wanted to share it as well.

            As I said in my Infinity Scarf Complete post, I am in love with variegated yarns, especially for projects such as this.  It creates such an interesting and unique item.  I get tons of compliments when I am wearing it, but the greatest thing is that its super warm when doubled around your neck.  No pesky wind will be creeping in. That has come in handy this winter!

            For the first infinity scarf, I used Red Heart With Love yarn.  For this one I used worsted weight Red Heart Yarn, color: Artist Print.  The skein was bigger, and I used a larger hook for this.  Instead of a K hook, I used an N.  It created a more bulky scarf which is what I was going for with the first one.  The pattern I used includes a button closure that gives you some more options for how to wear the scarf, and I just keep forgetting to make it.  Look forward to doing so because I found a beautiful button to match this.

            Below I spread it out so you can see the "links."  If you would like to order your own Infinity Scarf, click on the Contact Me page, zip me an email, and I will create your unique scarf.

            Also, today is Titus 2sdays hook up over at Time Warp Wife.  

Check out my link for Cinnamon-Honey Butter on the Titus 2sdays page and connect with other bloggers.  As always, I would love to connect with you on Pinterest.  Find me at: Infinitely More Than I Think on Pinterest  Blessings!

Star Stitch Scarf

            I am so excited to share this project with you!  I finished it weeks ago, but it has been a busy month and I’m just now getting around to typing this.

            My little man is 4 years old right now.  He is creative and funny, with a huge heart, and is always happy.  He has many loves-- Lightening McQueen, Thomas the Train, dinosaurs, trucks, puzzles, books, blocks, and loves music and art.  At the moment his favorite colors (yes, colors because picking just one is too hard right now lol) are red, blue, orange and white.  
            Each Christmas (so far) I've been able to make my children at least one crocheted item a piece.  As it approached in 2013, I began to ask him what he would like me to make.  Through many conversations, he finally decided upon a scarf, which was great because I had never made him one.  I ended up with too many projects and didn’t get around to the scarf before Christmas, but a lot of that was due to my search for the perfect yarn.  There are many beautiful variegated yarns out there, but so far, I have not found one that uses all of those colors, without plenty of other colors that I didn’t want. 

            I went back to my little man and tried to get a clear choice on what color he wanted…and hoped that he might even choose a single color.  Instead, after much talk he told me, “Mommy, I just want ALL the colors.”  How can you refuse that request?  I finally decided upon Red Heart yarn color: Heartfelt.  It includes Blue, Light Blue, Red, Light Green, and Purple.  I really fell in love with it and hoped it would please him. 

            Then I had to choose what stitch I wanted to use.  I didn’t have a lot of luck finding a free crochet pattern that I liked.  Many were just too “fancy” for a boy in my opinion, but some, just not special enough.  I decided to do my own thing and choose a stitch I thought would display the yarn well.  Opinions vary on whether a simple stitch shows off a more complicated yarn best or vice versa.  I knew that I wanted it to be special, and different, and in the moment I began the project I was tired of the same basic stitches.  You ever get to that point?  When you just need to make something that strays from your usual bag of tricks?

            I pulled out a book my mom found at a yard sale.  One that I had completely forgotten about until I uncovered it in our second move last year (you can read more about my family’s relocation's in the post Christmas Tree 2013).  Mom is always finding interesting things, and I especially love it when she comes across yarn or books such as this.  She has found several older needlework books that I think are neat, for lack of a better word.  The book I referenced for this scarf is Aunt Ellen’s How-To Book on Needlework, Copyright, 1954, by Modern Handcraft, Inc.  Did you catch the 1954 part?  

            This book is 60 years old, and in great shape for its age.  Makes me wonder how many other women have sat with this book in hand, trying to learn the needle arts.  The book has turned out to be a great little resource.  It contains how-to’s for Crochet, Knitting, Tatting, Netting, Embroidery Stitches, Smocking, Huck Weaving (had not a clue what that was until I Googled it; found some lovely examples) Needlepoint, Rug Making, Hemstitching, and some other miscellaneous skills.  Now that I’m listing all of this out I realize it’s ridiculous that I haven’t used it more, and mastered all of these needle skills.  That would be a good goal to add to my list this year. 

            With my handy Aunt Ellen’s How-To Book on Needlework, I taught myself the crochet Star Stitch.  Turns out there aren’t many patterns that include this beautiful stitch…at least not that many that I could find.  You’ll find it is a pattern that definitely has a “right side” and the wrong side is not that appealing.  However, I LOVE this stitch.  Even though I was not able to find many patterns using the Star Stitch (at least not in comparison to patterns that include basic stitches) there are some good tutorials out there.  Finally, I did find a pattern using the Star Stitch in a scarf, that I liked here: Free Pattern Star Stitch Scarf

            I used a size K needle, and it took me around 47 rows of Star Stitch to achieve the length I wanted.  It takes Row 1 and Row 2 of the pattern to complete one set of the Star Stitch, and that’s how I counted to 47.  If you want to count actual rows it would be 94 rows.  It comes down to his knees, which it what I wanted.  He’ll have room to grow into it.  Isn’t it pretty?

           One of the other things I really loved about using this stitch for a scarf was that it works up thicker than other stitches, so you don't have to double it when wearing it unless you just prefer that.  I'm able to just crisscross it in front of my son's chest and know that he's covered well.  I'm in the process of making another scarf using double-crochet and it is so much thinner.  Another thing you should know--it seems this stitch uses a lot of yarn.  This scarf is about 53" and it used almost the entire skein.  Close up of the stitch work:

            The big question is did he like it?  He loved it!  He seemed happy with it…although he did make a comment about it not having all his favorite colors in it.  ::sigh::  So it is back to the drawing board, to create something he and I both can live with that will have ALL his colors.  For now, he is enjoying his scarf and seems to be proud of it every time he puts it on, which blesses this momma’s heart.

Slouchy Crochet Hat for Little Boy

          My crochet streak continues.  :)  I have another hat to share with you today, and some more crochet projects coming up!  I wanted a new hat for my 4-year-old son, and while he has a variety of beanie type, fitted crochet hats—he did not have a loose fitting, slouchy hat.  I decided to try my hand at it.  Although, let me share some of my motivation for attempting a “slouchy hat.”  As I mentioned in my post about Baby Crochet Camo Hats, my large pouch of crochet hooks was misplaced soon after our last move—incredibly frustrating.  I had found extras of every size hook I own, except size I and J, which were the sizes I needed for several of the projects I’ve wanted to start lately.  I have this thing…where I HATE to buy something again, that I know I own but cannot find; therefore, I had been putting off buying new hooks.  I know…they are very cheap, but again, it’s just the point to me.  This week, I just gave up and decided to replace my size I and J hooks.  Guess what I found the NEXT day?  My large pouch of hooks.  Isn’t it funny how that goes?  I’m very relieved I found them, but irritated I bought the others.   Turns out the size J hook purchase was warranted.  My original J hook has a place in the tip that is snagging my yarn so it needed to be replaced.  How the tip of the hook was damaged is a mystery.  Back to the hat:

So, again, part of my motivation for the hat was due to the fact that I still couldn’t find my pouch of crochet hooks at this point, and K was the only size hook I could find that came close to making sense.  I used a typical fitted hat pattern, with double crochet stitches.  

I did some extra rounds, and finished with two rounds of single crochet stitches.  I’ve shared my appreciation for Red Heart With Love yarn before, and that is what I used for this hat.  It’s Red Heart With Love Yarn, color: True Blue. 

It is SO soft!  It is definitely the type of yarn you want on your head, and touching your face.  The final product is not quite as slouchy as I was intending for it to be, but it will be something he can wear for years to come because it has plenty of room.  Besides, the purpose of a hat is to keep your ears covered, and your head warm, and that, it will do.  

You can see from the back it’s not as loose as most slouchy hats, but it does have some give to it and a very relaxed fit:

He is pleased so that is what truly counts!  To see more of my crochet inspiration, follow me on Pinterest: Infinitely More Than I Think on Pinterest

Crocheted Cable Headband

            As I’ve shared before, once winter is here, I have this huge urge to crochet.  It’s therapeutic for me other times of the year as well, but something about being holed up in the house on cold winter days makes me want to have a pile of yarn in my lap, creating something unique.  I’m sure you fellow crafters can relate.  For example, right now, after I finish this post, I really need to dig my way out of the mess my children have made in our living room, but all I want to do is finish the scarf I started for my son last night.  I am using the Star Stitch.  I learned this a few years ago, but hadn’t found the time to use it. I’m not particularly “fast” at crocheting, and it’s a little more time consuming than other stitches (at least to me) when you’re first getting the hang of it—but it’s SO pretty.  I’m so excited about the results so far and look forward to sharing it later.

            I have been cranking out projects left and right over the past few weeks.  Not really sure how, because I have been super busy, like everyone else, through the holidays and trying to get 2014 off to a good start, but somehow that’s the way it has been.

            So today, I have another project to share with you.  Admittedly, I actually finished this project last winter, but today I was going through some boxes (remember my family relocated twice in 2013), and found this tucked away.  I love this project!  I have become fascinated with crocheted ear warmers/headbands, etc…mainly because I feel like I have a somewhat larger than normal head and any attempts on my part to crochet myself a hat has not pleased me.  I just don’t think I look good in them.  Although, I’ve wanted something to cover my ears when I’m out and about…thus the crocheted headband.  It’s a good thing for me.  Plus, they are so cute!

            I’ve been digging up different headband patterns, and I have at least two more that I’ll be sharing with you soon.  For now, I found this pattern here: Cable Stitch "Jenna" Headband Pattern

            She says that she used a size I hook, and that it will fit a size 21” head.  I guess my head is not as big as I thought, because I went a little longer than she suggested to accommodate my noggin (to 22.5”) but it’s too big—probably at least an inch too big.  I just overlap it in the back and fasten the button farther up than I normally would so it works, although with my next one, I will be careful to keep it in the 19”—21” range that she recommends.  Guess it also depends on how snug you prefer it to be.  I like mine to feel secure…but it would not be a bad idea to measure your head beforehand to get an idea of where you might want yours before you begin—or check as you go along.

            The skill level for this project is intermediate, but it’s a great place to begin learning Front Post and Back Post stitches, if you’re not familiar with them.  This pattern uses a FPTR (Front Post Treble Crochet) and BPTR (Back Post Treble Crochet) stitch and as you can see, it creates a nice raised surface in the middle of your headband.  Although since it’s a small project, it will not seem as daunting to familiarize yourself with some of the front and back post stitches, and if you do mess up…it’s not a huge ordeal to start over.  For example, I wouldn’t start an afghan or another type of large project that uses these stitches if you’ve never worked with them, because it’s so important these be executed correctly to have the right affect.  You'll just frustrate yourself and loose a lot of time if you're not comfortable with them before you begin a large project, but the effort it well worth it and will open up plenty more pattern opportunities for you.  

            Here is the completed headband.  Isn’t it cute?  Pretend like there are not scratches on my table. lol

          I tried to get a photo that would show the detail well.  Attempt #2 here:

  

          This probably goes without saying, but just in case--I wanted to note that the headband is doubled here...this is not the full length.  It was hard to get a photo of it all stretched out.  I used Red Heart yarn, color: Burgundy.  Red Heart calls this Burgundy, but I would call it deep red.  Maybe that’s the same thing to some people, but I think it’s prettier than what Burgundy is usually considered.  So, go and make these in a rainbow of colors!  They work up quickly and make a great gift!  To find some crochet inspiration, follow me on Pinterest:  Infinitely More Than I Think on Pinterest

Baby Crocheted Camouflage Hats

                Three babies have been born in my family, in the last 4-5 months.  With our relocation in August, I’ve struggled to find the time to make something for these precious babies until now.  I’ve also struggled to find my crochet supplies.  My pouch of crochet hooks is still nowhere to be found.  I’ve searched all the logical places, so I undoubtedly put them somewhere “safe” during our move, and now they’re so “safe” that I have no clue where they are.  I had a few random hooks in my main crochet bag…and that is the only reason I’m able to crochet anything right now.  

            All three of these babies were boys…so I decided to whip up the same thing for each of them.  I used Red Heart color: Woodsy for each of them.  I call them camouflage even though it’s not a traditional camo color scheme. Still looked to me like something you would wear to hunt. :)

            I had to adjust the pattern, and just kind of make it up as I went, because as I mentioned above, I can’t find all my hooks—and the pattern called for a size H.  I found a size G, which could have worked but I just honestly don’t care for using smaller hooks, so I used the next smallest size I have…size K. 

            One of the babies was born in August, so I made his size 6-12 months.  The other two are 3-6 month size.  I was able to finish all three very quickly, and I’m pleased with how they look.

          Pretty little hats all in a row:

Daughter's Crocheted Poncho Completed

                Completing a crocheted poncho for my princess proved to be more difficult than I planned.  After looking through many patterns, I decided on one that is similar to a pattern on Lionbrand’s website.  I would give the website link to the pattern I used, but I found it on Pinterest, and when I tried to click on the link to go to the site, it said the page had been permanently removed.  Here is the pattern from Lionbrand that is similar: Lion Brand Yarn Seashell Poncho

The pattern I was following is supposed to be for 2-3 years of age.  After I had crocheted a few rows, I was looking at the head opening, and thought to myself ‘I wonder if that will go over her head?’ and for some reason instead of stopping right then and checking…I forgot and crocheted right on.  I was only a couple of rows from being finished when that thought popped in my head again.  Ran to see if it would fit…and no, it didn’t.  What a bummer.  Doesn’t it make you sad to see all that work go to waste as you pull out each stitch?  Lesson learned though:  Even though a pattern says it will fit your child’s age, always check BEFORE you’re almost done.  :)  So, for attempt #2, I increased the chain by 4 or 5 stitches, and it worked.  Another note, I did not do the edging, nor the collar around the neck.  It was just my preference to leave it off.  

Red is my favorite color, and I thought adding some red to the charcoal poncho would be a fun and dramatic look.  I almost did a red border on it, but decided a flower would be great.  I wanted a large flower and had a hard time finding one that pleased me.  I ended up using a pattern from pages 93-94 in the book Crochet Bouquet, by Suzann Thompson.  If you are looking for flower patterns, this book is a terrific resource!  There are so many wonderful flowers to choose from—from elaborate to simple; there are tons to choose for any project.  The pattern I used is for a Sweetheart Rose.  The one thing I didn’t like about this pattern:  The book does not suggest what size hook to use…only that you should use “appropriate size hook to achieve a firm gauge with selected yarn.”  I think it is helpful to give an idea of where to start hook-wise so you can make an educated guess up or down depending on whether you typically crochet more tight or loose.  It suggests a medium weight (4) yarn, and says the finished rose will be about 4” in diameter.  I believe mine is probably bigger than that.  I knew I wanted it to be huge, so I used a size N hook.  

It ended up being as big as my hand:

Opinions vary on whether you should use thread or yarn to sew crochet flowers on your work, but I felt since it was such a large flower, yarn might work best so that’s the route I went.  In addition, I was afraid thread might pull through the flower and/or poncho.  I am SO happy with the finished project: 

I cannot wait for her to wear it!  I also made a hat to match her poncho.  I want to add a bow to it before I share photos, but look forward to showing them together.  Any dramatic color combinations you enjoy?  Want to see more of the crochet projects I love?  Follow me on Pinterest: Infinitely More Than I Think on Pinterest
Know a little girl who would look darling in this poncho or a color combination of your choice?  Use the Contact Me page to reach me and order your very own!

Infinity Scarf Complete

I wanted to share photos of my completed scarf.  Did I mention that I am in love with this yarn?  I used Red Heart With Love yarn, color: Plum Jam.  It is so soft, and the colors are beautiful.  Lovely purple and pink shades swirl in this pattern.  I love variegated yarn for projects like this!  It creates something so unique.  Here are my results:

As for the pattern I found it here: Artfully Simple Infinity Scarf

It is a wonderful pattern for a beginning crocheter and is super fun for any skill level.  It calls for 280 yds of yarn, which you can see from the example they give, makes for a much fuller cowl, because I had much less.  The skein of yarn I used began with less, because I had to use a little of it to finish another project.  However, as I already mentioned, I adore this color scheme and I wanted to use it and see what it would do in this pattern.  Even though it is not quite as full, I am still very, very pleased with the results.  Regrettably, I do not own a dress form, so I can’t show you right now what mine looks like doubled, but it works well in my opinion.  In this photo, I opened it up to show you what the “mesh” looks like:

The website where I found the pattern shows several different ways to wear it, one of which includes a tie and button.  I do want to make this as well, although I’m sure I will probably have to adjust the pattern slightly, as mine is not as bulky.  This was a success to me, and I am so thrilled with the results that I’m planning to get my hands on all the variegated yarn I can, so that I can begin creating other unique pieces.  I look forward to sharing those results too!

Still a few details to finish on my daughter’s poncho before I can share completed photos.  I want to add a flower to it, and I’m still searching for the perfect pattern.  

You can also follow me on Pinterest here: Infinitely More Than I Think on Pinterest

Blessings!