The Purple Hooker

Let's Crochet A Christmas Tree

2020-11-28T07:34:00.002-08:00

About 9 years ago, I mentioned to someone that I wanted to crochet a Christmas Tree. She said she had the perfect pattern, and she would email it to me. As it turned out, the pattern she sent was from an unknown source. Someone had emailed it to her, and someone else had emailed it to that other person, through quite a few emails. I have wanted to share this pattern for years, and finally thought to ask my friend, Kim Guzman, how I could go about doing it. I haven't ever done what the pattern I received said, and I changed a bunch of things, so Kim said I should be okay. I am not claiming this is my original pattern, but it is my own interpretation of the pattern...the original pattern calls for plaster of Paris, and a tuna can, and rebar, and washers! Not exactly things I think of grabbing when I grab my yarn!

Materials:

1 Skein of Worsted Weight Yarn...I use the Red Heart Super Saver...in your choice of color. I chose Green for the pictures, but I have made this tree in several "odd" colors.

H Hook

Yarn needle

The tree is worked from the top down. This allows you to make it as small or as large as you would like. I have found 3 sections works nicely, for a child's tree. I prefer 4 or 5 sections for a table tree, and I have made a tree that was 7 sections. They tend to get unwieldy after 5 sections, and I am thinking that is why the original pattern had rebar and a base, to reinforce it.

Regardless of how many sections you choose to make, every section has the same Chain and Row 1. You can begin your circle with your favorite circle starting method. I choose to just do the chain 4, since it doesn't have to be a closed hole, and you won't ever see it, once you have built your tree. I will give you a stitch count for each row of each tier, but keep in mind that is a guide. If it says you need 150 stitches on a row, don't fret if you end up with 145 or even 160. stitch count is not set in stone here, and your tree will look fine. I will also tell you to turn at the end of each row. This is not required. I have done trees with turns, trees without turns, and a few where both happened. it DOES look different, so this might be something you experiment with and decide what you like.

Tree Top Tier

Row 1: Chain 4 and join with a slip stitch, to form a circle. 10 SC into your circle and join with a slip stitch. (10 SC)

Row 2: Chain 2 and turn. Your chain 2 will count as your first stitch from here on. Add 4 more DC to that first stitch, for a total of 5. 5 DC in each SC around circle. Join with a slip stitch. (50 DC)

Row 3: Chain 2 and turn. Add 2 more DC in that first stitch. 3 DC in each DC around circle. Join with a slip stitch and fasten off. (150 DC)

Second Tier: Remember, this is the second tier from the top.

Row 1: Chain 4 and join with a slip stitch, to form a circle. 10 SC into your circle and join with a slip stitch. (10 SC)

Row 2: Chain 2 and turn. Add 1 more DC to that first stitch, for a total of 2 DC. 2 DC in each SC around circle. Join with a slip stitch. (20 DC)

Row 3: Chain 2 and turn. Add 2 more DC to the first stitch, for a total of 3 DC. 3 DC in each DC around circle. Join with a slip stitch. (60 DC)

Row 4: Chain 2 and turn. Repeat row 3. Fasten off. (180 DC)

Third Tier: Remember this is the 3rd tier from the top, working down.

Row 1: Chain 4 and join with a slip stitch, to form a circle. 10 SC into your circle and join with a slip stitch. (10 SC)

Row 2: Chain 2 and turn. Add 1 more DC to that first stitch, for a total of 2 DC. 2 DC in each stitch around circle. Join with a slip stitch. (20 DC)

Row 3: Chain 2 and turn. Repeat row 2. (40 DC)

Row 4: Chain 2 and turn. Repeat row 2. (60 DC)

Row 5: Chain 2 and turn. Add 2 more DC to the first stitch for a total of 3 DC. 3 DC in each DC around circle. Join with a slip stitch. Fasten off. (180 DC)

Fourth Tier: Remember this is the fourth tier from the top working down.

Row 1: Chain 4 and join with a slip stitch, to form a circle. 10 SC into your circle and join with a slip stitch. (10 SC)

Row 2: Chain 2 and turn. Add 1 more DC to that first stitch, for a total of 2 DC. 2 DC in each stitch around circle. Join with a slip stitch. (20 DC)

Row 3: Chain 2 and turn. Repeat row 2. (40 DC)

Row 4: Chain 2 and turn. Repeat row 2. (80 DC)

Row 5: Chain 2 and turn. Repeat row 2. (160 DC)

Row 6: Chain 2 and turn. Repeat row 2. Fasten off. (320 DC)

To do additional tiers, repeat the fourth tier, with an additional row for each tier. For example, if you do five tiers, your fifth tier will have seven rows, six tiers will have eight rows and so on.

Tree assembly:

This isn't going to be easy. The way the tiers curl up makes it difficult to get them attached and looking nice without flattening out your tree. Be patient!

Start with Tier 4 or your bottom tier. Center the next tier up, and stitch together with your yarn needle, being careful not to flatten your tree too much. Add the next tier up and repeat, stitching together until you get to the treetop section. Sewing this section on can be a real pain in the neck, since it doesn't lie flat at all. Keep trying until your tree is sewn together securely and to your liking.

***I'll be adding a video to this post, to help explain assembly, either today or tomorrow. I will also be adding decoration ideas.

Mug Rugs!

2020-11-25T14:47:00.002-08:00

Hmmm, mug rugs! They've been around for a very long time. I recently joined a new yarn group, on MeWe, and they are all the rage! Maybe they are all the rage everywhere! Regardless of popularity, it doesn't get much cuter!

I made this one using the pattern I found over at Yarn & Chai. I asked Lee to pick out 5 colors of cotton yarn, and that is what I used! It was super easy, and super fun! I am considering making a set of mug rugs, that will sort of match. I can see taking a different yarn, and making it Yarn A, for each rug...my yarn A was orange, and it is completely outside of my comfort zone, to have so much orange in something...and so little PURPLE!! Haahaahaa!! It just worked out that way.

Over at Yarn & Chai, she says to tape down your ends and trim them. I found that to be a waste of resources. I used my cutting mat, quilting ruler (any straight edge will work), and cutting wheel. Sloop, sloop, and the ends were all nicely trimmed and my mug rug was ready to use!

How To Make A Nylon Pot Scrubber

2020-11-23T20:24:00.002-08:00

About 7 years ago, I started selling crochet items at the local farmers market. The director kept asking me to make pot scrubbers. I resisted for 2 months, thinking every pattern I had seen was pretty ugly. Then it occurred to me, the poof was not the way to go! I could just make 2 circles and attach them together.

It worked! I took some pot scrubbers to the next market, and they were a hit!! I no longer sell at the market, but people hunt me down to buy my scrubbies!! They are a HUGE hit at Christmas time, especially with the ladies at church!

So what's the deal with these things, anyway? These pot scrubbies are simply amazing! I made them in 2 sizes, for about a year. I made some 1 round larger, but I decided this size is best. You can make them larger, if you like.

To begin to make a pot scrubber, you need tulle. Yep, the stuff you think of when you think cute little ballerina tutu!! Okay, so not quite the same stuff, you want tulle with a bigger open net. You'll want a tulle that is softer enough to be pliable, yet stiff than the tutu skirt. I usually buy my tulle in 10 yard segments, since that creates long pieces of tulle to work with. You can buy any amount you want, but I try to avoid 5 yard segments... The knots hit right where you don't want them, almost every scrubbie. So guess how much of this bright green I bought! 5 yards!! Yeah, I didn't plan that well.

Once you have purchased your tulle, you'll want to refold it. You don't have to refold it, you will just have 45 inch long strips. If you fold it the other way, it takes a few minutes but you'll have longer strips and fewer knots.

Lay the folded tulle on a cutting mat and cut it into 2 inch wide strips. You don't need to have a fancy cutting wheel and mat for this part, your scissors will work just fine! It's just a little faster with the cutter and wheel.

After you have cut your strips, tie them together with simple granny knots. This is one of the very rare times you will see me tell you to tie a knot. Knots are not my friends. Roll the strips into a ball as you tie them together.

Now you're ready to make your scrubbie!

Yo-yo bunny!

2012-08-07T16:50:00.009-07:00

When I found this pattern for the Yo-Yo Bunny. I downloaded it and waited for the right yarn to come my way. I like the bunny, but it looks kind of sad in the picture for the pattern. I decided I wanted my bunny to be colorful and happy!

I decided I wanted red boots to match the red in the yo-yos. I also opted to use the same yarn and the G hook for collar. I think it makes him look less formal, and more fun. I also opted out of using blush on his ears...who needs that mess?!

Either way you make it, this bunny is really fun and incredibly CUTE!!

Free pattern for a hanging hand towel using 1 ball of cotton

2012-04-13T17:09:00.000-07:00

One of my goals this year was to write a pattern that could be understood and used by others. I do not believe in charging for a crochet pattern, no matter what it may be for. It is my belief that I am unable to make the item for everyone who might want one. I believe that by sharing my "discoveries" with you only enhances both of our crocheting lives.

Below, is a pattern that was intended for Peaches and Cream's Stripes cotton yarn. It was also tested on the Stripes from Sugar and Cream....and of course, it will work with any and all other cotton yarn. Please enjoy this pattern. My intent is too hang these in my guest bathroom, using an antique drawer handle in place of a towel bar.

Hanging Hand Towel

Materials:

1 ball of cotton yarn (I prefer Peaches and Cream Stripes, or Sugar and Cream stripes.) Please see note at bottom.

Size H crochet hook

1 button to match yarn - 1/2 to 1 inch, but Row 53 can be modified to fit any button...We all know how it feels to find JUST that right button, but it is the wrong size. For smaller buttons DC in place of TR.

Gauge:

17 rows = 4 inches

15 stitches = 4 inches

Chain 37.

Row 1:

SC in second chain from hook. * Chain 1. Skip next stitch in foundation chain and SC in next stitch.*

Repeat from * to *, SC in last stitch of foundation chain. Chain 1 and turn. (the last 2 foundation chains should

have SC in them) (36)

Row 2: SC if first stitch. Chain one. *Sc in chain 1 space of previous row. Chain 1.* Repeat from * to * , SC in last stitch of row. Chain 1 and turn. (36)

Rows 3 through 40:

Repeat Row 2.

Row 41: SC decrease across, chain 1 and turn (18)

Row 42: repeat row 41 (9)

Row 43: SC decrease in the first 2 stitches, SC in the next, SC decrease in the last 2 stitches (5 stitches total)

Row 44: SC across; chain 1 and turn (5 st)

Rows 45 through Row 52: Repeat row 44

Row 53: HDC, DC, (TR,TR), DC, HDC (6 stitches total), chain 1 and turn

Row 54 : SC across (6st), chain 1 but do not turn.

Edging: SC evenly down side and around towel, sl st into first SC of Row 54. Fasten off.

Note: I have come to the conclusion that all balls of yarn, even by the same brand, are not created equal. I created 7 towels before now. All 7 were made by me, using the same hook. The first 6 towels are identical, down to the amount of tail left to tuck at the end. Towel 7 ended on a sad note, with the yarn not quite reaching the top of the second side of the towel.

Yarn! Smell it before you buy it!?

2012-02-27T14:07:00.001-08:00

Who would have ever thought to SMELL yarn before you buy it? We all look at the color, and then we look at the texture. Then we feel the yarn between our fingers and we either buy it or put it back! Smelling yarn would most certainly get a few odd looks, right?!

Well, smelling before I buy is likely going to become a practice for me! I just pulled a ball of cotton from my bin, to make a hat. The cotton was brought home in the bin, since the bin was purchased the same day.

I was sitting here with the yarn next to me, smelling this odd perfume-like smell; nothing like anything around the house. I kept wondering what I was smelling. I picked up that yarn to start on a hat, and I got a very strong whiff of the smell. I still didn't connect the smell to the yarn, yarn doesn't smell like THAT!!

So I sat here happily crocheting away, all the while wondering what on earth was I smelling! I reached up to adjust my glasses, and realized my HAND was smelling like the strange smell. STILL not connecting the dots, I became a bit confused. Suddenly it hit me that maybe it was the yarn. I picked up the yarn and smelled...not the dainty little sniff, sniff, but the all out SNIIIIFFFF!!

WHEW!! It almost knocked me out! It isn't a bad smell, just a very strong smell. My yarn smells!! Well, let me just say that in MY opinion my yarn stinks...

Oh well, nothing a good shower for me and a spin through the washer for the hat won't fix, but SMELL BEFORE YOU BUY!! :-)

Patterns

2011-11-30T06:18:00.021-08:00

For a long time I was reluctant to use patterns for anything. It stemmed from looking at a very complicated pattern years before I knew how to crochet. I was convinced that all patterns were a gobbly-gook compilation of letters and numbers, and that I had to count EVERY SINGLE STITCH. I really don't like having to count everything, so I shied away from patterns.

Then my husband decided he was going to make a Santa hat...from a pattern. When HE succeeded, I HAD to at least give the idea another visit. I put it off for a few months, figuring I would come across a pattern I really wanted to or needed to try. Then it happened, it was a pattern for a cat toy. Being a foster home for a local dog and cat rescue, I figured I would give it a go. I meticulously followed that pattern, and I ended up with an incredibly cute and adorable cat toy...that no one played with.

That is the story of my life as a dog/cat mommy; I find a toy that *I* love and think will be a hit, and they just snub it and walk away. First attempt at a pattern was a success for me, but an epic fail for the item. I played around and made a few more for the rescue, figuring SOME cat would like it. As I was making the toys, I decided to see what I could come up with to make the toy more appealing. I have to say that MY version was more widely received, and the cats in my house actually played with it. I was thrilled!

Some might say I had written a new pattern. I did share it with a crochet group, but I guess to make a crocheted cat toy, you have to be in the mood. I don't think I wrote a new pattern. I think I merely took the pattern as a guide, and switched things up and took it in my own direction. My end result was still a cat toy, and it still had many of the features of the original.

I also love to quilt. In looking at patterns for quilts through the years, and more recently at crochet patterns, I am stunned by how many people change a color of fabric or yarn, or the finished size, and claim to have written a new pattern. I have to laugh at the patterns, online especially, that say you may not use any part of this pattern in a new pattern. Does this person REALLY think they have created something so new and so far out there, that no one else would ever think on their own to put a single crochet stitch beside a double crochet stitch!? Some of these people act like they just re-invented the crochet hook!

All that said, I use patterns as a guide. I often combine elements from several patterns, to get just the look I want. I am not writing a NEW pattern, I just am not following THE pattern. I am pretty sure we have all seen a pattern that we just have to make, and then something either doesn't make sense or we dislike a certain part. Why be stuck doing it according to the pattern?! Why not explore your options and your skills, and do something different?

And then there are mistakes. Yes, some patterns have mistakes! *GASP!!!!* Do you stop and go no further, or do you try to fix it on your own. I know many people are actually afraid to fix it on their own. I also think that MOST of those people COULD figure out how to fix it, or change it to work better, but they are afraid to venture out on their own. It is only yarn. It isn't going to explode if you change something, and it isn't going to bite your finger off. The pattern writer isn't going to come yell at you for changing a stitch.

Patterns are written by people. Most patterns are written by a person who has decided to try a different yarn or pattern combination, since that makes all the difference... I intend for that to come across VERY sarcastically. You and I are not yarn drones. You and I are hookers. Hookers that likely have at least 1 HUGE pile of yarn. I will often see a pattern that calls for a bulky yarn. Bulky yarns are more expensive than the 4ply worsted weight yarn, so I tend to buy them more selectively and less often. I will try a pattern, at least part of it, in a "regular" yarn before I go buy MORE yarn...

Well, I USUALLY do. I participated in a Mystery Crochet Along a few months back, and I bought the yarn FIRST. That crochet along was for a hat. The pattern was written in such a way, that MOST of us ended up with REALLY BIG hats. I had to rip out my hat and start again. Then I figured out I didn't really want to. That yarn sat around for awhile, and I JUST used it for a set of wrist warmers.

Crochet patterns for the most part, are not like sewing patterns. Crochet patterns can be played with and moved around and mixed and matched to give YOU the look YOU want. Using a dishrag pattern for an afghan is fine, as is using an afghan pattern for a dishrag! Taking bits from a pattern is fine. I just made some Christmas trees with stars on the tops. I used a pattern for the stars, from a napkin ring pattern. I like to think my trees look great, even IF I didn't use the pattern the way it was written!

Improvise! Play around! Explore! Experiment! Look at patterns with the idea that you are looking at the elements within the pattern, and not necessarily with the idea that you have to make the whole piece. You might just be surprised to find how truly creative you are!

Remember, no one is going to knock on your door and yell at you for not doing precisely what the pattern says. The yarn won't bite you. Crochet is all about the finished product, NOT the pattern(s) you used to get there!

Here is the link to the original cat toy.

Here is what my more popular with my cats cat toy looked like.

Learning to crochet the "right" way...

2011-11-16T10:37:00.001-08:00

It was March of 2006 when I learned the "right: way to crochet. It was almost by accident, since I was actually taking a class for a knitting loom called the Knifty Knitter. After that class was over, I was talking to the instructor. Somehow the topic turned to crochet. Even back then I always had a hook and yarn with me. I whipped them out and started crocheting...my way.

The instructor looked at me and told me that wasn't crocheting! Ummm, it may not be the conventional method, but what I ended up with was exactly crochet. What she mean was I didn't have the smooth fluid flow of my hands and the yarn. Each stitch was excruciatingly more complicated LOOKING than it actually was.

She showed me how to hold my yarn in my left hand to pull tension. Okay, I got that down by pulling yarn through my fingers over and over. Now how was I supposed to hold this yarn like that AND crochet MY way at the same time?! She then had my move my right wrist back and forth, the way you do when you crochet.

She then stepped back and told me to crochet. I looked at her like she had just told me to kill my husband with the crochet hook!! I didn't think I could do either of them...give me a knitting needle, and my husband might have been doable. I just sat there for a second, and finally she spoke. She told me I already knew how to build the crochet stitch. I nodded while I stared blankly at her. She told me to TRY it.

I thought for a second or 2, while staring at my hook and yarn. I shrugged slightly and figured I would try it. At the same time though, I was thinking there was NO WAY I was going to be able to crochet a stitch without using the fingers on my left hand. It was very slow going, but alas she was right and I was wrong...I hate being wrong!

I left the store with new yarn, something that plagues me to this day...I can not go into a craft store without buying yarn for crocheting or fabric for quilting. It is like going to Walmart for milk. When you leave the store, you have 3 bags and are $30.00 poorer. I got home and I couldn't wait to start crocheting the "right" way. I sat down, got out my hook and my new yarn, and I stared at the two without a single clue as to what I needed to do next! 10 minutes prior I was crocheting the "right" way, and now I sat there with nothing.

I decided I would chain a few stitches, since every method of crochet starts with some sort of chain. After many miles of chaining, I decided that wasn't really doing it for my memory. Okay, it was probably more like 6 or 7 feet, but if you have ever chained that long, you know it looks LOOOONNNG. I pulled out the chain, and started again. This time I got to a reasonable length and thought for a second. Okay, I DID know how to build the stitch. I could do this.

I wrapped the yarn around the fingers on my left hand as I had been shown. I held my chain in my left hand between my thumb and index finger. I had my hook in my right hand. I went in through BOTH loops (remember, I had only been using one loop before), picked up my loop and stopped. I then wrapped the yarn around my hook and pulled it through the loops. HEY!! I COULD remember how to crochet using my right hand for the stitch making and my left to guide the thread and pull tension! I was off...like a crocheting turtle!

I was slow crocheting when I used both hands to form a stitch, and this new way was even slower. It took me hours to crochet the length of a small blanket, and then come back and do the next row?! It was daunting! I kept at it though, since I found my hand and finger were very sore and stiff if I missed a day. Slowly I picked up speed, and I learned that all crochet stitches are built off the same basic principle of the single crochet. Today, my friends watch me and comment on how fast I am, or how quickly I finished a project.

I have to make time each day to crochet, it is what keeps my right hand in working order with the least amount of pain. Since I have to make this time, I am able to work on my projects every day. I also get more time each day since I stay at home with our dogs and cats...and let's not forget all of my "imaginary" friends online ;-)

I put quotation marks around the word right in this post, since I have learned through the years that each crocheter holds the yarn and hook a little bit differently. There is no right way to crochet. I have taught a few people to crochet. I always tell them that if they don't mind their "mistakes", to keep going. Embrace your work and love it. If you are gifting it to someone, unless you confess, that person isn't going to know how you crocheted it, let alone if you crocheted it the "right" way!

Healing a Broken Hand

2011-11-14T12:49:00.000-08:00

How I came into crocheting is likely far different than most stories you have heard. My grandmother didn't teach me at her knee, and my aunts and my mother would have tied themselves in knots trying to crochet. In fact, my mother and I tried several times through the years to learn how to crochet. It never happened.

Then one night in 2003, I went to an arts and crafts night for military wives. One of the other wives was going to teach us all to crochet. I laughed hard at this, knowing how many times before I had tried so hard to learn. This time though, it was different. I don't remember her name, but she showed us a VERY primitive method to crochet. EVERY single stitch required 2 hands. It was very mechanical and basic, but HEY!! I WAS crocheting by the time I left!

I crocheted a few blankets using this method, not even knowing I was supposed to go through BOTH loops of the stitch in the previous row! I was doing a decorative stitch and didn't even know it! One of the blankets I made this way, I sent to my husband who was on a long deployment on the USS Nimitz. I was so proud that I had finally learned to take yarn and make knots to actually make a blanket and not just a mess of knots.

I crocheted that first blanket, the one I sent my husband, for therapy! No, not mental therapy, though it DID provide that as well, I crocheted that blanket for therapy for my HAND!

On December 23, 2002, I was delivering a box of food to another military family, for Operation Homefront. Carrying a rather large box, I went to step up onto a sidewalk... only the curb was higher than most sidewalk curbs. Down I went, box and all. The family rushed to my aid, and I had scraped my knee up pretty good. My hand hurt, but my knee was bleeding. After sitting for a few minutes to gather my composure, I thanked the family for their help and left.

It wasn't until I went to open the car door that I really noticed I might have really hurt my hand. I couldn't make a fist or bend my index finger. I got in the car, buckled up and drove home...my right index finger pointing to the sky.

On December 26, still not able to bend my right index finger, and experiencing intense pain throughout my hand, I went to see a doctor at the Naval hospital in San Diego, affectionately referred to as Balboa. The doctor I saw at Balboa heard my tale, looked at my straight and only slightly swollen finger and informed me it was just jammed and it would take a few days to get better. He didn't even splint it.

I thought maybe he was right and went home, and lived life with my right index finger pointing always faithfully to the sky. I experienced on and off pain throughout my hand, but I figured it would go away at some point. When February rolled around, and my finger was still stuck in position, I returned to Balboa. This time another doctor looked at it and sent me for x-rays. The x-rays of my finger were fine, though he agreed something was indeed wrong. I was then informed that sometimes jammed fingers can take a few months to heal...

Finally July rolled around and I was still going through life with my right index finger frozen in place. I was beginning to experience a lot more pain a lot more often. Back to Balboa I went. More x-rays were taken. This time the doctor also said my finger looked fine, but I was referred to a hand surgeon since it had been so long.

I made the appointment and waited. It was during this waiting time that I went to the arts and crafts night and learned to crochet!

Finally it was the day of my appointment with the hand surgeon. He took x-rays of my entire hand, not just focusing on my index finger. He came in with a very serious look on his face. He put my x-ray up and showed me where the bone leading to my finger had been broken off. My index finger was not broken after all, it was actually my hand! He was a little upset that Balboa had taken so long to send me his way. He told me had I come to him sooner, or had Balboa looked at my HAND and not just the finger, things might not have gotten so bad.

The part of bone that had broken off was absorbed by my body, so it wasn't even there to repair. I was informed that I could still have near normal function of my hand and finger, but I would likely experience pain that would increase as I got older.

The hand surgeon then sent me to physical and occupational therapy to regain use of my hand and finger. As I was talking to my occupational therapist, she asked me if I knew how to crochet! I told her I had just learned! She then grinned and told me I was about to get "a whole lot better at it"! I showed how I crocheted, using my right middle finger since I was just starting to get movement back in my index finger. She told me to really try to use my index finger...and that I needed to learn the "REAL" way to crochet.

I went home and made the blanket. Crocheting, along with the other hand exercises I was doing, brought my hand back to almost full function... I now only have slight movement issues, when I try to do things like turn a lid. I credit crocheting most of all, since it was the only exercise that I really enjoyed! I could SEE what I was doing. I went from doing 4 or 5 stitches a few times a day, to whole rows a few times a day.

Crochet healed me!