Archer - The Mystery CAL

I participated in a Mystery Crochet-a-long (CAL)

Hosted by Stacey over at Fresh Stitches.

None of us had any idea what we were crocheting

until the last clue was released.

So this is Archer, the Dog.

A Jet-setter Sweater

Another Christmas Present.

This jumper was 6 months in the making.

Simply because I lose interest easily and got sidetracked 

with other, quicker projects.

This is for my younger sister, Danielle.

That's me trying to be a model.

And a bonus picture of kitty Olivia, who had

to get in on the 'photo-shoot'

Pattern is from 'Crochet Today' May/June issue.

A Bat for Christmas

Another Crochet Christmas Present.

This is Igor the Tiny Bat.

The pattern is by Stacey Trock at Fresh Stitches.

She makes the cutest Amigurumi patterns, I am such a fan of hers.

Two Faced Crochet Pillow

I crocheted a pillow case for a boring little pillow.

On one side is Moda Vera Triglia in variegated Blue.

And on the other side is Moda Vera Shiver in Avocado.

You may notice that the pattern is different on each side.

I felt like 'spicing things up a little'

With chunky yarn and a 10mm/N/P/15 hook

this works up ridiculously fast.

Introducing: Leonidas

I made this Lion Toy for a Christmas Present.

I made it up as I went along,

and thankfully, wrote it down.

He turned out pretty cute.

Not what I was expecting, but still sweet.

Charity Headbands

One of my friends is going back to Tanzania where

she volunteers at a girls orphanage.

Last year we donated money,

but this year she wanted gifts and 

useful things to take to the girls.

She told me they would love some girly little headbands

so I made six of them.

  

  

DIY Christmas Labels

I made my very own print out christmas present labels

They are printed on photo paper and attached to the presents

by double sided tape

I created this on Pic Monkey but added in the names in  

Microsoft word so I could print out 8 labels at a time.

I love Christmas time!

Half a Tank

The front half of a light and loose tank top.

Back half to follow.

Every weekend in the Goulburn Valley area that I live,

there is an art, craft and produce market.

The last one I went to had some pretty wooden buttons.

I picked up a couple of pairs.

These ones were 0.30c each and quite summery

WIP

This is [another] Work In Progress

Beautiful wool, gorgeous shades of navy, purple and bright blue.

This is another pattern from Rachel Oglesby's book Crochet Boutique.

Aubergine Cowl

Here is my aubergine cowl.

23 rows of back loop only single crochet's.

It's too warm to wear it now, but it will so cosy next winter.

Here is my Ravelry Project Page.

and the pattern page is Cuddle Cowl by Rachel Oglesby.

Sewing

I've been practicing some sewing.

How cute are my little pins below?

I made this tote bag. The stripes aren't even but this is why I have been practicing.

The more I make, the better they will look, right?

Chunky Wool

More new chunky wool.

Clockwise from top left:

Moda Vera Chantilly in Apricot

Moda Vera Shiver in Orange

Moda Vera Triglia in Blue &

Moda Vera Cardellino in Cream-Brown

Aubergine Stitches

Here is a gorgeous close up of my aubergine yarn stitches.

You may notice that these are BLO or back loops only.

I love the look of BLO stitches.

This book came in the post a couple of days after buying the aubergine wool 

and I found the perfect project for it inside.

I purchased my copy of "Crochet Boutique" from the Book Depository

Aubergine

I recently bought some gorgeous wool.

This is Lincraft Premium Luxe Yarn in Aubergine.

I'm really starting to like chunkier yarns these days. 

They work up quite fast, and this one is super soft too.

It's gorgeous. I'm just looking for the right project to use it for.

I also bought a tunision crochet hook, otherwise known as an afghan crochet hook.

I'm busy trying to learn the tunisian crochet stitches so I can start some projects with it.

How To: My Version of the Popcorn Stitch

This is how I do the popcorn stitch. 

It is worth noting that I use only 4 double crochet stitches to make my popcorn stitch, 

when the usual is 5 double crochet's.

Step 1: in my project, I needed 1dc, 2dc, 1dc, popcorn stitch.

The arrow in the picture below shows where my popcorn stitch is going to go.

Step 2: make 4dc all in the next stitch, as shown below

Step 3: turn your project over to the wrong side (WS). You can see the WS view in the picture below. To complete my popcorn stitch, I sc in the top of the first stitch (from the WS)

sc in the top of the first dc as mentioned above.

Step 4: turn your project back around to the right side (RS). The photo below is how my popcorn stitch looks. The next stitch to dc into can be a little hidden, so I've put an arrow showing where my next dc will go. 

Below is my finished round with 8 popcorn stitches.

(The one under the hook is a little hard to see on that angle)

It is also worth mentioning that a popcorn stitch is counted as one stitch. 

When you are crocheting the next row, make your stitch in the sc at the top of the popcorn stitch.

Hope this has been helpful.

A Little Basket

I had some big wool and I was craving a quick finish crochet project.
I've been wanting to make one of these little baskets for a while now after seeing them on Crochet in Color.
For the pattern see this post ---> Chunky Crochet Basket.

I did alter the pattern a little when I made mine.
I used two strands of Moda Vera Shiver in a deep red together, and used a 9mm hook, because I could not find my 8mm hook. I also did double crochet stitches in place of the half double crochet stitch, and on the second last row, I stitch in the back loops only.

My basket measures roughly 22 inches around, 8 inches across and 5 inches tall.

Right now it's just holding junk like extra screws for my bookcase and ink cartridges for my printer. I'm planning on making a couple more if different sizes.