Time to wash the combine.....

Another sign of a very mild winter is that it's 67 degrees on January 31 and fit to do this job.....

One side done.....

.....now the other side....

......and finishing up.  Big job !!!

Scarves

Even tho it's been a mild winter so far here you can't have too many scarves.

I made this one many years ago so I don't remember what kind of yarn it was but it is soooooo soft !!  It is worked length wise in all double crochet. 

This one is worked in Tunisian Knit Stitch.  I found these really informative TV shows on WETA Create channel....Knit and Crochet Today, Knit and Crochet Now and Knitting Daily.  They were showing the different Tunisian stitches so I had to give it a try.  This yarn was called Fiesta I think.  I used every bit of it so I don't have a label to remember what it was exactly.  It's crochet but it looks like it's knitted. 

This pattern was demonstrated on  a Knitting Daily episode that you could download a free pattern so I had to try it.  I don't know how well you can see it but it has a cable running down threw the middle of it. It was very easy to do but you sure have to pay attention to where the stitches go in the cables.  I just made it out of some burgundy yarn I had left over from another project.

After trying that cable pattern I had to try to make up my own.  This one uses cluster stitches.  The fringe is crocheted on this one.  So was the burgundy one.  Just a simple chain with single crochets worked on the way back.  The scarf is made with Aunt Lydia's Natural size 3 crochet cotton with a size C hook

The same pattern but in this Icy Blue color with a fringe. The thread is called Warm Blue but looks Icy Blue to me.  It is also Aunt Lydia's size 3.

This scarf was one of my designs in the October 2010 issue of Crochet World.  It was originally made in this Chocolate color size 3 thread but for the magazine they wanted a different color since they had a lot of brown already for that issue.

They sent me this Sage color to make it for them in.  The pattern is available at e-patternscentral.com.  You can click on the link at the top right of the blog to see a better picture of it. 

Beautiful Morning

After the last 3 dreary foggy days it was nice to see this view out of the kitchen window this morning. 

Let It Snow

    Finally the first snowfall of the year.........

                                                                  It was very pretty.......

                 .......and made me think of one of my favorite winter decorations.....the snowman.

                                   Gourds make great snowman decorations.  I like to make them into          

                                     wreaths,  ornaments, with lighted insides or just to stand alone. 

                                                   They also make a great crochet design.

This was my very first published crochet design, Let It Snow Table Runner.  It was in the February 2006 issue of Crochet World magazine as the Pattern of the Month

This is also an original design that was worked in size 30 thread with a size 10 hook and measures 20" square. 

Another pretty snowman doily.  This pattern came from Hass Designs at hassdesign.com.  It measured 22" square and was very easy to make. 

Another very beautiful time of the year !!



A Lesson in Stretchin'

I think this is my least favorite part of a project......the stretching

.  I use an old bias board that was intended for sewing.  The thickness of the cardboard works great and the 1" squares on it are perfect to stretch things out on to get the right shape.  Only problem is it's really old and has a lot of holes in it from the many many pieces that have been stretched on it.  I found a new one at a craft store last spring only to find out the hard way that the blue and red lines on it ran when starch was sprayed on it.  Found another one with light green lines on it thinking that ink might be better and it ran, too so I brought Ole Faithful back out. When I stretch a piece I stretch it as tight as it will go, pinning it at each corner then along the lines on the board or if it's a different shape using some of the lines to make it even.  Then I spray it with a heavy spray starch and run an iron over it on the cotton setting, let it sit maybe 5 minutes, take the pins out and it keeps it shape.  If there is a lot of detail in the piece I use pins to pull out the details on some of the edgings so they will show better once it's finished.

This might be the very first piece I did where I made up the pattern myself.  It's been quite a while now.  Recently it had been washed so I had to do the stretching process all over again.  The tiny little ball you get out of the dryer it's hard to believe will ever stretch back out to the size it once was but it will, it just takes a while !!!

                                                 Here it is.........

                                                               Looks like new again !!

Till The Cows Come Home

As I said in the beginning of this blog we used to milk cows.  The house used to be full of cow things everywhere you looked.  When the cows went in 1998 a lot of the cows ended up in the attic.  There are still a few roaming around the house, tho.....

This little runner is worked in size 30 thread with a size 10 hook and measures 33" x 9 1/2".  I made it to fit on the dry sink.  If you remember the Down On The Farm Table Runner from the first post this cow pattern came out of that one.  A lot of those patterns have been pulled out from that one to make another pattern. 

We made this window/mirror from an old barn window which we took what little glass was left in it out and replaced it with mirrors.  We often say this piece saved our cow barn.  When we were caulking the mirrors into it in the barn one day back in 1994 trying to find a well ventilated area plus a cooler spot since it was awful hot that day, a thunderstorm came up. We noticed at the end of the barn what looked like smoke.  Weren't sure if it was smoke or steam coming off the tin but it turned out to be smoke.  Some old wires were smoldering between the ceiling and upstairs floor.  Don't know if it was a power surge from the storm or it was a coincidence but at least we were in the right place at the right time to see it start and save the barn.  It will always be a reminder of that day !!  I made this little curtain for it out of size 30 thread with a sized 10 hook, also.  That used to be my thread size of choice until I saw how much faster things went in a size 10 thread.  I still think you get a more clear design with the smaller threads, tho. It just takes a lot longer.  This little curtain turned out to be 10 1/2" x 45". 

If I thought the little window curtain took a while this one took maybe 5 months to do if I remember right.  I had made this wooden shelf to go over a double wide space between the living room and office and wanted to hang a little curtain there so I added holes in the ends of the shelf for a curtain rod.  First thing that came to mind was the cows again.  This one is also in size 30 thread and size 10 hook and measures 11"x93".  Yes, it took quite a while to do !!!  It's nice when these things don't need a lot of washing since it took a while just to stretch and starch this one since it was so long. 

Finally Some Frozen Ground

                               Finally some frozen ground for Rick to get some rotary mowing done.

Tied In Hoops

One nice way to display a pretty doily is to tie it in a metal hoop and hang it.  This is my very favorite pattern I think from designer Elizabeth Hiddleson although it's hard to pick a favorite out of all her beautiful patterns. It is called Diamond Tiara and is in the Volume 11 pattern book. She had the most beautiful intricate doilies I think I've ever seen.  I have been hooked on her designs since I bought my first pattern book in a Ben Franklin store probably back in 1982.  Since then I collected the whole set of her 49+ pattern books plus some single sheet patterns finding the most of them on eBay.  One is just as beautiful as the next.  This one is worked in size 80 thread with a size 14 hook and it measured 15". 

This is also an Elizabeth Hiddleston design called Cluny Doily from the Volume 41 pattern book.  Worked in size 5 thread and size 5 hook it measures 15" and is tied in a ring also.  I like to put this one on the front door during the winter because it reminds me of a big snowflake.   

Crazy Weather

One minute you look out and it looks like this......

....the next minute it look like this !!!

Crazy !!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all.  It's that bittersweet time of year when we put away all the pretty decorations and get back to normal life.  Time to hang out the tractor wreath that is on the kitchen door most of the year. I crocheted the tractor that is in the center then stretched it in an embroidery hoop and hot glued it to the back of the wreath.  This tractor pattern also lead to the following table runner.....

 

It has a tractor at each corner if you can make it out. Wishing everyone a happy, healthy successful 2012 !!