Crocheting Fun

Crocheting was my first crafting love.  I loved crocheting so much that for a year or so I made my living as a professional crocheter for Estelle Gracer.  I truly can't recall how many of these jackets I made (the first style I made, luckily I did get to make other styles), but I averaged 4 jackets per week.
Since I love crocheting, I'm always excited when another crafter gets hooked. Like Heidi.  Heidi wants to make a granny-square afghan, and has purchased yarn, but isn't sure she has enough.  I pointed her to this Lion Brand Yarn Site
From Heidi's site, I wandered over to Lucy's, and found that she had completed a BIG Granny Afghan in 2009, and she kindly shares her original granny square instructions.

Thinking about my time at Estelle's, I pulled out my original Q hook to show you.
The pen is there to keep the hooks from rolling away.  The hook on the left is the original, the one on the right one I purchased a few years ago to make a two sided afghan.  (Remind me to share with you how to make one - it's really simple once you get started, requiring only a basic chain and single crochets.) 

No, your eyes are not deceiving you - that's a hole in the old hook - worn there by countless crochet stitches (I only saved this one - I think I had to buy a new hook every 2-4 months back then).

And this is one skein of the yarn I bought on sale back during the summer.  I hope to either knit or crochet myself a sweater this winter.  It's tough to get the color right at night by flash - the color is blue mint, and it's much more vibrant than this photo shows.
I can only work with worsted weight yarns in the winter.  As the item grows, my lap gets warmer and warmer - so it's definitely a winter sport for me.

So, do you crochet?  Do you want to learn?

Thanks for visiting my blog today - come back anytime!

Dawn's Pincushion and I've been RAKed!

My friend Dawn wanted a pincushion that she could use when making stickpins.  Dawn does the most gorgeous work with mini albums and stickpins.  I know she likes mermaids, and she's a kind of whimsical person, so I chose a chart from my stash - the chart appears to be Chinese, and that is definitely the style.

I used some tropical fabric from my stash, and trimmed it with a bit of lace.

I dislike sticking pins in the cross stitched work, so I like to have plenty of fabric - and Dawn wanted to be able to assemble stickpins assembly line fashion, so this is one of the largest pincushions I've made.

It's about 9 inches x 3 inches by 2.5 inches, and stuffed with crushed walnut shells for weight.

I added a little pewter seahorse charm, just for fun.

Dawn actually featured this on her channel - go take a look.

Today, Dawn surprised me with a RAK of her own:

Buttons to add to my stash,  and hidden away in the matchbook style cover....

Five Gorgeous Stickpins! 
The paper is a heavyweight art paper, with little flecks in it, and the cut edges are burnished so the cut design really shows.

Each stickpin is unique, and uniquely beautiful.  Please click on the photo so you can see the awesome detail.

Thank-you so much, Dawn - I love them!