Crochet Vina Hat

So if you read my last post you already know I’ve been trying to find a good top down cabled hat. As a recommendation from @astitchshyofnormal on Instagram I thought I’d try the Vina Hat.

The first 3 rows went beautifully and then I got stuck on the 4th round. For the life of me I couldn’t figure it out. After several tries, I persevered. I kept on keepin’ on (thank you Veggie Tales). I am so glad I didn’t give up on this pattern. It turned out beautiful. It is slightly big and long for my head so I actually didn’t do the last 3 rows of the brim. I like it anyway.

Just in case you’re wondering. I didn’t intentionally make this a Santa inspired hat. If you’ve read many of my posts you’ll know I prefer to practice patterns I’ve never done before. This was no exception. I was using scrap red yarn and ran out. It was between a white or black brim. Ternie and I decided on white. I guess if you’re an Indiana University or University of Mississippi fan this is the hat for you.

Also, I just have to say I’m so excited to finally have a model head. I don’t care if she’s styrofoam. It may sound weird but she seemed to stand out at Hobby Lobby amongst all the other heads like she was saying “Pick me! Pick me!” I think that means she needs a name. Any suggestions?

Happy Crocheting,

Britnee

Crochet Top down Cable Beanie and Alternative to Faux Knit Brims

First, isn’t this yellow gorgeous? I admit I’m longing for spring/summer and this reminds me of sunny days.

In my last post on the blog I made an adult sized purple cabled beanie. I really enjoyed it on a few super cold and breezy days.

While I was making the purple beanie I thought I would prefer a top down cabled beanie. A ribbed brim takes forever (seemed like it anyway since I was eager to start cabling) plus not caring for cinched tops, it all seemed to make sense in my head.

As usual off to YouTube I go. I couldn’t find any top down cabled beanies that I cared for. Retraction: I did end up finding one but I was having a hard time following along. Also, there is another one on Ravelry I haven’t mastered yet so that’ll be in a later post.

Well now what do I do? Try to come up with my own, of course! So here’s what I know from the purple beanie: I was working with a total of 60 stitches. So I increased the yellow hat to 60 stitches followed by a round of 1 double crochet. Then I followed the regular cabled pattern as usual. Essentially they’re upside down cables but it worked and looked nice. So once I got as many cables as I wanted I needed to figure out how to get a faux knit look. I didn’t want to use the typical alternating of front post and back post. On YouTube though I found several tutorials that teach a method that looks just like if I had started with the brim. Here’s how it works: after slip stitching to join you chain up however wide you want the brim to be (I only did 5 chains since it was a child’s hat). Then you single crochet in the back loop only back down the chain. To anchor the brim you slip stitch into the next 2 stitches. Then work back up the back loops of the chain. It was much easier than I’m making it sound. The tutorial I recommend is from @tlyarncrafts.

So here’s what I think about working top down cables and the alternative faux knit brim: While top down works up much faster it’s worth taking the time to start with the brim and work your way up. It just has a more polished finish overall. The alternative faux knit brim looks kinda wonky so maybe I just need practice. Toni’s looked great in her video so I’m sure it’s me. Also the typical crown increasing just looks kinda odd. It gives the crown a kind of square shape that I like a lot less than a cinched crown I can halfway hide.

Lastly, here’s the details on the size, hook and yarn. I’d love to know if you have a favorite top down cabled hat pattern. Leave a comment.

Hat size: 12 months

Hook: I9/5.5mm

Yarn: Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn Sport in color Sun Yellow.

Britnee

Pink Camo Messy Bun Hat & Triangle Granny Cowl

Now available in my Etsy shop: $20 plus shipping

Patterns: Messy Bun Graceful Granny Hat by Stitch Upon a Star on YouTube

Triangle Granny Cowl by Tea Time Crochet on YouTube

Hook size: Hat: I/9 5.5mm Cowl J 6mm

Yarn: 1 skein Bernat Camouflage (discontinued) color Pink Rose

Custom Orders Available 

Email: turtleburgercrochet@outlook.com

Instagram @turtleburgercrochet

Crochet Granny Shrug

Look at me getting 2 posts in the same week. I’m trying to get it together crochet-wise so hopefully you’ll be seeing and reading more from me. 

This is my Crocheted Granny Shrug. I’m pretty sure it’s a universal pattern but I’m giving credit to Nadia at Yarnutopia. I love her YouTube videos. She’s very easy for me to follow. 

Here’s the details on my particular shrug:

Yarn used: Bernat Pop in color Scarlett Sizzle (3 skeins)

Hook: K

Dimensions: pattern calls for square to be 40 inches but I made mine 35 inches and used a smaller hook size because I’m short and thought it would’ve been too big and long. Next time I’ll be doing the full 40 inches. Also I ran out of this yarn so I didn’t do 2 rounds of edging or the cuffs on the sleeves. Even still it is very comfortable and cozy. 

Contact me at turtleburgercrochet@outlook.com for your $40 custom shrug.

Photo credit: Thank you Ternie for taking photos for your silly wife.

Crochet Granny Triangle Cowl

Hello to all. I can’t believe it’s apparently been 18 days since my last post. Thanks WordPress for informing me via Stats. 
Today I’m sharing a Crocheted Granny Triangle Bandana Cowl. I knew in my head exactly what I wanted but didn’t know how to translate it into my Cowl. Thanks to Youtube I found exactly what’s been in my head and how to achieve it. The pattern and method I used is from Tea Time Crochet. Yarn used is Yarn Bee Sugarwheel in color Soda Pop Party. Hook size used is J. Since this is a self-striping yarn I did need to cut the yarn to ensure each of the 4 colors made into my cowl. This was a really quick project and I will be making more to add to my craft fair inventory as well as my Etsy shop.

Mary Maxim: Conquered

Pattern: Mary Maxim Granny’s Little Girl No. 98071N

Check out this item in my Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/listing/538164521/girls-circular-sleeveless-shrug-vest
Practice yarn used: Bernat Giggles (3 balls) in color Periwinkle Purple 

So I’ve had this pattern since maybe January (possibly December). My mother-in-law’s (Ms S) friend (Bev) bought it and decided she couldn’t do it so she gave it to Ms S who decided she didn’t want to do it. I inherited it because they know I love a crochet challenge. So here we go.

Challenge is a bit of an understatement. Headache: yes. Frustration: yes. Mind-boggling: you betcha. While the pattern isn’t exactly difficult once you get the hang of it, I just don’t recommend it for OCD people like myself. In my mind each stitch in a round or row should be accounted for and that’s not the way parts of this pattern work.

There is a pattern add-on for sleeves but I find the circular sweaters so much cuter without them. This was a practice piece so I could get used to the pattern without ruining the very delicate Mary Maxim yarn. Once Bev and Ms S saw the finished product we all decided it was a little more frilly than we were expecting and decided that for her intended gift I would just make The Lavender Chair’s circular sweater seen here.

So with so many negatives was there anything positive about this pattern? Absolutely. For one, I didn’t buy it so my money wasn’t wasted (sorta kinda just kidding). No, but really it was a difficult pattern that I can look back on with appreciation and say to myself “Brit, you stuck with something challenging and you conquered it! You’re not a quitter, you’re an OVERCOMER!” What good advice to myself for so many things in this life. 

My very most favorite part of this pattern is the pinwheel center medallion. I mean it’s gorgeous!  

Have you ever had a pattern that didn’t make sense that you conquered and can now call yourself an overcomer?

Red Heart App

Hello all! Unfortunately I don’t have any completed projects to share with you but I do have exciting news. I subscribe to the Red Heart yarn newsletter. Today in my inbox I was informed they have a free app for Android and iPhone devices. I, of course, had to download and check it out since I use Red Heart a lot. I just finished looking it over and I am impressed. The photos I’m showing are screenshots from my phone which runs Android. When you first activate the app and give permissions for your camera and location this is the Home screen

I had to check out the Yarn Lovers Gallery. Here you can upload images of your projects using Red Heart yarns.

Next is a basic row counter but a neat feature. Maybe as they improve their app they would consider adding a place where you can list projects you’re working on and save a row counter for each project.

Additionally, you can shop all their yarns and their hundreds, if not thousands, of free crochet and knit projects.

Did any of you receive the Red Heart email? Are you going to give it a try? Simply type Red Heart into AppStore or Google Play Store. Let me know what you think.

Rockskipper Earwarmer Holiday Stashdown

I haven’t posted anything for a couple weeks. I’ve had quite a few projects but never found a good time to take photos until a few days ago. Get ready because there’s to be several posts at once but I’ll try to spread them out.

First things first, do you remember the Rockskipper Cowl and Wristers? I made them before I found out they were part of the 2016 Holiday Stashdown CAL which is a group of 20+ designers that create different projects using yarn that is already on hand that would make great holiday gifts. Each week a new project is released. I’ve done them all out of order and only did the projects I was interested in. When I was checking new projects I came across the Rockskipper Earwarmer. Perfect! I’m a sucker for sets so I had to do it since I still have quite a bit of that yarn available. I’m fairly certain it is Caron Simply Soft. I have no idea of the colorway but its a magnificent silvery blue.

The pattern of all the Rockskipper projects are super easy and even though I had already made the cowl and wristers it wasn’t until I made the earwarmer that it registered in my brain that it does look like skipping rocks. In a single stitch there’s 4 double crochets which look like a shell then a chain then a final double crochet. And that’s the skipping part. It was pretty cool once I noticed it. Again, the pattern is so easy, I also made a pair of matching boot cuffs but they didn’t turn out too well. I’m a little off on the size so that’s why they aren’t shown.

Thank you Sweet Potato Creations for great free patterns!

Have you ever made anything with a neat project name and then noticed the project really did look like it? Share in the comments.

Show and Tell Saturdays

It’s been awhile since I made a post; however, I’ve still been as busy as a little worker bee crocheting away. I decided to keep myself accountable with regular updates on current works in progress and completed projects. Saturdays will now be my regular posting days. I’m calling it Show and Tell Saturdays.
I received another big box of yarn from my mom and the ideas are overwhelming my brain. Thanks again to Hope for the yarn.
Since I had been out of cotton yarn these were the first skeins I reached for since I know my cotton will always at least be a bag. This is a yellow market bag I got from Crafting with Claudie.

Unless you know me personally no one in the blogging world knows about my son, Burger. He has cerebral palsy. He’ll be 12 in a little over a month. I tell you this because I had planned on making him an afghan for his birthday. He LOVES his blankets and unfortunately he’s outgrown his favorite blanket: a flannel Spiderman blanket I made a couple years ago. As it turns out Burger is having what we consider to be a pretty major surgery next week and I really wanted him to have a blanket since we’ll be in the hospital for a few days after. I’ve been working as fast as my time allows and I’m really liking the way it is turning out. I’m following this video for a Chevron ripple blanket. It has soft ripples which remind me of gentle waves.

The colors have special meaning to me. They were mine and Ternie’s wedding colors (not the gray actually but I needed a separator for the colors). It seems like an odd match of colors but its quirkiness works (kinda like me and Ternie). In fact, we have liked the way the afghan is turning out so much I decided I will be making a matching set for me and Ternie and even little Turtle. The afghan is nowhere near close to being done but it is working up fast. Hopefully I’ll have it done by surgery time on Friday.

The last project I’ve been working on this week was while traveling to pre-surgery appointments. It’s a plastic bag holder. Really fast project and, at least around our home, super useful. I will definitely will be making a few more for our home and I think they would make great gifts as well.

Dollar Tree Treasure

Super excited to find yarn at our local Dollar Tree today. I’ve never seen that before. It was name brand too. They had Red Heart Boutique Sashay, Bernat Boa, Bernat Dippity Dots, Bernat Giggles and Patons Canadiana. I’ve never heard of the Patons but it’s a very soft yarn. I did go to the website on the yarn insert and it immediately directed me to yarnspirations.com which, of course, is Bernats website so I feel very comfortable using this yarn based on Bernats reputation and having previously used lots of Bernat. Either way, who could pass up yarn for $1? Not this girl. I also called my mother-in-law and she couldn’t either. I got her 7 skeins in the Bernat Giggles. Here was the store display.

Here is what I loaded up on

I bought 6 skeins of the Patons. It’s a very pretty lavender-ish color called Med Amethyst. I also bought 3 skeins of the Bernat Giggles. The photo looks like it’s blue but it’s actually another purple called Periwinkle Purple.

So as if my dollar treasure wasn’t enough I talked myself into a potential client. The cashier mentioned she had been wanting to have a blanket made for her daughter with her name on it. I asked if she wanted it crocheted. She said yes. I asked if she wanted it in purple and she did. I said I can make it. She said “if you do then you know where I work.” I don’t think she thought I was serious but I was most definitely serious. My plan is to make a baby blanket in the Periwinkle Purple and bring it in. If she likes it I can quote her a price with the promise of appliquéing some letters for her daughters name. If she doesn’t like it then I’ll have a pretty purple blanket to do with as I please. Win-win in my book. Although her daughter has a very unusual name (Danikkah) I’m playing around with the idea of teaching myself some tapestry crochet in which the name is part of the blanket pattern. I think that looks more professional but if she doesn’t like it I’m stuck with a blanket that won’t be much good for anyone else. I might make a blanket for Turtle or Burger first and show her that and tell her to imagine her daughters name. Has anyone else done tapestry crochet?