Showing posts with label yarn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yarn. Show all posts

22 March 2024

Adventures in a Lace Scarf

Today's edition of Tabi's Creating Adventures focuses on a lace scarf. It's absolutely beautiful and the picture here does not do it justice. I enjoy working lace, so this was a nice project to satisfy the lace embrace. My only regret is the yarn I used was a specialty or novelty yarn and it ended up being scratchy in the finished product, which was a surprise to me. I really thought it would be soft when it was finished.

On a side note, I am trying to figure out how to get my pictures to show up correctly in the blog. This one is sideways and I'm not sure what happened.

Blessings and Peace!
Tabitha

Tabi's Creating Adventures

 

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19 December 2023

Adventures in Knit Hats... for Me!

Welcome to another installment of Tabi's Creating Adventures! Today we're looking at hats! 

I had some yarn I had bought years ago, when we lived in Washington state, and finally decided to use it. Both of these yarns were novelty handmade yarns and I only bought one skein of each, so that limited me on what I could make. With that in mind, and a new knit stitch pattern book, I worked up these beauties.


These were fun little projects. In the end, I decided to keep them for myself. After all, I did buy the yarn for me.

Blessings and Peace!
Tabitha

Tabi's Creating Adventures

 

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15 December 2023

Adventures in Hanging Towels

Happy New Year! Welcome to another installment of Tabi's Creating Adventures!

Today we're enjoying some coffee... er... at least we're looking at some coffee decorated tea towels. Eh, take a look!




So, these bad boys were not quite what I expected. I pulled the towels out of the box and opened them up, and they were not the size I was expecting. They were much wider, and the coffee logo was not centered. In the end we have 4 different work-ups of the same color and pattern scheme. I don't think I'll call these a set, but if someone wants all four, awesome!

As for process, I cut each towel in two (like usual) to make four towels, then I elected to sew the top seam allowance on the sewing machine to make the anchor stitches more secure (I find it helpful). Next, I simple stitched with a wide embroidery needle (it looks like a sewing needle and works to thread yarn through fabric). Finally, crochet! Finishing touches include adding the functional buttons and weaving in the ends of the yarn. 

I experimented with how to fold the towels for the crochet part so they look nice and are usable. At least two of them were folded into quarters before I set the base stitches (with the embroidery needle), and the widest one is folded into almost thirds.

I hope you enjoyed this post!


Blessings and Peace!
Tabitha

Tabi's Creating Adventures

 

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07 July 2023

Adventures in Hanging Towels


There's not too much to say about these hanging towels. I enjoyed making the eyelets and playing with stitch and color designs. And, as always, my products are designed with functionality in mind. The functional button makes these great for oven door handles, refrigerator handles, microwave handles, or pretty much any other similar hanging area. 
 
While I have plenty more hanging towels ready to make, these are the ones I finished.

 
Blessings and Peace!
Tabitha

Tabi's Creating Adventures

 

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07 February 2023

Adventures in Hats

As I have mentioned before, I tend to make things in batches. This time it's hats featuring bulky yarns. I experimented with a couple of different hat constructions and knitting patterns this time around. I especially like the pompom hats (pictured at the bottom) because they have a simple beauty to them.


This hat (above and modeled by Mani below) features a basic cable. Sized for a child, this hat would be a great option for a cozy princess.


On the basketweave kick, this pink beauty is sized for an adult large.  Accented with a knit one, purl one border, the basketweave pattern turned out cozy, too. I will likely make something similar to this one again.


Also, sized for an adult large, this one reminds me of cotton candy. Stockinette is probably my favorite visual texture. There's a reason knit beanies are so popular.


This pastel rendition is identical in pattern to the cotton candy hat immediately above. It's hard to decide which color variation I like better.

This slouchy beanie is sized for an adult large. What makes this hat different from the others is that it is crocheted instead of knit. Inspired by another design I found several years ago, I free-handed a loose, comfy version. I think it turned out pretty good.

While I enjoy making cables and basketweaves, there is something about a simple stockinette that really appeals to me. Even crochet doesn't compare to the simplicity of the stockinette stitch. 
 
I hope you enjoyed seeing this collection of hats as much as I enjoyed making them!

Blessings and Peace!

Tabitha

Tabi's Creating Adventures

 

If you would like more information, feel free to connect with me at one of the mediums below:

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11 December 2022

Adventures in Kid Blankets

Welcome back, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! 
 
I made two blankets recently, and I am pretty happy with how they turned out. Normally, I would say that there are more than enough blanket makers to make the world go 'round, but these were inspired by the idea of play. Large enough to wrap around a little one, these blankets are still small enough for a little one to handle by themselves.

This beautiful variation of mermaid colors is a play blanket for my friend's toddler girl. I took a variegated pink yarn (without the green and purple) as a border for a bit of color contrast. It should be about the right size to lay on, lay under, or wrap her toys as she sees fit.  I hope she enjoys this colorful creation.

For my friend's little boy, I knit up this fuzzy-yarn blue blanket. The nice thing about novelty yarn is that it is usually very forgiving because of its thick nature. Even though I knit this blanket in a basic garter stitch all the way through it's hard to tell. Even so, I believe it turned out super cozy (even I had a hard time putting this one down)!


As far as design goes, knitting creates a different texture than crochet, so I selected the more smooth texture of knitting in hopes that the blankets will be more pleasant for my friend's kids to hold. Overall, I think both blankets turned out nicely.
 
I hope you enjoyed these little projects!

Blessings and Peace!

Tabitha

Tabi's Creating Adventures

 

If you would like more information, feel free to connect with me at one of the mediums below:

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10 October 2022

Adventures in Hats (Featuring Mani the Manniquin)

Mani the Maniquin has made his return! Mani was gifted to me by a cosmetologist friend when we lived in Washington state. At the time, I was making school pride warmth sets which included a hat, a scarf, and a pair of fingerless mitts. Mani came in quite handy as I displayed these sets as well as other hats of different designs. If you go back on my Facebook page (link at the bottom) you can find more pictures of Mani modeling.


This particular hat was also a stash-buster project. I had this yarn left from another project and felt it was about right for a hat. The only thing left to decide was what design to use. After digging out my inspiration and patterns box, I found my favorite hat pattern book, In All Caps by The Crochet Dude. (I used several of the patterns from that book with different color combinations for the school pride warmth sets. It's also a great book for beginners.)


I especially like how the colors stacked and created a diagonal stripe. Also, the white border is a fun finishing touch I added to tie into the pom pom (because I didn't have enough yarn to make a full pom pom without adding something... oops!). Overall, it turned out much nicer than I expected.

Blessings and Peace!

Tabitha

Tabi's Creating Adventures

 

If you would like more information, feel free to connect with me at one of the mediums below:

TabisCreatingAdventures@gmail.com

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05 July 2022

Advenrures in Cup Cozies

This month's highlight is cup cozies. That's right, little bands of material that stand between you and your hot (or cold) drinks. While the designs presented this time are simple, this is not the first time I have made cup cozies.  Several years ago I made a variety of crocheted cup cozies in multiple themes. One group was general fall themed, one group was Halloween themed, and another group was Christmas themed. Most of those had applique designs on them, but this time I decided to keep it simple. I like simple. 


Prompted by a friend's admission of using paper towels taped around their hot coffee mugs, I asked why they didn't have cup cozies. They didn't know why, they just didn't... so, I declared my intention to remedy their problem.  

As you can see here (above and below), these lovely, solid-colored cup cozies fit your standard coffee mug (sans handle) and fold or roll up for easy storage. Toss one in your purse (ladies) or favorite hiding spot in your car (gentlemen) and you're good to go for out and about coffee splurges.

 
Additionally, these cup cozies are easy care, meaning they can be tossed in with your regular laundry, removing any excuse for a dirty cozy... and as with any product, if it can be washed before use, it should be washed before use.

I hope you enjoyed this month's blog post.  Stay tuned for other great variations of cup cozies and more! 

Blessings and Peace!

Tabitha

Tabi's Creating Adventures

 

If you would like more information, feel free to connect with me at one of the mediums below:

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11 June 2022

Adventures in Reconstructing Crochet

I finally worked with a set of yarn I received from my husband's family when his grandfather passed away.  This yarn was given to me along with a variety of knitting needles and crochet hooks.  Unfortunately, it was a long time before I was able to really get to the project, but, once I did, it was interesting to figure out.
 
The original project had one fatal flaw that made it impractical... the ends were cut short and not tied in.  Some of the ends were already unraveling.  Most people who pick up crocheting and knitting do not know that the ends of the yarn should be left at least 3 inches long and woven into the product to keep it from unraveling, a process called darning.  Since I learned to crochet from my mom and great-grandmother who also did not know what to do with the ends, I didn't learn this until I was an adult.  Now there are plenty of resources that teach this product-saving technique.

While the original project looked like it was intended to be a lap blanket or afghan, there was simply not enough yarn to make a sufficiently sized blanket.  Also, the yarn is old enough that it would be difficult to match the shades, so I could not justify buying more yarn to make a larger blanket.  Even so, I attempted to remain true to the color pattern while still making a practical item from what was available; the following bag is what resulted.  Double-crochet stitches were used in the original project, so I kept the double-crochet for looks as well as the color scheme.  Overall, I am pleased with this one and hope the original crocheter would be pleased as well.

Above and below are opposite sides of the bag.  Since it was worked "in-the-round" it looks exactly the same on both sides, even down to the places where it curves and twists naturally. 


I hope you enjoyed the results of this reconstruction.  It was an honor and pleasure to work with this project.

Blessings and Peace!

Tabitha

Tabi's Creating Adventures

 

If you would like more information, feel free to connect with me at one of the mediums below:

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20 May 2022

Adventures in Sea Turtles


These little gems were a request from a while back.  A friend decided to redo her bathroom with a nautical theme and requested small sea turtles to add to the decorations.  It took me a while to get to them because I originally thought to make them out of crochet thread and that box is hard to get to right now.  So, the other day I was working on another project and realized that the color I was using would be a great color for sea turtles.  Subsequently I made these four... just to see.



As you can tell (below), they came out just big enough to sit comfortably in the palm of my hand... which is about the size my friend requested.  Also a plus, they work up rather quickly.  In total, I made 20 little sea turtles... which I forgot to take a picture of before I sent them to their new home. 

 
Either way, I think they came out super cute and I hope my friend likes them.  =-)

Blessings and Peace!

Tabitha

Tabi's Creating Adventures

 

If you would like more information, feel free to connect with me at one of the mediums below:

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07 January 2022

Adventures in Socks

 
These lovely socks are a recent completion.  My  husband and I found the yarn at a local yarn store in Washington state many moons ago.  I selected the yarn based on the blue color, not realizing that there was a beautiful purple-pink variation hidden inside.  As an added bonus, the pattern on the socks shows up surprisingly well.  This pattern is definitely a repeatable offense. 
 
I used about half the yarn from the two skeins, so that leaves opportunity for the same colors in another project. Now all I have to do is figure out what I want to do with the rest.  

Blessings and Peace!

Tabitha

Tabi's Creating Adventures

 

If you would like more information, feel free to connect with me at one of the mediums below:

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18 November 2021

Adventures in a Piecewise Baby Blanket

A sneak peak into my current craft and organization and everything else space this time shows the building of a piecewise baby blanket.  
 
This project stems from a few blocks that were given to me in a collection of things from my husband's grandmother, I believe.  (I have had them for a while.)   The center block and two matching blocks in the middle of the blanket, they are multi-colored with pink, blue, and white, were the blocks given to me.  All the rest I made to match the size of the first three blocks.  Other yarn colors were in my stash and after playing with the possible combinations, I set on this pattern.  

It took me months (off and on) to crochet most of these blocks.  It was a little here and a little there.  The last six blocks, pink and multi-colored pastel in the corners, were crocheted in about 2 or so weeks.  From there, the rest was accomplished over the course of another couple of weeks.  (I finally made this project a priority and knocked it out while my kiddo napped, an hour at a time.)
 

From there, I decided I wanted to play with a couple of ideas.  First, I played with tying the blocks together with an alternating single crochet run (basically, one stitch in one block, the second stitch in the adjoining block, alternating and leaving space space where the stitches laddered).  This created a definite front and back side to the blanket (beyond the typical front and back as crocheted).


After tying the center together I wanted to experiment with borders (that's the second thing).  There are some really pretty effects that can be made with yarn.  Sometimes it comes out better than others.  This one did pretty well overall, but is not obvious.  The border consists of a white strip, then a yellow strip, then a multi-colored pastel strip (it looks white in these pictures), then a pink edging (which was also the fourth thing I wanted to experiment). 


(Yes, I know I "skipped" the third thing, but it's easier to see in a later picture.)


When I put the blanket over the loveseat it really brought out the joining.  I am very pleased with the overall effect. 


Back to the third thing... if you look at the border, I put three sets of inverted peaks on each side.  The middle peaks are all larger than the others.  I thought it was a lovely accent to the overall piece (and baby-safe, too).  While the colors don't "pop" against each other, the subtle color shift is pretty cute.

 

Finally, back to the fourth thing, the rounded corners turned out really well.  It worked out nicely for the counting, too, since each shell spans 5 stitches from the previous row.  That is to say, I had minimal "fudging" for the shells to line up at the corners to make the rounded corners. 


I'm not sure where this blanket will go from here, but I am glad I took the time to make it.  

 

Blessings and Peace!

Tabitha

Tabi's Creating Adventures

 

If you would like more information, feel free to connect with me at one of the mediums below:

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21 March 2016

Adventures in Cup Cozies on the Road - Dec 2015

This last Christmas my husband and I did some traveling and, naturally, I brought my crafting supplies.  I brought some orange and black yarn I wanted to make some cup cozies plus some other yarn.  This is the fruits of those long hours traveling:


Above and Below: Basic Striped Cup Cozy shown on a 12 oz coffee cup and a medium fountain drink cup.  These really are great for hot or cold drinks!


Below: Petal Flower Cup Cozy



Above: Basic Stripe Cup Cozy in grey and black.
Below: Bulky Cup Cozy in grey and black.



Above: Bulky Cup Cozy in orange and black.
Below: "Garder" Cup Cozy.


The following are pictured in better lighting on a 12 oz paper coffee cup.


Above: Basic Stripe Cup Cozy.
Below: Single Stripe Cup Cozy.



Above: Basic Stripe Cup Cozy.
Below: Petal Flower Cup Cozy.



Above: Japanese Flower Cup Cozy.
Below: "Garder" Cup Cozy.



Above and Below: Bulky Cup Cozy


It was a pleasure to share these with you!

Blessings and Peace!

Tabitha

Tabi's Creating Adventures

TabisCreatingAdventures@gmail.com

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07 October 2014

Adventures in Cup Cozies - Fall 2014

I've been experimenting with some applique motifs for cup cozies for my upcoming classes at Craft Mart.  For ever motif I create at least two variations, at least one for knit and at least one for crochet... depending on how much I like the subtle differences there may be more than a few for either.  Look at the pumpkins in the first picture for an example, they're all crochet.  In fact, the only knit cup cozy currently pictured is the last pumpkin, at the very bottom (Fall Cup Cozy 6).  As for the majority of the motifs, I have found quite a selection from Ravelry.com (to which I will give credit for the patterns as I share them).  Motifs are certainly fun to work!


Fall Cup Cozies 1, 2, 3



Flower Cup Cozies 1, 2, 3, 4



Solid/Plain Cup Cozies 1, 2


Fall Cup Cozy 4



Fall Cup Cozy 5



Fall Cup Cozy 6


Stay tuned for more cute motifs and applique ideas!

Blessings and Peace!


Tabi

Tabi's Creating Adventures
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