Copy Cat Hat

My newest project was a hat made to copycat the Janie and Jack Hat that a friend ordered as a "Custom Crochet" auction item. I had no info to go on other than the picture and the closeup was too blurry to be able to decipher the stitch pattern. I could tell it was a fairly fine yarn, but as I detest thread crochet I decided to go with a slightly heavier yarn. I ended up purchasing 3 skeins of a DK weight, mercerized cotton yarn Elann Sonata in the appropriate colors (Rosetta, Pink Pearl and Light Sage to be exact). This was my first internet yarn purchase and I was very pleased. The yarn arrived VERY quickly and looked even better in person! I really loved this yarn. Its got a little sheen to it, its very firm, but with a loose crochet its very soft and stretchy. It holds its shape very nicely - just what I was looking for in a yarn! Plus it was cheap; what more could I ask for?!


I ended up working the hat in brick stitch using a size H hook (I think). It was a little challenging figuring out how to do the brick stitch in the round, but I came up with something workable by turning at the start of every round and sticking in a chain to get to the next starting spot. Increases were also challenging, and I'm not really sure I can remember exactly how I did them - I know that I was working stitches between other stitches - it worked itself out! The flower appliqué was based on this pattern, but modified to make an eight petal flower like the original hat.


The hat was made for the 24 mo+ range, and was able to fit my almost 3 year old's big head, so I'm not concerned about it being too small for the recipient!

Short Sleeved Bolero

My Mother's Day gift to my mom this year was her choice of handmade items. I know its a lame way to get out of having to pick something myself, but my mom is hard to buy for! We talked a bit and she decided to go with a bolero style jacket. I emailed her a link to several that looked good to me and she picked the Short Sleeve Bolero by Lisa Gentry of Hook and Needle Designs.

The pattern was written as a side-to-side, starting from the left sleeve and working toward the right. This was the first time I had done this type of construction and really enjoyed only having 2 seams to sew when I was done! Its a good thing I did a gauge swatch because I had to go down two hook sizes to get the right gauge! I'm sure its mainly because I'm a very loose crocheter. The pattern was good, the fit was exact, but I made a few adjustments as the right and left side weren't exact mirror images. Maybe its the math-lover in me, but that just didn't seem right.... things must be symmetrical! So I "fixed" it so to speak. I also added my own little adjustments and seamed using a double crochet/space technique so the seam is virtually invisible and it adds a little breathing room. I really liked the edging on the piece... simple shells that really made the whole thing look elegant. I did, however, opt to leave off the gold thread that was supposed to go on the edging as I felt it was kind of gaudy (at least for the intended wearer!).

I couldn't find the yarn that was suggested in any of my local stores and I didn't want to wait for mail delivery or pay extra for rush shipping so I substituted Lion Brand Cotton Ease (cotton/acrylic mix). I really liked the feel of it, and hopefully it will make a long-lasting piece. It took me 3 skeins of the Cotton Ease to make a size L.

We took a weekend trip to Kings Island amusement park the day after I bought the yarn and I spent several hours each way working the pattern. That plus a few hours the next two days finished it up! Overall a quick and satisfying project :) I couldn't help but include this super cute pic of my kiddos enjoying our little getaway!

Knitting... Like, For Real!

So I am an admittedly not great knitter. I can do an ok stockinette stitch or ribbing and sometimes some cables, but add any "tricks" and I'm usually lost. I was getting tired of crocheting (yes, it does happen every once in a blue moon) but still wanted that relaxation of yarn running through my fingers. So I picked up my needles and a pattern for a cute butterfly wash cloth and started at it. After frogging the first attempt due to several glaring mistakes and it being WAY too loose I started over and got an approximation of what its supposed to look like. Not perfect, but good enough to add to another baby gift. This one for a girl.


I was having so much fun and wanted to do some cables, so I just started stitching and came up with this lovely little cabled washcloth for the set as well.

Cowboy Gift Set

I finished up the cowboy booties and matching burp cloths and blanket to go with the cowboy hat I made, and sent them off to my friend in Portland. I had a ton of fun with this set, but I'm pretty much cowboy'd out after making a second hat for the auction! I found the booties pattern a little difficult, but with some interpretation was able to make it work. I'm still not sure I did it right! This little project helped me improve my sewing skills... I did a satin edge on the blanket plus some hem facing to make the burp cloths look nice. I'm sure I made some major errors, but its not here anymore and I can't remember!

Back to Blogland

I'm back! Custom orders from the auction still are keeping me busy, but I am finally able to blog again! I wasn't idle on my crocheting during the weeks before the auction, and I plan to take some time to post stuff here as I get around to it! I threw up a lot of projects on Ravelry, but not much info about what I did. So... on to the updates!

The Auction is Closed!

Thanks to all who participated, the auction was a wonderful success!!! If you won a bid I will be emailing you within 24 hrs to confirm. The bidding is now closed. Please note, however, if you are still interested in supporting Brian, there is no time frame for that! Donations can be made directly to his staff account :) There were also a few items that were not bid on. If you're interested you can go check them out. I'll still ship them to you if you want to buy them straight-up with all proceeds going to the ministry as well.

Again, thank you to all who donated, spread the word, bid, and/or won! Because of your generous spirit, over $500 was raised to support the great work of the Gospel in Rome!

The Auction is Live!

Ok, yes, its another post about the auction. But this is finally the real deal! The auction started today and will end May 7 (Wed) at 10 pm Indiana time. We had some really unique an interesting donations, so be sure to stop by!

Visit the auction now!