A few crochet projects

I’ve done just a couple crochet projects the last few months. The yard has been keeping me pretty busy. I made myself a blanket, something I rarely do. I wanted to learn how to do a chevron design.

Chevron blanket

I love using Daisy Farm Crafts patterns because they always include a video on the intricate stiches or patterns. I use it every night on the couch, watching TV and crocheting my next project. Another one of their patterns I loved was this cactus blanket.

Cactus blanket

My in-laws, that we bought our house from, moved to Arizona. So I made this blanket for them as a house warming gift, they loved it. It was a more complicated pattern but once you get it down it’s pretty easy. Keeping the lines from tangeling is the hardest part. I sell the chevron and cactus blankets on my Etsy shop. Last Christmas my sister made me a Seahawks hat and I’ve wanted to learn how she made it.

On my last visit to see her I had her teach me how she made it. I made a pattern from her dictation and made the hat. I will add this hat to Etsy soon. It turned out just like the original.

Quarantine crafts

2020 has been a crazy year so far. As of writing this post we have been home “quarantined” for 5 months. That means a lot of time on my hands to crochet and do crafts, as well as tend to the garden. Our yard has never looked so good! So as with any pandemic, you need masks. So I crocheted some. I used some leftover quilt fabric to sew on the backside for a filter.

I also learned how to make headbands, pretty easy and quick. Another fun project was making a granny square purse. I lined it with fabric so things won’t fall through the holes.

My son and I did a little sidewalk chalk art, that was fun. I made a yarn stick, not sure what you call it. It’s easy though, just wrap yarn around a tree limb and stick it in the garden for some fun yard art.

One project that was really fun was painting rocks. I set out to just paint strawberries so I could put them next to my strawberry plants as decoy for birds. They turned out so good, that I kept going. Painted a bunch of rocks for around the yard. I see what all the hype is about, it’s so fun and creative.

I found a little stool for $2 at the Goodwill, bought some new fabric and a cushion and made the cutest little foot rest. My last project was an easy one. You know those paper chains that you make in kindergarten? I crocheted one for my mantle. Just a little pop of color that was needed. I’m sure there will be many more quarantine crafts coming, but hopefully this pandemic comes to an end soon and we can get back to normal life.

Winter crafts

After the holidays were done I was still working on crafts, just waiting until the weather warmed up so I could build my new garden beds.

I have had this large slab of wood for a few years, not sure what to do with it. For Christmas I made it say Noel, for Valentine’s Love, and for the rest of the year it says Home. I just bought the letters and spray painted them. Easy peasy!

For Valentine’s I also made a heart ❤️ garland for the mantle. Made one for my mama too.

For my son I made him a Batman blanket. It was really easy, just make a thousand little squares (felt like it) then sew them together in the pattern.

I tried a new type of crochet pattern for a baby blanket for some friends. Their nursery theme was mountains. It was actually easy to do once I got it down. I also made one for our trailer, I made it into a wall hanging.

Holiday crafts

We moved into a new house last year. It was a “new” house for us but it has belonged to my in-laws for 24 years. When I met my husband he was still living with them in this house. So it has always been like a second home to me. When we found out that my in-laws were going to move and sell the house, we decided we wanted to keep it in the family and jumped at the chance to buy it. The holidays were the first ones in the new house and it was so much fun to decorate for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I made a bunch of crafts to help decorate for Christmas. The first one I did was make a JOY sign. I saw it on Pinterest and thought I could do that, so I have it a whirl. And it turned out just like I imagined it would. A little spray paint, embroidery hoops, hot glue, and fabric is all the supplies needed.

Since I had leftover gold spray paint I painted our pumpkins for my Thanksgiving table centerpieces. Love the way the gold pumpkins turned out.

Back to Christmas..I always have extra yarn in the house. I wanted to make some yarn trees to put on the mantle. I bought some styrofoam cones and used hot glue to wrap them in yarn, added a spray painted gold star on top. I love how simple this craft was.

I made a huge star garland for the windows in my dining room. I love how it turned out but that one was time consuming. After making all the stars I used modge podge to make the stars stiff, which worked great but you had to pin each star point. I love how it turned out so I made some smaller garlands for a few family members for Christmas presents.

One craft that I did I absolutely love ❤️ I made some granny square throw pillows. They were so simple and so striking. I sell them in my Etsy shop. I have sold quite a few of these.

The last Christmas craft I did wasn’t necessarily a craft. My aunt commissioned me to make a bunch of hats for her kids and grandkids. It had been a few years since I made a hat so I had to learn it all over. But it was fun. I made my son a purple hat and he sleeps in it every night. It is so streched out now but he still wears it.

Granny square blanket

I have wanted a granny square blanket since I was a kid. I used to watch the show Rosanne and they had one on the back of their couch and I just loved it. Since making 44 blankets for Christmas, I had a bunch of leftover yarn ? Perfect for making a granny square blanket. It took about a month of making squares and then sewing them into rows, then sewing the rows together to make a blanket. It turned out so well, I even had my first order for one once I showed it off on Facebook to friends and family, so that was cool. One of my favorite works I’ve done so far. Now it sits on the back of my couch ?

Learning crochet

A few years ago I taught myself how to crochet. I am so glad I took the time to do that. I have made many projects, and many many blankets. I mostly crochet at night, I can listen to tv while working on a peice. I find it really relaxing and very satisfying when I complete a project. I am still working on reading patterns. I usually can watch a YouTube video and make a pattern out of that. I continue to learn new skills and that is what I love about crocheting, there are endless projects to try.

My first Christmas with this new skill I made everyone mug warmers and all the girls purses. They were easy to make and didn’t take much time. For the next Christmas I started in January, I made everyone a full size blanket. I made 44 blankets!

Blankets ready to wrap

It took me about a week per blanket. Just working on them at night and in my spare time. Everyone loved their present! Last year for Christmas, I made everyone snowflake ornaments to go on top of their gift basket. The snowflakes turned out so good ❄️