Knitting Dragonflies

 I wanted to try some fingerless mitts or arm warmers and thought that I would try a crochet pair. The pandemic has gotten me into crochet in a serious way. I love knitting and that is my primary love but crochet has really gotten me excited. It also helps me switch in between projects and keep my hand stress down. Crochet is so much quicker than knitting. I've had fun comparing them and trying out all kinds of crochet patterns. I found this one that was cute and had the cable detail but not too difficult. Pattern is free ( rav link )  from Julie Fort. Thanks Julie, it is called the Cable Wrist warmer. The pattern is well written and I didn't have any trouble trying to figure out what to do as someone newer to crochet. They fit very well. I love that they have an actual thumb shaping and this is specific for the right and left hand. I used worsted weight yarn, Lion Brand Wool Ease and I'm definitely going to make another pair, the pattern is fairly quick to make and would b

Jodi and my Oversized Hoodie on the porch.  Yarn is scarfie, from Lion Brand, I did modify the arms & I added slash interior pockets. I'll add the details of my modifications in another post. I have plans to add a zip to it. So far I'm loving how it turned out!! I really love her patterns and highly recommend them. Pattern is Oversized Hoodie from Carrie Chambers (crochet with carrie) blog link May your needles fly as fast as dragonflies.....

  I'm working on the AnyTime cardigan pattern by Dora Does, it is a free pattern, ( blog link ) I love her designs and I've knit top down sweaters, but haven't seen a crochet one. I'm loving the aspect that I can try it on as I go. It really helps get the fit/size correct. I decided to add ribbing on the edges & planning the same for the button placket.   I'm just going to use a single crochet in the back loop and slip stitch it on as I go. May your needles fly as fast as dragonflies.

    Pattern from Taylor OBrien. I saw her tutorial on YouTube (link)  and had to make this. It was fun and fast!  I highly recommend you giving it a try.

Got my Kayleigh cardigan done. Pattern is from Ruby Webbs, I purchased it from her etsy shop ( etsy link )  The pattern was easy to follow, I used Big Twist Tweed yarn. The cardigan turned out good, but I had gauge issues from my original swatch. It turned out quite a bit smaller/tighter. (I think due to me switching hooks mid project) I ended up trying to not rip the whole thing out so I added room on the arms by adding ribbing to the top shoulder area, and then adding short rows in the arm pit area to make it a little dolman sleeve like. I like how the shape turned out. I would make it again and use the correct sizing.  I also had to add rows around the cuff to get the sleeves long enough. Here you can see the original dimensions of the sweater. And here you can see the added area of short rows  in the under arms.

  Free pattern from Dora Does, pattern is the AnyTime Cardigan, instructions are very clear! Pattern Link (designers blog)

  This is my Kaleigh Cardigan, pattern is by Ruby Webbs, she has an Esty shop. I had gauge problems, I got gauge, and then just started like a fiend and kept crocheting! Well, I had changed hooks and somehow my gauge got quite a bit tighter. I should have frogged it. But I decided to try and salvage it. This pic, is how the pattern is intended to be done. I was really drawn to the horizontal ribbing.  Well I ended up making it work, I'll include those pics in another post. But I would like to try and make one as written & see how it goes! May your needles fly as fast as dragonflies.

I seem to have a lot of UFO cardigans around the house. I haven’t blogged in a while so I’ll do a quick catch up. I started with the Berroco KAL in the summer and picked out the pattern Atwells Cardigan, a lacy cardigan made with Berroco Remix light, which is a cotton/silk/nylon/acrylic/flax blend, which is a DK weight. I would actually say it is thinner than DK. I think this is going to be a well loved cardigan when I get it finished. The pattern is fairly easy. Knit in one piece to the underarms and then spilt to the top, then pick up and knit arms to the cuff. I stopped working on this to start the next Berroco KAL which was cables! I picked Arya pattern (free pattern), and choose the Berroco Vintage to knit it up in, a wool/acrylic blend that was surprisingly soft and nice to work with. Pattern is free, and knit in pieces flat, my least favorite method of making sweaters. I think this is when I stalled out. I had knitted a sleeve and realized it was too tight for my liking. I frog

After knitting several Big Bags. I decided to try a crochet one. I’m not an advanced in the crochet world. And have trouble following crochet patterns. I thought that maybe it would be faster to crochet a big bag than knit it. I was inspired by a girlfriends purse, one of those crochet ones out of the shiny cord. I wanted the bag to be simple and fast. Sturdy and fun. My first attempt was with a single crochet stitch, later I frogged this and used a half double crochet. I like this stitch as it seems to be sturdier and quicker. This is what I came up with . Any combo of yarn can be used, be creative! The colors and size of the bag are up to you!    Size 14 L x 11 W inches          Size 11 L x 11 W inches Both of my bags shrank about 1.5 to 2 inches on each side after felting in a top loader Crochet Hook: I used a size K, look at the recommended size on your yarn label and use that size or close to it. Yarn: Any kind of yarn, if you are mixing yarns, and they are of different

Early in my time off, after my fall, in a drug induced state. I realized I couldn’t knit anything, well that involved a pattern. So I started with dishcloths, I soon had a grocery bag full of them and many happy co-workers and friends,   In the process I came upon many fun dishcloth patterns, from the blogger Dish and Washcloth Mania , you have to check out all of her links to other great bloggers with dishcloth mania, she has complied quite a fabulous list of patterns, as well as many great ideas of her own. Can we ever have too many? No, I think not. Soft cotton that just gets softer every time it is washed, nice! There is also a long list of free crochet bath related items at Crochet Patterns Central   After sending my DH out I don’t know how many times to get more cotton yarn, in whatever color caught his eye. I was ready to move on. I found several patterns for crochet bath poofs!. There seems to be two different way to construct these the hyperbolic crochet bath poof

I’m on a mission to reduce my stash. I was trying to come up with a good project for some bulky yarn I had. Sitting outside, enjoying watching some birds nesting in my last years knitted bird houses (see pattern 1 and 2 ), I decided to attempt a free form crochet bird house. I decided to base it on the little finch nesting boxes I use to have for my caged birds. Begin with some bulky yarn and a fairly large crochet hook, I used a K size. Chain 4 and join with slip stitch. round 1; Sc 7 times in loop round 2; Now 2sc in each stitch round 3; sc, 2sc, repeat round 4; sc all around, spacing in 2sc 3 times evenly continue round 4 until your base of your bird house is the size you want. Now just sc all around until the house is deep enough to make you happy. Then sc across, turn and go back stopping just short of your beginning of the row, (this is the entrance of the bird house). Continue sc back and forth until the house is tall enough to suit you. Now fold the