Shades of Autumn Scarf

I absolutely love fall and it's colours. In fact, I might have gotten a little carried away with years with fall crochet projects--I started in July hehe. I whipped up a lovely, thick and easy V-stitch scarf in July and today I decided to share with you.

How do you make the V-stitch? Well, it's easy, and you find out more about it in my July post  which provides instructions on how to make this stitch. If you can double crochet and chain, you are set. This stitch is perfect for a lighter scarf since it is a bit open weave and since this yarn was self stripping, the colours organized themselves beautifully for me. I love self stripping and variegated yarns. They add such variety to projects!

For this project, I used a thicker, wooly yarn. Some might find it itchy, but since I used a number 6 hook, it worked up quick and actually, it's quite long. I tried it on today and loved the colours but I have yet to sport it around the town, but I will say, I don't know why I made it as long as I did! I usually measure the length of my scarves by lying them across my shoulders and if the ends fall to my hips, I stop. That way, I get a scarf that will wrap nicely around my neck and keep off the cold wind. This one is a little longer, but I don't think it will a problem.

I hope to be back soon to share with you some other projects--and I am working on three larger ones because I'm nuts--soon. Until then,

Happy Hooking,

Jewels

I've Gone Yarn Crazy!

In my last post, I mentioned that I'm currently working two larger projects. I haven't yet finished either, but yesterday there was a sale and I went yarn shopping. And I found some lovely yarn that I can't wait to work with even though I have two big projects that I'm still in the middle of! I've got crochet madness that's for sure.

I'm not sure the photo does justice to the colours in the Red Heart yarn, but let me assure you it's a beautiful yarn, soft and rich with the colours of autumn. I instantly fell in love and I knew just the project that this yarn would be perfect for. I hope I bought enough. Let me tell you a little story; I recently subscribe to I Like Crochet via my iPad and the October edition has two projects I want to hook up, one with the Red Heart yarn, and the other with that bright yellow that I just love. And as I was standing in the store, I cursed myself because I didn't have access to the app. So, I'm hoping I have enough. I have yet to even double check if I do! Which I really should, come to think of it. 

So what are the projects I have planned for all this lovely yarn I bought? The yellow yarn is going to be hooked into a braided ear warmer. I can't call it a headband as it will be too thick I think, for that use. It ought be perfect as an ear warmer though. The other yarn will be a big lacey scarf/shawl. I have to say, I don't think there are enough hours in the day to crochet lately! 

What are you hooking up? You can share in the comments below. 

Happy Hooking,

Jewels

Projects Under Construction

I'm going to start this post by saying wow. I've taken on a few bigger projects lately and I love working on each of them. Since I can't show you a finished project as of yet, I decided I'd share with you today two projects I'm working on and where I found the pattern.

The first is a hooded scarf that I am loving to work up. So far it's easy. We'll see what happens when it comes time to assemble *wink, wink* But the pattern is cute, and I found it through All Free Crochet, which sends me daily newsletters FULL of free patterns. I save all them all in my inbox but wow, I've NO idea when I'll ever get to try all the lovely free patterns they share with you. You should seriously check them out. The pattern for the hooded scarf is on a blog site called CrochetNCrafts, for which I've provided you a direct link to the pattern. Just in case you want a hooded scarf yourself. I myself chose not to use a red yarn however. Too Red Riding Hood for me.

Picture is not my own work

The other project I'm working on is a poncho I found on Ravelry. I did pay for the pattern and so far (and this is really my first garment project) it has been simple to work up. If you can double crochet you can do this. I've learned to dc2tog thanks to this project, and I haven't had problems yet. I'm again providing you a direct link because you should at least see how cute this looks. Again, I didn't use the recommended yarn, but a colour stripping worsted yarn instead and so far it's turning out fine. 

I hope to be back in a few days to share with you some other projects and resources I've found. So check back soon! 

Happy Hooking,

Jewels

Lemon Stitch Peel Purse

Hello everyone! I apologize for being absent for a while, but I'm back today with a cute little project I whipped up a couple of weeks ago. It's a little purse, easy to make and I learned a new stitch that I love while I was at it.

The lemon peel stitch was really easy, and anyone can do it. If you can single crochet and double crochet, this is that easy. I decided to try out in a simple project and thought it was perfect for a purse. I did get the idea from the site I found the instructions for the stitch on, but I created my own strap, which is longer than pictured, so this is an over the shoulder bag perfect for your phone and keys and a credit card or two. I worked up a length using the lemon peel stitch, then when it was long enough, I made sure to leave a button hole space. I simply chained four, skipped four stitches and followed the pattern till the end of the row. Then, I continued the pattern in the next row till I reached my chain in which I single crocheted across and then carried on with the lemon peel stitch till the end of row and then fastened off. I stitched the sides together using a craft needle and yarn and then made the strap which is just three rows of single crochet. Then I sewed those on to the purse as well. 

It was as easy as that! I haven't used this little purse yet, but I plan to and I have to say, I love the look this stitch lent to this project. It's simple but pretty and that's certainly what I was going for so I'm delighted with the way it turned out. 

Happy Hooking,

Jewels

Triangular Granny Shawl

Sometimes when I'm looking at yarn, I find some that I just have to have. That was the case when I saw the colours for this fall shawl I crocheted. I had the pattern already at home, but when I first went to try it something in the instructions threw me so I put it aside. A year or two later, and I'm much better at pattern reading and crochet and the pattern seemed the perfect one for the yarn I wanted to use. So I began to make my granny shawl.

The pattern was very easy to follow, and if you can make a granny square, a granny triangle will be just as easy. I found the pattern on Ravelry, which is a good site for patterns, but not really my favourite. It might be one day, just isn't right now. I used colours I liked, and I wanted a fall shawl and I decided myself when I wanted to change colours.

Personally, I love the colours and the soft yarn. It should be cozy in the fall months. This would love amazing in some jewel tones, or even in monochromatic tones like black and white. The pattern lets you decide which size hook to use and I used a 4mm which made the project work up a bit more slowly, but I think the effect is nicer and suited the yarn well. 

The pattern included an optional boarder, and I wanted to finish it off with a pretty edge but I was unable to use the boarder included in the pattern. Try as I might, I couldn't follow the instructions and I eventually gave up and decided to see if I could create a nice boarder using a shell stitch, and luckily that worked out. So in the end, it all worked out well! This is a good larger project for a beginner and just as much fun for the more experience crocheter. 

Happy Hooking,

Jewels

Ridged Beanie Hat

With the weather getting cooler, I decided it was time to make a beanie hat for the autumn days. I found a yarn I loved and then went hunting for a pattern for that was just right. And I found one that was perfect--it looks great and was interesting to crochet.

I found the pattern for this hat at Rescued Paw Designs, which I check regularly since the patterns are usually easy to follow and fun to work up. This pattern uses the front post double crochet (fpdc) and the back post double crochet (bpdc) and was a lot to make. Plus, it looks great! Not sure how to make the back post double crochet? Neither was I, and written instructions proved baffling. That's because you are working in the back of your work, or you could think of it as the opposite side of your work, and that was an odd concept to me. I've included a video to help you, since I needed a video to help me really see how it's done. Once you master this (and it won't take long) you're on your way to making a great beanie hat! 

It might look a little strange, but really it's just as easy as the front post double crochet so keep trying as it is not at all difficult. I also want to mention that the pattern includes adult, child and baby sizes as well as a cute flower applique that I chose not to make for my own hat. So you can make one of these beanie hats for anyone in your family! I love my hat and although I'm sorry to see summer behind us (mostly) I can't wait to wear my new hat.

Happy Hooking,

Jewels

Crossed Double Crochet Stitch Scarf

Not too long ago, I started working on a project using some beautiful fine yarn, and I shared with you that working with fine yarn was forcing me to re-learn some crochet technique. Well, that project is finally done and I love it! I made a scarf and it turned out very nicely, and the pattern I used was one of my own making, using a cross double crochet stitch. It's fairly easy, so I'll share with you what I did. I found out via the internet that a cross double crochet stitch should start with a foundation chain of a multiple of 2 plus 2 for the starting chain. This really helped in creating my pattern.

Working with a fine yarn was something of a new experience for me. I had to use a smaller hook, which made the work slower going initially, and I had was all thumbs for a bit. But once I got the hang of it, it was smooth sailing. I love the look of the scarf, as it drapes rather nicely and looks a tad more elegant than if I had used a worsted yarn. 

Pattern: 

Stitches used--chain (ch), slip stitch (sl st), double crochet (dc).

I used a 3.75mm hook and approximately 400yards of yarn.

Chain 28 

Row 1: DC in the ridge of second ch from the hook, and in each stitch across. Ch 1, turn. 

Row2: DC in first stitch. Skip next stitch, dc in next, cross back and dc in skipped stitch. One crossed double crochet made. Repeat across. End with a double crochet in last stitch. Ch 1, turn. 

Repeat rows 1 and 2 for pattern until desired length. Fasten off and weave in ends. 

I had a lot of fun crocheting this, and I can't wait till the cooler weather sets in--so I can wear this lovely creation. 

Happy Hooking,

Jewels