Coffee Cup Wrap

Along with the Beaded Christmas Tree Keychain that my kids made for their teachers, we are also giving them a giftcard to Starbucks and a reusable coffee cup wrap.

For the wrap I followed this pattern, substituting a bit of thin quilt batting for the fusible interfacing and an unused hairband for the elastic. 

I love how simple this project is, and its a great way to use up scraps!

Springing

Oops, I've been missing a while again.  If you didn't catch it on facebook, you can read about my excuse for what has been taking up my time lately other than crafting on our adoption blog.  There are other reasons as well - mostly this gorgeous spring weather!  Up until this weekend we've had the most amazing summer-like weather and the kids and I have been getting out and enjoying it as much as possible.   I have also been keeping myself pretty busy with some secret baby shower and Mother's Day gifts, so I haven't had a lot I could report about :)

Way back when I posted a giveaway on my family blog, got some responses, and promptly forgot about it!  The idea was that the first 5 people who responded would get something made by me in the next year, but they had to do the same on their blog.  I got 5 responses, but only 2 of them ended up being able to carry on the idea.  And of those two, one wants me to teach her crochet - which will eventually happen - and the other welcomed any handmade thing!  Today I dug through my fabric scraps and whipped up a set of 5 very springy coasters for Alison. 

Alison is a great hostess and truly enjoys entertaining.  Hopefully these will bring a bit of color to her next gathering!

Autumn on the Horizon

Well it is almost fall here in central Indiana. The leaves are beginning to turn on the silver maples and the corn is drying on the stalks. Soon we'll go picking in the pumpkin patch and start planning our Halloween costumes! Autumn is also the return of evening tea and board games around our house. I recently finished this mug jacket to not only keep my favorite mug warmer longer for those late night game marathons, but make one more item in my house covered in a cozy yarn jacket!


We've had a wet and mild summer this year which has had many home gardeners producing bumper crops! My sister's garden was overrun with tomatoes, peppers, and pumpkins. She also has a crabapple tree that was almost falling over under the weight of the fruit on its branches. My neighbor had a pear tree overflowing with fruit, and didn't know what to do with it. So... my sister and I spent 12 hours Saturday night making cinnamon crabapple syrup, sugar free pear jelly, honey pumpkin butter, and corn and black bean salsa.


We had a ton of fun and put away lots of food for the winter: 12 quarts of salsa, 8 pints of crabapple syrup, 6 pints of pumpkin butter, and 10 pints of pear jelly. We'll be set in the sweet department for a while! I found out Monday that the salsa makes an excellent soup base for chicken tortilla soup - just added 2 cans of chicken broth and boiled chicken - delish!


One thing we did not can is my jellybean tomatoes, which are still coming in at about a quart or more a week. They don't last long enough in our house to have any leftover for canning. I will be so sad when they finally stop producing... what will I have to fill that early afternoon sweet craving?! Maybe the sugar free pear jelly on home made whole wheat toast or honey pumpkin butter on warm corn bread. Ok, so maybe moving on to fall and winter isn't such a bad thing!

Harvest

The garden is growing like gangbusters. I'm finally getting to eat some of the fruits (or vegetables) of my labor.

carrot, dill, green beans, sugar snap peas, cilantro, and chives

I turned a handful of veggies and herbs into a delicious meal for friends. While I did purchase the main ingredients, something from the garden made it into each dish! Like my teeny tiny carrot? I'll have to till the soil deeper if I grow them again - they hit the clay and stopped growing down, just got fat.

I'm also have a nice crop of knit and crochet items these days :) I bought a whole bunch of worsted weight cotton yarn and have enjoyed making a few kitchen items. I plan to sell these and a lot more in September in a community event my friend's non-profit is putting together.

Super Simple Flower tawashi

another Vineyard Washcloth

Scrubbie Dots

Fishie Washie

What are you harvesting this summer?

Kitchen Scrubbie - Free Pattern

**This is a re-try of this pattern. I didn't write it out as I was making it, and wrote it out of my memory - which unfortunately isn't very good. I will try making another one of these and see if I think the pattern is right or not!

Here's the scrubbie I made up for some friends' wedding gift. Keep in mind, I haven't tried this out to see how well it actually works as a scrubber, it just looks great! I have no claim that this works for any good! I really need to try this out at home, but I've just got too much else going on right now.





Materials:
Small amount of worsted weight cotton
US Size J hook
tapestry needle

Foundation Round:
Chain 2, work 6 dc in second chain from hook, join last dc to first dc with slip stitch to form a circle.

Round 1: Working in back loops only, *chain 10, make sc in next st, ch 10, make sc in same st, ch 10, make sc in next st, repeat from * 5 more times, joining last sc with a slip stitch to base of first ch 10. [18 chain-10 loops made]

Round 2: Ch 8, turn. Working in un-worked loops of foundation row, *chain 8, make sc in next st, ch8, make sc in same st, ch 8, make sc in next st, repeat from * 5 more times, joining last sc with a slip stitch to base of first ch 8. [18 chain-8 loops made]

Finishing:
Pull yarn and hook to "back" side, where the chain-6 loop side is the "front" side. Insert hook into sc at base of ch8 loop on opposite side of the circle, yo and draw through loop on hook. repeat this procedure to close up "hole" created on the backside. Chain 12, work sc in 5th chain from hook and in each ch to the base of the scrubber. Finish off and sew in ends

**Feel free to use this pattern for personal use or profit, please just credit me with my name and web address if you post the pattern elsewhere!**

"Woven" Dishcloth - Free Pattern

This picture isn't great for showing off the nice texture of this cloth, but it has a distinct "woven" look to it, similar to basket weave. This pattern has not been tested.

using F hook and worsted weight cotton, make a chain that is a multiple of 6 + 2.
Row 1: in 4th ch from hook, work a dc. Make a dc in each ch across. turn
Row 2: sl st around post of dc below, ch 3. Work front post dc in each of next 2 dc, work back post dc in each of next 3 dc, *work front post dc in each of next 2 dc, work back post dc in each of next 3 dc. Repeat from * across. turn
repeat row 2, (you will be working fpdc in the bpdc and working bpdc in the fpdc) until the cloth is desired length. Work a sc border around making 2 sc in each corner and 2 sc along the side of each dc row.

**Feel free to use this pattern for personal use or profit, please just credit me with my name and web address if you post the pattern elsewhere!**

Wavy Dishcloth - Free Pattern

Here is a simple dishcloth. **Feel free to use this pattern for personal use or profit, please just credit me with my name and web address if you post the pattern elsewhere!**

Materials:
US size F hook
Two colors of worsted weight Cotton

Special Techniques:
Crab stitch

Foundation Chain:
Using color A, make a chain that is a multiple of 8 + 3 ch for starting chain.

Row 1: Starting in 3rd ch from hook, make 1 dc. *1 hdc in next ch, 1 sc in each of next 3 ch, 1 hdc in next ch, 1 dc in each of next 3 cs, repeat from * to end, ending with only 2 dc (1 dc in each of last two ch instead of "1 dc in each of next 3 ch"). ch 1, turn.

Row 2: sc in each st across.

Row 3: join color B, ch 1, 1 sc in same stitch, 1 sc in next sc, *1 hdc in next sc, 1 dc in each of next 3 sc, 1 hdc in next sc, 1 sc in each of next 3 sc, repeat from * to end, ending with only 2 sc (1 sc in each of last two sc instead of "1 sc in each of next 3 sc"). ch 1, turn.

Row 4: sc in each st across.

Row 5: drawing color A up along edge, switch to this color, ch 3. 1 dc in next sc *1 hdc in next sc, 1 sc in each of next 3 sc, 1 hdc in next sc, 1 dc in each of next 3 sc, repeat from * to end, ending with only 2 dc (1 dc in each of last two sc instead of "1 dc in each of next 3 sc"). ch 1, turn.

Row 6: sc in each st across

Repeat rows 3-6 till dishcloth is approximately square, drawing colors along the edge without pulling tight (these will be hidden in the edging). Using last worked color, crab stitch all the way around, working one crab st in each st along the wavy ends, 2 crab stitches in each corner, and 2 crab stitches in each dc along the side (only one for the sc rows).

Kiss the Hook!

I recently participated in the Crochetville Kitchen Swap for '08. I had so much fun creating small cotton kitchen items for my swap partner - trying to match what I could make with what she liked. My partner gave me a lot of great input in things she was interested in and here's what I came up with*:

The apron says: Kiss the (C)Hook
and yes, that is a crocheted lip print and a tiny crochet hook...
I about died having to wait to post this until my swap partner received this in the mail!
Trust me, if you crochet, this is funny - Apparently if you don't, its not!

Dishcloths (Hexagonal, Wavy and Woven)


Potholders/Trivets (Starburst, Flower)


Oven Mitt


Jewelry holder (for when doing dishes) and spiral scrubbie


Towel Topper

*Note: Many of these come from patterns I found online, but I take full credit for the apron, two of the dishcloths, and the towel topper!

Wedding Gift - Kitchen Extravaganza!

I had a lot of fun creating a gift basket for a friend's wedding. I think its finally safe to post some of the items as I'm pretty sure she's not looking at my blog on her honeymoon :) The pattern for the scrubbie can be found in my free patterns section.