Miss Butters Gets Her Crochet On

het,Last night I caught Buttercup snoozing with her head buried in 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws, and Afghans: Crochet Squares to Mix and Match. I like to think she was dreaming of having opposable thumbs so that she could create some beautiful blocks.

Dishcloths: The Swap

I signed up to be in a Dishcloth Swap on Ravelry. My partner for the swap is a fan of purple, so here are the dishcoths I made in all their grape-y goodness!

This is the Open Ridge Dishcloth by Betsey Sennott. It's a quick crochet and works up nicely.

The other cloth was made using the Interlocking Shells stitch from the new book, The Harmony Guides: Basic Crochet Stitches: 250 Stitches to Crochet. I LOVE this book. So many cool stitches that I never even knew existed. This one is a little more time consuming to make because of the yarn changes, but worth it. I edged it by working single crochet all the way around, then a round of ch 3 sk 2 sc and slst into the 3rd sc. And, finally, I worked 5 dc in each ch 3 sp.

They are now ready to wing their way to Wendy in Australia. I hope she enjoys them!

These were made in Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton Solids, #250 Amethyst and #262 Mulberry.

Slipper Love!

I am so excited with how cute the Mary Jane slippers came out! The pattern called for an H hook, which was making them waaaayy to big. That may have had something to do with the cotton yarn. I used Lily Sugar 'n Cream in Hot Blue instead of the wool that the original pattern used, because seriously, who wants wool slippers in Oklahoma in the spring? Ugh! Anyhoo, I went down to a G hook and that seemed to be a better fit.

I found the adorable matching buttons at Jo-Ann for $1.25 each, so with the $1.89 skein of yarn, I made these for about $4.50. They weren't very time consuming, especially after you got past the crochet in the round part.

Zoe wanted to know who they were for. I told her whoever they fit. They actually fit both of us bigfoots (sz. 9-10) and I'm not sure how you would downsize them although a different yarn and hook size would definitely make a difference.

Anticipation...

It reminds me of that old commercial where the kid is waiting for the ketchup to come out of the bottle. Yes, that was when ketchup was still in glass bottles. (Let me age myself!) It's what it feels like waiting for the new book I ordered to arrive via UPS. While my mailman is usually here by noon, my UPS man never gets here until 5:30 or later. Grrrr! I have ordered The Harmony Guides: Basic Crochet Stitches: 250 Stitches to Crochet from Amazon and I am practically salivating in anticipation of receiving it.

In the meantime, I am working on a crochet Mary Jane while the dishwasher runs and the laundry is going. Pictures will follow when I am done.

Lucy Bird

Who doesn't love Lucy of Attic24? Everything she makes is so cheerful and full of yarny goodness! I have completed my first Lucy bird and am in love!!!! Here he is hanging from my sewing machine.



I didn't put legs on him, so perhaps he was in some unfortunate incident with a squirrel that rendered him legless? Yes, that sounds good.

I have circles done for 3 or 4 more birds. They are just anxiously awaiting their, wings, beaks and possibly, a great set of legs.

For more on the birdie decoration, see here.

Ocean Blue Masa Bag

It has been awhile since I posted. Chalk it up to keeping busy with my boy's 10th birthday, another family birthday, Spring Break, preventing my children from killing each other, and of course, a magazine deadline that required me to work for a living!

I am most disappointed because I missed an opportunity to get together with one of my favoritest cousins and catch up with her. Growing up we were very close because she was much younger than her siblings and I was an only child. We are just a year apart in age. As it happens so often, life got in the way of us keeping in touch and we are just now catching up via Facebook, the blog, etc. It's nice, but not the best way to spend time with family. That is always best done one on one. I am hoping to change this situation soon.

In the meantime, I have been hooking madly. I made a bag for Zoe, which was a huge undertaking for me simply because it required sewing, which is not my strong suit.


Here is the pattern for the Masa bag. I've been calling it the "Ocean Blue" bag because that what the yarn reminds me of. I used Lily Sugar 'n Cream Stripes in "Tie-Dye."

I did make 2 modifications to the pattern. I added a lining to give the bag a bit more strength and I also added a button closure. Oh! I Scotchgard-ed it as well, to keep all that white yarn from getting filthy!

Work in Progress/ Hexagon Squares

I've got the beginnings of a cold, so I didn't do much today, which gave me plenty of time to work on these hexagon motifs. This pattern comes from Lucy at Attic 24. These are fairly easy to make. Here are the first three I made. I'm up to 9 of them now!

Clutter Buster Basket

I love the way this looks now that it is completed. It does need either fabric stiffener or some kind of liner to help it keep its shape. The big problem is that I can't decide where I want to put it! I think this one is going in the bathroom to hold the stuff that is always cluttering my countertop. I definitely plan on making more of these, but probably in the small size, as opposed to the medium, because all those single crochets can get a bit tedious.

This is a pretty easy project. I used 3 skeins of Lily Sugar 'n Cream Twists in "Twist Chalet." I completed it in about 2 nights. The pattern can be found on Michael's web site.

My Most Recent Project/ Media Case

I made one of these over the weekend that didn't turn out as well as I would have liked it to, but this one that I whipped up last night turned out much better! This is a media case meant for carrying cell phones, iPods, digital cameras, etc. It is big enough to carry a smart phone. Zoe is able to get her phone, lip gloss, and a little cash in hers. It's the perfect bag for tweens! It is also quick and simple to make. I used Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton! in #8 Carousel Ombre. It took about 1/2 skein to make. You can find the pattern at Crochet Soiree.

Welcome!

Welcome everyone! I created this blog as a place where folks could share their love of knitting and crocheting, as well as share FREE patterns. You can also share tips, tricks and techniques, and post your latest creations. If you would like to contribute to the blog, please email me at becky@redriverfamily.com and put "Skein Gang" in the subject line. When posting a pattern that was created by someone else please link to their project and let's not take credit for work that isnt our own! Thanks, and I hope you enjoy the blog.