Creating family heirlooms

 My Czech grandfather gave me some crocheted doilies years ago before he passed. I have them all around my home proudly displayed. They aren't worth much, but to me they are a treasure because I know they are handmade. By whom, I do not know, but I will assume it's someone in our family. 

Lately I've been seeing videos on social media of people taking old handmade tablecloths and repurposing them into clothing. While that might seem really cool if you're wanting to be trendy in fashion, I personally am quite put off by it. I understand the level of effort it took for someone to make that piece, and to hack it up into a shirt that might someday not be trendy is a waste. I'm all about up cycling, but I also think there's a line that can be crossed with it. 

Now that I'm off that soap box, the idea of family heirlooms being passed down inspired me to crochet a table runner for my how lineage. So of course I ran down to my closed yarn store-which happens to specialize in crochet over knitting! Green Trees Crochet has yarn made especially for crocheters. The staff is super friendly too. I bought a whole skein of Clea in the color Aquarium and decided to pick out the pattern later (isn't that how we always do it?).  After searching Ravelry and Etsy, I came back to a free pattern offered on the Circulo website called the Blanc Table Runner which features the Clea yarn I purchased. 

The actual results were a little different from the pattern. I might crochet loosely as my finished product came out with less motifs than the pattern said to make with just one skein. It still turned out magnificent and I know have this on my vintage dresser.

Peony Patch

 My monstrous stash of acrylic yarn needs to go to a good use. I had a lot of pink yarn and wanted to make a girlie blanket with it. This is actually a gift for my 100 year old great aunt. While she informed me her favorite color was blue, I'm hopeful she will find comfort and delight with this. 

This made a slight dent in reducing my stash, but another 3 or 4 of these types of blankets, and then I will allow myself to buy more yarn!

Sleeping under a rainbow

 A full two months in the making, this king sized bedspread reflects my love of rainbows. As a kid, to see a rainbow was very special occurence for me. To this day when I see one, it feels like magic is in the air. When I had the opportunity to purchase a huge lot of various colors of acrylic yarn, I knew instantly that I would turn it into a some kind of blanket. 

This turned out so delightful, and I'm looking forward to sleeping under this rainbow tonight. 

😊💜💙💚💛💓

Crocheted with love

 A few months ago I snagged a huge lot of acrylic yarn, and some of it was the super soft baby yarn. Even though there aren't any babies in my life (sadly!), this soft white, blue and pink yarn appealed to me to want to crochet a blanket for a baby coming in the future. I used a vintage pattern, and this turned out very soft, elegant and beautiful. Currently it is stored in a sealed container for an infant-someday.

Tree Hugger Satchel in Hemp and Wool

Before we headed to Montana, I had hoped to finish this large satchel to take with me on our trip. Better late than never, it finally did get done shortly after we returned home. I have found that hemp yarn isn't so abundant, and probably because it's not the softest as a raw fiber. Years ago I did find a blend of wool and hemp that once washed is not only soft, but super strong. I feel this blend from Darice is better for accessories such as bags rather than garments you would wear against your skin. 

The patch is from Cada Johnson who is an Oregon artist. I've purchased patches from her before, and her artwork is definitely something you would expect to find at an outdoor market in a liberal college town.

The body of the bag is crocheted, while the strap is knitted. It's been washed and dried on a hot cycle to help congeal the fibers. Patch is hand sewn and glued to the bad to stay secure, and a decorative stitch of yarn frames the patch. Very pleased with this new bag! 

Green Goddess On Butterfly Wings

Celebrating my favorite color in yarn, this is a crocheted pattern called On Butterfly Wings. The width is a little short, but turned out luxurious other than that. Knitted with Ancient Arts Fibre Crafts.

Newborn layette for a baby boy

One of my co-workers is having a baby boy very soon, and I wasted no time crocheting a newborn layette set. Crocheting baby stuff is an absolute treat. This features a jacket (because it's January), a hat, boots and mittens. I'm sure it won't be long until baby outgrows it, but it's fun to dress them up in this stuff at least once.

Newborn costumes

A friend from middle school (1985!) requested Harry Potter and Stitch outfits for her grandson due in March. I was lucky to find these patterns on Ravelry to crochet, and made them with 100% cotton. Newborn stuff is always fun to make!

Wool Satchel

After knitting so many Icelandic sweaters, I had a lot of scrap Icelandic yarn to use up. I love making my own purses and bags, as I find manufactured bags a little dull. This is a pretty good size satchel crocheted with colors that remind me of the Northwest. The patch is a design by Cada Johnson, a designer living here in Oregon. Her artwork has always fascinated me, I love her captures of nature and this patch is one of my favorites. I made the bag large so that once I washed and dried it, it would become 'felted'. While it did shrink some, I still feel it's a bit large. That's okay though, better to be slightly large than too small! I even sewed a small pocket inside. This satchel is crocheted entirely with Alafoss yarn, a company in Iceland that has a very cool store outside of Reykjavik. The yarn is sturdy and water resistant (those sheep endure some serious wet weather!). I really love how the colors come together in this one.