By Lauren, on May 13th, 2013
The first thing I do when I visit a new town is to check out the local yarn shops! Probably not what the normal vacationer does, but definitely what a yarn obsessed girl looks for! This past week I vacationed with my family in Cape San Blas, Florida. It’s such a beautiful peaceful place! And it just so happens to have an awesome local yarn shop in the nearby town of Apalachicola. It’s called Downtown Books and Purl. While there, I grabbed a few skeins in a blend of cotton and alpaca.
I’ve been wanting to try a pattern from this adorable book, So Pretty! Crochet, for a while now, so I figured it was the perfect time! They have a really cute pattern for a frilly pouch that I started working on. It’s not finished yet, but it’s already looking gorgeous! I can’t wait to make a solid color one next!
Does anyone else check out yarn shops while on vacation? Found any good ones near the beach? Let me know!
Happy Crocheting!
Lauren
P.S. Spent too much money on yarn and can’t afford a cute crochet pattern book too? Check out your local library! I found So Pretty! Crochet at mine and tons of other cute crochet books!
By Lauren, on May 1st, 2013
Because I am a big dummy and refuse to measure out my blocking, some of my circle motifs are coming out bigger than others! Oops. I don’t think it’s going to be too big of an issue. My plan right now is to just have the smaller motifs on the top row of circles.
I opted to have a tiny circle in the space where four of the circles connect. This is mainly to make sure that the circles don’t become a square shape. Unfortunately, I realized while trying to divide the outer loops of the circle motifs evenly that it was not possible….blarg.
For the tiny connecting circle, this is what I did:
Chained 6 and slip stitch into the first chain
Chain 1 (counts as first sc), hdc, dc, tc, slip stitch into the outer loop of the big circle motif, tc, dc, hdc, sc
I continued that pattern around to connect all four of the circle motifs and then slip stitched into the beginning chain.
It’s not perfect, and the center hole would probably look a lot better smaller, but I think it will work overall. Plus it looks like my favorite flower (Tiny Bluet), so it makes me happy!
As I was trying to figure out a way to directly connect the outer loops of the big motifs to each other, I realized that it would have been best to connect them as I was making the outer loops…..another oops. I may do that from now on, although it will be awkward to block them while they are attached, it seems like the better option. To make the seems less distinguishable, I decided to painfully slip stitch through the chain loops to the point they needed to be connected. It’ll be worth it in the end…..right?
Click here to find Part 1 of Project Crochet Shorts
Happy Crocheting!
Lauren
By Lauren, on April 30th, 2013
My Mom and I recently threw a wedding shower at our house, and we made most of the decorations ourselves. A cute way to decorate is to make pretty banners. There are a lot of cute words or sayings for the banners, like “Love,” “Mr and Mrs,” “Sweet Love” (this one would be great to go over a dessert table” or “I do.” I decided to make one that said “Bride” to go behind the seating area where the bride to be was opening her gifts.
This was the finished outcome:
The Cricut is a great tool to make the letters and other small designs. I used it for the letters and the flower on the “E.” It’s a huge time saver when it comes to fonts especially! Another option would be to use a punch. Here’s a great Anna Griffin wedding ring paper punch! If you are planning on making more than one banner, I recommend either finding a Cricut shape for the individual banners behind the letters, or you could even make your own stencil using some cardboard.
An old dictionary provides tons of great material to layer onto the letters. I didn’t even realize that there was a hidden lama peeping out from behind the “R” until someone at the shower pointed it out!
All of the letters were tacked onto this Anna Griffin ribbon using tiny brads. If you are going for a worn feel, make sure to antique all of the edges using a stamp pad. It really gives it a nice touch.
Get creative with your banners and have fun!
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