granny along within a granny along

Have you all heard about the great granny along? I absolutely love the sewn square design based on the classic crochet granny square. I was a little bummed that I could not participate since my sewing skills need great improvement, but then I realized "duh!" I can make real granny squares. So my mom (HappyLittleCottage) and I decided to do a little granny along together. She is doing the sewn granny squares and I am doing crocheted grannies, so it's a granny along within a granny along :)

She picked out the fabric and I did my best to match up the colors. I am using my new favorite acrylic yarn... Hobby Lobby's "I love this yarn, in aqua, light yellow, red, medium pink, and leaf green. 

Be sure to check out the adorable sewn granny square details over at Happy Little Cottage!

Sophie's Got a Brand New Bed

I love taking old unloved things and making them new and I also love my dog Sophie. So this project was a combination of two things I really love.

This is how it started. An old suitcase from the thrift store ($3.00), a pillow, spray paint, and some fabric.

First I gutted the whole thing and gave it a good cleaning. Then I spray painted every nook and cranny with Krylon high gloss spray paint in "banner red".

Next came the fun part... accessorizing!

  I covered an old pillow form with some blue floral delilah fabric. Crocheted up a mini granny bunting banner using Perle cotton size 5 and hung it at the top.

Sewed a new gingham pocket with lace edging for all of Sophie's toys (she has a lot).

Lastly, I painted a chipboard "S" white and added a cute crochet flower and leaves.

I think Sophie loves it :)

A Cuddly Owl

Well the heat has finally broke and thanks to my new air conditioner I am back with hook in hand and tons of inspiration.

 Here's my newest little creation. He measures about 7 inches tall and is crocheted out of acrylic yarn.

The pattern comes from this adorable etsy shop full of fun crochet patterns.

He is currently nesting on my window sill bringing me smiles every time I see him. I think he needs a name. Any suggestions?

happy banner

Is there anything happier than a bunting banner? 

This is a really simple pattern from the fabulous Bunny Mummy!

Mine is made out sugar n cream cotton is red, white and aqua. To join the triangles together I just single crocheted 3 rows in the top stitch of each one, then gave it a good steam with the iron and went on the search for the perfect spot.

It's definitely patriotic for 4th of July and will be perfect for the Olympics as well. I can't wait to make more in different colors!

Paper Bunting and a Simple Crochet Flower Pattern

So what did you think of that wreath? Pretty cute huh? :)

You can't have a wreath without some sort of garland and the bunting banner is probably the cutest of all garlands.

Again a very simple project. Make a bunting banner template and trace it on your different papers.Cut out with scissors ( I used scallop craft scissors). I ended up making 2 different sized banners because my first  triangles were just too big.

Attach together by hot gluing solid white ribbon to the top of each triangle.

 

Of course I had to add something crocheted so I made some colorful flowers. The two colored ones are a free pattern from mollie makes. I just followed the directions for the 1st 3 rows and changed the half double crochets on the first row to single crochets.

The smaller flowers are my own pattern. Here it is. It is only one row!

ch 5, join to make ring.

In the ring ch2, 2 dc, ch2, slip stitch in the ring. Repeat until you have 5 petals. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Glue the flowers between each triangle and your done!

I'm nearly bursting with excitement to show you the grand finale paper project! What could it be???

Summer Doily Blanket

Have you ever started a pattern that is just so addictive that you can't stop? This is one of them. I had every intention to take in progress pictures and do a wip post, but this little blanket worked up so fast that by the time I had the post all ready I was finished and was ready for the reveal post.

 

So here it is... my summer doily crochet blanket! What do you think? Very granny chic is it not? :) 

The pattern is anya from goodknits. It is written very well and easy to follow. I highly recommend her patterns.

I decided I wanted a super colorful doily, I love traditional white doilies, but I really wanted to make it as modern as possible. I used Hobby Lobby's "I love this yarn" in a variety of colors. If you have never tried it, it is a wonderful acrylic. It is soft but it still feels sturdy and that it won't break at the slightest snag. You can't beat the price at $3.99 for 355 yards and many a times they have it on sale. I will definitely be using it again!

I'm thinking up next should be some smaller projects. I'm a little blanketed out for now (2 blankets in 18 days!Phew), but I love it!

weekend wrap up

Happy June everyone! I had a great first June weekend. It involved a major amount of relaxing, crocheting all kinds of new cuteness for my reopened shop, and a baseball game (Go Tribe!).

Oh my, I think I have to crochet up another set of these for myself. I want to stick them on every inch of my wall, they make me so gosh darn happy. I'm thinking I might make a wreath will all of the different appliques attached. Do you think it would be too much to include the bird, owl, and butterfly?

Two Potholders

Potholders are one of my favorite things to crochet. They are fast, colorful, and as simple or complicated as you want. I finished both of these potholders in a day and had so much fun playing with colors.

This first pattern uses attic 24's hexagon how to, but I used HelloYarn's modifications to make the potholder shape. The yarn is sugar n cream solids with hook size US G. The hexagon pattern is super simple but the assembling together became a little complicated as more of them were joined. I am sure it was just me making these harder than need be as usual.

The second potholder is also a free pattern that you can find here. This one was such a joy to crochet! I loved doing the petal outlines in white, it was great fun watching the circle become a flower. It is also made out of sugar n cream cotton with a size F hook.

I have plans to make one more potholder with these colors to have a complete set.  I am thinking a simple granny mandala with a shell border will fit the bill perfectly!

Summer Garden Pillow

It's done and I am so in love with how it came out!

 This surprisingly is my first pillow ever and I always figured them as quick projects (especially after doing a whole afghan), but as I crocheted the border all I kept saying was "why are pillows so big?!". Well it ended up that my plan to make a 16" pillow turned into a 20" pillow! If I had left off the colorful border it would have been around 16", but I think that the border makes the whole thing.

This pillow was made completely out of leftovers from my Cath Kidston inspired blanket. I used attic24's summer garden square pattern, then added 6 rows of double crochet in white (2dc, ch2, 2dc in each corner). Then outlined that with 5 more rows of double crochet in alternating colors. To make this into a pillow and not just a very large square I hand sewed it onto the front of a plain white envelope style pillow cover.

I'm deciding on what my next pillow project should be as I dream of a couch full of handmade cushions. Do you have a favorite pattern?

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day to all of my American friends and Happy Monday to my international ones! It is the unofficial start of summer! Yay!

Crochet Flower Pot

When I posted my "Here Comes the Sun" project yesterday, I realized I completely forgot to post about the crocheted flower pot cover! Tsk tsk. 

The pattern is so simple! Just chain until you can wrap the piece around your pot ( I used a plain terracotta pot) and join to create a huge ring. Single crochet in each stitch around changing colors every 2 rows. Be sure to increase evenly every other row if your pot gets wider at the top like mine. I used lily sugar n cream cotton and I added a simple shell border on the top ( 5dc in one stitch, skip 1 st, sc in next st, skip 1 st, 5dc in next stitch, repeat).

I can't wait to make some more for the summer!

WIP: Summer Garden Pillow

 Since I have been so good about finishing up projects I treated myself to starting a pillow to match my new blanket. I had plans to use Bunny Mummy's daisy square, but my idea just wasn't coming out the way I was hoping. So instead I used attic 24's trusty summer garden square.The plan is to add a thick white border around all of the blocks and maybe adding some sort of embellishment... hmmm...

FO: Cath Kidston Inspired Granny Square Blanket!

 I finished my Cath Kidston blanket yesterday morning! It was actually a reasonably quick crochet for a blanket and so fun to make. I started it on May 10th and finished it on May 20th.

This is only my 2nd crocheted blanket in the 9 years that I have been crocheting. I always that that it was more of a commitment than it really is. I think I am completey addicted and will definitely be making more. I already have some yarn for the next afghan I'm planning :)

Look who's already enjoying it!

Here are the nitty gritty details:

Yarn:

Red Heart Soft Touch in "guacamole" ( 1 skein), "lemon" (1 skein), "white" (1 skein), and "blue sky" (1 skein).

Bernat Satin: "crimson" (4 skeins) and "flamingo" (2 skeins)

Hook Size:

US H

Pattern:

Basic Granny Square Pattern that you can find here.

Notes:

I joined the squares as I went using Lucy of attic 24's wonderful tutorial.

Each square has 7 rounds. Each being a different color. The 4th round and last round were always red.

A total of 42 squares were used. The blanket is 6 squares by 7 squares.

Finished size measures 41 inches by 46 inches.

The border is 2 rounds of granny stitches (just treat the whole blanket like it is one big granny square) and 1 row of single crochet (3sc in each corner)

I really did love this project and can't wait to start another. The size is great for curling up on the couch and taking a nap. The yarn was surprisingly soft and non squeaky or scratchy for acrylic and I will definitely be using it again.

Up next in the crochet queue is a coordinating pillow. I'm thinking Bunny Mummy's new daisy pattern would be perfect!

WIP: Cath Kidston inspired granny square blanket

Last week I had the urge to crochet a granny square blanket out of Cath Kidston inspired colors, so that is exactly what I did :)

I found a lot of inspiration here, here, and here. I only have a few more squares to crochet up and then on to the border. Once I finish I will post all of the color, size, and pattern details in case you would like to make a colorful blanket of your own.

Matryoshkas in progress

I'm having a wonderful bout of craftyness. The latest is crochet matryoshka dolls. I have always loved them and have always wanted a set, but have never found wooden ones with colors I love and for the right price.When I came across this pattern on etsy, I knew I had to buy it and start right away!

 I am still playing around with color combinations on the littlest doll so more details coming soon.

Aren't these chrysanthemums from Trader Joes gorgeous?