Saturday, August 18, 2012

Why I like White Dishcloths

As you can tell, I took a summer break from blogging....but not crocheting:) I have some really neat projects that I have made that I can't wait to share! They will show up on here as I have time to post. With summer over homeschool has started so that takes my time priority, but I will still make time to share:)


With all of the beautiful colors of cotton yarn available I always go for white when I make dishcloths for myself. The reason is simple, but it may freak some people out who are extremely environmentally friendly. I am a bleach freak in my kitchen, yes I admit it. I LOVE bleach :) Now don't get me wrong, I do recycle and have made smarter choices in relation to our environment, but I still hold on to my bleach. As far as I know there is just nothing else out there that kills germs as effectively as bleach and I am one who likes my kitchen bleach clean... maybe a little ocd about this but hey, my kids can eat off the counter (gasp, not that I would allow it) and I do not have to panic about what meat I cut up a few hours ago, or something like that :)
I found this really neat, easy to follow, fast work up granny square dishcloth pattern and am in the process of making, well, A LOT. My old cloths have had it. I could just go to Wal Mart and pick up some standard cloths but once you go crochet dishcloths there is no going back. Not only are they way pretty sitting on the side of the sink but they are durable, and did I mention pretty ;-)
So here is where you can find the pattern:
http://www.favecrafts.com/Kitchen-Crochet/Grannys-Square-Dishcloth/ct/1

These are a few of my pretty white dish cloths, that can handle lots of bleach and remain stain free because of it :)





This is a different granny square pattern that I can not find where I got the pattern from :( but... if I come across it I will share.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Crochet Jewelry Challenge Project # 6

Ok, so this is not quite jewelry I guess but I did pin it on my pinetrest board that got this whole jewelry thing started. But wow... I am having so  much fun creating things I love and will use!

So this time I made the barefoot sandals.  They became popular a few summers ago and I liked them from the start. But... who actually wears these, I mean I can't go around barefoot all the time. Then I saw it, a picture with the barefoot sandals worn with shoes, Wow! They look super cute with flip flops and even closed toe shoes :) So now I could actually see a use for them but I was not even motivated to make them UNTIL the challenge. Boy am I glad I made them :) I love the way they look so much that I even made 2 and the third is in progress.


If you want to see the inspiration photo check it out here
http://pinterest.com/gettinghooked/crochet-jewelry-i-want-to-make/


This is the first pair I made




Don't they look great with flip flops!!



Wanted to try something a little different for the second pair.... I am not as crazy about them as the first pair but I do like them and they look great with my black flip flops





this is my patriotic pedicure in celebration of the upcoming 4th of July :)

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Project # 5 of the Crochet Jewelry Challenge

Project #5 is another bracelet, but this one is definitely for summer! Here is my inspiration photo...


I decided to use hemp fiber for mine, it was the first time I crocheted with hemp. I like the way it worked up, and the way hemp shows the stitches.


I made mine a little different than the inspiration photo again. I made mine more like a cuff than a bracelet. I also made two flower shells. Although I really tried to sew on the shells it just did not work for me, I ended up hot gluing them on but it still looks great :)




So, let me know what you think :)

Friday, June 15, 2012

Project # 4 Crochet Jewelry Challenge

Ok, so # 4 is soooo cool!! I had to make a few changes from the inspiration photo but I like mine even better ;-) The inspiration used wax cord... I went to 3 of my local craft stores and could not find wax cord. I also was unable to find  a turquoise colored heart. So, I substituted wax cord with deer leather and because I was totally set on using a heart I used this cool looking silver colored heart.
Yipee :) I love how it turned out!

Here is the inspiration photo



And here is my version





This is a piece I will wear often, it has a western look and goes perfect with jeans!

Let me know what you think of my version :)
Thanks!!

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Crochet anklet, crochet jewelry challenge project # 3

As you may know, I have given myself a crochet jewelry challenge. I pinned some crochet jewelry on pinterest http://pinterest.com/gettinghooked/crochet-jewelry-i-want-to-make/ and have decided to try and crochet what I pinned, without a pattern, to see what I can do.

I had no idea I would have so much fun with my crochet jewelry challenge! I am loving this!

For my third project I made a crochet anklet with beads. Here is my inspiration photo


The design reminded my daughter of pop tabs :)

I used standard embroidery floss to make mine and I used 1 larger bead instead of 3 small beads because it is what I had on hand.






Leave me a comment, I would love to know what you think :)


Friday, June 8, 2012

Birthday Cake Ring; Project # 2 in Crochet Jewelry Challenge

As you may know, I have given myself a crochet jewelry challenge. I pinned some crochet jewelry on pinterest http://pinterest.com/gettinghooked/crochet-jewelry-i-want-to-make/  and have decided to try and crochet what I pinned, without a  pattern, to see what I can do.

O'my.... was this FUN to make!! Who doesn't love birthday cake! And to wear it on your hand... how cute is that!!
So this was my inspiration photo


I love this ring! I am not sure what yarn/thread it was crocheted in. I used # 10 thread. I am pretty happy with how mine turned out but.... I am my own critic. The big difference I see with mine is the lack of definition in the cake itself, mine is not as perfectly round with a defined top edge (hope that makes sense). I did use different colors, just what I had on hand.







As you can see it is really tiny! Not so easy to crochet, it took about 4 to 5 hours to make. Any time I crochet with thread it takes me a long time.  I had to sew the beads on one bead at a time;  the beads I used are so tiny that they would not fit on the thread I used to crochet with. It is rewarding though, I am wearing my ring right now and love it :)))

Be sure to leave me a note and let me know what you think :)

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

A cute nail art design

I did this cute little design on an adorable young lady that was visiting with us.
I used a Bundle Monster image plate and drew the red line with a polish pen.