Hooked on Needles

Crocheted Doll Blanket

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:34:00 +0000

Who doesn't love a quick crochet or knit project that provides practically instant gratification? Here's a little project I worked on over this past week, in between my own school and associated studying and activities with the kids who were off from school for their April vacation. Keep reading and see what gave me instant gratification...

This cute and cozy little doll blanket is made with Red Heart Soft Baby Steps yarn in Baby Blue combined with Bernat Satin yarn in a variegated called Seagrass which is a combination of blues, greens, whites and a little touch of a grayish/silverish sort of color thrown in there too. It really reminds me of the colors of sea glass, so I think that's what it should be called instead of Seagrass! Next time Bernat contacts me for advice, I'll be sure to tell them!

Grace's Kit doll thinks this blanket is just the right size for her, or any of her other 18 inch doll friends! It measures 18.5 inches square. This blanket would also be perfect for a preemie, or for any baby who likes to haul a crocheted blanket everywhere they go!

If you're looking for a darling little doll blanket for some lucky little doll, or a tiny crocheted afghan for a lucky little baby, jump on over to my Etsy shop where you will find this one for sale.

For those of you who might be interested in my schooling escapades, I'm happy to report that I am holding up pretty well this semester with Microbiology and Anatomy & Physiology 1, and with only three weeks left of the semester, my average for both classes is a respectable A! I am finding both classes very interesting and each new meeting brings even more fascination about the wonders of our bodies and how we work. I am, however, looking forward to passing in my last final of the semester on May 10 and having time to work on my ever growing list of creative projects I want to do before starting up again in September!

Happy Stitching!

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Happy Easter to you!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 01:33:00 +0000

Not a stitch of knitting, crocheting or quilting done today but take a peek at what kept me and my children entertained for the better part of the afternoon...

It's our not-quite-annual Easter lamb cake, all decorated and ready to greet us on Easter morning! My two little helpers gave me lots of pointers about how to decorate this yummy dessert, and of course acted as taste testers for every new color of icing! They also had to check over lots of M&Ms to make sure only the best were used on the face of this cake! All the rest were summarily dispatched into their mouths!

I hope you all have a very happy and blessed Easter!

Happy Stitching!

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Crocheted Catherine Wheel Video Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:10:00 +0000

Here's another crochet video for the video library here at Hooked On Needles. This one is for the Catherine Wheel Blanket pattern that you can find over at the Bernat website. If you haven't signed up at Bernat, you should! It's free and they have loads of wonderful knit and crochet patterns for free too! This is one of them! Click HERE to see the Catherine Wheel Blanket pattern, and while you are there, print one out for yourself if it looks like something you might like to make!

Keep reading to find out more about the Catherine Wheel Blanket and see a sample of the pattern and view the video...

Here are a few pictures of the sample I worked up so that I could show you how this pattern looks when it is made.

As you can see, it is mostly double crochet. If you need to brush up on your basic crochet stitches before beginning this project, check out my crochet videos HERE.

In case you are wondering why this pattern is called Catherine Wheel, it is for the same reason that those fireworks that spin around when you light them are called the same name, because St. Catherine of Alexandria was condemned to death by torture on a wheel in the year 307. Thankfully the Catherine Wheel made with this pattern is not an instrument of torture!

So here is the video, for which I must apologize in advance. It is nearly 39 minutes long, and not quite the quality I had hoped for. Because of its size, I had to save it in a lower resolution in order for blogger to upload it. I do hope you will view it anyway and allow me to get you started on this colorful and interesting crochet pattern!

NOTE: If this post was sent to you as an email, you need to click through to my website in order to view the video, or you can click HERE to get directly to the post on the website.

Happy Stitching!

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Spring is Here! Well...

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:23:00 +0000

This giveaway is now closed! Winners are Dawn and Kelsey! Thanks to all who participated!

Maybe on the calendar, but certainly not outside! We got another foot or more of snow yesterday, so whenever the sun shines today, it is so bright that I can hardly keep my eyes open even inside the house! I do have a little piece of spring in my kitchen windowsill though, so click through and take a look at this cheerfulness and get the details on my spring giveaway...

You can see through the window just how bright it is outside from all the snow, which makes the flowers in the windowsill look dark, but in fact they are so happy and yellow and cheerful, I can almost believe it really is spring!

And speaking of spring, I promised a little spring giveaway here at Hooked On Needles, so take a look at the little piece of spring I am going to give away to two lucky winners...

One of my little zippered accessory bags, made with a Sandy Gervais fabric line called Celebrate Spring, will go to one lucky winner. The reversible apron, made with another Sandy Gervais fabric line called Frolic, will go to another lucky winner.

Don't you just love these fabrics? The designs are just perfect for spring, I mean real spring, not this snowy mess we are in right now!

Frolic is one of my favorite lines designed by Sandy Gervais for Moda. The colors and designs are just so happy! And everyone needs a fresh springy apron for all that Easter baking, right?

If you would like to win one of these springy prizes, just comment on this post below, making sure that you leave your email address so that I can contact you if you win. One comment per person please, and only US residents are elligible due to the high cost of postage. This giveaway will stay open until Sunday evening, March 24 or until I close comments to do the drawing. I'd love for these prizes to arrive at their new homes in time for Easter!

Happy Stitching!

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Bloglovin for me! How about you?

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:48:00 +0000

I'm sure you've all heard by now that Google Reader is going away. I started reading about this on some of the many blogs I follow just last week and honestly I never knew there was any other way to follow lots of blogs! So I read a few posts about it and the comments from readers to see what other people were going to do to keep track of all the blogs they like to check in on every day. Bloglovin seemed to be getting the most votes, by my completely unofficial and unscientific poll. I checked it out, figuring it would be a total chore to move my list of 300+ blogs over to this new list-keeper-tracker-of thingy. Was I ever surprised when my new blog list showed up on bloglovin after just a couple of clicks! And that was it! I was able to very easily sort through my list and delete those blogs that are no longer active, which I was never able to figure out how to delete from the google list. Very quick and easy process! So if you are switching over to bloglovin or any other reader list, be sure to bring Hooked on Needles along with you. Even though I'm not as active as I was pre-college, I still post relevant content every now and then, and even a giveaway when the mood strikes or the occasion calls for a celebration.

I even added a handy little button near the top of my sidebar that you can click to start following me on Bloglovin!

Now that I mentioned a giveaway, I think it is well past time for one, don't you? I'll announce a nice little spring giveaway here very soon, so make sure you are still following me somehow. You won't want to miss it!

Happy Stitching!

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Crocheted Homespun Blocks Afghan ~ Complete!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 20:51:00 +0000

I was wrong! Last time I showed this afghan in progress with the strips all lined up and ready to be sewn together, the plan was to use up all the leftover yarn by crocheting a simple border with each color until they ran out. But once I got all the strips sewn together and laid this thick, cozy, warm crocheted afghan out on the floor, I realized it was actually a really good size, and it is h-e-a-v-y! So I made the executive decision to leave it as is, which is exactly the way the pattern instructed anyway!

So, here it is, my version of the crocheted Homespun Blocks afghan...

It is 9 blocks by 8 blocks with a finished measurement of approximately 59 inches by 56 inches.

It was made with eight different colors of Lion Brand Homespun yarn which is 98% acrylic and 2% polyester and easy care machine wash and dry.

I chose this color combination to be gender neutral and not too dark but not too light either.

This afghan is perfect for throwing over the back of your favorite chair or sofa and cuddling under on a cold winter night, with a cup of something hot and a good book of course!

It will be making an appearance over in my Etsy shop very soon, so if you think this is the perfect afghan for you or someone you love, zip me a quick email or look for it over in my shop. Of course, if you are local and I can deliver in person, email or convo me first so you won't have to pay shipping charges.

This afghan is so soft and cozy and the colors work so nicely in my house that I was very tempted to keep this one, but looking at the pile of handmade afghans in the corner of the family room convinced me that this one will have to find a new home!

In between trying to memorize the names and functions of the cranial nerves, and learning about all different kinds of bacteria, I have decided not to start a new project. Instead I will be working on finishing two old projects that have sat neglected for some time now, the triangle lace shawl which is a knitting project that I talked about HERE, and a crocheted spider web scarf which is my first project using cashmere yarn that is almost finished. I think the spider web scarf will be what I work on first since it is closest to being finished. I'll share pictures once it is finished.

Happy Stitching!

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Crocheted Homespun Blocks Afghan ~ Strips Finished!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 22:30:00 +0000

In between my school, the kids' school, activities, school vacation week, studying, and all the usual stuff of regular, everyday home life that we all do, I have finally finished crocheting the strips of my Homespun Blocks Afghan! It will be so nice to get this all sewn up and in one piece so I can crochet a nice border on it to use up all the leftover yarn.

Take a look at the current state of this afghan with all the ends hanging out...

Kind of messy, don't you think? My locking stitch markers will come in handy for holding the strips together at each block intersection so I will be sure to sew the blocks together evenly.

After I get all the strips sewn together, using the long ends I left as I added each new yarn color, I will just start crocheting around the outside edge, probably in single crochet, changing to a new color as each color runs out.

When I'm on the very last color, I don't think I will do any kind of border simply because this yarn is so good at hiding any kind of stitch detail in all its bumps and lumps! I think it would be wasted effort! So once the last color of yarn is finished, I will just pull in the tail and weave it in and the afghan will be complete.

This cozy crocheted afghan will be so very thick and fluffy and cushy and cozy, and a very generous size too, not one of those little lap blankets that don't even cover your feet! I am excited to get it finished and move on to my next project. What that is yet is not clear, but I'm leaning towards a knitting project of an article of clothing for myself, such as a sweater. I've been scouring the free patterns at Red Heart and Lion Brand and other yarn brand websites to see if anything jumps out at me, but so far I've struck out. Just as well, because I don't really have time to dedicate to a serious, thoughtful knitting project right now anyway.

So that's my quick update for now. Time for me to review for an Anatomy quiz on the brain tomorrow morning. Fascinating stuff! I hope you are doing fascinating things with your time too!

Happy Stitching!

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Fandango Zig Zag Quilt Top ~ Finally Finished!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 19:33:00 +0000

Here is one more quilting post before I must immerse myself into my studies once again! This one is the Fandango Zig Zag Quilt top that I started working on at the end of last summer and had hoped to finish before beginning school, but didn't. Then I promised myself that I would finish it on my winter break, which I did, but only just! I guess 18 hours to spare isn't cutting it quite as closely as I could have, but at least I got it done and I love how it turned out. Now if I could only spend some time on the long arm machine, I could have five quilts ready to bind and go! But one thing at a time, right? So here's the newly finished quilt top...

Isn't that fun? It's no secret I'm in love with Moda pre-cuts and jelly rolls are so versatile. This quilt top required one jelly roll, some yardage of the solid background fabric and the nifty 60 degree triangle ruler I bought last summer and showed HERE.

This fabric, shown in the center of this picture, is what I chose for the backing which will also have some of the leftover triangles pieced into it, and the red stripe fabric which you can pick out a few pictures above will be the binding. I just love the reds that Kate Spain uses in her fabric lines, so I like to feature them in the backings and bindings if I can.

So now I must put all this aside for a while again and study for my first Microbiology quiz which will be on Tuesday. This class is so interesting and I just love the professor. We got to look at bacteria under the microscope today, which is just so amazing and next week we'll start making our own slides of cool stuff to look at! Anatomy & Physiology starts tomorrow and I am very much looking forward to that class too. So I'll pop in every now and then if I have something of note to share, but remember that all my posts, videos and information, as well as my Etsy shop are always available for you to read and refer to for help or ideas or gifts. And of course I do check my email frequently so if you have any questions, please feel free to write. I'll be back again in May!

Happy Stitching!

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Paper Embroidery Project ~ Finished!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 21:00:00 +0000

Microbiology started today and I think this course will be another winner! So before I get too overwhelmed with studying, I wanted to show you the finished paper embroidery project that I started over the winter break. Keep reading for some pictures of the event all set up and ready for guests to arrive, and some close-ups of the finished favors...

First a few pictures of the 40 bookmarks I made as favors for each of our staff members who were invited to this luncheon...

...and a close-up...

...and another picture...

...and one more just because I love all the fresh and happy colors!

We set up tables in the gymnasium for dining and food service with fresh flowers, bright colored napkins, cheerful colored fabrics...

...and each place setting had one of the embroidered bookmarks to take home...

...and we used those partitions in the background to shrink the big gym space a little and decorated them with photos of flowers that were taken mostly by our PTO president who helped me with this event, and a few by me. The teachers will get to enjoy those pictures in the teacher's room or in their classrooms if they want them. The colored fabric squares are Kona solids that I picked up at Joann's and they have been washed and added to my fabric stash, like I needed six more yards of fabric in my stash, but I have no doubt they will be used eventually! And really, who doesn't love a nice selection of Kona solids to choose from when it comes time to pick a solid for a project?

So that is the end of my paper embroidery project. If you are interested in trying paper embroidery yourself, I can highly recommend Stitching Cards for a great source of patterns for all occasions and ideas on how to use them.

I have one more thing to show from my winter break, the one thing I had promised myself I would finish before classes started again. I put it off until yesterday and actually finished it, so I am very excited to be able to show it off finally. That will be next, and then it might be quiet on here for a while until my classes are over in May. But don't be too surprised if I pop in every now and then for a quick update on my Homespun Blocks Afghan or some other little odd project I decide to pick up!

Happy Stitching!

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Temperature Scarf Knit or Crochet Project idea from Bernat

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 00:33:00 +0000

Just a week ago our temperatures here were close to 60 degrees, quite warm for a January day in New England. Today we were close to single digits...brrrr! In the summer, we get up into the 90s and humid which is not at all comfortable. Have you ever thought about documenting a year of weather in a knitted or crocheted scarf or blanket? Check this out...

Don't you just love the color combinations you find on some weather maps? What in the world could this have to do with knitting and crocheting? Keep reading!

Bernat offers lots of great ideas for knitting and crocheting on their website. If you haven't signed up for their free patterns and ideas, I'd highly recommend it if only for the inspiration you can get from seeing what other people are doing! Just today they introduced their Temperature Scarf Crochet or Knit Along! The idea is to assign colors to temperature ranges and then knit or crochet a row or two each day in the color that goes with the appropriate temperature of each day for a whole year. This would be a great way to use up leftover or stash yarns, or a great excuse to try out some new yarns!

This project would also be a great way to showcase your favorite knit or crochet stitches in each section. If you need inspiration for some new stitches, check out my knit and crochet links for videos and patterns of lots of different stitches.

I'd love to know if you decide to jump in to this fun year-long project!

Happy Stitching!

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Knitted Leftover Poems Wool Scarf

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 22:55:00 +0000

Since I had almost a whole skein of lovely wool yarn leftover after making my "one-skein" collar that I showed the other day, I decided to use it up on a small knitted scarf. Here are some pictures of it...

I used a simple design of small garter stitch sections alternating with larger stockinette sections, which produces those bumpy rings every few inches.

This yarn is so warm and cozy, and the colors are just so rich and beautiful. I was very happy working with it and so pleased with the results of these two projects.

Can you say COZY?

The scarf measures only about 48 inches in length, very short for a scarf, so it would be good for someone who is smaller or shorter or doesn't like much bulk. It also naturally wants to curl up into a tube as a result of the stitches I used, so when it is flattened out, the width measures about four inches, but curled up into a tube it is only about one and a half inches wide. This scarf would also make a lovely accessory to wear on the outside of a coat since it is not very long.

This pretty wool scarf will be making an appearance over in my Etsy shop very soon for the ridiculous price of only $30, mainly because of its small size and the fact that I used leftover yarn from another project to make it! So it's a good deal for me and a good deal for whoever buys it! I love a win/win situation!

Today was a snow day here so my kids and I spent the day in front of that nice fire you see in the background of the scarf pictures. I crocheted on my Homespun Blocks afghan, they played and read and colored. A lovely day off for all of us! I hope you had a great day too!

Happy Stitching!

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Homespun Blocks Crocheted Afghan

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 15:38:00 +0000

Winter in New England is the perfect time to work on a big cozy crocheted afghan, so last fall I took advantage of a great sale on Lion Brand Homespun yarn for an easy afghan pattern to keep my lap warm this winter. It has been slow going though, mostly because of the hours I spent studying biology and writing papers and working out math problems instead of sitting in my cozy chair all evening with my yarn and hook! But that's ok, because when I actually did get to sit in my cozy chair and crochet, I really enjoyed it!

Here's my progress so far...

I just love how the color blocks line up on the diagonal in this pattern. As you can see, it is worked in strips, changing colors every 14 rows. When all the strips are complete, I will sew them together using the long tails I left at the beginning and end of each section of color.

Since taking these pictures yesterday, I have finished that fourth strip and have started the next one, so it's over half way finished now. My afghan will end up larger than the one in the pattern because I added one row and one column more than the pattern called for. I like afghans to be a bit bigger than a throw, so I figure other people do too! This one will most likely end up in my Etsy shop when it is finished, so if you love what you see, let me know and you can have first dibs on it when it is ready to go!

Next up, I'll show you my finished paper embroidery project for the special event on Friday at the wonderful little school my children go to. And that might be it for a while because school starts up again next Tuesday with my first Microbiology class. I'm very excited about it, but I do miss all my handwork and blogging and keeping up with what all of you are doing out there. It's all good though! I have my crocheting to work on when time permits and lots of things to look forward to when school is over!

Happy Stitching!

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Knitted Wool Collar

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:40:00 +0000

Only one week left of my winter break, so I better get busy showing off what I have done recently. First I'd like to share this warm and cozy knitted wool collar that I made...

The pattern can be found over at Noble Knits as well as the yarn. It's called Rachel's Slow Curve Collar and it uses the short row knitting technique to get that lovely curl at the top. The suggested yarn is Wisdom's Poems Chunky yarn which is what I used in the Ultraviolet colorway. I just love how it turned out! It is so cozy and warm, and does not add any bulk under my winter coat because it is just a collar! This project only took me about three evenings to complete so it is a great project for instant gratification!

One note I must share with you is that the pattern calls for one skein of the Poems chunky yarn, so I ordered one skein with the pattern. When I ran out of yarn, I still had the last three rows to finish, so I had to order another skein and wait for it to arrive. Luckily Noble Knits has super fast service, so I was finishing this project just a few days later.

I picked up that awesome shawl pin from my local yarn shop, The Merry Weaver, right here in Leominster.

Next up will be my paper embroidery project that I showed last week only now it's all finished! And then a crocheted afghan that is coming along slowly, but finally starting to look like something worth showing off!

Happy Stitching!

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Paper Embroidery

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 16:22:00 +0000

I've certainly been enjoying the relaxed schedule of Christmas vacation week here at home. I got some super good news yesterday which I promised to share with you, so here it is...grades were posted and I finished my first semester of college with a GPA of 4.0 in all four of the classes I took! Woo hoo! I'm hoping I can keep that up this coming semester as well!

Now back to our relaxing Christmas vacation. The kids are having fun with their new toys and games, and I've been having fun with some needlework projects. The one I'm going to share today is paper embroidery, which you've seen before at Hooked On Needles, here, here, here and here. Although the individual designs on this project are quite small and relatively quick to work up, the entire project is big, about 30 pieces in all. It started out a little overwhelming, but now that I have quite a few designs all stitched up, I realize that it is very manageable and I should be able to finish it on time. So here is the project of the day...

This design is part of a 4-panel design that I purchased from Stitching Cards. They have loads of fabulous designs for all occasions so it was hard to narrow my choice down to this one design!

I am repeating this same design, only changing the flower petal color and the frame color for variety. The card stock I am using is also several different colors.

Can you guess what the finished product will be? I think I need to make about 30 of these lovely little things. I'll keep you updated on my progress and by the time the finished item is revealed, I'm sure you will have already guessed it!

Are you doing any end-of-year stitching? Or are you spending the last week of 2012 planning your 2013 projects?

Happy Stitching!

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Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 01:35:00 +0000

Wishing you a blessed Christmas!

Happy Stitching!

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3 Dimensional Origami Star

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 21:39:00 +0000

My first semester of school is over and I've had a few days to get myself back together again. Grades won't be posted until the end of the week, so I'll let you know how I did then. It's nice to be back here at Hooked On Needles with you, even if just for a short time! I have not spent any time in my sewing room yet, but hopefully after Christmas, I will be able to finish that fun zig zag quilt top that I started at the end of summer.

Today I made something fun that I thought you might enjoy. All you need is some square paper and a little bit of time. I also cheated a bit and used some teensy bits of tape too. If you make one, you'll see why that was necessary! So here is what I made...

This is an origami star, made with only six pieces of square origami paper. Isn't it pretty? The folds are not hard to do, and putting it together was pretty easy too, once I started using the little pieces of tape to secure one piece to the next so they wouldn't keep popping off of each other!

I found quite a lot of videos showing how to make tons of different origami designs on youtube, and this one can be found by clicking HERE. The video is just over nine minutes long, but the first little bit is of ice skating. I don't know. I just watched it for the origami!

The finished size of this star shaped piece of course depends on the size of the square papers you use to make it. I used 5 7/8 inch squares and my star finished at just about that same size in diameter. It was fun to do and I thought it turned out pretty well for the first one.

A large version of this design would make a pretty Christmas tree topper, don't you think?

Happy Stitching!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:51:00 +0000

Just popping in to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Happy Stitching!

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Mary Poppins Inspired Crocheted Scarf

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 23:50:00 +0000

Remember Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins? It's one of my very favorite movies to watch, with or without my children! Do you also remember in that movie the scene where she is first introduced to Mr. Banks in his parlor after she floats in with her umbrella on the changing wind? She is dressed in her overcoat and hat with the little flower and she has a sort of mesh looking scarf loosely around her neck. It's a lovely orangish coral-like color. Well, I had two skeins of yarn that were very close in color to each other, just one shade off, and both very similar to that scarf in the movie. So I decided to use them both to make a scarf as close to the one Mary Poppins wore as I could! Here it is...

This is the yarn I used. As you can see, it's a Caron product that is a Merino Wool Blend, 75% Microdenier Acrylic and 25% Merino Wool. It's a lovely yarn to work with and it drapes so nicely. I knew it would be perfect for a scarf!

And here it is, all 90 inches of it! It's very long, so it would be perfect for wrapping a couple times around your neck with plenty still hanging down either side.

In this close-up, you can see the mesh design which is a bit tighter than the scarf in the movie, but mesh all the same.

Here you can see the entire length of the scarf, and of course that lovely electrical outlet that shows up in all my scarf or bag pictures taken from these hooks!

This scarf is very lightweight, and only five inches wide so it will not be very bulky to wear.

A lovely accessory for you or a friend, or even your favorite nanny who only promises to stay until the wind changes! It will be over in my Etsy shop very soon and, as always, if you're local please email before purchasing so I can save you the shipping cost! I love delivering in person!

Here's a quick school update for those readers who are interested: I'm totally loving biology and feel this is the class I am getting the most out of right now. English is ok and almost over since it is an accelerated half-semester course so only three more meetings for that class. And psychology is interesting but I almost wish I had not taken it as an online course because I think the classroom discussions for this particular course would have been enlightening. My sewing machine has not been touched in weeks, but I do find time in the evenings to do some crocheting. When I have a little more done on my current project, the one I bought all that yarn for, I'll post some pictures!

Happy Stitching!

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Cold Weather Crochet Project ~ Bargain Shopping!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 22:07:00 +0000

It's that time of year again. Time to get a good cold weather crochet project going so that it will be big enough to keep my lap warm once the really cold weather gets here. I'll give you three guesses what I bought today at my local Joann store. Nope, not fabric. Nope, not zippers. Yes, you guessed it! Yarn, yarn and more yarn! And what a deal I got too! Take a look...

I've been on the lookout for an easy crochet afghan project to work on in between all my homework this fall, and I came upon THIS one from Lion Brand Yarn. Once I found the pattern I wanted to make, I kept my eyes open for a good deal on yarn. Homespun isn't cheap, well, I mean it is not inexpensive. I don't think it's cheap either, as in not good quality, but I'm talking price here. So today was the day to get a great deal on this yarn!

I bought sixteen skeins of Homespun, two each of eight different colors, which is just over $103 at regular retail price at Joann's. Guess how much I paid for all this yarn....go ahead, guess! You won't believe it! I paid just over $52 for 16 skeins of Homespun yarn! Oh boy oh boy, I do love a bargain!

So if you've looked at the pattern I will be using, you're probably wondering why I bought two skeins of each color since the pattern only calls for two skeins of two colors and one of the other six. I thought the size was a little smaller than I like an afghan to be, so I charted out the design on paper and added one row and one column, and it turned out to be exactly seven squares of each color! So not only should I be able to use up almost all of this yarn in this one project, but it will be symmetrical having the same number of each color square! Whew! I really don't like block projects to have more of one and less of another, so this makes me happy!

Do you have a cold weather project started yet?

Happy Stitching!

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Matching Crocheted Hat ~ Short Row Technique

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 20:01:00 +0000

After finishing the striped scarf requested by my son, which I showed HERE, of course I had to make a matching hat with the leftover yarn. I browsed around the internet looking for just the right pattern, and found THIS one. I had seen a friend of mine crochet a hat like this before, using the short row technique, but I didn't quite know how to get it going myself. This pattern was just what I needed to provide me with beginning chain numbers and such.

Using the leftover Red Heart Team Spirit yarn from the scarf, I made the hat just how the instructions say, working in the back loops only and using single crochet throughout. The self-striping yarn did all the work of changing colors, and even made the pom pom multicolor too! If you want to see a quick and easy way to make pom poms without any gadgets, check out THIS tutorial from a few years ago. This is how I always make my pom poms!

Nice looking set, don't you think?

Happy Stitching!

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A Quick and Easy Crocheted Scarf ~ Review of Red Heart Team Spirit Yarn

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 22:18:00 +0000

Hard to believe it's been almost three whole weeks since I last posted here, but as I said last time, it's all for a good cause! And you can bet this idea of my handwork being on the back burner will not last forever. It can't! You all know how it feels when something else in your life takes over your sewing or knitting or crafting time for a while. You miss it, right? You need it, right? Right. I'm glad we got that settled.

Now would you like to see what I have done since last we met here, in the way of handwork anyway? I'm certain you don't want to see my English papers or my biology book, even though there really is some pretty awesome and fascinating stuff in it...the biology book I mean. The English papers not so much. It's not my thing, if you know what I mean. But it must be done, so I do it. The biology I am really enjoying, and I'm not just saying that because my Super Cool professor, who insists we call her by her first name (just one of the things that makes her Super Cool!), said she was going to look me up here! It really is fascinating and something I never studied before.

Ok, sorry about that diversion...now on to my most recent finish...a scarf requested by my son...

Can you guess what his inspiration for color choice might have been? Yes indeed, he is a big Harry Potter fan! The yarn I used is the new Team Spirit yarn by Red Heart. It was pictured in a crocheted basket weave scarf on the same page as my article on basket weave stitch in a recent issue of Crochet Today! magazine. You can check that out HERE if you want, although I don't think I showed enough of the magazine page to see the scarf. But anyway, that is where he got the idea.

I did not use basket weave stitch, but instead something a bit more simple and plain. Just an easy half double crochet, working in the back loops only to create that lovely bumpy little ridge on each row.

The yarn comes in lots of different color combinations, most matching up to professional football or big name college teams. It is self striping so the color changes happen effortlessly and at very regular intervals as you can see on this scarf.

The yarn is acrylic, very reasonably priced, and available where you find lower end yarns of this type. I purchased mine at my local Joann Fabric store. It was just ok to work with, and I think that it feels much too stiff and scratchy to make a comfortable scarf or hat to wear against the skin. My son even commented on that! So I'm not sure I would use it again for a project like this, but would instead purchase softer yarn in the colors I wanted and do the striping the old fashioned way. However, I am now working on a matching hat, using up what is left of the scarf yarn. Once that is finished, I don't think I'll be working with Team Spirit again, unless Red Heart softens it up considerably in future runs.

Have you tried Red Heart's new Team Spirit yarn for any projects? If so, share in a comment below your experience with it and how you felt about working with it. I'd be curious to know if others feel the same way I do, or if I'm way off base here.

As soon as I finish the hat, I'll share pictures here. In the meantime, I think I'll spend a little time studying for my biology test, and reading up on the next two chapters in Human Growth and Development. English can wait until I get my next assignment...we're into what I consider modern poetry now...ugh! Give me the old fashioned stuff anyday! Wish me luck! I'll need it!

Happy Stitching!

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Change is Good, Right?

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Yesterday I mentioned some changes that would be happening around here soon and this picture should give you a little hint of what those changes might be. Of course you know that my children are going back to school. In fact today is their first day, my son in 4th grade and my daughter, my baby, in 2nd grade. They were both very excited to be getting back to school with their friends and all their new stuff and new teachers and classrooms.

That is not the big news though. The big news is that I am also going back to school. I start next week with a full college course load and I am probably even more excited than my kids were to be starting on this new adventure. It has been about 28 years since I took college courses, so this will be quite an adjustment for me to be in the classroom four days a week and have homework and studying and papers to write and all that school kind of stuff. But I think I'm up to the challenge.

This new schedule will necessitate some changes for Hooked On Needles too. I will have to put my needlework on the back burner, at least while school is in session, so postings here will be scarce. The website will still remain up and running with all my video tutorials and other postings available as always. My etsy shop will remain open with all the items available for sale as well. Custom orders will still be welcome, although delivery dates will have to be open ended as I will not have quite as much time to work on projects while I am in school.

So that's my big news for today! I don't think I'll be able to top that anytime soon! Wish me luck in this new adventure and keep those creative juices flowing! I'll pop in here every now and then with an update. Change is good, and I think this change will be very good!

Happy Stitching!

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Fandango Zig Zag Quilt ~ stepping out of my comfort zone

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 15:05:00 +0000

That Fandango jelly roll had been calling to me for a while. It wanted to become something very badly. My new 60 degree triangle ruler was also calling to be used for something. And then I popped in to the Moda Bake Shop and found this new design called Little Rays of Sunshine.

And I was ready to go.

I organized my jelly roll strips, sewed them together, cut them into triangles, cut the background fabric and started laying out the quilt. So far so good!

In sewing the triangles together, I have discovered the importance of accurate cutting if you want the tips of the triangles to turn out well. Triangles have always intimidated me, but after figuring out what works and what doesn't from sewing the first six strips of triangles together, I feel like I can get the other six done with a minimum of mistakes. The seam ripper has been my friend and constant companion for the last few strips I have sewn, and I will need to rip a few pieces of the first few strips and trim a bit before re-sewing. But now that I know how to spot the problem before sewing, the rest should work out nicely.

Isn't this a fun design? I'm having a good time seeing how the different prints come together and how the zig zag is taking shape. I'll show more pictures as I go along.

And speaking of stepping out of my comfort zone, I have some news to share regarding some big changes coming up here at home. It's all good and positive and wonderful and exciting, but will require a little less time spent on Hooked On Needles stuff. I'll share more next time!

Happy Stitching!

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Divine Knitted Scarf ~ Quick, Easy, No Pattern!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 15:02:00 +0000

As much as I love crocheting cotton washcloths, after making more than a few dozen plus the swirling bags this summer, it was time for a change. So I switched it up a bit and pulled out a skein of Patons Divine yarn in a lovely denim and my size 17 knitting needles and went to work. Here's what I ended up with...

This knitted scarf is one of those no pattern kind of projects that just sort of takes shape as you work.

Since the yarn I used is chunky and fuzzy, knitting a detailed design would have been a waste of effort since it would not show anyway. This one was made by casting on 12 stitches and then knitting the first 6 rows (garter stitch). Then I started alternating knit and purl rows (stockinette stitch) for some number of rows, probably 14 or 16.

I continued knitting up this skein of fuzzy, chunky yarn, alternating between randomly sized groups of garter stitch and stockinette stitch, until I had just enough yarn left to finish with 6 rows of garter stitch and bind off.

The finished scarf is 6 x 80 inches, and due to the sections of garter stitch throughout the length of the scarf, it doesn't curl up on the long edges as an all-stockinette stitch scarf would tend to do. And doesn't it look lovely with that oddly placed electrical outlet!

Patons Divine yarn is made of 79.5% acrylic, 18% mohair and 2.5% polyester so hand washing is recommended.

This Divine scarf will be making an appearance over in my Etsy shop soon for a very nominal price since this ball of yarn was leftover from another project, and it was so quick to make! The cold weather is coming soon, and so is the gift giving season. This scarf fits the bill for both!

Happy Stitching!

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American Girl Doll Tote Bag ~ A Tiny Tote

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Grace McNamara) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 20:38:00 +0000

Every girl needs a lovely tote bag to carry her stuff around, don't you agree? My 7 year old Grace certainly agrees. She has many bags, made by me, to haul her stuff. You can see a few of them HERE, HERE and HERE.

Recently Grace decided that her doll needed a tote bag too. I showed her my extensive pile of charm squares, separated by color, that I had collected from the many charm swaps I've enjoyed. The only advice I gave her before she started the long search for the perfect little pieces of fabric was that, if she wanted the outside to match on all sides and the inside to match on all sides, she would have to find two matching charms of each fabric. So she picked two pinks and two purples. Are you surprised? She is, after all, a 7 year old girl!

And about 8 1/2 minutes later, her doll (named Mary Grace) had her very own tote bag!

Using my extensive tote-bag-making knowledge shrunk down to very small, I sewed the shell, sewed the lining leaving an opening for turning, boxed the corners, put them right sides together with the ribbon handle in between, sewed around the top, turned it right side out, stitched the opening and stitched around the top and viola! A Tiny Tote Bag for Mary Grace!

The only trimming I did on the charm squares was at the boxed corners to reduce bulk. Otherwise the 5 inch charms were used full size. I used 1/2 inch as my measurement for boxing the corners. You can see how to do this by clicking HERE.

Another happy little girl in the house!

Happy Stitching!

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