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Showing posts with the label decor

Washable Water Balloons

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Materials: Bernat Blanket yarn  Size N/P hook (10.00mm) Tapestry needle (for weaving ends) Scissors Terms to Know: ch - chain st - stitch slst - slip stitch sc - single crochet dc - double crochet dc2tog - double crochet 2 together Pattern (written in US terms): Chain 3 Round 1: 8 DC in the third loop from the hook (Note: this is my "Magic Circle" shortcut); slst to join to the first st Round 2: Ch 2; 2 DC in each st all the way around; slst to join (16 total stitches in this round) Round 3: Ch 2; DC in each st all the way around; slst to join (16 sts total) Round 4:  Ch 2; DC in each st all the way around; slst to join (16 sts total) Round 5: Ch 2; DC2TOG all the way around; slst to join (8 sts total) Round 6: Ch 2; DC2TOG around; slst to join (4 sts total) Round 7: Ch 1; 2 SC in each st around; slst to join (8 sts total) Leave a long tail. Break the yarn and wrap the yarn several times around the "neck" of the balloon before tying off and weaving in the ends. (Thi...

Springtime Cotton Throw

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Materials: Caron Cotton Cakes (I used 3) Size J Hook (6.00mm) Tapestry needle (for weaving ends) Scissors Terms to Know: ch - Chain sts - stitches sc - Single Crochet dc - Double Crochet Pattern (written in US terms): Chain 167; Row 1: sc in second chain from the hook, *chain 2 sts, skip 2 sts on starting chain, sc in next two sts*, repeat instructions between *...* until end of row; sc in last stitch; ch 2, turn. Row 2: DC in first stitch, *chain 2, skip 2 sts, DC in next two sc*, repeat *...* until end of row; DC in last stitch; ch 1, turn. Continue alternating row 1 and 2 until desired length. When desired length is reached, bind off and weave in ends. The Wordy Bit This super easy two row repeat works up so fast! If you prefer a bit more "stable" ends on your work, you can insert a row of sc on the starting chain and end--before and after the pattern. This gives a stronger edge to the work. Here's the difference between a thicker edge ...

Update Post Re: All Projects

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The Wordy Bit It's all wordy bit and pictures today. My life has been a whirlwind of projects, illness, wellness, craziness, and chaos since just before Christmas. I've got loads of projects going, and none of them seem to be getting done--at least, not fast enough! My baking experiments have been mostly failures, lately...which is very disheartening but! I'm learning. I'm trying new things even when I fail, and I'm making notes (extensive notes) so that I can track my successes and failures. I teased a sugar-free chocolate cake a while back and never came back around to it....it was a mess, and I ate one piece. My husband didn't like it, and I wouldn't even dare give it to my toddler.  I have a love/hate relationship with Devil's Food cakes, anyway**. This iteration is a modified version of my cupcake recipe. It didn't turn out well, so I made some notes on ways to alter the prep (not the ingredients) and see if that yields better results. ...

Dorian Baby Blanket

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Materials: 5.5mm Crochet Hook 3 skeins Lion Brand Basic Stitch in White 3 skeins Lion Brand Basic Stitch in Silver Heather  Tapestry needle Scissors

Knitting Update #1

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Materials: I'm using the Kilim Blanket knitting kit from We Are Knitters. It comes with: 7 balls of The Petite Wool (My color selection is: Color A - Ochre; Color B - Blush; Color C - Olive) 8mm Knitting Needles Tapestry Needles Pattern booklet The Wordy Bit It's official: I've started knitting! I have spent quite a lot of time since receiving my kit going over knitting videos and reading articles about technique and execution. I have practiced a long-tail cast on more times than I can count. But this past week, I went beyond my cast on and started making stitches! As a crocheter, and as someone who's never seen someone knit in person, figuring out how to handle the yarn and needles took a lot of getting used to. In fact, I'm still not quite comfortable with it. I'm a member of a knitting and crochet group on social media, so I asked all my ridiculous questions to them. Thankfully, many veteran knitters understood the confusion about basic yarn...

Good Gourds!

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The "small" version of my pumpkin set was made using the pattern here: Make It Sew Sweater Style Pumpkin I followed the instructions exactly (except for the color choices), and I found it to be an easy-to-read and easy-to-follow pattern. I haven't checked out any of the other patterns on the site, but if you do, let me know in the comments below! For the medium and large pumpkins, I altered the pattern, as shown below. The medium pattern is printed below, with separate notation for the large pumpkin in [brackets]. If I didn't do it that way, it'd take you a week to read it all.  Medium Pumpkin, 9" wide and 7" tall [Large Pumpkin, 11" wide and 9"tall] What You Need: 2 skeins of super bulky weight yarn (I used Lion Brand Hometown USA or Wool Ease Thick and Quick ) in the main pumpkin color 1 skein of super bulky weight yarn in the stem color Size N hook [ Size P hook ] Tapestry Needle for weaving ends Polyfill (or stuffing)...