Super cute crocheted baby booties with bow

found  here -  from Earth baby crochet- great tutorial and looks like they really would fit a newborn. Definitely want to make a few pairs.

Joined lovely group- Austin Modern Quilt Guild last week.

1930s sampler Farmers wife quilt along- waiting on book

Several are on way... But I'm still waiting on book to be available. Hope to start soon.

Patchwork in Paris: Lots and lots of George - WIP Wednesday

Patchwork in Paris: Lots and lots of George - WIP Wednesday: Massive progress on the Curious George quilt!  In the end, I was able to cut 32 Georges from the single Pottery Barn  pillowcase.  I used...



Wonderful blog with many creative children's quilts. Green eggs and ham, curious george and The Very Hungry catepillar! Plus some cute strip block quilts. Gonna have to keep my eye on this nifty quilt blog.

from Melonie, a fellow crafter, Make Life Square Baby quilt

Pretty simple, 49 5x5" charm pack squares, 3/4 yard kona cotton in Snow (white). Cut 10 strips 1.5 inch wide from Kona cotton and set aside for 4 sides and inbetween sashing strips. Cut remaining into strips and then cross cut into 5 " strips. Sew strips between squares. Make 7 rows of 7 squares wide.



See Picture here, including a great photo tutorial, on Melonie's blog, The Crafty Cupboard: Melonie's blog

and instructions here:

What a year!

Can't  believe it's been a year since I posted. A terrible year in so many ways, but still a year filled with lots of crochet. Not so many quilts, but I did finish, (with help), a quilt for my long time friend, Jaree. Right after the last post, I started having health problems. Instead of improving, they multiplied and I was diagnosed with a form of incurable cancer in February. Not a good time...but one filled with tremendous blessings (in retrospect).  My friends and family have been awesome. God has been AMAZINGLY AWESOME! I am ending this year filled with hope and looking toward a future (shorter maybe) but still a future full of good things. I hope to be able to fulfill the promise of Romans 12, verses 1 and 2, to take my every day life and place it before God as an offering. 

I am crocheting - lots of hats in case I lose my hair. It has thinned but not gone. However, it is going in January because I will be getting some chemo that guarantees it... So, I am making hats. This month, I've been making hats for Audrey and Beth too. Hats to wear to the Tech game against UT (GO TECH!). They are knit with chevron stripes in fair isle, in gray, red and black, of course!

For myself, a really cool knit out of Noro, a nice denim one from Knit Picks Brava worsted using a pattern from Bitchin' Knit/ Irish Hiking Hat, and maybe a few from www.Elann.com and their A series - W01 - I wanted to buy every colorway. They are simply unbelievable. 

Made a few more hats in the summer, too. Made a cool ipad bag from fulled crochet. If I can find pics I will post them. In meantime, I am thankful to have cancer in remission and to be able to crochet.


This month I am hoping to make some scarves for next year's Special Olympics. Their colors are black and red! and they need to be 6-7 inches and 54-60 inches. Want to help? You can make some too. Go to http://www.sotx.org/news-events/blog/2013-blogs/the-scarf-project-is-back.html for details.

What a year it has been. I am truly blessed. 

How to make a puffy hair bow - link to video tutorial

My granddaughter Taylor would like to have hair bows for Christmas. I think she is talking about the puffy ones the bigger girls are wearing. This tutorial made them look So easy. Can't wait to make her some and let her decorate them. Maybe let her learn to make them too. She is so creative! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-rc5-_kxRU&feature=colike

Quilts for 2 new babies. Lil' Longhorn and Sophia's Sister's quilt.

I love making quilts. I have learned a lot from my quilting buddies at Seton. Making baby quilts and quilts for my grandkids are the best ones. Made a cowboy quilt last month for a new little longhorn and this month for a new baby expected soon in Lubbock and her new big sister.

This quilt is the first I've made that I've only purchased a 1/4 yd of new fabric for.

New and future quilts - for Taylor, Mia, and some babies we know

I made a silky, soft throw for Taylor that had silky and Minky fabrics. She helped to pick fabrics and selected the squares format. She also arranged the layout and helped with the preparation for joining. Great combo with her zebra comforter. For Mia, a backing for her awesome fabric with faces for a throw for her room. for Beth's friend in Austin, a new little longhorn, a cowboy quilt, and planning for Sophia's new sister's quilt... need to upload some pictures...

TLC's throw

2 new baby quilts

Whitney's baby's winnie the pooh fabric in a pattern similar to one I saw in a magazine (sorry can't remember where)

and Sloan's disappearing 9 patch in cowboy fabric.

Quilt for wall and "bubbles" quilt

Making a new cowboy quilt with my granddaughter for her Aunt Jen's new baby.
She is helping to design it, as well as making a preview burp cloth to take to the baby shower.
We are using a sweet cowboy print "Little Cowpokes" and a few squares of "Little Cowgirls" (Link here to Little cowpokes fabric) along with hats and boots and horses... possibly as 6" squares and 3 2" bars or quarter square triangles.

Realized I hadn't uploaded my new quilt for my office, a mini version of Urban Cabin, or my version of a bubbles quilt...  I bought the Urban Cabin quilt pattern at my LQS, Honey Bee Quilts (Urban Cabin by Atkinson Designs)

On the crochet front, I have been making cell phone purses. Mostly simple rectangles, but a few foldovers with 4dc squares made on the diagonal... Sold the only one I had, no photo, need to make some more.

NPR STORY Pakistan - Widow revives embroidery of Swat Valley and helps women earn living

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/31/132479662/princess-revives-swati-culture-one-stitch-at-a-time

Embroidery is beautiful - brightly colored, symmetrical. Women can earn $50-100/month (good wages there) . I was struck by the beauty of the stitchery,  amazed at the photo of a yarn shop in an open market and fascinated by the idea of a cigarette smoking, widowed princess helping other women better their lives through embroidery. All thanks to NPR. She ends the story, "All I need is a market in America." As I read the article, I thought, I would really like to have a piece of that embroidery,  but I know I'll never go to the Swat valley.  Is there an internet site to bring crafts from around the world with those who appreciate them? Probably. If not, we need one.

New vest and Cell Phone Purse or "Extra Pocket"

I love to crochet and I love vests! I don't make very many  things for myself but I do enjoy making vests and small purses. This wk I made both. The vest from "I love this yarn"  Pomegranate stripe (3 skeins) from Hobby Lobby and the purse in an "expensive" yarn - at least for me - Berocco origami - 1 skein (50 gms) for $8 from Hill Country Weavers in Austin.

Vest Pattern is the x and o stitch or Kisses and Hugs interspersed with dc. Sample on earlier post, row of double (or single) crochet followed by cross or X stitch (kisses), row of dc (or sc) and row of dc, ch1 (hugs)

Purse is sc magic square slightly elongate (25 sts), with row of dc X stitches 6 or 7 rows below top.

Audrey's quilt - finally finished

I pieced this quilt before Audrey was born, but only finished it after she was 2. Mostly because I was hand quilting it. I finally finished it with some machine quilting supplementing the handwork. Unfortunately, she is passed the age to play on it. I hope it is something she will enjoy on her big girl bed in the future

Sophia's Quilt

I wanted to make a quilt for my children's dear friends Shannon and Seth when their baby Sophia was born. I used a new pattern for me and picked out the fabrics in pink and chocolate brown just for her quilt. Used a flannel backing.

Brayden's firetruck/cars quilt

Brayden's quilt pic. He loves it and I loved making it for him.
It fits his twin bed and is the largest quilt I've made so far.
Pieced by hand and machine (mostly) and Quilted with my Pfaff Quilt Expressions (which I love).
I backed it in a flannel print and used wide strips of red and green prints separated by strips from unused squares for the borders.

Crochet and quilting

Here's a crocheted "quilt" I made for a baby at my church.


Works in progress: squares for a baby dedication quilt and fabric for Brayden's quilt: cars and trucks and construciton vehicles, police and fire equipment, planes and trains... 3 and 6" squares, arranged 4 3" squares and 3 6" squares in a 12 inch square, ... still in the process of being cut out...

Hats and quilts I'v made this fall...

I made a quilt for my friend Kristen's new baby.(the pink one here).

I had made one of my first quilts for their son. I also made a quilt for my friend Regina's second son this summer. I called it Under Texas skies because she moved to the hill country from West Texas. It has stars and whirlygigs (for the wind) and fiesta fabric for San Antonio (not Austin, but near there). The princess quilt is for my granddaughter Bailey who turned 4 in September. It was the first one I've machine quilted in freemotion quilting on my Pfaff.

The hats are for my granddaughter Audrey, who is now a very busy toddler, except for the peapod hat. It will probably go to Evyn.







This hat and quilt is for Jennifer's new baby. The hat pattern is from Caps to the Capital, a national project a few years ago to make crocheted and knit hats for 3rd world children by Save the Children.org and Warmup America. The quilt pattern is the one I've made the most, Patience Corners, and the fabrics were chosen by my daugher-in-law, Jennifer's sister. She used some of them to make her first patchwork project for her new niece.

Mary Englebreit quilt for Audrey

I am making Audrey a full sized quilt, but the hand quilting is slow going!




The week before she was born, after the full size top was pieced, I made this Mary Englebreit print top and accessories for the antique cradle she came home in. Here is the "quilt" which is really not quilted. It is 3 layers, a backing, a lining of flannel and the top which consists of 16 8" blocks, patience corners type, which is the same pattern as her full sized one.

Strawberry (Watermelon) (Flower) Hat

This is a pattern adapted from the co 64,72,80 roll brim hats I've used so often for my grandchildren.This one has knit in "seeds" and knit in leaves, then I added a crocheted leaf or two to the top.
I've made the strawberry (sewed on beads, this is NOT recommended), and the daffodil.



For Daffodil hat, Omit “seeds”
For strawberry hat, knit in green “seeds” instead of black.
Chart and pattern are missing here - See it in the pdf version found on my yahoo group, Crochet_is_everything_else under files Link on sidebar

Shawl Ministry

This shawl is made with "I Love that Yarn" Autumn leaves stripe from Hobby Lobby. The pattern is a double crochet triangle with 3- 2 row sections of Moonlight Mohair by Lion Brand and an L hook. The large hook causes a lacy effect with this medium weight yarn. Colors are off in this photo. Only 2 skeins of Love that Yarn and 2 skeins of Moonlight Mohair in this triangle  (almost 1/2 circle shawl), reaches from wrist to wrist with slight notch at center back. 

We have made dozens of shawls and a few lap robes this year in our Prayer Shawl group at my church. Almost all were crocheted. Many are rectangular shaped, made with Love that Yarn or Lion Brand Homespun. Several have been triangles.  All are made with prayers that God will bless the recipient.

Audrey's dress

I finished Audrey's dress in time for the Baptism, but I didn't have time to finish dresses for the little girls like I originaly planned. I was originally going to crochet 3 little dresses based on an antique dress made by my daughter-in-laws Great great Aunt Irma. It was worn by several generations of Beth's family and is still beautiful. They wanted a modern copy and I wanted to crochet this antique pattern as a tribute to Irma. The timeline changed and I decided to make a smaller version for Audrey. The first one was too small (premie or doll size) so I started over, adapting a modern bodice with more lacework and different sleeves and using Irma's lace pattern for the skirt. The finished product was photographed by Kristen Bednarz at the wedding/baptism celebration. I don't have permission to show it, though those photos may be my all time favorite pictures of my kids and their beautiful baby.
Here are some pictures of the dress on a hanger and a close up above.



The dress pattern (at least the skirt portion) or stitch pattern is located as a file on my Yahoo group, Crochet is everything else!

New hooks

I treated myself to 2 wonderful new hooks this week. (ok, several new hooks and a new set). I bought a Crystal Palace K +, which is a 7 mm and an CP L hook (8 mm, I think). I like them both, a lot, but they don't have a thumb rest. I love the bamboo in knitting needles, so now I have some nice bamboo crochet hooks.

The other hooks I got are Palmwood by Laurel HIll. They are made in Vietnam, but I bought them Karp Styles Crochet and Knitting in BC, Canada. I had ordered a size 7 (between a G and H, I think it's 4.5 mm). I finally made a hat with it a few weeks ago and loved it, so I ordered the set: D-M. They are awesome. They are a beautiful dark wood, have a wide thumb rest and a hook that doesn't catch the yarn. http://www.karpstyles.com/

I also won an auction of crochet hooks from ebay seller - jian0028, They were really inexpensive, so I hope they are nice to work with.

Here is a picture of the hat I made for baby Audrey with the K+ hook:

I saw a play today, "Peter the Rock"

It was at the Ragtown Gospel Theatre in Post, Texas. A one hour, one man, one act play by brothers Glenn and Chip Polk. It was so powerful, and combined with an hour of music as a preamble, made for a wonderful afternoon. I highly recommend it if you are in the Post area. I think it's on weekend evenings and Sunday afternoon.

http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/043007/loc_043007026.shtml

http://posttexas.com/ragtown_ranch_theater.htm

Updated my yahoo group (crochetiseverythingelse)

I put a stitch pattern up (on my Yahoo group, "Crochet is everything else" for the x's and o's crochet pattern made with sc rows alternating with an X row (front or back Xstitch) and an O row (dc, ch1 across). I have used it to make vests, prayer shawls, bookmarks, washcloths, and baby afghans. It is one of my favorites. This sample is a washcloth made in thread crochet. I added 40+ links as well.

Aunt Irma's dress

This is the dress I'm making for my younger son's wedding. I ordered the thread from www.crochetaustralia.com.au which was really cool. We have 7 different brands of the same colors here, but they had a lovely selection including the winter white I was looking for.
I'm duplicating this one in size 3 with size 20 thread and an 8, 1.25mm steel hook, but will make 2 others with size 10 thread in size 5. Also increasing the needle size on the skirt as I progress.
This dress was made by my daughter-in-laws Aunt Irma for her grandmother. Her mother and aunts wore it, as did she and her sister. I'm happy that this new one will be one my granddaughters can wear.

hello from me and Max -

I found a great site called crochetville.org that prompted me to attempt a blog in order to share my crochet pictures. I'm not sure how difficult it will be, but millions of people seem to have mastered the process, so maybe I can to.