Crocheted Finished Projects for 2008

This will be a picture heavy post. I am so happy to show off my newest finished objects! I am so excited to finally post these crocheted items. They are past due my intended completion date but I am happy with the results!

The first item is a crocheted shell I made using Sugar n Cream cotton yarn I purchased at Michaels' when they had their ten skeins for $10 sale. This shell took about 8 1/2 skeins. It's very simple to make and I will make another one. I got the pattern from the Sugar n Cream website after I purchased the yarn. I am very excited and thrilled with it.


I want to show off my detail around the arms. I had to single crochet around the arms twice to finish.

This is the neckline. I like square necklines and the shell pattern looks really pretty!

Last but not least the bottom of the tank I crocheted the shell pattern all around. A very fun and easy project. This could easily be done in a week.

Unfortunately the shell is too big by one size on me. I think I will give it away to one of my friends.

This project I started back in June and had planned to complete by the end of July. This is the cardigan I worked on and ran out of yarn. I couldn't locate any skeins in the right dye lot so I had to improvise. I decided to make the back a solid color. It worked perfectly! I was thrilled. This jacket came out perfect. I actually have plenty of the multi-colored yarn left over.

The one thing about this pattern was the amount of yarn needed. I used two whole extra skeins on this project. I bought an extra skein but it was not enough. I guess you live and learn to improvise.

I must confess it is not entirely completed. I need to sew those buttons onto the sweater! TEE HEE! This is the one reason I am not modeling it for you.

As for the fit. It's PERFECT! I had to let you know this because a certain blogger and hubby (Patrice and Ian) said it looked huge. But I will say this they weren't the only ones. But it isn't huge at all. It's very thick though. My mom said it was like a coat! LOL!

Now I must show off some of my details like the ribbing around the sleeve. This was the first time I did ribbing and it really was easy. I love how the sleeves are nice and long. Sorry to the bloggers who suggested I make the sleeves 3/4 length to save on yarn. I have issues! LOL!

This is the collar. I had to do a shell pattern all around and change colors too for the back. Not bad! I really like this sweater and I can't wait to wear it when it gets cold.

Last but not least I made my first pair of socks! Yes these are crocheted socks. I love them! I made them in about a week. Not bad huh? I could have made them quicker but I took my time. I really like the way they turned out. I can't wait to make another pair. These were made with white worsted weight yarn I purchased at AC Moore in a bulk package with no name. It was incredibly cheap so I thought why not? Sure came in handy too. I didn't use much of it either. I like the way these feel on my feet. Very comfy!

These socks are worked from the cuff to the toe. The ribbing on the cuff is so easy! I mean very easy! I think I will make some of these for gifts this Christmas for family. I really like them a lot.

I really like the cuff. It's a simple single crochet only in the back loops. I made them while watching my television shows.

The heel, gusset and toe was a little more challenging in the respect of reading the pattern. I did frog once to start again but I figured it out after the one frogging. The toe was a no brainer and sews close with no ridge. KEWL!

Well there you have it! My crocheting projects for the month of September. I think I did a fabulous job! I am very excited.

Right now I think I will take a small hiatus on crocheting. I have other crafts I need to concentrate on (sewing and scrapbooking) for a while. I will get back to crocheting a little later in the year.

TOODLE LOO!

Comedy of Sewing Errors

Well! Where do I start? Let’s start at my attempt to move on with my sewing projects to a jacket. It’s a simple jacket (so they say) that I started at the “Escape to Sew” day at my local sewing/quilting store. The jacket is McCall’s pattern #5241. It’s a one-hour sewing pattern. I chose this pattern because I thought it would be perfect for me to slowly get back into sewing. At least that is what I thought. Well at my first day I cut out the material and by the end of the day I had sewn the back seam and the sleeve seams. I was there all of six hours with a lunch break for about an hour. But of course, I spent most of time talking with the ladies (which is important later).

The next time I decided to work on the jacket was at the same sewing/quilting store. They have what they call “Midnight Madness” which is on Friday nights once a month. It’s from 6pm to Midnight and you are allowed to come and work on your projects. Since this was my first time, I spent time eating and chatting with the ladies. This is not good for me. I now know I cannot sew and chit chat too. It just doesn’t work for me. My mind needs to be on my work. I spent around 2 hours trying to get my sleeve to work. I will say some of it has to do with the pattern. Later my mom and friend told me to ease the sleeve even though the pattern doesn’t specify it. They feel I would have an easier time with it. Anyway I got frustrated and eventually left around 9pm. I think the ladies thought I was frustrated with them but that wasn’t it. I also had an 8am hair appointment which takes me an hour to get to from my home (I have a hard time finding good hair stylists who can do my hair right). A wedding at 3pm with nothing to wear (that’s another blog post). I just decided to go. Also when I tried on my jacket it seemed to hang weird. Hmmm?

Well, on Sunday I took the materials and patterns to my mom to check for issues. First of all my mom does not believe in sewing on Sunday. She says it’s in the bible that you don’t work on Sunday. We are allowed to cook, clean and everything else but sew and crochet. I have always wondered where she gets this but its mom and I will just have to live with it. Anyway, I lay out the material and show her what I am doing and low and behold I see the biggest issue and it isn’t the sleeve insertion. I had actually sewn the incorrect seam! I sewed the bottoms together! Duhhhh! No wonder it hung weird! LOL! The next issue was I didn’t mark my material for the circles and my darts were odd. So I came to a major conclusion. I cannot talk and work on my sewing. So maybe I will discontinue the sewing away from home. I haven’t fully decided yet though. I do like the socializing but it hinders my progress tremendously. I met so many nice ladies.

So, now you know why you haven’t seen any of my sewing creations. I can’t shut my big fat trap so the comedy of sewing errors flourishes! Pray for me and hope I get it together!