Santa's Elf is Hard at Work

Hello everyone! I'm happy to say I'm officially complete with the Fall 2013 semester and I did well. I'm happy I have time now to take a chunk of work out of my Christmas projects. The Marine Corps blanket is coming along nicely. However, I have taken a small break from it as I've recently started making dish rags for stocking stuffers. I'm using Peaches and Cream (100% Cotton) and Sugar n' Cream (also 100% Cotton).

Here's a picture of the first few I did:

I must apologize, the camera on my phone is a bit awful, but you can get the general idea. They have all been worked in dc, without any real particular size. I just go until I'm happy with the size. I've finished them all a bit differently, one I did dc chain 2 dc around the sides, the other I did around the edges in sc then hdc and the final two I just did sc.

I was really enjoying myself and decided to make a bunch to stuff various stockings with. I wanted to make some for the men in the family as well, so I went to Joann's in search of some manlier colors. Here's the camo one I've made:

I'm quite happy with this one as well. This one I did also in dc and did the edging in the dc chain 2 dc style. While at Joann's (where I go the yarn 50 cents off a skein) I also got two new books, one of just stitches and the other of dishcloth patterns (both also on sale <3). I'm very happy with the progress and will post some better pictures shortly. Until next time, keep crafting!

Christmas Updates

I'm back! So last time I posted the picture of the Marine Corps blanket pattern that I've been working on and I wanted to update on my progress. 

Taddaahhh! I'm very happy with how its come out and it was fairly easy once I got into it. I'm moving on to the next section of the pattern and hoping to get it done quickly. Not much else has been going on and this project has been consuming most of my free time. Well, Christmas is quickly approaching, so back to work! Keep crafting! 

Hello everyone! So I've posted some of my successful projects and now I'm posting one of my less successful ones. I ordered this Beach Bag pattern from Etsy.

This is the picture posted by the author of this pattern and this is a link to her site. Must give credit where credit is due :) 

Nutsaboutknitting Beachside Bag Crochet Pattern

It's a very lovely  pattern but I think it is probably best attempted by a more experienced crocheter. I thought I was ready for it but apparently not. I attempted to follow the pattern as closely as possible but there was definitely some operator error. This is how my bag came out.

My attempt came out crooked (most likely from me miscounting stitches) and the starfish pattern didn't come out as well, again from operator error. On the bright side, I over ordered the yarn I used for this pattern, so I have plenty left. I plan to remake this pattern but for now I'm moving on. Only a few days left to Christmas! The reason I'm posting this is because I think it is important to acknowledge our failures as well as our successes. The biggest advice I give to people when they're new to crocheting, or crafting in general is to not give up. Laugh as the failures, take a break and give it a try again. So here is my give it a break project! 

Marine Corps Afghan

This pattern was created by the blogger Crochet Parfait. I simply love it. My grandmother's husband is a Marine and I think it will be the perfect present for him. This pattern is free and she is more than happy to email it to you. This is my first graph pattern so I'm interested to see how it turns out. The yarn for it just came in today and I'm itching to get started. It is a very large pattern and my largest project to date. The author of the pattern recommends Red Heart Super Saver but I feel Red Heart can be a bit scratchy and rough so I elected to use Caron One Pound. Its softer to begin with and it is machine washable, perfect for an afghan in my opinion. Well now that this post is up, I'm going to get started. Until next time, keep crafting and remember that failures are learning experiences. Live Laugh and move on to the next challenge. 

Hello again everyone! School has been keeping me pretty busy but I have managed to work on some special request. A good friend of mine asked me to make her a scarf for Slytherin from the Harry Potter series. Its still a work in progress but here is what I have so far.

I know the color isn't quite right but I bought it online and it looked a lot closer in the picture. I still really like the pattern and I love the yarn. I'm using Lion Brand Jiffy and it is super soft and warm. The entire project is done in hdc so it is moving along pretty quickly. Though I may have underestimated the amount of yarn I will need and may have to get some more of the green. I also plan to purchase a Slytherin patch to sew on the ends or something like that to make it look more Slytherin-y. So until next time, keep crafting :)


Ps. I would also like to add a disclaimer that I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters or concept displayed in the books/movies.

Hello one and all! Its been awhile since I posted anything but even with my busy schedule I've found time to work on a few things. At the moment, I have a Christmas present that I'm crocheting that is still a work in progress but I have finished a few paracord projects I've been putting aside to hopefully sell in the future. For now I'm posting them here.

This is my little paracord man that I made to use my scraps.

He's suppose to have a little bead at the top for his head but as I had no beads at the time I just winged it. I'm hoping to make one for myself to use as a key ring shortly.

My other accomplishment is learning to do a King Cobra braid.

I made this for my roommate in our school colors. It took a little practice and some fiddling but I managed to get it and I think it turned out quite nice. I hope to start posting more often and hopefully next time I will have some pictures of my surprise Christmas present.

So until next time, be grateful for another day and keep crafting!

So its been awhile since I posted but I'm still on board. Been working on getting together my list of ideas for Christmas presents to make and preparing to return for my second year of college. For Christmas, I've got some big projects in mind (one being the largest I've ever attempted) as well as a few tried and true projects. I'll hopefully be posting some progress images along the way. So wish me luck and happy crafting!

The Knook

Hello again! So during one of my many adventures to the craft store (promising myself I was only going to look). I discovered the Knook! I had heard of them and was very excited by the prospect. I've attempted knitting in the past and wasn't very impressed with it. It was cumbersome and seemed to take forever to not get very far. I also felt like it limited me to only patterns that involved straight lines (yes, I know they make circular needles, but I couldn't even master the straight ones). So when I heard about knooking I was excited to give it a try. I love crocheting, and being able to accomplish the very pretty look of knitting with a crochet hook was a dream come true. I have started a simple scarf (my go to project when attempting anything new) and I'm proud to say I think I will be sticking with this technique. It's giving me the very pretty stitch of knitting but using a slightly altered crochet hook. I hope to be posting a picture shortly, after a bit more practice.