A Crocheted Christmas

Oh, boy, it's been awhile since I've blogged, hasn't it? I didn't post much in December because everything I was working on was for Christmas gifts LOL! But now that the gifts have been opened and life is finally settling back into a routine, I can finally share some pics.

This fall, I picked up my crochet hooks again (thanks to my friend Dana's encouragement ... it gave us something constructive to do while our girls were in dance class together). I'd forgotten how fun and soothing it is to wield a hook and run yarn through my fingers. At first, I worked on an old afghan I'd started many years ago. But then I started checking out books from the library and browsing through the books Dana brought with her, and I just had to start something new. I picked out a simple single-crochet pattern for placemats for my dining room ... found a gorgeous variegated yarn and I was on my way. Then I started thinking about making something for Christmas gifts. I decided to make a scarf for my Dad (which, unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of before wrapping it up). I picked a simple basketweave pattern using a wool blend in a yummy dark green ... I got the pattern out of this book. I loved working with the wool blend ... so soft! Then I made a fun purse for my mom ... found the pattern in this book. Here are some pics of the finished purse ... I love how it came out!














Then I decided to make something for our niece, Amanda. She's really into skulls right now, so I thought it'd be fun to crochet something with a skull on it. I finally found a skull sweater pattern in this book. However, I didn't want to make a sweater because I knew I would have a hard time making something that would actually fit a body LOL! So I decided to use the skull part of the pattern to make a purse/tote. A purse in the same book gave me the basic plan ... I combined the two patterns to draft my own pattern, making the purse a little bigger to make the skull pattern fit. I incorporated some skull beads into the sides of the purse, too. I had fun working on this one ... learned a few things along the way, too.















I also attempted to make a cap for her using some of the leftover yarn from my Dad's scarf. I can't remember which book I got this one out of. It was a book specifically about crocheted hats that I got from the library. It turned out okay, I guess. My problem is that I crochet very tightly ... I have to automatically go up 3 hook sizes when checking gauge, and occasionally have to go up a fourth before it works. And even then, when the stitch gauge matches, the row gauge might still be off. That's why making stuff that has to "fit" is hard for me. But it was fun and quick to make. Oh, well, live and learn ....