Inspiration for Crafting

If only I could crochet faster then I could have this cute centerpiece done for my Thanksgiving table. The pattern is free on Lion Brand Yarn Company's website. The patterns for the cornucopia and its contents can be found here. I also subscribe to their newsletter which has adorable ideas and information on sales at their website.

Posted by Amber P. at 4:07 AM 0 comments    

Labels: crochet, yarn

I recently came across the blog of artist Helle Jorgensen. She has this beautiful collection of sea life made from recycled plastic bags. She makes the plastic bags into yarn and then creates amazing pieces with it. This piece is called Infant Barnacle Garden. Isn't that lovely?

She has a tutorial for making your own yarn from plastic bags here.

Posted by Amber P. at 5:50 AM 0 comments    

Labels: tutorials, yarn

The giveaway is one post down.

Isn't this hat adorable! My mom made it for Sammi. She made me the same hat in my size a couple years ago. It is currently packed in a box somewhere but I am excited to find it and have a matching hat with Sammi.

My mom has had that yarn for forever so I don't know where she got it and I don't know anything about the pattern either. Maybe she'll comment and fill us in! (hint, hint)

Posted by Amber P. at 7:37 AM 4 comments    

Labels: accessories, toddler, yarn

This week I flew to Colorado for my brother's high school graduation. I thought there might be some downtime so I brought along my yellow baby blanket. I had originally planned not to check any luggage, so I carefully packed my blanket and supplies in my diaper bag. I was a little worried that the crochet hook would be confiscated at airport security, but, to my surprise, it was not!

I only had a little time to work on it but managed to do four or so rows. I've decided that blankets are very long projects and I have a very short attention span! I'm so excited to start on the matching sweaters. I was planning on making myself finish the blanket first, but I think I may have to set it aside and jump in on the sweaters.

Posted by Amber P. at 8:34 AM 0 comments    

Labels: crochet, explanations, yarn

I found this cute pattern from Lion Brand Yarn's collection of free patterns. It is listed as easy so I think it will stretch my beginning crochet skills to include clothing.

The pattern includes instructions for several sizes (0-6 months, 12-18 months, 2-3 years, 4 years.) I'm thinking of making matching sweaters for my girls for the fall. Now I just have to pick a color...

JoAnn's is having a sale on their baby yarn now. But I think I'll go to the local yarn shop to buy yarn for this project so I can get their help on any parts of the project that may stretch my current skills a little too far.

Now that I've found a new project, it's time to finish that baby blanket...

Posted by Amber P. at 9:47 AM 3 comments    

Labels: baby, clothing, crochet, free pattern, project ideas, yarn

Here's another project I'm working on. It's a baby blanket with the shell pattern. I bought the yellow yarn a few years ago for another baby blanket for my friend and started this blanket with the leftovers. I ran out and had to buy another skein. Since the last time I bought the yarn, they've changed the look of it a bit! The new yarn is more shiny and smooth. If you look closely you can see where the old yarn stops and the new yarn starts! Oops. That's my lesson in attempting a large project with leftovers!

This blanket has been a lot of fun, but I can only work on it when my little one is sleeping. Otherwise she tries to play with the part that's already done which is difficult since it's still attached to the part I'm crocheting now!

Posted by Amber P. at 2:20 PM 2 comments    

Labels: blankets, crochet, project ideas, yarn

Here are the flowers I've done so far. I came across this adorable idea on stardust shoes' blog and got the pattern from Lion Brand Yarn's compilation of free patterns. Joanna's idea was to make a bunch of the flowers and then sew them together in an afghan shape (instead of a scarf as the pattern directs). I thought that would be perfect for Sammi's baby doll blanket. I chose yarn from the collection I've acquired over the years. The colors are not that attractive, but I thought they would make a bright blanket for her baby.

The individual flowers are really quick to crotchet up. I do a bunch of centers in one color and then go back and do the flower part with the different colors. It seems like I can make huge progress in a short amount of time. That's my kind of project! Sammi likes them because she can take a flower and walk around with it. With the yellow blanket, she tries to pull on what I've already done, but she can't do anything with it since it's still attached to what I'm doing. We both get a little frustrated about that. I've decided to save the yellow blanket for times when Sammi is asleep!

Posted by Amber P. at 2:32 PM 2 comments    

Labels: baby, blankets, crochet, project ideas, yarn