May 2015 crochet along - part 2 is finished!

Hi everyone! I rarely have time to write posts during the weekends but I just wanted to brag about the fact that I've finished part 2 of the challenge and I'm already working on part 3.

Here are the completed large rectangles from part 2:

And the small rectangles + the four flowers: 

In case you haven't heard about it before, the May 2015 crochet along challenge was launched by Joanita, from  Creative Crochet Workshop, so go check out her blog for the patterns and updates. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

May 2015 crochet along update

Hi everyone! I've been hard at work on the May Mystery Crochet Along, so here's an update!

In case you missed my post last week, Joanita from Creative Crochet Workshop invited me for the May Mystery Crochet Along. Part 1 was posted on May 6th and part two on May 13th and you can use only yarn scraps to complete the challenge (patterns are posted by Joanita on her blog). 




I've started a bit late since it took me a while to gather the yarn leftovers I wanted (needed) to use, but I've now completed part 1 and started part 2, so I'm guessing that by next Wednesday I'll be almost ready to tackle part 3 of the challenge.

Here are the completed blocks from part 1:

Since we are supposed to use the same type of yarn throughout the CAL, I gathered all leftovers from a rug I made several years ago, but after a while I was getting tired of all the greens and browns so I cheated and added a dark blue (leftover from the boy version of the easy winter hat). It's a bit softer than the others but works well with a size 4 hook too, so I'll be using it here and there to break the monotony of the other colors.

Hart at work at the beach on Saturday evening: 

If you want to take part in this crochet along, there is still time! The party is on here and you can post your pictures directly onto Google+.

Have fun,

May 2015 Mystery CAL

Hi everyone! Last week Joanita from Creative Crochet Workshop kindly invited me for the May Mystery Crochet Along!

The main challenge of this crochet along is to use those scraps of yarn that we all have around. I'm in the middle of decluttering my house, so this is just perfect timing!

Only scraps are allowed and it's a month-long project, so there is still time for you to join if you want to!

The party is on here and you can post your pictures directly onto Google+.

You can access patterns in the link below. For the first part of the challenge you need to make eight blocks.
http://creativecrochettoys.blogspot.com/2015/05/scraps-of-yarn-challenge-cal.html

As usual I'm running a little behind, so the only thing I've made so far is yarn selection:

 

This balls of yarn  are leftovers from making the rug pictured in the photo below. I started that rug before I was married and finished it after my daughter was born. Since then, all the leftover yarn has been living in my closet and I've never done anything with it. 

 I know I still have some green left too, so I need to go back for it. I'll be using a size 4 needle (even though the yarn is fairly thick, I've tested and size 4 works great). 

Hopefully I'll be able to start my blocks this evening and post along this week. Though in my case the May challenge may well slide into June...

Anyway, check out the party and join it if you can. The more, the merrier!

crochet owl pillow: the fluffy version

Remember the crochet owl pillow tutorial I posted a couple of weeks ago? I told you at the time I was making another one (because with my kids, everything gets to be made in pairs) with a totally different yarn. Well, it's finished! Here is the owl pillow, in a much fluffier version:

I made the first one for my daughter, and while I was debating about which yarn colors to use for my son's, he discovered in the yarn scraps basket the leftovers from the spring wreath:

He loved the ball of soft yarn so much he took it to bed with him, and it "slept" there for several day (amongst his zoo of softies).
 

It was clear to me then what kind of yarn I had to use for his owl pillow, so I went back to the craft store and got two additional colors (yellow and grey were the only "boy" colors available at the time) and started crocheting.

This time I'm not posting a tutorial because this owl pillow was made in exactly the same was as the other, it's just slightly smaller (I couldn't find another pillow in the same size). Here they are side by side:

I think it turned out pretty cute, and while I love the colors of the "girl" owl, the "boy" one is truly much softer and huggable.

Despite the fluffy look, the yarn was fairly easy to work with, though in retrospect it would have probably been easider to knit than to crochet the pillow.

Enjoy,

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crochet owl pillow: the tutorial

This is a project that was supposed to have been finished a long time ago, since it was intended as an Easter present for my daughter. But it was not meant to be. I ended up buying her a book instead and told her she would have her owl pillow as soon as possible.

Anyway, I managed to finish this little guy yesterday morning and I'm finally ready to share the tutorial. So here is the crochet owl pillow!

Want to make one? It's easy, no special crochet skills required and, if you're not me and don't have a million other things to do, you'll be able to put it together pretty quickly.

Here's the how-to. You'll need a pillow (rectangular shape works better in my opinion). I did not measure mine and I do not have it with me as I'm writing this, but if I had to guess I would say it's about 40 x 20 centimeters.

Other than that, three different colors of yarn (I used 100% cotton for this owl, but I'm making another - if my daughter has one, my son wants one too - with a totally different yarn, so choose what you feel comfortable with) and two buttons for the eyes.

Alternating the colors, crochet two rectangles long and wide enough to cover your pillow (sorry, some of the pictures were taken at night, so they're not as clear as the others).

Join the two rectangles together with a single stitch all around, keeping the pillow in between.

Now you have a crochet covered pillow. Set it aside for a while and crochet the eyes: two circles of the darkest shade of yarn you are using (in my case it was the grey) and two smaller ones in a contrasting color.

I made the larger circles with three rows of double crochet and one row of single crochet, and the smaller circles with two rows of double crochet and one row of single crochet. Depending on the actual size of your pillow, you may need to adjust measurements.

The idea is to have the eyes looking like this when you stack all layers (including the buttons):

Sew the buttons onto the smaller circle first, and then sew the smaller circle onto the larger one. When this is done, place the eyes where you want them on your pillow and sew them in place too.

Then, you'll need to crochet two additional circles for the wings (you can make them half circles but I think with a full circle you'll get more of a 3D effect) and a square for the beak.

The circles are made the same way as the ones for the eyes, with just one additional row of double crochet. To sew the wings, fold the circles in half and sew then (on the fold) to the sides of the pillow (sorry, I was frantically trying to get it finished at this stage, so I forgot to take pictures). I didn't sew the circles completely shut, so there is a sort of a small pocket in the wings (it's like you can hold hands with the owl...):

All that it's left at this point is the beak. Fold the crochet square in half, not quite aligning the edges (so that the top half is slightly smaller than the bottom one), and sew it in place onto the pillow. Again, if you don't sew the top half completely, your owl will be able to open its beak and hoot around (or maybe not):

And your owl is done!

Enjoy, 

Granny's squares

Or maybe I should say "granny's granny squares". Confused? Let me explain.
 

My maternal grandmother passed away in 1993 and while going though her things, my mother found a bag full of granny squares. They were clearly made with leftover bits of yarn but followed a similar color pattern: red in the center, black or dark blue in the second row, then lighter blue, then grey or beige and finally white.

Although there was a large number of squares, my grandmother hadn't sewn them together, there was still a lot of unused yarn and we had no idea what she intended to do with it. My mother took everything home and decided to make a throw, since it seemed the most obvious solution. Along the years I'm sure she made some additional squares, but even though she's an awesome knitter, she really doesn't like to crochet and I'm pretty sure she forgot all about it.

Since during the winter at our house we use lots of throws (we have them in our living room, our home office, the guest bedroom, our beds, etc) I decided it was time to finally put it all together and actually use it. However, as usual, it was easier said than done and the poor bag sat in a corner, again, untouched, for quite some time.

In my current quest to declutter the house, I finally got round to crochet the final squares to have a rectangle of appropriate size and finished sewing them together. I still have to wash it, as it has been in storage for too long, but at least now it is out of the unfinished objects pile.

On a side note, my kids have already started to argue which of them will be using it first...

Enjoy,

Reuse & upcycle: water bottle to pencil holder

 

Ok, after the pants and the pillowcases, I'm still in closet cleaning mode, hoping to either find new uses for things that have been stored for a long time or to just toss them and reduce clutter.

I could not, however, bring myself to throw away this water bottle.

It was the first water bottle we purchased when my daughter went to pre-school, but either the plastic was poor quality or it degraded with time (or both) and a couple of months ago we noticed the water acquired a plastic taste after being in the bottle for a few hours. We bought a new water bottle and put this one aside.

After some brainstorming, I finally found a way to reuse it. First, I cut the top half of the bottle, and then punched several holes around the (new) rim, at regular intervals.

 

 Once this was done, I crocheted around the rim, inserting the hook in each of the holes successively.

 

After a first row of single crochet I added a second row for a bit of flair (four sc in one hole, slip stitch in the next hole and so forth).

And the water bottle was turned into a cute pencil holder:

Here it is already in use at my daughter's "work" desk: 

This shows that most things can be reused or upcycled if you put your imagination to work. And that sometimes the simple ideas are truly the brightest ones.

So, what items do you have in your closets that could really use a second life?