Copy-Cat Angel

Remember the Copy-Cat Pansy doily that I made while at my In-laws place for a visit?  Well during our visit with them again earlier this month I saw a crocheted angel that my Mother-in-Law had and decided to copy that too.  I’ve been wanting to make an angel for the top of the tree and this one was just perfect for it.  The left is what I came up with, and the right is the original piece.  

The angel was finished by soaking it in fabric stiffener and then pinning it to a styrofoam cone for shaping and then using hot glue to attach the halo and wings.

I didn’t get the shaping of the wings quite right.  I wasn’t able to finish the wings while I was there and had to work from pictures.  It was hard to see exactly what needed to be done for the wings from those pictures.  But it generally came out pretty good.

Christening Gown

I got the pattern for this Christening Gown  designed by Kathleen Harell from my Mary Maxim catalogue.  Persephone wore this for her Baby Blessing, which we had given during the Christmas Eve Service this year. 

I really loved this pattern.  Clothing is generally not my favorite to crochet, however this pattern was very easy to work up, very well written and easy to read.  The bodice, which you can see better in the stock photo here, works up in one piece, from one side to the back to other side.    This is done with increases for shaping at each shoulder.  The sleeves and the skirt are both just worked onto the foundation of the bodice.  Click on the stock photo to go to this pattern for sale on the Mary Maxim website.

Persephone Belle

I hadn’t realized it had been so long since my last post here.  I haven’t had a lot of time since the baby was born, but I do have several  projects that I need to post, so here’s the first catch up post…

This is Persephone Belle on the Ribbon and Pearls Christenting Afghan that I designed in her honor in her newborn photo shoot.  Doesn’t she look cute on it?!  (Thanks to Krista for the shots!)

Incidentally, I’ve sold 5 of my patterns for this on Ravelry since posting there.

Project Linus

I have joined a new organization!

Project Linus is an organization that “Provides love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.”"

And here is the first afghan I have made to donate!  This baby afghan is a fairly simple pattern.  The pattern stitch is made by alternating a wrong side row of double crochet + slip stitch, with a right side row of straight double crochets.  The combination of the double crochet followed by a slip stitch creates an interesting textured bobble type stitch. 

This stitch gives the simple 12-row repeat before changing colors some pleasant detail without complicating the design.

I continued the simplicity to the edging where I completed one round of single crochets in white, followed by one round of the pattern stitch.

I have added the websites for both the National and Kansas City chapters of Project Linus to the Links menu if you are interested in more information!

Pattern – Ribbon and Pearls Christening Afghan

The pattern for this afghan is now available for sale on Ravelry!  I’ve set the price for it at $4.50.  I would love to hear from anyone who purchases the pattern and see pictures of your completed afghan!  I may even post your picture on the site here!  Click on the picture to see the Ravelry listing, or just the “buy now” link.  Enjoy!

 

Ribbon and Pearls Christening Afghan

As promised, I designed an afghan in honor of my baby girl and I just love how it turned out!  I even submitted this one to Leisure Arts to see if they wanted to publish but they didn’t.  Oh well. 

I think I’ll sell the pattern for this one on Ravelry.  So I won’t post it for free here, but I will get the link added to the item on Ravelry once I get it posted there.

I loved how the ribbon and pearls turned out.  I was initially going to use white pearls but I’m glad I used the pink.  This pattern could be real pretty in reverse colors too with pink yarn and white ribbon and pearls. 

Update:   I have added the pattern for sale to my Ravelry store!

Sage Lattice Prayer Shawl

I’ve been working on several different prayer shawls and the patterns for them lately, both because we’re in need of them in the Prayer Shawl group we have at church, and because I’ve got a lot of different yarn left over from other projects that I need to get used up.  I figured this was the perfect way!

Being the middle of summer I wanted to design something that could be used to keep warm in the air conditioning, but still be delicate and light to match the time of year.  This yarn is very light weight and would work perfect for that.  I combined it with the very simple, open lattice-work stitching which is just double crochets and chains, and it turned out very nicely.

To add just a little bit of weight and definition to the piece I did a reverse single crochet, otherwise known as the lobster claw, edging.  It put a nice rolled-hem like finish on the shawl and really defined the edges.  I’ve used the revers single crochet on some dishcloths before, but I’ve never used it on a full sized project and I really like it.

So this shawl is ready to go to our Prayer Shawl Group’s monthly meeting on Thursday to be prayed over and then given to someone in our congregation in need of it.  I can’t wait!