Review: Comfort Knitting & Crochet: Afghans

Any yarn worker knows that afghans are one of the top projects to take on. I have yet to make a blanket/afghan because they are so intimidating, but the book Comfort Knitting &Crochet: Afghans makes it seem not so hard. Looking through this book you will find patterns, color inspiration, and variety. You won’t just see crochet granny squares to sew together and make a blanket; there are also different crafts highlighted in the book too. You will find crochet patterns, knitting patterns, and embroidery. I like that it features both crochet and knitting because I have found that most yarn crafters, me included, enjoy both knit and crochet projects and having them both in one book is awesome! Go check out the book!

Amazon – Ravelry

Review: Crochet

Crochet, a book published by DK Publishing, is an essential guide book for any crocheter to have, beginner or advanced. Some vital guides are included in this book that I find to be amazingly helpful.  Everything is covered from the basic daisy chain to filet crochet. One of the best parts of this book is that it covers blocking. I’ve not been able to find any good guides on how to block anywhere until I read this book and I am so happy I found it. It describes more than one way to go about it to.

Seasoned crocheter or just starting out, I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this craft. It will help you tremendously.

Find it on Amazon

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Locked out!!!

In my attempt at being a “cool” mom today I made an epic fail. I successfully managed to lock myself and my four year old son out of our house this evening. My plan was to take him out for a Happy Meal ,because he has patiently wait the implemented two week period I have enforced, and then go by the store and pick up a few things. Then I was going to come back home and get little man ready for bed then off to sleepy land. After completing all this I then planned to relax from my already not so great day by indulging in the guilty pleasure of girl teen girl T.V. drama. Well at least the in-laws have a spare. Oh, and did I mention it was cold? It was. And my son had a nice warm jacket on. I did not.

Rug of t-shirts

I have been thinking about making a rug with t-shirt yarn for a long time and since I finally made some t-shirt yarn I have the means to do just that. Yesterday I probably started a rug three or four times before I felt comfortable with the technique I wanted to use. I thought about making an oblong rug but couldn’t get a good start that I felt comfortable with. Then I tried to crochet around the t-shirt yarn and make a spiral like the one I saw on Pinterest, but I loused that up because I couldn’t figure out how to make the starting circle without it bulging everywhere or falling apart. I ended up making a big circle and it worked out pretty well. Fortunately for me, my husband wears black cotton t-shirts just about every day. It’s kind of like the wardrobe of Doug.  So I had a lot of the same color to work with. I am going to figure out a way to add a splash of color to the rug once I get it the size I want it.

Here is what I have so far. Obviously it is not big enough yet, but you get the point.

 

The basic pattern is pretty simple. I used the magic ring technique and then SC ten into the ring. 2SC in each around, then increase with a SC in every other stitch, then SC twice between increases, then SC three times between increases and so on. I use a size N hook. I is a little tiring because the t-shirt yarn isn’t very stretchy and I crochet tight, so I arms got a little tired after a while and I had to take a break. Once I finish and figure out a way to add some color I will post the end result. I am going to raid some garage sales and thrift stores though to find some different colored shirts to use.

 

Procrastination

I know that I haven’t posted any crochet related posts as of late, but I aim to remedy that in the next day or so. I have just not been in the crochet mood lately. You know how it goes. As soon as summer gives way to fall you pick up that yarn and hook and start creating all kinda of cosy things. Then you start working on Christmas gifts and then work on some requests and then you need to make some things for your own family to keep them warm too. By the time winter rolls into spring you are burned out! Washed up! Jaded!
Well I’m trying to work myself out of that very funk. It’s time to get outside and start my garden. I have some new things brewing in this noggin of mine and I will share it soon, I promise. But in the mean time, get outside and enjoy this beautiful weather! Happy spring!

Succulents!!!

One of my favorite things to do, aside from crochet, is garden. I love gardening and I love learning new information. There are so many nifty little tricks and techniques that can be used in gardening that are constantly being passed on to others. My Dad has been raising vegetable gardens his entire life and he has it down to a science. Most of what I know has come from him.

Although I do enjoy vegetable gardening for sustenance, I also enjoy flower gardening for the pure beauty of it. One of my favorite things to grow is succulents. Succulents are so easy to maintain and grow. They are kinds of cacti and a new plant can be grown from a single leaf that has fallen from another plant. Something I have done is go to a store that sells succulents and pick up the leaves that have fallen off of plants to take home and grow new plants.

Succulents do not require constant watering, and there is potting soil specifically designed for succulents and cacti that make care even better. The variety of succulents also leaves for beautiful arrangements.

T-shirt Yarn

I have been wanting to work with t-shirt yarn for a while but I just haven’t seem to be able to get to it for whatever excuse of the day happens to be. Well, I will put it off no longer. Here are the instructions for making t-shirt yarn. Luckily I have a husband with a love of t-shirts and he wears the same color most of the time. He also likes to buy Hane’s black pocket t’s in packs of eight which unfortunately shrink over time. This means that they are eventually cast aside and they end up in my scrap pile for later projects.

Things you will need to make t-shirt yarn:

Scissors, fabric cutting wheel, X-Acto knife capable of cutting fabric, or something similar that will cut the t-shirt fabric.

T-shirts, enough to make whatever your project and preferably cotton or mostly cotton because it stretches easier.

Here is the t-shirt laid out. Try to get it as flat as you can and not all folded and uneven. If it is not flat enough it will not cut as evenly.

Fold the t-shirt in half. It doesn’t matter if it is folded with the front facing out or the back. Just fold it in half with the sleeves together.

Next you will start by cutting off the hem of the shirt. Then start cutting it into strips that are about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide leaving about two inches or so uncut in the middle. When you reach the arm pit of the shirt go ahead and cut all the way across to cut off the top completely.

After cutting all the way up the shirt pull it apart and lay it over your arm or a piece of card board, just something that will allow you to cut the strips. Start by cutting at one end diagonally from the edge to the first cut. Then cut from the next bottom slit to the next top slit diagonally. Continue in this manner using the picture above as a guide; cut where the dotted lines are.

 

Next you will flip the shirt over to the other side and cut straight lines from one slit to the next.

 

This is what your t-shirt yarn will look like. Depending on what you are making you might want to leave it in this state but I am not going to leave it like this. Holding one end of the yarn, pull a section taught and allow it to curl in on itself. Move down to another section and pull it taught again. Keep going until you reach the end. You can actually go over it again to make sure it is even, I did.

 

 

This is what the finished product will look like. See how it is thinner and there actually looks like there is more there because with it stretched out it is lengthened a little.

I’m not sure quite yet what I am going to make so I will cut up quite a few more t-shirts to make sure I have enough. I unfortunately don’t have a lot of color variety. A good way to get some variety is to hit up some thrift stores or garage sales and get some of those bright t-shirts with ugly designs printed on them that nobody wants. You don’t need the design, just the colors…oh the possibilities!

No more snow!!!

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy cold snowy winter day filled with cozy fires and crocheting warm things as much as the next girl. But, I have had enough winter. It’s March people! March I say! Spring should be in the air, thunderstorms bringing flower, and bees buzzing around. I have a few more projects that I need to finish for this winter but I just can’t seem to get myself out of the funk I am in. We have had more snow than I can ever remember having and the temperatures have been lower than normal. Teens! And that is in Fahrenheit! I am ready to get out in the garden and get something yummy in the dirt!

Getting over a cold

Since it is still cold and flu season and I am currently getting over a cold myself, I would like to share my remedy for getting over being sick. About eight years ago I came down with what I assumed was the flu but couldn’t afford a flu test nor the Tamiflu to get well. I told my doctor as much and he recommended that I find some vitamin C and some echinacea.

I found some Emergen-C, you can find this at any grocery store or department store. It isn’t super expensive and is great for an immune system boost. It has Vitamin-C and B-12 to help give you a boost when you don’t feel great. I also found an herbal supplement called Esberitox. It is a super echinacea and is all natural. They come in a small chewable tablet. For those who don’t know what echinacea is, it is an herbal flower that boost your immune system. I also recommend finding a good echinacea tea when you’re sick, it is like magic.

Taking Emergen-C and Esberitox together will knock out just about any bug in the matter of days instead of suffering for a week. It knocked that flu out in about three days.

I do not claim to be a doctor and you should consult yours before taking any supplements especially if you are already taking medications because they may react in bad ways.