Rainbow Hat!

Ok, so I did the quick wearables exchange at the Happy Hooker this month. (This month was a hat) I was excited and wanted to use some rainbow yarn, so I went to walmart and got some caron simply soft in "embroidery print" and black.

I got the pattern from my happy hooker book that I bought.
Let's see... It was called the pda.

Of course I kinda did my own thing with it and changed up the pattern a little, I also didn't add the ear flaps, they just kept coming out wrong :(

Anyway, here is the final result, being modeled by my darling boyfriend.
Hope my partner likes it!!




Comments appreciated!!

Baby Overlay Dress

The Inspiration:

My friend at work, Jonell, had a baby about 5 months ago. I wasn't confident enough in my crochet skills to make her something until now.

The Yarn:

I found some yarn at goodwill, Lily Sugar 'n Cream Baby and Fingering Yarn. It is 100% Pure, Soft Spun Cotton, 3-Ply, Pre-Shrunk, in #11 Yellow.

The Pattern:

Pattern can be found here.

The pattern was pretty easy to work as long as you have a basic knowledge of crochet.
I used 2 strands of the yarn with an H hook.

There is a slight variance from her pattern to my dress, as I didn't add the sleeves. I just preferred the shorter sleeved look.

Close up.

Click to enlarge.

And an action shot.



Thanks for looking, I so hope Jonell likes it, and now I definitely feel more comfortable making clothing and baby items.

Fluffy Autumn Wreath

The halloween exchange for The Happy Hooker group also had the option to exchange autumn crafts. The girl I was making for said she had no preference, halloween or autumn, so I decided to make both, I made the spiderweb table topper, featured in the previous post, and I made this wreath.

And a close up.


I used Red Heart ww yarn in "fall".
This was my own design and I will be posting a pattern as soon as I write one up. I will probably make a whole line of them.

Thanks for looking!!

Spider Table Topper

Well I was so excited when The Happy Hooker group included a halloween category with this months exchanges. I love halloween and I definitely couldn't wait to start creating for it.

I came across a pattern for a spiderweb table topper and loved it.
You can find the pattern here.

And here is mine.



I used Bernat Ping Pong in Brilliant Black. It is a bulky weight yarn with flecks of shiny black which makes it very glittery, like a spiderweb is in the sun.

This was a fun and easy pattern to follow, and I am pleased with the results. I hope my exchange partner is pleased as well!!

Thanks for looking!!

Lime Sleep Mask

So today I made a sleep mask.

The inspiration:

I work nights, that means I sleep during the day... or at least I try. We only have mini blinds in the bedroom, no dark curtains or anything, so at noon when I am trying to sleep the sun is coming right in through the window and filling the room with light.

I couldn't sleep... I tried crocheting the afghan I am working on, but my arm soon hurt from crocheting while laying down.

I laid there a while... still couldn't sleep...
I tossed and turned, tried covering my face with the blanket, or the pillow, or my arm... nothing worked...

So I thought to myself, I need a sleep mask...
WAIT!! I could crochet a sleep mask!!

I decided I needed to use a soft yarn, it will be on my face after all. Then I remembered I had some Lion Brand Micro Spun in Lime.



Click to enlarge.

I grabbed my g hook and started crocheting.
About an hour or two later, after I got the front done, I finally fell asleep.
When I was able to work on it again, I finished it in another couple hours. It shouldn't have taken me that long, but I had several rows of single crochets and border and weaving to do.

Anyway, here is how it turned out!


Click to enlarge.


And a back view:


Click to enlarge.

I know, the lighting is horrible in my computer/craft room. I need to find a better place to take the pictures!!

Anyway, hope you like!!
Thanks for looking!!

~Jenn~

Men's ZigZag Back Scrubber

I really wanted to make my boyfriend something, since he has been so supportive of my new hobby, but it is hard to find something to make for a guy.

Anyway, I was lucky to come across this pattern for a zig zag bath set.

So I asked Jeff if he would use the back scrubber if i made it for him, and it promised he would, so I dug through my scraps till I found some olive green and navy blue. The scanned image for some reason kept coming out black and tan, so I adjusted the color as best I could to blue and green, but it is still not quite right. the picture is pretty close to the exact colors though.

Pictures are clickable.




Thanks for looking!!

6" Square Exchange

For the August Exchange at the Happy Hooker Paradise, I decided to do the 6" squares.

I love making squares because they are simple, and quick.
So I started my search for the perfect square on the internet.
I looked and looked, and all the ones I found that I really liked, were so very hard, or wouldn't have turned out good with the colors I already have. So after about an hour or two of searching I realized that I had just bought 4 new books from crafter's choice. So I opened up 201 crochet motifs, blocks, projects, and ideas. I looked through twice before I decided on the diagonal sqare.

What a simple design!! It was so easy, and went so quick, but came out pretty nicely I think.


(click to enlarge)

I was so inspired that I used the pattern, but with different colors and striping, to start on an afghan. So far I have about 14" done on it, a far cry from the 60 or so inches it will end up being, but it's getting there. I can't wait to get it done so I can post it on here!!

Thanks for looking!!

Creepy Gingerbread Man

Ok, so the July Exchange at the Happy Hooker's Paradise was themed Christmas in July. I decided to enter the toy exchange. I thought, I want to try making a stuffed animal, everyone is making them nowadays, it is my turn now.

That was a mistake.

I made the gingerbread man the first time and it came out ok, except that the cotton showed too much, so I wanted to make it again, but with a smaller hook, but I also wanted it a little bigger, so I had to adjust the pattern a little. I am still pretty new to crochet, and pretty bad at math, so that proved to be a challenge. But I managed it somehow.
The biggest challenge with this project however, was figuring out how to do the details. I was going to embroider everything, but soon realized I cannot embroider worth a crap. So with some trial and error, and lots of support from my wonderful boyfriend, I decided to glue on some googly eyes, use some pipe cleaner for the mouth, and pom poms for the buttons.

I thought it came out terrible, my boyfriend said it came out fine, a coworker said it 'wasn't that bad', and my exchange partner said she loved it and not so to sell myself short (after I promised to send her something else soon).

So over all I give myself a C+, but an A for effort. I worked so hard on this stupid thing, LOL
Anyway, here it is, the infamous gingerbread man.
(all pics are clickable)







Please don't laugh too hard, I am still learning!!

"Painted Desert Tote" Now in Banana Berry!!

When my sister saw the painted desert tote I made for myself, she loved it and wanted one for her. So I took her to the store to pick out the yarn she wanted. She picked banana berry.

Basically I made hers just like mine, but I added a pocket to the inside for her pens for school.

Here is the bag.
(all pics are clickable to enlarge)


And the inside.


And a close up of the pocket.


And finally, a close up of the stitch.



Thanks for looking!!
(These will be for sale shortly.)

Clorox Ready Mop Pad

Ok, so I am super cheap, especially when it comes to things I don't need, but would make my life easier. Luckily I am not as lazy as I am cheap or this project wouldn't have happened. I stumbled across a pattern for a swiffer wet jet pad on the internet, and at first I laughed and kept browsing. But about an hour later I thought, maybe she was on to something... So I broke out my favorite hook (H) and some yarn that I had plenty of, but had no plan for just yet, and started crocheting.

I basically made a chain till it was about 13" long, then started to single crochet. When I got to the second row, I decided to crochet in the back loops only to give it a little traction. I crocheted till it was long enough to wrap around the ready mop and finished it off.

This was such a simple project that took no time at all.
Here is a close up of the stich.

Click to enlarge.

And an action shot:

Click to enlarge.


Now whenever I am done mopping, I just through the pad in the washer, and reuse!!

Water Bottle Holder

A couple different things inspired me to make this.

1. I saw one on a website I was on a month or so ago. I can't remember where it was though, but I thought, hey, that could be cool for work. For those of you who don't know, I work at wal-mart as an overnight stocker. I keep my water bottle in the top of my cart, but if I am using a blue boy, which is an L shaped cart, there is no place to put the bottle, so I end up putting in on a shelf and the guy who works evening shift in toys likes to throw out bottles even if it is evident that it has just been purchased because it is full and cold with condensation all over it. I really think he does it on purpose because he does other things to get on our nerves as well, but that is another blog entirely, LOL.
Anyway, I figure that it is less likely someone is going to throw out a bottle if it is in a holder, because then it would be even more obvious that they were doing it on purpose.
Oh, and the other reason it would be good for me to have on of these when I use a blue boy is because the top of the cart has a place where we can hang our scanners my their cord.

2. I just bought the Stitch and Bitch Crochet book "The Happy Hooker". In it I read how to do a 'magic ring'. I had heard the term before, but had no idea what it was, and never thought to ask.
After reading how it works, and what it is for, I was like OMG!!! I have such a problem with keeping my center ring tight, and this is so easy and perfect!! So I had to try it out on my lunch break last night. At first I was just going to practice with the magic ring, but then I looked at my water bottle, and thought, man, I really need to make that bottle holder. Tonight of course I had been using the blue boy so it was fresh in my mind how annoying it is to carry the water bottle instead of being able to put it in my cart.

3. I have problems with my hands. I don't know if I am getting carpal tunnel, or if my tendinitis is coming back, but I drop stuff all the time, especially water and soda bottles. Have you ever dropped a soda bottle, and then took a drink of it after the fizz went down?? Enough said!! Flat mt.dew is disgusting...Eww

With all that said...
I looked farther in my book at all the stitches they show and saw the fishnet stitch. I loved it especially because I didn't have much yarn to work with. I had chosen a very partial skein, probably about 1/4 of some old redheart in a dark brown that I got in a bag of random yarn at an auction or yard sale a while back.

And here it is!!



Click to enlarge

If it weren't for making it up as I went along, and distractions, it would have taken me about a half hour, so it is a pretty quick, and very easy project that requires very little yarn. i would say you could make about 4 out of a regular size skein of redheart worsted weight yarn.

I will be working on a pattern for this, and I will post it on my forum.
Oh yeah, if you didn't get to this post through my website, I have a new website!! LOL
www.crochettheworld.com
and there is a link to my forum on the navibar.

Make sure to subscribe to my website so you can get a message in your inbox when I update the site!!

So thank you all for looking!!
Oh, btw, I took this picture with my phone, I still can't find the cord to the camera, but I will be taking more pics of my projects with the phone, and my scanner.

Have a great day, and happy crocheting!!

What kind of yarn are you??

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Shetland Wool. You are a traditional sort who can sometimes be a little on the harsh side. Though you look delicate you are tough as nails and prone to intricacies. Despite your acerbic ways you are widely respected and even revered.
Take this quiz!

12" Solid Stripe Squares

The Inspiration:

I joined the Happy Hooker group on msn.
They do monthly exchanges there and I decided to join the 12" square exchange to practice doing granny squares since I had never done one.

The yarn:

I had some yarn left over from my painted desert tote that I wanted to use up.

The pattern:


Click to view pattern.

I thought this was a simple enough pattern to start out with and with the variegated yarn I think it turned out pretty cool.

Finished product:

Click to enlarge.

My mom ended up having to help me a little with the pattern. There was a little confusion there, but I got them done and my partner liked them. She was even nice enough to take pictures of them and email them to me so I could blog them because I was in such a hurry to mail them that I totally forgot to photograph them, lol.

So thanks Faith for being patient with me, and taking the pics, and thanks mom for helping me with the silly pattern!!

Mother's Day Pillow

I am finally able to post this pillow that I made my mom for mother's day. I had to wait till I gave it to her since she reads my blog, LOL.
I found this yarn that I fell in love with.



It is Patons Pebbles in the Gemstone color. I did a simple single stitch and stuffed it with a preformed pillow that I happened to have laying around.



The picture doesn't even do it justice, and it is so soft and comfy that my boyfriend, who was the model in the pic, has requested an afghan, so I am making pillow shams and a bedspread for our bedroom. That is gonna take a ton of this yarn. Just this pillow took 5 skeins!! But at a dollar a piece, you cant beat it!! And it didn't take me that long to do it. I could have gotten it done in about 4 hours if I hadn't been so busy the past few days and just sat down and did it, LOL.

The Hooker

My wife, she is a hooker Of this she's mighty proud And the stories of her exploits Are legends in our town. She's shameless with her talents She'll go hooking anywhere And if people want to watch her She really doesn't care. It seems to be a family thing Her mother taught her how Seems her grandma was a hooker And my daughter's hooking now. She goes to hookers meetings To learn the new techniques She starts hooking in a frenzy And won't talk to me for weeks. She doesn't do the house work She doesn't make the beds No! She doesn't have the time for that She'd rather hook instead. My wife she is a hooker And I curse that awful day When she first picked up the hook and yarn And learned how to crochet author unknown

Vintage Patterns

I won an auction on ebay last week for 12 vintage Coats & Clark pattern books. I paid just under a dollar a piece for them.

Here is the picture:

When I get the chance I will scan all the patterns and post them here.

WooHoo!! I love you ebay!!

I am gonna have to do another search...

Thanks for looking!!

Chunky Slippers

Well, I made my first pair of slippers. It was also my first project using two strands of yarn.

Click here for the pattern.

I changed the pattern a little because I don't know where my L hook is. Instead I used chunky yarn and an N hook.

The pattern said it should take 20 minutes. It took me at least 45, LOL. Mostly because I was having trouble using the two strands, especially in black.

The yarn:


It is Bernat Softee Chunky in black.

Final product:






I also didn't do the strap across the top.
These slippers are so soft and comfy!! I am just in love with this yarn.

I plan to make more of these so I can experiment with different yarns and colors.

Thanks for looking!!

Painted Desert Tote

Ok, I finally found the camera! Well... My bf did...
Anyway!! I here it is!!

Here is the inspiration:


Click to enlarge!

It is called Painted Desert. It is a worsted weight yarn by Red Heart. I was originally going to use a different yarn that I saw in the wal-mart by me, but I was out of town and the wal-mart there didn't have as great of a selection, but I really liked this one, so instead of waiting till I got home to buy the other yarn, I just went ahead and got this one.

Here is the pattern:


Click to enlarge!

It is a Coats and Clark book, the kind that has 4 patterns.
Art. J17 Book 07343
Ok, so I obviously didn't follow the pattern exactly, or even mostly... I followed it up till the point where I had the main part of the bag done. Then I decided that I would rather have a strap than two handles, and that I didnt want to mess with the pocket on the front.

Here is the finished product:


Click to enlarge!

Action shot:


Click to enlarge!

Ok, so it isn't the greatest bag in the world, but it is my first. Oh, and I am ashamed to admit it, but it took me 3 weeks to do this bag! Most of that is due to my hands being messed up, it is hard for me to crochet for long periods of time.

Anyway, there you have it, my first project!!

Oh, and in case you were wondering...
The yarn cost me $2.14 per skein, and I used 1 1/2 skeins.
The pattern book was $0.99.
The crochet hook was $1.23.
Total cost: about $6.50.
Oh, and since I work at wal-mart, I get 10% off all that stuff!!

Thanks for looking!! Hopefully I will get some more projects up here soon!!

If you would like to make an offer on this bag, I would be willing to part with it,
just email me at jacrowe05@gmail.com!!

Stupid Camera!!

Ok, so I finally finished my first project. My crocheted- crochet bag, LOL. But I cannot find my boyfriend's camera to take the picture with!! I will post the pics and description as soon as I find the stupid thing!!