Christmas gifts

One thing I do to relax is crochet. I picked it up a couple years ago because I wanted to have dish scrubbers for my kitchen. I moved on to scarves, beanies, ear warmers, and have recently started making blankets. I love the feeling of a crochet blanket, although I still haven't made one for myself. They all have been given away as gifts. I do have a a few patterns I want for myself, but Christmas is coming up so I'm working on Christmas gifts right now. Right now I'm working on a blanket that I love, the Snowbound Throw. I changed the measurements to make it larger and able to be cuddled in more. I have made this in ivory and buttercream but I'm loving it in Ocean. I used, of course, Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn and it feels like butter as I'm working with it. I look forward to showing you the finished product. 💙

Trivets

I was making different items for wedding and graduation gifts and this is the one thing that I think everyone needs - a trivet!!!  The free pattern can be found here and if you are a crocheter and haven't joined ravelry, do it now!!!  It is an amazing resource for patterns, free and paid, that you can use everyday.  The fun thing is that you can make it in any color that you want. Just always remember to use cotton yarn, acrylic will melt.  My favorite yarn is Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton, but I also use Peaches and Cream or Crafters Secret.  Crafters Secret is a lower priced yarn that is also made by Hobby Lobby that is a good yarn, just not as soft as I Love This Cotton.  Here aresome pictures of the trivets that I have made.  Let me know how yours turn out!

Dishcloths

I am always looking for new ways to make dishcloths!  I love the fact that I have my own dishcloths that last forever and that I can make to match whatever I am wanting it to match.  I have been making these dishcloths like crazy for wedding and graduation gifts.  These have a beautiful texture and look good in a single color or a verigated color.  They just give it a wonderful look and can accent any kitchen.  You can find the pattern here.  I have used I Love This Cotton, Crafters Secret, and Peaches and Cream yarn and I love the finished product with any of them.  :)

Chicken Scratch Dishcloth and Towel

I loved this pattern to make dishcloths or washcloths and the texture is wonderful for washing anything.  I found this pattern here but I made some changes to it to make it more what I wanted.  I chain 34, sc in 2nd chain from the hook and sc to the end of the row, ch 1 and turn then follow the directions for row 1 and continue on.  When I was finished, I would sc around the cloth, with 3 sc in each corner.  Tie off at the end and secure. 





I have also used this pattern as a base for a towel that I love. 

Chain 57

Row 1 - SC in the second chain from the hook and until the end (55).

Row 2 - Chain 1 and turn. SC in first stitch, skip 1, 3SC in next stitch then *then skip 2 stitches, 3SC in the next stitch* repeat between *, skip 1 and SC in the last stitch.  Repeat until desired length.

Last Row - Chain 1 and turn. SC in each stitch across, tie off and secure ends. 



Remember to always use cotton for dishcloths, washcloths, trivets, anything that can get wet or hot items with be set on it.  Acrylic yarn will not soak up liquids and will melt if hot items are set on them. 

Washcloths

I have been crocheting for a little over two years but just recently crocheted myself washcloths. I am upset that I waited so long now. I love them! They are soft but still get the job done and I can choose the colors I want. I have tried a couple different patterns and today I am going to show you my pattern.  It is super simple and can be made bigger or smaller, according to your tastes.  You will need cotton yarn to make this  I prefer Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton or Peaches and Cream yarn. I use a H hook, but you can use whichever hook your yarn calls for. 



Chain 21.

Row 1 - HDC in the 3rd chain from the hook.  Then continue to HDC across. Chain 2 and turn. (19)

Row 2 - HDC in every stitch across.  Chain 2 and turn (19)

Repeat row 2 until desired size is reached.  Then chain 1 and turn and SC in every stich.  In corner stitch, put 3 SC then continue SC until you reach the beginning. Slip stitch to join and fasten off and weave in the ends.