Pink and White Baby Blanket - Donated to Project Linus

I love this blanket design! It has great texture and is so darn cute I can't hardly stand it. Made from a discountined yarn called "Sugar Babies" by Lily, this blanket measured about 24 inches by 30 inches.

I have made several of this design blanket because a few years back (when the Sugar Babies yarn was being discontinued) I bought a bunch of the yarn on sale. Since I tend to donate a lot of the projects I make, I'm always on the lookout for a good yarn deal and this was one I couldn't pass up! I have made three of these blankets in various colors so far, and probably have enough yarn to make two more.

You can still find this pattern in the membership section of the Sugar and Cream website: www.sugarncream.com

Stars and Strips Afghan

This afghan is another one I made from a free pattern leaflet. Called the "Stars and Stripes Afghan," the pattern is copyrighed 2001 by Caron yarn.

This afghan currently resides with my mother. It is also worth noting that this is one of the few afghans that I have made with fringe on the ends (I am NOT a fan of fringe!).

Corner to Corner Throw

This afghan was made for my husband. After the Log Cabin Throw didn't turn out big enough for him, I decided to give this project a try. I thought that the bold strips and americana colors would make for a manly afghan!

This afghan is the largest I have made to date. When put on our queen size bed, it actually drapes slightly over the sides. It is also extremely warm; we stopped using multiple comforters this winter in favor of a single thin comforter and this afghan.

The pattern for this afghan (in a slightly smaller size) can be found at: www.redheart.com/free-patterns/crochet-corner-corner-throw

Prairie Star Afghans

I am a huge fan of picking up free pattern leaflets wherever I can find them and these afghans are a great example of that. Called the Prairie Star, this pattern is from a 2002 leaflet distributed by Coats & Clark, makers of Red Heart yarn.

I made two of these afghans, one several years ago and one more recently. The older (and slightly smaller) afghan resides with my mother; the newer verison is currently at the Ohio State Fair for exhibition.

Log Cabin Throw - Donated to Charity

This blanket is a log cabin styled afghan. The pattern originally came from the Crochet Today! magazine, although I haven't been able to locate which issue. I actually bought a kit of this afghan from www.Herschners.com but I looked today and they are no longer under the afghan kit section (of course, that is the story of my life).

I actually made two of these blankets. The first one is shown here in its original square design. My husband liked the look of this afghan so much that he asked me to make another, longer one. As such, I altered the pattern to make it longer, but once completed he still wasn't happy with the size of it. As such, both of these afghans were donated to charity, one to My Very Own Blanket and the other to Project Linus.

Cottontots Crochet Stripe Blanket - Donated to Project Linus

This baby blanket is made from Bernat's Cottontots yarn. I made two of them in a similar design, but this is the only picture of that I have of this design. This pattern is a free pattern avaliable to Bernat members at www.bernat.com.

This blanket was donated to the Westerville Chapter of Project Linus and was later donated to the family of a Marine who was killed in action. An article in the Columbus Dispatch about the family can be found here: www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/01/13/family-of-marine-proud-of-their-gift-from-god.html

If you are interested in learning more about Project Linus, please visit their national website at: www.projectlinus.org

Beaded Tapestry Bag

I made this bag over the course of a few months. I had just recently completed a few other bags using tapestry crochet and wanted to try something very challenging. Each stitch of this bag is a single crochet with a bead on it. In order to get a true picture of just what this looks like, make sure to click on the close up picture for a better view.

The beads are colored glass beads from Joann Fabric... All said, I have about $60 worth of beads on this bag. This bag is also extremely heavy because of all the beads (I would say it weighs about six pounds).

Currently, this bag is at the Ohio State Fair in the clothing accesories category, waiting for 2011 judging. Hopefully it will do well!

*Update* This pattern comes from 100 Purses to Knit & Crochet by Jean Leinhauser & Rita Weiss, published 2006.

Rags the Teddy Bear

This is Rags, the crochet / latch hook teddy bear. I made him several years ago to show at the county fair (he got third place), after which he went home with my grandmother.

This bear was made by crocheting a body in single crochet and then the fur was latched hooked into each stitch. Made with Lion's Micro-Spun yarn, the yarn separated when fluffed and looked just like fur.

Although I love the finished look of this bear, I hated making him and swore I would never make one again. The body crocheted up so fast, but it took forever to latch hook all his fur on!

This pattern came from the February 2002 issue of Crochet World Magazine.

Striped Baby Hat - Donated to Charity

This is a newborn size baby hat I made recently on my lunch hour at work. My friend Linda was collecting baby hats for charity, so I made this one for her to give to the group. I didn't use a pattern for it; I started with a ring of chain stitches and single crochet and gradually increased the size from there.

I used Bernat Baby Jacquards yarn to make this hat, although I don't remember the exact name of the color of the yarn. The hat is very small; it sits right in the palm of your hand!

I have enough yarn out of the skein to hopefully make a few more of these hats for the next time that Linda is collecting them for charity.

Introductory Post

I have thought for a long time about putting a blog together to showcase the craft work that I have made over the years (and continue to make)! The truth is that I have made so many projects and then forgotten about them that I want to have a record of what I've done, sometimes succesfully and sometimes not.

I hope that anyone who looks at this will enjoy it! If I know where I got a pattern from, I'll certainly try to provide that information if anyone would like to try to make any of these projects themselves.