Heart Shaped Box

Happy Valentine's Day!  I made this small heart box / container that is just big enough to hold 3 crochet chocolates (I still have 1 more chocolate to make).  Here is the free pattern for it.  I used a G hook and Plymouth Encore yarn.  It took very little yarn to make it, which is great if you are trying to use up your leftover yarn.

Color Swirl Bag and Peppermint Candies

Disney Adventures' mini challenge this month is the world of Sugar Rush from the Wreck-It Ralph movie.  I love that movie, and I love that world.  Both of these projects were inspired by that challenge.

I loved making this pattern so much that I started making this bag as soon as I finished my other bag.   I used Bernat's cotton yarn (Mango Madness) and size 8 needles (dpns and 16" circulars).  This one is even larger than my other one (34 stitches per dpn at the base ).  I love it.  It is a great size, and I can't wait to use it and show it off.  For this one I did not use any stitch holders, because the circulars held onto the the stitches that I wasn't working with just fine.  I actually made most of one of the handles while watching the Lego movie at the theater.  This bag took about 5 days to make.  There is a lot of mindless knitting involved, which is something I look for these days (since I am crocheting more).

Do you need a quick and easy project to make?  One that can be used for a Christmas present?  Well these peppermint candies are perfect.  Here is the free pattern.  They took me no time at all to make.  Don't let the amount fool you, because I actually made 8 peppermint circles and then I sewed 2 of them together to get 4 finished candies.  I think that it would look great to fill a glass bowl or vase with them. They can also be turned into earrings, used as buttons, glued to barrettes, or even used as tires on a "candy" car.  I used a size F hook and Plymouth Encore worsted weight yarn (colors 9601 red and 208 white).  This pattern is also good for learning how to change colors cleanly.

Happy Umbrella Day

Today is indeed Umbrella Day... A Day to celebrate the invention of the umbrella.  In celebration of it I drew this zentangle today.  Basically I tried out 3 new designs and made up a 4th (the raindrops), and then I practiced another pattern that I'm not to confidant doing (the one on the handle).

Fanciful Flower Hot Pad and a great Bag

I finally finished crocheting this flower hot pad last night.  I had so many different projects going on at once that it took me about 2 weeks to make this, even though it can be made in a single day.   This is the 12th fanciful flower hot pad that I have made, but it feels like I've made a lot more.  It is a free pattern by my friend Claudia.  She has a lot of great patterns available.   If you would like to see several different versions of this pattern, checkout the crochet-along (CAL) that she hosted in 2011.  I made 6 of these during that CAL.

I used a G hook and 3 colors of Plymouth Yarn Jeannee worsted weight cotton yarn (Colors 101 - pastels, 15 - pink, and 52 - blue).  

Last night I finished knitting this great little bag.  It isn't very big, but it sure does stretch to fit things.  It also can fit over my shoulder, which is nice.  I used a little over 1 skein of Cascade Pacific Color Wave yarn in color #326.  This yarn was a pleasure to work with and feels really nice.  Cascade is quickly becoming one of my favorite yarn companies.  I also used size 8 dpns and 16" circulars.  Two stitch holders were also needed when making the handles.  I ran out of yarn while knitting the 2nd half of the handle, but you can barely tell where I added the new color at (it is obvious where I joined the 2 halves of the handle at though).  I really enjoyed this free pattern, so I am making another one of these bags.  Oh, I also enlarged the bottom so that there were 30 stitches on each needle.  I think the pattern say to have 18 sts on each needle before knitting the sides.

WIP Wednesday: Snow Day

I got the call at 5:40 am that we were having a snow day.  We all suspected that it would come.  Besides the early wake up call, I actually got to sleep in today.  Thats a rare thing.  It is still coming down hard.  My mom and one of my uncles have lost power, and they both live in different states than me.  Thank goodness I went on a chocolate run last night... Snowed in sanity food.  

So what is there to do when you are snowed in?  Work on those works in progress of course!

Yesterday I was suffering from a major case of crafting ADD.  I couldn't decide what to work on during knitting class, so I worked on 3 things.  My brain was so scattered that I needed something that required a lot of attention, so I worked on my double knitted scarf.  No, I haven't gotten very far with it, but I've barely touched it since the class where I learned how to make it.

Then I switched to my Bee's Knees bag.  However I was just not feeling the cables, so I started a new project.

Wait, what is Frankenstein's monster doing to my knitting?  He is holding onto the tail, possibly trying to eat it.  This is my latest thing, using bread tags to keep the tail out of my way so that I don't accidentally knit with it.  This bread tag monster was a project that I did a few years ago for Halloween.  You might be able to see that some of the paint is chipping off.  Yes they tend to do that.  I made more after this, but  used sharpies instead of paint with better results. 

So after much back and forth of figuring out what I wanted to knit, I bought yarn that I had been eyeing for a few weeks and started knitting another bag (Cascade Yarn Pacific Color Wave # 326).  I'm using this free ravelry downloadable pattern.  It looks so much bigger in the project photos, but the author does say that it stretches.  I am making mine larger than the pattern.  The pattern says 18 stitches on each of the 4 dpns, but I did 30.  After all of the increases, it is mindless knitting for a while.  That means that it is perfect for movie and tv watching or reading.  My favorite knitting right now is mindless knitting.  I guess that says something about my life right now.... Plus I just really want to read my book while still feeling like I accomplished something. 

A few weeks ago I started crocheting another fanciful flower hot pad.  I haven't made one in a long time, so I was over due.  This one is actually for display at my job at the local yarn shop.  Here is the free pattern from my one of my ravelry friends.  I'm using 3 colors of Plymouth Yarn Jeannee cotton yarn and a G hook.  Two of the ladies in one of my classes helped me pick out the colors since it is meant to help sell the yarn and to promote my crochet classes.  I bought a new book recently: Learn Drop Stitch Crochet by Kim Guzman.  I am not allowed to start learning drop stitch crochet until I finish this hot pad.  Like I really need to start another project without finishing one first.

One of my students wants to make a heart shaped box to house some amigurumi chocolates in.  They will be gifts for Valentine's Day.  This is how far we got on the box during class.  We'll probably finish it this week, depending on the weather.  I love this photo, especially since the yarn makes a heart.

Speaking of chocolates... Here are the two crochet chocolates that I made during class.  I still need to weave in the ends.  The spiral was made by crocheting into the finished chocolate, however the same look can be done with embroidery as well.  Here is the free pattern for them along with a larger heart shaped box pattern.   For more Valentine's Day craft ideas, check out my Valentine's Round Up post from a few years ago.

I finished all of the crocheting for my new soda tab purse.  Now I just need to sew the lining, and sew the handle to the 2 sides.  

Here is the 2nd block for my crochet block of the month class.  I am leaving it unfinished, because I want to be able to show my students how to half double crochet (my last row), and how to crochet around all 4 sides of the square.  The first 4 squares are really simple and cover the basic crochet stitches: sc, hdc, dc, and trc.

I have also started knitting some more hexiflats.  Making black hexiflats will fit into two of the Disney Adventures challenges this month, but I also want to make some with designs on them to.  I do need a lot of plain black ones though for my afghan.  I wanted to show you how I store my hexiflats until I'm ready to add some dulpicate stitching to them.  I cut a long tail (long enough for the kitchener stitch and for sewing the pieces together with), and then I put it on my circular needles.  Then I can keep making more on my dpns.  I've heard of people doing the duplicate stitching after the hexipuff has been closed, but I prefer to leave it open.  It makes sewing them easier, and I can hide my ends easier. 

Any time that we have a movie night I grab my log cabin afghan.  My family likes to turn off the lights for movie nights, so I can only do garter stitch knitting.  Right now this project is perfect, because each section of color takes longer to make (30 rows down one side).  The only movie night where I had a problem was when I was still trying to pick up stitches when the movie was starting.  The boys were patient with me while I tried to hurry.  Then during the movie I ran out of yarn a few inches from being finished with one section.  After the movie I immediately added a new ball of the same color, finished the bind off row, then picked up and knitted the first row of the next side with a new color.  Then I set it aside for the next movie night.  I've gotten a good bit more done this way, plus my legs stay nice and warm during the movie.  

My son's Zentangle

My 6 year old son has been working hard on copying my zentangle.  He has even tried his hand at shading it.  I'm pretty proud of him.  

My zentangle & my son's zentangle.

New Sketchbook, New Zentangle

Yesterday I drew this zentangle, then today I shaded it.  Its nice to be drawing again.  I enjoyed the shading process.  It's something that I haven't done since college.  Yesterday morning I went to Michael's and discovered that they were having a great sale on sketchbooks.  I picked up two.  I loved the one with the cork cover, but then I got a plain black for some reason to.  I'm not sure why.... Until I got home and my 6 year old saw me drawing.  He said, "I wish I had a sketchbook like that and a pen like that."  He was really happy to immediately get a sketchbook and a nice pen, however he did not use the pen right and it somehow exploded all over his hand.  I bought him a 10 color ball point pen set today, because he spent all day yesterday drawing.  He was trying to copy my drawing.  He even took his sketchbook to school incase they had indoor recess (it's snowing right now, so they might).  My husband loves that we have things like this available for our children, and that they show interests in it.  Today is also my oldest son's first day of art class (its a new term at his school).  I just realized that my youngest has art today to, lol.  With zentangle, I'm enjoying learning the different patterns and how they were meant to be done freehanded and not with a ruler.