I know it's been awhile since my last post, but life around hometown USA is a bit busy right now. Most everyone is in the middle of our annual community fair and local rodeo, plus getting ready for school to start the day after Labor Day. For me, the fair means a lot of work relating to work - where I work has two activities/events happening during the four-day fair that are organized through my office. Not much time to crochet, but I have found a bit of time to relax with my hook!
I've found the pattern for my coasters. It's the ombre coasters from Wink. Really quite easy and quite stunning! I'm enjoying the different color combinations, so much so I will likely hook up a set for an auction donation. In this particular case, I prefer Lilly's Sugar 'n Cream yarn for its stiffness. After all, coasters are supposed to be somewhat stiff!
Earlier I mentioned the local community fair. I actually entered a few of my crocheted items and received blue ribbons. I entered the purple African Flower Hexagon Mandala, Little Spring Mandala and wrist warmers.
Very pleased with the wrist warmers, using a Drops Design pattern in Hobby Lobby brand I Love This Cotton yarn. I received a Best of Class for the finished product. I haven't looked to see if the judge wrote any comments.
Remember, this is how we share our love of crochet and the art of fiber is by showing it off. Be proud of your work and the time you spend following the patterns, the money spent on the yarn and the care spent in each project.
I even do crocheting while sitting in a booth at the fair, and it does draw attention to it. People stop and watch me, ask questions about what I'm doing, the yarn I'm using, etc. It's the best way to show that what we do!
Happy on the Hook!
Gwenhywfar
I have an antique table that if moisture even gets anywhere near it, water marks appear. So coasters are a part of my everyday routine. I grew up using coasters; I was taught they saved the furniture from a beverage's condensation, those little drips that slip down the side of the glass and even from minor spills. In fact, I've been using the coasters I used as a child on my antique table - the same ones I tooled on leather. Ahh, the memories!
I sit at the same table and crochet often. During one of those recent sessions, I began to think it would be quite lovely to crochet some coasters. So I started my search for coasters. I headed to Ravelry and used its search function, and found quite a few.
The above coasters are a combination of two patterns. The center is from here and the petals are from here. The difference in size is yarn. The center on the left is I Love This Cotton from Hobby Lobby and the right is Sugar 'n Cream by Lilly. The petals on both are with I Love This Cotton. I will likely make more with Sugar 'n Cream just to get the size I want.
This coaster is really quite pretty and is a larger size, which I really like. It's by Wink and the tutorial is available here. I used Sugar 'n Cream yarn for the entire coaster (sage green) and I Love This Cotton for the accent (pistache).
This is based on a pattern by Charmed by Ewe. I added a few rows, and then the final row wouldn't work so I did my own. I still want to make the original pattern, maybe with Sugar 'n Cream so the final coaster will be large enough. I like my coasters to be a bit bigger so they will work for mugs and glasses of almost any size.
The other colors I used in these coasters are Sugar 'n Cream Aloe Vera, I Love This Cotton Camo Print and I Love This Cotton Too Pink.
I'm not done testing coaster patterns. I'm having fun looking for the 'perfect' pattern - the right size that's tight enough so moisture won't damage my table and one that has just enough pretty to fit my tastes. Don't know if I'll find the one, but the hunt is fun!
Happy on the Hook!
Gwenhywfar
I love it when a plan comes together! I started working on my temperature blanket earlier this month and I'm almost caught up. I wasn't happy with how the blocks were going together (as I noted in this post), so I tweaked the pattern. The flowers are laying flatter and the corners are much better. I added a TC and a ch1 to each corner, using the ch1 space to join.
So round 4 of the Riley Flower Square Motif would be: Ch1 and sc in the same st. [Hdc in the next ch sp, then dc, trc, ch 1, trc, dc all in the next st. Hdc in the next ch sp. Ch1, sc in each of the next 3 std and ch sps, ch1] 3 times. Repeat for 4th side, but end with ch1 in the last 4 sts and ch sps.
My latest project on the hook is another mandala. Once again, I'm using Alice's pattern at Crochet with Raymond (available here). I should note that I made the same slight changes as last time because I wanted the mandala a bit bigger. The pattern notes are listed in detail here.
This one is for a friend. I really like how the tones work together in this one. I especially like the bits of yellow and how well they are placed. It's a variegated cotton from Sugar 'n Cream by Lily. I also used I Love This Cotton from Hobby Lobby.
Two more mandalas to go for friends, plus the Stitch-cation, temperature blanket, mood blanket. I do have a few WIPs right now!
Happy on the Hook!
Gwenhywfar
More mandalas have 'left the nest.' I've been searching for a crocheted something for a few people the past couple of months and it just dawned on me last week that mandalas fit the bill perfectly. I have found that making mandalas for others is very enjoyable, from color selection to actual creation of the project. Throughout the entire process, this individual is on my mind.
This mandala is the Little Spring Mandala from Made in K-town. This is my go-to pattern when I need another round, but especially for the border. So very simple, but it puts such an elegant finish on the mandala. There are some modifications to the pattern - first, I needed a bigger mandala. So I added a row of DC3TOG (the second row of medium blue) ch 3, then four DC in each ch3 space (depending on the yarn, you may need ch4 space on the DC3TOG round), then finished with the last two rounds of the original pattern. Because the yarn I used was a bit lighter weight yarn, each section was HDC, 4DC, HDC instead of HDC, 3DC, HDC.
This mandala is the first six rows of the Dahlia Mandala by Zooty Owl. In this case, I didn't need a mandala as large as the pattern would make. I love how cheery the dahlia flower turns out in these colors!
Of course, because of yarn weight, the fifth row (light green) is a bit different. Instead of 7DC I did 9 so the space was completely filled. Then on the sixth row, I single crocheted into the top of the 5th DC. And the last row is from the Little Spring Mandala pattern.
For both mandalas, I'm using I Love This Cotton yarn from Hobby Lobby and Sugar 'n Cream cotton.
If the mandala 'bug' hasn't hit you yet, I encourage you to try your hand at one. They are fun, use up little scraps of yarn and really brighten up the home when you're finished. The best part is they are quick! I'm onto more patterns - three more people to make mandalas for. Make sure to check out the Mandala Roundup page, where I've gathered all the patterns I've found. So handy to have them in one place!
Happy on the Hook!
Gwenhywfar
