Bunny

I've never made any critters before. I usually stick to mittens and scarves, but when I saw this pattern I decided to give it a go. It was easier than I expected, but as usual, I had a difficult time with the finishing. I can never seem to tie off the ends neatly, and this project had lots of ends to deal with. The pattern called for wool, but I used some old left-over acrylic stuff I had laying around. Also, all I had on hand to stuff him with was black beans, so he packs a mean punch when hurled by his 3 year old friend.

Bunny meeting his new best friend:





















Flying Bunny:

Oops...

...this is what happens when I try to crochet a granny "square" while watching Sense and Sensibility:

I don't usually knit or crochet during the summer - my interest completely vaporizes as soon as biking weather arrives. But the other night I was suddenly inspired, and these are the results. I recently discovered one of the cooler crochet books ever - 200 Crochet Blocks for blankets, throws, and afghans by Jan Eaton. It is basically a catalog of squares that theoretically will fit together if you use the same yarn and hook on all of them. I have been flipping through it and trying out ones that look interesting. I am relatively new to crochet, so I am still getting used to reading the maddening patterns, but I haven't encountered any mistakes in this book yet. I'm also finding granny squares to be way easier than I anticipated.

I am using left-over acrylic yarn that I had laying around (takes the pressure off!). Besides, I'm not sure I will ever have the patience to do an entire blanket, so these will probably just line the bottom of my knitting bag for awhile.

For some really gorgeous squares, check out yarnstorm.

Granny Purse #2

Like my other "purses", this one has been residing on my closet doorknob. But it was still very satisfying and very quick to make! I used the Fat-Bottom Bag pattern by Julie Holetz in Debbie Stoller's book, the Happy Hooker. I used a bunch of cheapy acrylic yarn I had sitting around, so I am not even sure what it was...

Kitchen Twine Purse

This is another project done with cotton twine from the hardware store. It was crocheted in a round from the bottom up using double crochet. The bottom was slip-stitched closed. The holey border at the top was done using double crochet, chain two, double crochet, etc, followed by another round of double crochet. The arm strap was single crocheted. When it was completely finished I went back with a cheapy, multi-colored acrylic yarn, and single crocheted the border. SUPER easy!

Easy Crocheted Yoga Mat Bag

This bag goes really quickly. It is made with cotton butcher twine I bought at the hardware store. The store where I bought the twine kept changing brands on me, but all butcher or "kitchen twine" turned out to be similar enough that it didn't cause any problems. My bag is light, easy to get my mat into, and works well when I am riding my bike.

Start by finding a crochet hook that feels like a good match to whatever string you end up using. Then work a flat circle until the circle has a diameter approximately an inch widerer than your rolled yoga mat. I did this with double crochet stitches. Then work in a V-stitch until the bag is as long as you would like it to be - mine is about an inch taller than my mat. I ended up doing a quadruple-crochet on my V-stitches because I like the airiness it created.

For the handle I did rows of 6 single crochets until the strap was long enough, then joined it back to the very bottom of the bag using slip stitches.