It's very difficult to photograph shawls, shrugs and ponchos, especially if you don't have a willing model.
South Bay Shawlettes - Free Lion Brand Pattern. The top one was crocheted with Cascade Cherub Aran. I made this one for Frannie.
Another one for Frannie. The blue and pink are Cascade Cherub Aran. The white is Caron Simply Soft. This one is Frannie's favorite, although I would have bet money that she would have picked the pink one. She said it is because this one looks "Frozen" inspired.
This is the first South Bay Shawlette I made and it belongs to me, although someone keeps asking me if they can wear it. I used Red Heart Boutique "Unforgettable". I get a lot of compliments on this one. People especially like the colorway and softness of the yarn. It drapes beautifully.
Up next is your basic granny poncho. Again, for Frannie. This has gotten a lot of wear, I think mainly because it is soft and cozy and feels comforting on those chilly days. This poncho was made with Red Heart "Love" in fuschia. I don't know exactly how many pom-poms I crocheted around the border, but there are a lot. I used this pom-pom pattern from Once Upon A Pink Moon.
Last up is a shrug made with Tahki Cotton Classic. Free pattern on Ravelry, but I did have to modify the size. I made this specifically because when the weather turns warmer and Frannie starts wearing sundresses to school, spaghetti straps are not allowed to show. So, the dress has to be covered up over the shoulders. I thought this would be cuter than your standard t-shirt.
S.W.A.K.
A while back I found a cast-off, lunch-sized picnic basket at Goodwill (thrift store). I don't know how old the basket is, but it appears to have been around the block a few times. I paid $2.50. Of course, I didn't take any before photos because I was too excited with my new found treasure and wanted to get started with the revamp right away. You can take my word for it that it was in desperate need of some TLC.
Job number one was to gut the basket, thoroughly clean it, sand down the lid and paint it my favorite color.
Then I went to work crocheting numerous roses. There are more flowers on the basket than you can actually see because I doubled some of them up to make them appear fuller and give it some various heights.
The flowers would need a platform to be attached to, so I made one using recycled cardboard and a layer of thin foam rubber which I covered with a scrap of natural colored cotton batting. I used hot glue to adhere.
Next, I added a trim of cotton lace around the edge to hide any batting that might be visible.
After finding the center of the purse, I hot glued the platform to the top.
Around the edge I put some very sweet, pale pink velvet ribbon, just to finish it off. The ribbon went on very neatly and I tacked it on with two sequin pins at the very back - no glue clumps here!
Then came the fun part of flower arranging.
Each flower is attached with a pearl head pin, some pink some white. The leaves are also attached with pins, this way if anything should get dirty I can easily remove the flower for hand washing or simply make a new one, repin and send it on its merry way.
All the flowers are crocheted from various cottons such as my very favorite Tahki Cotton Classic, Paton's Grace, and maybe some crochet cottons as well as some embroidery floss.
On the front I added a pink umbrella dangle charm (which I found at Michaels) as well as some pink cherries to give the purse a front and back.
I have been stopped by more people than you can imagine (both men and women) who compliment my purse and want to know where I got it. I proudly tell them.
Vintage knitting bag/purse - $4. I plan to disassemble this and use the original as a pattern to make a new purse with that lovely wooden frame.
Okay, so it isn't exactly a granny square, but you get the idea. I had a few tidbits of Tahki Cotton Classic leftover and it was just enough to make this scarf (I use this yarn every chance I get - it has such a nice sheen and a great color palette too). I still need to do a little blocking, but we couldn't wait to show off our new fashion accessory (Frannie's 10 and just about to start 5th grade, so we're really into fashion these days).
I just love this. What I mean is that I just love the way the scarf folds up into a nice little package. That's what happens when you join as you go. That's another thing I just love - joining as I go.
I could crochet these blocks forever and ever.
Meow.
Posts
