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.