‘m busy working on this baby blanket for my nephew – so far I have 16 1/2 rows completed and I need at least two times that to go, maybe three times. I haven’t decided yet. I never timed how long it takes me to crochet, I just work on it a little at a time. Well today I timed it – and wow.

It takes me about 10 minutes per row for this blanket, I’m not sure how many stitches across but it is a double crochet. So 16 1/2 rows times 10 minutes…. 165 minutes = 2 3/4 hours. What! Seriously? I am amazed. I honestly don’t feel like it took that long but maybe that’s because I’m only doing a row or two at a time and then walking away.

I really want to make an afghan for myself. I’m thinking a couch lounge blanket size. I haven’t started because I don’t have that much yarn and I admit even though I am a newbie crochet’er, I have yarn standards. I don’t want to buy just whatever yarn at the local craft store but the problem is also that I just don’t know what kind of yarn to buy. I see people making these afghans with scrap or leftover yarn they have – my leftover yard consists of some 100% cotton, a couple of red heard baby and another cotton.

Do you make an afghan with cotton?

Maybe I’ll stick to baby blankets and scarves for the time being. Oh and I made those fingerless gloves last year – I ended up giving them to my step dad who is a golfer and he loves them! He actually wants another pair but while these ones ended about the middle of the palm of your hand, he wants some that go all the way to his knuckles. Sounds like a quick and easy gift for him!

If only my Dad were so easy to buy/make for!

Crochet Time is a post from: me being crafty

There is a pink and purple fleece tie blanket – basically you lay two fleece fabric pieces together, cut fringe and then tie the fringe twice. The bottom fabric tie will end up on top – see how it is darker on top? That’s the purple.

And here is the fabric for one blanket I am making for a gift this year. I admit I was not too happy with having to use orange – another thing I am trying to do is use what I have, and I already have orange! – but after looking at it all day long, I think I like it.  Once it is all together the orange around the edges (since that is all you would see when you look at the print side) will look nice.

I did get started on the other crochet blanket tonight as well. I did the starting row and then about 1/3 of a second row. It’s been cold here so I’m thinking of lounging on the couch with a blanket and a good movie and I should have a good bit of it done. Do that a few times in the next couple of weeks and done! The fleece blanket is much faster, maybe 15-20 minutes per side is all.

More on Fleece Blankets is a post from: me being crafty

A friend of mine taught me to crochet one day. It was a quick and easy lesson and I caught on right away. I went online and found NexStitch.com with fast loading videos and easy to follow along instructions. That fixed it for a couple of stitches that I just needed to see vs. being told about over the phone.

Then I bought The Happy Hooker. I LOVE that book! The first half is the basics – easy to read and understand instructions and also illustrations. The second half is full of patterns. Lots of cute funky ones like crocheted belts and skirts and completely cute ones like the pattern I used for a blanket Alice’s dolls ended up owning.

I’m bringing this up to remind myself! I promise I’m going to start the blanket I’ve been talking about this week, I am determined to do so because it takes time and I love the idea of doing an all handmade Christmas.

I got out my fleece for the tie blanket – I’ll have pictures on that tomorrow as I did get the fabric ready to go, which takes just a few minutes and then actually making the blanket doesn’t take very long either.

How I learned to crochet is a post from: me being crafty

You can’t see the doll too well, but that purple puff is the back of her hair. I tried to wrap Alice’s into sort of a bun so it would be similar. She loved it! I don’t remember wanting my hair to be the same as my dolls as a kid, but I’m sure I did. She liked it so much I did it for her again today. So we’ve had three days of matching hair.

And in crafty news the baby blanket I’ve been crocheting is getting bigger and since I’ve completed more of it, I feel a lot better. The other day I felt like it was never going to end! I need to look up how to do scalloped edges once I’m finished. I’m planning on making two more for gifts for my baby nephews, the size is easy to adjust so making them bigger or smaller is all you have to think about.

Matching Hair is a post from: me being crafty

I really need to buy better yarn. My craft store has a bad selection and it seems that noone there knows how to help. I ended up talking to another yarn browser who helped me find something.

One Blanket Down, One To Go is a post from: me being crafty

I’m working on row 17 right now.

Checking In is a post from: me being crafty

Today I started and restarted the blanket at least four or five times. I’m not sure what was going on – clearly I shouldn’t have been trying in the first place! But I got it and so far have six rows done.

Of course I misplaced the charger for my camera battery so no pictures until that is found!

Showing my OCD is a post from: me being crafty

Anyway, my Craft ADD ™ is L-O-V-I-N-G crochet!!!!! I know most of the other crafts can be done quickly and get practically instant results. But for whatever reason, I’ve been able to breeze through crocheting. Seriously, this is awesome.

I showed the purple scarf the other day right, I made a little bit shorter and little bit skinnier one for my daughter (same color). Then I made a regular sized one for my other SIL. And then today I made one side of a wrist warmer for myself. I am LOVING this!!! I love all the crafts that I do – what’s the point otherwise right? – but I didn’t realize how fast I could be with crochet. Okay I do make it a point to craft often during the day – I will watch an episode of tv and crochet the entire time. Or just sit with my husband while he watches tv and crochet. I even took the crochet in the car a couple of times!

I have one other wrist warmer to make and then I need a scarf for myself. I need to find a pattern that isn’t as heavy as the one I’ve been using since I want to use the same yarn.

I also want to find a pattern for a baby blanket – I have two new nephews that “need” blankets. LOL I thought I found one but the instructions want me to crochet in the round. Maybe I can’t read the instructions clearly enough, but I don’t want a round blanket, just a square one. I’ve found a few patterns out there but admit I am still searching.

My Craft ADD ™ revisited is a post from: me being crafty

I am ALL done with the pieces for the two little girl ponchos I am making. I am amazed at how fast it went! Again with the OC behavior! LOL

I need to weave in the ends (I’m sure there is a much easier way to do this then leaving them all hanging like I did here!) and attach the pieces, do the drawstring and then I am done! I am so excited, I was only hoping they were done by Christmas. Wow to have them done this early.

The other two pieces for the other one are the same, but here they are tucked into the box I was carrying them around in ~

There is that organizing bug in me. I bought two shoe box sized boxes for these projects, I didn’t want to get the yarns mixed up because I had to buy different lots for one of the colors for them. I am starting new projects this week/coming weekend though so I know I’ll put them to good use.

Any tips for weaving in those ends?

Need to sew is a post from: me being crafty

Of course, my obsessive/compulsive ways led me to finishing it tonight as well! I was only a few rows away when this picture was taken so it wasn’t too much longer. The pattern is from a flyer I bought at the craft store and the yarn is 100% cotton. I wasn’t too many rows into it when I realized it was going to be a thick feeling and heavy scarf. But it is for my sister in law in Montana and I’m sure a thick/heavy scarf will feel good during the cold winter that Montana has. It already snowed their last week!

There is also a pattern for fingerless gloves and a hat. I haven’t crocheted in the round too much so I’m not tempted to do the hat, but I do want to make the gloves. It is a gift for her birthday (in a week) so I will either have to obsessively/compulsively work on them tomorrow or not until her birthday passes so I won’t feel pressured.

I love this scarf though, super fast and easy pattern. I plan on making myself one in a lighter weight yarn since the winter here is not nearly that cold.

Finished now is a post from: me being crafty

Actually, that isn’t finished but I know my camera battery is charging right now. I made two of these per poncho – one for my daughter and one for my niece. And today I should be done with the last of the four. I need to get a knitting needle so I can sew them together and do the edging and the tie. I’m excited!

I finished Alice’s pieces in about two weeks and I worked like mad and finished my neices two pieces in five days. Yep, five!

I’ll grab more pictures today and share – I’m so proud of myself that caught on to crochet fast, that I can read a crochet pattern, and that I sat and (almost) finished my project.

Poncho 90% done is a post from: me being crafty

Can you see there are two laying on top of one another in this picture?

I made the bigger one how I interpreted the pattern – and the smaller one how my friend who taught me to crochet was doing it. She and I haven’t talked about crochet for a few weeks now LOL but I need to ask her what went wrong. Mine (they are both mine, but the one I did all by myself is the bigger one) is bigger (obviously bigger) and stretchier. It is a very odd thing.

Speaking of crocheting, I am going to start a poncho in a week or so. I am going to follow what looks like an easy pattern and hopefully be able to have two finished by Christmas – one for my daughter and and one for my niece.

I need to think of something I can make for my son… any ideas? He’s 3. He doesn’t need any more blankets and we do live in South Carolina so I don’t think he will need too many sweaters.

Can you even crochet a sweater? I have much to learn.

Crochet updates is a post from: me being crafty