Crocheted hats, hats and more hats!

March 24, 2016 at 3:29 pm (Crochet & Crafting)
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hat_cocoa mocha1I had an obsession with making hats this winter, thanks to a gorgeous pattern I discovered at the awesome Cre8tion Crochet site. The link below will take you to the pattern:

http://cre8tioncrochet.com/2014/12/crochet-slouch-hat-ombre/

hat_pastel mint cream & peach1It’s called the Grayscale Ombre Slouch, and I so loved working on the pattern, I decided to make it in a variety of different colours. The colour combinations you can use are endless, and the hat is easy enough to whip up in an evening.
The pattern at Cre8tion Crochet offers instructions for toddler, child and adult. The ones I made are all adult sized.

I also made an infinity scarf to match one of my hats (pictured), and the pattern is below if you’d like to make one.

hat & infinity_neopolitan lace1Blush Pink Infinity Scarf

Materials:
Ball of worsted weight yarn
5.5 mm hook

Shell stitch: (dc, ch 1, dc, ch 1, dc) in same stitch

Pattern:
Ch 44.

Row 1: Dc in 3rd ch from hook; *ch 4, skip 4 chs, dc in next ch; repeat from * across.

Row 2: Ch 2; (dc, ch 1, dc) in same st; shell stitch in each dc across; (dc, ch 1, dc) in last dc.

Row 3: Ch 2; dc in same st; *ch 4; dc in next center dc of next shell; repeat from * to last dc; dc in last dc.

Repeat Rows 2 and 3 until desired length.

Bring two ends together and seam closed on wrong side to make infinity. Edge either side of scarf with two rows of sc, for a finished look.

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Be Happy

March 16, 2016 at 7:37 pm (creative writing)
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firefly in a jarFireflies are

little bits of happiness bobbing about,
warm clouds of golden winks.

You yearn to catch one,
you run forward,
you reach out with both hands.

You capture the warm glow,
cup it gently in your fingers,
marvel at the wonder of it.

You try to hold onto it for as long as you can.

Inevitably the glow will fade.
You know it can’t last forever.

But there will be more fireflies,
another day.

Happiness.

Little bits of it are all around you.

It winks at you like fireflies.
It’s up to you to reach out and capture it
every chance you get.

It’s your move.

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Refashion a boring t-shirt into a short-sleeved summer cardi. It’s easy!

March 11, 2016 at 3:06 pm (Crochet & Crafting)
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tshirt_refashioned to cardi blue&green1This is a great alternative to throw on over a tank top in the summer. You can 1start the project this afternoon and wear it tomorrow. This is how.

Choose a plain t-shirt in your regular size (not larger) along with a meter of complementary patterned fabric (I always buy at least a meter of fabric since I’d rather have some fabric left over than not enough).

2Lay the t-shirt out flat with seams even. Measure across the front of the t-shirt from side to side to find the exact center point, and mark it with a line of dots.

Use scissors to cut open the front of the t-shirt along your dotted line (be sure you don’t cut through the back!). Then cut away the ribbed neckband.

3You’ll now have a plain tee in the rough shape of a cardigan.

From your patterned fabric, cut a 4-1/2” wide strip of fabric that’s long enough to fit around the the entire front opening, running from the left bottom corner, up around the neckline and to the right bottom corner. Hem both sides of the strip by ¼”. Then fold the strip in half lengthwise, and pin it around the edges of the front opening and neckline so4 that there’s a 2” border on both the right and wrong sides. Once it’s all pinned into place, stitch it into place with your sewing machine.

I also edged both sleeves, and made a small pocket for one side of the front. You can also incorporate buttons, ties, or hooks and eyes, but I just left mine open without any fastenings.
tshirt_refashioned to cardi blue&green2tshirt_refashioned to cardi blue&green3

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Conversation with the cat

March 4, 2016 at 8:26 pm (creative writing)
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oats chillin2 copy“MEOW-ZA, all you cool cats—So what’s twitchin’ (aside from your tail)?

 

My human just went out the door—which means who knows when she’ll be back? So I’m hijacking her BIG tap-tap-tap-tap machine so I can post the gorgeous selfies I took last time she left her LITTLE tap-tap-tap-tap machine unattended.oats the beauty copy

 

Just go ahead and treat your eyes to this vision of lusciousness. Am I a great-looking dude, or what? I mean…it’s kinda hard to be modest when you look like moi!

 

Uh oh…hang on a sec…I hear something… She’s back! oats looks up copyGotta scat! Can’t let her know that I can do a lot more than just roll over for tummy rubs—next thing, I’d be having to fill my own bowl and clean my own litter box. After all, I am king of this castle (sniff and head toss).

 

Until next time… Meowtta here!”
Otis

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