Go beyond the granny square

I like to crochet gifts for people. It’s a personal gift that takes time and should let the person know that I think they are worth my time. My niece has a birthday this month, so I whipped her up a fun fur scarf that I posted that pattern on my other blog. It was simple and easy. I hope she likes it.

I’m still working on a baby blanket and have another one I will begin next week. Or as soon as I finish the current baby blanket. I still have a purse I need to finish for a friend whose birthday is in May. I started it way back in January when I had plenty of time. Now it’s coming down to the wire especially with baby blankets, swaps, and the toddler’s sun dress. Looks like I have plenty to do while watching TV. Let’s just hope I can get everything done in time.

In the latest Crochet! magazine is the cutest pattern for a toddler’s dress.  It will also involve some sewing but it doesn’t look too complicated. I’ve bought two colors of yarn to make the dress. I just have to decide on which one I like better.

Since it’s multi-colored, I will probably swatch both to see which color pattern I like best. I absolutely love the one pictured but it doesn’t list the exact yarn. The pattern just calls for a cotton yarn.

I’m excited to start this pattern as this will be my first time in making something to wear out of crochet. I’ve done scarves but nothing as tedious as a cardigan or shirt.

I hope to be able to make it in a timely manner so she can wear it this summer.

I had an idea to make one skein scarves for Christmas presents. But I ran into a problem. I had bought a few Bernat skeins on sale and then realized that one skein wasn’t enough. The scarf picture above is the one I made and found out that it was too short to use as a scarf.

I didn’t have the heart to frog it just yet, so I set it aside. Then a cold snap came through and we went looking for something to wrap my daughter in. I stumbled upon the scarf and thought she might wear it. She did and love it. While it might not be a good size for an older child or adult, for a toddler it works out perfectly.

She has worn it a few times and it really helps to keep the wind out of her face. Besides she really seems to enjoy when I make something just for her. So to make her smile makes me happy. And I can do it by crocheting. What a great deal.

So even though the one skein scarf idea didn’t quite pan out for Christmas gifts, it definitely was a good idea.

Here is another crochet item from the Harry Potter holiday swap. I made a Hufflepuff scarf. It was easy and I just winged it without a pattern. I started with a chain the length of how wide I wanted the scarf to be. Then I used the half double crochet(hdc) stitch to make the scarf. I switched colors every 10 rows. My partner preferred the broader, 1st year scarf than the thinner striped one that is in the latter movies.

The hdc stitch made an interesting pattern and made the scarf seem almost textured. The hdc is one of my favorite stitches because it’s not as loose as the double crochet but works a lot faster than single crochet. You really see more progress when working with the half double crochet than with single crochet.

The scarf wasn’t as long as I would have liked. I should have bought more yarn but didn’t dare try to match up yarn from different dye lots as I already learned that lesson. Next time I will buy more yarn as I’m getting a better idea on how to judge just exactly how much I will need for projects that have no pattern.

It was fun to work on this scarf as it is something I’ve been wanting to make but just needed the proper motivation. Maybe within the next few weeks I’ll make one for myself.

One crocheting frontier that I have yet to venture down is socks. It seems everyone loves to knit socks but there are plenty of crochet patterns, too.

One reason for my hesitation to try a pair of socks is that size and yarn weight. You use a very light yarn weight. I’m so used to working with a medium weight that I’m not sure if the socks would turn out looking right.

In a recent swap, I received some yarn that would be perfect for socks. So maybe it’s time to give those crochet socks a try. The problem with the sock patterns is that they are usually marked at an intermediate/experienced level of crocheting. I don’t feel I’m at that point yet. There is a sock pattern in the latest Crochet World that I might give a try.

Socks always make a great gift - at least for me they do. It would also be wonderful to be able to make our own and have more than one pair of perfect fitting socks.

Most Christmases we go over budget. This year we have vowed not to do that. This year we also want to give more and spend less. Since I have discovered a love of crochet, I really want to make some gifts this year. I’ve been looking at patterns and mulling over all the different options to decide what I want to make everyone.

I feel pretty confident making scarves and since I have a pretty long Christmas list, I need something that is quickly made. A scarf can be made in about two days. Who knows? I might even get faster by the time I get to the last one.

Making just one type of item for gifts will hopefully make the process faster since I’m getting such a late start in making homemade gifts. Next year I will start tackling this a lot earlier so I can do a variety of gifts.

For months, I would stare at this wool yarn and try to think of a reason to buy it. It finally went on sale, so I picked up the last two skeins. I still did not have a project for it but simply loved the colors.

I decided that I might could make a shawl with it. I started it but am apprehensive about having enough to complete it. My options are to try to finish it or to frog the whole thing and make it smaller as I was can always add a border to it.

The shawl is simple. It’s basically just the half double crochet with two half double crochets together on each end. It would be easier to frog now than being three-fourths of the way through just to realize that I don’t have enough yarn. Better heartache now than later.

We are in the middle of a cold snap. Last night’s low was 28 degrees. This cooler weather has me looking up patterns for warm accessories. One really cool item is wrist warmers.

They are basically fingerless gloves. Gloves are great but it’s so hard to do some tasks with gloves on. These wrist warmers are easy to crochet up and different stitches can be used to add interest to them. Right now I do mine with half double crochet and working in either the front or back loop to get the pattern I want.

We are going to a high school football game Friday, so I’m making a pair for my daughter since she really doesn’t wear gloves. These do really help to keep your whole hand warm. Here is a simple pattern to try from Crochet Pattern Central.

This weekend we had our annual Trunk or Treat event with our local playgroup. The little one was Little Red Riding Hood. I crocheted the cape and after seeing her wear it, there are a few improvements that need to be made.

First, I still think the hood is too big. My husband says that it is suppose to be big like a cowl but I still find it way too big for the cape. I didn’t add the button to it as I’m not sure I put a button hole in it, so the cape tends to slide off her shoulders. A fix for this will be to add some sleeves inside the cape for her to put her arms. It’ll help to keep her warm and the cape on her shoulders.

I also added a hook made from i-cord to hang up the cape. Since this cape is at least two shades of red, my husband also suggested to make another few rows progressively darker so that the lighter hood looks to be part of the pattern instead of a mistake.

It was fun to make her outfit this year. This is probably the last year that I get to choose what she will be for Halloween. Hopefully next year she will want to be something that I will be able to crochet, too.

The cape is coming along nicely. Only a few more rows until I get to the final step of finishing it. In the picture you can really see the difference in dye lots even though the color says it’s a no dye lot. Lesson learned as it is way too many rows and too much work to frog it now.

The final rows are suppose to be done in another color but I will stick with red since it’s Red Riding Hood’s cape. This is the biggest project so far that I’ve crocheted and it has taken me a week to get this far on it. It’s been a new experience to have a project take so long but it has been a lot of fun working on it since it’s just double crochet. I work on it a lot while watching television.

I will need it by October 25th, so at this rate I think I will make the deadline. That’s the date of our ‘trunk or treat’ playgroup extravaganza. Now if the three-year-old will wear it, then people will be able to tell who she is for Halloween.